n hour the Lower Fifth sat and listened to a
raging denunciation of its stupidity, its crass ignorance and
unbelievable insolence, poured out upon them in no measured terms. By
rights, the Lower Fifth should have writhed in its seats as it listened
to the fiery condemnation of its new form-mistress. But in reality it
did no such thing. It was delighted at having aroused the enemy to
such indignant anger, and the members of the form drank in with unholy
joy the richness of the abuse poured out upon them.

Towards the end of the lesson, however, Miss Burton suddenly calmed
down.

"It is evidently no use _my_ saying anything to you," she said. "We
will see what Miss Oakley has to say when she hears about it."

It was a threat for which the Lower Fifth were prepared, certainly, but
one which filled them with considerable uneasiness, nevertheless. The
German lesson was over at last, but it was followed immediately by an
algebra class which Miss Burton was also supposed to take. Absolutely
no attempt had been made to touch the preparation set for it, and as
soon as she had ascertained this fact, the mistress adopted a line of
action for which the Lower Fifth was totally unprepared.

"Kindly put all your books and papers away in your desks. Pencils and
indiarubbers, too, and rulers. Has everybody put everything away?
Then you will all of you kindly sit in silence during this next hour.
I do not intend to waste my time in trying to teach a class which
refuses to allow itself to be taught. Since you have all elected to do
nothing this morning, you can sit and _do_ it, while I correct
exercises for the Upper Fourth."

And to the form's dismay, the new mistress immediately set to work upon
a pile of exercise books, leaving the Lower Fifth to sit idle and
silent until the lesson should be over.

It is one thing to do nothing while an angry mistress is trying to make
you work! Quite another to sit doing it in deadly boredom for a whole
hour! The Lower Fifth had not known before how long an hour could be.
There were not even pencils to fidget about with, and the form felt
that it would almost rather have been marched at once to Miss Oakley
than have to endure this dreadful inaction any longer. But Miss
Burton, having made up her mind to the penance her form should do, was
adamant. She sat industriously correcting exercises, and addressed no
remark at all to the rebels, except to deal out order marks when people
fi