ly attentive and amenable to
discipline, the mistress's relief was so great that she was emboldened
to make a short speech upon the subject.

"I am very glad to see that you have repented of your rebellious
behaviour of yesterday," she said primly, blinking at her form a little
nervously, nevertheless, over her spectacles. "Since you have made up
your minds to submit to my authority, we will let bygones be bygones,
and I will refrain from reporting your disobedience to Miss Oakley.
You have had a very narrow escape, though. If Miss Oakley had not been
away yesterday, I should most certainly have reported your conduct to
her at once."

Then, as though repenting of her leniency, she went on in a more severe
tone.

"But because I have let you off this time, you must not imagine that I
shall do so again. I shall expect very much better work from you for
the future. Your preparation for this morning's lessons was very far
from perfect, and you will need to work very much harder to attain the
standard I shall expect from you. Your algebra examples, Geraldine
Wilmott, were especially badly prepared."

That, upon the whole, was hardly surprising! Gerry had been so
miserable the previous evening, that it was a wonder that she had been
able to do any preparation at all. The Lower Fifth smiled in broad
amusement as the mistress made this pointed remark. It struck them as
screamingly funny that Miss Burton should have picked out Gerry's work
for special condemnation, when it was really entirely through Gerry
that the form had done any work at all. They had yet to learn how fond
life is of playing such practical jokes.

"It's all very well for her to talk like that," said Hilda Burns when
the subject came up for discussion in the Lower Fifth sitting-room
after tea that evening. The form was waiting for the bell to ring to
summons it to preparation. "But she's jolly pleased not to have to
report us to the Head! I happen to know that Miss Burton was most
frightfully upset about us on Monday morning. It seems that Miss
Oakley gave Burtie a pretty broad hint about not sneaking about us all
the time--after that chestnut affair of yours on Sunday evening, Jack.
Burtie was downright scared at the thought of having to go to her again
so soon."

"How on earth do you know that?" said Jack grumpily. Jack had been
grumpy all day. In fact, Nita declared that for some unknown reason
she had been in a perfect wax ever since