the head girl was
now smiling on the interloper as she used to smile upon her.

'Well, it's true!' she vowed. 'I vote we don't leave her alone, or give
her the chance of mocking at us, any more. She wants to be taught that
she's the youngest girl in the school, and that it isn't anything to be
cocky about. Anybody who likes can make up to her, as the big girls do;
but _I_ am going to see that she keeps in her place.'

'What a fuss to make about an innocent brat like that,' remarked
Charlotte, smiling scornfully. 'It's jealousy, because Margaret is
kind to her: that's all it is!'

That was decidedly what it was, but it did not soothe Jean's temper to
be told so in this blunt manner; and by the time her rival came in from
the seniors' room, the enemy had been worked up into a fine state of
resentment against her. Unconscious as ever that there was anything
unusual in the atmosphere of the junior playroom, Barbara slipped through
the girls who were standing about, and reached her footstool and her
letter almost before they noticed that she had returned. There seemed
to be some wrangling going on between Jean Murray and Charlotte; but Jean
Murray was always wrangling with some one about something, and Babs
paid no more attention to it than to the sudden hush that followed as
she dropped down in her old position on the floor. It was a good thing,
she thought, that nobody talked just then, because there was so little
time left in which to finish her letter. She took up the pages she had
written and glanced over them.

'Thank you awfuly much for your advice,' she had scrawled in her large
childish hand. 'I am cheering up lots and now that I don't take any
notice of the girls and their awfull siliness it is quite nice being here
but not nearly so nice as being at home with you and father all of
which is now burried for ever alass in my past. I don't hate girls
like I did at first. At first they were always bothering and asking
quesstions and being inquissitive but now they leave me alone and never
talk except when they want the salt or the butter or haven't heard the
number of the psarm at prayers or can't do their algibra I have lots
of algibra to do because girls aren't good at algibra I don't think so I
always do their algibra for them. Girls are no fun like boys but as long
as they don't say horible things to me like they did at first I think I
shall be able to bear them all right but its rather dull excep when we
play