ck, too, and could not touch her supper. Mrs. Merriman always kept a clinical thermometer handy, and on discovering that the young gir

ve him anxiety, and if he knows of every trifling indisposition he may be terribly vexed and put out. I therefore take charge of Jane to-night, sleeping in her room and looking after her, a

friend, and boldly announced at

esides, it seems exceedingly hard that you, Mrs. Merriman, who work so much for

She could not help liking the girl, notwithstanding her eccentricities and her ver

"I am obliged to you

grily to herself. "She kn

Lucy; on the contrary, she was

just the possibility that Jane may be going to have some infectious disease, in which case I could not hear of any other girl in my establ

hat together. Of course, Mrs. Merriman is right. We will help you all we

was a great contrast to Rosamund Cunliffe. She was exceedingly clever and fond of books. Most of her tastes lay, however, in a scientific direction. She was devoted to chemist

he possessed, as Lucy expressed it, the invaluable gift of common-sense. She had rather taken Laura under her own wing, had intended to make her her special friend, had meant

the girl looking rather pale, with an almost pathetic expression in her brown

etons," she said. "Let us walk about under the trees. Isn'

mpulsively, "You see, Laura, it is somewhat difficult for me

o notice of her little peculiarities, and accept her as she really is, you would soon find good points in

't waste time talking about her. We can say as much as ever we li

particularly with Maud. She

the entire group is Miss Ca

That poor, thin, frightened-looking gove

ame her. I took a fancy to her, and thought her awfu

amund-so different f

ehow I never believed it. Of course,

ll this homely, plea

Lucy. But there, we are tre

cy as much as anything else belonging to the school. I hope," she continued as they paced slowly un

e were babies," said Rosamund. "Not

. Jane hasn't a qua

ch opposites that we are such gr

say you are not a

of strawberries and cream, and that fifth hot buttered cake, I guessed there'd be something up to-night. She gets attacks of indigestion very severely; but if she has a chance of making a good meal-I mean a meal th

aid Laura. "Somehow I thoug

room to-night. It did seem such a pity tha

nd heart, Rosamund.

u know what it is, Laura? I am tired and would

She had said good-night to the rest of the party, and wondered what she should feel like when she entered her room with no Jane to keep her company. Not that she was anything like as attached to Jane as Jane was to her;

d and saw, curled up snugly in Jane's bed, no less a person than Irene Ashleigh. Irene's exceedi

below the window, clinging on for bare life to the wistaria and the thick ivy, and I heard the conversation between you and Mrs. Merriman, so

owed to lock our do

night, because I orde

sort. It is my room, and I

curled in elf-locks all over her head; her eyes, bright as stars, shone in the middle of her little elfin face; her charming lips pouted just fo

ot lock t

ck Rosamund a resounding blow on her cheek. Ros

lock the

N

you a blow on

y," said Rosamund, turning

rst into

r cheek. I came because I could not help myself, and because I could not live without you any longer. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and no sign of you, and I just hungered for you. I am pining for you thr

ought not to be here

of course, Irene was fully dressed. Compared to Rosamund, she was a small girl, for Rosamund was tall and exceedingly well developed for her age. Irene was a couple of years younger, but she was as lithe as steel. Her little fingers could crush and destroy if they pleased. Her thin arms were muscular to a

st be a fight between them, and that if ever she was

raight up to the younger girl;

ittle impish laugh. "But then I alw

morals at this moment, but I am thinking about my own. When you d

with it? And how are you go

her round the waist, and compelled Rosamund to seat herself upon the s

t going to get away from me, and I be

as her word of honor. She was a passionate, head-strong, naughty girl; but she could not give tha

of absolute terror filling her eyes and making them look wilder than ever.

," said Rosamund, "I

e flung her thin arms round Rosamund's neck, squeezed

I should not be the horrid thing I am if the others had not been afraid of me. I got worse and worse, and at last I could not control myself any longer. I did th

and will leave it to you to judge how you ought to act

. When you are away from me I feel savage with every one else; but when you are near I think the best of others. And I think it is just possible that if I saw much of you I'd be a sort of a good girl-not a very g

p. People will hear us talking, and I won't allow the door to be l

he ground, and go and hide in the plantation? We could spend the night there, locked in each other's arms, so happy-oh,

on who ever invaded the girls' bedrooms after the hours of repose, would certainly not intrude upon Rosamund. It would be nice to spend one night with her friend. Could sh

. When I got back home the other night I saw Professor Merriman, and he was very angry wi

g that you have been sent as a sort of Providence here to reform me. You must see by my making that remark that I tolerate you very much indeed, or I should not endure it. There, it's a fact that I do care for you. I don't mind mother, and I don't mind y

ole week. At the end of that time I was to give him my decision. Now, this is Wednesday, so the week won't be up until Sunday. So you must go, Irene. You must go at o

f you did that!" said Irene, her eyes flashing

the handle of the door was turned. In a flash, so quickly that even Rosamund could

, in her white dressing-gown and he

ou were talking to some one?"

Rosamund, who was standing with her back to

the rules for any noise to be made in the b

ave come for, so that you may get

Why do you always address me as you do? You try

ke me miserable," was Rosamund's quick reply. "Never mind," she continued,

inking of sending for the doctor. Of course, you don't care whether your friend lives or dies. Anyhow, I have been sen

a tiny portion of her face could be distinctly seen by any one who happened to glance in that direction. Had Lucy seen her she must have screamed, for nothing more elfish than that face

you have so

und's quick response. But she turned very pale, and Lucy, who

ats in the house. What fresh i

oom. Rosamund put both her hands to her ho

as fast as ever you can, or you'll have Lucy bringing her precious governesses, and her mother, and that sick girl, Jane Denton-how dare she call herself Jane, my dea

ell that no one would break open the door until the morning; and a minute later she and Irene had escaped by the window, and gone down hand over hand by the wistaria and ivy until they reache

stled up almost like a wild bird in her arms, "that I have burnt my boats, and that I cannot

ummer's night was to lie fast asleep with Rosamund's arm rou

ot accustomed, even in the middle of summ

splendid to wake in the early morning and to hear the birds singing, and to feel the fresh, fresh air on my face. I was never meant for civilization. When you come to live with me we will do the same, bot

worse to yield to you, and to get out of the window, and to spend the night with you, as I have d

and then she dropped off asleep, and

mund, who had not brought any extra wrap with her in her hasty flight, fe

far as The Follies. What will happen afterwards I do not know, and you mustn't ask me. If you don't com

ways," said Irene. "Dear, dear! Wasn't it lovely sleeping in your arms?

ppen. Come quickly. I want to be in the house and up in my o

lost that feeling of chill and fatigue which had made the latter part of the night so unpleasant to her. As to Irene, she was as fresh as a young bird, and the pranks she played, and the somersaults she turned, and the extraordinary manner in whi

assuring Rosamund that she was going to lay all sorts of

nt every one to go, so that we can have a fresh batch in their places when you come, darling; for

wild, star-like eyes, and then the que

he did not notice the milkman as he rattled along with his cart; nor did she notice the doctor, who passed in his gig, driving rapidly

er night's adventure to Professor Merriman; for she felt that, stern as he could be, there was also something gentle about him, and he would certainly understand her. But on second thought the desire to confide in him passed out of sight, mo

nto such a serious scrape that she did not think she could possibly stay more than a day or two longer at the Merrimans' school. Of course she would be dismissed, expelled, disgraced. But she did not care. She was sorry for Jane-quiet, gentle Jane-who had