cial
girl, but Lesbia always realized her kindly attitude and felt that the
head mistress was her friend. She had indeed been her good genius for
the last eighteen months. But for her helping hand it would have been
impossible to continue at the High School. She had borne patiently with
a most imperfect assistant mistress, for whose defects she had often had
to make up.

Lesbia owed her more than she could ever hope to repay. It was a great
thing to finish her course in the school where she had started as the
youngest pupil. At the end of the summer term she would have completed
nearly thirteen years at Kingfield High, a record which no other girl
had ever equalled. What was to happen to her afterwards? That was a
question which troubled her continually. The Pattersons were straining
every resource to keep two sons at college and a third at Rugby. It was
unfair to be a burden to them any longer. She must think seriously of
how she was to begin and earn an independence, and make her own way in
the world.

"I'm afraid there's nothing for it but teaching," she said to herself
ruefully. "Everything else I'd like to do needs an expensive training.
So does teaching really, to do it properly. I ought to go to college and
take a degree if I ever want to get a head-mistressship. I might go as
governess to a child like Terry, or perhaps Miss Tatham would keep me on
to help with the juniors, but either would be a blind alley and lead to
nothing better, if I'm not trained and certificated and all the rest of
it. And, oh dear! I don't think I'm cut out for a teacher. Miss Ormerod
was right when she said I'd no sense of discipline. I could never make a
'head' like Miss Tatham, so calm and even and unmoved. I'm all nerves
and jumps. It isn't my line in the least. Oh, if only I could paint all
day long! That's the life! You do, yourself, a thing that you like,
instead of forcing unwilling children to do what they don't want. I love
the children, and I'd sit painting them for hours and hours, and call
them 'sweet little angels', but when I begin to try to teach them they
turn into imps. I'm in the wrong box, but there's no help for it, and I
suppose I shall just have to worry on doing my incompetent best till the
end of the chapter. It's Kismet!"

Meantime, though Lesbia might worry about her future, the summer term
went on as usual. There were cricket matches, and tennis tournaments,
and an occasional nature ramble to break the mono