arded with great
pride and satisfaction by its owners.

"So nice to have a clock in the room," rejoiced Carrie. "It helps you on
if you can keep looking at it during lessons."

"We might even set it to go a little fast," suggested Ermie hopefully.

"No use, old sport! Miss Pratt wouldn't stop prating till the bell rang,
however fast the clock was."

"I suppose not. However, perhaps she'll see it, and notice the time, and
not think it worth while beginning anything fresh at about five minutes
to."

"Ermie Hall, you're a bright enough girl, but if you think Miss Pratt
will _ever_ remit one jot or tittle of our work you've read her
character wrong, and that's the fact. Nails aren't in it for hardness.
Crow as loud as you like about the clock, but don't congratulate
yourself it's going to help lame dogs over stiles, because it won't. Do
you take that in?"

"Bow-wow! All right, Grannie! I'm drinking at the fount of your wisdom."

"As for Lesbia," put in Calla, "I think she was a regular mascot about
that cover. No one knows how she swatted over it. I'm sure it turned the
scale."

"Oh, don't mench! I enjoyed it."

"Look here!" asked Marion, suddenly and anxiously. "Does the clock
belong to _us_ or to our form? If we go up into the Sixth next year can
we take it with us?"

"Oh, I never thought of that!"

"We'll want a Solomon to settle such a question," said Calla. "Meanwhile
the clock's ours for the whole of next term, and that's quite far enough
ahead to look forward in my opinion. It may have broken its mainspring
before we're in the Sixth, and then we shouldn't want it. Sufficient
unto the day is the tick thereof."

"Right you are, O Queen of Wisdom!"

CHAPTER XI

A Holiday Governess

When Easter drew near, Lesbia began to be very anxious as to where she
was to spend her holidays. From various hints thrown out by the
Pattersons, she gathered that they wanted to use her bedroom, and were
making arrangements for her to go away. She sincerely hoped it would not
be to Mrs. Newton's. The remembrance of Christmas was hardly enlivening.
Another three weeks in that elderly mid-Victorian atmosphere was
certainly not a tempting prospect to a girl of sixteen. At last, only a
few days before the vacation began, Mrs. Patterson, putting on her
pince-nez and, taking a letter from her bag, announced to Lesbia that
she had some news for her.

"You're to go as holiday governess to a little boy," she began; then