o Dorothy, and the latter rose from her seat
and came over to Gerry's desk.

"Perhaps she's forgotten how to talk," she suggested, with an air of
mock anxiety. "She's hardly spoken to anyone for three whole days now,
you know. They say when people never speak they forget how to use
their tongues."

"Oh, do you think she's really forgotten?" giggled Phyllis, entering
into the game.

It was all very silly and very absurd, but it seemed to the
perpetrators of the unkind humour that it was deliciously funny, while
to poor Gerry it was almost unendurable. She shut her desk and rose to
her feet.

"Why can't you let me alone?" she pleaded, with quivering lips. "Why
must you always keep on at me like this?"

"Oh, she hasn't forgotten--she still knows how to say a few words,"
said Phyllis, with an air of mock surprise.

Gerry made towards the door, but Phyllis was blocking the nearest path,
and to escape she had to make a detour round the desks. Before she
could reach the door, Dorothy gave a little shriek.

"Oh, look, look, Phil!" she cried, in pretended alarm. "Just look at
that thing on her shoulders!"

"Where? What?" asked Phyllis; and Gerry, startled for the moment,
turned half round, while her hand involuntarily went up to her
shoulders. Dorothy broke into a scream of laughter.

"It's no good, German Gerry! It's the Little Black Dog, I meant.
You'll not be able to shake that off by flicking at it."

Phyllis joined in her friend's laughter, and poor Gerry, with an angry
glare at her tormentors, bolted out of the classroom, her skirt
catching the door as she ran and slamming it to behind her.

"Oh, naughty, naughty!" said Phyllis reprovingly. But her victim could
not hear. And there being no further amusement to be got out of Gerry
for the moment, the two girls sauntered off to get ready for dinner,
still laughing over Gerry's futile anger.

CHAPTER XX

AN AFTERNOON AT GYM

It happened to be wet that Thursday afternoon, and as all hockey
practice was scratched in consequence, a gymnastic class was hastily
arranged for the Middle School, to take the place of the outdoor
exercise.

This quite met with the approval of the girls, the majority of whom
were as keen on gymnastics as they were on hockey. An extra practice
such as this, too, was specially enjoyable, for drill would be reduced
to a minimum, and exercises upon the various apparatus would be the
order of the day. The Middle School