ed-wood blotter.
She wheeled round, and as she did so her elbow knocked a parcel that
had been placed on the corner of the desk, and sent it flying on to
the floor. There was a smashing sound like the breaking of china, and
at that exact moment somebody entered the room. Hopelessly caught, the
two girls turned to face the newcomer. It was not Miss Roscoe--that
was one thing to be thankful for--but it was Emma, the housemaid,
which was quite bad enough. She looked at them as if she knew herself
to be mistress of the situation, then waxed eloquent.

"I should just like to know what you two's doing here?" she demanded.
"You've no business in this room--none at all. And you've gone and
smashed that parcel as is only come five minutes ago from the china
shop. I could hear it break. My word! What will Miss Roscoe say to
this?"

"She mustn't know!" gasped Netta. "Emma, you must promise us
faithfully not to tell you've found us here."

"Me not tell? And what for, please? Why should I screen you?"

"We shall get into such an awful scrape!" pleaded Gwen.

"You should have thought of that before you came!"

"Oh, Emma!" urged Netta. "We can't, we daren't let Miss Roscoe know.
She'd be so fearfully angry. She might even expel us!"

"And what am I to say about this parcel you've broken? You don't
suppose I'm going to take the blame of that on my shoulders! No, thank
you!"

"The cat," murmured Netta.

"Cat, indeed!" repeated Emma scornfully. "That's too old a story to
take in Miss Roscoe; besides which, there's not a cat in the house.
She hates 'em. You'll just have to own up, and serve you both right
for meddling."

"Is it badly broken, I wonder?" sighed Gwen, feeling the unfortunate
parcel carefully. "It seems to be a box."

"Yes, but what's inside the box is smashed. You can hear the bits
rattle when you shake it," returned Emma smartly. "It's her new
afternoon tea set, I'll be bound. She told me she was going to order
one from Parker's."

"There's Parker's name on the label," agreed Gwen despondently.

"Yes, and if you think--"

"Look here, I've got an idea," interrupted Netta. "You said the box
only arrived about five minutes ago, so Miss Roscoe can't possibly
know that it's come yet. If we could get it taken back to the shop
and ask Parker's to send some more, and we pay for it, she need never
know."

"A pretty idea!" snorted Emma.

"Oh, it would be grand!" exclaimed Gwen, grasping at any way out of
the dr