F
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS: 
 
 THE STORY OF A SCHOOL 
 
 By L. T. MEADE. 
 
 of " The Palace Beautiful." "A Sweet 
 Graduate t " Pollys A New Fashioned Girl" 
 
 M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO NEW YORK
 
 MRS. L. T. MEADE SERIES 
 
 BAD LITTLE HANNAH 
 A BUNCH OF CHERRIES 
 CHILDREN'S PILGRIMAGE 
 
 DADDY'S GIRL 
 
 DEB AND THE DUCHESS 
 
 FRANCIS KANE'S FORTUNE 
 
 A GAY CHARMER 
 
 A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE 
 
 A GIRL IN TEN THOUSAND 
 
 THE GIRLS OF ST. WODES 
 
 GIRLS OF THE TRUE BLUE 
 
 GOOD LUCK 
 
 THE HEART OF GOLD 
 
 THE HONORABLE MISS 
 
 LIGHT OF THE MORNING 
 
 LITTLE MOTHER TO OTHERS 
 
 MERRY GIRLS OF ENGLAND 
 
 MISS NONENT'TY 
 A MODERN TOMBOY 
 
 OUT OF FASHION 
 
 PALACE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 POLLY, A NEW-FASHIONED GIRL 
 
 REBELS OF THE SCHOOL 
 
 SCHOOL FAVORITE 
 A SWEET GIRL GRADUATE 
 
 THE TIME OF ROSES 
 A AERY NAUGHTY GIRL 
 
 WILD KITTY 
 
 WORLD OF GIRLS 
 
 THE YOUNG MUTINEER 
 
 List Price $1.00 Each
 
 141 ' 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 " Good-bye " to the Old A-dfe I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 fraveling Companions. 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 At Lavender House 13 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Little Drawing- Rooms and Little Tiffs 19 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Head-Mistress a8 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 " 1 am Unhappy ' 32 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 A Day at School 35 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 " ifou have Waked me too Soon " 47 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Work and Play. 54 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Varieties 62 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 What was Found in the Schocl Debk 74 
 
 CHAPTER Xil 
 In the Chapel 88
 
 Iv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAQK 
 Talking over the Mystery ..,... 95 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 "Sent to Coventry" 102 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 About Some People who Thought no Evil 107 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 * An Enemy Hath Done This" ., 114 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 *'The Sweets are Poisoned" , 123 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 In the Hammock 129 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Cup and Ball 136 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 In the South Parlor ^ 143 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 Stealing Hearts 151 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 In Burn Castle Wood 155 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 " Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall ' 168 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Annie to the Rescue 173 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 A Spoiled Baby 180 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Under the Laurel Bush 188 
 
 CHAPTER XXV ll. 
 truants . < 193
 
 CONTENTS. v 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 PAGX 
 fn the Fairies' Field 198 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Hester's Forgotten Book 204 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 "A Muddy Stream" 212 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Good and Bad Angels 218 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Fresh Suspicions 221 
 
 CHAPTER XXXHI. 
 Untrustworthy 227 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 Betty Falls 111 at an Awkward Time 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 "You are Welcome to Tell" 241 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 How Moses Moore Kept His Appointment.... 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 A Broken Trust 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIIL 
 Is She Still Guilty?.... 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 Hesters Hour of Trial , 265 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 A Gypsy Maid 272 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 Disguised 278 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 Hester 284
 
 vi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 PAGB 
 Susan 289 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 Under the Hedge 293 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 Tiger 297 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 For Love of Nan 303 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 Rescued 310 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 Dark Days 3*3 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 Two Confessions 318 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 The Heart of Little Nan 326 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 The Prize Essay 334
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " GOOD-BYE " TO THE OLD LIFE. 
 
 " ME WANT to see Hetty," said an imperious baby 
 voice. 
 
 " No, no ; not this morning, Miss Nan, dear." 
 
 "Me do want to see Hetty," was the quick, im- 
 patient reply. And a sturdy indignant little face 
 looked up at Nurse, to watch the effect of the last 
 decisive words. 
 
 Finding no affirmative reply on Nurse's placid 
 face, the small lips closed firmly two dimples came 
 and went on two very round cheeks the mischiev- 
 ous brown eyes grew full of laughter, and the next 
 moment the little questioner had squeezed her way 
 through a slightly open door, and was toddling 
 down the broad stone stairs and across a landing to 
 Hetty's room. The room-door was open, so the 
 truant went in. A bed with the bed-clothes all 
 tossed about, a half worn-out slipper on the floor, a 
 very untidy dressing-table met her eyes, but no 
 Hetty. 
 
 " Me want Hetty, me do," piped the treble voice,
 
 2 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 and then the little feet commenced a careful and 
 watchful pilgrimage, the lips still firmly shut, the 
 dimples coming and going, and the eyes throwing 
 many upward glances in the direction of Nurse and 
 the nursery. 
 
 No pursuit as yet, and great, great hope of find- 
 ing Hetty somewhere in the down-stair regions. 
 Ah, now, how good ! those dangerous stairs had 
 been descended, and the little voice calling in shrill 
 tones for Hetty rang out in the wide hall. 
 
 " Let her come to me," suddenly said an answer- 
 ing voice, and a girl of about twelve, dressed in 
 deep mourning, suddenly opened the door of a 
 small study and clasped the little one in her arms. 
 
 " So you have found me, my precious, my dear- 
 est ! Brave, plucky little Nan, you have got away 
 from Nurse and found me out ! Come into the 
 study now, darling, and you shall have some break- 
 fast. 
 
 " Me want a bicky, Hetty," said the baby voice ; 
 the round arms clasped Hester's neck, but the brown 
 eyes were already traveling eagerly over the break- 
 fast table in quest of spoil for those rosy little lips. 
 
 " Here are two biscuits, Nan. Nan, look me in 
 the face here, sit steady on my knee ; you love me, 
 don't you, Nan ?" 
 
 " Course me do," said the child. 
 
 "And I'm going away from you, Nan, darling. 
 For months and months I won't see anything of 
 you. My heart will be always with you, and I shall 
 think of you morning, noon and night. I love no
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 3 
 
 one as I love you, Nan. You will think of me and 
 love me too ; won't you, Nan ?" 
 
 " Me will," said Nan ; " me want more bicky, 
 Hetty." 
 
 " Yes, yes," answered Hester ; " put your arms 
 tight round my neck, and you shall have sugar, too. 
 Tighter than that, Nan, and you shall have two 
 lumps of sugar oh, yes, you shall I don't care if 
 it makes you sick you shall have just what you 
 want the last moment we are together." 
 
 Baby Nan was only too pleased to crumple up a 
 crape frill and to smear a black dress with sticky 
 little fingers for the sake of the sugar which Hetty 
 plied her with. 
 
 " More, Hetty," she said ; " me'll skeeze 'oo vedy 
 tight for more." 
 
 On this scene Nurse unexpectedly entered. 
 
 " Well, I never ! and so you found your way all 
 down-stairs by yourself, you little toddle. Now, 
 Miss Hetty, I hope you haven't been giving the 
 precious lamb sugar ; you know it never does suit 
 the little dear. Oh, fie ! baby ; and what sticky 
 hands ! Miss Hetty, she has crumpled all your 
 crape frills." 
 
 " What matter ?" said Hester. " I wanted a good 
 hug, and I gave her three or four lumps. Babies 
 won't squeeze you tight for nothing. There, my 
 Nancy, go back to Nurse. Nurse, take her away ; 
 I'll break down in a minute if I see her looking at 
 me with that little pout." 
 
 Nurse took the child into her arms.
 
 4 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Good-bye, Miss Hester, dear. Try to be a good 
 girl at school. Take my word, missy things won't 
 be as dark as they seem." 
 
 " Good-bye, Nurse," said Hester, hastily. " Is 
 that you, father ? are you calling me ?" 
 
 She gathered up her muff and gloves, and ran 
 out of the little study where she had been making 
 believe to eat breakfast. A tall, stern-looking man 
 was in the hall, buttoning on an overcoat ; a 
 brougham waited at the door. The next moment 
 Hester and her father were bowling away in the 
 direction of the nearest railway station. Nan's little 
 chubby face had faded from view. The old square, 
 gray house, sacred to Hester because of Nan, had 
 also disappeared ; the avenue even was passed, and 
 Hester closed her bright brown eyes. She felt that 
 she was being pushed out into a cold world, and 
 was no longer in the same snug nest with Nan. An in- 
 tolerable pain was at her heart ; she did not glance 
 at her father, who during their entire drive occu- 
 pied himself over his morning paper. At last they 
 reached the railway station, and just as Sir John 
 Thornton was handing his daughter into a comforta- 
 ble first-class carriage, marked " For Ladies only," 
 and was presenting her with her railway ticket and 
 a copy of the last week's illustrated newspaper, he 
 spoke : 
 
 " The guard will take care of you, Hester. I am 
 giving him full directions, and he will come to you 
 at every station, and bring you tea or any refresh- 
 ment you may require. This train takes you straight
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 5 
 
 to Sefton, and Mrs. Willis will meet you, or send 
 for you there. Good-bye, my love ; try to be a 
 good girl, and curb your wild spirits. I hope to see 
 you very much improved when you come home at 
 midsummer. Good-bye, dear, good-bye. Ah, you 
 want to kiss me well, just one kiss. There oh, 
 my dear ! you know I have a great dislike to emo- 
 tion in public." 
 
 Sir John Thornton said this because a pair of 
 arms had been flung suddenly round his neck, and 
 two kisses imprinted passionately on his sallow 
 cheek. A tear also rested on his cheek, but that he 
 wiped away.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRAVELING COMPANIONS. 
 
 THE train moved rapidly on its way, and the girl 
 in one corner of the railway carriage cried silently 
 behind her crape veil. Her tears were very sub- 
 dued, but her heart felt sore, bruised, indignant ; 
 she hated the idea of school-life before her ; she 
 hated the expected restraints and the probable pun- 
 ishments ; she fancied herself going from a free life 
 into a prison, and detested it accordingly. 
 
 Three months before, Hester Thornton had been 
 one of the happiest, brightest and merriest of little 
 
 girls in shire ; but the mother who was her 
 
 guardian angel, who had kept the frank and spirited 
 child in check without appearing to do so, who had 
 guided her by the magical power of love and not in 
 the least by that of fear, had met her death sud- 
 denly by means of a carriage accident, and Hester 
 and baby Nan were left motherless. Several little 
 brothers and sisters had come between Hester and 
 Nan, but from various causes they had all died in 
 their infancy, and only the eldest and youngest of 
 Sir John Thornton's family remained. 
 
 Hester's father was stern, uncompromising. He 
 was a very just and upright man, but he knew
 
 A WORLD OF GfRLS. 7 
 
 nothing of the ways of children, and when Hester 
 in her usual torn-boyish fashion climbed trees and 
 tore her dresses, and rode bare-backed on one or two 
 of his most dangerous horses, he not only tried a 
 little sharp, and therefore useless, correction, but 
 determined to take immediate steps to have his wild 
 and rather unmanageable little daughter sent to a 
 first-class school. Hester was on her way there 
 now, and very sore was her heart and indignant 
 her impulses. Father's " good-bye " seemed to her 
 to be the crowning touch to her unhappiness, and 
 she made up her mind not to be good, not to learn 
 her lessons, not to come home at midsummer crowned 
 with honors and reduced to an e very-day and pat- 
 tern little girl. No, she would be the same wild 
 Hetty as of yore ; and when father saw that school 
 could do nothing for her, that it could never make 
 her into a good and ordinary little girl, he would 
 allow her to remain at home. At home there was 
 at least Nan to love, and there was mother to re- 
 member. 
 
 Hetty was a child of the strongest feelings. 
 Since her mother's death she had scarcely mentioned 
 her name. When her father alluded to his wife, 
 Hester ran out of the room ; when the servants 
 spoke of their late mistress, Hester turned pale, 
 stamped her feet, and told them to be quiet. 
 
 " You are not worthy to speak of my mother," 
 she electrified them all one day by exclaiming : 
 " My mother is an angle now, and you oh, you are 
 not fit to breathe her name !"
 
 8 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Only to one person would Hetty ever voluntarily 
 say a word about the beloved dead mother, and that 
 was to little Nan. Nan said her prayers, as she ex- 
 pressed it, to Hetty now ; and Hetty taught her a 
 little phrase to use instead of the familiar " God 
 bless mother." She taught the child to say, " Thank 
 God for making mother into a beautiful angle ;" 
 and when Nan asked what an angle was, and how 
 the cozy mother she remembered could be turned 
 into one, Hester was beguiled into a soft and tear- 
 ful talk, and she drew several lovely pictures of 
 white-robed angles, until the little child was satis- 
 fied and said : 
 
 " Me like that, Hetty me'll be an angle too, 
 Hetty, same as mamma." 
 
 These talks with Nan, however, did not come very 
 often, and of late they had almost ceased, for Nan 
 was only two and a half, and the strange, sad fact 
 remained that in three months she had almost for- 
 gotten her mother. 
 
 Hester on her way to school this morning cried 
 for some time, then she sat silent, her crape veil still 
 down, and her eyes watching furtively her fellow- 
 passengers. They consisted of two rather fidgety 
 old ladies, who wrapped themselves in rugs, were 
 very particular on the question of hot bottles, and 
 watched Hester in their turn with considerable 
 curiosity and interest. Presently one of them 
 offered the little girl a sandwich, which she was too 
 proud or too shy to accept, although by this time 
 she was feeling extremely hungry.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 9 
 
 "You will, perhaps, prefer a cake, my dear?" 
 said the good-natured it tie old lady. " My sister 
 Agues has got some delicious queen-cakes in her 
 basket will you eat one ?" 
 
 Hester murmured a feeble assent, and the queen- 
 cake did her so much good that she ventured to 
 raise her crape veil and to look around her. 
 
 " Ah r that is much better," said the first little old 
 lady. " Come to this side of the carriage, my love ; 
 we are just going to pass through a lovely bit of 
 country, and you will like to watch the view. See ; 
 if you place yourself here, my sister Agnes' basket 
 will be just at your feet, and you can help yourself 
 to a queen-cake whenever you are so disposed." 
 
 " Thank you," responded Hester, in a much more 
 cheerful tone, for it was really quite impossible to 
 keep up reserve with such a bright-looking little old 
 lady ; " your queen-cakes are very nice, and I liked 
 that one, but one is quite enough, thank you. It is 
 Nan who is so particularly fond of queen-cakes." 
 
 "And who is Nan, my dear?" asked the sister to 
 whom the queen-cakes specially belonged. 
 
 " She is my dear little baby sister," said Hester 
 in a sorrowful tone. 
 
 "Ah, and it was about her you were crying just 
 now," said the first lady, laying her hand on Hester's 
 arm. " Never min^ us, dear, we have seen a great 
 many tears a great many. They are the way of 
 the world. Women are born to them. As Kingsley 
 says ' women must weep.' It was quite natural 
 that you should cry about your sweet little Nan,
 
 10 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 and I wish we could send her some of these queen- 
 cakes that you say she is so fond of. Are you go- 
 ing to be long away from her, love ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, for months and months," said Hester. 
 " I did not know," she added, " that it was such a 
 common thing to cry. I never used to." 
 
 "Ah, you have had other trouble, poor child," 
 glancing at her deep mourning frock. 
 
 "Yes, it is since then I have cried so often. 
 Please, I would rather not speak about it." 
 
 " Quite right, my love, quite right," said Miss 
 Agnes in a much brisker tone than her sister. 
 " We will turn the conversation now to something 
 inspiriting. Jane is quite right, there are plenty of 
 tears in the world ; but there is also a great deal of 
 sunshine and heaps of laughter, merry laughter 
 the laughter of youth, my child. Now, I dare say, 
 though you have begun your journey so sadly, that 
 you are really bound on quite a pleasant little ex- 
 pedition. For instance, you are going to visit a 
 kind aunt, or some one else who will give you a 
 delightful welcome." 
 
 " No," said Hester, "I am not. I am going to a 
 dreadful place, and the thought of that, and parting 
 from little Nan, are the reasons why I cried. I am 
 going to prison I am, indeed." 
 
 " Oh, my dear love !" exclaimed both the little 
 old ladies in a breath. Then Miss Agnes contin- 
 ued : " You have really taken Jane's breath away 
 quite. Yes, Jane, I see that you are in for an at- 
 tack of palpitation. Never mind her, dear, she pal-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. U 
 
 pitates very easily ; but I think you must be mis- 
 taken, my love, in mentioning such an appalling 
 word as 'prison.' Yes, now I come to think of it, 
 it is absolutely certain that you must be mistaken ; 
 for if you were going to such a terrible place of 
 punishment you would be under the charge of a 
 policeman. You are given to strong language, dear, 
 like other young folk." 
 
 "Well, I call it prison," continued Hester, who 
 was rather flattered by all this bustle and Miss 
 Jane's agitation ; " it has a dreadful sound, hasn't it ? 
 I call it prison, but father says I am going to school 
 you can't wonder that I am crying, can you? 
 Oh ! what is the matter ?" 
 
 For the two little old ladies jumped up at this 
 juncture, and gave Hetty a kiss apiece on her soft, 
 young lips. 
 
 " My darling," they both exclaimed, " we are so 
 relieved and delighted ! Your strong language start- 
 led us, and school is anything but what you imagine, 
 dear. Ah, Jane ! can you ever forget our happy 
 days at school ?" 
 
 Miss Jane sighed and rolled up her eyes, and then 
 the two commenced a vigorous catechizing of the 
 little girl. Really Hester could not help feeling 
 almost sunshiny before that long journey came to 
 an end, for she and the Misses Bruce made some de- 
 lightful discoveries. The little old ladies very 
 quickly found out that they lived close to the school 
 where Hetty was to spend the next few months. 
 They knew Mrs. Willis well they knew the de
 
 12 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 lightful, rambling, old-fashioned house where Hester 
 was to live they even knew two or three of the 
 scholars ; and they said so often to the little girl that 
 she was going into a life of clover positive clover 
 that she began to smile, and even partly to believe 
 them. 
 
 " I am glad I shall be near you, at least," she said 
 at last, with a frank sweet smile, for she had greatly 
 taken to her kind fellow-travelers. 
 
 "Yes, my dear," exclaimed Miss Jane. "We at- 
 tend the same church, and I shall look out for yoit 
 on Sunday, and," she continued, glancing first at her 
 sister and then addressing Hester, "perhaps Mrs. 
 Willis will allow you to visit us occasionally." 
 
 " I'll come to-morrow, if you like," said Hester. 
 
 "Well, dear, well that must be as Mrs. Willis 
 thinks best. Ah, here we are at Sefton at last. We 
 shall look out for you in church on Sunday, my 
 love."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AT LAVENDER HOUSE. 
 
 HESTER'S journey had really proved wonderfully 
 agreeable. She had taken a great fancy to the little old 
 ladies who had fussed over her and made themselves 
 pleasant in her behalf. She felt herself something 
 like a heroine as she poured out a little, just a little, 
 of her troubles into their sympathizing ears ; and 
 their cheerful remarks with regard to school and 
 school-life had caused her to see clearly that there 
 might be another and a brighter side to the gloomy 
 picture she had drawn with regard to her future. 
 
 But during the drive of two and a half miles from 
 Sefton to Lavender House, Hester once more began 
 to feel anxious and troubled. The Misses Bruce had 
 gone off with some other passengers in a little omni- 
 bus to their small villa in the town, but Lavender 
 House was some distance off, and the little omnibus 
 never went so far. 
 
 An old-fashioned carriage, which the ladies told 
 Hester belonged to Mrs. Willis, had been sent to 
 meet her, and a man whom the Misses Bruce ad- 
 dressed as " Thomas " helped to place her trunk and 
 a small portmanteau on the roof of the vehicle. The 
 Httle girl had to take her drive alone, and the rather
 
 14 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 ancient horse which drew the old carriage climbed 
 up and down the steep roads in a most leisurely 
 fashion. It was a cold winter's day, and by the 
 time Thomas had executed some commissions in 
 Sefton, and had reached the gates of the avenue 
 which led to Lavender House, it was very nearly 
 dark. Hester trembled at the darkness, and when 
 the gates were shut behind them by a rosy-faced 
 nrchin of ten, she once more began to feel the cruel 
 and desolate idea that she was going to prison. 
 
 They drove slowly down a long and winding 
 avenue, and, although Hester could not see, she knew 
 they must be passing under trees, for several times 
 their branches made a noise against the roof of the 
 carriage. At last they came to a standstill. The 
 old servant scrambled slowly down from his seat on 
 the box, and, opening the carriage-door, held out his 
 hand to help the little stranger to alight. 
 
 "Come now, missy," he said in cheering tones, 
 " come out, and you'll be warm and snug in a min- 
 ute. Dear, dear ! I expect you're nearly froze up, 
 poor little miss, and it is a most bitter cold night." 
 
 He rang a bell which hung by the entrance of a 
 deep porch, and the next moment the wide hall-door 
 was flung open by a neat maid-servant, and Hester 
 stepped within. 
 
 " She's come," exclaimed several voices in differ- 
 ent keys, and proceeding apparently from different 
 quarters. Hester looked around her in a half -startled 
 way, but she could see no one, except the maid, who 
 smiled at her and said :
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 15 
 
 "Welcome to Lavender House, miss. If you'll 
 step into the porter's room for one moment, there is 
 a good fire there, and I'll acquaint Miss Danesbury 
 that you have arrived." 
 
 The little room in question was at the right hand 
 side of a very wide and cheerful hall, which was 
 decorated in pale tints of green, and had a handsome 
 encaustic-tiled floor. A blazing fire and two lamps 
 made the hall look cheerful, but Hester was very 
 glad to take refuge from the unknown voices in the 
 porter's small room. She found herself quite trem- 
 bling with shyness and cold, and an indescribable 
 longing to get back to Nan ; and as she waited for 
 Miss Danesbury and wondered fearfully who or 
 what Miss Danesbury was, she scarcely derived any 
 comfort from the blazing fire near which she stood. 
 
 "Rather tall for her age, but I fear, I greatly 
 fear, a little sulky," said a voice behind her ; and 
 when she turned round in an agony of trepidation 
 and terror, she suddenly found herself face to face 
 with a tall, kind-looking, middle-aged lady, and also 
 with a bright, gypsy-looking girl. 
 
 " Annie Forest, how very naughty of you to hide 
 behind the door ! You are guilty of disobedience 
 in coming into this room without leave. I must re- 
 port you, my dear ; yes, I really must. You lose 
 two good conduct marks for this, and will probably 
 have thirty lines in addition to your usual quantity 
 of French poetry." 
 
 "But she won't tell on me, she won't, dear old 
 Danesbury," said the girl ; " she couldn't be so
 
 16 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 hard-hearted, the precious love, particularly as curi- 
 osity happens to be one of her own special little 
 virtues ! Take a kiss, Danesbury, and now, as you love 
 me you'll be merciful !" The girl flitted away, and 
 Miss Danesbury turned to Hester, whose face had 
 changed from red to pale during this little scene. 
 
 "What a horrid, vulgar, low-bred girl!" she ex- 
 claimed with passion, for in all the experiences of 
 her short life Hester had never even imagined that 
 personal remarks could be made of any one in their 
 very presence. " I hope she'll get a lot of punish- 
 ment I hope you are not going to forgive her,'" 
 she continued, for her anger had for the time quite 
 overcome her shyness. 
 
 " Oh, my dear, my dear ! we should all be forgiv- 
 ing," exclaimed Miss Danesbury in her gentle voice. 
 " Welcome to Lavender House, love ; I am sorry I 
 was not in the hall to receive you. Had I been, 
 this little rencontre would not have occurred. Annie 
 Forest meant no harm, however she's a wild little 
 sprite, but affectionate. You and she will be the 
 best friends possible by-and-by. Now, let me take 
 you to your room ; the gong for tea will sound in 
 exactly five minutes, and I am sure you will be glad 
 of something to eat." 
 
 Miss Danesbury then led Hester across the hall 
 and up some broad, low, thickly-carpeted stairs. 
 When they had ascended two flights, and were 
 standing on a handsome landing, she paused. 
 
 "Do you see this baize door, dear?" she said. 
 " This is the entrance to the school part of the house.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. tf 
 
 This part that we are now in belongs exclusively to 
 Mrs. Willis, and the girls are never allowed to come 
 here without leave. All the school life is lived at 
 the other side of this baize door, and a very happy 
 life I assure you it is for those little girls who make 
 up their minds to be brave and good. Now kiss me, 
 my dear, and let me bid you welcome once again to 
 Lavender House." 
 
 "Are you our principal teacher, then?" asked 
 Hester. 
 
 " I ? oh, dear, no, my love. I teach the younger 
 children English, and I look after the interests and 
 comforts of all. I am a very useful sort of person, 
 I believe, and I have a motherly heart, dear, and it 
 is away with little girls to come to me when they are 
 in trouble. Now, my love, we must not chatter any 
 longer. Take my hand, and let us get to your room 
 as fast as possible." 
 
 Miss Danesbury pushed open the baize door, and 
 instantly Hester found herself in a different region. 
 Mrs. Willis' part of the house gave the impression 
 of warmth, luxuriance, and even elegance of arrange- 
 ment. At the other side of the door were long, 
 narrow corridors, with snow-white but carpetless 
 floors, and rather cold, distempered walls. Miss 
 Danesbury, holding the new pupil's hand, led her 
 down two corridors, and past a great number of 
 shut doors, behind which Hester could hear sup- 
 pressed laughter and eager, chattering voices. At 
 last, however, they stopped at a door which had the 
 number " 32 " written over it.
 
 18 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 "This is your bedroom, dear," said the English 
 teacher, " and to-night you will not be sorry to have 
 it alone. Mrs Willis received a telegram from 
 Susan Drummond, your room-mate, this afternoon, 
 and she will not arrive until to-morrow." 
 
 However bare and even cold the corridors looked, 
 the bedroom into which Hester was ushered by no 
 means corresponded with this appearance. It was a 
 small, but daintily-furnished little room. The floor 
 was carpeted with green felt, the one window was 
 hung with pretty draperies and two little, narrow, 
 white beds were arranged gracefully with French 
 canopies. All the furniture in the room was of a 
 minute description, but good of its kind. Beside 
 each bed stood a mahogany chest of drawers. At 
 two corresponding corners were marble wash hand- 
 stands, and even two pretty toilet tables stood side 
 by side in the recess of the window. But the sight 
 that perhaps pleased Hester most was a small bright 
 fire which burned in the grate. 
 
 "Now, dear, this is your room. As you have 
 arrived first you can choose your own bed and your 
 own chest of drawers. Ah, that is right, Ellen has 
 unfastened your portmanteau ; she will unpack your 
 trunk to-night, and take it to the box-room. Now, 
 dear, smooth your hair and wash your hands. The 
 gong will sound instantly. I will come for you 
 when it does."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 19 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LITTLE DRAWING-ROOMS AND LITTLE TIFFS. 
 
 Miss DANESBURY, true to her word, came to fetch 
 Hester down to tea. They went down some broad, 
 carpetless stairs, along 1 a wide stone hall, and then 
 paused for an instant at a half-open door from 
 which a stream of eager voices issued. 
 
 " I will introduce you to your school-fellows, and 
 I hope your future friends," said Miss Danesbury. 
 "After tea you will come with me to see Mrs. 
 Willis she is never in the school-room at tea-time. 
 Mdllc. Perier or Miss Good usually superintends. 
 Now, my dear, come along why, surely you are 
 not frightened !" 
 
 " Oh, please, may I sit near you ?" asked Hester. 
 
 " No, my love ; I take care of the little ones, and 
 they are at a table by themselves. Now, come in 
 at once the moment you dread will soon be over, 
 and it is nothing, my love really nothing." 
 
 Nothing ! never, as long as Hester lived, did she 
 forget the supreme agony of terror and shyness 
 which came over her as she entered that long-, low, 
 brightly-lighted room. The forty pairs of curious 
 eyes which were raised inquisitively to her face 
 became as torturing- as forty burning suns. She
 
 20 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 felt an almost uncontrollable desire to run away and 
 hide she wondered if she could possibly keep from 
 screaming aloud. In the end she found herself, she 
 scarcely knew how, seated beside a gentle, sweet- 
 mannered girl, and munching bread and butter 
 which tasted drier than sawdust, and occasionally 
 trying to sip something very hot and scalding which 
 she vaguely understood went by the name of tea. 
 The buzzing voices all chattering eagerly in French, 
 and the occasional sharp, high-pitched reprimands 
 coming in peremptory tones from the thin lips of 
 Mdlle. Perier, sounded far off and distant her head 
 was dizzy, her eyes swam the tired and shy child 
 endured tortures. 
 
 In after-days, in long after-years when the mem- 
 ory of Lavender House was to come back to 
 Hetty Thornton as one of the sweetest, brightest 
 episodes in her existence in the days when she was 
 to know almost every blade of grass in the gardens, 
 and to be familiar with each corner of the old house, 
 with each face which now appeared so strange, she 
 might wonder at her feelings to-night, but never 
 even then could she forget them. 
 
 She sat at the table in a dream, trying to eat the 
 tasteless bread and butter. Suddenly and swiftly 
 the thick and somewhat stale piece of bread on her 
 plate was exchanged for a thin, fresh, and delicately- 
 cut slice. 
 
 " Eat that,'' whispered a voice " I know the 
 other is horrid. It's a shame of Perier to give suet 
 stuff to a stranger."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 21 
 
 " Mdlle. Ce"cile, you are transgressing ; you are 
 talking English," came in a torrent of rapid French 
 from the head of the table. " You lose a conduct 
 mark, ma'amselle." 
 
 The young girl who sat next to Hester inclined her 
 head gently and submissively, and Hester, venturing 
 to glance at her, saw that a delicate pink had spread 
 itself over her pale face. She was a plain girl ; but 
 even Hester, in this first moment of terror, could 
 scarcely have been afraid of her, so benign was her 
 expression, so sweet the glance from her soft, full 
 brown eyes. Hester now further observed that the 
 thin bread and butter had been removed from 
 Cecil's own plate. She began to wonder why this 
 girl was indulged with better food than the rest of 
 her comrades. 
 
 Hester was beginning to feel a little less shy, and 
 was taking one or two furtive glances at her com- 
 panions, when she suddenly felt herself turning 
 crimson, and all her agony of shyness and dislike to 
 her school-life returning. She encountered the full, 
 bright, quizzical gaze of the girl who had made 
 personal remarks about her in the porter's room. 
 The merry black eyes of this gypsy maiden fairly 
 twinkled with suppressed fun when they met hers, 
 and the bright head even nodded audaciously across 
 the table to her. 
 
 Not for worlds would Hester return this friendly 
 greeting she still held to her opinion that Miss 
 Forest was one of the most ill-bred people she had 
 ever met, and, in addition to feeling a considerable
 
 22 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 amount of fear of her, she quite made up her mind 
 that she would never be on friendly terms with so 
 under-bred a girl. 
 
 At this moment grace was repeated in sonorous 
 tones by a stern-looking person who sat at the foot 
 of the long table, and whom Hester had not before 
 noticed. Instantly the girls rose from their seats, 
 and began to file in orderly procession out of the 
 tea-room. Hester looked round in terror for the 
 friendly Miss Danesbury, but she could not catch 
 sight of her anywhere. At this moment, however, 
 her companion of the tea-table touched her arm. 
 
 " We may speak English now for half an hour," 
 she said, "and most of us are going- to the play- 
 room. We generally tell stories round the fire upon 
 these dark winter's nights. Would you like to come 
 with me to-night ? Shall we be chums for this 
 evening ?" 
 
 "I don't know what 'chums' are," said Hester; 
 " but," she added, with the dawning of a faint smile 
 on her poor, sad little face, " I shall be very glad to 
 go with you." 
 
 " Come then," said Cecil Temple, and she pulled 
 Hester's hand within her arm, and walked with her 
 across the wide stone hall, and into the largest room 
 Hester had ever seen. 
 
 Never, anywhere, could there have been a more 
 delightful play-room than this. It was so large that 
 two great fires which burned at either end were not 
 at all too much to emit even tolerable warmth. 
 The room was bright with three or four lamps
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS.* 23 
 
 which were suspended from the ceiling 1 , the floor 
 was covered with matting, and the walls were di- 
 vided into curious partitions, which gave the room a 
 peculiar but very cosy effect. These partitions con- 
 sisted of large panels, and were divided by slender 
 rails the one from the other. 
 
 "This is my cosy corner," said Cecil, "and you 
 shall sit with me in it to-night. Yon see," she 
 added, "each of us girls has her own partition, and 
 we can do exactly what we like in it. We can put 
 our own photographs, our own drawings, our own 
 treasures on our panels. Under each division is our 
 own little work-table, and, in fact, our own indi- 
 vidual treasures lie round us in the enclosure of this 
 dear little rail. The center of the room is common 
 property, and you see what a great space there is 
 round each fire-place where we can chatter and talk, 
 and be on common ground. The fire-place at the 
 end of the room near the door is reserved especially 
 for the little ones, but we elder girls sit at the top. 
 Of course you will belong to us. How old are 
 you ?" 
 
 "Twelve," said Hester. 
 
 " Oh, well, you are so tall that you cannot possi- 
 bly be put with the little ones, so you must come in 
 with us." 
 
 " And shall I have a railed-in division and a panel 
 of my own ?" asked Hester. " It sounds a very nice 
 arrangement. I hope my department will be close 
 to yours, Miss " 
 
 " Temple is my name," said Cecil, " but you need
 
 24 A WORLD OF GJRLS. 
 
 not call me that. I am Cecil to all my friends, and 
 you are my friend this evening, for you are my chum, 
 you know. Oh, you were asking me about our 
 departments you won't have any at first, for you 
 have got to earn it, but I will invite you to mine 
 pretty often. Come, now, let us go inside. Is not 
 it just like the darlingest little drawing-room ? I am 
 so sorry that I have only one easy chair, but 
 you shall have it to-night, and I will sit on this 
 three-legged stool. I am saving up my money to 
 buy another arm-chair, and Annie has promised to 
 upholster it for me." 
 
 " Is Annie one of the maids ?" 
 
 " Oh, dear, no ! she's dear old Annie Forest, the 
 liveliest girl in the school. Poor darling, she's sel- 
 dom out of hot water ; but we all love her, we can't 
 help it. Poor Annie, she hardly ever has the luxury 
 of a department to herself, so she is useful all round. 
 She's the most amusing and good-natured dear pet 
 isi Christendom." 
 
 " I don't like her at all," said Hester ; " I did not 
 know you were talking of her she is a most rude, 
 uncouth girl." 
 
 Cecil Temple, who had been arranging a small 
 dark green table-cloth with daffodils worked artistic- 
 ally in each corner on her little table, stood up as 
 the new comer uttered these words, and regarded 
 her fixedly. 
 
 "It is a pity to draw hasty conclusions," she said. 
 "There is no girl more loved in the school than 
 Annie Forest. Even the teachers, although they
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 35 
 
 are always punishing her, cannot help having a soft 
 corner in their hearts for her. What can she possi- 
 bly have done to offend you ? but oh ! hush don't 
 speak she is coming into the room." 
 
 As Cecil finished her rather eager defense of her 
 friend, and prevented the indignant words which 
 were bubbling to Hester's lips, a gay voice was heard 
 singing a comic song in the passage, the play-room 
 door was flung open with a bang, and Miss Forest 
 entered the room with a small girl seated on each 
 of her shoulders. 
 
 " Hold on, Janny, love ; keep your arms well 
 round me, Mabel. Now, then, here we go twice 
 up the room and down again. No more, as I'm 
 alive. I've got to attend to other matters than you." 
 
 She placed the little girls on the floor amid peals 
 of laughter, and shouts from several little ones to 
 give them a ride too. The children began to cling 
 to her skirts and to drag her in all directions, and she 
 finally escaped from them with one dexterous bound 
 which placed her in that portion of the play-room 
 where the little ones knew they were not allowed to 
 enter. 
 
 Until her arrival the different girls scattered about 
 the large room had been more or less orderly, chat- 
 tering and laughing together, it is true, but in a quiet 
 manner. Now the whole place appeared suddenly 
 in an uproar. 
 
 " Annie, come here Annie, darling, give me your 
 opinion about this Annie, my precious, naughty 
 creature, come and tell me about your last scrape."
 
 26 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Annie Forest blew several kisses to her adorers, 
 but did not attach herself to any of them. 
 
 " The Temple requires me," she said, in her sauci- 
 est tones ; " my beloved friends, the Temple as 
 usual is vouchsafing its sacred shelter to the 
 stranger." 
 
 In an instant Annie was kneeling inside the en- 
 closure of Miss Temple's rail and laughing immod- 
 erately. 
 
 " You dear stranger !" she exclaimed, turning 
 round and gazing full into Hester's shy face, " I do 
 declare I have been punished for the intense ardor 
 with which I longed to embrace you. Has she told 
 you, Cecil, darling, what I did in her behalf ? How 
 I ventured beyond the sacred precincts of the baize 
 door and hid inside the porter's room ? Poor dear^ 
 she jumped when she heard my friendly voice, and 
 as I spoke Miss Danesbury caught me in the very 
 act. Poor old dear, she cried when she complained 
 of me, but duty is Danesbury's motto ; she would 
 go to the stake for it, and I respect her immensely. 
 I have got my twenty lines of that horrible French 
 poetry to learn the very thought almost strangles 
 me, and I foresee plainly that I shall do something 
 terribly naughty within the next few hours ; I must, 
 my love I really must. I have just come here to 
 shake hands with Miss Thornton, and the* I must 
 away to my penance. Ah, how little I shall learn, 
 and how hard I shall think ! Welcome to Lavender 
 House, Miss Thornton ; look upon me as your de- 
 voted ally, and if you have a spark of pity in your
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 27 
 
 breast, feel for the girl whom you got into a scrape 
 the very moment you entered these sacred walls." 
 
 " I don't understand you," said Hester, who would 
 not hold out her hand, and who was standing up in 
 a very stiff, shy, and angular position. " I think 
 you were very rude to startle me, and make personal 
 remarks the very moment I came into the house." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! I only said you were tall, and looked 
 rather sulky, love you did, you know, really." 
 
 " It was very rude of you," repeated Hester, turn- 
 ing crimson, and trying to keep back her tears. 
 
 " Well, my dear, I meant no harm ; shake hands, 
 now, and let us make friends." 
 
 But Hester felt either too shy or too miserable to 
 yield to this request she half turned her back, and 
 leaned against Miss Temple's panel. 
 
 " Never mind her," whispered gentle Cecil Tem- 
 ple ; but Annie Forest's bright face had darkened 
 ominously the school favorite was not accustomed 
 to having her advances flung back in her face. She 
 left the room singing a defiant, naughty song, and 
 several of the girls who had overheard this scene 
 whispered one to the other : 
 
 " She can't be at all nice she would not even 
 shake hands with Annie. Fancy her turning against 
 our Annie in that way !"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE HEAD-MISTRESS. 
 
 ANNIE FOREST had scarcely left the room before 
 Miss Danesbury appeared with a message for Hester, 
 who was to come with her directly to see Mrs. 
 Willis. The poor shy girl felt only too glad to leave 
 behind her the cruel, staring, and now by no means 
 approving eyes of her schoolmates. She had over- 
 heard several of their whispers, and felt rather 
 alarmed at her own act. But Hester, shy as she 
 was, could be very tenacious of an idea. She 
 had taken a dislike to Annie Forest, and she was 
 quite determined to be true to what she considered 
 her convictions namely, that Annie was under-bred 
 and common, and not at all the kind of girl whom 
 her mother would have cared for her to know. The 
 little girl followed Miss Danesbury in silence. They 
 crossed the stone hall together, and now passing 
 through another baize door, found themselves once 
 more in the handsome entrance-hall. They walked 
 across this hall to a door carefully protected from 
 all draughts by rich plush curtains and Miss Danes- 
 bury, turning the handle, and going a step or two 
 into the room, said in her gentle voice:
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 29 
 
 "I have brought Hester Thornton to see you, 
 Mrs. Willis, according- to your wish." 
 
 Miss Danesbury then withdrew, and Hester ven- 
 tured to raise her eyes and to look timidly at the 
 head- mistress. 
 
 A tall woman, with a beautiful face and silvery 
 white hair, came instantly to meet her, laid her two 
 hands on the girl's shoulders, and then, raising her 
 shy little face, imprinted a kiss on her forehead. 
 
 " Your mother was one of my earliest pupils, 
 Hester," she said, " and you are no " after a 
 pause, u you are not very like her. You are her 
 child, however, my dear, and as such you have a 
 warm welcome from me. Now, come and sit by the 
 fire, and let us talk." 
 
 Hester did not feel nearly so constrained with 
 this graceful and gracious lady as she had done with 
 her schoolmates. The atmosphere of the room 
 recalled her beloved mother's boudoir at home. 
 The rich dove-colored satin dress, the cap made of 
 Mechlin lace which softened and shaded Mrs. 
 Willis' silvery hair, appeared homelike to the little 
 girl, who had grown up accustomed to all the 
 luxuries of wealth. Above all, the head-mistress* 
 mention of her mother drew her heart toward the 
 beautiful face, and attracted her toward the rich, 
 full tones of a voice which could be powerful and 
 commanding at will. Mrs. Willis, notwithstanding 
 her white hair, had a youthful face, and Hester 
 made the comment which came first to her lips: 
 
 " I did not think you were old enough to have 
 taught my mother."
 
 30 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " I am sixty, dear, and I have kept this school for 
 thirty years. Your mother was not the only pupil 
 who sent her children to be taught by me when the 
 time came. Now, you can sit on this stool by the 
 fire and tell me about your home. Your mother 
 ah, poor child, you would rather not talk about her 
 just yet. Helen's daughter must have strong feel, 
 ings ah, yes ; I see, I see. Another time, darling, 
 when you know me better. Now tell me about 
 your little sister, and your father. You do not 
 know, perhaps, that I am Nan's godmother ?" 
 
 After this the head-mistress and the new pupil 
 had a long conversation. Hester forgot her shy- 
 ness ; her whole heart had gone out instantly to this 
 beautiful woman who had known, and loved, and 
 taught her mother. 
 
 " I will try to be good at school," she said at last ; 
 " but, oh, please, Mrs. Willis, it does not seem to me 
 to-night as if school-life could be happy." 
 
 " It has its trials, Hester ; but the brave and the 
 noble girls often find this time of discipline one of 
 the best in their lives good at the time, very good 
 to look back on by-and-by. You will find a minia- 
 ture world around you ; you will be surrounded by 
 temptations; and you will have rare chances of 
 proving whether your character can be strong and 
 great and true. I think, as a rule, my girls are 
 happy, and as a rule they turn out well. The great 
 motto of life here, Hester, is earnestness. We are 
 earnest in our work, we are earnest in our play. A 
 half-hearted girl has no chance at Lavender House.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 31 
 
 In play -time, laugh with the merriest, my child ; in 
 school-hours, study with the most studious. Do you 
 understand me ?" 
 
 " I try to, a little," said Hester, " but it seems all 
 very strange just now." 
 
 " No doubt it does, and at first you will have to 
 encounter many perplexities and to fight many 
 battles. Never mind, if you have the right spirit 
 within you, you will come out on the winning side. 
 Now, tell me, have you made any acquaintances as 
 yet among the girls ?" 
 
 " Yes Cecil Temple has been kind to me." 
 
 " Cecil is one of my dearest pupils ; cultivate her 
 friendship, Hester she is honorable, she is sympa- 
 thizing. I am not afraid to say that Cecil has a 
 great heart." 
 
 " There is another girl," continued Hester " who 
 has spoken to me. I need not make her my friend, 
 need I ?" 
 
 " Who is she, dear ?" 
 
 " Miss Forest I don't like her." 
 
 " What ! our school favorite. You will change 
 your mind, I expect but that is the gong for 
 prayers. You shall come with me to chapel, to- 
 night, and I will introduce you to Mr. Eyerard."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " I AM UNHAPPY." 
 
 BETWEEN forty and fifty young girls assembled 
 night and morning for prayers in the pretty chapel 
 which adjoined Lavender House. This chapel had 
 been reconstructed from the ruins of an ancient 
 priory, on the site of which the house was built. 
 The walls, and even the beautiful eastern window, 
 belonged to a far-off date. The roof had been care- 
 fully reared in accordance with the style of the east 
 window, and the whole effect was beautiful and im- 
 pressive. Mrs. Willis was particularly fond of her 
 own chapel. Here she hoped the girl's best lessons 
 might be learned, and here she had even once or twice 
 brought a refractory pupil, and tried what a gentle 
 word or two spoken in these old and sacred walls 
 might effect. Here, on wet Sundays the girls 
 assembled for service ; and here, every evening at 
 nine o'clock, came the vicar of the large parish to 
 which Lavender House belonged, to conduct even- 
 ing prayers. He was an old man, and a great friend 
 of Mrs. Willis', and he often told her that he con- 
 sidered these young girls some of the most impor- 
 tant members of his flock. 
 
 Here Hester knelt to-night. It is to be doubted
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 33 
 
 whether in her confusion, and in the strange loneli- 
 ness which even Mrs. Willis had scarcely removed, 
 she prayed much. It is certain she did not join in 
 the evening hymn, which, with the aid of an organ 
 and some sweet girl-voices, was beautifully and 
 almost pathetically rendered. After evening 
 prayers had come to an end, Mrs. Willis took 
 Hester's hand and led her up to the old, white- 
 headed vicar. 
 
 " This is my new pupil, Mr. Everard, or rather I 
 should say, our new pupil. Her education depends 
 as much on you as on me." 
 
 The vicar held out his hands, and took Hester's 
 within them, and then drew her forward to the 
 light. 
 
 " This little face does not seem quite strange to 
 me," he said. " Have I ever seen you before, my 
 dear ?" 
 
 " No, sir," replied Hester. 
 
 "You have seen her mother," said Mrs. Willis 
 "Do you remember your favorite pupil, Helen 
 Anstey, of long ago ?" 
 
 " Ah ! indeed indeed ! I shall never forget Helen. 
 And are you her child, little one ?" 
 
 But Hester's face had grown white. The solemn 
 service in the chapel, joined to all the excitement 
 and anxieties of the day, had strung up her sensitive 
 nerves to a pitch higher than she could endure. 
 Suddenly, as the vicar spoke to her, and Mrs. Willis 
 looked kindly down at her new pupil, the chapel 
 seemed to reel round, the pupils one by one disap-
 
 34 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 peared, and the tired girl only saved herself from 
 fainting by a sudden burst of tears. 
 
 " Oh, I am unhappy," she sobbed, " without my 
 mother ! Please, please, don't talk to me about my 
 mother." 
 
 She could scarcely take in the gentle words which 
 her two friends said to her, and she hardly noticed 
 when Mrs. Willis did such a wonderful thing as to 
 stoop down and kiss a second time the lips of a new 
 pupil. 
 
 Finally she found herself consigned to Miss 
 Danesbury's care, who hurried her off to her room, 
 and helped her to undress and tucked her into her 
 little bed. 
 
 " Now, love, you shall have some hot gruel. No, 
 not a word. You ate little or no tea to-night I 
 watched you from my distant table. Half your 
 loneliness is caused by want of food I know it, my 
 love ; I am a very practical person. Now, eat your 
 gruel, and then shut your eyes and go to sleep." 
 
 " You are very kind to me," said Hester, "and so 
 is Mrs. Willis, and so is Mr. Everard, and I like Cecil 
 Temple but, oh, I wish Annie Forest was not in 
 the school !" 
 
 " Hush, my dear, I implore of you. You pain me 
 by these words. I am quite confident that Annie 
 will be your best friend yet." 
 
 Hester's lips said nothing, but her eyes answered 
 " Never " as plainly as eyes could speak.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 35 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A DAY AT SCHOOL. 
 
 IP Hester Thornton went to sleep that night 
 under a sort of dreamy, hazy impression that school 
 was a place without a great deal of order, with 
 many kind and sympathizing faces, and with some 
 not so agreeable ; if she went to sleep under the im- 
 pression that she had dropped into a sort of medley, 
 that she had found herself in a vast new world 
 where certain personages exercised undoubtedly a 
 strong moral influence, but where on the whole a 
 number of other people did pretty much what they 
 pleased she woke in the morning to find her pre- 
 conceived ideas scattered to the four winds. 
 
 There was nothing of apparent liberty about the 
 Lavender House arrangements in the early morning 
 hours. In the first place, it seemed quite the middle 
 of the night when Hester was awakened by a loud 
 gong, which clanged through the house and caused 
 her to sit up in bed in a considerable state of fright 
 and perplexity. A moment or two later a neatly- 
 dressed maid-servant came into the room with a 
 can of hot water ; she lit a pair of candles on the 
 mantle-piece, and, with the remark that the second 
 gong would sound in half an hour, and that all the
 
 36 A WORLD OF GIRLS 
 
 young ladies would be expected to assemble in the 
 chaple at seven o'clock precisely, she left the room. 
 
 Hester pulled her pretty little gold watch from 
 under her pillow, and saw with a sigh that it was 
 now half -past six. 
 
 "What odious hours they keep in this horrid 
 place !" she said to herself. " Well, well, I always 
 did know that school would be unendurable." 
 
 She waited for five minutes before she got up, and 
 then she dressed herself languidly, and, if the truth 
 must be told, in a very untidy fashion. She man- 
 aged to be dressed by the time the second gong 
 sounded, but she had only one moment to give to 
 her private prayers. She reflected, however, that this 
 did not greatly matter as she was going down to 
 prayers immediately in the chapel. 
 
 The service in the chapel the night before had 
 impressed her more deeply than she cared to own, 
 and she followed her companions down stairs with a 
 certain feeling of pleasure at the thought of again 
 seeing Mr. Everard and Mrs. Willis. She wondered 
 if they would take much notice of her this morning, 
 and she thought it just possible that Mr. Everard, 
 who had looked at her so compassionately the night 
 before, might be induced, for the sake of his old 
 friendship with her mother, to take her home with 
 him to spend the day. She thought she would rather 
 like to spend a day with Mr. Everard, and she fan- 
 cied he was the sort of person who would influence 
 her and help her to be good. Hester fancied that if 
 some very interesting and quite out of the common
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 3? 
 
 person took her in hand, she might be formed into 
 something extremely noble noble enough even to 
 forgive Annie Forest. 
 
 The girls all filed into the chapel, which was 
 lighted as brightly and cheerily as the night before ; 
 but Hester found herself placed on a bench far down 
 in the building. She was no longer in the place of 
 honor by Mrs. Willis' side. She was one of a 
 number, and no one looked particularly at her or 
 noticed her in any way. A t:!iy young curate read 
 the morning prayers ; Mr. Everard was not present, 
 and Mrs. Willis, who was, walked out of the chapel 
 when prayers were over without even glancing in 
 Hester's direction. This was bad enough for the 
 poor little dreamer of dreams, but worse was to 
 follow. 
 
 Mrs. Willis did not speak to Hester, but she did 
 stop for an instant beside Annie Forest. Hester saw 
 her lay her white hand on the young girl's shoulder 
 and whisper for an instant in her ear. Annie's 
 lovely gypsy face flushed a vivid crimson. 
 
 " For your sake, darling," she whispered back ; but 
 Hester caught the words, and was consumed by a 
 fierce jealousy. 
 
 The girls went into the school-room, where Mdlle. 
 Perier gave a French lesson to the upper class. 
 Hester belonged to no class at present, and could 
 look around her, and have plenty of time to reflect 
 on her own miseries, and particularly on what she 
 now considered the favoritism shown by Mrs, 
 Willis.
 
 38 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Mr. Everard at least will read through that girl," 
 she said to herself ; " he could not possibly endure 
 any one so loud. Yes, I am sure that my only friend 
 at home, Cecilia Day, would call Annie very loud. 
 I wonder Mrs. Willis can endure her. Mrs. Willis 
 seems so ladylike herself, but Oh, I beg your par- 
 don, what's the matter ?" 
 
 A very sharp voice had addressed itself to the 
 idle Hester. 
 
 " But, mademoiselle, you are doing nothing ! 
 This cannot for a moment be permitted. Pardon- 
 nez-moi, you know not the French ? Here is a little 
 easy lesson. Study it, mademoiselle, and do not let 
 your eyes wander a moment from the page." 
 
 Hester favored Mdlle. Perier with a look of lofty 
 contempt, but she received the well-thumbed lesson- 
 book in absolute silence. 
 
 At eight o'clock came breakfast, which was 
 nicely served, and was very good and abundant. 
 Hester was thoroughly hungry this morning, and 
 did not feel so shy as the night before. She found 
 herself seated between two strange girls, who talked 
 to her a little and would have made themselves 
 friendly had she at all encouraged them to do so. 
 After breakfast came half an hour's recreation, when, 
 the weather being very bad, the girls again assem- 
 bled in the cozy play-room. Hester looked round 
 eagerly for Cecil Temple, who greeted her with a 
 kind smile, but did not ask her into her enclosure. 
 Annie Forest was not present, and Hester breathed 
 a sigh of relief at her absence. The half-hour
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 39 
 
 devoted to recreation proved rather dull to the new- 
 comer. Hester could not understand her present 
 world. To the girl who had been brought up 
 practically as an only child in the warm shelter of 
 a home, the ways and doings of school-girl life were 
 an obsolute enigma. 
 
 Hester had no idea of unbending or of making 
 herself agreeable. The girls voted her to one 
 another stiff and tiresome, and quickly left her to 
 her own devices. She looked longingly at Cecil 
 Temple ; but Cecil, who could never be knowingly 
 unkind to any one, was seizing the precious moments 
 to write a letter to her father, and Hester presently 
 wandered down the room and tried to take an inter- 
 est in the little ones. From twelve to fifteen quite 
 little children were in the school, and Hester won- 
 dered with a sort of vague half-pain if she might 
 see any child among the group the least like Nan. 
 
 " They will like to have me with them," she said 
 to herself. " Poor little dots, they always like big 
 girls to notice them, and didn't they make a fuss 
 about Miss Forest last night ! Well, Nan is fond 
 enough of me, and little children find out so quickly 
 what one is really like." 
 
 Hester walked boldly into the group. The little 
 dots were all as busy as bees, were not the least 
 lonely, or the least shy, and very plainly gave the 
 intruder to understand that they would prefer her 
 room to her company. Hester was not proud with 
 little children she loved them dearly. Some of 
 the smaller ones in question were beautiful little
 
 40 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 creatures, and her heart warmed to them for Nan's 
 sake. She could not stoop to conciliate the older 
 girls, but she could make an effort with the babies. 
 She knelt on the floor and took up a headless doll. 
 
 " I know a little girl who had a doll like that," 
 she said. Here she paused and several pairs of eyes 
 were fixed on her. 
 
 " Poor dolly's b'oke," said the owner of the head- 
 less one in a tone of deep conrjiiseration. 
 
 " You are such a breaker, you know, Annie," said 
 Annie's little five-year-old sister. 
 
 " Please tell us about the little girl what had the 
 doll wifout the head," she proceeded, glancing at 
 Hester. 
 
 " Oh, it was taken to a hospital, and got back its 
 head," said Hester quite cheerfully ; " it became 
 quite well again, and was a more beautiful doll than 
 ever." 
 
 This announcement caused intense wonder and 
 was certainly carrying the interest of all the little 
 ones. Hester was deciding that the child who pos- 
 sessed the headless doll had a look of Nan about her 
 dark brown eyes, when suddenly there was a diver- 
 sion the play-room door was opened noisily, banged- 
 to with a very loud report, and a gay voice sang 
 out : 
 
 " The fairy queen has just paid me a visit. Who 
 wants sweeties from the fairy queen ?" 
 
 Instantly all the little feet had scrambled to the 
 perpendicular, each pair of hands was clapped nois- 
 ily, each little throat shouted a joyful :
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 41 
 
 " Here comes Annie !" 
 
 Annie Forest was surrounded, and Hester knelt 
 alone on the hearth-rug. 
 
 She felt herself coloring painfully she did not 
 fail to observe that two laughing eyes had fixed 
 themselves with a momentary triumph on her face ; 
 then, snatching up a book, which happened to lie 
 close, she seated herself with her back to all the 
 girls, and her head bent over the page. It is quite 
 doubtful whether she saw any or the words, but she 
 was at least determined not to cry. 
 
 The half -hour so wearisome to poor Hester came 
 to an end, and the girls, conducted by Miss Danes- 
 bury, filed into the school-room and took their places 
 in the different classes. 
 
 Work had now begun in serious earnest. The 
 school-room presented an animated and busy scene. 
 The young faces with their varying expressions be- 
 tokened on the whole the preponderance of an 
 earnest spirit. Discipline, not too severe, reigned 
 triumphant. 
 
 Hester was not yet appointed to any place 
 among these busy workers, but while she stood 
 wondering, a little confused, and half intending to 
 drop into an empty seat which happened to be close, 
 Miss Danesbury came up to her. 
 
 "Follow me, Miss Thornton," she said, and she 
 conducted the young girl up the whole length of the 
 great school-room, and pushed aside some baize cur 
 tains which concealed a second smaller room, where 
 Mrs. Willis sat before a desk.
 
 42 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 The head-mistress was no longer dressed in soft 
 pearl-gray and Mechlin lace. She wore a black silk 
 dress, and her white cap seemed to Hester to add a 
 severe tone to her features. She neither shook hands 
 with the new pupil nor kissed her, but said instantly 
 in a bright though authoritative tone : 
 
 " I must now find out as quickly as possible what 
 you know, Hester, in order to place you in the most 
 suitable class." 
 
 Hester was a clever girl, and passed through the 
 ordeal of a rather stiff examination with considera- 
 ble ability. Mrs. Willis pronounced her English and 
 general information quite up to the usual standard 
 for girls of her age her French was deficient, but 
 she showed some talent for German. 
 
 " On the whole I am pleased with your general 
 intelligence, and I think you have good capacities, 
 Hester," she said in conclusion. " I shall ask Miss 
 Good, our very accomplished English teacher, to 
 place you in the third class. You will have to work 
 very hard, however, at your French, to maintain 
 your place there. But Mdlle. Perier is kind and 
 painstaking, and it rests with yourself to quickly 
 acquire a conversational acquaintance with the lan- 
 guage. You are aware that, except during recrea- 
 tion, you are never allowed to speak in any other 
 tongue. Now, go back to the school-room, my dear." 
 
 As Mrs. Willis spoke she laid her finger on a lit- 
 tle silver gong which stood by her side. 
 
 "One moment, please," said Hester, coloring 
 crimson ; " I want to ask you a question, please."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 43 
 
 " Is it about your lessons ?" 
 
 " No oh, no ; it is " 
 
 " Then pardon me, my dear," uttered the gover- 
 ness ; " I sit in my room every evening from eight to 
 half -past, and I am then at liberty to see a pupil on 
 any subject which is not trifling. Nothing but 
 lessons are spoken of in lesson hours, Hester. Ah, 
 here comes Miss Good. Miss Good, I should wish 
 you to place Hester Thornton in the third class. 
 Her English is up to the average. I will see Mdlle. 
 Perier about her at twelve o'clock." 
 
 Hester followed the English teacher into the great 
 school-room, took her place in the third class, at the 
 desk which was pointed out to her, was given a pile 
 of new books, and was asked to attend to the history 
 lesson whicn was then going on. 
 
 Notwithstanding her confusion, a certain sense of 
 soreness, and some indignation at what she con- 
 sidered Mrs. Willis' altered manner, she acquitted 
 herself with considerable spirit, and was pleased to 
 see that her class companions regarded her with some 
 respect.; 
 
 An English literature lecture followed the history, 
 and here again Hester acquitted herself with tclat. 
 The subject to-day was "Julius Caesar," and Hester 
 had read Shakespeare's play over many times with 
 her mother. 
 
 But when the hour came for foreign languages, 
 her brief triumph ceased. Lower and lower did she- 
 fall in her schoolfellow's estimation as she stumbled 
 through her truly English-French. Mdlle. Perier,
 
 44 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 who was a very fiery little woman, almost screamed 
 ^t her the girls colored and nearly tittered. 
 Hester hoped to recover her lost laurels in German, 
 but by this time her head ached and she did very 
 little better in the German which she loved than hi 
 the French which she detested. At twelve o'clock 
 she was relieved to find that school was over for the 
 present, and she heard the English teacher's voice 
 desiring the girls to go quickly to their rooms, and 
 to assemble in five minutes' time in the great stone 
 hall, equipped for their walk. 
 
 The walk lasted for a little over an hour, and was 
 a very dreary penance to poor Hester, as she was 
 neither allowed to run, race, nor talk a word of 
 English. She sighed heavily once or twice, and 
 several of the girls who looked at her curiously 
 agreed with Annie Forest that she was decidedly 
 . sulky. The walk was followed by dinner ; then 
 came half an hour of recreation in the delightful 
 play-room, and eager chattering in the English 
 tongue. 
 
 At three o'clock the school assembled once more ; 
 but now the studies were of a less severe character, 
 and Hester spent one of her first happy half-hours 
 over a drawing lesson. She had a great love for 
 drawing, and felt some pride in the really beautiful 
 copy which she was making of the stump of an old 
 gnarled oak-tree. Her dismay, however, was pro- 
 portionately great when the drawing-master drew 
 his pencil right across her copy. 
 
 " I particularly requested you not to sketch in any
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 45 
 
 of the shadows, Miss Thornton. Did you not hear 
 me say that my lesson to-day was in outline ? I gave 
 you a shaded piece to copy in outline did you not 
 understand ?" 
 
 " This is my first day at school," whispered back 
 poor Hester, speaking in English in her distress. 
 Whereupon the master smiled, and even forgot to 
 report her for her transgression of the French 
 tongue. 
 
 Hester spent the rest of that afternoon over her 
 music lesson. The music-master was an irascible 
 little German, but Hester played with some taste, 
 and was therefore not too severely rapped over the 
 knuckles. 
 
 Then came tea and another half-hour of recrea- 
 tion, which was followed by two silent hours in the 
 school-room, each girl bent busily over her books in 
 preparation for the next day's work. Hester studied 
 hard, for she had made up her mind to be the intel- 
 lectual prodigy of the school. Even on this first 
 day, miserable as it was, she had won a few plaudits 
 for her quickness and powers of observation. How 
 much better could she work when she had really 
 fallen into the tone of the school, and understood 
 the lessons which she was now so carefully prepar- 
 ing ! During her busy day she had failed to notice 
 one thing : namely, the absence of Annie Forest. 
 Annie had not been in the school-room, had not 
 been in the play-room ; but now, as the clock struck 
 eight, she entered the school-room with a listless 
 expression, and took her place in the same class
 
 46 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 with Hester. Her eyes were heavy, as if she had 
 been crying, and when a companion touched her 
 and gave her a sympathizing glance, she shook her 
 head with a sorrowful gesture, but did not speak. 
 Glasses of milk and slices of bread and butter were 
 now handed round to the girls, and Miss Danesbury 
 asked if any one would like to see Mrs. Willis before 
 prayers. Hester half sprang to her feet, but then 
 sat down again. Mrs. Willis had annoyed her by 
 refusing to break her rules and answer her question 
 during lesson hours. No, the silly child resolved 
 that she would not trouble Mrs. Willis now. 
 
 " No one to-night, then ?" said Miss Danesbury, 
 who had noticed Hester's movement. 
 
 Suddenly Annie Forest sprang to her feet. 
 
 " I'm going, Miss Danesbury," she said. " You 
 need not show me the way ; I can find it alone." 
 
 With her short, curly hair falling about her face, 
 sfoe ran out of the room.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 47 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "YOU HAVE WAKED ME TOO SOON." 
 
 WHEN Hester reached her bedroom after prayers 
 on that second evening, she was dismayed to find 
 that she no longer could consider the pretty little 
 bedroom her own. It had not only an occupant, 
 but an occupant who had left untidy traces of her 
 presence on the floor, for a stocking lay in one direc- 
 tion and a muddy boot sprawled in another. The 
 newcomer had herself got into bed, where she lay 
 with a quantity of red hair tossed about on the pil- 
 low, and a heavy freckled face turned upward, with 
 the eyes shut and the mouth slightly open. 
 
 As Hester entered the room, from these parted 
 lips came unmistakable and loud snores. She stood 
 still dismayed. 
 
 "How terrible!" she said to herself; "oh, what 
 a girl ! I cannot sleep in the room with any one who 
 snores I really cannot !" 
 
 She stood perfectly still, with her hands clasped 
 before her, and her eyes fixed with almost ludicrous 
 dismay on this unexpected trial. As she gazed, a 
 fresh discovery caused her to utter an exclamation 
 of horror aloud. 
 
 The newcomer had curled herself up comfortably
 
 48 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 in her bed. Suddenly, to her surprise, a voice said 
 very quietly, without a flicker of expression coming 
 over the calm face, or the eyes even making an 
 effort to open : 
 
 " Are you my new schoolmate ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Hester, " I am sorry to say I am." 
 
 " Oh, don't be sorry, there's a good creature ; 
 there's nothing to be sorry about. I'll stop snoring 
 when I turn on my side it's all right. I always 
 snore for half an hour to rest my back, and the 
 time is nearly up. Don't trouble me to open my 
 eyes, I am not the least curious to see you. You 
 have a cross voice, but you'll get used to me after a 
 bit." 
 
 " But you're in my bed," said Hester. " Will you 
 please to get into your own ?" 
 
 " Oh, no, don't ask me ; I like your bed best. I 
 slept in it the whole of last term. I changed the 
 sheets myself, so it does not matter. Do you mind 
 putting my muddy boots outside the door, and 
 folding up my stockings ? I forgot them, and I 
 shall have a bad mark if Danesbury comes in. 
 Good-night I'm turning on my side I won't snore 
 any more." 
 
 The heavy face was now only seen in profile, and 
 Hester, knowing that Miss Danesbury would soon 
 appear to put out the candle, had to hurry into the 
 other bed as fast as she could ; something impelled 
 her, however, to take up the muddy boots with two 
 very gingerly fingers, and place them outside the 
 door.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 49 1 
 
 She slept better this second night, and was not 
 quite so startled the next morning- when the remorse- 
 less gong aroused her from slumber. The maid- 
 servant came in as usual to light the candles, and to 
 place two cans of hot water by the two wash -hand 1 
 stands. 
 
 " You are awake, miss ?" she said to Hester. 
 
 " Oh, yes," replied Hester almost cheerfully. 
 
 " Well, that's all right," said the servant. " Now 
 I must try and rouse Miss Drummond, and she 
 always takes a deal of waking ; and if you don't 
 mind, miss, it will be an act of kindness to call out 
 to her in the middle of your own dressing that is, 
 if I don't wake her effectual." 
 
 With these words, the housemaid approached 
 the bed where the red-haired girl lay again on her 
 back, and again snoring loudly. 
 
 " Miss Drummond, wake, miss ; it's half -past six.. 
 Wake up, miss I have brought you hot water." 
 
 " Eh ? what ?" said the voice in the bed, sleepily j 
 " don't bother me, Hannah I I've determined not 
 to ride this morning ; go away " then more 
 sleepily, and in a lower key, " Tell Percy he can't 
 bring the dogs in here." 
 
 "I ain't neither your Hannah, nor your Percy,, 
 nor one of the dogs," replied the rather irate Alice. 
 " There, get up, miss, do. I never see such a 
 young lady for sleeping never." 
 
 "I won't be bothered," said the occupant of the 
 bed, and now she turned deliberately on her side 
 and snored more loudly than ever.
 
 50 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " There's no help for it," said Alice : " I have to 
 do it nearly every morning, so don't you be startled, 
 miss. Poor thing, she would never have a good 
 conduct mark but for me. Now then, here goes. 
 You needen't be frightened, miss she don't mind it 
 the least bit in the world." 
 
 Here Alice seized a rough Turkish towel, placed 
 it under the sleepy head with its shock of red hair, 
 and, dipping a sponge in a basin of icy cold water, 
 dashed it on the white face. 
 
 This remedy proved effectual : two large pale blue 
 eyes opened wide, a voice said in a tranquil and un- 
 moved tone : 
 
 "Oh, thank you, Alice. So I'm back at this 
 horrid detestable school again !" 
 
 "Get your feet well on the carpet, Miss Drum- 
 mond, before you falls off again," said the servant. 
 " Now then, you'd better get dressed as fast as 
 possible, miss you have lost five minutes already." 
 
 Hester, who had laughed immoderately during 
 this little scene, was already up and going through 
 the processes of her toilet. Miss Drummond, seated 
 on the edge of her bed, regarded her with sleepy 
 eyes. 
 
 " So you are my new room-mate ?" she said. 
 " What's your name ?" 
 
 " Hester Thornton," replied Hetty with dignity. 
 
 "Oh I'm Susy Drummond you may call me 
 Susy if you like." 
 
 Hester made no response to this gracious in vita- 
 tion.
 
 A WORLD OF" GIRLS. 51 
 
 Miss Drummond sat motionless, gazing down at 
 her toes. 
 
 " Had not you better get dressed ?" said Hester 
 after a long pause, for she really feared the young 
 lady would fall asleep where she was sitting. 
 
 Miss Drummond started. 
 
 " Dressed ! So I will, dear creature. Have the 
 sweet goodness to hand me my clothes." 
 
 " Where are they ?" asked Hester rather crossly, 
 for she did not care to act as lady's-maid. 
 
 " They are over there, on a chair, in that lovely 
 heap with a shawl flung over them. There, toss 
 them this way I'll get into them somehow." 
 
 Miss Drummond did manage to get into her gar- 
 ments ; but her whole appearance was so heavy and 
 untidy when she was dressed, that Hester by the 
 very force of contrast felt obliged to take extra 
 pains with her own toilet. 
 
 " Now, that's a comfort," said Susan, " I'm in my 
 clothes. How bitter it is ! There's one comfort, 
 the chapel will be warm. I often catch forty winks 
 in chapel that is, if I'm lucky enough to get behind 
 one of the tall girls, where Mrs. Willis won't see 
 me. It does seem to me," continued Susan in a 
 meditative tone, " the strangest thing why girls are 
 not allowed sleep enough." 
 
 Hester was pinning a clean collar round her neck 
 when Miss Drummond came up close, leaned over 
 the dressing-table, and regarded her with languid 
 curiosity. 
 
 "A penny for your thoughts, Miss Prunes and Prism."
 
 52 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Why do you call me that," said Hester 
 angrily. 
 
 " Because you look like it, sweet. Now, don't be 
 cross, little pet no one ever yet was cross with 
 sleepy Susy Drummond. Now, tell me, love, what 
 had you for breakfast yesterday ?" 
 
 "I'm sure I forget," said Hester. 
 
 " You forget f how extraordinary ! You're sure 
 that it was not buttered scones ? We have them 
 sometimes, and I tell you they are enough even to 
 keep a girl awake. Well, at least you can let me 
 know if the eggs were very stale, and the coffee very 
 weak, and whether the butter was second-rate Dor- 
 set, or good and fresh. Come now my breakfast 
 is of immense importance to me, I assure you." 
 
 " I dare say," answered Hester. " You can see 
 for yourself this morning what is on the table I 
 can only inform you that it was good enough for 
 me, and that I don't remember what it was." 
 
 " Oh, dear !" exclaimed Susan Drummond, " I'm 
 afraid she has a little temper of her own poor lit' 
 tie room-mate. I wonder if chocolate-creams would 
 sweeten that little temper." 
 
 " Please don't talk I'm going to say my prayers," 
 said Hester. 
 
 She did kneel down, and made a slight effort to 
 ask God to help her through the day's work and the 
 day's play. In consequence, she rose from her 
 knees with a feeling of strength and sweetness 
 which even the feeblest prayer when uttered in 
 earnest can alwavs give.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 53 
 
 The prayer-gong now sounded, and all the girls 
 assembled in the chapel. Miss Drummond was 
 greeted by many appreciative nods, and more than 
 one pair of longing eyes gazed in the direction of 
 her pockets, which stuck out in the most ungainly 
 fashion. 
 
 Hester was relieved to find that her room-mate 
 did not share her class in school, nor sit anywhere 
 near her at table. 
 
 When the half -hour's recreation after breakfast 
 arrived, Hester, determined to be beholden to none 
 of her schoolmates for companionship, seated her- 
 self comfortably in an easy chair with a new book. 
 Presently she was startled by a little stream of lolli- 
 pops falling in a shower over her head, down her 
 neck, and into her lap. She started up with an 
 expression of disgust. Instantly Miss Drummond 
 sank into the vacated chair. 
 
 "Thank you, love," she said, in a cozy, purring 
 voice. " Eat your lollipops, and look at me ; I'm 
 going to sleep. Please pull my toe when Danes- 
 bury comes in. Oh, fie ! Prunes and Prisms not 
 so cross eat your lollipops ; they will sweeten the 
 expression of that little ?ce." 
 
 The last words came out drowsily. As she said 
 " face," Miss Drummond's languid eyes were closed 
 she was fast asleep.
 
 54 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WORK AND PLAY. 
 
 IN A FEW days Hester was accustomed to her new 
 life. She fell into its routine, and in a certain 
 measure won the respect of her fellow-pupils. She 
 worked hard, and kept her place in class, and her 
 French became a little more like the French tongue 
 and a little less like the English. She showed 
 marked ability in many of her other studies, and the 
 mistresses and masters spoke well of her. After a 
 fortnight spent at Lavender House, Hester had to 
 acknowledge that the little Misses Bruce were right, 
 and that school might be a really enjoyable place 
 for some girls. She would not yet admit that it 
 could be enjoyable for her. Hester was too shy, 
 too proud, too exacting to be popular with her 
 schoolfellows. She knew nothing of school-girl 
 life she had aever learned the great secret of suc- 
 cess in all life's perplexities, the power to give and 
 take. It never occurred to Hester to look over a 
 hasty word, to take no notice of an envious or 
 insolent look. As far as her lessons were concerned, 
 she was doing well ; but the hardest lesson of all, 
 the training of mind and character, which the daily 
 companionship of her schoolfellows alone could
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 55 
 
 give her, in this lesson she was making no way. 
 Each day she was shutting herself tip more and more 
 from all kindly advances, and the only one in the 
 school whom she sincerely and cordially liked was 
 gentle Cecil Temple. 
 
 Mrs. Willis had some ideas with regard to the 
 training of her young people which were peculiarly 
 her own. She had found them successful, and dur- 
 ing her thirty years' experience, had never seen rea- 
 son to alter them. She was determined to give her 
 girls a great deal more liberty than was ac- 
 corded in most of the boarding-schools of her day. 
 She never made what she called impossible rules ; 
 she allowed the girls full liberty to chatter in their 
 bedrooms ; she did not watch them during play- 
 hours ; she never read the letters they received, and 
 only superintended the specimen home letter which 
 each girl was required to write once a month. Other 
 head-mistresses wondered at the latitude she allowed 
 her girls, but she invariably replied: 
 
 " I always find it works best to trust them. If a. 
 girl is found to be utterly untrustworthy, I don't 
 expel her, but I request her parents to remove her 
 to a more strict school." 
 
 Mrs. Willis also believed much in that quiet half- 
 hour each evening, when the girls who cared to 
 come could talk to her alone. On these occasions 
 she always dropped the school -mistress and adopted 
 the role of the mother. With a very refractory 
 pupil she spoke in the tenderest tones of remon- 
 strance and affection at these times. If her words
 
 56 A WORLD OF 
 
 failed if the discipl'ne of the day and the gentle 
 sympathy of these moments at night did not effect 
 their purpose, she had yet another expedient the 
 vicar was asked to see the girl who would not yield 
 to this motherly influence. 
 
 Mr. Everard had very seldom taken Mrs. Willis' 
 place. As he said to her : " Your influence must be 
 the mainspring. At supreme moments I will helo 
 you with personal influence, but otherwise, except 
 for my nightly prayers with your girls, and my 
 weekly class, and the teachings which they with 
 others hear from my lips Sunday after Sunday, they 
 tad better look to you." 
 
 The girls knew this rule well, and the one er two 
 rare instances in the school history where the vicar 
 had stepped in te interfere, were spoken of with 
 bated breath and with intense awe. 
 
 Mrs. Willis had a great idea of bringing as much 
 happiness as possible int j young lives. It ^as with 
 this idea that she had the quaint little compartments 
 **ailed off in the play-room. 
 
 " For the elder girls," she would say, " there is no 
 pleasure so great as having, however small the spot, 
 a little liberty hall of their own. In her compart- 
 ment each girl is absolute monarch. No one can 
 enter inside the little curtained rail without her per- 
 mission. Here she can show her individual taste, 
 her individual ideas. Here she can keep her most 
 prized possessions. In short, her compartment in 
 the play-room is a little home to her." 
 
 The play-room, large as it was, admitted of only
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 5? 
 
 cwenty compartments ; these compartments were 
 not easily won. No amount of cleverness attained 
 them ; they were altogether dependent on conduct. 
 No girl could be the honorable owner of her own 
 little drawing-room until she had distinguished her- 
 self by some special act of kindness and self -denial. 
 Mrs. Willis had no fixed rule on this subject. She 
 alone gave away the compartments, and she often 
 made choice of girls on whom she conferred this 
 honor in a way which rather puzzled and surprised 
 their fellows. 
 
 When the compartment was won it was not a 
 secure possession. To retain it depended also on 
 conduct ; and here again Mrs. Willis was absolute 
 in her sway. More than once the girls had entered 
 the room in the morning to find some favorite's fur- 
 niture removed and her little possessions taken care- 
 fully down from the walls, the girl herself alone 
 knowing the reason for this sudden change. Annie 
 Forest, -;vho had been at Lavender House for four 
 years, tad once, for a solitary month of her exis- 
 'ence, owned her own special drawing-room. She 
 had obtained it as a reward for an act of heroism. 
 One of the little pupils had set her pinafore on fire. 
 There was no teacher present at the moment, the 
 other girls had screamed and run for help, but 
 Annie, very pale, had caught the little one in her 
 arms and had crushed out the flames with her own 
 hands. The child's life was spared, the child was 
 not even hurt, but Annie was in the hospital for a 
 week. At the end of a week she returned to the
 
 58 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 school-room and play-room as the heroine of the 
 hour. Mrs. Willis herself kissed her brow, and pre- 
 sented her in the midst of the approving smiles of 
 her companions with the prettiest drawing-room of 
 the sets. Annie retained her honorable post for 
 one month. 
 
 Never did the girls of Lavender House forget the 
 delights of that month. The fantastic arrangements 
 of the little drawing-room filled them with ecsta- 
 cies. Annie was truly Japanese in her style she 
 was also intensely liberal in all her arrangements. 
 In the tiny space of this little enclosure wild pranks 
 were perpetrated, ceaseless jokes made up. From 
 Annie's drawing-room issued peals of exquisite 
 mirth. She gave afternoon tea from a Japenese set 
 of tea-things. Outside her drawing-room always 
 collected a crowd of girls, who tried to peep over 
 the rail or to draw aside the curtains. Inside the 
 sacred spot certainly reigned chaos, and one day 
 Miss Danesbury had to fly to the rescue, for in a fit 
 of mad mirth Annie herself had knocked down the 
 little Japanese tea-table, the tea-pot and tea-things 
 were in fragments on the floor, and the tea and 
 milk poured in streams outside the curtains. Mrs. 
 Willis sent for Annie that evening, and Miss Forest 
 retired from her interview with red eyes and a 
 meek expression. 
 
 "Girls," she said, in confidence that night, "good- 
 bye to Japan. I gave her leave to do it the care 
 of an empire is more than I can manage." 
 
 The next day the Japanese drawing-room had
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 5$ 
 
 been handed over to another possessor, and Annie 
 reigned as queen over her empire no more. 
 
 Mrs. Willis, anxious at all times that her girls 
 should be happy, made special arrangements for 
 their benefit on Sunday. Sunday was by no means 
 dull at Lavender House Sunday was totally unlike 
 the six days which followed it. Even the stupidest 
 girl, could scarcely complain of the severity of Sun- 
 day lessons even the merriest girl could scarcely 
 speak of the day as dull. Mrs. Willis made an 
 invariable rule of spending all Sunday with her 
 pupils. On this day she really unbent on this day 
 she was all during the long hours what she was 
 during the short half -hour on each evening in the 
 week. On Sunday she neither reproved nor 
 corrected. If punishment or correction were neces- 
 sary, she deputed Miss Good or Miss Danesbury to 
 take her place. On Sunday she sat with the little 
 children round her knee, and the older girls cluster- 
 ing about her. Her gracious and motherly face was 
 like a sun shining in the midst of these young girls. 
 In short, she was like the personified form of Good- 
 ness in their midst. It was necessary, therefore, 
 that all those who wished to do right should be 
 happy on Sunday, and only those few who deliber- 
 ately preferred evil should shrink from the bright- 
 ness of this day. 
 
 It is astonishing how much a sympathizing and 
 guiding spirit can effect. The girls at Lavender 
 House thought Sunday the shortest day in the week. 
 There were no unoccupied or dull moments school
 
 60 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 toil was forgotten school punishment ceased, to be 
 resumed again if necessary on Monday morning. 
 The girls in their best dresses could chatter freely 
 in English they could read their favorite books 
 they could wander about the house as they 
 pleased ; for on Sunday the two baize doors were 
 always wide open, and Mrs. Willis' own private 
 .suite of rooms was ready to receive them. If the 
 day was fine they walked to Church, each choosing 
 lier own companion for the pleasant walk ; if the 
 day was wet there was services in the chapel, Mr. 
 Everard always conducting either morning or even- 
 ing prayers. In the afternoon the girls were allowed 
 to do pretty much as they pleased, but after tea 
 there always came a delightful hour, when the elder 
 girls retired with their mistress into her own special 
 boudoir, and she either told them stories or sang to 
 them as only she could sing. At sixty years of age 
 Mrs. Willis still possessed the most sympathetic and 
 touching voice those girls had ever listened to. 
 Hester Thornton broke down completely on her first 
 Sunday at Lavender House when she heard her 
 schoolmistress sing " The Better Land." No one re- 
 marked on her tears, but two people saw them ; for 
 her mistress kissed her tenderly that night, and 
 said a few strong words of help and encouragement, 
 and Annie Forest, who made no comment, had also 
 seen them, and wondered vaguely if this new and dis- 
 agreeable pupil had a heart after all. 
 
 On Sunday night Mrs. Willis herself went round 
 to each little bed and gave a mother-kiss to each of
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 61 
 
 her pupils a mother-kiss and a murmured blessing ; 
 and in many breasts resolves were then formed 
 which were to help the girls through the coming 
 week. Some of these resolves, made not in their 
 own strength, bore fruit in long after-years. There 
 is no doubt that very few girls who lived long 
 enough at Lavender House, ever in after-days found 
 their Sundays dull.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRL& 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 VARIETIES. 
 
 WITHOUT any doubt, wild, naughty, impulsive 
 Annie Forest was the most popular girl in the 
 school. She was always in scrapes she was scarcely 
 ever out of hot water her promises of amendment 
 were truly like the proverbial pie-crust ; but she 
 was so lovable, so kind-hearted, so saucy and piq- 
 uante and pretty, that very few could resist the 
 nameless charm which she possessed. The little 
 ones adored Annie, who was kindness itself to them ; 
 the bigger girls could not help admiring her fearless- 
 ness and courage ; the best and noblest girls in the 
 school tried to influence her for good. She was 
 more or less an object of interest to every one ; her 
 courage was of just the sort to captivate school- 
 girls, and her moral weakness was not observed by 
 these inexperienced young eyes. 
 
 Hester alone, of all the girls who for a long time 
 had come to Lavender House, failed to see any 
 charm in Annie. She began by considering her 
 ill-bred, and when she found she was the school 
 favorite, she tossed her proud little head and deter- 
 mined that she for one would never be subjugated 
 by such a naughty girl. Hester could read charac-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 63 
 
 ter with tolerable clearness ; she was an observant 
 child very observant, and very thoughtful for her 
 twelve years ; and as the little witch Annie had 
 failed to throw any spell over her, she saw her 
 faults far more clearly than did her companions. 
 There is no doubt that this brilliant, charming, and 
 naughty Annie had heaps of faults ; she had no 
 perseverance ; she was all passion and impulse ; 
 she could be the kindest of the kind, but from sheer 
 thoughtlessness and wildness she often inflicted 
 severe pain, even on those she loved best. Annie 
 very nearly worshiped Mrs. Willis ; she had the most 
 intense adoration for her, she respected her beyond 
 any other human being. There were moments when 
 the impulsive and hot-headed child felt that she 
 could gladly lay down her life for her schoolmis- 
 tress. Once the mistress was ill, and Annie curled 
 herself up all night outside her door, thereby break- 
 ing rules, and giving herself a severe cold ; but 
 her passion and agony were so great that she could 
 only be soothed by at last stealing into the darkened 
 room and kissing the face she loved. 
 
 " Prove your love to me, Annie, by going down- 
 stairs and keeping the school rules as perfectly as 
 possible," whispered the teacher. 
 
 " I will I will never break a rule again as long as 
 I live, if you get better, Mrs. Willis," responded the 
 child. 
 
 She ran down stairs with her resolves strong within 
 her, and yet in half an hour she was reprimanded 
 for willful and desperate disobedience.
 
 54 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 One day Cecil Temple had invited a select number 
 of friends to af ternopn tea in her little drawing-room. 
 It was the Wednesday half-holiday, and Cecil's tea, 
 poured into the tiniest cups and accompanied by 
 thin wafer biscuits, was of the most rechercht quality. 
 Cecil had invited Hester Thornton, and a tall girl 
 who belonged to the first class and whose name was 
 Dora Russell, to partake of this dainty beverage. 
 They were sitting round the tiny tea-table, on little 
 red stools with groups of flowers artistically painted 
 on them, and were all three conducting themselves 
 in a most ladylike and refined manner, when Annie 
 Forest's curly head and saucy face popped over the 
 enclosure, and her voice said eagerly : 
 
 " Oh, may I be permitted to enter the shrine ?" 
 
 " Certainly, Annie," said Cecil, in her most cordial 
 tones. " I have got another cup and saucer, and 
 there is a little tea left in the teapot.** 
 
 Annie came in, and ensconced herself cozily on the 
 floor. It did not matter in the least to her that 
 Hester Thornton's brow grew dark, and that Miss 
 Russell suddenly froze into complete indifference to 
 all her surroundings. Annie was full of a subject 
 which excited her very much : she had suddenly 
 discovered that she wanted to give Mrs. Willis a 
 present, and she wished to know if any of the girls 
 would like to join her. 
 
 " I will give her the present this day week," said 
 excitable Annie. "I have quite made up my 
 mind. Will any one join me ?" 
 
 " But there is nothing special about this day
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. (55 
 
 week, Annie," said Miss Temple. " It will neither 
 be Mrs. Willis* birthday, nor Christmas Day, nor 
 New Year's Day, nor Easter Day. Next Wednes- 
 day will be just like any other Wednesday. Why 
 should we make Mrs. Willis a present ?" 
 
 "Oh, because she looks as if she wanted one, 
 poor dear. I thought she looked sad this morning ; 
 her eyes drooped and her mouth was down at the 
 corners. I am sure she's wanting something from 
 us all by mow, just to show that we love her, you 
 know." 
 
 " Pshaw !" here burst from Hester's lips. 
 
 "Why do you say that?" said Annie, turning 
 round with her bright eyes flashing. " You've no 
 right to be so contemptuous when I speak about 
 our our head-mistress. Oh, Cecil," she continued, 
 "do let us give her a little surprise some spring 
 flowers, or something just to show her that we love 
 her." 
 
 "But ^08 don't love her," said Hester, stoutly. 
 
 Here was throwing down the gauntlet with a 
 vengeance ! Annie sprang to her feet and con- 
 fronted Hester with a whole torrent of angry words. 
 Hester firmly maintained her position. She said 
 over and over again that love proved itself by deeds, 
 not by words ; that if Annie learned her lessons, and 
 obeyed the school rules, she would prove her affec- 
 tion for Mrs. Willis far more than by empty protes- 
 tations. Hester's words were true, but they were 
 uttered in an unkind spirit, and the very flavor of 
 truth which they possessed caused them to enter
 
 66 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Annie's heart and to wound her deeply. She 
 turned, not red, but very white, and her large and 
 lovely eyes grew misty with unshed tears. 
 
 "You are cruel," she gasped, rather than spoke, 
 and then she pushed aside the curtains of Cecil's 
 compartment and walked out of the play-room. 
 
 There was a dead silence among the three girls 
 when she left them. Hester's heart was still hot, 
 and she was still inclined to maintain her own posi- 
 tion, and to believe she had done right in speaking 
 in so severe a tone to Annie. But even she had 
 been made a little uneasy by the look of deep suffer- 
 ing which had suddenly transformed Annie's charm- 
 ing childish face into that of a troubled and pained 
 woman. She sat down meekly on her little three- 
 legged stool and, taking up her tiny cup and saucer, 
 sipped some of the cold tea. 
 
 Cecil Temple was the first to speak. 
 
 " How could you ?" she said, in an indignant 
 voice for her. " Annie is not the girl to be driven, 
 and in any case, it is not for you to correct her. Oh, 
 Mrs. Willis would have been so pained had she heard 
 you you were not kind, Miss Thornton. There, I 
 don't wish to be rude, but I fear I must leave you 
 and Miss Russell I must try and find Annie." 
 
 " I'm going back to my own drawing-room," said 
 Miss Russell, rising to her feet. " Perhaps," she 
 added, turning round with a very gracious smile to 
 Hester, " you will come and see me there, after tea 
 this evening." 
 
 Miss Russell drew aside the curtains of Cecil
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 67 
 
 Temple's little room, and disappeared. Hester, 
 with her eyes full of tears, now turned 1 eagerly to 
 Cecil. 
 
 " Forgive me, Cecil," she exclaimed. " I did not 
 mean to be unkind, but it is really quite ridiculous 
 the way you all spoil that girl you know as well as 
 I do that she is a very naughty girl. I suppose it 
 is because of her pretty face," continued Hester, 
 "that you are all so unjust, and so blind to her 
 faults." 
 
 " You are prejudiced the other way, Hester," said 
 Cecil in a more gentle tone. " You have disliked 
 Annie from the first. There, don't keep me I must 
 go to her now. There is no knowing what harm 
 your words may have done. Annie is not like other 
 girls. If you knew her story, you would perhaps be 
 kinder to her." 
 
 Cecil then ran out of her drawing-room, leaving 
 Hester in sole possession of the little tea-things and 
 the three-legged stools. She sat and thought for 
 some time ; she was a girl with a great deal of ob- 
 stinacy in her nature, and she was not disposed to 
 yield her own point, even to Cecil Temple ; but Cecil's 
 words had, nevertheless, made some impression on 
 her. 
 
 At tea-time that night, Annie and Cecil entered 
 the room together. Annie's eyes were as bright as 
 stars, and her usually pale cheeks glowed with a 
 deep color. She had never looked prettier she had 
 never looked so defiant, so mischievous, so utterly 
 reckless. Manx-. Perier fired indignant French at
 
 68 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 her across the table. Annie answered respectfully, 
 and became demure in a moment ; but even in the 
 short instant in which the governess was obliged to 
 lower her eyes to her plate, she had thrown a look 
 so irresistibly comic at her companions that several 
 of them had tittered aloud. Not once did she glance 
 at Hester, although she occasionally looked boldly 
 in her direction ; but when she did so, her versatile 
 face assumed a blank expression, as if she were see- 
 ing nothing. When tea was over, Dora Russell sur- 
 prised the members of her own class by walking 
 straight up to Hester, putting her hand inside her 
 arm, and leading her off to her own very refined- 
 looking little drawing-room. 
 
 " I want to tell you," she said, when the two girls 
 found themselves inside the small enclosure, " that I 
 quite agree with you in your opinion of Miss Forest. 
 I think you were very brave to speak to her as you 
 did to-day. As a rule, I never trouble myself with 
 what the little girls in the third class do, and of 
 course Annie seldom comes under my notice ; but I 
 think she is a decidedly spoiled child, and your rebuff 
 will doubtless do her a great deal of good." 
 
 These words of commendation, coming from tall 
 and dignified Miss Russell completely turned poor 
 Hester's head. 
 
 " Oh, I am so glad you think so !" she stammered, 
 coloring high with pleasure. "You see," she added, 
 assuming a little tone of extra refinement, " at home 
 I always associated with girls who were perfect 
 ladies."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 69 
 
 " Yes, any one can see that," remarked Miss Rus- 
 sell approvingly. 
 
 "And I do think Annie under-bred," continued 
 Hester. "I cannot understand," she added, "why 
 Miss Temple likes her so much." 
 
 " Oh, Cecil is so amiable ; she sees good in every 
 one," answered Miss Russell. " Annie is evidently 
 not a lady, and I am glad at last to find some one 
 of the girls who belong to the middle school capable 
 of discerning this fact. Of course, we of the first 
 class have nothing whatever to say to Miss Forest, 
 but I really think Mrs. Willis is not acting quite 
 fairly by the other girls when she allows a young 
 person of that description into the school. I wish 
 to assure you, Miss Thornton, that you have at least 
 my sympathy, and I shall be very pleased to see 
 you in my drawing-room now and then." 
 
 As these last words were uttered, both girls were 
 conscious of a little rustling sound not far away. 
 Miss Russell drew back her curtain, and asked very 
 sharply "Who is there?" but no one replied, nor 
 was there any one in sight, for the girls who did 
 not possess compartments were congregated at the 
 other end of the long play-room, listening to stories 
 which Emma Marshall, a clever elder girl, was 
 relating for their benefit. 
 
 Miss Russell talked on in different subjects to 
 Hester, and at the end of the half-hour the two 
 entered the class-room side by side, Hester's little 
 head a good deal turned by this notice from one of 
 the oldest girls in the school.
 
 70 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 As the two walked together into the school-room, 
 Susan Drummond, who, tall as she was, was only in 
 the fourth class, rushed up to Miss Forest, and 
 whispered something in her ear. 
 
 " It is just as I told you," she said, and her sleepy 
 voice was quite wide awake and animated. Annie 
 Forest rewarded her by a playful pinch on her 
 cheek ; then she returned to her own class, with a 
 severe reprimand from the class teacher, and silence 
 reigned in the long room, as the girls began to pre- 
 pare their lessons as usual for the next day. 
 
 Miss Russell took her place at her desk in her 
 usual dignified manner. She was a clever girl, and 
 was going to leave school at the end of next term. 
 Hers was a particularly fastidious, but by no means, 
 great nature. She was the child of wealthy parents ; 
 she was also well born, and because of her money, 
 and a certain dignity and style which had come to 
 her as nature's gifts, she held an influence, though 
 by no means a large one, in the school. No one 
 particularly disliked her, but no one, again, ardently 
 loved her. The girls in her own class thought it 
 well to be friendly with Dora Russell, and Dora 
 accepted their homage with more or less indifference. 
 She did not greatly care for either their praise or 
 blame. Dora possessed in a strong degree that 
 baneful quality, which more than anything else 
 precludes the love of others she was essentially 
 selfish. 
 
 She sat now before her desk, little guessing how 
 she had caused Hester's small heart to beat by her
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS, -ft. 
 
 patronage, and little suspecting the mischief she had 
 done to the girl by her injudicious words. Had 
 she known, it is to be doubted whether she would 
 have greatly cared. She looked through the books 
 which contained her tasks for the next day's work, 
 and, finding they did not require a great deal of 
 preparation, put them aside, and amused herself 
 during the rest of preparation time with a story- 
 book, which she artfully concealed behind the 
 leaves of some exercises. She knew she was break- 
 ing the rules, but this fact did not trouble her, for 
 her moral nature was, after all, no better than poor 
 Annie's, and she had not a tenth of her lovable 
 qualities. 
 
 Dora Russell was the soul of neatness and order. 
 To look inside her school desk was a positive pleas- 
 ure ; to glance at her own neat and trim figure was 
 more or less of a delight. Hers were the whitest 
 hands in the school, and hers the most perfectly 
 kept and glossy hair. As the preparation hour drew 
 to a close, she replaced her exercises and books in 
 exquisite order in her school desk and shut down the 
 lid. 
 
 Hester's eyes followed her as she walked out of 
 the school-room, for the head class never had sup- 
 per with the younger girls. Hester wondered if she 
 would glance in her direction ; but Miss Russell had 
 gratified a very passing whim when she condescended 
 to notice and praise Hester, and she had already 
 almost forgotten her existence. 
 
 At bed-time that night Susan Drummond's b^
 
 72 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 havior was at the least extraordinary. In the 
 place, instead of being almost overpoweringly 
 friendly with Hester, she scarcely noticed her; in 
 the next place, she made some very peculiar prepa- 
 rations. 
 
 "What are you doing on the floor, Susan?" in- 
 quired Hetty in an innocent tone. 
 
 "That's nothing to you," replied Miss Drummond, 
 turning a dusky red, and looking annoyed at being 
 discovered. " I do wish," she added, " that you 
 would go round to your side of the room and leave 
 me alone ; I sha'n't have done what I want to do be- 
 fore Danesbury comes in to put out the candle." 
 
 Hester was not going to put herself out with any 
 of Susan Drummond's vagaries : she looked upon 
 sleepy Susan as a girl quite beneath her notice, but 
 even she could not help observing her, when she 
 saw her sit up in bed a quarter of an hour after the 
 candles had been put out, and in the flickering fire- 
 light which shown conveniently bright for her 
 purpose, fasten a piece of string first round one of 
 her toes, and then to the end of the bed-post. 
 
 "What are you doing?" said Hester again, half 
 laughing. 
 
 " Oh, what a spy you are !" said Susan. " I want 
 to wake, that's all; and whenever I turn in bed, 
 that string will tug at my toe, and, of c r ~- 'e, I'll 
 rouse up. If you were more good-naturea, i d give 
 the other end of the string to you ; but, of course, 
 that plan would never answer." 
 
 "No, indeed," replied Hester; "I am not going
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 73 
 
 to trouble myself to wake you. You must trust to 
 your sponge of cold water in. the morning, unless 
 your own admirable device succeeds." 
 
 " I'm going to sleep now, at any rate," answered 
 Susan ; " I'm on my back, and I'm beginning to 
 snore ; good night." 
 
 Once or twice during the night Hester heard 
 groans from the self-sacrificing Susan, who, doubt- 
 less, found the string attached to her foot very in- 
 convenient. 
 
 Hester, however, slept on when it might have been 
 better for the peace of many in the school that she 
 should have awakened. She heard no sound when, 
 long before day, sleepy Susan stepped softly out of 
 bed, and wrapping a thick shawl about her, glided 
 out of the room. She was away for over half an 
 hour, but she returned to her chamber and got into 
 bed without in the least disturbing Hester. In the 
 morning she was found so soundly asleep that even 
 the sponge of cold water could not arouse her. 
 
 " Pull the string at the foot of the bed, Alice," 
 said Hester ; " she fastened a string to her toe, and 
 twisted the other end round the bed-post, last night; 
 pull it, Alice, it may effect its purpose." 
 
 But there was no string now round Susan Drum- 
 mond's foot, nor was it found hanging to the bed- 
 post.
 
 74 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WHAT WAS FOUND IN THE SCHOOL-DESK. 
 
 THE NEXT morning, when the whole school were 
 assembled, and all the classes were getting ready for 
 the real work of the day, Miss Good, the English 
 teacher, stepped to the head of the room, and, hold- 
 ing a neatly bound volume of " Jane Eyre " in her 
 hand, begged to know to whom it belonged. There 
 was a hush of astonishment when she held up the 
 little book, for all the girls knew well that this 
 special volume was not allowed for school literature. 
 
 " The housemaid who dusts the school-room found 
 this book on the floor," continued the teacher. " It 
 lay beside a desk near the top of the room. I see 
 the name has been torn out, so I cannot tell who is 
 the owner. I must request her, however, to step 
 forward and take possession of her property. If 
 there is the slightest attempt at concealment, the 
 whole matter will be laid before Mrs. Willis at noon 
 to-day." 
 
 When Miss Good had finished her little speech, 
 she held up the book in its green binding and looked 
 down the room. 
 
 Hester did not know why her heart beat no one 
 glanced at her, no one regarded her ; all eyes were
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 75 
 
 fixed on Miss Good, who stood with a severe, un- 
 smiling, but expectant face. 
 
 " Come, young ladies," she said, " the owner has 
 surely no difficulty in recognizing her own property. 
 I give you exactly thirty seconds more; then if 
 no one claims the book, I place the affair in Mrs. 
 Willis' hands." 
 
 Just then there was a stir among the girls in the 
 head class. A tall girl in dove-colored cashmere, 
 with a smooth head of golden hair, and a fair face 
 which was a good deal flushed at this moment, 
 stepped to the front, and said in a clear and per- 
 fectly modulated voice : 
 
 " I had no idea of concealing the fact that ' Jane 
 Eyre ' belongs to me. I was only puzzled for a 
 moment to know how it got on the floor. I placed 
 it carefully in my desk last night. I think this 
 circumstance ought to be inquired into." 
 
 " Oh ! Oh !" came from several suppressed voices 
 here and there through the room ; " whoever would 
 have supposed that Dora Russell would be obliged to 
 humble herself in this way ?" 
 
 "Attention, young ladies !" said Miss Good; "no 
 talking, if you please. Do I understand, Miss Rus- 
 sell, that ' Jane Eyre ' is yours ?" 
 
 "Yes, Miss Good." 
 
 "Why did you keep it in your desk were you 
 reading it during preparation ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, certainly." 
 
 " You are, of course, aware that you were break- 
 ing two very stringent rules of the school. In the
 
 76 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 first place, no story-books are allowed to be con- 
 cealed in a school-desk, or to be read during prepa- 
 ration. In the second place, this special book is not 
 allowed to be read at any time in Lavender House. 
 You know these rules, Miss Russell ?" 
 
 "Yes, Miss Good." 
 
 " I must retain the book you can return now to 
 your place in class." 
 
 Miss Russell bowed sedately, and with an appar- 
 ently unmoved face, except for the slightly deep- 
 ened glow on her smooth cheek, resumed her inter- 
 rupted work. 
 
 Lessons went on as usual, but during recreation 
 the mystery of the discovered book was largely dis- 
 cussed by the girls. As is the custom of school- 
 girls, they took violent sides in the matter some 
 rejoicing in Dora's downfall, some pitying her 
 intensely. Hester was, of course, one of Miss Rus- 
 sell's champions, and she looked at her with tender 
 sympathy when she came with her haughty and 
 graceful manner into the school-room, and her little 
 heart beat with vague hope that Dora might turn 
 to her for sympathy. 
 
 Dora, however, did nothing of the kind. She 
 refused to discuss the affair with her companions, 
 and none of them quite knew what Mrs. Willis said 
 to her, or what special punishment was inflicted on 
 the proud girl. Several of her schoolfellows ex- 
 pected that Dora's drawing-room would be taken 
 away from her, but she still retained it ; and after 
 a few days the affair of the book was almost forgotten.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 77 
 
 There was, however, an uncomfortable and an 
 uneasy spirit abroad in the school. Susan Drum- 
 mond, who was certainly one of the most uninterest- 
 ing girls In Lavender House, was often seen walking 
 with and talking to Miss Forest. Sometimes Annie 
 shook her pretty head over Susan's remarks ; some- 
 times she listened to her ; sometimes she laughed 
 and spoke eagerly for a moment or two, and 
 appeared to acquiesce in suggestions which her 
 companion urged. 
 
 Annie had always been the soul of disorder of 
 wild pranks, of naughty and disobedient deeds 
 but, hitherto, in all her wildness she had never 
 intentionally hurt any one but herself. Hers was a 
 giddy and thoughtless, but by no means a bitter 
 tongue she thought well of all her schoolfellows 
 and on occasions she could be self-sacrificing and 
 good-natured to a remarkable extent. The girls of 
 the head class took very little notice of Annie, but 
 her other school companions, as a rule, succumbed to 
 her sunny, bright, and witty ways. She offended 
 them a hundred times a day, and a hundred times a 
 day was forgiven. Hester was the first girl in the 
 third class who had ever persistently disliked Annie, 
 and Annie, after making one or two overtures of 
 friendship, began to return Miss Thornton's aversion; 
 but she had never cordially hated her until the day 
 they met in Cecil Temple's drawing-room, and 
 Hester had wounded Annie in her tenderest part by 
 doubting her affection for Mrs. Willis. 
 
 Since that day there was a change very notice-
 
 78 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 able in Annie Forest she was not so gay as for- 
 merly, but she was a great deal more mischievous 
 she was not nearly so daring, but she was capable 
 now of little actions, slight in themselves, which yet 
 were calculated to cause mischief and real unhappi- 
 ness. Her sudden friendship with Susan Drummond 
 did her no good, and she persistently avoided all 
 intercourse with Cecil Temple, who hitherto had in- 
 fluenced her in the right direction. 
 
 The incident of the green book had passed with 
 no apparent result of grave importance, but the 
 spirit of mischief which had caused this book to be 
 found was by no means asleep in the school. Pranks 
 were played in a most mysterious fashion with the 
 girl's properties. 
 
 Hester herself was the very next victim. She, too, 
 was a neat and orderly child she was clever and 
 thoroughly enjoyed her school work. She was 
 annoyed, therefore, and dreadfully puzzled, by dis- 
 covering one morning that her neat French exercise 
 book was disgracefully blotted, and one page torn 
 across. She was severely reprimanded by Mdlle. 
 Perier for such gross untidiness and carelessness, and 
 when she assured the governess that she knew 
 nothing whatever of the circumstance, that she was 
 never guilty of blots, and had left the book in per- 
 fect order the night before, the French lady only 
 shrugged her shoulders, made an expressive gesture 
 with her eyebrows, and plainly showed Hester that 
 she thought the less she said on that subject the 
 better.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 79 
 
 Hester was required to write out her exercise 
 again, and she fancied she saw a triumphant look in 
 Annie Forest's eyes as she left the school-room, 
 where poor Hester was obliged to remain to undergo 
 her unmerited punishment. 
 
 " Cecil," called Hester, in a passionate and eager 
 voice, as Miss Temple was passing her place. 
 
 Cecil paused for a moment. 
 
 " What is it, Hetty ? oh, I am so sorry you must 
 stay in this lovely bright day." 
 
 " I have done nothing wrong," said Hester ; " I 
 never blotted this exercise-book ; I never tore this 
 page. It is most unjust not to believe my word ; it 
 is most unjust to punish me for what I have not 
 done." 
 
 Miss Temple's face looked puzzled and sad. 
 
 " I must not stay to talk to you now, Hester," she 
 whispered ; " I am breaking the rules. You can 
 come to my drawing-room by-and-by, and we will 
 discuss this matter." 
 
 But Hester and Cecil, talk as they would, could 
 find no solution to the mystery. Cecil absolutely 
 refused to believe that Annie Forest had anything 
 to do with the matter. 
 
 "No," she aid, "such deceit is not in Annie's 
 nature. I would do anything to help you, Hester ; 
 but I can't, and I won't, believe that Annie tried 
 deliberately to do you harm." 
 
 "I am quite certain she did," retorted Hester, 
 " and from this moment I refuse to speak to hei 
 until she confesses what she has done and apologizes
 
 80 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 to me. Indeed, I have a great mind to go and tell 
 everything to Mrs. Willis." 
 
 " Oh, I would not do that," said Cecil ; " none of 
 your schoolfellows would forgive you if you 
 charged such a favorite as Annie with a crime which 
 you cannot in the least prove against her. You 
 must be patient, Hester, and if you are, I will take 
 your part, and try to get at the bottom of the 
 mystery." 
 
 Cecil, however, failed to do so. Annie laughed 
 when the affair was discussed in her presence, but 
 her clear eyes looked as innocent as the day, and 
 nothing would induce Cecil to doubt Miss Forest's 
 honor. 
 
 The mischievous spirit, however, who was sowing 
 such seeds of unhappiness in the hitherto peaceful 
 school was not satisfied with two deeds of daring ; 
 for a week afterward Cecil Temple found a book of 
 Mrs. Browning's, out of which she was learning a 
 piece for recitation, with its cover half torn off, and, 
 still worse, a caricature of Mrs. Willis sketched with 
 some cleverness and a great deal of malice on the 
 title-page. On the very same morning, Dora Russell, 
 on opening her desk, was seen to throw up her 
 hands with a gesture of dismay. The neat compo- 
 sition she had finished the night before was not to 
 be seen in its accustomed place, but in a corner of 
 the desk were two bulky and mysterious parcels, 
 one of which contained a great junk of rich plum- 
 cake, and the other some very sticky and messy 
 * Turkish delight ;" while the paper which enveloped
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 81 
 
 these luxuries was found to be that on which the 
 missing composition was written. Dora's face grew 
 very white, she forgot the ordinary rules of the 
 school, and, leaving her class, walked down the 
 room, and interrupted Miss Good, who was begin- 
 ning to instruct the third class in English grammar. 
 
 " Will you please come and see something in my 
 desk, Miss Good ?" she said in a voice which trem- 
 bled with excitement. 
 
 It was while she was speaking that Cecil found 
 the copy of Mrs. Browning mutilated, and with the 
 disgraceful caricature on its title-page. Startled as 
 she was by this discovery, and also by Miss Russell's 
 extraordinary behavior, she had presence of mind 
 enough to hide the sight which pained her from her 
 companions. Unobserved, in the strong interest of 
 the moment, for all the girls were watching Dora 
 Russell and Miss Good, she managed to squeeze the 
 little volume into her pocket. She had indeed re- 
 ceived a great shock, for she knew well that the only 
 girl who could caricature in the school was Annie 
 Forest. For a moment her troubled eyes sought the 
 ground, but then she raised them and looked at 
 Annie ; Annie, however, with a particularly cheerful 
 face, and her bright eyes full of merriment, was 
 gazing in astonishment at the scene which was tak- 
 ing place in front of Miss Russell's desk. 
 
 Dora, whose enunciation was very clear, seemed 
 to have absolutely forgotten herself ; she disregarded 
 Miss Good's admonitions, and declared stoutly that 
 at such a moment she did not care what rules she
 
 82 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 broke. She was quite determined that the culprit 
 who had dared to desecrate her composition, and 
 put plum-cake and " Turkish delight " into her desk, 
 should be publicly exposed and punished. 
 
 " The thing cannot go on any longer, Miss Good," 
 she said ; " there is a girl in this school who ought 
 to be expelled from it, and I for one declare openly 
 that I will not submit to associate with a girl who 
 is worse than unladylike. If you will permit me, Miss 
 Good, I will carry these things at once to Mrs. Wil- 
 lis, and beg of her to investigate the whole affair, 
 and bring the culprit to justice, and to turn her out 
 of the school." 
 
 "Stay, Miss Russell," exclaimed the English 
 teacher, " you strangely and completely forget your- 
 self. You are provoked, I own, but you have no 
 right to stand up and absolutely hoist the flag of 
 rebellion in the faces of the other girls. I cannot 
 excuse your conduct. I will myself take away these 
 parcels which were found in your desk, and will re- 
 port the affair to Mrs. Willis. She will take what 
 steps she thinks right in bringing you to order, and 
 in discovering the author of this mischief. Return 
 instantly to your desk, Miss Russell ; you strangely 
 forget yourself." 
 
 Miss Good left the room, having removed the plum- 
 cake and "Turkish delight" from Dora Russell's 
 desk, and lessons continued as best they could under 
 such exciting circumstances. 
 
 At twelve o'clock that day, just as the girls were 
 preparing to go up to their rooms to get ready for
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 83 
 
 their usual walk, Mrs. Willis came into the school- 
 room. 
 
 " Stay one moment, young ladies," said the head- 
 mistress in that slightly vibrating and authoritative 
 voice of hers. " I have a word or two to say to you 
 all. Miss Good has just brought me a painful story 
 of wanton and cruel mischief. There are fifty girls 
 in this school, who, until lately, lived happily to- 
 gether. There is now one girl among the fifty 
 whose object it is to sow seeds of discord and misery 
 among her companions. Miss Good has told me of 
 three different occasions on which mischief has been 
 done to different girls in the school. Twice Miss 
 Russell's desk has been disturbed, once Miss Thorn- 
 ton's. It is possible that other girls may also have 
 suffered who have been noble enough not to com- 
 plain. There is, however, a grave mischief, in short 
 a moral disease in our midst. Such a thing is worse 
 than bodily illness it must be stamped out instantly 
 and completely at the risk of any personal suffer- 
 ing. I am now going to ask you, girls, a simple 
 question, and I demand instant truth without any 
 reservation. Miss Russell's desk has been tampered 
 with Miss Thornton's desk has been tampered 
 with. Has any other girl suffered injury has any 
 other girl's desk been touched ?" 
 
 Mrs. Willis looked down the long room hei 
 voice had reached every corner, and the quiet, dig 
 nified, and deeply-pained expression in her fine eyes 
 was plainly visible to each girl in the school. Even 
 the little ones were startled and subdued by the
 
 g4 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 tone of Mrs. Willis' voice, and one or two of them 
 suddenly burst into tears. Mrs. Willis paused for a 
 full moment, then she repeated her question. 
 
 " I insist upon knowing the exact truth, my dear 
 children," she said gently, but with great decision. 
 
 "My desk has also been tampered with," said 
 Miss Temple, in a low voice. 
 
 Every one started when Cecil spoke, and even 
 Annie Forest glanced at her with a half-frightened 
 and curious expression. Cecil's voice indeed was so 
 low, so shaken with doubt and pain, that her com- 
 panions scarcely recognized it. 
 
 " Come here, Miss Temple," said Mrs. Willis. 
 
 Cecil instantly left her desk and walked up the 
 room. 
 
 "Your desk has also been tampered with, you 
 say ?" repeated the head-mistress. 
 
 " Yes, madam." 
 
 " When did you discover this ?" 
 
 " To-day, Mrs. Willis." 
 
 " You kept it to yourself ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Will you now repeat in the presence of the 
 school, and in a loud enough voice to be heard by 
 all here, exactly what was done ?" 
 
 " Pardon me," answered Cecil, and now her voice 
 was a little less agitated and broken, and she looked 
 full into the face of her teacher, " I cannot do 
 that." 
 
 " You deliberately disobey me, Cecil !" said Mrs 
 Willis.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 85 
 
 ' Yes, madam." 
 
 Mrs. Willis* face flushed she did not, however, 
 look angry ; she laid her hand on Cecil's shoulder 
 and looked full into her eyes. 
 
 " You are one of my best pupils, Cecil," she said 
 tenderly. " At such a moment as this, honor 
 requires you to stand by your mistress. I must 
 insist on your telling me here and now exactly what 
 has occurred." 
 
 Cecil's face grew whiter and whiter. 
 
 "I cannot tell you," she murmured; "it breaks 
 my heart, but I cannot tell you." 
 
 " You have defied me, Cecil," said Mrs. Willis in 
 a tone of deep pain. " I must, my dear, insist on 
 your obedience, but not now. Miss Good, will you 
 take Miss Temple to the chapel ? I will come to 
 you, Cecil, in an hour's time." 
 
 Cecil walked down the room crying silently. Her 
 deep distress and her very firm refusal to disclose 
 what she knew had made a great impression on her 
 schoolfellows. They all felt troubled and uneasy, 
 and Annie Forest's face was very pale. 
 
 "This thing, this wicked, mischievous thing has 
 gone deeper than I feared," said Mrs. Willis, when 
 Cecil had left the room. " Only some very strong 
 motive would make Cecil Temple behave as she is 
 now doing. She is influenced by a mistaken idea of 
 what is right ; she wishes to shield the guilty person. 
 I may as well tell you all, young ladies, that, dear 
 as Cecil is to me, she is now under the ban of my 
 severe displeasure. Until she confesses the truth
 
 86 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 and humbles herself before me, I cannot be recon- 
 ciled to her. I cannot permit her to associate with 
 you. She has done very wrong, and her punish- 
 ment must be porportionately severe. There is one 
 chance for her, however. Will the girl whom she 
 is mistakenly, though generously, trying to shield, 
 come forward and confess her guilt, and so release 
 poor Cecil from the terrible position in which she 
 has placed herself ? By doing so, the girl who has 
 caused all this misery will at least show me that 
 she is trying to repent ?" 
 
 Mrs. Willis paused again, and now she looked 
 down the room with a face of almost entreaty. 
 Several pairs of eyes were fixed anxiously on her, 
 several looked away, and many girls glanced in the 
 direction of Annie Forest, who, feeling herself sus- 
 pected, returned their glances with bold defiance, 
 and instantly assumed her most reckless manner. 
 
 Mrs. Willis waited for a full minute. 
 
 "The culprit is not noble enough," she said then. 
 " Now, girls, I must ask each of you to come up one 
 by one and deny or confess this charge. As you 
 do so, you are silently to leave the school-room and 
 go up to your rooms, and prepare for the walk 
 which has been so painfully delayed. Miss Conway, 
 you are at the head of the school, will you set the 
 example ?" 
 
 One by one the girls of the head class stepped up 
 to their teacher, and of each one she asked the same 
 question : 
 
 " Are you guilty ?"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 8" 
 
 Each girl replied in the negative and walked out 
 of the schoolroom. The second class followed the 
 example of the first, and then the third class came 
 up to their teacher. Several ears were strained to 
 hear Annie Forest's answer, but her eyes were lifted 
 fearlessly to Mrs. Willis' face, and her " No !" was 
 heard all over the room.
 
 83 A WORLD OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IN THE CHAPEL. 
 
 THE BRIGHT light from a full noontide sun was 
 shini*ig in colored bars through the richly-painted 
 windows of the little chapel when Mrs. Willis 
 sought Cecil Temple there. 
 
 Cecil's face was in many ways a remarkable one. 
 
 Her soft brown eyes were generally filled with a 
 steadfast and kindly ray. Gentleness was her 
 special prerogative, but there was nothing weak 
 about her hers was the gentleness of a strong, and 
 pure, and noble soul. To know Cecil was to love 
 her. She was a motherless girl, and the only child 
 of a most indulgent father. Colonel Temple was 
 now in India, and Cecil was to finish her education 
 under Mrs. Willis' care, and then, if necessary, to 
 join her father. 
 
 Mrs. Willis had always taken a special interest in 
 this girl. She admired her for her great moral 
 worth. Cecil was not particularly clever, but she 
 was so studious, so painstaking, that she always kept 
 a high place in class. She was without doubt a re- 
 ligious girl, but there was nothing of the prig about 
 She was not, however, ashamed of her religion,
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 89 
 
 and, if the fitting occasion arose, she was fearless in 
 expressing her opinion. 
 
 Mrs. Willis used to call Cecil her " little standard- 
 bearer," and she relied greatly on her influence over 
 the third-class girls. Mrs. Willis considered the 
 third class, perhaps, the most important in the 
 school. She was often heard to say : 
 
 "The girls who fill this class have come to a 
 turning point they have come to the age when 
 resolves may be made for life, and kept. The good 
 third-class girl is very unlikely to degenerate as she 
 passes through the second and first classes. On the 
 other hand, there is very little hope that the idle or 
 mischievous third-class girl will mend her ways as 
 she goes higher in the school." 
 
 Mrs. Willis' steps were very slow, and her 
 thoughts extremely painful, as she entered the chapel 
 to-day. Had any one else offered her defiance she 
 would have known how to deal with the culprit, but 
 Cecil would never have acted as she did without the 
 strongest motive, and Mrs. Willis felt more sorrow- 
 ful than angry as she sat down by the side of her 
 favorite pupil. 
 
 " I have kept you waiting longer than I intended, 
 my dear," she said. " I was unexpectedly inter- 
 rupted, and I am sorry ; but you have had more time 
 to think, Cecil." 
 
 "Yes, I have thought," answered Cecil, in a very 
 low tone. 
 
 "And, perhaps," continued her governess, " in this 
 quiet and beautiful and sacred place, my dear pupil 
 has also prayed ?"
 
 90 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 
 
 " I have prayed," said Cecil. 
 
 "Then you have been guided, Cecil," said Mrs. 
 Willis, in a tone of relief. "We do not come to 
 God in our distress without being shown the right 
 way. Your doubts have been removed, Cecil ; you 
 can now speak fully to me : can you not, dear ?" 
 
 " I have asked God to tell me what is right," said 
 Cecil. " I don't pretend to know. I am very much 
 puzzled. It seems to me that more good would be 
 done if I concealed what you asked me to confess 
 in the school-room. My own feeling is that I 
 ought not to tell you. I know this is a great dis- 
 obedience, and I am quite willing to receive any 
 punishment you think right to give me. Yes, I 
 think I am quite willing to receive any punish- 
 ment." 
 
 Mrs. Willis put her hand on Cecil's shoulder. 
 
 "Ordinary punishments are not likely to affect 
 you, Cecil," she said ; " on you I have no idea of 
 inflicting extra lessons, or depriving you of half- 
 holidays, or even taking away your drawing-room. 
 But there is something else you must lose, and that 
 I know will touch you deeply I must remove from 
 you my confidence." 
 
 Cecil's face grew very pale. 
 
 " And your love, too ?" she said, looking up with 
 imploring eyes ; " oh, surely not your love as well ?" 
 
 "I ask you frankly, Cecil," replied Mrs. Willis, 
 " can perfect love exist without perfect confidence ? 
 I would not willingly deprive you of my love, but 
 of necessity the love I have hitherto felt for you
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 91 
 
 must be altered in short, the old love, which en- 
 abled me to rest on you and trust you, will cease." 
 
 Cecil covered her face with her hands. 
 
 " This punishment is very cruel," she said. " You 
 are right ; it reaches down to my very heart. But," 
 she added, looking up with a strong and sweet light 
 in her face, " I will try and bear it, and some day 
 you will understand." 
 
 " Listen, Cecil," said Mrs. Willis ; " you have just 
 told me you have prayed to God, and have asked 
 Him to show you the right path. Now, my dear, 
 suppose we kneel together, and both of us ask Him 
 to show us the way out of this difficult matter. I 
 want to be guided to use the right words with you, 
 Cecil. You want to be guided to receive the in- 
 struction which I, as your teacher and mother-friend, 
 would give you." 
 
 Cecil and Mrs. Willis both knelt down, and the. 
 head-mistress said a few words in a voice of great 
 earnestness and entreaty ; then they resumed their 
 seats. 
 
 "Now, Cecil," said Mrs. Willis, "you must re- 
 member in listening to me that I am speaking to 
 you as I believe God wishes me to. If I can con- 
 vince you that you are doing wrong in concealing 
 what you know from me, will you act as I wish in 
 the matter ?" 
 
 " I long to be convinced," said Cecil, in a low 
 tone. 
 
 " That is right, my dear ; I can now speak to your 
 with perfect freedom. My words you will remem--
 
 92 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 ber, Cecil, are now, I firmly believe, directed by 
 God ; they are also the result of a large experience. 
 I have trained many girls. I have watched the 
 phases of thought in many young minds. Cecil, 
 look at me. I can read you like a book." 
 
 Cecil looked up expectantly. 
 
 " Your motive for this concealment is as clear as 
 the daylight, Cecil. You are keeping back what 
 you know because you want to shield some one. 
 Am I not right, my dear ?" 
 
 The color flooded Cecil's pale face. She bent her 
 head in silent assent, but her eyes were too full of 
 tears, and her lips trembled too much to allow her 
 to speak. 
 
 "The girl you want to defend," continued Mrs. 
 Willis, in that clear, patient voice of hers, " is one 
 whom you and I both love is one for whom we both 
 have prayed is one for whom we would both 
 gladly sacrifice ourselves if necessary. Her name 
 
 "Oh, don't," said Cecil imploringly "don't say 
 her name ; you have no right to suspect her." 
 
 " I must say her name, Cecil, dear. If you suspect 
 Annie Forest, why should not I ? You do suspect 
 her, do you not, Cecil ?" 
 
 Cecil began to cry. 
 
 " I know it," continued Mrs. Willis. " Now, Cecil, 
 we will suppose, terrible as this suspicion is, fearfully 
 as it pains us both, that Annie Forest is guilty. We 
 must suppose for the sake of my argument that this 
 is the case. Do you not know, my dear Cecil, that
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 93 
 
 you are doing the falsest, cruelest thing by dear 
 Annie in trying to hide her sin from me ? Suppose, 
 just for the sake of our argument, that this cowardly 
 conduct on Annie's part was never found out by me; 
 what effect would it have on Annie herself ?" 
 
 " It would save her in the eyes of the school," 
 said Cecil. 
 
 " Just so ; but God would know the truth. Her 
 next downfall would be deeper. In short, Cecil, 
 under the idea of friendship you would have done 
 the cruelest thing in all the world for your friend." 
 
 Cecil was quite silent. 
 
 " This is one way to look at it," continued Mrs. 
 Willis ; " but there are many other points from which 
 this case ought to be viewed. You owe much to 
 Annie, but not all you have a duty to perform to 
 your other schoolfellows. You have a duty to perform 
 to me. If you possess a clue which will enable me 
 to convict Annie Forest of her sin, in common jus- 
 tice you have no right to withhold it. Remember, 
 that while she goes about free and unsuspected, some 
 other girl is under the ban some other girl is 
 watched and feared. You fail in your duty to your 
 schoolfellows when you keep back your knowledge, 
 Cecil. When you refuse to trust me, you fail in 
 your duty to your mistress ; for I cannot stamp out 
 this evil and wicked thing from our midst unless I 
 know all. When you conceal your knowledge, you 
 ruin the character of the girl you seek to shield. 
 When you conceal your knowledge, you go against 
 God's express wish. There I have spoken to you 
 as He directed me to speak."
 
 94 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Cecil suddenly sprang to her feet. 
 
 "I never thought of all these things," she said. 
 "You are right, but it is very hard, and mine is 
 only a suspicion. Oh, do be tender to her, and 
 forgive me may I go away now ?" 
 
 As she spoke, she pulled out the torn copy of Mrs. 
 Browning, laid it on her teacher's lap, and ran 
 swiftly out of the ckapel.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 95 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TALKING OVER THE MYSTERY. 
 
 ANNIE FOREST, sitting in the midst of a group of 
 eager admirers, was chatting volubly. Never had 
 she been in higher spirits, never had her pretty face 
 looked more bright and daring. 
 
 Cecil Temple coming into the play-room, started 
 when she saw her. Annie, however, instantly rose 
 from the low hassock on which she had perched 
 herself and, running up to Cecil, put her hand 
 through her arm. 
 
 " We are all discussing the mystery, darling," she 
 said ; " we have discussed it, and literally torn it to 
 shreds, and yet never got at the kernel. We have 
 guessed and guessed what your motive can be in 
 concealing the truth from Mrs. Willis, and we all 
 unanimously vote that you are a dear old martyr, 
 and that you have some admirable reason for keep- 
 ing back the truth. You cannot think what an ex- 
 citement we are in even Susy Drummond has 
 stayed awake to listen to our chatter. Now, Cecil, 
 do come and sit here in this most inviting little arm- 
 chair, and tell us what our dear head-mistress said 
 to you in the chapel. It did seem so awful to send 
 you to the chapel, poor dear Cecil."
 
 96 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Cecil stood perfectly still and quiet while Annie 
 was pouring out her torrent of eager words ; her 
 eyes, indeed, did not quite meet her companion's, 
 but she allowed Annie to retain her clasp of her arm, 
 and she evidently listened with attention to her 
 words. Now, however, when Miss Forest tried to 
 draw her into the midst of the eager and animated 
 group who sat round the play-room fire, she hesi- 
 tated and looked longingly in the direction of her 
 peaceful little drawing-room. Her hesitation, how- 
 ever, was but momentary. Quite silently she walked 
 with Annie down the large play-room and entered 
 the group of girls. 
 
 " Here's your throne, Queen Cecil/' said Annie, 
 trying to push her into the little arm-chair ; but 
 Cecil would not seat herself. 
 
 " How nice that you have come, Cecil !" said 
 Mary Pierce, a second-class girl. " I really think 
 we all think that you were very brave to stand out 
 against Mrs. Willis as you did. Of course we are 
 devoured with curiosity to know what it means ; 
 arn't we, Flo ?" 
 
 " Yes, we're in agonies," answered Flo Dunstan, 
 another second-class girl. 
 
 " You will tell exactly what Mrs. Willis said, dar- 
 ling heroine ?" proceeded Annie in her most dulcet 
 tones. " You concealed your knowledge, didn't 
 you ? you were very firm, weren't you ? dear, brave 
 love !" 
 
 " For my part, I think Cecil Temple the soul of 
 brave firmness," here interrupted Susan Drummond.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 97 
 
 w I fancy she's as hard and firm in herself when she 
 wants to conceal a thing as that rocky sweetmeat 
 which always hurts our teeth to get through. Yes, 
 I do fancy that." 
 
 " Oh, Susy, what a horrid metaphor !" here inter- 
 rupted several girls. 
 
 One, however, of the eager group of school-girls 
 had not opened her lips or said a word ; that girl 
 was Hester Thornton. She had been drawn into 
 the circle by an intense curiosity ; but she had made 
 no comment with regard to Cecil's conduct. If she 
 knew anything of the mystery she had thrown no 
 light on it. She had simply sat motionless, with 
 watchful and alert eyes and silent tongue. Now, for 
 the first time, she spoke. 
 
 " I think, if you will allow her, that Cecil has got 
 something to say," she remarked. 
 
 Cecil glanced down at her with a very brief look 
 of gratitude. 
 
 " Thank you, Hester," she said. " I won't keep 
 you a moment, girls. I cannot offer to throw any 
 light on the mystery which makes us all so miserable 
 to-day ; but I think it right to undeceive you with 
 regard to myself. I have not concealed what I 
 know from Mrs. Willis. She is in possession of all 
 the facts, and what I found in my desk this morning 
 is now in her keeping. She has made me see that 
 in concealing my knowledge I was acting wrongly, 
 and whatever pain has come to me in the matter, she 
 now knows all." 
 
 When Cecil had finished her sad little speech she
 
 98 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 walked straight out of the group of girls, and, with- 
 out glancing at one of them, went across the play- 
 room to her own compartment. She had failed to 
 observe a quick and startled glance from Susan 
 Drummond's sleepy blue eyes, nor had she heard 
 her mutter half to her companions, half to her- 
 self : 
 
 " Cecil is not like the rocky sweetmeat ; I was 
 mistaken in her." 
 
 Neither had Cecil seen the flash of almost triumph 
 in Hester's eyes, nor the defiant glance she threw at 
 Miss Forest. Annie stood with her hands clasped, 
 and a little frown of perplexity between her brows, 
 for a moment ; then she ran fearlessly down the 
 play-room, and said in a low voice at the other side 
 of Cecil's curtains : 
 
 " May I come in ?" 
 
 Cecil said "Yes," and Annie, entering the pretty 
 little drawing-room, flung her arms round Miss 
 Temple's neck. 
 
 "Cecil," she exclaimed impulsively, "you're in 
 great tiouble. I am a giddy, reckless thing, I 
 know, but I don't laugh at people when they are in 
 real trouble. Won't you tell me all about it, 
 Cecil ?" 
 
 " I will, Annie. Sit down there and I will tell 
 you everything. I think you have a right to know, 
 and I am glad you have come to me. I thought 
 perhaps but no matter. Annie, can't you guess 
 what I am going to say ?" 
 
 " No, I'm sure I can't," said Annie. " I saw for a
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 99 
 
 moment or two to-day that some of those absurd 
 girls suspected me of being the author of all this 
 mischief. Now, you know, Cecil, I love a bit of fun 
 beyond words. If there's any going on I feel 
 nearly mad until I am in it ; but what was done to- 
 day was not at all in accordance with my ideas of 
 fun. To tear up Miss Russell's essay and fill her 
 desk with stupid plum-cake and Turkish delight 
 seems to me but a sorry kind of jest. Now, if I had 
 been guilty of that sort of thing, I'd have managed 
 something far cleverer than that. If / had tampered 
 with Dora Russell's desk, I'd have done the thing in 
 style. The dear, sweet, dignified creature should 
 have shrieked in real terror. You don't know, per- 
 haps, Cecil, that our admirable Dora is no end of a 
 coward. I wonder what she would have said if I 
 had put a little nest of field-mice in her desk ! I saw 
 that the poor thing suspected me, as she gave way 
 to her usual little sneer about the ' under-bred girl ;' 
 but, of course, you know me, Cecil. Why, my dear 
 Cecil, what is the matter ? How white you are, and 
 you are actually crying ! What is it, Cecil ? what is 
 it, Cecil, darling ?" 
 
 Cecil dried her eyes quickly. 
 
 "You know my pet copy of Mrs. Browning's 
 poems, don't you, Annie ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, of course. You lent it to me one day. 
 Don't you remember how you made me cry over 
 jhat picture of little Alice, the over-worked factory 
 girl ? What about the book, Cecil ?" 
 
 " I found the book in my desk," said Cecil, in a
 
 100 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 steady tone, and now fixing her eyes on Annie, who 
 knelt by her side " I found the book in my desk, 
 although I never keep it there ; for it is quite 
 Against the rules to keep our recreation books in 
 our school desks, and you know, Annie, I always 
 think it is so much easier to keep these little rules. 
 They are matters of duty and conscience, after all. 
 I found my copy of Mrs. Browning in my desk this 
 morning with the cover torn off, and with a very 
 painful and ludicrous caricature of our dear Mrs. 
 Willis sketched on the title-page." 
 
 " What ?" said Annie. " No, no ; impossible !" 
 " You know nothing about it, do you, Annie ?" 
 " I never put it there, if that's what you mean," 
 said Annie. But her face had undergone a curious 
 change. Her light and easy and laughing manner 
 had altered. When Cecil mentioned the caricature 
 she flushed a vivid crimson. Her flush had quickly 
 died away, leaving her olive-tinted face paler than 
 its wont. 
 
 " I see," she said, after a long pause, " you, too, 
 suspected me, Cecil, and that is why you tried to 
 conceal the thing. You know that I am the only 
 girl in the school who can draw caricatures, but did 
 you suppose that I would show her dishonor ? Of 
 course things look ugly for me, if this is what you 
 found in your book ; but I did not think that you 
 would suspect me, Cecil." 
 
 " I will believe you, Annie," said Cecil, eagerly. 
 "I long beyond words to believe you. With all 
 your faults, no one has ever yet found you out in a
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 1Q1 
 
 lie. If you look at me, Annie, and tell me honestly 
 that you know nothing whatever about that cari- 
 cature, I will believe you. Yes, I will believe you 
 fully, and I will go with you to Mrs. Willis and 
 tell her that, whoever did the wrong, you are inno- 
 cent in this matter. Say you know nothing about 
 it, dear, dear Annie, and take a load off my heart." 
 
 " I never put the caricature into your book, 
 Cecil." 
 
 "And you know nothing about it ?" 
 
 " I cannot say that ; I never never put it in your 
 book." 
 
 "Oh, Annie," exclaimed poor Cecil, "you are 
 trying to deceive me. Why won't you be brave ? 
 Oh, Annie, I never thought you would stoop to a 
 lie." 
 
 " I'm telling no lie," answered Annie with sudden 
 passion. " I do know something about the carica- 
 ture, but I never put it into that book. There ! you 
 doubt me, you have ceased to believe me, and I 
 won't waste any more words on the matter." 
 
 .-.[-.V
 
 102 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 "SENT TO COVENTRY." 
 
 THERE were many girls in the school who remenv 
 bered that dismal half-holiday they remembered 
 its forced mirth and its hidden anxiety ; and as the 
 hours flew by the suspicion that Annie Forest was 
 the author of all the mischief grew and deepened. 
 A school is like a little world, and popular opinion 
 is apt to change with great rapidity. Annie was 
 undoubtedly the favorite of the school ; but favor- 
 ites are certain to have enemies, and there were 
 several girls unworthy enough and mean enough to 
 be jealous of poor Annie's popularity. She was the 
 kind of girl whom only very small natures could 
 really dislike. Her popularity arose from the simple 
 fact that hers was a peculiarly joyous and unselfish 
 nature. She was a girl with scarcely any self- 
 consciousness ; those she loved, she loved devotedly; 
 she threw herself with a certain feverish impetu- 
 osity into their lives, and made their interest her 
 own. To get into mischief and trouble for the sake 
 of a friend was an every-day occurrence with Annie. 
 She was not the least studious ; she had no one 
 particular talent, unless it was an untrained and 
 birdlike voice ; she was always more or less in hot
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 103 
 
 water about her lessons, always behindhand in her 
 tasks, always leaving undone what she should do, 
 and doing what she should not do. She was a con- 
 tradictory, erratic creature jealous of no one, 
 envious of no one dearly loving a joke, and many 
 times inflicting pain from sheer thoughtlessness, but 
 always ready to say she was sorry, always ready to 
 make friends again. 
 
 It is strange that such a girl as Annie should have 
 enemies, but she had, and in the last few weeks the 
 feeling of jealousy and envy which had always been 
 smouldering in some breasts took more active form. 
 Two reasons accounted for this : Hester's openly 
 avowed and persistent dislike to Annie, and Miss 
 Russell's declared conviction that she was under- 
 bred and not a lady. 
 
 Miss Russell was the only girl in the first class 
 who had hitherto given wild little Annie a thought. 
 
 In the first class, to-day, Annie had to act the un- 
 pleasing part of the wicked little heroine. Miss 
 Russell was quite certain of Annie's guilt ; she and 
 her companions condescended to discuss poor Annie 
 and to pull all her little virtues to pieces, and to 
 magnify her sins to an alarming extent. 
 
 After two or three hours of judicious conversa- 
 tion, Dora Russell and most of the other first-class 
 girls decided that Annie ought to be expelled, and 
 unanimously resolved that they, at least, would do 
 what they could to " send her to Coventry." 
 
 In the lower part of the school Annie also had 
 a few enemies, and these girls, having carefully
 
 104 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 observed Hester's attitude toward her, now came 
 up close to this dignified little lady, and asked her 
 boldly to declare her opinion with regard to Annie's 
 guilt. 
 
 Hester, without the least hesitation, assured them 
 that " of course Annie had done it." 
 
 " There is not room for a single doubt on the sub- 
 ject," she said ; " there look at her now." 
 
 At this instant Annie was leaving Cecil's com- 
 partment, and with red eyes, and hair, as usual, 
 falling about her face, was running out of the play- 
 room. She seemed in great distress ; but, neverthe- 
 less, before she reached the door, she stopped to 
 pick up a little girl of five, who was fretting about 
 some small annoyance. Annie took the little one 
 in her arms, kissed her tenderly, whispered some 
 words in her ear, which caused the little face to 
 light up with some smiles and the round arms to 
 clasp Annie with an ecstatic hug. She dropped 
 the child, who ran back to play merrily with her 
 companions, and left the room. 
 
 The group of middle-class girls still sat on by the 
 fire, but Hester Thornton now, not Annie, was the 
 center of attraction. It was the first time in all 
 her young life that Hester had found herself in the 
 enviable position of a favorite ; and without at all 
 knowing what mischief she was doing, she could 
 not resist improving the occasion, and making the 
 most of her dislike for Annie. 
 
 Several of those who even were fond of Miss 
 Forest came round to the conviction that she was
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 105 
 
 really guilty, and one by one, as is the fashion not 
 only among school girls but in the greater world 
 outside, they began to pick holes in their former 
 favorite. These girls, too, resolved that, if Annie 
 were really so mean as maliciously to injure other 
 girls' property and get them into trouble, she must 
 be " sent to Coventry." 
 
 " What's Coventry ?" asked one of the little ones, 
 the child whom Annie had kissed and comforted, 
 now sidling up to the group. 
 
 " Oh, a nasty place, Phena," said Mary Bell, 
 putting her arm round the pretty child and drawing 
 her to her side. 
 
 " And who is going there ?" 
 
 " Why, I am afraid it is naughty Annie Forest." 
 
 " She's not naughty ! Annie sha'n't go to any 
 nasty place. I hate you, Mary Bell." The little 
 one looked round the group with flashing eyes of 
 defiance, then wrenched herself away to return to 
 her younger companions. 
 
 " It was stupid of you to say that, Mary," re- 
 marked one of the girls. " Well," she continued, 
 " I suppose it is all settled, and poor Annie, to say 
 the least of it, is not a lady. For my own part, I 
 always thought her great fun, but if she is proved 
 guilty of this offense I wash my hands of her." 
 
 " We all wash our hands of her," echoed the girls, 
 with the exception of Susan Drummond, who, as 
 usual, was nodding in her chair. 
 
 " What do you say, Susy ?" asked one or two ; 
 41 you have not opened your lips all this time."
 
 106 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " I eh ? what ?" asked Susan, stretching her- 
 self and yawning, "oh, about Annie Forest I 
 suppose you are right, girls. Is not that the tea- 
 gong? I'm awfully hungry." 
 
 Hester Thornton went into the tea-room that 
 evening feeling particularly virtuous, and with an 
 idea that she had distinguished herself in some 
 way. 
 
 Poor foolish, thoughtless Hester, she little guessed 
 what seed she had sown, and what a harvest she 
 was preparing for her own reaping by-and-by.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRL!*. 107 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ABOUT SOME PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT NO EVIL. 
 
 A FEW DAYS after this Hester was much delighted? 
 to receive an invitation from her little friends, the 
 Misses Bruce. These good ladies had net forgotten- 
 the lonely and miserable child whom they had com- 
 forted not a little during her journey to school six- 
 weeks ago. They invited Hester to spend the next 
 half -holiday with them, and as this happened to fall 
 on a Saturday, Mrs. Willis gave Hester permission 
 to remain with her friends until eight o'clock, when- 
 she would send the carriage to fetch her home. 
 
 The trouble about Annie had taken place the 
 Wednesday before, and all the girls' heads were full 
 of the uncleared-up mystery when Hester started on- 
 her little expedition. 
 
 Nothing was known ; no fresh light had been 
 thrown on the subject. Everything went on as usual 
 within the school, and a casual observer would never 
 have noticed the cloud which rested over that usually 
 happy dwelling. A casual observer would have 
 noticed little or no change in Annie Forest ; her 
 merry laugh was still heard, her light step still 
 danced across the play-room floor, she was in her 
 place in class, and was, if anything, a little more aV
 
 108 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 tentive and a little more successful over her lessons. 
 Her pretty piquant face, her arch expression, the 
 bright, quick and droll glance which she alone could 
 give, were still to be seen ; but those who knew her 
 well and those who loved her best saw a change in 
 Annie. 
 
 In the play-room she devoted herself exclusively 
 to the little ones ; she never went near Cecil Temple's 
 drawing-room ; she never mingled with the girls of 
 the middle school as they clustered round the cheer- 
 ful fire. At meal-times she ate little, and her room- 
 fellow was heard to declare that she was awakened 
 more than once in the middle of the night by the 
 sound of Annie's sobs. In chapel, too, when she 
 fancied herself quite unobserved, her face wore an 
 .expression of great pain ; but if Mrs. Willis happened 
 to glance in her direction, instantly the little mouth 
 became demure and almost hard, the dark eyelashes 
 were lowered over the bright eyes, the whole ex- 
 pression of the face showed the extreme of indiffer- 
 ence. Hester felt more sure than ever of Annie's 
 guilt ; but one or two of the other girls in the school 
 wavered in this opinion, and would have taken Annie 
 out of " Coventry " had she herself made the small- 
 est advance toward them. 
 
 Annie and Hester had not spoken to each other 
 now for several days ; but on this afternoon, which 
 was a bright one in early spring, as Hester was 
 changing her school-dress for her Sunday one, and 
 preparing for her visit to the Misses Bruce, there 
 -came a li#ht knock at her door. She said, " Come
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 109 
 
 in !" rather impatiently, for she was in a hurry, and 
 dreaded being kept. 
 
 To her surprise Annie Forest put in her curly 
 head, and then, dancing" with her usual light move- 
 ment across the room, she laid a little bunch of 
 dainty spring flowers on the dressing-table beside 
 Hester. 
 
 Hester stared, first at the intruder, and then at 
 the early primroses. She passionately loved flow- 
 ers, and would have exclaimed with ecstasy at these 
 had any one brought them in except Annie. 
 
 " I want you," said Annie, rather timidly for her, 
 " to take these flowers from me to Miss Agnes and 
 Miss Jane Bruce. It will be very kind of you if you 
 will take them. I am sorry to have interrupted 
 you thank you very much." 
 
 She was turning away when Hester compelled 
 herself to remark : 
 
 " Is there any message with the flowers ?" 
 
 " Oh, no only Annie Forest's love. They'll un- 
 derstand " she turned half round as she spoke, 
 
 and Hester saw that her eyes had filled with tears. 
 She felt touched in spite of herself. There was 
 something in Annie's face now which reminded her 
 of her darling little Nan at home. She had seen 
 the same beseeching, sorrowful look in Nan's brown 
 eyes when she had wanted her friends to kiss her 
 and take her to their hearts and love her. 
 
 Hester would not allow herself, however, to feel 
 any tenderness toward Annie. Of course she was 
 not really a bit like sweet little Nan, and it was ab-
 
 110 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 surd to suppose that a great girl like Annie could 
 want caressing and petting and soothing ; still, in 
 spite of herself, Annie's look haunted her, and she 
 took great care of the little flower-offering, and pre- 
 sented it with Annie's message instantly on her ar- 
 rival to the little old ladies. 
 
 Miss Jane and Miss Agnes were very much pleased 
 with the early primroses. They looked at one an- 
 other and said : 
 
 "Poor dear little girl," in tender voices, and then 
 they put the flowers into one of their daintiest vases, 
 and made much of them, and showed them to any 
 visitors who happened to call that afternoon. 
 
 Their little house looked something like a doll's 
 house to Hester, who had been accustomed all her 
 life to large rooms and spacious passages ; but it was 
 the sweetest, daintiest, and most charming little 
 abode in the world. It was not unlike a nest, and 
 the Misses Bruce in certain ways resembled bright 
 little robin redbreasts, so small, so neat, so chirrupy 
 they were. 
 
 Hester enjoyed her afternoon immensely ; the lit- 
 tle ladies were right in their prophesy, and she was 
 no longer lonely at school. She enjoyed talking 
 about her schoolfellows, about her new life, about 
 her studies. The Misses Bruce were decidedly fond 
 of a gossip, but something which she could not at all 
 define in their manner prevented Hester from retail- 
 ing for their benefit any unkind news. They told 
 her frankly at last that they were only interested in 
 the good things which went on in the school, and
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. HI 
 
 that they found no pursuit so altogether delightful 
 as finding out the best points in all the people they 
 came across. They would not even laugh at sleepy, 
 tiresome Susan Drummond ; on the contrary, they 
 pitied her, and Miss Jane wondered if the girl could 
 be quite well, whereupon Miss Agnes shook her 
 head, and said emphatically that it was Hester's duty 
 to rouse poor Susy, and to make her waking life so 
 interesting to her that she should no longer care to 
 spend so many hours in the world of dreams. 
 
 There is such a thing as being so kind-hearted, 
 so gentle, so charitable as to make the people who 
 have not encouraged these virtues feel quite uncom- 
 fortable. By the mere force of contrast they be- 
 gin to see themselves something as they really are. 
 Since Hester had come to Lavender House she had 
 taken very little pains to please others rather than 
 herself, and she was now almost startled to see how 
 she had allowed selfishness to get the better of her. 
 While the Misses Bruce were speaking, old longings, 
 which had slept since her mother's death, came 
 back to the young girl, and she began to wish that 
 she could be kinder to Susan Drummond, and that 
 she could overcome her dislike to Annie Forest. 
 She longed to say something about Annie to the 
 little ladies, but they evidently did not wish to 
 allude to the subject. When she was going away, 
 they gave her a small parcel. 
 
 " You will kindly give this to your schoolfellow, 
 Miss Forest, Hester, dear," they both said, and then 
 they kissed her, and said they hoped they should
 
 112 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 see her again ; and Hester got into the old-fashioned 
 school brougham, and held the brown paper parcel 
 in her hand. 
 
 As she was going into the chapel that night, 
 Mary Bell came up to her and whispered : 
 
 " We have not got to the bottom of that mystery 
 about Annie Forest yet. Mrs. Willis can evidently 
 make nothing of her, and I believe Mr. Everard is 
 going to talk to her after prayers to-night." 
 
 As she was speaking, Annie herself pushed rather 
 rudely past the two girls ; her face was flushed, and 
 her hair was even more untidy than was its wont. 
 
 "Here is a parcel for you, Miss Forest," said 
 Hester, in a much more gentle tone than she was 
 wont to use when she addressed this objectionable 
 schoolmate. 
 
 All the girls were now filing into the chapel, 
 and Hester should certainly not have presented the 
 little parcel at that moment. 
 
 " Breaking the rules, Miss Thornton," said Annie ; 
 " all right, toss it here." Then, as Hester failed to 
 comply, she ran back, knocking her schoolfellows 
 out of place, and, snatching the parcel from Hester's 
 hand, threw it high in the air. This was a piece of not 
 only willful audacity and disobedience, but it even 
 savored of the profane, for Annie's step was on the 
 threshold of the chapel, and the parcel fell with a 
 noisy bang on the floor some feet inside the little 
 building. 
 
 " Bring me that parcel, Annie Forest," whispered 
 voice of the head-mistress.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 113 
 
 Annie sullenly complied ; but when she came up 
 to Mrs. Willis, her governess took her hand, and 
 pushed her down into a low seat a little behind 
 her. 
 
 \
 
 114 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "AN ENEMY HATH DONE THIS." 
 
 THE SHORT evening service was over, and one by 
 tme, in orderly procession, the girls left the chapel. 
 Annie was about to rise to her feet to follow her 
 school-companions, when Mrs. Willis stooped down 
 -and whispered something in her ear. Her face be- 
 came instantly suffused with a dull red ; she re- 
 sumed her seat, and buried her face in both her hands. 
 One or two of the girls noticed her despondent 
 attitude as they left the chapel, and Cecil Temple 
 looked back with a glance of such unutterable 
 sympathy that Annie's proud, suffering little heart 
 would have been touched could she but have seen 
 the look. 
 
 Presently the young steps died away, and Annie, 
 raising her head, saw that she was alone with Mr. 
 Everard, who seated himself in the place which Mrs. 
 Willis had occupied by her side. 
 
 " Your governess has asked me to speak to you, 
 my dear," he said, in his kind and fatherly tones ; 
 " she wants us to discuss this thing which is making 
 you so unhappy quite fully together." Here the 
 clergyman paused, and noticing a sudden wistful 
 and soft look in the girl's brown eyes, he continued :
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 115 
 
 " Perhaps, however, you have something to say to 
 me which will throw light on this mystery ?" 
 
 "No, sir, I have nothing to say," replied Annie, 
 and now again the sullen expression passed like a 
 wave over her face. 
 
 " Poor child," said Mr. Everard. " Perhaps, 
 Annie," he continued, " you do not quite understand 
 me you do not quite read my motive in talking to 
 you to-night. I am not here in any sense to reprove 
 you. You are either guilty of this sin, or you are 
 not guilty. In either case I pity you ; it is very 
 hard, very bitter, to be falsely accused I pity you 
 much if this is the case ; but it is still harder, Annie, 
 still more bitter, still more absolutely crushing to 
 be accused of a sin which we are trying to conceal. 
 In that terrible case God Himself hides His face. 
 Poor child, poor child, I pity you most of all if you 
 are guilty." 
 
 Annie had again covered her face, and bowed her 
 head over her hands. She did not speak for a 
 moment, but presently Mr. Everard heard a low sob, 
 and then another, and another, until at last her whole 
 frame was shaken with a perfect tempest of weeping. 
 
 The old clergyman, who had seen many strange 
 phases of human nature, who had in his day com- 
 forted and guided more than one young school-girl, 
 was far too wise to do anything to check this flow 
 of grief. He knew Annie would speak more fully 
 and more frankly when her tears were over. He 
 was right. She presently raised a very tear-stained 
 face to the clergym n. 
 
 N
 
 116 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " I felt very bitter at your coming to speak to 
 me," she began. " Mrs. Willis has always sent for 
 you when everything else has failed with us girls, 
 and I did not think she would treat me so. I was 
 determined not to say anything to you. Now, how- 
 ever, you have spoken good words to me, and I can't 
 turn away from you. I will tell you all that is in 
 my heart. I will promise before God to conceal 
 nothing, if only you will do one thing for me." 
 
 " What is that, my child ?" 
 
 " Will you believe me ?" 
 
 " Undoubtedly." 
 
 " Ah, but you have not been tried yet. I thought 
 Mrs. Willis would certainly believe ; but she said 
 the circumstantial evidence was too strong per- 
 haps it will be too strong for you." 
 
 " I promise to believe you, Annie Forest ; if, be- 
 fore God, you can assure me that you are speaking 
 the whole truth, I will fully believe you." 
 
 Annie paused again, then she rose from her seat 
 and stood a pace away from the old minister. 
 
 " This is the truth before God," she said, as she 
 locked her two hands together and raised her eyes 
 freely and unshrinkingly to Mr. Everard's face. 
 
 " I have always loved Mrs. Willis. I have rea- 
 sons for loving her which the girls don't know 
 about. The girls don't know that when my mother 
 was dying she gave me into Mrs. Willis' charge, 
 and she said, 'You must keep Annie until her 
 father comes back.' Mother did not know where 
 father was ; but she said he would be sure to come
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 117 
 
 back some day, and look for mother and me ; and 
 Mrs. Willis said she would keep me faithfully until 
 father came to claim me. That is four years ago, and 
 my father has never come, nor have I heard of him, 
 and I think, I am almost sure, that the little 
 money which mother left must be all used up. Mrs. 
 Willis never says anything about money, and she 
 did not wish me to tell my story to the girls. 
 None of them know except Cecil Temple. I am 
 sure some day father will come home, and he will 
 give Mrs. Willis back the money she has spent on 
 me ; but never, never, never can he repay her for her 
 goodness to me. You see I cannot help loving Mrs. 
 Willis. It is quite impossible for any girl to have 
 such a friend and not to love her. I know I am 
 very wild, and that I do all sorts of mad things. It 
 seems to me that I cannot help myself sometimes ; 
 but I would not willingly, indeed, I would not 
 willingly hurt anybody. Last Wednesday, as you 
 know, there was a great disturbance in the school. 
 Dora Russell's desk was tampered with, and so was 
 Cecil Temple's. You know, of course, what was 
 found in both the desks. Mrs. Willis sent for me, 
 and asked me about the caricature which was drawn 
 in Cecil's book. I looked at it and I told her 
 the truth. I did not conceal one thing. I told her 
 the whole truth as far as I knew it. She did not be- 
 lieve me. She said so. What more could I do then ?" 
 Here Annie paused ; she began to unclasp and clasp 
 her hands, and she looked full at Mr. Ev^rard with 
 a most pleading expression.
 
 118 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Do you mind repeating to me exactly what you 
 
 said to your governess ?" he questioned. 
 
 " I said this, sir. I said, ' Yes, Mrs. Willis, I did 
 draw that caricature. You will scarcely understand 
 how I, who love you so much, could have been so 
 mad and ungrateful as to do anything to turn you 
 into ridicule. I would cut off my right hand now 
 not to have done it ; but I did do it, and I must tell 
 you the truth.' 'Tell me, dear,' she said, quite 
 gently then. 'It was one wet afternoon about a 
 fortnight ago,' I said to her ; ' a lot of us middle- 
 school girls were sitting together, and I had a pencil 
 and some bits of paper, and I was making up funny 
 little groups of a lot of us, and the girls were scream- 
 ing with laughter, for somehow I managed to make 
 the likeness that I wanted in each case. It was 
 very wrong of me, I know. It was against the 
 mles, but I was in one of my maddest humors, and I 
 really did not care what the consequences were. At 
 last one of the girls said : ' You won't dare to make 
 a picture like that of Mrs. Willis, Annie you know 
 you won't dare.' The minute she said that name I be- 
 gan to feel ashamed. I remembered I was breaking 
 one of the rules, and I suddenly tore up all my bits 
 of paper and flung them into the fire, and I said : 
 ' No, J would not dare to show her dishonor.' Well, 
 afterward, as I was washing my hands for tea up 
 in my room, the temptation came over me so strongly 
 that I felt I could not resist it, to make a funny 
 little sketch of Mrs. Willis. I had a little scrap of 
 thin paper, and I took out my pencil and did it all
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 119 
 
 In a minute. It seemed to me very funny, and I 
 could not help laughing at it ; and then I thrust it 
 into my private writing-case, which I always keep 
 locked, and I put the key in my pocket and ran 
 downstairs. I forgot all about the caricature. I 
 had never shown it to any one. How it got into 
 Cecil's book is more than I can say. When I had 
 finished speaking Mrs. Willis looked very hard at 
 the book. ' You are right/ she said ; ' this caricature 
 is drawn on a very thin piece of paper, which has 
 been cleverly pasted on the title-page.' Then, Mr. 
 Everard, she asked me a lot of questions. Had I 
 ever parted with my keys ? Had I ever left my desk 
 unlocked ? ' No,' I said, ' my desk is always locked, 
 and my keys are always in my pocket. Indeed,' I 
 added, 'my keys were absolutely safe for the last 
 week, for they went in a white petticoat to the wash, 
 and came back as rusty as possible.' I could not 
 open my desk for a whole week, which was a great 
 nuisance. I told all this story to Mrs. Willis, and 
 she said to me : ' You are positively certain that this 
 caricature has been taken out of your desk by some- 
 body else, and pasted in here ? You are sure that the 
 caricature you drew is not to be found in your desk ?' 
 * Yes,' I said ; 'how can I be anything but sure ; these 
 are my pencil marks, and that is the funny little turn 
 I gave to your neck which made me laugh when I 
 drew it. Yes ; I am certainly sure.' 
 
 "'I have always been told, Annie,' Mrs. Willis 
 said, ' that you are the only girl in the school who 
 can draw these caricatures. You have never seen an
 
 120 A WORLD OF GJRL& 
 
 attempt at this kind of drawing among your scnool- 
 fellows, or among any of the teachers ?' 
 
 " ' I have never seen any of them try this special 
 kind of drawing,' I said. * I wish I was like them. 
 I wish I had never, never done it.' 
 
 "'You have got your keys now?' Mrs. Willis 
 said. 
 
 " ' Yes,' I answered, pulling them all covered with 
 rust out of my pocket. 
 
 " Then she told me to leave the keys on the table, 
 and to go upstairs and fetch down my little private 
 desk. 
 
 " I did so, and she made me put the rusty key in the 
 lock and open the desk, and together we searched 
 through its contents. We pulled out everything, or 
 rather I did, and I scattered all my possessions about 
 on the table, and then I looked up almost trium- 
 phantly at Mrs. Willis. 
 
 "'You see the caricature is not here,' I said; 
 ' somebody picked the lock and took it away.' 
 
 "'This lock has not been picked,' Mrs. Willis said ; 
 ' and what is that little piece of white paper sticking 
 out of the private drawer ?' 
 
 '"Oh, I forgot my private drawer,' I said; 'but 
 there is nothing in it nothing whatever,' and then I 
 touched the spring, and pulled it open, and there lay 
 the little caricature which I had drawn in the bottom 
 of the drawer. There it lay, not as I had left it, for I 
 had never put it into the private drawer. I saw Mrs. 
 Willis' face turn very white, and I noticed that her 
 hands trembled. I was all red myself, and very hot.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 121 
 
 and there was a. choking lump in my throat, and I 
 could not have got a single word out even if I had 
 wished to. So I began scrambling the things back 
 into my desk, as hard as ever I could, and then I 
 locked it, and put the rusty keys back in my pocket. 
 
 "What am I to believe now, Annie?" Mrs. Willis 
 said. 
 
 "'Believe anything you like no<v,' I managed to 
 say ; and then I took my desk and walked out of the 
 room, and would not wait even though she called me 
 back. 
 
 " That is the whole story, Mr. Everard," continued 
 Annie. " I have no explanation whatever to give. 
 I did make the one caricature of my dear gover- 
 ness. I did not make the other. The second 
 caricature is certainly a copy of the first, but I did 
 not make it. I don't know who made it. I have 
 no light whatever to throw on the subject You 
 see after all," added Annie Forest, raising her eyes 
 to the clergyman's face, " it is impossible for you to 
 believe me. Mrs. Willis does not believe me, and 
 you cannot be expected to. I don't suppose you are 
 to be blamed. I don't see how you can help your- 
 self." 
 
 " The circumstantial evidence is very strong against 
 you, Annie," replied the clergyman ; "still, I 
 promised to believe, and I have no intention of go- 
 ing back from my word. If, in the presence of God 
 in this little church, you would willingly and delib- 
 erately tell me a lie I should never trust human 
 being again. No, Annie Forest, you have many
 
 122 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 faults, but you are not a liar. I see the impress of 
 truth on your brow, in your eyes, on your lips. 
 This is a very painful mystery, my child, but I 
 believe you. I am going to see Mrs. Willis now. 
 God bless you, Annie. Be brave, be courageous, 
 don't foster malice in your heart to any unknown 
 enemy. An enemy has truly done this thing, poor 
 child ; but God Himself will bring this mystery to 
 light. Trust Him, my dear ; and now I am going 
 to see Mrs Willis." 
 
 While Mr. Everard was speaking, Annie's whole 
 expressive face had changed ; the sullen look had 
 left it ; the eyes were bright with renewed hope ; 
 the lips had parted in smiles. There was a struggle 
 for speech, but no words came : the young girl 
 stooped down and raised the old clergyman's 
 withered hands to her lips. 
 
 " Let me stay here a little longer," she managed 
 to say at last ; and then he left her.
 
 A WORLD OF G2RL& 185 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 "THE SWEETS ARE POISONED.'* 
 
 " I THINK, my dear madam," said Mr. Everard to 
 Mrs. Willis, "that you must believe your pupil. 
 She has not refused to confess to you from any 
 stubbornness, but from the simple reason that she 
 has nothing to confess. I am firmly convinced that 
 things are as she stated them, Mrs. Willis. There is 
 a mystery here which we neither of us can explain, 
 but which we must unravel." 
 
 Then Mrs. Willis and the clergyman had a long 
 and anxious talk together. It lasted for a long 
 time, and some of its results at least were manifest 
 the next morning, for, just before the morning's 
 work began, Mrs. Willis came to the large school- 
 room, and, calling Annie Forest to her side, laid 
 her hand on the young girl's shoulder. 
 
 " I wish to tell you all, young ladies," she said, 
 " that I completely and absolutely exonerate Annie 
 Forest from having any part in the disgraceful 
 occurrence which took place in this school-room a 
 short time ago. I allude, of course, as you all know, 
 to the book which was found tampered with in Cecil 
 Teiyv-'le's desk. Some one else in this room is 
 guf r and thte mystery has still to be unraveled,
 
 124 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 and the guilty girl has still to come forward and 
 declare herself. If she is willing at this moment to 
 Come to me here, and fully and freely confess her 
 sin, I will quite forgive her." 
 
 The head-mistress paused, and, still with her hand 
 on Annie's shoulder, looked anxiously down the 
 long room. The love and forgiveness which she 
 felt shone in her eyes at this moment. No girl need 
 2iave feared aught but tenderness from her just 
 then. 
 
 k No one stirred ; the moment passed, and a look of 
 sternness returned to the mistress' fine face. 
 
 "No," she said, in her emphatic and clear tones, 
 
 '"the guilty girl prefers waiting until God discovers 
 
 Iher sin for her. My dear, whoever you are, that 
 
 Ihour is coming, and you cannot escape from it. In 
 
 the meantime, girls, I wish you all to receive Annie 
 
 Forest as quite innocent. I believe in her, so does 
 
 Mr. Everard, and so must you. Any one who treats 
 
 Miss Forest except as a perfectly innocent and 
 
 truthful girl incurs my severe displeasure. My 
 
 dear, you may return to your seat." 
 
 Annie, whose face was partly hidden by her curly 
 hair during the greater part of this speech, now 
 tossed it back, and raised her brown eyes with a 
 look of adoration in them to her teacher. Mrs. 
 Willis' face, however, still looked harassed. Her 
 eyes met Annie's, but no corresponding glow was 
 Hndled in them ; their glance was just, calm, but 
 cold. . 
 The childish heart was conscious of a keen pang
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 12>> 
 
 01 agony, and Annie went back to her lessons with- 
 out any sense of exultation. 
 
 The fact was this : Mrs. Willis' judgment and 
 reason had been brought round by Mr. Everard's 
 words, but in her heart of hearts, almost unknown 
 to herself, there still lingered a doubt of the inno- 
 cence of her wayward and pretty pupil. She said 
 over and over to herself that she really now quite 
 believed in Annie Forest, but then would come 
 those whisperings from her pained and sore heart. 
 
 " Why did she ever make a caricature of one who 
 has been as a mother to her ? If she made one cari- 
 cature, could she not make another? Above all 
 things, if she did not do it, who did ?" 
 
 Mrs. Willis turned away from these unpleasant 
 whispers she would not let them stay with her, 
 and turned a deaf ear to their ugly words. She 
 had publicly declared in the school her belief in 
 Annie's absolute innocence, but at the moment when 
 her pupil looked up at her with a world of love and 
 adoration in her gaze, she found to her own infinite 
 distress that she could not give her the old love. 
 
 Annie went back to her companions, and bent 
 her head over her lessons, and tried to believe that 
 she was very thankful and very happy, and Cecil 
 Temple managed to whisper a gentle word of con- 
 gratulation to her, and at the twelve o'clock walk 
 Annie perceived that a few of her schoolfellows 
 looked at her with friendly eyes again. She per- 
 ceived now that when she went into the play-room 
 she was not absolutely tabooed, and that, if she
 
 126 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Ctiose, she might speedily resume her old reign of 
 popularity. Annie had, to a remarkable extent, the 
 gift of inspiring love, and her old favorites would 
 quickly have flocked back to their sovereign had 
 she so willed it. It is certainly true that the girls 
 to whom the whole story was known in all its bear- 
 ings found it difficult to understand how Annie 
 could be innocent ; but Mr. Everard's and Mrs. 
 Willis* assertions were too potent to be disregarded, 
 and most of the girls were only too willing to let 
 the whole affair slide from their minds, and to take 
 back their favorite Annie to their hearts again. 
 
 Annie, however, herself did not so will it. In the 
 playroom she fraternized with the little ones who 
 were alike her friends in adversity and sunshine ; 
 she rejected almost coldly the overtures of her old 
 favorites, but played, and romped, and was merry 
 with the children of the sixth class. She even de- 
 clined Cecil's invitation to come and sit with her in 
 her drawing-room. 
 
 " Oh, no," she said. " I hate being still ; I am in 
 no humor for talk. Another time, Cecil, another 
 time. Now then, Sybil, my beauty, get well on my 
 back, and I'll be the willing dog carrying you round 
 and round the room." 
 
 Annie's face had not a trace of care or anxiety on 
 it, but her eyes would not quite meet Cecil's, and 
 Cecil sighed as she turned away, and her heart, 
 too, began to whisper little, mocking, ugly doubts of 
 poor Annie. 
 
 During the half-hour before tea that evening
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 127 
 
 Annie was sitting on the floor with a small child 
 in her lap, and two other little ones tumbling about 
 her, when she was startled by a shower of lollipops 
 being poured over her head, down her neck, and 
 into her lap. She started up and met the sleepy 
 gaze of Susan Drummond. 
 
 "That's to congratulate you, miss," said Susan; 
 " you're a very lucky girl to have escaped as you 
 did." 
 
 The little ones began putting Susan's lollipops 
 vigorously into their mouths. Annie sprang to her 
 feet shaking the sticky sweetmeats out of her dress 
 on to the floor. 
 
 " What have I escaped from ?" she asked, turn- 
 ing round and facing her companion haughtily. 
 
 "Oh, dear me !" said Susan, stepping back a pace 
 or two. " I ah " stifling a yawn " I only meant 
 you were very near getting into an ugly scrape. It's 
 no affair of mine, I'm sure ; only I thought you'd 
 like the lollipops." 
 
 " No, I don't like them at all," said Annie, " nor 
 you, either. Go back to your own companions, 
 please." 
 
 Susan sulkily walked away, and Annie stooped 
 down on the floor. 
 
 " Now, little darlings,'' she said, " you mustn't 
 eat those. No, no, they are not good at all ; and 
 they have come from one of Annie's enemies. Most 
 likely they are full of poison. Let us collect them 
 all, every one, and we will throw them into the fire 
 before we go to tea."
 
 128 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " But I don't think there's any poison in them,** 
 said little Janie West in a regretful tone, as she 
 gobbled down a particularly luscious chocolate cream; 
 " they are all big, and fat, and bursty, and so sweet, 
 Annie, dear." 
 
 " Never mind, Janie, they are dangerous sweeties 
 all the same. Come, come, throw them into my 
 apron, and I will run over and toss them into the 
 fire, and we'll have time for a game of leap-frog be- 
 fore tea; oh, fie, Judy," as a very small fat baby 
 began to whimper, " you would not eat the sweeties 
 of one of Annie's enemies." 
 
 This last appeal was successful. The children 
 made a valiant effort, and dashed the tempting good- 
 ies into Annie's alapaca apron. When they were 
 all collected, she marched up the playroom and in 
 the presence of Susan Drummond, H ester Thornton, 
 Cecil Temple, and several more of her school com- 
 panions, threw them into the fire. 
 
 "So much for that overture, Miss Drummond," 
 she said, making a mock courtesy, and returning once 
 more to the children.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 129 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 IN THE HAMMOCK. 
 
 JUST at this time the weather suddenly changed. 
 After the cold and dreariness of winter came soft 
 spring days came longer evenings and brighter 
 mornings. 
 
 Hester Thornton found that she could dress by 
 daylight, then that she was no longer cold and shiv- 
 ering when she reached the chapel, then that she 
 began intensely to enjoy her mid-day walk, then that 
 she found her winter things a little too hot, until at 
 last, almost suddenly it seemed to the expectant and 
 anxious girls, glorious spring weather broke upon the 
 world, the winds were soft and westerly, the buds 
 swelled and swelled into leaf on the trees, and the 
 flowers bloomed in the delightful old-fashioned 
 gardens of Lavender House. Instantly, it seemed 
 to the girls, their whole lives had altered. The play- 
 room was deserted or only put up with on wet days. 
 At twelve o'clock, instead of taking a monotonous 
 walk on the roads, they ran races, played tennis, 
 croquet, or any other game they liked best in the 
 gardens. Later on in the day, when the sun was 
 not so powerful, they took their walk ; but even 
 then they had time to rush back to their beloved
 
 130 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 
 
 shady garden for a little time before tea and prepa- 
 ration for their next day's work. Easter came this 
 year about the middle of April, and Easter found 
 these girls almost enjoying summer weather. How 
 they looked forward to their few Easter holidays ! 
 what plans they made, what tennis matches were ar- 
 ranged, what games and amusements of all sorts were 
 in anticipation ! Mrs. Willis herself generally went 
 away for a few days at Easter; so did the French 
 governess, and the school was nominally placed under 
 the charge of Miss Good and Miss Danesbury. Mrs. 
 Willis did not approve of long Easter holidays ; she 
 never gave more than a week, and in consequence 
 only the girls who lived quite near went home. Out 
 of the fifty girls who resided at Lavender House 
 about ten went away at Easter ; the remaining forty 
 stayed behind, and were often heard to declare that 
 holidays at Lavender House were the most delightful 
 things in the world. 
 
 At this particular Easter time the girls were rather 
 surprised to hear that Mrs. Willis had made up her 
 mind not to go away as usual ; Miss Good was to 
 have a holiday, and Mrs. Willis and Miss Danesbury 
 were to look after the school. This was felt to be an 
 unusual, indeed unheard of, proceeding, and the girls 
 commented about it a good deal, and somehow, 
 without absolute*; 7 intending to do so, they began to 
 settle in their own nuMs that Mrs. Willis was staying 
 in the school on account of Annie Forest, and that in 
 her heart of hearts she did not absolutely believe in 
 her innocence. Mrs. Willis certainly gave the girls no
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 131 
 
 reason to come to this conclusion ; she was con- 
 sistently kind to Annie, and had apparently quite 
 restored her to her old place in her favor. Annie 
 was more gentle than of old, and less inclined to 
 get into scrapes ; but the girls loved her far less in 
 her present unnatural condition of reserve and good 
 behavior than they did in her old daring and hoy- 
 denish days. Cecil Temple always spent Easter 
 with an old aunt who lived in a neighboring 
 town ; she openly said this year that she did not 
 wish to go away, but her governess would not allow 
 her to change her usual plans, and she left Lavender 
 House with a curious feeling of depression and com- 
 ing trouble. As she was getting into the cab which 
 was to take her to the station Annie flew to her side, 
 threw a great bouquet of flowers which she had 
 gathered into her lap, and, flinging her arms tightly 
 found her neck, whispered suddenly and passion- 
 ately : 
 
 " Oh, Cecil, believe in me." 
 
 " I I I don't know that I don't," said Cecil, 
 rather lamely. 
 
 " No, Cecil, you don't not in your heart of hearts. 
 Neither you nor Mrs. Willis you neither of you 
 believe in me from the very bottom of your hearts ; 
 oh, it is hard !" 
 
 Annie gave vent to a little sob, sprang away 
 from Cecil's arms, and disappeared into a shrubbery 
 close by. 
 
 She stayed there until the sound of the retreating 
 cab died away in the avenue, then, tossing back her
 
 132 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 hair, rearranging her rather tattered garden hat, 
 and hastily wiping some tears from her eyes, she 
 came out from her retreat, and began to look 
 around her for some amusement. What should she 
 do ? Where should she go ? How should she 
 occupy herself ? Sounds of laughter and merriment 
 filled the air; the garden was all alive with gay 
 young figures running here and there. Girls stood 
 in groups under the horse-chestnut tree girls 
 walked two and two up the shady walk at the end 
 of the garden little ones gamboled and rolled on 
 the grass a tennis match was going on vigorously, 
 and the croquet ground was occupied by eight girls 
 of the middle school. Annie was one of the most 
 successful tennis players in the school ; she had 
 indeed a gift for all games of skill, and seldom 
 missed her mark. Now she looked with a certain 
 wistful longing toward the tennis-court ; but, after 
 a brief hesitation, she turned away from it, and 
 entered the shady walk at the farther end of the 
 garden. As she walked along, slowly, meditatively, 
 and sadly, her eyes suddenly lighted up. Glancing 
 to one of the tall trees she saw a hammock sus- 
 pended there which had evidently been forgotten 
 during the winter. The tree was not yet quite in 
 leaf, and it was very easy for Annie to climb up its 
 branches to re-adjust the hammock, and to get into it. 
 After its winter residence in the tree this soft couch 
 was found full of withered leaves, and otherwise 
 rather damp and uncomfortable. Annie tossed the 
 leaves on to the ground, and laughed as she swung
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 133 
 
 herself gently backward and forward. Early as the 
 season still was the sun was*so bright and the air so 
 soft that she could not but enjoy herself, and she 
 laughed with pleasure, and only wished that she 
 had a fairy tale by her side to help to soothe her off 
 to sleep. 
 
 In the distance she heard some children calling 
 " Annie," "Annie Forest;" but she was far too 
 comfortable and too lazy to answer them, and 
 presently she closed her eyes and really did fall 
 asleep. 
 
 She was awakened by a very slight sound by 
 nothing more nor less than the gentle and very re- 
 fined conversation of two girls, who sat under the 
 oak tree in which Annie's hammock swung. Hear- 
 ing the voices, she bent a little forward, and saw 
 that the speakers were Dora Russell and Hester 
 Thornton. Her first inclination was to laugh, toss 
 down some leaves, and instantly reveal herself ; the 
 next she drew back hastily, and began to listen with 
 all her ears. 
 
 " I never liked her," said Hester " I never even 
 from the very first pretended to like her. I think 
 she is under-bred, and not fit to associate with the 
 other girls in the school-room." 
 
 "She is treated with most unfair partiality," 
 retorted Miss Russell in her thin and rather bitter 
 voice. " I have not the smallest doubt, not the 
 smallest, that she was guilty of putting those messes 
 into my desk, of destroying my composition, and of 
 caricaturing Mrs. Willis in Cecil Temple's book. I
 
 134 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 wonder after that Mrs. Willis did not see through 
 her, but it is astonishing to what lengths favoritism 
 will carry one. Mrs. Willis and Mr. Everard are 
 behaving in a very unfair way to the rest of us in 
 upholding this commonplace, disagreeable girl ; but 
 it will be to Mrs. Willis' own disadvantage, Hester, 
 I am, as you know, leaving school at midsummer, 
 and I shall certainly use all my influence to induce 
 my father and mother not to send the younger girls 
 here ; they could not associate with a person like 
 Miss Forest." 
 
 " I never take much notice of her," said Hester ; 
 " but of course what you say is quite right, Dora. 
 You have great discrimination, and your sisters 
 might possibly be taken in by her." 
 
 " Oh, not at all, I assure you ; they know a true 
 lady when they see her. However, they must not 
 be emperilled. I will ask my parents to send them 
 to Mdlle. Lablanche". I hear that her establishment 
 is most rechercht." 
 
 " Mrs. Willis is very nice herself, and so are most 
 of the girls," said Hester, after a pause. Then they 
 were both silent, for Hester had stooped down to 
 examine some little fronds and moss which grew 
 at the foot of the tree. After a pause, Hester said : 
 
 " I don't think Annie is the favorite she was with 
 the girls." 
 
 " Oh, of course not ; they all, in their heart of 
 hearts, know she is guilty. Will you come indoors, 
 and have tea with me in my drawing-room, 
 Hester ?"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 135 
 
 The two girls walked slowly away, and presently 
 Annie let herself gently out of her hammock and 
 dropped to the ground. 
 
 She had heard every word ; she had not revealed 
 herself, and a new and terrible and, truth to say, 
 absolutely foreign sensation from her true nature 
 now filled her mind. She felt that she almost hated 
 these two who had spoken so cruelly, so unjustly 
 of her. She began to trace her misfortunes and 
 her unhappiness to the date of Hester's entrance 
 into the school. Even more than Dora Russell did 
 she dislike Hester ; she made up her mind to re- 
 venge herself on both these girls. Her heart was 
 very, very sore ; she missed the old words, the 
 old love, the old brightness, the old popularity ; 
 she missed the mother-tones in Mrs. Willis' 
 voice her heart cried out for them, at night she 
 often wept for them. She became more and 
 more sure that she owed all her misfortunes to 
 Hester, and in a smaller degree to Dora. Dora be- 
 lieved that she had deliberately insulted her, and in- 
 jured her composition, when she knew herself that 
 she was quite innocent of even harboring such a 
 thought, far less carrying it into effect. Well, now, 
 she would really do something to injure both these 
 girls, and perhaps the carrying out of her revenge 
 would satisfy her sore heart.
 
 136 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CUP AND BALL. 
 
 JUST toward the end of the Easter holidays, Hester 
 Thornton was thrown into a great tumult of excite- 
 ment, of wonder, of half regret and half joy, by a 
 letter which she received from her father. In this 
 
 
 
 letter he informed her that he had made up his mind 
 to break up his establishment for several years, to 
 go abroad, and to leave Hester altogether under 
 Mrs. Willis' care. 
 
 When Hester had read so far, she flung her letter 
 on the table, put her head into her hands, and burst 
 into tears. 
 
 " Oh, how cruel of father !" she excaimed ; "how 
 am I to live without ever going home how am I to 
 endure life without seeing my little Nan ?" 
 
 Hester cried bitterly ; the strongest love of her 
 nature was now given to this pretty and sweet little 
 sister, and dismal pictures rose rapidly before her 
 of Nan growing up without in the least remember- 
 ing her perhaps, still worse, of Nan being unkindly 
 treated and neglected by strangers. After a long 
 pause, she raised her head, wiped her eyes, and re- 
 sumed her letter. Now, indeed, she started with 
 astonishment, and gave an exclamation of delight
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 13? 
 
 Sir John Thornton had arranged that Mrs. Willis 
 was also to receive little Nan, although she was 
 younger than any other child present in the school. 
 Hester scarcely waited to finish her letter. She 
 crammed it into her pocket, rushed up to Susan 
 Drummond, and astonished that placid young lady 
 by suddenly kissing her. 
 
 " Nan is coming, Susy !" she exclaimed ; " dear, 
 'darling, lovely little Nan is coming oh, I am so 
 happy !" 
 
 She was far too impatient to explain matters to 
 stolid Susan, and danced down stairs, her eyes spark- 
 ling and smiles on her lips. It was nothing to her 
 now how long she stayed at school her heart's 
 treasure would be with her there, and she could not 
 but feel happy. 
 
 After breakfast Mrs. Willis sent for her, and told 
 her what arrangements were being made ; she said 
 that she was going to remove Susan Drummond out 
 of Hester's bedroom, in order that Hester might en- 
 joy her little sister's company at night. She spoke 
 very gently, and entered with full sympathy into the 
 girl's delight over the little motherless sister, and 
 Hester felt more drawn to her governess than she 
 had ever been. 
 
 Nan was to arrive at Lavender House on the fol- 
 lowing evening, and for the first week her nurse 
 was to remain with her until she got accustomed to 
 her new life. 
 
 The morning of the day of Nan's arrival was also 
 the last of the Easter holidays, and Hester, awaken-
 
 138 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 ing earlier than her wont, lay in bed, and planned 
 what she would do to welcome the little one. 
 
 The idea of having Nan with her continually had 
 softened Hester. She was not unhappy in her 
 school-life indeed, there was much in its monoto- 
 nous, busy, and healthy occupation to stimulate and 
 rouse the good in her. Her intellect was being vig- 
 orously exercised, and, by contact with her school- 
 fellows, her character was being molded; but the 
 perfect harmony and brightness of the school had 
 been much interrupted since Hester's arrival ; her 
 dislike to Annie Forest had been unfortunate in more 
 ways than one, and that dislike, which was increas- 
 ing each day, was hardening Hester's heart. 
 
 But it was not hard this morning all that was 
 sweetest, and softest, and best in her had come to 
 the surface the little sister, whom her mother had 
 left in her charge, was now to be her daily and hourly 
 companion. For Nan's sake, then, she must be very 
 good ; her deeds must be gentle and kind, and her 
 thoughts charitable. Hester had an instinctive feel- 
 ing that baby eyes saw deep below the surface; 
 Hester felt if Nan were to lose even a shadow of 
 her faith in her she could almost die of shame. 
 
 Hester had been very proud of Dora Russell's 
 friendship. Never before had it been known in the 
 school that a first-class girl took a third into such 
 close companionship, and Hester's little head had 
 been slightly turned by the fact. Her better judg- 
 ment and her better nature had been rather blinded 
 by the fascinations of this tall, graceful; satirical
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 139 
 
 Dora. She had been weak enough to agree with 
 Dora with her lips when in her heart of hearts 
 she knew she was all wrong. By nature Hester 
 was an honorable girl, with many fine traits :'n her 
 character by nature Dora was small and mean and 
 poor of soul. 
 
 This morning Hester ran up to her favorite. 
 
 " Little Nan is coming to-night," she said. 
 
 Dora was talking at the moment to Miss Mait- 
 land, another first-class girl, and the two stared 
 rather superciliously at Hester, and, after a pause, 
 Dora said in her finest drawl : 
 
 "Who is little Nan?" 
 
 It was Hester's turn to stare, for she had often 
 spoken of Nan to this beloved friend, who had 
 listened to her narrative and had appeared to sym- 
 pathize. 
 
 " My little sister, of course," she exclaimed. " I 
 have often talked to you about her, Dora. Are you 
 not glad she is coming?" 
 
 " No, my dear child, I can't say that I am. If 
 you wish to retain my friendship, Hester, you must 
 be careful to keep the little mite away from me ; I 
 can't bear small children." 
 
 Hester walked away with her heart swelling, and. 
 she fancied she heard the two elder girls laughing as 
 she left the play-room. 
 
 Many other girls, however, in the school thor- 
 oughly sympathized with Hester, and among them 
 no one was more delighted than Susan Drummond. 
 
 "I am awfully good-natured not to be as cross
 
 140 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 as two sticks, Hetty," she exclaimed, " for I am be- 
 ing turned out of my comfortable room ; and whose 
 room do you suppose I am now to share ? why, that 
 little imp Annie Forest's." But Hester felt chari- 
 table, even toward Annie, on this happy day. 
 
 In the evening little Nan arrived. She was a 
 very pretty, dimpled, brown-eyed creature, of just 
 three years of age. She had all the imperious 
 ways of a spoilt baby, and, evidently, fear was x a 
 word not to be found in her vocabulary. She clung 
 to Hester, but smiled and nodded to the other girls, 
 who made advances to her, and petted her, and 
 thought her a very charming baby. Beside Nan, 
 all the other little girls in the school looked old. 
 She was quite two years the youngest, and it was 
 soon very evident that she would establish that 
 most imperious of all reigns a baby reign in the 
 school. 
 
 H ter fondled her and talked to her, and the 
 littU thing sat on her knee and stroked her face. 
 
 "Me like 'oo, Hetty," she said several times, and 
 she added many other endearing and pretty words 
 which caused Hester's heart to swell with delight. 
 
 In the midst of their happy little talk together 
 Annie Forest, in her usual careless fashion, entered 
 the play-room. She alone, of all the girls, had 
 taken no notice of the new plaything. She walked 
 to her usual corner, sat down on the floor, and 
 began to play cup and bail for the benefit of two or 
 three of the smallest children. Hester did not 
 regard her in the least; she sat with Nan on her
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 14} 
 
 knee, stroking back her sunny curls, and remarking 
 on her various charms to several of the girls who 
 sat round her 
 
 " See, how pretty that dimple in her chin is," she 
 said, <l and oh, my pet, your eyes look wiser, and 
 bigger, and saucier than ever. Look at me, Nan ; 
 look at your own Hetty " 
 
 Nan's attention, however, was diverted by the 
 gaily-painted cup and ball which Annie was using 
 with her wonted dexterity. 
 
 " Dat a pitty toy," she said, giving one quick and 
 rather seldom glance at her sister, and again fixing 
 her admiring gaze on the cup and ball. 
 
 Annie Forest had heard the words, and she 
 darted a sudden, laughing look at the little one. 
 Annie's power over children was well known. Nan 
 began to wriggle on Hester's knee. 
 
 " Dat a pitty lady," she said again, " and that a 
 pitty, tibby [little] toy ; Nan go see.' 
 
 In an instant, before Hester could prevent her, 
 she had trotted across the room, and was kneeling 
 with the other children and shouting with delight 
 over Annie's play. 
 
 " She'll get her, you'll see, Hester," said one of 
 the girls maliciously ; " she'll soon be much fonder 
 of Annie Forest than of you. Annie wins the 
 heart of every little child in the school." 
 
 " She won't win my Nan's from me," said Hester 
 in a confident tone ; but in spite of her words a 
 great pang of jealousy had gone through her. She 
 rose to her seat and followed her little sister.
 
 142 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Nan, you are sleepy, you must go to bed." 
 
 " No, no, Hetty ; me not s'eepy, me kite awake ; 
 go 'way, Hetty, Nan want to see the pitty tibby 
 toy." 
 
 Annie raised her eyes to Hester's. She did not 
 really want to be unkind, and at that moment it had 
 certainly never entered into her head to steal. 
 Hester's treasure from her, but she could not help a 
 look of suppressed delight and triumph filling her 
 eyes. 
 
 Hester could scarcely bear the look ; she stooped 
 down, and taking one of Nan's little dimpled hands 
 tried to drag her away. 
 
 Instantly Annie threw the cup and ball on the 
 floor. 
 
 " The play is all over to-night, little darling," she 
 said ; " give Annie Forest one kiss, and run to bed 
 with sister Hester." 
 
 Nan, who had been puckering up her face to cry, 
 smiled instantly ; then she scrambled to her feet, and 
 flung her little fat arms round Annie's neck. 
 
 " Dat a vedy pitty p'ay," she said in a patronizing 
 tone, " and me like 'oo, me do." 
 
 Then she gave her hand willingly to Hester, and 
 trotted out of the play-room by her side.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 143 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 IN THE SOUTH PARLOR. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after Easter the real excitement of 
 the school-year began. All the girls who had am- 
 bition, who had industry, and who had a desire to 
 please distant fathers, mothers, or guardians, worked 
 hard for that great day at midsummer when Mrs. 
 Willis distributed her valuable prizes. 
 
 From the moment of Hester's entrance into the 
 school she had heard this day spoken of. It was, 
 without doubt, the greatest day of the year at Lav- 
 ender House. Smaller prizes were given at Christ- 
 mas, but the great honors were always reserved for 
 this long sunshiny June day, when Mrs. Willis her- 
 self presented her marks of approbation to her suc- 
 cessful pupils. 
 
 The girls who had lived in the school for two or 
 three years gave Hester vivid descriptions of the ex- 
 citements, the pleasures, the delights of this day of 
 days. In the first place it was the first of the holi- 
 days, in the second it was spent almost from morning 
 to night in the open air for a great tent was erected 
 on the lawn ; and visitors thronged to Lavender 
 House, and fathers and mothers, and aunts and 
 uncles, arrived from a distance to witness the
 
 144 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 triumphs of the favored children who had won the 
 prizes. The giving away of the prizes was, of course, 
 the event of the day ; but there were many other 
 minor joys. Always in the evenings there was some 
 special entertainment. These entertainments dif- 
 fered from year to year, Mrs. Willis allowing the 
 girls to choose them for themselves, and only making 
 one proviso, that they must take all the trouble, and 
 all the pains in short, that they themselves must 
 be the entertainers. One year they had tableaux 
 vivants ; another a fancy ball, every pretty dress of 
 which had been designed by themselves, and many 
 even made by their own industrious little fingers. 
 Mrs. Willis delighted in the interest and occupation 
 that this yearly entertainment gave to her pupils, 
 and she not only encouraged them in their efforts to 
 produce something very unique and charming, but 
 took care that they should have sufficient time to 
 work up their ideas properly. Always after Easter 
 she gave the girls of the three first classes two even- 
 ings absolutely to themselves ; and these they spent 
 in a pretty room called the south parlor, which be- 
 longed to Mrs. Willis' part of the house, and was 
 rarely used, except for these great preparations. 
 
 Hester, therefore, after Easter found her days 
 very full indeed Every spare moment she devoted 
 to little Nan, but she was quite determined to win a 
 substantial prize, and she was also deeply interested 
 in various schemes proposed in the south parlor. 
 
 With regard to prizes, Mrs. Willis also went on a 
 plan of her own. Each girl was expected to come
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 146 
 
 up to a certain standard of excellence in all her 
 studies, and if she fell very much below this standard 
 she was not allowed to try for any prize ; if she came 
 up to it, she could select one subject, but only one, 
 for competition. 
 
 On the Monday after the Easter holidays the 
 special subjects for the midsummer prizes were 
 given out, and the .girls were expected to send in 
 their answers as to the special prize they meant to 
 compete for by the following Friday. 
 
 When this day arrived Hester Thornton and Dora 
 Russell both discovered that they had made the 
 same choice they were going to try for the English 
 composition prize. This subject always obtained 
 one of the most costly prizes, and several of the 
 girls shook their heads over Hester's choice. 
 
 " You are very silly to try for that, Hetty," they 
 exclaimed, "for Mrs. Willis has such queer ideas 
 with regard to English composition. Of course, we 
 go in for it in a general way, and learn the rules of 
 grammar and punctuation, and so forth, but Mrs. 
 Willis says that school-girls' themes are" so bad 
 and affected, as a rule, and she says she does not 
 think any one will go in for her pet prize who has 
 not natural ability. In consequence, she gives only 
 one prize for composition between the three first 
 classes. You had better change your mind, Hetty, 
 before it is too late, for much older girls will com- 
 pete with you, and there are several who are going 
 to try." 
 
 Hester, however, only smiled, and assured her
 
 146 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 eager friend that she would stick to her pet subject, 
 and try to do the best she could. 
 
 On the morning when the girls signified their 
 choice of subject, Mrs. Willis came into the school- 
 room and made one of her little yearly speeches 
 with regard to the right spirit in which her girls 
 should try for these honors. The few and well- 
 chosen words of the head mistress generally roused 
 those girls who loved her best to a fever of enthusi- 
 asm, and even Hester, who" was comparatively a 
 newcomer, felt a great wish, as she listened to that 
 clear and vibrating voice and watched the many 
 expressions which passed over the noble face, that 
 she might find something beyond the mere earthly 
 honor and glory of success in this coming trial. 
 Having finished her little speech, Mrs. Willis made 
 several remarks with regard to the choice of sub- 
 jects. She spoke of the English composition prize 
 last, and here she heightened the interest and ex- 
 citement which always hung around this special 
 prize. Contrary to her usual rule, she would this 
 year give no subject for an English theme. Each 
 girl might choose what pleased her best. 
 
 On hearing these words Annie Forest, who had 
 been sitting by her desk looking rather dull and 
 dejected, suddenly sprang to her feet, her face 
 aglow, her eyes sparkling, and began whispering 
 vigorously to Miss Good. 
 
 Miss Good nodded, and, going up to Mrs. Willis, 
 said aloud that Annie had changed her mind, and 
 that from not wishing to try for any of the prizes,
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 147 
 
 she now intended to compete for the English com- 
 position. 
 
 Mrs. Willis looked a little surprised, but without 
 any comment she immediately entered Annie's name 
 in the list of competitors, and Annie sat down again, 
 not even glancing" at her astonished schoolfellows, 
 who could not conceal their amazement, for she had 
 never hitherto shown the slightest desire to excel in 
 this department. 
 
 On the evening of this Friday the girls of the 
 three first classes assembled for the first time in the 
 south parlor. Hitherto, these meetings had been 
 carried on in a systematic and business-like fashion. 
 It was impossible for all the girls who belonged to 
 these three large classes to assemble on each 
 occasion. Careful selections, therefore, were, as a 
 rule, made from their numbers. These girls formed 
 a committee to superintend and carry on the real 
 preparations for the coming treat, and the others 
 only met when specially summoned by the com- 
 mittee to appear. 
 
 As usual now the three classes found themselves 
 in the south parlor as usual they chattered volu- 
 bly, and started schemes, to reject them again with 
 peals of laughter. Many ideas were put forward, 
 to be cast aside as utterly worthless. No one 
 seemed to have any very brilliant thought, and as 
 the first step on these occasions was to select what 
 the entertainment should be, proceedings seemed to 
 ;ntDe to a standstill. 
 
 The fact was the most daring originator, the one
 
 148 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 whose ideas were always flavored with a spice of 
 novelty, was absolutely silent. 
 
 Cecil Temple, who had taken a seat near Annie, 
 suddenly bent forward and spoke to her aloud. 
 
 " We have all s.aid what we would like, and we 
 none of us appear to have thought of anything at 
 all worth having," she said ; " but you have not 
 spoken at all, Annie. Give us an idea, dear you 
 know you originated the fancy ball last year." 
 
 Thus publicly appealed to, Annie raised her full 
 brown eyes, glanced at her companions, not one of 
 whom, with the exception of Cecil, returned her 
 gaze fully ; then, rising to her feet, she spoke in a 
 slightly contemptuous tone. 
 
 " These preparations seem to me to be much ado 
 about nothing ; they take up a lot of our time, and 
 the results aren't worth the trouble I have nothing 
 particular to say. Oh, well, yes, if you like let's 
 have blind man's buff and a magic lantern ; " and 
 then, dropping a mock courtesy to her companions, 
 she dropped out of the south parlor. 
 
 "Insufferable girl!" said Dora Russell; "I 
 wonder you try to draw her out, Cecil. You know 
 perfectly that we none of us care to have anything 
 to do with her." 
 
 " I know perfectly that you are all doing your 
 best to make her life miserable, "said Cecil, suddenly 
 and boldly. " No one in this school has obeyed 
 Mrs. Willis' command to treat Annie as innocent 
 you are practically sending her to Coventry, and I 
 think it is unjust and unfair. You don't know,
 
 A WO*.LD. OF GIRLS. 149 
 
 girls, that you are ruining poor Annie's happi- 
 ness." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! she doesn't seem at all dull," said 
 Miss West, a second-class girl. " I do think she's a 
 hardened little wretch." 
 
 "Little you know about her," said Cecil, the 
 color fading out of her pale face. Then after a 
 pause, she added: "The injustice of the whole thing 
 is that in this treatment of Annie you break the 
 spirit of Mrs. Willis' command you, none of you, 
 certainly tell her that she is guilty, but you treat 
 her as such." 
 
 Here Hester Thornton said a daring thing. 
 
 " I don't believe Mrs. Willis in her heart of hearts 
 considers Annie guiltless." 
 
 These words of Hester's were laughed at by most 
 of the girls, but Dora Russell gave her an approv- 
 ing nod, and Cecil, looking paler than ever, dropped 
 suddenly into her seat, and no longer tried to defend 
 her absent friend. 
 
 " At any rate," said Miss Conway, who as the 
 head girl of the whole school was always listened to 
 with great respect, "it is unfortunate for the suc- 
 cess of our entertainment that there should be all 
 this discussion and bad feeling with regard to Miss 
 Forest. For my own part, I cannot make out why 
 the poor little creature should be hunted down, or 
 what affair it is of ours whether she is innocent or 
 not. If Mr. Everard and Mrs. Willis say she is in- 
 nocent, is not that enough ? The fact of her guilt 
 or innocence can't hurt us one way or another. It
 
 150 ^ WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 is a great pity, however, for our own sakes, that we 
 should be out with her now, for, whatever her 
 faults, she is the only one of us who is ever gifted 
 with an original thought. But, as we can't have 
 her, let us set to work without her we really can't 
 waste the whole evening over this sort of talk." 
 
 Discussions as to the coming pleasure were now 
 again resumed with vigor, and after a great deal of 
 animated arguing it was resolved that two short 
 plays should be acted ; that a committee should be 
 immediately formed, who should select the plays, 
 and apportion their various parts to the different 
 actors. 
 
 The committee selected included Miss Russell, 
 Miss Conway, Hester Thornton, Cecil Temple, and 
 two other girls of the second class. The conference 
 then broke up, but there was a certain sense of 
 flatness over everything, and Cecil was not the only 
 girl who sighed for the merry meetings of last year 
 when Annie had been the life and soul of all the 
 proceedings, and when one brilliant idea after an- 
 other with regard to the costumes for the fancy ball 
 had dropped from her merry tongue.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 151 
 
 CHAPTER XXI, 
 
 STEALING HEARTS. 
 
 WHEN Annie ran out of the south parlor she 
 found herself suddenly face to face with Mrs. Willis. 
 
 "Well, my dear child," said the head mistress in 
 her kindest voice, " where are you running to ? But I 
 suppose I must not ask ; you are, of course, one of 
 the busy and secret conclave in the south parlor ?" 
 
 "No. I have left them," said Annie, bending 1 her 
 head, and after her usual habit when agitated, shak- 
 ing her hair about her face. 
 
 " Left them ?" repeated Mrs. Willis, " you mean, 
 dear, that they have sent you for some message." 
 
 " No. I am not one of them. May I go into the 
 garden, Mrs. Willis ?" 
 
 " Certainly, my dear." 
 
 Annie did not even glance at her governess. 
 She pushed aside the baize door, and found herself 
 in the great stone hall which led to the play-room 
 and schoolroom. Her garden hat hung on a peg in 
 the hall, and she tossed it off its place, and holding 
 it in her hand ran toward the side door which 
 opened directly into the garden. She had a wild 
 wish to get to the shelter of the forsaken hammock 
 and there cry out her whole heart. The moment
 
 152 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 she got into the open air, however, she was met by 
 a whole troop of the little children, who were com- 
 ing in after their usual short exercise before going 
 to bed. Miss Danesbury was with them, and when 
 Annie ran out by the open door, she entered hold- 
 ing two little ones by the hands. Last in this group 
 toddled Hester's little sister Nan. The moment she 
 saw Annie, her little face broke into smiles, she 
 held out two hands eagerly, and fled to the young 
 girl's side. 
 
 "Where dat pitty toy?" she said, raising her 
 round face to Annie's ; " some one did buy dat toy, 
 and it's vedy pitty, and me wants it where's dat 
 toy?" 
 
 Annie stooped down, and spoke suddenly and im- 
 pulsively to the little child. 
 
 " You shall have the toy for your very own, Nan, 
 if you will do something for me ?" 
 
 Nan's baby eyes looked straight into Annie's. 
 
 " Me will," she said emphatically ; " me want dat 
 toy." 
 
 " Put your arms round me, little darling, and give 
 me a great tight hug." 
 
 This request was great fun to Nan, who squeezed 
 her little arms round Annie's neck, and pressed her 
 dimpled cheek to her lips. 
 
 " Dere," she said triumphantly, " will dat do ?" 
 
 "Yes, you little treasure, and you'll try to love 
 me,- won't you?" 
 
 " Me do," said Nan, in a solemn voice ; but then 
 Miss Danesbury called her, and she ran into the house.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 153 
 
 As Nan trotted into the house she put up her 
 dimpled hand to wipe something from her round 
 cheek it was a tear which Annie Forest had left 
 there. 
 
 Annie herself, when all the little ones had dis- 
 appeared, walked slowly and sadly down toward 
 the shady walk. The sun had just set, and though 
 it was now nearly May, and the evenings long, the 
 wind was sufficiently cold to cause Annie to shiver 
 in her thin house frock. At all times utterly fear- 
 less with regard to her health, she gave it no thought 
 now, but entering the walk where she knew she 
 should not be disturbed, she looked up at the ham- 
 mock, andl wondered whether she should climb into 
 it. She decided, however, not to do so the great 
 and terrible weight of tears which had pressed close 
 to her heart were relieved by Nan's embrace ; she 
 no longer cared to cry until she could cry no longer 
 the worst of her pain had been soothed by the 
 sweet baby graciousness of the little one. 
 
 Then there darted into poor Annie's sore heart 
 and perplexed brain that dangerous thought and 
 temptation which was to work so much future pain 
 and trouble. She already loved little Nan, and Nan, 
 as most children did, had taken a fancy to her. 
 Annie stood still, and clasped her hands as the dark 
 idea came to her to steal the heart of little Nan from 
 Hester, and so revenge herself on her. By doing 
 this she would touch Hester in her most vulnerable 
 point she would take from her what she valued 
 most. The temptation came swiftly, and Annie
 
 154 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 listened to it, and thought how easy it would be to 
 carry it into effect. She knew well that no little 
 child could resist her when she chose to exercise her 
 charms it would be easy, easy work to make that 
 ,part of Nan which was most precious all her own. 
 Annie became fascinated by the idea ; how com- 
 pletely then she would have revenged all her wrongs 
 on Hester ! Some day Hester would bitterly repent 
 of her unjust prejudice toward her ; some day Hes- 
 ter would come to her, and beg of her in agony to 
 give her back her darling's love ; ah ! when that 
 day came it would be her turn to triumph. 
 
 She felt more than satisfied as the temptation 
 grew upon her ; she shut otit persistently from her 
 view all the other side of the picture ; she would not 
 let herself think that the work she was about to 
 undertake was cruel and mean. Hester had been 
 more than unjust, and she was going to punish her. 
 
 Annie paced faster and faster up and down the 
 shady walk, and whenever her resolution wavered, 
 the memory of Hester's face as she had seen it the 
 same night in the south parlor came visibly back and 
 strengthened it. Yes, her turn had come at last. 
 Hester had contrived since her entrance into the 
 school to make Annie's life thoroughly miserable. 
 Well, never mind, it was Annie's turn now to make 
 her wretched.
 
 WORLD OF GIRLS. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 IN BURN CASTLE WOOD. 
 
 IN CONCENTRATING her thoughts of revenge on 
 Hester, Annie ceased to trouble her head about Dora 
 Russell. She considered Hester a crueler enemy than 
 Dora. Hester belonged to her own set, worked in 
 her own class, and would naturally, had things not 
 turned out so unjustly, so unfairly, have been her 
 friend, and not her enemy. Dora had nothing to 
 say to Annie, and before Hester's advent into the 
 school had scarcely noticed her existence. Annie 
 therefore concentrated all her powers on punishing 
 Hester. This gave her an aim and an occupation, 
 and at first she felt that her revenge might give her 
 real pleasure. 
 
 Susan Drummond now shared Annie's bed-room, 
 and Annie was rather startled one evening to hear 
 this phlegmatic young person burst out into a strong 
 tirade against Hester and Dora. Dora ha,d man- 
 aged, for some inexplicable reason, to offend Susan, 
 and Susan now looked to Annie for sympathy, and 
 boldly suggested that they should get up what she 
 was pleased to called " a lark " between them for 
 the punishment of this very dignified young lady. 
 
 Annie had never liked Susan, and she now stared 
 at her, and said, in her quick way :
 
 156 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " You won't catch me helping you in any of your 
 larks. I've had trouble enough on that score as it 
 is." 
 
 Susan gazed at her stupidly, and a dull red spread 
 over her face. 
 
 " But I thought you hated Dora and Hester," she 
 said " I'm sure they hate you." 
 
 Annie was silent. 
 
 "You do hate them, don't you?" persisted Miss 
 Drummond. 
 
 "It's nothing to you what I feel toward them, 
 Susy," said Annie. "Please don't disturb me with 
 any more of your chatter ; I am very sleepy, and 
 you are keeping me awake." 
 
 Thus silenced, Susan had to content herself by 
 turning on her back, and going into the land of 
 dreams ; but she was evidently a good deal surprised 
 and disappointed, and began to entertain a certain 
 respect, and even fear, of Annie which had been. 
 hitherto unknown to her. 
 
 Meanwhile Hester was very busy, very happy, 
 and more satisfied brighter and better employed 
 than she had ever been in her life before. Nan's 
 love satisfied the affectionate side of her nature, and 
 all her intellect was strained to the utmost to win 
 honors in the coming struggle. 
 
 She had stuck firmly to her resolve to work for 
 the English composition prize, and she firmly made 
 up her own mind to leave no stone unturned to win 
 it. What affection she possessed for Miss Russell 
 was not at all of a character to prevent her from
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 157 
 
 thoroughly enjoying taking the prize out of her 
 hands. Her love for Dora had been fed by vanity, 
 and was not at all of a deep or noble character. 
 She was some time carefully choosing the subject 
 of her theme, and at last she resolved to write a 
 brief historical description of the last days of Marie- 
 Antoinette. To write properly on this subject she 
 had to read up a great deal, and had to find refer- 
 ences in books which were not usually allowed as 
 school-room property. Mrs. Willis, however, al- 
 ways allowed the girls who were working for the 
 English composition prize to have access to her 
 rather extensive library, and here Hester was often 
 to be found during play-hours. Two evenings in. 
 the week were also taken up in preparation for the 
 coming plays, and as Hester was to take rather an 
 important part in one, and a small character in an- 
 other, she was obliged to devote herself to getting 
 up her parts during the weekly half -holidays. Thus 
 every moment was busy, and, except at night, she 
 had little time to devote herself to Nan. 
 
 Nan slept in a pretty crib in Hester's room, and 
 each evening the young girl knelt down by her 
 sister's side, and gazed at her with love, which was 
 almost motherly, swelling in her breast. 
 
 All that was best of Hester was drawn out at 
 these moments ; something greater than ambition 
 something far and away above school triumphs and 
 school jealousies spoke then in her heart of hearts. 
 These moments found her capable of being both 
 sympathizing and forgiving ; these moments fol-
 
 158 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 lowed out in her daily life might have made Hestei 
 almost great. Now was the time, with her eyes full 
 of tears and her lips trembling with emotion, for 
 Annie Forest to have caught a glimpse of the divine 
 in Hester; the hardness, the pride, the haughty 
 spirit were all laid aside, and hers was the true 
 child-heart as she knelt by the sleeping baby. Hes- 
 ter prayed earnestly at these moments, and, in 
 truth, Nan did better for her than any sermon ; 
 better for her than even Mrs. Willis* best influences. 
 Nan was as the voice of God to her sister. 
 
 Hester, in her very busy life, had no time to no- 
 tice, however, a very slight and almost impercepti- 
 ble change in bright little Nan. In the mornings 
 she was in too great a hurry to pay much heed to 
 the little one's chatter ; in the afternoons she had 
 scarcely an instant to devote to her, and when she 
 saw her playing happily with the other children 
 she was quite content, and always supposed that 
 when a spare half -hour did come in her busy life, 
 Nan would rush to her with the old ecstasy, and 
 give her the old devotion. 
 
 One day, toward the end of a very fine May, the 
 girls were all to go for a picnic to some woods 
 about four miles away. They had looked forward 
 for several days to this relaxation, and were in the 
 highest state of delight and the wildest spirits. 
 After an early dinner they were to drive in several 
 large wagonettes to the place of rendezvous, where 
 they were to be regaled with gypsy-tea, and were 
 to have a few hours in the lovely woods of Burn
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 159 
 
 Castle, one of the show places of the neighborhood. 
 Mrs. Willis had invited the Misses Bruce to accom- 
 pany them, and they were all to leave the house 
 punctually at two o'clock. The weather was won- 
 derfully fine and warm, and it was decided that all 
 the children, even Nan, should go. 
 
 Perhaps none of the girls looked forward to this 
 day's pleasure with greater joy than did Hester; 
 she determined to make it a real holiday, and a real 
 time of relaxation. She would forget her English 
 theme ; she would cease to worry herself about 
 Marie Antoinette ; she would cease to repeat her 
 part in the coming play ; and she would devote her- 
 self exclusively and determinately to Nan's pleasure. 
 She pictured the little one's raptures ; she heard her 
 gay shouts of joy, her ceaseless little rippling chat- 
 ter, her baby glee, and, above all things, her intense 
 happiness at being with her own Hetty for the 
 greater part of a whole day. Hester would ride 
 her on her shoulder, would race with her ; all her 
 usual companions would be as nothing to her on 
 this occasion, she would give herself up solely to 
 Nan. 
 
 As she was dressing that morning she said a word 
 or two to the child about the coming treat. 
 
 " We'll light a fire in the wood, Nan, and hang a 
 kettle over it, and make tea such good tea ; won't 
 it be nice ?" 
 
 Nan clapped her hands. "And may I take out 
 my little ummabella (umbrella), case it might 
 wain ?" she asked anxiously.
 
 160 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Hester flew to her and kissed her. 
 
 "You funny darling!" she said. "Oh, we shall 
 have such a day ! You'll be with your own Hetty 
 all day long your own Hetty ; won't you be glad ?" 
 
 " Me am," said Nan ; " own Hetty, and own 
 Annie ; me am glad." 
 
 Hester scarcely heard the last words, for the 
 prayer-gong sounded, and she had to fly down 
 stairs. 
 
 At dinner time the girls were discussing who 
 would go with each, and all were very merry and 
 full of fun. 
 
 "Miss Danesbury will take the little children," 
 said Miss Good. " Mrs. Willis says that all the 
 little ones are to be in Miss Danesbury's charge." 
 
 "Oh, please," said Hester, suddenly, "may Nan 
 come with me, Miss Good ? She'll be so disap- 
 pointed if she doesn't, and I'll take such care of 
 her." 
 
 Miss Good nodded a careless acquiescence, and 
 Hester proceeded with her dinner, feeling thoroughly 
 satisfied. 
 
 Immediately after dinner the girls flew to their 
 rooms to prepare for their expedition. Hastily 
 opening a drawer, Hester pulled out a white frock, 
 white pique* pelisse, and washing hat for Nan she 
 meant her darling to look as charming as possible. 
 
 " Oh, dear, Miss Danesbury should have brought 
 her here by now," she said to herself impatiently, 
 and then, hearing the crunching of carriage wheels 
 on the drive, she flew to the bell and rang it.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 161 
 
 In a few moments one of the maids appeared. 
 
 " Do you know where Miss Nan is, Alice ? She 
 is to go to Burn Castle with me, and I want to 
 dress her, for it is nearly time to go." 
 
 Alice looked a little surprised. 
 
 " If you please, miss," she said, " I think Miss 
 Nan has just gone." 
 
 "What do you mean, Alice? Miss Good said 
 especially she was to go with me." 
 
 " I know nothing about that, miss ; I only know 
 that I saw Miss Forest carrying her down stairs in 
 her arms about three minutes ago, and they went off 
 in the wagonette with all the other little children 
 and Miss Danesbury." 
 
 Hester stood perfectly still, her color changed 
 from red to white ; for full half a minute she was 
 silent. Then, hearing a voice from below calling to- 
 her, she said in a cold, quiet tone : 
 
 " That will do, Alice ; thank you for letting me 
 know." 
 
 She turned to her drawer and put back Nan's 
 white and pretty things, and also replaced a new and 
 very becoming shady hat which she had meant to 
 wear herself. In her old winter hat, and looking 
 almost untidy for her, she walked slowly down stairs 
 and took her place in the wagonette which was 
 drawn up at the door. 
 
 Cecil Temple and one or two other girls whom 
 Hester liked very much were in the same wagon- 
 ette, but she scarcely cared to talk to them, and 
 only joined in their laughter by a strong effort. She
 
 162 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 
 
 was deeply wounded, but her keenest present desire 
 was to hide any feelings of jealousy she had toward 
 Annie from the quick eyes of her schoolfellows. 
 
 " Why," suddenly exclaimed Julia Morris, a par- 
 ticularly unobservant girl, " I thought you were 
 going to bring that dear baby sister with you, Hester. 
 Oh, I do hope there is nothing the matter with her." 
 
 " Nan has gone on in the first wagonette with 
 the little children," said Hester as cheerfully as she 
 could speak, but she colored slightly, and saw that 
 Cecil was regarding her attentively. 
 
 Susan Drummond exclaimed suddenly: 
 
 " I saw Annie Forest rushing down the stairs 
 with little Nan, and Nan had her arms round her 
 neck, and was laughing merrily. You need not be 
 anxious about Nan, Hester ; she was quite content 
 to go with Annie." 
 
 "I did not say I was anxious," replied Hester in a 
 cold voice. " How very beautiful that avenue of 
 beech trees is, Cecil !" 
 
 " But Annie heard Miss Good say that you were 
 to take Nan," persisted Julia Morris. " She could 
 not but have noticed it, for you did flush up so, 
 Hester, and looked so eager. I never saw any one 
 more in earnest about a trifle in my life ; it was im- 
 possible for Annie not to have heard." 
 
 " The great thing is that Nan is happy," said 
 Hester in a fretted voice. " Do let us change the 
 subject, girls." 
 
 Cecil instantly began talking about the coming 
 plays, and soon the conversation became of au
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 163 
 
 absorbing character, and Hester's voice was hean" 
 oftener than the others, and she laughed more fre, 
 quently than her companions. 
 
 For all this forced merriment, however, Cecil did 
 not fail to observe that when Hester got to the place 
 of meeting at Burn Castle she looked around her 
 with a quick and eager glance. Then the color 
 faded from her face, and her eyes grew dim. 
 
 That look of pain on Hester's face was quite 
 enough for kind-hearted Cecil. She had thrown 
 herself on the grass with an exclamation of delight, 
 but in an instant she was on her feet. 
 
 " Now, of course, the first thing is to find little 
 Nan," she said ; " she'll be missing you dreadfully, 
 Hetty." 
 
 Cecil held out her hand to Hester to run with 
 her through the wood, but, to her surprise, Hester 
 drew back. 
 
 " I'm tired," she said ; " I daresay we shall find 
 JSfan presently. She is sure to be safe, as she is 
 under Miss Danesbury's care." 
 
 Cecil made no remark, but set off by herself to 
 find the little children. Presently, standing on a 
 little knoll, and putting her two hands round her 
 lips, so as to form a speaking trumpet, she shouted 
 to Hester. Hester came slowly and apparently un- 
 willingly toward her, but when she got to the foot of 
 the knoll, Cecil flew down, and, taking her by the 
 hand, ran with her to the top. 
 
 " Oh, do come quick !" she exclaimed ; "it is such 
 a pretty sight."
 
 164 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 
 
 Down in the valley about fifty yards away were 
 the ten or twelve little children who formed the 
 infant portion of the school. Miss Danesbury was 
 sitting at some distance off quietly reading, and the 
 children, decked with flowers, and carrying tall 
 grasses and reeds in their hands, were flying round 
 and round in a merry circle, while in their midst, 
 and the center attraction, stood Annie, whose hat was 
 tossed aside, and whose bright, curling hair was 
 literally crowned with wild flowers. On Annie's 
 shoulder stood little Nan, carefully and beautifully 
 poised, and round Nan's wavy curls was a starry 
 wreath of wood-anemones. Nan was shouting glee- 
 fully and clapping her hands, while Annie balanced 
 her slightest movement with the greatest agility, 
 and kept her little feet steady on her shoulders with 
 scarcely an effort. As the children ran round and 
 round Annie she waltzed gracefully backward and 
 forward to meet them, and they all sang snatches of 
 nursery rhymes. When Cecil and Hester appeared 
 they had reached in their varied collection : 
 
 " Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, 
 Humpty Dumpty had a great fall." 
 
 Here Nan exclaimed, in her clear, high-pitched 
 voice : 
 
 " Me no fall, Annie," and the small children on the 
 ground clapped their hands and blew kisses to her. 
 
 "Isn't it pretty? Isn't Annie sweet with chil- 
 dren ?" said Cecil, looking round to Hester with all
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 165 
 
 tne admiration she felt for her friend shining in her 
 face. The expression, however, which Hester wore 
 at that moment really startled Cecil ; she was abst>- 
 lutely colorless, and presently she called aloud in a 
 harsh, strained voice : 
 
 " Be careful of her ! How wicked of you to put 
 her like that on your shoulder ! She will fall yes, 
 I know she will fall ; oh, do be careful !" 
 
 Hester's voice startled the children, who ceased 
 singing and dancing ; Annie made a hasty step for- 
 ward, and one little voice alone kept singing out thcr 
 words : 
 
 " Humpty-Dumpty got a great fall ! " 
 
 when there was a crash and a cry, and Nan, in some 
 inexplicable way, had fallen backward from Annie's 
 shoulders. 
 
 In one instant Hester was in the midst of the 
 group. 
 
 " Don't touch her," she said, as Annie flew to pick 
 up the child, who, falling with some force on her 
 head, had been stunned ; " don't touch her don't 
 dare ! It was your doing ; you did it on purpose 
 you wished to do it !" 
 
 " You are unjust !" said Annie, in a low tone. 
 " Nan was perfectly safe until you startled her. 
 Like all the rest you are unjust. Nan would have 
 come to no harm if you had not spoken." 
 
 Hester did not vouchsafe another word. She sat 
 on the ground with the unconscious and pretty little 
 flower-crowned figure laid across her lap ; she was
 
 166 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 terrified, and thought in her inexperience that Nan 
 must be dead. 
 
 At the first mention of the accident Cecil had 
 flown to fetch some water, and when she and Miss 
 Danesbury applied it to little Nan's temples, she 
 presently sighed, and opened her brown eyes wide. 
 
 " I hope I trust she is not much hurt," said Miss 
 Danesbury ; " but I think it safest to take her home 
 at once. Cecil, dear, can you do anything about 
 fetching a wagonette round to the stile at the 
 entrance of the wood ? Now the puzzle is, who is 
 to take care of the rest of the little children ? If 
 only they were under Miss Good's care, I should 
 breathe more easily." 
 
 "lam going home with Nan," said Hester in a 
 hard voice. 
 
 " Of course, my love ; no one would think of 
 parting you from your little sister," said the govern- 
 ess, soothingly. 
 
 "If you please, Miss Danesbury," said Annie^ 
 whose face was quite as pale as Hester's, and her 
 eyes heavy as though she longed to cry, " will you 
 trust me with the little ones? If you do, I will 
 promise to take them straight to Miss Good, and to 
 be most careful of them." 
 
 Miss Danesbury's gentle and kind face looked 
 relieved. 
 
 " Thank you, Annie of course I trust you, dear. 
 Take the children at once to the meeting-place 
 under the great oak, and wait there until Miss Good 
 appears."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 167 
 
 Annie suddenly sprang forward, and threw her 
 arms round Miss Danesbury's neck. 
 
 " Miss Danesbury, you comfort me," she said, in 
 a kind of stifled voice, and then she ran off with the 
 children.
 
 168 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 " HUMPTY-DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL." 
 
 ALL THE stupor and languor which immediately 
 followed Nan's fall passed off during her drive 
 home ; she chatted and laughed, her cheeks were 
 flushed, her eyes bright. Hester turned with a 
 relieved face to Miss Danesbury. 
 
 " My little darling is all right, is she not ?" she 
 said. "Oh, I was so terrified oh, how thankful I 
 am no harm has been done !" 
 
 Miss Danesbury did not return Hester's full gaze ; 
 she attempted to take little Nan on her knee, but 
 Nan clung to Hetty. Then she said : 
 
 " You must be careful to keep the sun off her, 
 dear hold your parasol well down just so. That 
 is better. When we get home, I will put her to bed 
 at once. Please God, there is nothing wrong ; 
 but one cannot be too careful." 
 
 Something in Miss Danesbury's manner affected 
 Hester strangely ; she clasped Nan's slight baby 
 form closer and closer to her heart, and no longer 
 joined in the little one's mirth. As the drive drew to 
 a close, Nan again ceased talking, and fell into a 
 heavy sleep. 
 
 Miss Danesbury's face grew graver and graver
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 169 
 
 and. when the wagonette drew up at Lavender 
 House, she insisted on lifting the sleeping child out 
 of Hester's arms, and carrying her up to her little 
 crib. When Nan's little head was laid on the cool 
 pillow, she again opened her eyes, and instantly 
 asked for a drink. Miss Danesbury gave her some 
 milk and water, but the moment she drank it she 
 was sick. 
 
 " Just as I feared," said the governess ; " there is 
 some little mischief not much, I hope but we must 
 instantly send for the doctor." 
 
 As Miss Danesbury walked across the room to 
 ring the bell, Hester followed her. 
 
 "She's not in danger?" she whispered in a 
 hoarse voice. " If she is, Annie is guilty of mur- 
 der." 
 
 " Don't, my dear, said the governess ; " you must 
 keep quiet for Nan's sake. Please God, she will soon 
 be better. All I really apprehend is a little excite- 
 ment and feverishness, which will pass off in a few 
 days with care. Hester, my dear, I suddenly remem- 
 ber that the house is nearly empty, for all the servants 
 are also enjoying a holiday. I think I must send 
 you for Dr. Mayflower. The wagonette is still at 
 the door. Drive at once to town, my dear, and ask 
 the coachman to take you to No. 10, The Parade. 
 If you are very quick, you will catch Dr. 
 Mayflower before he goes out on his afternoon 
 rounds." 
 
 Hester glanced for half an instant at Nan, but 
 her eyes were again closed.
 
 170 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " I will take the best care of her," said the 
 governess in a kind voice ; don't lose an instant, 
 dear." 
 
 Hester snatched up her hat and flew down stairs. 
 In a moment she was in the wagonette, and the 
 driver was speedily urging his horses in the direction 
 of the small town of Sefton, two miles and a half 
 away. Hester was terrified now so terrified, in 
 such an agony, that she even forgot Annie ; her 
 hatred toward Annie became of secondary impor- 
 tance to her. All her ideas, all her thoughts, were 
 swallowed up in the one great hope Should she 
 be in time to reach Dr. Mayflower's house before 
 he set off on his afternoon rounds ? As the wag- 
 onette approached Sefton she buried her face 
 in her hands and uttered a sharp inward cry of 
 agony. 
 
 " Please God, let me find the doctor !" It was a 
 real prayer from her heart of hearts. The wag- 
 onette drew up at the doctor's residence, to dis- 
 cover him stepping into his brougham. Hester was 
 a shy child, and had never seen him before ; but 
 she instantly raised her voice, and almost shouted to 
 him : 
 
 " You are to come with me ; please, you are to come 
 at once. Little Nan is ill she is hurt. Please, you 
 are to come at once." 
 
 " Eh ! young lady ?" said the round-faced doctor. 
 " Oh ! I see ; you are one of the little girls from 
 Lavender House. Is anything wrong there, 
 dear?"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Hester managed to relate what had occurred ; 
 whereupon the doctor instantly opened the door of 
 the wagonette. 
 
 " Jump out, young lady," he said ; " I will drive 
 you back in my brougham. Masters," addressing 
 his coachman, " to Lavender House." 
 
 Hester sat back in the soft-cushioned carriage, 
 which bowled smoothly along the road. It seemed 
 to her impatience that the pace at which they went 
 was not half quick enoiigh she longed to put her 
 head out of the window to shout to the coachman to 
 go faster. She felt intensely provoked with the 
 doctor, who sat placidly by her side reading a news- 
 paper. 
 
 Presently she saw that his eyes were fixed on her. 
 He spoke in his quietest tones. 
 
 "We always take precisely twenty minutes to 
 drive from the Parade to Lavender House twenty 
 minutes, neither more or less. We shall be there 
 now in exactly ten minutes."" 
 
 Hester tried to smile, but failed ; her agony of 
 apprehension grew and grew. She breathed more 
 freely when they turned into the avenue. When 
 they stopped at the wide stone porch, and the doctor 
 got out, she uttered a sigh of relief. She took Dr. 
 Mayflower herself up to Nan's room. Miss Danes- 
 bury opened the door, the doctor went inside, and 
 Hester crouched down on the landing and waited. 
 It seemed to her that the good physician would 
 never come out. When he did she raised a perfectly 
 blanched face to his, she opened her lips, tried to
 
 172 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 speak, but no words would come. Her agitation 
 was so intense that the kind-hearted doctor took 
 instant pity on her. 
 
 " Come into this room, my child," he said. " My 
 dear, you will be ill yourself if you give way like 
 this. Pooh ! pooh ! this agitation is extreme is 
 uncalled for. You have got a shock. I shall pre- 
 scribe a glass of sherry at once. Come down stairs 
 with me, and I will see that you get one." 
 
 " But how is she, sir how is she ?" poor Hester 
 managed to articulate. 
 
 " Oh ! the little one sweet, pretty, little darling. 
 I did not know she was your sister a dear little 
 child. She got an ugly fall, though came on a 
 nasty place." 
 
 " But, please, sir, how is she ? She she she is 
 not in danger ?" 
 
 " Danger ? by no means, unless you put her into 
 it. She must be kept very quiet, and, above all 
 things, not excited. I will come to see her again 
 to-morrow morning. With proper care she ought 
 to be quite herself in a few days. Ah ! now you've 
 got a little color in your cheek, come down with me 
 and have that glass of sherry, and you will feel all 
 right."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 173 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ANNIE TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 THE PICNIC-PARTY arrived home late. The acci- 
 dent to little Nan had not shortened the day's pleas- 
 ure, although Mrs. Willis, the moment she heard of 
 it, had come back : for she entered the hall just as 
 the doctor was stepping into his carriage. He gave 
 her his opinion, and. said that he trusted no 
 further mischief, beyond a little temporary excite- 
 ment, had been caused. He again, however, spoke 
 of the great necessity of keeping Nan quiet, and 
 said that her schoolfellows must not come to her, 
 and that she must not be excited in any way. Mrs. 
 Willis came into the great hall where Hester was 
 standing. Instantly she went up to the young girl, 
 and put her arm around and drew her to her side. 
 
 " Darling," she said, " this is a grievous anxiety 
 for you ; no words can express my sorrow and my 
 sympathy ; but the doctor is quite hopeful, Hester, 
 and, please God, we shall soon have the little one 
 as well as ever." 
 
 " You are really sorry for me ?" said Hester, 
 raising her eyes .to the head-mistress' face. 
 
 " Of course, dear ; need you ask ?"
 
 174 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Then you will have that wicked Annie Forest 
 punished well punished well punished." 
 
 " Sometimes, Hester," said Mrs. Willis, very 
 gravely, " God takes the punishment of our wrong- 
 doings into His own hands. Annie came home 
 with me. Had you seen her face as we drove to- 
 gether you would not have asked me to punish 
 her." 
 
 " Unjust, always unjust," muttered Hester, but in 
 so low a voice that Mrs. Willis did not hear the 
 words. " Please may I go to little Nan ?" she said. 
 
 " Certainly, Hester some tea shall be sent up to 
 you presently." 
 
 Miss Danesb.ury arranged to spend the night in 
 Nan's room. A sofa bed was brought in for her to 
 lie on, for Mrs. Willis had yielded to Hester's al- 
 most feverish entreaties that she might not be ban- 
 ished from her little sister. Not a sound reached 
 the room where Nan was lying even the girls 
 took off their shoes as they passed the door not a 
 whisper came to disturb the sick child. Little Nan 
 slept most of the evening, only sometimes opening 
 her eyes and looking up drowsily when Miss Danes- 
 bury changed the cold application to her head. At 
 nine o'clock there came a low tap at the room 
 door. Hester went to open it ; one of her school- 
 fellows stood without. 
 
 " The prayer-gong is not to be sounded to-night. 
 Will you come to the chapel now? Mrs. Willis 
 sent me to ask." 
 
 Hester shook her head.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 175 
 
 " I cannot," she whispered ; " tell her I cannot 
 come." 
 
 " Oh, I am so sorry !" replied the girl ; " is Nan 
 very bad ?" 
 
 " I don't know ; I hope not. Good-night.'' 
 Hester closed the room door, took off her dress, 
 and began very softly to prepare to get into bed. 
 She put on her dressing gown, and knelt down as 
 usual to her private prayers. When she got on her 
 knees, however, she found it impossible to pray : 
 her brain felt in a whirl, her feelings were un- 
 prayer-like ; and with the temporary relief of be- 
 lieving Nan in no immediate danger came such a 
 flood of hatred toward Annie as almost frightened 
 her. She tried to ask God to make Nan better 
 quite well ; but even this petition seemed to go no 
 way to reach no one to fall flat on the empty 
 air. She rose from her knees, and got quietly into 
 bed- 
 Nan lay in that half-drowsy and languid state 
 until midnight. Hester, with all her very slight 
 experience of illness, thought that as long as Nan 
 was quiet she must be getting better ; but Miss 
 Danesbury was by no means so sure, and, notwith- 
 standing the doctor's verdict, she felt anxious about 
 the child. Hester had said that she could not 
 sleep ; but at Miss Danesbury's special request she 
 got into bed, and before she knew anything about 
 it was in a sound slumber. At midnight, when all 
 the house was quiet, and Miss Danesbury kept a 
 lonely watch by the sick child's pillow, there came
 
 176 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 a marked change for the worse in the little one. 
 She opened her feverish eyes wide and began to 
 call out piteously ; but her cry now was, not for 
 Hester, but for Annie. 
 
 "Me want my Annie," she said over and over, 
 " me do, me do No, no ; go 'way, naughty Day- 
 bury, me want my Annie ; me do want her." 
 
 Miss Danesbury felt puzzled and distressed. Hes- 
 ter, however, was awakened by the piteous cry, and 
 sat up in bed. 
 
 " What is it, Miss Danesbury ?" she asked. 
 
 " She is very much excited, Hester ; she is calling 
 for Annie Forest." 
 
 "Oh, that is quite impossible," said Hester, a 
 shudder passing through her. "Annie can't come 
 here. The doctor specially said that none of the 
 girls were to come near Nan." 
 
 " Me want Annie ; me want my own Annie, ' 
 wailed the sick child. 
 
 " Give me my dressing-gown, please, Miss Danes- 
 bury, and I will go to her," said Hester. 
 
 She sprang out of bed, and approached the little 
 crib. The brightness of Nan's feverish eyes was 
 distinctly seen. She looked up at Hester, who bent 
 over her ; then she uttered a sharp cry and covered 
 her little face. 
 
 "Go 'way, go 'way, naughty Hetty Nan want 
 Annie ; Annie sing, Annie p'ay with Nan go 'way, 
 go 'way, Hetty." 
 
 Hester's heart was too full to allow her to speak ; 
 but she knelt by the crib and tried to take one of the
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 17? 
 
 little hot hands in hers. Nan, however, pushed her 
 hands away, and now began to cry loudly. 
 
 " Annie ! Annie ! Annie ! me want 'oo ; Nan 
 want 'oo poor tibby Nan want 'oo, Annie !" 
 
 Miss Danesbury touched Hester on her shoulder. 
 . " My dear," she said, " the child's wish must be 
 gratified. Annie has an extraordinary power over 
 children, and under the circumstances I shall take it 
 upon me to disobey the doctor's directions. The 
 child must be quieted at all hazards. Run for Annie, 
 dear you know her room. I had better stay with 
 little Nan, for, though she loves you best, you don't 
 soothe her at present that is often so with a fever 
 case." 
 
 "One moment," said Hester. She turned again 
 to the little crib. 
 
 " Hetty is going to fetch Annie for Nan. Will 
 Nan give her own Hetty one kiss ?" 
 
 Instantly the little arms were flung round Hester's 
 neck. 
 
 " Me like 'oo now, dood Hetty. Go for Annie, 
 dood Hetty." 
 
 Instantly Hester ran out of the room. She flew 
 quickly down the long passage, and did not know 
 what a strange little figure she made as the moon 
 from a large window at one end fell full upon her. 
 So eerie, so ghost-like was her appearance as she flew 
 noiselessly with her bare feet along the passage that 
 some one Hester did not know whom gave a 
 stifled cry. The cry seemed to come from a good 
 way off, and Hester was too pre -occupied to notice it
 
 178 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 She darted into the room where Susan Drummond 
 and Annie Forest slept. 
 
 " Annie, you are to come to Nan," she said in a 
 sharp high-pitched voice which she scarcely recog- 
 nized as her own. 
 
 " Coming," said Annie, and she walked instantly 
 to the door with her dress on and stood in the moon- 
 light. 
 
 "You are dressed !" said Hester in astonishment. 
 
 " I could not undress I lay down as I was. I 
 fancied I heard Nan's voice calling me. I guessed I 
 should be sent for." 
 
 " Well, come now," said Hester in her hardest 
 tones. "You were only sent for because Nan must 
 be quieted at any risk. Come and see if you can 
 quiet her. I don't suppose," with a bitter laugh 
 " that you will succeed." 
 
 " I think so," replied Annie, in a very soft and 
 gentle tone. 
 
 She'walked back by Hester's side and entered the 
 sick-room. She walked straight up to the little cot 
 and knelt down by Nan, and said, in that strangely 
 melodious voice of hers : 
 
 " Little darling, Annie has come." 
 
 " Me like 'oo," said Nan with a satisfied coo vtt 
 her voice, and she turned round on her side with 
 her back to Miss Danesbury and Hester and her 
 eyes fixed on Annie. 
 
 " Sing * Four-and-twenty,' Annie ; sing ' Four-and 
 twentv,' " she said presently. 
 
 * Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie,"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. l?g 
 
 sang Annie in a low clear voice, without a moment's 
 hesitation. She went through the old nursery rhyme 
 once twice. Then Nan interrupted her fretfully: 
 
 "Me don't want dat 'dain ; sing 'Boy Blue.' 
 Annie." 
 
 Annie sang. 
 
 '"Tree Little Kittens,' Annie," interrupted the 
 little voice presently. 
 
 For more than two hours Annie knelt by the 
 child, singing nursery rhyme after nursery rhyme, 
 while the bright beautiful eyes were fixed on her 
 face, and the little voice said incessantly: 
 
 " Sing, Annie sing." 
 
 " * Baby Bun,' now," said Nan, when Annie had 
 come almost to the end of her selection. 
 
 " Bye baby bunting, 
 Daddy's gone a hunting- 
 He's gone to fetch a rabbit skin, 
 To place the baby bunting in.* 
 
 Ove- jind over and over did Annie sing the words. 
 Whenever, *ven for a brief moment she paused, Nan 
 said : 
 
 " Sing, Annie sing ' Baby Bun.' " 
 
 And all the time the eyes remained wide open, 
 and the little hands were burning hot ; but, gradu- 
 ally, after more than two hours of constant singing, 
 Annie began to fancy that the burning skin was 
 cooler. Then could she believe it? she saw the 
 lids droop over the wide-open eyes. Five minutes 
 later, to the tune of " Baby Bunting," Nan had fallen 
 into a deep and sound sleep.
 
 ,'.60 A WORLD OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 A SPOILED BABY. 
 
 IN THE morning Nan was better, and although 
 for days she was in a very precarious state, and had 
 to be kept as quiet as possible, yet Miss Danesbury's 
 great dread that fever would set in had passed 
 away. The doctor said, however, that Nan had 
 barely escaped real injury to her brain, and that it 
 would be many a day before she would romp again, 
 and play freely and noisily with the other children. 
 Nan had chosen her own nurse, and, with the impe- 
 riousness of all babies to say nothing of sick babies 
 she had her way. From morning till night Annie 
 remained with her, and when the doctor saw how 
 Annie alone could soothe and satisfy the child he 
 would not allow it to be otherwise. At first Nan 
 would lie with her hand in Annie's, and her little cry 
 of " sing, Annie," going on from time to time ; but as 
 she grew better Annie would sit with her by the 
 open window, with her head pillowed on her breast, 
 and her arm round the little slender form, and Nan 
 vrould smile and look adoringly at Annie, who would 
 often return her gaze with intense sadness, and an 
 indescribable something in her face which caused
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 181 
 
 the little one to stroke her cheek tenderly, and say 
 in her sweet baby voice 
 
 " Poor Annie ; poor tibby Annie !" 
 
 They made a pretty picture as they sat there. 
 Annie, with her charming gypsy face, her wild lux- 
 uriant, curly hair, all the sauciness and unrest in her 
 soothed by the magic of the little child's presence ; 
 and the little child herself, with her faint, wild-rose 
 color, her dark, deep eyes, clear as summer pools, and 
 her sunshiny golden hair. But pretty as the picture 
 was Hester loathed it, for Hester thought during 
 these wretched days that her heart would break. 
 
 Not that Nan turned away from Hetty ; she 
 petted her and kissed her, and sometimes put ari 
 arm round Hetty and an arm round Annie, as 
 though, if she could, she would draw them together ; 
 but any one could see that her heart of hearts was 
 given to Annie, and that Hester ranked second in 
 her love. Hester would not for worlds express any 
 of her bitter feelings before Annie ; nay, as the doc- 
 tor and Miss Danesbury both declared that, however 
 culpable Annie might have been in causing the acci- 
 dent, she had saved little Nan's life by her wonder- 
 ful skill in soothing her to sleep on the first night of 
 her illness, Hester had felt obliged to grumble some- 
 thing which might I. ave been taken for " thanks." 
 
 Annie, in reply to this grumble, had bestowed 
 upon Hester one of her quickest, brightest glances, 
 for she fathomed the true state of Hester's heart 
 toward her well enough. 
 
 These were very bad days for poor Hester, and
 
 182 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 but for the avidity with which she threw herseli 
 into her studies she could scarcely have borne them. 
 
 By slow degrees Nan got better ; she was allowed 
 to come down stairs and to sit in Annie's arms in the 
 garden, and then Mrs. Willis interfered, and said 
 that Annie must go back to her studies, and only 
 devote her usual play hours and half-holidays to 
 "Nan's service. 
 
 This mandate, however, produced woe and tribu- 
 lation. The spoiled child screamed and beat her 
 little hands, and worked herself up into such a pitch 
 of excitement that that night she found her way in her 
 sleep to Annie's room, and Annie had to quiet her 
 by taking her into her bed. In the morning the 
 doctor had to be sent for, and he instantly prescribed 
 a day or two more of Annie's company for the child. 
 
 Mrs. Willis felt dreadfully puzzled. She had un- 
 dertaken the charge of the little one ; her father 
 was already far away, so it was impossible now to 
 make any change of plans ; the child was ill had 
 been injured by an accident caused by Annie's care- 
 lessness and by Hester's want of self-control. But 
 weak and ill as Nan still was, Mrs. Willis felt that 
 an undue amount of spoiling was good for no one. 
 She thought it highly unjust to Annie to keep her 
 from her school employments at this most important 
 period of the year. If Annie did not reach a cer- 
 tain degree of excellence in her school marks she 
 could not be promoted in her class. Mrs. Willis 
 did not expect the wild and heedless girl to carry off 
 any special prizes ; but her abilities were quite up
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 183 
 
 to the average, and she always hoped to rouse suffi- 
 cient ambition in her to enable her to acquire ^ 
 good and sound education. Mrs. Willis knew how 
 necessary this was for poor Annie's future, and, 
 after giving the doctor an assurance that Nan's 
 whirns and pleasures should be attended to for the 
 next two or three days, she determined at the end 
 of that time to assert her own authority with the 
 child, and to insist on Annie working hard at 
 her lessons, and returning to her usual school-room 
 life. 
 
 On the morning of the third day Mrs. Willis 
 made inquiries, heard that Nan had spent an excel- 
 lent night, eaten a hearty breakfast, and was 
 altogether looking blooming. When the girls as- 
 sembled in the school-room for their lessons, Annie 
 brought her little charge down to the large play- 
 room, where they established themselves cozily, and 
 Annie began to instruct little Nan in the mys- 
 teries of 
 
 41 Tic, tac, too, 
 The little horse has lost his shoe." 
 
 Nan was entering into the spirit of the game, was 
 imagining herself a little horse, and was holding out 
 her small foot to be shod, when Mrs. Willis entered 
 the room. 
 
 " Come with me, Nan," she said ; " I have got 
 something to show you." 
 
 Nan got up instantly, held out one hand to Mrs, 
 Willis and the other to Annie, and said, in her con- 
 fident baby tones :
 
 184 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Me turn ; Annie tumming too." 
 
 Mrs. Willis said nothing, but, holding the little 
 hand, and accompanied by Annie, she went out of 
 the playroom, across the stone hall, and through the 
 baize doors until she reached her own delightful 
 private sitting-room. 
 
 There were heaps of pretty things about, and Nan 
 gazed round her with the appreciative glance of a 
 pleased connoisseur. 
 
 "Pitty "oom," she said approvingly. "Nan 
 likes this 'oorn. Me'll stay here, and so will 
 Annie." 
 
 Here she uttered a sudden cry of rapture on 
 the floor, with its leaves temptingly open, lay a 
 gaily-painted picture-book, and curled up in a soft 
 fluffy ball by its side was a white Persian kitten 
 asleep. 
 
 Mrs. Willis whispered something to Annie, who 
 ran out of the room, and Nan knelt down in a per- 
 fect rapture of worship by the kitten's side. 
 
 " Pitty tibby pussy !" she exclaimed several 
 times, and she rubbed it so persistently the wrong 
 way that the kitten shivered and stood up, arched 
 its back very high, yawned, turned round three 
 times, and lay down again. Alas ! " tibby pussy " 
 was not allowed -to have any continuous slumber. 
 Nan dragged the Persian by its tail into her lap, 
 and when it resisted this indignity, and with two 
 or three light bounds disappeared out of the room, 
 she stretched out her little hands and began to cry 
 fcr it.
 
 A WORLD O* GIRLS. 185 
 
 "Turn back, puss, puss turn back, poor tibby 
 puss Nan loves 'oc. Annie, go fetch puss for Nan." 
 Then for the first time she discovered that Annie 
 was absent, and that she was alone, with the ex- 
 ception of Mrs. Willis, who sat busily writing at a 
 distant table. 
 
 Mrs. Willis counted for nothing at all with Nan 
 she did not consider her of the smallest importance, 
 and after giving her a quick glance of some disdain 
 she began to trot round the room on a voyage of 
 discovery. Any moment Annie would come back 
 Annie had, indeed, probably gone to fetch the kit- 
 ten, and would quickly return with it. She walked 
 slowly round and round, keeping well away from 
 that part of the room where Mrs. Willis sat. Pres- 
 ently she found a very choice little china jug, which 
 she carefully abstracted with her small fingers from 
 a cabinet, which contained many valuable treasures. 
 She sat down on the floor exactly beneath the cab- 
 inet, and began to play with her jug. She went 
 through in eager pantomime a little game which 
 Annie had invented for her, and imagined that she 
 was a little milkmaid, and that the jug was full of 
 sweet, new milk ; she called out to an imaginary set 
 of purchasers, "Want any milk?" and then she 
 poured some by way of drops of milk into the palm 
 of her little hand, which she drank up in the name 
 of her customers with considerable gusto. Presently 
 knocking the little jug with some vehemence on the 
 floor she deprived it with one neat blow of its handle 
 and spout. Mrs. Willis was busily writing, and
 
 186 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 did not look up. Nan was not in the least discon- 
 certed ; she said aloud : 
 
 " Poor tibby zug b'oke," and then she left the frag- 
 ments on the floor, and started off on a fresh voy- 
 age of discovery. This time she dragged down a 
 large photographic album on to a cushion, and, kneel- 
 ing by it, began to look through the pictures, flap- 
 ping the pages together with a loud noise, and laugh- 
 ing merrily as she did so. She was now much 
 nearer to Mrs. Willis, who was attracted by the 
 sound, and looking up hastened to the rescue of one 
 of her most precious collections of photographs. 
 
 " Nan, dear," she said, " shut up that book at once. 
 Nan mustn't touch. Shut the book, darling, and go 
 and sit on the floor, and look at your nice-colored 
 pictures." 
 
 Nan, still holding a chubby hand between the 
 leaves of the album, gave Mrs. Willis a full defiant 
 glance, and said : 
 
 " Me won't." 
 
 " Come, Nan," said the head-mistress. 
 
 "Me want Annie," said Nan, still kneeling by 
 the album, and, bending her head over the photo- 
 graphs, she turned the page and burst into a peal of 
 laughter. 
 
 " Pitty bow vow," she said, pointing to a photo- 
 graph of a retriever; "oh, pitty bow woo, Nan 
 loves 'oo." 
 
 Mrs. Willis stooped down and lifted the little girl 
 into her arms. 
 
 " Nan, dear," she said, " it is naughty to disobey.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 187 
 
 Sit down by your picture-book, and be a good 
 girl." 
 
 " Me won't," said Nan again, and here she raised 
 her small dimpled hand and gave Mrs. Willis a 
 smart slap on her cheek. 
 
 " Naughty lady, me don't like 'oo j go 'way. Nan 
 want Annie Nan do want Annie. Me don't love 
 'co, naughty lady ; go 'way." 
 
 Mrs. WilV's took Nan on her knee. She felt that 
 the little will must be bent to hers, but the task was 
 no easy one. The child scarcely knew her, she was 
 still weak and excitable, and she presently burst into 
 storms of tears, and sobbsd and sobbed as though 
 her little heart would break, her one cry being for 
 "Annie, Annie, Annie." When Annie did join her 
 in the play hour, the little cheeks were flushed, the 
 white brow ached, and the child's small hands were 
 hot and feverish. Mrs. Willis felt terribly puzzled
 
 188 * A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 
 UNDER THE LAUREL BUSH. 
 
 MRS. WILLIS owned to herself that she was non- 
 plussed ; it was quite impossible to allow Annie to 
 neglect her studies, and yet little Nan's health was 
 still too precarious to allow her to run the risk of 
 having the child constantly fretted. 
 
 Suddenly a welcome idea occurred to her ; she 
 would write at once to Nan's old nurse, and see if 
 she could come to Lavender House for the remainder 
 of the present term. Mrs. Willis dispatched her 
 letter that very day, and by the following evening 
 the nurse was once more in possession of her much- 
 loved little charge. The habits of ner babyhood 
 were too strong for Nan ; she returned to them 
 gladly enough, and though in her heart of hearts 
 she was still intensely loyal to Annie, she no longer 
 fretted when she was not with her. 
 
 Annie resumed her ordinary work, and though 
 Hester was very cold to her, several of the other 
 girls in the school frankly confided to their favorite 
 how much they had missed her, and how glad they 
 were to have her back with them once more. 
 
 Annie found herself at this time in an ever-shift- 
 ing mood one moment she longed intensely for a
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 189 
 
 kiss, and a fervent pardon from Mrs. Willis' lips; 
 another, she said to herself defiantly she could and 
 would live without it ; one moment the hungry and 
 sorrowful look in Hester's eyes went straight to 
 Annie's heart, and she wished she might restore 
 her little treasure whom she had stolen; the next 
 she rejoiced in her strange power over Nan, and 
 resolved to keep all the love she could get. 
 
 In short, Annie was in that condition when she 
 could be easily influenced for good or evil she was 
 in that state of weakness when temptation is least 
 easily resisted. 
 
 A few days after the arrival of Nan's nurse Mrs. 
 Willis was obliged unexpectedly to leave home ; a 
 near relative was dangerously ill in London, and the 
 school-mistress went away in much trouble and 
 anxiety. Some of her favorite pupils flocked to the 
 front entrance to see their beloved mistress off. 
 Among the group Cecil stood, and several girls of 
 the first class ; many of the little girls were also 
 present, but Annie was not among them. Just at 
 the last moment she rushed up breathlessly ; she 
 was tying some starry jasmine and some blue for- 
 get-me-nots together, and as the carriage was 
 moving off she flung the charming bouquet into her 
 mistress' lap. 
 
 Mrs. Willis rewarded her with one of her old 
 looks of confidence and love ; she raised the flowers 
 to her lips and kissed them, and her eyes smiled on 
 Annie. 
 
 "Good-by, dear," she called out; "good-by, all
 
 190 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 my dear girls ; I will try and be back to-morrow 
 night. Remember, my children, during my absence 
 I trust you." 
 
 The carriage disappeared down the avenue, and 
 the group of girls melted away. Cecil looked round 
 for Annie, but Annie had been the first to disappear. 
 
 When her mistress had kissed the flowers and 
 smiled at her, Annie darted into the shrubbery and 
 stood there wiping the fast-falling tears from her 
 eyes. She was interrupted in this occupation by the 
 sudden cries of two glad and eager voices, and in- 
 stantly her hands were taken, and some girls rather 
 younger than herself began to drag her in the 
 opposite direction through the shrubbery. 
 
 " Come ; Annie come at once, Annie, darling," 
 exclaimed Phyllis and Nora Raymond. " The bas- 
 ket has come ; its under the thick laurel-tree in the 
 back avenue. We are all waiting for you ; we none 
 of us will open it till you arrive." 
 
 Annie's face, a truly April one, changed as if by 
 magic. The tears dried on her cheeks ; her eyes 
 filled with sunlight ; she was all eager for the com- 
 ing fun. 
 
 "Then we won't lose a moment, Phyllis," she 
 said ; " we'll see what that duck of a Betty has done 
 for us." 
 
 The three girls scampered down the back avenue, 
 where they fotmd five of their companions, among 
 them Susan Drummond, standing in different atti- 
 tudes of expectation near a very large and low- 
 growing laurel-tree. Every one raised a shout when
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 191 
 
 Annie appeared ; 'she was undoubtedly recognized 
 as queen and leader of the proceedings. She took 
 her post without an instant's hesitation, and began 
 ordering her willing subjects about. 
 
 " Now, is the coast clear ? yes, I think so. Come, 
 Susie, greedy as you are, you must take your part. 
 You alone of all of us can cackle with the exact imi- 
 tation of on old hen ; get behind that tree at once and 
 watch the yard. Don't forget to cackle for your 
 life if you even see the shadow of a footfall. 
 Nora, my pretty birdie, you must be the thrush 
 for the nonce ; here, take your post, watch the lawn 
 and the front avenue. Now then, girls, the rest of 
 us can see what spoils Betty has provided for us." 
 
 The basket was dragged from its hiding-place, 
 and longing faces peered eagerly and greedily into 
 its contents. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! I say, cherries ! and what a lot ! Good 
 Betty ! dear, darling Betty ! you gathered those 
 from your own trees, and they are as ripe as your 
 apple-blossom cheeks ! Now then, what next ? I do 
 declare, meringues ! Betty knew my weakness. 
 Twelve meringues that is one and a half apiece ; 
 Susan Drummond sha'n't have more than her share. 
 Meringues and cheesecakes and tartlets oh ! oh ! 
 what a duck Betty is ! A plum-cake good, excellent 
 Betty, she deserves to be canonized ! What have we 
 here ? Roast chickens better and better ! What is 
 in this parcel ? Slices of ham ; Betty knew she dare 
 not show her face again if she forgot the ham. 
 Knives and forks, spoons fresh rolls salt and pep-
 
 192 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 per, and a dozen bottles of ginger-beer, and a little 
 corkscrew in case we want it." 
 
 These various exclamations came from many lips. 
 The contents of the basket were carefully and ten- 
 derly replaced, the lid was fastened down, and it 
 was once more consigned to its hiding place under 
 the thick boughs of the laurel. 
 
 Not a moment too soon, for just at this instant 
 Susan cackled fiercely, and the little group with- 
 drew, Annie first whispering : 
 
 " At twelve to-night, then, girls oh, yes, 1 have 
 managed the key."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 TRUANTS. 
 
 IT WAS a proverbial saying in the school that Annie 
 Forest was always in hot water ; she was exceed- 
 ingly daring, and loved what she called a spice of 
 danger. This was not the first stolen picnic at 
 which Annie had reigned as queen, but this was the 
 largest she had yet organized, and this was the first 
 time she had dared to go out of doors with her 
 satellites. 
 
 Hitherto these naughty sprites had been content 
 to carry their baskets full of artfully-concealed pro- 
 visions to a disused attic which was exactly over 
 the box-room, and consequently out of reach of 
 the inhabited part of the house. Here, making a 
 table of a great chest which stood in the attic, 
 they feasted gloriously, undisturbed by the musty 
 smell or by the innumerable spiders and beetles 
 which disappeared rapidly in all directions at their 
 approach ; but when Annie one day incautiously 
 suggested that on summer nights the outside 
 world was all at their disposal, they began to dis- 
 cover flaws in their banqueting hall. Mary Price 
 said the musty smell made her half sick ; Phyllis de- 
 clared that at the sight of a spider she invariably
 
 194 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 turned faint ; and Susan Drummond was heard to 
 murmur that in a dusty, fusty attic even meringues 
 scarcely kept her awake. The girls were all wild to 
 try a midnight picnic out of doors, and Annie in her 
 present mood, was only too eager for the fun. 
 
 With her usual skill she organized the whole un- 
 dertaking, and eight agitated, slightly frightened, 
 but much excited girls retired to their rooms that 
 night. Annie, in her heart of hearts, felt rather sorry 
 that Mrs. Willis should happen to be away ; dim 
 ideas of honor and trustworthiness were still stirring 
 in her breast, but she dared not think now. 
 
 The night was in every respect propitous ; the 
 moon would not rise until after twelve, so the little 
 party could get away under the friendly shelter of 
 the darkness, and soon afterward have plenty of 
 light to enjoy their stolen feast. They had arranged 
 1 to make no movement until close on midnight, and 
 then they were all to meet in a passage which be- 
 longed to the kitchen regions, and where there was 
 a side door which opened directly into the shrubbery. 
 This door was not very often unlocked, and Annie 
 had taken the key from its place in the lock some 
 days before. She went to bed with her companions 
 at nine o'clock as usual, and presently fell into an 
 uneasy doze. She awoke to hear the great clock in 
 the hall strike eleven, and a few minutes afterward 
 she heard Miss Danesbury's footsteps retiring to her 
 room at the other end of the passage. 
 
 " Danesbury is always the last to go to bed," 
 whispered Annie to herself ; " I can get up presently."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 195 
 
 She lay for another twenty minutes, then, softly 
 rising, began to put on her clothes in the dark. Over 
 her dress she fastened her waterproof, and placed 
 a close-fitting brown velvet cap on her curly head. 
 Having dressed herself, she approached Susan's bed, 
 with the intention of rousing her. 
 
 " I shall have fine work now," she said, " and 
 shall probably have to resort to cold water. Really, 
 if Susy proves too hard to wake, I shall let her 
 sleep on her drowsiness is past bearing." 
 
 Annie, however, was considerably startled when 
 she discovered that Miss Drummond's bed was with- 
 out an occupant. 
 
 At this moment the room door was very softly 
 opened, and Susan, fully dressed and in her water- 
 proof, came in. 
 
 " Why, Susy, where have you been ?" exclaimed 
 Annie. " Fancy you being awake a moment before 
 it is necessary !" 
 
 " For once in a way I was restless," replied Miss 
 Drummond, " so I thought I would get up, and take 
 a turn in the passage outside. The house is perfectly 
 quiet, and we can come now ; most of the girls are 
 already waiting at the side door." 
 
 Holding their shoes in their hands, Annie and 
 Susan went noiselessly down the carpetless stairs, 
 and found the remaining six girls waiting for them 
 by the side door. . 
 
 " Rover is our one last danger now," said Annie, 
 as she fitted the well-oiled key into the lock. " Put on 
 your shoes, girls, and let me out first ; I think I can 
 manage him. "
 
 196 A WORLD OP GIRLS. 
 
 She was alluding to a great mastiff which was 
 usually kept chained up by day. Phyllis and Nora 
 laid their hands on her arm. 
 
 "Oh, Annie, oh love, suppose he seizes on you, 
 and knocks you down oh, dare you venture ?" 
 
 " Let me go," said Annie a little contemptuously ; 
 " you don't suppose I am afraid ?" 
 
 Her fingers trembled, for her nerves were highly 
 strung ; but she managed to unlock the door and 
 draw back the bolts, and, opening it softly, she went 
 out into the silent night. 
 
 Very slight as the noise she made was, it had 
 aroused the watchful Rover, who trotted around 
 swiftly to know what was the matter. But Annie 
 had made friends with Rover long ago, by stealing 
 to his kennel door and feeding him, and she had 
 now but to say " Rover " in her melodious voice, and 
 throw her arms around his neck, to completely sub- 
 vert his morals. 
 
 " He is one of us, girls," she called in a whisper to 
 her companions ; " come out. Rover will be as 
 naughty as the rest of us, and go with us as our 
 body-guard to the fairies' field. Now, I will lock 
 the door on the outside, and we can be off. Ah, the 
 moon is getting up splendidly, and when we have 
 secured Betty's basket, we shall be quite out of 
 reach of danger." 
 
 At Annie's words of encouragement the seven 
 girls ventured out. She locked the door, put the 
 key into her pocket, and, holding Rover by his 
 collar, led the way in the direction of the laurel-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 197 
 
 bush. The basket was secured, and Susan, to her 
 disgust, and Mary Morris were elected for the first 
 part of the way to carry it. The young 1 truants 
 then walked quickly down the avenue until they 
 came to a turnstile which led into a wood.
 
 198 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 IN THE FAIRIES' FIELD. 
 
 THE MOON had now come up brilliantly, and the 
 little party were in the highest possible spirits. 
 They had got safely away from the house, and 
 there was now, comparatively speaking, little fear 
 of discovery. The more timid ones, who ventured 
 to confess that their hearts were in their mouths 
 while Annie was unlocking the side door, now be- 
 came the most excited, and perhaps the boldest, 
 under the reaction which set in. Even the wood, 
 which was comparatively dark, with only patches 
 of moonlight here and there, and queer weird sha- 
 dows where the trees were thinnest, could not affect 
 their spirits. 
 
 The poor sleepy rabbits must have been aston- 
 ished that night at the shouts of the revelers, as 
 they hurried past them, and the birds must have 
 taken their sleepy heads from under their downy 
 wings, and wondered if the morning had come some 
 hours before its usual time. 
 
 More than one solemn old owl blinked at them, 
 and hooted as they passed, and told them in owl 
 language what silly, naughty young things they 
 were, and how they would repent of this dissipa- 
 tion by-and-by. But if the girls were to have an
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 tour of remorse, it did not visit them then ; their 
 hearts were like feathers, and by the time they 
 reached the fields where the fairies were supposed 
 to play, their spirits had become almost uncontrol- 
 lable. 
 
 Luckily for them this small green field lay in a 
 secluded hollow, and more luckily for them no 
 tramps were about to hear their merriment. Ro- 
 ver, who constituted himself Annie's protector, now 
 lay down by her side, and as she was the real ring- 
 leader and queen of the occasion, she ordered her 
 subjects about pretty sharply. 
 
 " Now, girls, quick ; open the basket. Yes, I'm 
 going to rest. I have organized the whole thing, 
 and I'm fairly tired ; so I'll just sit quietly here, and 
 Rover will take care of me while you set things 
 straight. Ah ! good Betty ,; she did not even forget 
 the white table-cloth." 
 
 Here one of the girls remarked casually that the 
 grass was wet with dew, and that it was well they 
 had all put on their waterproofs. 
 
 Annie interrupted again in a petulant voice : 
 
 " Don't croak, Mary Morris. Out with the chick- 
 ens, lay the ham in this corner, and the cherries 
 will make a picturesque pile in the middle. Twelve 
 meringues in all ; that means a meringue and a half 
 each. We shall have some difficulty in dividing. 
 Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! how hungry I am ! I was far 
 too excited to eat anything at supper-time." 
 
 " So was I," said Phyllis, coming up and pressing 
 dose to Annie. " I do think Miss Danesbury cuts
 
 200 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 the bread and butter too thick don't you, Annie ? 
 I could not eat mine at all to-night, and Cecil Tem- 
 ple asked me if I was not well." 
 
 " Those who don't want chicken hold up their 
 hands," here interrupted Annie, who had tossed her 
 brown cap on the grass, and between whose brows 
 a faint frown had passed for an instant at the men- 
 tion of Cecil's name. 
 
 The feast now began in earnest and silence 
 reigned for a short time, broken only by the clatter 
 of plates and such an occasional remark as " Pass 
 the salt, please," " Pepper this way, if you've no 
 objection," " How good chicken tastes in fairy-land," 
 etc. At last the ginger-beer bottles began to pop 
 the girl's first hunger was appeased. Rover gladly 
 crunched up all the bones, and conversation flowed 
 once more, accompanied by the delicate diversion of 
 taking alternate bites at meringues and cheesecakes. 
 
 "I wish the fairies would come out," said Annie. 
 
 " Oh, don't !" shivered Phyllis, looking round her 
 nervously. 
 
 " Annie darling, do tell us a ghost story," cried 
 several voices. 
 
 Annie laughed and commenced a series of non- 
 sense tales, all of a slightly eerie character, which 
 she made up on the spot. 
 
 The moon riding high in the heavens looked 
 down on the giddy young heads, and their laughter, 
 naughty as they were, sounded sweet in the night air. 
 
 Time flew quickly and the girls suddenly dis- 
 covered that they must pack up their table-cloth and
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 201 
 
 remove all traces of the feast unless they wished 
 the bright light of morning to discover them. They 
 rose hastily, sighing and slightly depressed now 
 that their fun was over. The white table-cloth, no 
 longer very white, was packed into the basket, the 
 ginger-beer bottles placed on top of it and the lid 
 fastened down. Not a crumb of the feast remained ; 
 Rover had demolished the bones and the eight girls 
 had made short work of everything else, with the 
 exception of the cherry-stones, which Phyllis care- 
 fully collected and popped into a little hole in the 
 ground. 
 
 The party then progressed slowly homeward and 
 once more entered the dark wood. They were much 
 more silent now ; the wood was darker, and the 
 chill which foretells the dawn was making itself felt 
 in the air. Either the sense of cold or a certain 
 effect produced by Annie's ridiculous stories, made 
 many of the little party unduly nervous. 
 
 They had only taken a few steps through the 
 wood when Phyllis suddenly uttered a piercing 
 shriek. This shriek was echoed by Nora and by 
 Mary Morris, and all their hearts seemed to leap 
 into their mouths when they saw something move 
 among the trees. Rover uttered a growl, and, but 
 for Annie's detaining hand, would have sprung for- 
 ward. The high-spirited girl was not to be easily 
 daunted. 
 
 " Behold, girls, the goblin of the woods," she ex- 
 claimed. " Quiet, Rover ; stand still." 
 
 The next instant the fears of the little party
 
 Zi A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 reached their culmination when a tall, dark figure 
 stood directly in their paths. 
 
 " If you don't let us pass at once," said Annie's 
 voice, "I'll set Rover at you." 
 
 The dog began to bark loudly and quivered from 
 head to foot. 
 
 The figure moved a little to one side, and a rather 
 deep and slightly dramatic voice said : 
 
 " I mean you no harm, young ladies ; I'm only a 
 gypsy-mother from the tents yonder. You are 
 welcome to get back to Lavender House. I have 
 then one course plain before me." 
 
 "Come on, girls," said Annie, now considerably 
 frightened, while Phyllis, and Nora, and one or two 
 more began to sob. 
 
 "Look here, young ladies," said the gypsy in a 
 whining voice, " I don't mean you no harm, my 
 pretties, and it's no affair of mine telling the good 
 ladies at Lavender House what I've seen. You 
 cross my hand, dears, each of you, with a bit of 
 silver, and all I'll do is to tell your pretty fortunes, 
 and mum is the word with the gypsy-mother as far 
 as this night's prank is concerned." 
 
 "We had better do it, Annie we had better do 
 it," here sobbed Phyllis. " If this was found out by 
 Mrs. Willis we might be expelled we might, 
 indeed ; and that horrid woman is sure to tell of 
 us I know she is." 
 
 " Quite sure to tell, dear," said the tall gypsy, 
 dropping a courtesy in a manner which looked fright- 
 fully sarcastic in the long shadows made by the
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 203 
 
 trees. " Quite sure to tell, and to be expelled is the 
 very least that could happen to such naughty little 
 ladies. Here's a nice little bit of clearing in the 
 wood, and we'll all come over, and Mother Rachel 
 will tell your fortunes in a twinkling, and no one 
 will be the wiser. Sixpence apiece, my dears 
 only sixpence apiece." 
 
 "Oh, come; do, do come," said Nora, and the 
 next moment they were all standing in a circle 
 round Mother Rachel, who pocketed her blackmail 
 eagerly, and repeated some gibberish over each 
 little hand. Over Annie's palm she lingered for a 
 brief moment, and looked with her penetrating eyes 
 into the girl's face. 
 
 " You'll have suffering before you, miss ; some 
 suspicion, and danger even to life itself. But you'll 
 triumph, my dear, you'll triumph. You're a plucky 
 one, and you'll do a brave deed. There good- 
 night, young ladies ; you have nothing more to fear 
 from Mother Rachel." 
 
 The tall dark figure disappeared into the blackest 
 shadows of the wood, and the girls, now like so 
 many frightened hares, flew home. They deposited 
 their basket where Betty would find it, under the 
 shadow of the great laurel in the back avenue. 
 They all bade Rover an affectionate " good-night." 
 Annie softly unlocked the side-door, and one by one, 
 with their shoes in their hands, they regained their 
 bedrooms. They were all very tired, and very cold, 
 and a dull fear and sense of insecurity rested over 
 each little heart. Suppose Mother Rachel proved 
 unfaithful, notwithstanding the sixpences?
 
 204 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 HESTER'S FORGOTTEN BOOK. 
 
 IT WANTED scarcely three weeks to the holidays, 
 and therefore scarcely three weeks to that auspi- 
 cious day when Lavender House was to be the scene 
 of one long triumph, and was to be the happy spot 
 selected for a midsummer holiday, accompanied by 
 all that could make a holiday perfect for youth 
 and health would be there, and even the unsuccess- 
 ful competitors for the great prizes would not have 
 too sore hearts, for they would know that on the 
 next day they were going home. Each girl who had 
 done her best would have a word of commendation, 
 and only those who were very naughty, or very 
 stubborn, could resist the all-potent elixir of happi- 
 ness which would be poured out so abundantly for 
 Mrs. Willis' pupils on this day. 
 
 Now that the time was drawing so near, those 
 girls who were working for prizes found them- 
 selves fully occupied from morning to night. In 
 play-hours even, girls would be seen with their 
 heads bent over their books, and, between the prizes 
 and the acting, no little bees in any hive could be 
 more constantly employed than were these young 
 girls just now.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 205 
 
 No happiness is, after all, to be compared to the 
 happiness of healthful occupation. Busy people have 
 no time to fret and no time to grumble. According 
 to our old friend, Dr. Watts, people who are healthily 
 busy have also no time to be naughty, for the old 
 doctor says that it is for idle hands that mischief is 
 prepared. 
 
 Be that as it may, and there is great truth in it, 
 some naughty sprites, some bad fairies, were flitting 
 around and about that apparently peaceful atmos- 
 phere. That sunny home, governed by all that was 
 sweet and good, was not without its serpent. 
 
 Of all the prizes which attracted interest and 
 aroused competition, the prize for English compo- 
 sition was this year the most popular. In the first 
 place, this was known to be Mrs. Willis' own favorite 
 subject. She had a great wish that her girls should 
 write intelligibly she. had a greater wish that, if 
 possible, they should think. 
 
 " Never was there so much written and printed," 
 she was often heard to say ; " but can any one show 
 me a book with thoughts in it ? Can any one show 
 me, unless as a rare exception, a book which will live? 
 Oh, yes, these books which issue from the press in 
 thousands are, many of them, very smart, a great 
 many of them clever, but they are thrown off too 
 quickly. All great things, great books among them, 
 must be evolved slowly." 
 
 Then she would tell her pupils what she considered 
 the reason of this. 
 
 " In these days," she would say, " aH girls are
 
 206 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 what is called highly educated. Girls and boys 
 alike must go in for competitive examinations, must 
 take out diplomas, and must pass certain standards of 
 excellence. The system is cramming from beginning 
 to end. There is no time for reflection. In short, 
 my dear girls, you swallow a great deal, but you do 
 not digest your intellectual food." 
 
 Mrs. Willis hailed with pleasure any little draw- 
 ings of real thought in her girls' prize essays. More 
 than once she bestowed the prize upon the essay 
 which seemed to the girls the most crude and 
 unfinished. 
 
 " Never mind," she would say, "here is an idea 
 or at least half an idea. This little bit of composition 
 is original and not, at best, a poor imitation of Sir 
 Walter Scott or Lord Macaulay." 
 
 Thus the girls found a strong stimulus to be 
 their real selves in these little essays, and the best 
 of them chose their subject and let it ferment in 
 their brains without the aid of books, except for the 
 more technical parts. C 
 
 More than one girl in the school was surprised at 
 Dora Russell exerting herself to try for the prize 
 essay. She was just about to close her school career, 
 and they could not make out why she roused herself 
 to work for the most difficult prize, for which she 
 would have to compete with any girl in the school 
 who chose to make a similar attempt. 
 
 Dora, however, had her own, not very high 
 motive for making the attempt. She was a 
 thorotighly accomplished girl, graceful in her
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 207 
 
 appearance and manner ; in short, just the sort of 
 girl who would be supposed to do credit to a school. 
 She played with finish, and even delicacy of touch. 
 There was certainly no soul in her music, but neither 
 were there any wrong notes. Her drawings were 
 equally correct, her perspective good, her trees were 
 real trees, and the coloring of her water-color 
 sketches was pure. She spoke French extremely 
 well, and with a correct accent, and her German 
 also was above the average. Nevertheless, Dora 
 was commonplace, and those girls who knew her 
 best spoke sarcastically, and smiled at one another 
 when she alluded to her prize essay, and seemecf 
 confident of being the successful competitor. 
 
 " You won't like to be beaten, Dora, say, by 
 Annie Forest," they would laughingly remark ; 
 whereupon Dora's calm face would slightly flush 
 and her lips would assume a very proud curve. If 
 there was one thing she could not bear it was to be 
 beaten. 
 
 " Why do you try for it, Dora ?" her class-fellows 
 would ask ; but here Dora made no reply : she kept 
 her reason to herself. 
 
 The fact was, Dora, who must be a copyist to the 
 end of the chapter, and who could never to her lat- 
 est day do anything original, had determined to try 
 for the composition prize because she happened 
 accidentally to hear a conversation between Mrs. 
 Willis and Miss Danesbury, in which something 
 was said about a gold locket with Mrs. Willis' 
 portrait inside.
 
 208 A WORLD OP GIRLS. 
 
 Dora instantly jumped at the conclusion that this 
 was to be the great prize bestowed upon the success- 
 ful essayist. Delightful idea ; how well the trinket 
 would look round her smooth white throat ! In- 
 stantly she determined to try for this prize, and of 
 course as instantly the bare idea of defeat became 
 intolerable to her. She went steadily and methodi- 
 cally to work. With extreme care she chose her 
 subject. Knowing something of Mrs. Willis' pecu- 
 liarities, she determined that her theme should not 
 be historical ; she believed that she could express 
 herself freely and with power if only she could 
 secure an unhackneyed subject. Suddenly an idea 
 which she considered brilliant occured to her. She 
 would call her composition "The River." This 
 should not bear reference to Father Thames, or any 
 other special river of England, but it should trace 
 the windings of some fabled stream of Dora's 
 imagination, which, as it flowed along, should tell 
 something of the story of the many places by which 
 it passed. Dora was charmed with her own 
 thought, and worked hard, evening after evening, at 
 her subject, covering sheets of manuscript paper 
 with penciled jottings, and arranging and rearrang- 
 ing her somewhat confused thoughts. She greatly 
 admired a perfectly rounded period, and she was 
 most particular as to the style in which she wrote. 
 For the purpose of improving her style she even 
 studied old volumes of Addison's Spectator; but 
 after a time she gave up this course of study, for she 
 found it so difficult to mold her English to Addi-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 209 
 
 son's that she came to the comfortable conclusion 
 that Addison was decidedly obsolete, and that if she 
 wished to do full justice to " The River " she must 
 trust to her own unaided genius. 
 
 At last the first ten pages were written. The 
 subject was entered upon with considerable flourishes, 
 and some rather apt poetical quotations from a book 
 containing a collection of poems ; the river itself had 
 already left its home in the mountain, and was 
 careering merrily past sunny meadows and little 
 rural, impossible cottages, where the golden-haired 
 children played. 
 
 Dora made a very neat copy of her essay so far. 
 She now began to see her way clearly there would 
 be a very powerful passage as the river approached 
 the murky town. Here, indeed, would be room for 
 powerful and pathetic writing. She wondered if 
 she might venture so far as to hide a suicide in her 
 rushing waters ; and then at last the brawling river 
 would lose itself in the sea ; and, of course, there 
 would not be the smallest connection between her 
 river, and Kingsley's well-known song, 
 
 "Clear and cool." 
 
 She finished writing her ten pages, and being now 
 positively certain of her gold locket, went to bed in 
 a happy state of mind. 
 
 This was the very night when Annie was to lead 
 her revelers through the dark wood, but Dora, who 
 never troubled herself about the younger classes, 
 would have been certainly the last to notice the fact
 
 210 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 that a few of the girls in Lavender House seemed 
 little disposed to eat their suppers of thick bread 
 and butter and milk. She went to bed and dreamed 
 happy dreams about her golden locket, and had 
 little idea that any mischief was about to be performed. 
 
 Hester Thornton also, but in a very different 
 spirit; was working hard at her essay. Hester worked 
 conscientiously ; she had chosen " Marie Antoi- 
 nette" as her theme, and she read the sorrowful 
 story of the beautiful queen with intense interest, 
 and tried hard to get herself into the spirit of the 
 times about which she must write. She had scarcely 
 begun her essay yet, but she had already collected 
 most of the historical facts. 
 
 Hester was a very careful little student, and as 
 she prepared herself for the great work, she thought 
 little or nothing about the prize she only wanted to 
 do justice to the unfortunate queen of France. She 
 was in bed that night, and just dropping off to sleep, 
 when she suddenly remembered that she had left a 
 volume of French poetry on her school desk. This 
 was against the rules, and she knew that Miss Danes- 
 bury would confiscate the book in the morning, and 
 would not let her have it back for a week. Hester 
 particularly wanted this special book just now, as 
 some of the verses bore reference to her subject, and 
 she could scarcely get on with her essay without 
 having it to refer to. She must lose no time in 
 instantly beginning to write her essay, and to do 
 without her book of poetry for a week would be a 
 serious injury to her.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 211 
 
 She resolved, therefore, to break through one of 
 the rules, and, after lying awake until the whole 
 house was quiet, to slip down stairs, enter the school- 
 room and secure her poems. She heard the clock 
 strike eleven, and she knew that in a very few 
 moments Miss Danesbury and Miss Good would 
 have retired to their rooms. Ah, yes, that was 
 Miss Danesbury's step passing her door. Ten min- 
 utes later she glided out of bed, slipped on her dress- 
 ing-gown, and opening her door ran swiftly down 
 the carpetless stairs, and found herself in the great 
 stone hall which led to the schoolroom. 
 
 She was surprised to find the schoolroom door a 
 little ajar, but she entered the room without hesita- 
 tion, and, dark as it was, soon found her desk, and 
 the book of poems lying on the top. Hester was 
 about to return when she was startled by a little 
 noise in that portion of the room where the first 
 class girls sat. The next moment somebody came 
 heavily and rather clumsily down the room, and the 
 moon, which was just beginning to rise, fell for an 
 instant on a girl's face. Hester recognized the face 
 of Susan Drummond. What could she be doing 
 here ? She did not dare to speak, for she herself 
 had broken a rule in visiting the schoolroom. She 
 remained, therefore, perfectly still until Susan's steps 
 died away, and then, thankful to have secured her 
 own property, returned to her bedroom, and a mo- 
 ment or two later was sound asleep.
 
 213 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 "A MUDDY STREAM. 
 
 IN THE morning Dora Russell sat down as usual 
 before her orderly and neatly-kept desk. She 
 raised the lid to firid everything in its place her 
 books and exercises all as they should be, and her 
 pet essay in a neat brown paper cover, lying just as 
 she had left it the night before. She was really get- 
 ting quite excited about her river, and as this was a 
 half-holiday, she determined to have a good work at 
 it in the afternoon. She was beginning also to ex- 
 perience that longing for an auditor which occasion- 
 ally is known to trouble the breasts of genius. She 
 felt that those graceful ideas, that elegant language, 
 those measured periods, might strike happily on 
 some other ears before they were read aloud as the 
 great work of the midsummer holidays. 
 
 She knew that Hester Thornton was making what 
 she was pleased to term a poor little attempt at try- 
 ing for the same prize. Hester would scarcely ven- 
 ture to copy anything from Dora's essay ; she would 
 probably be discouraged, poor girl, in working any 
 longer at her own composition ; but Dora felt that 
 the temptation to read " The River," as far as it had 
 gone, to Hester was really too great to be resisted
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 213 
 
 Accordingly, after dinner she graciously invited 
 Hester to accompany her to a bower in the garden, 
 where the two friends might revel over the results 
 of Dora's extraordinary talents. 
 
 Hester was still, to a certain extent, tinder Dora's 
 influence, and had not the courage to tell her that 
 she intended to be very busy over her own essay 
 this afternoon. 
 
 " Now, Hester, dear," said Dora, when they found 
 themselves both seated in the bower, " you are the 
 only girl in the school to whom I could confide the 
 subject of my great essay. I really believe that I 
 have hit on something absolutely original. My dear 
 child, I hope you won't allow yourself to be dis- 
 couraged. I fear that you won't have much heart 
 to go on with your theme after you have read my 
 words ; but, never mind, dear, it will be good prac- 
 tice for you, and you know it was rather silly to go 
 in for a prize which I intended to compete for." 
 
 "May I read your essay, please, Dora?" asked 
 Hester. "I am very much interested in my own 
 study, and, whether I win the prize or not, I shall 
 always remember the pleasure I took in writing it." 
 
 "What subject did you select, dear?" inquired 
 Miss Russell. 
 
 " Well, I am attempting a little sketch of Marie 
 Antoinette." 
 
 "Ah, hackneyed, my dear girl terribly hack- 
 neyed ; but, of course, I don't mean to discourage 
 you. Now II draw a life-picture, and I call it 
 'The River.' See how it begins why, I declare I
 
 214 A WORLD OF uJRLS. 
 
 know the words by heart, 'As our eyes' rest on this 
 clear and limpid stream, as we see the sun sparkle 
 
 ' My dear Hester, you shall read me my essay 
 
 aloud. I shall like to hear my own words from 
 your lips, and you have really a pretty accent, 
 dear." 
 
 Hester folded back the brown paper cover, and 
 wanting to have her task over began to read hastily. 
 But, as her eyes rested on the first lines, she turned 
 to her companion, and said : 
 
 " Did you not tell me that your essay was called 
 ' The River' ?" 
 
 " Yes, dear ; the full title is ' The Windings of a 
 Noble River.' " 
 
 " That's very odd," replied Hester. " What I see 
 here is ' The Meanderings of a Muddy Stream.' ' As 
 our dull orbs rtst on this turbid water on which 
 the sun cannot possibly shine. 1 Why, Dora, this can- 
 not be your essay, and yet, surely, it is your hand- 
 writing." 
 
 Dora, with her face suddenly flushing a vivid 
 crimson, snatched the manuscript from Hester's 
 hand, and looked over it eagerly. Alas ! there was 
 no doubt. The title of this essay was " The Mean- 
 derings of a Muddy Stream," and the words which 
 immediately followed were a smart and ridiculous 
 parody on her own high flown sentences. The re- 
 semblance to her handwriting was perfect. The 
 brown paper cover, neatly sewn on to protect the 
 white manuscript, was undoubtedly her cover ; the 
 very paper on which the words were written seemed
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 215 
 
 in all particulars the same. Dora turned the sheets 
 eagerly, and here for the first time she saw a differ- 
 ence. Only four or five pages of the nonsense 
 essay had been attempted, and the night before, 
 when finishing her toil, she had proudly numbered 
 her tenth page. She looked through the whole 
 thing, turning leaf after leaf, while her cheeks were 
 crimson, and her hands trembled. In the first mo- 
 ment of horrible humiliation and dismay she liter- 
 ally could not speak. 
 
 At last, springing to her feet, and confronting 
 the astonished and almost frightened Hester, she 
 found her voice. 
 
 " Hester, you must help me in this. The most 
 dreadful, the most atrocious fraud has been com- 
 mitted. Some one has been base enough, audacious 
 enough, wicked enough, to go to my desk privately, 
 and take away my real essay my work over which 
 I have labored and toiled. The expressions of my 
 my yes, I will say it my genius, have been ruth- 
 lessly burned, or otherwise made away with, and 
 this thing has been put in their place. Hester, 
 why don't you speak why do you stare at me like 
 this ?" 
 
 " I am puzzled by the writing," said Hester ; " the 
 writing is yours." 
 
 " The writing is mine ! oh, you wicked girl ! 
 The writing is an imitation of mine a feeble and 
 poor imitation. I thought, Hester, that by this time 
 you ' knew your friend's handwriting. I thought 
 that one in whom I have confided one whom I
 
 216 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 have stooped to notice because I fancied we had a 
 community of soul, would not be so ridiculous and 
 so silly as to mistake this writing for mine. Look 
 again, please, Hester Thornton, and tell me if I am 
 ever so vulgar as to cross my fs. You know I 
 always loop them ; and do I make a capital B in 
 this fashion ? And do I indulge in flourishes ? I 
 grant you that the general effect to a casual ob- 
 server would be something the same, but you, Hes- 
 ter I thought you knew me better." 
 
 Here Hester, examining the false essay, had to 
 confess that the crossed fs and the flourishes were 
 unlike Miss Russell's calligraphy. 
 
 "It is a forgery, most cleverly done," said Dora. 
 " There is such a thing, Hester, as being wickedly 
 clever. This spiteful, cruel attempt to injure an- 
 other can have but proceeded from one very low 
 order of mind. Hester, there has been plenty of 
 favoritism in this school, but do you suppose I shall 
 allow such a thing as this to pass over unsearched 
 into ? If necessary, I shall ask my father to inter- 
 fere. This is a slight an outrage ; but the whole 
 mystery shall at' last be cleared up. Miss Good and 
 Miss Danesbury shall be informed at once, and the 
 very instant Mrs. Willis returns she shall be told 
 what a serpent she has been nursing in this false 
 wicked girl, Annie Forest." 
 
 " Stop, Dora," said Hester suddenly. She sprang 
 to her feet, clasping her hands, and her color varied 
 rapidly from white to red. A sudden light poured 
 in upon her, and she was about to speak when some^
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 217 
 
 thing quite a small, trivial thing occurred. She 
 only saw little Nan in the distance flying swiftly, 
 with outstretched arms, to meet a girl, whose knees 
 she clasped in baby ecstasy. The girl stooped down 
 and kissed the little face, and the round arms were 
 flung around her neck. The next instant Annie 
 Forest continued her walk alone, and Nan, looking 
 wistfully back after her, went in another direction 
 with her nurse. The whole scene took but a 
 moment to enact, but as she watched, Hester's face 
 grew hard and white. She sat down again, with 
 her lips firmly pressed together. 
 
 " What is it, Hester ?" exclaimed Dora. " What 
 were you going to say ? You surely know nothing 
 about this ?" 
 
 " Well, Dora, I am not the guilty person. I was 
 only going to remark that you cannot be sure it is 
 Annie Forest." 
 
 " Oh, so you are going to take that horrid girl's 
 part now ? I wonder at you ! She all but killed 
 your little sister, and then stole her love away from 
 you. Did you see the little thing now, how she 
 flew to her ? Why, she never kisses you like that." 
 
 " I know I know," said Hester, and she turned 
 away her face with a groan, and leaned forward 
 against the rustic bench, pressing her hot forehead 
 down on her hands. 
 
 " You'll have your triumph, Hester, when Miss 
 Forest is publicly expelled," said Dora, tapping her 
 lightly on the shoulder, and then, taking up the 
 forged essay, she went slowly out of the garden.
 
 218 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 GOOD AND BAD ANGELS. 
 
 HESTER stayed behind in the shady little arbor, and 
 then, on that soft spring day, while the birds sang 
 overhead, and the warm light breezes came in and 
 fanned her hot cheeks, good angels and bad drew 
 near to fight for a victory. Which would conquer ? 
 Hester had many faults, but hitherto she had been 
 honorable and truthful ; her sins had been those of 
 pride and jealousy, but she had never told a false- 
 hood in her life. She knew perfectly she trembled 
 as the full knowledge overpowered her that she 
 had it in her power to exonerate Annie. She could 
 not in the least imagine how stupid Susan Drum- 
 mond could contrive and carry out such a clever 
 and deep-laid plot ; but she knew also that if she 
 related what she had seen with her own eyes the 
 night before, she would probably give such a clue to 
 the apparent mystery that the truth would come to 
 light. 
 
 If Annie was cleared from this accusation, doubt- 
 less the old story of her supposed guilt with regard 
 to Mrs. Willis' caricature would also be read with 
 its right key. Hester was a clever and sharp girl ; 
 and the fact of seeing Susan Drummond in the 
 schoolroom in the dead of night opened her eyes
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 219 
 
 also to one or two other apparent little mysteries. 
 While Susan was her own room-mate she had often, 
 given a passing wonder to the fact of her extraordi- 
 nary desire to overcome her sleepiness, and had 
 laughed over the expedients Susan had used to wake 
 at all moments. 
 
 These things, at the time, had scarcely given her 
 a moment's serious reflection ; but now she pondered 
 them care'fully, and became more and more certain 
 that, for some inexplicable and unfathomable reason 
 sleepy, and apparently innocent, Susan Drummond 
 wished to sow the seeds of mischief and disorder in 
 the school. Hester was sure that if she chose to 
 speak now she could clear poor Annie, and restore 
 her to her lost place in Mrs. Willis' favor. 
 
 Should she do so ? ah ! should she ? Her lips 
 trembled, her color came and went as the angels,, 
 good and bad, fought hard for victory within her. 
 How she had longed to revenge herself on Annie I 
 How cordially she had hated her ! Now was the 
 moment of her revenge. She had but to remain 
 silent now, and to let matters take their course ; she 
 had but to hold her tongue about the little incident 
 of last night, and, without any doubt, circumstan- 
 tial evidence would point at Annie Forest, and she 
 would be expelled from the school. Mrs. Willis 
 must condemn her now. Mr. Everard must pro- 
 nounce her guilty now. She would go, and when 
 the coast was again clear the love which she had 
 taken from Hester the precious love of Hester's 
 only little sister would return.
 
 220 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " You will be miserable ; you will be miserable," 
 whispered the good angels sorrowfully in her ear ; 
 but she did not listen to them. 
 
 "I said I would revenge myself, and this is my 
 opportunity," she murmured. " Silence just sim- 
 ple silence will be my revenge." 
 
 Then the good angels went sorrowfully back to 
 their Father in Heaven, and the wicked angels re- 
 joiced. Hester had fallen very low.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 221 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 FRESH SUSPICIONS. 
 
 MRS. WILLIS was not at home many hours before 
 Dora Russell begged for an interview with her. 
 Annie had not as yet heard anything of the changed 
 essay; for Dora had resolved to keep the thing a 
 secret until Mrs. Willis herself took the matter in 
 hand. 
 
 Annie was feeling not a little anxious and de- 
 pressed. She was sorry now that she had led the 
 girls that wild escapade through the wood. Phyllis 
 and Nora were both suffering from heavy colds in 
 consequence, and Susan Drummond was looking more 
 pasty about her complexion, and was more dismally 
 sleepy than usual. Annie was going through her 
 usual season of intense remorse after one of her wild 
 pranks. No one repented with more apparent fervor 
 than she did, and yet no one so easily succumbed to 
 the next temptation. Had Annie been alone in the 
 matter she would have gone straight to Mrs. Willis 
 and confessed all ; but she could not do this without 
 implicating her companions, who would have 
 screamed with horror at the very suggestion. 
 
 All the girls were more or less depressed by the 
 knowledge that the gypsy woman, Mother Rachel,
 
 222 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 shared their secret; and they often whispered to- 
 gether as to the chances of her betraying- them. Old 
 Betty they could trust ; for Betty, the cake-woman, 
 had been an arch-conspirator with the naughty girls 
 cf Lavender House from time immemorial. Betty 
 had always managed to provide their stolen suppers 
 for them, and had been most accommodating in the 
 matter of pay. Yes, with Betty they felt they were 
 safe ; but Mother Rachel was a different person. 
 She might like to be paid a few more sixpences for 
 her silence ; she might hover about the grounds ; 
 she mignt be noticed. At any moment she might 
 boldly demand an interview with Mrs. Willis. 
 
 " I'm awfully afraid of Mother Rachel," Phyllis 
 moaned, as she shivered under the influence of her 
 bad cold. 
 
 Nora said " I should faint if I saw her again, I 
 know I should ;" while the other girls always went 
 out provided with stray sixpences, in case the gypsy 
 mother should start up from some unexpected quarter 
 and demand blackmail. 
 
 On the day of Mrs. Willis' return, Annie was 
 pacing up and down the shady walk, and indulging 
 in some rather melancholy and regretful thoughts, 
 when Susan Drummond and Mary Morris rushed up 
 to her, white with terror. 
 
 " She's down there by the copse, and she's beckon- 
 ing to us ! Oh, do come with us do, darling, dear 
 Annie." 
 
 "There's no use in it," replied Annie ; " Mother 
 Rachel wants money, and I am not going to give
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 223 
 
 her any. Don't be afraid of her, girls, and don't 
 give her money. After all, why should she tell on 
 us ? she would gain nothing by doing so." 
 
 " Oh, yes, she would, Annie she would, Annie," 
 said Mary Morris, beginning to sob ; " oh, do come 
 with us, do ! We must pacify her, we really must." 
 
 " I can't come now," said Annie ; " hark ! some 
 one is calling me. Yes, Miss Danesbury what is it?" 
 
 " Mrs. Willis wishes to see you at once, Annie, in 
 her private sitting-room," replied Miss Danesbtiry ; 
 and Annie, wondering not a little, but quite un- 
 suspicious, ran off. 
 
 The fact, however, of her having deliberately dis- 
 obeyed Mrs. Willis, and done something which she 
 knew would greatly pain her, brought a shade of 
 embarrassment to her usually candid face. She had 
 also to confess to herself that she did not feel quite 
 so comfortable about Mother Rachel as she had 
 given Mary Morris and Susan Drummond to under- 
 stand. Her steps lagged more and more as she 
 approached the house, and she wished, oh, how 
 longingly ! oh, how regretfully ! that she had not 
 been naughty and wild and disobedient in her be- 
 loved teacher's absence. 
 
 " But where is the use of regretting what is 
 done ?" she said, half aloud. " I know I can never 
 be good never, never !" 
 
 She pushed aside the heavy velvet curtains which 
 shaded the door of the private sitting-room, and 
 went in, to find Mrs. Willis seated by her desk, ve:ry 
 pale and tired and unhappy looking, while Dora
 
 224 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Russell, with crimson spots on her cheeks and a very 
 angry glitter in her eyes, stood by the mantel-piece. 
 
 " Come here, Annie dear," said Mrs. Willis in her 
 usual gentle and affectionate tone. 
 
 Annie's first wild impulse was to rush to her 
 governess' side, to fling her arms round her neck, 
 and, as a child would confess to her mother, to tell 
 her all that story of the walk through the wood, and 
 the stolen picnic in the fairies' field. Three things, 
 however, restrained her she must not relieve her 
 own troubles at the expense of betraying others; 
 she could not, even if she were willing, say a word 
 in the presence of this cold and angry-looking Dora ; 
 in the third place, Mrs. Willis looked very tired and 
 very sad. Not for words would she add to her 
 troubles at this instant. She came into the room, 
 however, with a slight hesitation of manner and a 
 clouded brow, which caused Mrs. Willis to watch 
 her with anxiety and Dora with triumph. 
 
 " Come here, Annie," repeated the governess. " I 
 want to speak to you. Something very dishonorable 
 and disgraceful has been done in my absence." 
 
 Annie's face suddenly became as white as a sheet. 
 Could the gypsy mother hav already betrayed them 
 all? 
 
 Mrs. Willis, noticing her too evident confusion, 
 continued in a voice which, in spite of herself, be- 
 came stern and severe. 
 
 " I shall expect the truth at any cost, my dear. 
 Look at this manuscript-book. Do you know any- 
 thing of the handwriting ?"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Why, it is yours, of course, Dora," said Annie r 
 who was now absolutely bewildered. 
 
 " It is not mine," began Dora, but Mrs. Willis 
 held up her hand. 
 
 "Allow me to speak, Miss Russell. I can best 
 explain matters. Annie, during my absence some 
 one has been guilty of a very base and wicked act. 
 One of the girls in this school has gone secretly to 
 Dora Russell's desk and taken away ten pages of an 
 essay which she had called 'The River,' and which 
 she was preparing for the prize competition next 
 month. Instead of Dora's essay this that you now 
 see was put in its place. Examine it, my dear. 
 Can you tell me anything about it ?" 
 
 Annie took the manuscript-book and turned the 
 leaves. 
 
 "Is it meant for a parody?" she asked, after a 
 pause ; " it sounds ridiculous. No, Mrs. Willis, I 
 know nothing whatever about it ; some one has 
 imitated Dora's handwriting. I cannot imagine 
 who is the culprit." 
 
 She threw the manuscript-book with a certain 
 easy carelessness on the table by her side, and 
 glanced up with a twinkle of mirth in her eyes at 
 Dora. 
 
 " I suppose it is meant for a clever parody," she 
 repeated ; " at least it is amusing." 
 
 Her manner displeased Mrs. Willis, and very 
 nearly maddened poor Dor 
 
 " We have not sent for you, Annie," said her 
 teacher, " to ask you your opinion of the parody,
 
 220 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 but to try and get you to throw light on the sub- 
 ject. We must find out, and at once, who has been 
 so wicked as to deliberately injure another girl." 
 
 "But why have you sent for me?" asked Annie, 
 drawing herself up, and speaking with a little shade 
 of haughtiness. 
 
 " Because," said Dora Russell, who could no 
 longer contain her outraged feelings, " because you 
 alone can throw light on it because you alone in 
 the school are base enough to do anything so mean 
 because you alone can caricature." 
 
 " Oh, that is it," said Annie ; " you suspect me, 
 then. Do you suspect me, Mrs. Willis ?" 
 
 " My dear what can I say ?" 
 
 " Nothing, if you do. In this school my word 
 has long gone for nothing. I am a naughty, head- 
 strong, willful girl, but in this matter I am perfectly 
 innocent. I never saw that essay before : I never 
 in all my life went to Dora Russell's desk. I am 
 headstrong and wild, but I don't do spiteful things. 
 I have no object in injuring Dora ; she is nothing to 
 m nothing. She is trying for the essay prize, 
 but she has no chance of winning it. Why should 
 I trouble myself to injure her ? Why should I even 
 take the pains to parody her words and copy her 
 handwriting ? Mrs. Willis, you need not believe 
 me I see you do not believe me but I am quite 
 innocent." 
 
 Here Annie burst into sudden tears, and ran out 
 of the room.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 227 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 UNTRUSTWORTHY. 
 
 DORA RUSSELL had declared, in Hester's presence, 
 and with intense energy in her manner, that the 
 author of the insult to which she had been exposed 
 should be publicly punished and, if possible, ex- 
 pelled. On the evening of her interview with the 
 head teacher, she had so far forgotten herself as to 
 reiterate this desire with extreme vehemence. She 
 had boldly declared her firm conviction of Annie s 
 guilt, and had broadly hinted at Mrs. Willis' favor- 
 itism toward her. The great dignity, however, of 
 her teacher's manner, and the half -sorrowful, half- 
 indignant look she bestowed on the excited girl, 
 calmed her down after a time. Mrs. Willis felt full 
 sympathy for Dora, and could well understand how 
 trying and aggravating this practical joke must be 
 to so proud a girl ; but although her faith was un- 
 doubtedly shaken in Annie, she would not allow this 
 sentiment to appear. 
 
 "I will do all I can for you, Dora," she said, 
 when the weeping Annie had left the room ; " I 
 will do everything in my power to find out who 
 has injured you. Annie has absolutely denied the 
 you bring against her, and unless her
 
 228 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 guilt can be proved it is but right to believe her 
 innocent. There are many other girls in Lavender 
 House, and to-morrow morning I will sift this un- 
 pleasant affair to the very bottom. Go, now, my 
 dear, and if you have sufficient self-command and 
 self-control, try to have courage to write your essay 
 over again. I have no doubt that your second ren- 
 dering of your subject will be more attractive than 
 the first. Beginners cannot too often re-write their 
 themes." 
 
 Dora gave her head a proud little toss, but she 
 was sufficiently in awe of Mrs. Willis to keep back 
 any retort, and she went out of the room feeling 
 unsatisfied and wretched, and inclined for a sym- 
 pathizing chat with her little friend Hester Thorn- 
 ton. 
 
 Hester, however, when she reached her, seemed 
 not at all disposed to talk to any one. 
 
 " I've had it all out with Mrs. Willis, and there 
 is no doubt she will be exposed to-morrow morning," 
 said Dora half aloud. 
 
 Hester, whose head was bent over her French 
 history, looked up with an annoyed expression. 
 
 "Who will be exposed?" she asked, in a petu- 
 lant voice. 
 
 ' Oh, how stupid you are growing, Hester Thorn- 
 ton !" exclaimed Dora ; " why, that horrid Annie 
 Forest, of course but really I have no patience to 
 talk to you ; you have lost all your spirit. I was 
 very foolish to demean myself by taking so much 
 notice of one of the little girls."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 229 
 
 Dora sailed down the play-room to her own draw- 
 ing-room, fully expecting Hester to rise and rush 
 after her; but to her surprise Hester did not stir, 
 but sat with her head bent over her book, and her 
 cheeks slightly flushed. 
 
 The next morning Mrs. Willis kept her word to 
 Dora, and made the very strictest inquiries with 
 regard to the practical joke to which Dora had been 
 subjected. She first of all fully explained what had 
 taken place in the presence of the whole school, and 
 then each girl was called up in rotation, and asked 
 two questions : first, had she done this mischievous 
 thing herself ? second, could she throw any light on 
 the subject. 
 
 One by one each girl appeared before her teacher, 
 replied in the negative to both queries, and returned 
 to her seat. 
 
 "Now, girls," said Mrs. Willis, "you have each 
 of you denied this charge. Such a thing as has 
 happened to Dora could not have been done with- 
 out hands. The teachers in the school are above 
 suspicion ; the servants are none of them clever 
 enough to perform this base trick. I suspect one 
 of you, and I am quite determined to get at the 
 truth. During the whole of this half-year there 
 has been a spirit of unhappiness, of mischief, and 
 of suspicion in our midst. Under these circum- 
 stances love cannot thrive ; under these circum- 
 stances the true and ennobling sense of brotherly 
 kindness, and all those feelings which real religion 
 prompt must languish. I tell you all now plainly
 
 230 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 that I will not have this thing in Lavender Homse. 
 It is simply disgraceful for one girl to play such 
 tricks on her fellows. This is not the first time 
 nor the second time that the school desks have been 
 tampered with. I will find out I am determined 
 to find out, who this dishonest person is ; and as she 
 has not chosen to confess to me, as she has preferred 
 falsehood to truth, I will visit her, when I do dis- 
 cover her, with my very gravest displeasure. In 
 this school I have always endeavored to inculcate 
 the true principles of honor and of trust. I have 
 laid down certain broad rules, and expect them to 
 be obeyed ; but I have never hampered you with 
 petty and humiliating restraints. I have given you 
 a certain freedom, which I believed to be for your 
 best good, and I have never suspected one of you 
 until you have given me due cause. 
 
 " Now, however, I tell you plainly that I alter all 
 my tactics. One girl sitting in this room, is guilty. 
 For her sake I shall treat you all as guilty, and 
 punish you accordingly. For the remainder of this 
 term, or until the hour when the guilty girl chooses 
 to release her companions, you are all, with the 
 exception of the little children and Miss Russell, 
 who can scarcely have played this trick on herself, 
 under punishment. I withdraw your half -holidays, 
 I take from you the use of the south parlor for your 
 acting, and every drawing-room in the play-room is 
 confiscated. But this is not all that I do. In tak- 
 ing from you my trust, I must treat you as untrust- 
 worthy you will no longer enjqy the liberty you
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 231 
 
 used to delight in everywhere you will be watched. 
 A teacher will sit in your play-room with you, a 
 teacher will accompany you into the grounds, and I 
 tell you plainly, girls, that chance words and 
 phrases which drop from your lips shall be taken 
 up, and used, if necessary, to the elucidation of this 
 disgraceful mystery." 
 
 Here Mrs. Willis left the room, and the teachers 
 desired the several girls in their classes to attend to 
 their morning studies. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the dismay which her 
 words had produced. The innocent girls were 
 fairly stunned, and from that .hour for many a day 
 all sunshine and happiness seemed really to have 
 left Lavender House. 
 
 The two, however, who felt the change most 
 acutely, and on whose altered faces their compan- 
 ions began to fix suspicious eyes, were Annie Forest 
 and Hester Thornton. Hester was burdened with 
 an intolerable sense of the shameful falsehood she 
 had told ; Annie, guilty in another matter, suc- 
 cumbed at last utterly to a sense of misery and 
 injustice. Her orphaned and lonely position for the 
 first time began to tell on her; she ate little and 
 slept little, her face grew very pale and thin, and 
 her health *really suffered. 
 
 All the routine of happy life at Lavender House 
 was changed. In the large play-room the drawing- 
 rooms were unused ; there were no pleasant little 
 knots of girls whispering happily and confidentially 
 together, for whenever two or three girls sat down
 
 232 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 to have a chat they found that one or anothe. ol 
 the teachers was within hearing. The acting " ; of 
 the coming play progressed so languidly that no one 
 expected it would really take place, and the one 
 relief and relaxation to the unhappy girls lay in the 
 fact that the holidays were not far off, and that in 
 the meantime they might work hard for the 
 prizes. 
 
 The days passed in a truly melancholy fashion, 
 and, perhaps, for the first time the girls fully appre- 
 ciated the old privileges of freedom and trust which 
 were now forfeited. There was a feeble little at- 
 tempt at a joke and a laugh in the school at Dora's 
 expense. The most frivolous of the girls whispered 
 of her as she passed as " the muddy stream ;" but no 
 one took up the fun with avidity the shadow of 
 somebody's sin had fallen too heavily upon all the 
 bright young lives.
 
 333 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 BETTY FALLS ILL AT AN AWKWARD TIME. 
 
 THE EIGHT girls who had gone out on their mid- 
 night picnic were much startled one day by an un- 
 pleasant discovery. Betty had never come for her 
 basket. Susan Drummond, who had a good deal of 
 curiosity, and always poked her nose into unex- 
 pected corners, had been walking with a Miss Alli- 
 son in that part of the grounds where the laurel-bush 
 stood. She had caught a peep of the white handle 
 of the basket, and had instantly turned her compan- 
 ion's attention to something else. Miss Allison had 
 not observed Susan's start of dismay ; but Susan had 
 taken the first opportunity of getting rid of her, and 
 had run off in search of one of the girls who had 
 shared in the picnic. She came across Annie Forest, 
 who was walking, as usual, by herself, with her head 
 slightly bent, and her curling hair in sad confusion. 
 Susan whispered the direful intelligence that old 
 Betty had forsaken them, and that the basket, with 
 its ginger-beer bottles and its stained table-cloth, 
 might be discovered at any moment. 
 
 Annie's pale face flushed slightly at Susan's words. 
 
 " Why should we try to conceal the thing ?" she 
 said, speaking with sudden energy, and a look of
 
 234 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 hope and animation coming back to her face. " Susy, 
 let's go, all of us, and tell the miserable truth to 
 Mrs. Willis ; it will be much the best way. We did 
 not do the other thing, and when we have confessed 
 about this, our hearts will be at rest." 
 
 " No, we did not do the other thing," said Susan, 
 a queer, gray color coming over her face ; "but con- 
 fess about this, Annie Forest ! I think you are 
 mad. You dare not tell." 
 
 "All right," said Annie,"! won't, unless you all 
 agree to it," and then she continued her walk, leav- 
 ing Susan standing on the gravel path with her 
 hands clasped together, and a look of most genuine 
 alarm and dismay on her usually phlegmatic face. 
 
 Susan quickly found Phyllis and Nora, and it was 
 only too easy to arouse the fears of these timid 
 little people. Their poor little faces became almost 
 pallid, and they were not a little startled at the fact 
 of Annie Forest, their own arch-conspirator, wishing 
 to betray their secret. 
 
 " Oh," said Susan Drummond, " she's not out and 
 out shabby ; she says she won't tell unless we all 
 wish it. But what is to become of the basket ?" 
 
 " Come, come, young ladies ; no whispering, if 
 you please," said Miss Good, who came up at this 
 moment. " Susan, you are looking pale and cold, 
 Walk up and down that path half-a-dozen times, and 
 then go into the house. Phyllis and Nora, you can 
 come with me as far as the lodge. I want to take a 
 message from Mrs. Willis to Mary Martin about the 
 fowl for to-morrow's dinner."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 235 
 
 Phyllis and Nora, with dismayed faces, walked 
 solemnly away with the English teacher, and Susan 
 was left to her solitary meditations. 
 
 Things had come to such a pass that her slow wits 
 were brought into play, and she neither felt sleepy, 
 nor did she indulge in her usual habit of eating 
 lollipops. 
 
 That basket might be discovered any day, and 
 then then disgrace was imminent. Susan could 
 not make out what had become of old Betty ; never 
 before had she so utterly failed them. 
 
 Betty lived in a little cottage about half a mile 
 from Lavender House. She was a sturdy, apple- 
 cheeked, little old woman, and had for many a day 
 added to her income indeed, almost supported her- 
 self by means of the girls at Lavender House. The 
 large cherry-trees in her little garden bore their rich 
 crop of fruit year after year for Mrs. Willis' girls, 
 and every day at an early hour Betty would tramp 
 into Sefton and return with a temptingly-laden 
 basket of the most approved cakes and tarts. There 
 was a certain paling at one end of the grounds to. 
 which Betty used to come. Here on the grass she 
 would sit contentedly, with the contents of her 
 basket arranged in the most tempting order before 
 her, and to this seductive spot she knew well that 
 those little misses who loved goodies, cakes and tart- 
 lets would be sure to find their way. Betty charged 
 high for her wares ; but, as she was always obliging 
 in the matter of credit, the thoughtless girls cared 
 very little that they paid double the shop prices for
 
 236 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Betty's cakes. The best girls in the school, cer- 
 tainly, never went to Betty ; but Annie Forest, 
 Susan Drummond, and several others had regular 
 accounts with her, and few days passed that their 
 young faces would not peep over the paling and 
 their voices ask : 
 
 "What have you got to tempt me with to-day, 
 Betty ?" 
 
 It was, however, in the matter of stolen picnics, of 
 grand feasts in the old attic, etc., etc., that Betty 
 was truly great. No one so clever as she in con- 
 cealing a basket of delicious eatables, no one knew 
 better what schoolgirls liked. She undoubtedly 
 charged her own prices, but what she gave was of 
 the best, and Betty was truly in her element when 
 she had an order from the young ladies of Lavender 
 House for a grand secret feast. 
 
 " You shall have it, my pretties you shall have 
 it," she would say, wrinkling up her bright blue 
 eyes, and smiling broadly. "You leave it to 
 Betty, my little loves ; you leave it to Betty." 
 
 On the occasion of the picnic to the fairies' field 
 Betty had, indeed, surpassed herself in the delicious 
 eatables she had provided ; all had v gone smoothly, 
 the basket had been placed in a secure hiding-place 
 under the thick laurel. It was to be fetched away 
 by Betty herself at an early hour on the following 
 morning. 
 
 No wonder Susan was perplexed as she paced 
 about and pretended to warm herself It was a June 
 evening, but the weather was still a little cold. Susan
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 237 
 
 remembered now that Betty had not come to her 
 favorite station at the stile for several days. Was it 
 possible that the old woman was ill ? As this idea 
 occurred to her, Susan became more alarmed. She 
 knew that there was very little chance of the basket 
 remaining long in concealment. Rover might any 
 day remember his pleasant picnic with affection, and 
 drag the white basket from under the laurel-bush. 
 Michael the gardener would be certain to see it when 
 next he cleaned up the back avenue. Oh, it was 
 more than dangerous to leave it there, and yet 
 Susan knew of no better hiding-place. A sudden 
 idea came to her ; she pulled out her pretty little 
 watch, and saw that she need not return to the 
 house for another half-hour. "Suppose she ran as 
 fast as possible to Betty's little cottage and begged 
 of the old woman to come by the first light in the 
 morning and fetch away the basket ?" 
 
 The moment Susan conceived this idea she re- 
 solved to put it into execution. She looked around 
 her hastily ; no teacher was in sight, Miss Good 
 was away at the lodge, Miss Danesbury was play- 
 ing with the little children. Mademoiselle, she 
 knew, had gone indoors with a bad headache. She 
 left the broad walk where she had been desired to 
 stay, and plunging into the shrubbery, soon reached 
 Betty's paling. In a moment she had climbed the 
 bars, had jumped lightly into the field, and was 
 running as fast as possible in the direction of Betty's 
 cottage. She reached the high road, and started 
 and trembled violently as a carriage with some
 
 238 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 ladies and gentlemen passed her. She thought she 
 recognized the faces of the two little Misses Bruce, 
 but did not dare to look at them, and hurried pant- 
 ing along the road, and hoping she might be mis- 
 taken. 
 
 In less than a quarter of an hour she had reached 
 Betty's little cottage, and was standing trying to 
 recover her breath by the shut door. The place 
 had a deserted look, and several overripe cherries 
 had fallen from the trees and were lying neglected 
 on the ground. Susan knocked impatiently. There 
 was no discernible answer. She had no time to 
 wait, she lifted the latch, which yielded to her 
 pressure, and went in. 
 
 Poor old Betty, crippled, and in severe pain with 
 rheumatism, was lying on her little bed. 
 
 " Eh, dear and is that you, my pretty missy ?" 
 she asked, as Susan, hot and tired, came up to her 
 side. 
 
 " Oh, Betty, are you ill ?" asked Miss Drummond. 
 " I came to tell you you have forgotten the basket." 
 
 " No, my dear, no not forgot. By no means 
 that, lo.vey ; but I has been took with the rheuma- 
 ti?.m this past week, and can't move hand or foot. I 
 was wondering how you'd do without your cakes 
 and tartlets, dear, and to think of them cherries ly- 
 ing there good for nothing on the ground is enough 
 to break one s 'eart." 
 
 " So it is," said Susan, giving an appreciative 
 glance toward the open door. " They are beauti- 
 ful cherries, and full of -juice, I am sure. I'll take a
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 239 
 
 few, Betty, as I am going out, and pay you for them 
 another day. But what I have come about now is 
 the basket You must get the basket away, how- 
 ever ill you are. If the basket is discovered we are 
 all lost, and then good-by to your gains." 
 
 " Well, missy, dear, if I could crawl on my hands 
 and knees I'd go and fetch it, rather than you 
 should be worried ; but I can't set foot to the ground 
 at all. The doctor says as 'tis somethink like rheu- 
 matic fever as I has." 
 
 " Oh, dear, oh, dear," said Susan, not wasting any 
 of her precious moments in pitying the poor suffer- 
 ing old woman. " What ts to be done ? I tell you, 
 Betty, if that basket is found we are all lost." 
 
 " But the laurel is very thick, iovey ; it ain't likely 
 to be found it ain't, indeed.* 
 
 " I tell you it is likely to be found, you tiresome 
 old woman, and you really must go for it or send 
 for it. You really must." 
 
 Old Betty began to ponder. 
 
 " There's Moses," she said, after a pause of anx- 
 ious thought ; he's a 'cute little chap, and he might 
 go. He lives in the fourth cottage along the lane. 
 Moses is his name Moses Moore. I'd give him a 
 pint of cherries for the job. If you wouldn't mind 
 sending Moses to me. Miss Susan, why, 1 11 do my 
 best ; only it seems a pity to let anybody into your 
 secrets, young ladies, but old Betty herself. ' 
 
 (< It is a pity," said Susan, " but, under the circum- 
 stances, it can't be helped. What cottage did you 
 say this Moses lived in ?"
 
 240 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 "The fourth from here, down the lane, lovey 
 Moses is the lad's name ; he's a freckled boy, with 
 a cast in one* eye. You send him up to me, dearie ; 
 but don't mention the cherries, or he'll be after 
 stealing them. He's a sad rogue, is Moses ; but I 
 think I can tempt him with the cherries." 
 
 Susan did not wait to bid poor old Betty " good- 
 bye," but ran out of the cottage, shutting the door 
 after her, and snatching up two or three ripe cher- 
 ries to eat on her way. She was so far fortunate as 
 to find the redoubtable Moses at home, and to con- 
 vey him bodily to old Betty's presence. The queer 
 boy grinned horribly, and looked as wicked as boy 
 could look ; but on the subject of cherries he was 
 undoubtedly susceptible, and after a good deal of 
 haggling and insisting that the pint should be a 
 quart, he expressed his willingness to start off at four 
 o'clock on the following morning, and bring away 
 the basket from tinder the laurel-tree.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 "YOU ARE WELCOME TO TELL." 
 
 ANNIE continued her walk. The circumstances of 
 the last two months had combined to do for her what 
 nothing had hitherto effected. When a little child 
 she had known hardship and privation, she had passed 
 through that experience which is metaphorically 
 spoken of as " going down hill." As a baby little 
 Annie had been surrounded by comforts and luxuries, 
 and her father and mother had lived in a large house, 
 and kept a carriage, and Annie had two nurses to 
 wait on herself alone. These were in the days before 
 she could remember anything. With her first early 
 memories came the recollection of a much smaller 
 house, of much fewer servants, of her mother often 
 in tears, and her father often away. Then there 
 was no house at all that the Forests could call their 
 own, only rooms of a tolerably cheerful character 
 and Annie's nurse went away, and she took her 
 daily walks by her mother's side and slept in a little 
 cot in her mother's room. There came a very, very 
 sad day, when her mother lay cold and still and 
 fainting on her bed, and her tall and handsome 
 father caught Annie in his arms and pressed her to 
 his heart, and told her to be a good child and to keep
 
 242 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 up her spirits, and, above all things, to take care 
 of mother. Then her father had gone away ; and 
 though Annie expected him back, he did not come, 
 and she and her mother went into poorer and shab- 
 bier lodgings, and her mother began to try her tear- 
 dimmed eyes by working at church embroidery, and 
 Annie used to notice that she coughed a good deal as 
 she worked. Then there was another move, and 
 this time Mrs. Forest and her little daughter found 
 themselves in one bedroom, and things began to 
 grow very gloomy, and food even was scarce. 
 At last there was a change. One day a lady 
 came into the dingy little room, and all on 
 a sudden it seemed as if the sun had come out 
 again. This lady brought comforts with her toys 
 and books for the child, good, brave words of cheer 
 for the mother. At last Annie's mother died, and 
 she went away to Lavender House to live with this 
 good friend who had made her mother's dying 
 hours easy. 
 
 "Annie, Annie," said the dying mother, 'I owe 
 everything to Mrs. Willis ; we knew each other long 
 ago when we were girls, and she has come to me now 
 and made everything easy. When I am gone she 
 will take care of you Oh, my child, I cannot repay 
 her ; but will you try ?" 
 
 "Yes, mother," said little Annie, gazing full into 
 her mother s face with her sweet bright eyes, " I'll 
 I'll love her, mother ; I'll give her lots and lots of 
 love " 
 
 Annie had gone to Lavender House, and kept her
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 243 
 
 word, for she had almost worshiped the good mis- 
 tress who was so true and kind to her, and who had 
 so befriended her mother. Through all the vicissi- 
 tudes of her short existence Annie had, however, 
 never lost one precious gift. Hers was an affection- 
 ate, but also a wonderfully bright, nature. It was 
 as impossible for Annie to turn away from laughter 
 and merriment as it would be for a flower to keep 
 its head determinately turned from the sun. In their 
 darkest days Annie had managed to make her 
 mother laugh ; her little face was a sunbeam, her 
 very naughtinesses were of a laughable character. 
 
 Her mother died her father was still away, but 
 .Annie retained her brave and cheerful spirit, for she 
 gave and received love. Mrs. Willis loved her she 
 bestowed upon her among all her girls the tenderest 
 glances, the most motherly caresses. The teachers 
 undoubtedly corrected and even scolded her, but 
 they could not help liking her, and even her worst 
 scrapes made them smile. Annie's companions 
 adored her ; the little children would do anything 
 lor their own Annie, and even the servants in the 
 school said that there was no young lady in Laven- 
 der House fit to hold a candle to Miss Forest. 
 
 During the last half-year, however, things had 
 been different. Suspicion and mistrust began to dog 
 the footsteps of the bright young girl ; she was no 
 longer a universal favorite some of the girls even 
 openly expressed their dislike to her. 
 
 All this Annie could have borne, but for the fact 
 that Mrs Willis joined in the universal suspicioa
 
 244 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 The old glance now never came to her eyes, nor the 
 old tone to her voice. For the first time Annie's 
 spirits utterly flagged ; she could not bear this 
 universal coldness, this universal chill. She began 
 to droop physically as well as mentally. 
 
 She was pacing up and down the walk, thinking 
 very sadly, wondering vaguely if her father would 
 ever return, and conscious of a feeling of more or 
 less indifference to everything and every one, when 
 she was suddenly roused from her meditation by 
 the patter of small feet and by a very eager little 
 exclamation : 
 
 " Me tiimming me tumming, Annie !" and then 
 Nan raised her charming face and placed her cool 
 baby hand in Annie's. 
 
 There was delicious comfort in the clasp of the 
 little hand, and in the look of love and pleasure 
 which lit up the small face. 
 
 "Me yiding from naughty nurse me 'tay with 
 you, Annie me love 'oo, Annie." 
 
 Annie stooped down, kissed the little one, and 
 lifted her into her arms. 
 
 " Why ky ?" said Nan, who saw with consterna- 
 tion two big tears in Annie's eyes ; " dere, pooi 
 ickle Annie me love 'oo me buy 'oo a new doll." 
 
 " Dearest little darling," said Annie in a voice of 
 almost passionate pain ; then, with that wonderful 
 instinct which made her in touch with all little 
 children, she cheered up, wiped away her tears, and 
 allowed laughter once more to wreathe her lips and 
 fill her eyes. " Come, Nan," she said " you and I 
 will have such a race."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 245 
 
 She placed the child on her shoulder, clasped the 
 little hands securely round her neck, and ran to the 
 sound of Nan's shouts down the shady walk. 
 
 At the farther end Nan suddenly tightened her 
 clasp, drew herself up, ceased to laugh, and said 
 with some fright in her voice : 
 
 "Who dat?" 
 
 Annie, too, stood still with a sudden start, for the 
 gypsy woman, Mother Rachel, was standing di- 
 rectly in their path. 
 
 "Go 'way, naughty woman," said Nan, shaking 
 her small hand imperiously. 
 
 The gypsy dropped a low courtesy, and spoke in a 
 slightly mocking tone. 
 
 "A pretty little dear," she said. "Yes, truly 
 now, a pretty little winsome dear ; and oh, what 
 shoes ! and little open-work socks ! and I don't 
 doubt real lace trimming on all her little garments 
 T don't doubt it a bit." 
 
 " Go 'way me don't like 'oo," said Nan. " Let's 
 wun back gee, gee," she said, addressing Annie, 
 whom she had constituted into a horse for the time 
 being. 
 
 " Yes, Nan ; in one minute," said Annie. " Please, 
 Mother Rachel, what are you doing here ?" 
 
 " Only waiting to see you, pretty missie," replied 
 the tall gypsy. " You are the dear little lady who 
 crossed my hand with silver that night in the wood. 
 Eh, but it was a bonny night, with a bonny bright 
 moon, and none of the dear little ladies meant any 
 hami no, no, Mother Rachel knows that."
 
 246 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Look here/' said Annie, " I'm not going to bo 
 afraid of you. I have no more silver to give yon. 
 If you like, you may go up to the house and tell 
 what you have seen. I am very unhappy, and 
 whether you tell or not can make very little differ- 
 ence to me now. Good-night ; I am not the least 
 afraid of you you can do just as you please about 
 telling Mrs. Willis." 
 
 " Eh, my dear ?" said the gypsy ; do you think 
 I'd work you any harm you, and the seven other 
 dear little ladies ? No, not for the world, my 
 dear not for the world. You don't know Mother 
 Rachel when you think she'd be that mean." 
 
 "Well, don't come here again," said Annie. 
 " Good-night." 
 
 She turned on her heel and Nan shouted back : 
 
 "Go way, naughty woman Nan don't love 'oo, 
 'tall, 'tall." 
 
 The gypsy stood still for a moment with a frown 
 knitting her brows ; then she slowly turned, and, 
 creeping on all-fours through the underwood, 
 climbed the hedge into the field beyond. 
 
 "Oh, no," she laughed, after a moment; "the 
 little missy thinks she ain't afraid of me ; but she 
 be. Trust Mother Rachel for knowing that much. 
 I make no doubt," she added after a pause, " that 
 the little one's clothes are trimmed with real lace. 
 Well, little Missie Annie Forest, I can see with half 
 an eye that you set store by that baby-girl. You 
 had better not cross Mother Rachel's whims, or she 
 can punish you in a way you don't think of."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 347 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 HOW MOSES MOORE KEPT HIS APPOINTMENT. 
 
 SUSAN DRUMMOND got back to Lavender House 
 without apparent discovery She was certainly late 
 when she took her place in the class-room for her 
 next day's preparation ; but, beyond a very sharp 
 reprimand from mademoiselle, no notice was taken 
 of this fact. She managed to whisper to Nora and 
 Phyllis that the basket would be moved by the first 
 dawn the next morning ; and the little girls went to 
 bed happier in consequence. Nothing ever could 
 disturb Susan's slumbers, and that night she certainly 
 slept without rocking. As she was getting into bed 
 she ventured to tell Annie how successfully she had 
 manoeuvered ; but Annie received her news with the 
 most absolute indifference, looking at her for a mo- 
 ment with a queer smile, and then saying 
 
 ' My own wish is that this should be found out. 
 As a matter of course, I sha'n't betray you, girls ; 
 but as things now stand I am anxious that Mrs. Wil- 
 lis should know the very worst of me.' 
 
 After a remark which Susan considered so sim- 
 ply idiotic, there was, of course, no further conver 
 sation between the two girls.
 
 248 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Moses Moore had certainly promised Betty to 
 rise soon after dawn on the following morning, 
 and go to Lavender House to carry off the basket 
 from under the laurel-tree. Moses, a remarkably 
 indolent lad, had been stimulated by the thought of 
 the delicious cherries which would be his as soon 
 as he brought the basket to Betty. He had clev- 
 erly stipulated that a quart not a pint ot cher- 
 ries was to be his reward, and he looked forward 
 with considerable pleasure to picking them himself, 
 and putting a few extra ones into his mouth on 
 the sly 
 
 Moses was not at all the kind of a boy who 
 would have scrupled to steal a few cherries, but in 
 this particular old Betty, ill as she was, was too 
 sharp for him or for any of the other village lads. Her 
 bed was drawn up close to her little window, and 
 her window looked directly on to the two cherry 
 trees. Never, to all appearance, did Betty close her 
 eyes. However early the hour might be in which a 
 village boy peeped over the wall of her garden, 
 he always saw her white night-cap moving, and he 
 knew that her bright blue eyes would be on him, 
 and he would be proclaimed a thief all over the 
 place before many minutes were over. 
 
 Moses, therefore, was very glad to secure his 
 cherries by fair means, as he could not obtain them 
 by foul ; and he went to bed and to sleep deter- 
 mined to be off on his errand with the dawn. 
 
 A very natural thing, however, happened. Moses, 
 unaccustomed to getting up at half past three in the
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 249 
 
 morning, never opened his eyes until the church 
 clock struck five. Then he started upright, rubbed 
 and rubbed at his sleepy orbs, tumbled into his 
 clothes, and, softly opening the cottage door, set off 
 on his errand. 
 
 The fact of his being nearly an hour and a half 
 late did not trouble him in the least. In any case, 
 he would get to Lavender House before six o'clock, 
 and would have consumed his cherries in less than 
 an hour from that date. 
 
 Moses sauntered gaily along the roads, whistling 
 as he went, and occasionally tossing his battered cap 
 in the air. He often lingered on his way, now to 
 cut down a particularly tempting switch from the 
 hedge, now to hunt for a possible bird's nest. It 
 was very nearly six o'clock when he reached the 
 back avenue, swung himself over the gate, which 
 was locked, and ran softly on the dewy grass in the 
 direction of the laurel bush. Old Betty had given 
 him most careful instructions, and he was far too 
 sharp a lad to forget what was necessary for the 
 obtaining of a quart of cherries. He found his tree, 
 and lay flat on the ground in order to pull out 
 the basket His fingers had just clasped the handle 
 when there came -a sudden interruption a rush, a 
 growl, and some very sharp teeth had inserted 
 themselves into the back of his ragged jacket. 
 Poor Moses found himself, to his horror, in the 
 clutches of a great mastiff. The creature held him 
 tight, and laid one heavy paw on him to prevent 
 him rising
 
 2&0 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Moses thought it quit 
 unnecessary to retain any self-control. He shrieked 
 he screamed, he wriggled ; his piercing yells filled 
 the air, and, fortunately for him, his being two 
 hours too late brought assistance to his aid. 
 Michael, the gardener, and a strong boy who 
 helped him, rushed to the spot, and liberated the 
 terrified lad, who, after all, was only frightened, for 
 Rover had satisfied himself with tearing his jacket 
 to pieces, not himself. 
 
 " Give me the b-basket," sobbed Moses, " and let 
 meg-g-go." 
 
 " You may certainly go, you little tramp," said 
 Michael, " but Jim and me will keep the basket. I 
 much misdoubt me if there isn't mischief here. 
 What's the basket put hiding here for, and who 
 does it belong to ?" 
 
 "Old B-B-Betty," gasped forth the agitated 
 Moses. 
 
 " Well, let old Betty fetch it herself. Mrs. Willis 
 will keep it for her," said Michael. "Come along, 
 Jim, get to your weeding, do There, little scamp, 
 you had better make yourself scarce," 
 
 Moses certainly took his advice, for he scuttled 
 off like a hare. Whether he ever got his cherries 
 or not, history does not disclose. 
 
 Michael, looking gravely at Jim. opened the 
 basket, examined its contents, and, shaking his head 
 solemnly, carried it into the house. 
 
 " There's been deep work going on, Jim, and my 
 missis ought to know," said Michael, who was
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS 251 
 
 an exceedingly strict disciplinarian. Jim, how- 
 ever, had a soft corner in his heart for the young 
 ladies, and he commenced his weeding with a pro 
 foimd sigh.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 A BROKEN TRUST. 
 
 THE NEXT morning Annie Forest opened her eyes 
 with that strange feeling of indifference and want of 
 vivacity which come so seldom to youth. She saw 
 the sun shining through the closed blinds ; she heard 
 the birds twittering and singing in the large elm-tree 
 which nearly touched the windows ; she knew well 
 how the world looked at this moment, for often and 
 often in her old light-hearted days she had risen be- 
 fore the maid came to call her, and, kneeling by the 
 deep window-ledge, had looked out at the bright, 
 fresh, sparkling day. A new day, with all its hours 
 before it, its light vivid but not too glaring, its dress 
 all manner of tender shades and harmonious colorings ! 
 Annie had a poetical nature, and she gloried in these 
 glimpses which she got all by herself of the fresh, glad 
 world. 
 
 To-day, however, she lay still, sorry to know that 
 the brief night was at an end, and that the day, with 
 its coldness and suspicion, its terrible absence of love 
 and harmony, was about to begin. 
 
 Annie's nature was very emotional ; she was in- 
 tensely sensitive to her surroundings ; the grayness of 
 her present life was absolute destruction to such a 
 nature as hers.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 253 
 
 The dressing-bell rang ; the maid came in to draw 
 up the blinds, and call the girls. Annie rose languidly 
 and began to dress herself. 
 
 She first finished her toilet, and then approached 
 her little bed, and stood by its side for a moment 
 hesitating. She did not want to pray, and yet she 
 felt impelled to go down on her knees. As she knelt 
 with her curls falling about her face, and her hands 
 pressed to her eyes, one line of one of her favorite 
 poems came flashing with swiftness and power across 
 her memory : 
 
 " A soul which has sinned and is pardoned again." 
 
 The words filled her whole heart with a sudden 
 sense of peace and of great longing. 
 
 The prayer-bell rang; she rose, and, turning to 
 Susan Drummond, said earnestly : 
 
 "Oh, Susy, I do wish Mrs. Willis could know 
 about our going to the fairy-field ; I do so want God 
 to forgive me." 
 
 Susan stared in her usual dull, uncomprehend- 
 ing way ; then she flushed a little, and said 
 brusquely : 
 
 " I think you have quite taken leave of your senses, 
 Annie Forest." 
 
 Annie said no more, but at prayers in the chapel 
 she was glad to find herself near gentle Cecil Temple 
 and the words kept repeating themselves to her all 
 during the morning lessons : 
 
 " A soul which has sinned and is pardoned again." 
 Just before morning school several of the girls
 
 254 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 started and looked distressed when they found that 
 Mrs. Willis lingered in the room. She stood for a 
 moment by the English teacher's desk, said something 
 to her in a low voice, and then, walking slowly to her 
 own post at the head of the great school-room, she 
 said suddenly : 
 
 " I want to ask you a question, Miss Drummond. 
 Will you please just stand up in your place in 
 class and answer me without a moment's hesita- 
 tion." 
 
 Phyllis and Nora found themselves turning very 
 pale ; Mary Price and one or two more of the rebels 
 also began to tremble, but Susan looked dogged and 
 indifferent enough as she turned her eyes toward 
 her teacher. 
 
 "Yes, madam," she said, rising and dropping a 
 courtesy. 
 
 " My friends, the Misses Bruce, came to call on 
 me yesterday evening, Susan, and told me that they 
 saw you running very quickly on the high road in 
 the direction of the village. You, of course, know 
 that you broke a very distinct rule when you left 
 the grounds without leave. Tell me at once where 
 you were going." 
 
 Susan hesitated, colored to her dullest red, and 
 looked down. Then, because she had no ready 
 excuse to offer, she blurted out the truth ; 
 
 " I was going to see old Betty." 
 
 " The cake-woman i" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " What for ?"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 255 
 
 " I I heard she was ill." 
 
 " Indeed you may sit down, Miss Drummond. 
 Miss Good, will you ask Michael to step for a moment 
 into the schoolroom ?" 
 
 Several of the girls now indeed held their breath, 
 and more than one heart beat with heavy, frightened 
 bumps as a moment later Michael followed Miss 
 Good into the room, carrying the redoubtable pic- 
 nic-basket on his arm. 
 
 " Michael," said Mrs. Willis, " I wish you to tell 
 the young ladies exactly how you found the basket 
 this morning. Stand by my side, please, and speak 
 loud enough for them to hear." 
 
 After a moment's pause Michael related some- 
 what diffusely and with an occasional break in his 
 narrative the scene which had occurred between him 
 and Moses that morning. 
 
 " That will do, Michael ; you can now go," said 
 the head mistress. 
 
 She waited until the old servant had closed the 
 door, and then she turned to her girls : 
 
 " It is not quite a fortnight since I stood where I 
 now stand, and asked one girl to be honorable and 
 to save her companions. One girl was guilty of sin 
 and would not confess, and for her sake all her com- 
 panions are now suffering. I am tired of this sort 
 of thing I am tired of standing in this place and 
 appealing to your honor, which is dead, to your 
 truth which is nowhere. Girls, you puzzle me 
 you half break my heart. In this case more 
 than one is guilty. How many of the girls in
 
 256 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Lavender House are going to tell me a lie this 
 morning ?" 
 
 There was a brief pause ; then a slight cry, and a 
 girl rose from her seat and walked up the long 
 schoolroom. 
 
 "I am the most guilty of all," said Annie 
 Forest. 
 
 "Annie !" said Mrs. Willis, in a tone half of pain, 
 half of relief, " have you come to your senses at 
 last?" 
 
 " Oh, I'm so glad to be able to speak the truth," 
 said Annie. " Please punish me very, very hard ; I 
 am the most guilty of all." 
 
 "What did you do with this basket?" 
 
 "We took it for a picnic it was my plan, I led 
 the others." 
 
 " Where was your picnic ?" 
 
 "In the fairies' field." 
 
 "Ah! At what time?" 
 
 " At night in the middle of the night the night 
 you went to London." 
 
 Mrs. Willis put her hand to her brow ; her face 
 was very white and the girls could see that she 
 trembled. 
 
 " I trusted my girls " she said ; then she broke 
 
 off abruptly. 
 
 "You had companions in this wickedness name 
 them." 
 
 " Yes, I had companions ; I led them on." 
 
 " Name them, Miss Forest." 
 
 For the first time Annie raised her eyes to Mrs
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 257 
 
 Willis' face ; then she turned and looked down the 
 long schoolroom. 
 
 " Oh, won't they tell themselves ?" she said. 
 
 Nothing could be more appealing than her glance. 
 It melted the hearts of Phyllis and Nora, who began 
 to scb, and to declare brokenly that they had gone 
 too, and that they were very, very sorry. 
 
 Spurred by their example Mary Price also con- 
 fessed, and one by one all the little conspirators re- 
 vealed the truth, with the exception of Susan, who 
 kept her eyes steadily fixed on the floor. 
 
 "Susan Drummond," said Mrs. Willis, "come 
 here." 
 
 There was something in her tone which startled 
 every girl in the school. Never had they heard 
 this ring in their teacher's voice before. 
 
 " Susan," said Mrs. Willis, " I don't ask you if 
 you are guilty ; I fear, poor miserable girl, that if I 
 did you would load your conscience with a fresh 
 lie. I- don't ask you if you are guilty because I 
 know you are. The fact of your running without 
 leave to see old Betty is circumstantial evidence. I 
 judge you by that and pronounce you guilty. Now, 
 young ladies, you who have treated me so badly, 
 who have betrayed my trust, who have been want- 
 ing in honor, I must think, I must ask God to teach 
 me how to deal with you. In the meantime, you 
 cannot associate with your companions. Miss 
 Good, will you take each of these eight girls to their 
 bedrooms. " 
 
 As Annie was leaving the room she looked full
 
 5858 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 into Mrs. Willis' face. Strange to say, at this 
 moment of her great disgrace the cloud which had 
 so long brooded over her was lifted. The sweet 
 eyes never looked sweeter. The old Annie, and yet 
 a better and a braver Annie than had ever existed 
 before, followed her companions out of the school- 
 room.
 
 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 IS SHE STILL GUILTY ? 
 
 ON THE evening of that day Cecil Temple knocked 
 at the door of Mrs. Willis' private sitting-room. 
 
 " Ah, Cecil ! is that you ?" said her governess. 
 " I am always glad to see you, dear ; but I happen 
 to be particularly busy to-night. Have you any- 
 thing in particular to say to me ?" 
 
 " I only wanted to talk about Annie, Mrs. Willis. 
 You believe in her at last, don't you ?" 
 
 " Believe in her at last !" said the head-mistress in 
 a tone of astonishment and deep pain. " No, Cecil, 
 my dear ; you ask too much of my faith. I do not 
 believe in Annie." 
 
 Cecil paused ; she hesitated, and seemed half 
 afraid to proceed. 
 
 " Perhaps," she said at last in a slightly timid 
 tone, " you have not seen her since this morning ?" 
 
 " No ; I have been particularly busy. Besides, 
 the eight culprits are under punishment ; part of 
 their punishment is that I will not see them." 
 
 " Don't you think, Mrs. Willis," said Cecil, " that 
 Annie made rather a brave confession this morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 " I admit, my dear, that Annie spoke in some-
 
 260 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 what of her old impulsive way ; she blamed herself, 
 and did not try to screen her misdemeanors behind 
 her companions. In this one particular she 
 reminded me of the old Annie who, notwithstand- 
 ing all her faults, I used to trust and love. But as 
 to her confession being very brave, my dear Cecil, 
 you must remember that she did not confess until 
 she was obliged ; she knew, and so did all the other 
 girls, that I could have got the truth out of old 
 Betty had they chosen to keep their lips sealed. 
 Then, my dear, consider what she did. On the 
 very night that I was away she violated the trust 
 I had in her she bade me ' good-bye ' with smiles 
 and sweet glances, and then she did this in my 
 absence. No, Cecil, I fear poor Annie is not what 
 we thought her. She has done untold mischief 
 during the half-year, and has willfully lied and de- 
 ceived me. I find, on comparing dates, that it was 
 on the very night of the girls' picnic that Dora's 
 theme was changed. There is no doubt whatever 
 that Annie was the guilty person. I did my best 
 to believe in her, and to depend on Mr. Everard's 
 judgment of her character, but I confess I can do so 
 no longer. Cecil, dear, I am not surprised that you 
 look pale and sad. No, we will not give up this 
 poor Annie ; we will try to love her even through 
 her sin. Ah ! poor child, poor child ! how much 
 I have prayed for her ! She was to me as a child 
 of my own. Now, dear Cecil, I must ask you to 
 leave me." 
 Cecil went slowly out of her governess' pres-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 261 
 
 ence, and, wandering across the wide stone hall, 
 she entered the play-room. It happened to be a wet 
 night, and the room was full of girls, who hung 
 together in groups and whispered softly. There 
 were no loud voices, and, except from the little 
 ones, there was no laughter. A great depression 
 hung over the place, and few could have recognized 
 the happy girls of Lavender House in these sad 
 young faces. Cecil walked slowly into the room, 
 and presently finding Hester Thornton, she sat 
 down by her side. 
 
 " I can't get Mrs. Willis to see it," she said very 
 sadly. 
 
 " What ?" asked Hester. 
 
 "Why, that we have got our old Annie back 
 again ; that she did take the girls out to that pic- 
 nic, and was as wild, and reckless, and naughty as 
 possible about it ; and then, just like the old Annie 
 I have always known, the moment the fun was over 
 she began to repent, and that she has gone on re- 
 penting ever since, which has accounted for her 
 poor sad little face and white cheeks. Of course 
 she longed to tell Nora and Phyllis have tola me so 
 but she would not betray them. Now at last 
 there is a load off her heart, and, though she is in 
 great disgrace and punishment, she is not very un- 
 happy. I went to see her an hour ago, and I saw 
 in her face that my own darling Annie has returned. 
 But what do you think Mrs. Willis does, Hester? 
 She is so hurt and disappointed, that she believes 
 Annie is guilty of the other thing she believes that
 
 262 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Annie stole Dora's theme, and that she caricatured 
 her in my book some time ago. She believes it 
 she is sure of it. Now, do you think, Hester, that 
 Annie's face would look quite peaceful and happy 
 to-night if she had only confessed half her faults 
 if she had this meanness, this sin, these lies still 
 resting on her soul ? Oh ! I wish Mrs. Willis would 
 see her ! I wish I wish ! but I can do nothing. 
 You agree with me, don't you, Hester? Just put 
 yourself in Annie's place, and tell me if you would 
 feel happy, and if your heart would be at rest, if 
 you had only confessed half your sin, and if 
 through you all your schoolfellows were under 
 disgrace and suspicion ? You could not, could you, 
 Hester? Why, Hester, how white you are !" 
 
 " You are so metaphysical," said Hester, rising ; 
 "you quite puzzle me. How can I put myself in 
 your friend Annie's place ? I never understood her 
 I never wanted to. Put myself in her place ? no, 
 certainly that I'm never likely 'to. I hope that I 
 shall never be in such a predicament." 
 
 Hester walked away, and Cecil sat still in great 
 perplexity. 
 
 Cecil was a girl with a true sense of religion. The 
 love of God guided every action of her simple and 
 straightforward life. She was neither beautiful nor 
 clever ; but no one in the school was more respected 
 and honored, no one more sincerely loved. Cecil 
 knew what the peace of G6d meant, and when she 
 saw even a shadowy reflection of that peace on An- 
 nie's little face, she was right in believing that she
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 263 
 
 must be innocent of the guilt which was attributed 
 to her. 
 
 The whole school assembled for prayers that 
 night in the little chapel, and Mr. Everard, who had 
 heard the story of that day's confession from Mrs. 
 Willis, said a few words appropriate to the occasion 
 to the unhappy young girls. 
 
 Whatever effect his words had on the others, and 
 they were very simple and straightforward, Annie's 
 face grew quiet and peaceful as she listened to them. 
 The old clergyman assured the girls that God was 
 waiting to forgive those who truly repented, and 
 that the way to repent was to rise up and sin no 
 more. 
 
 " The present fun is not worth the after- pain," he 
 said, in conclusion. " It is an old saying that stolen 
 waters are sweet, but only at the time ; afterward 
 only those who drink of them know the full extent 
 of their bitterness." 
 
 This little address from Mr. Everard strengthened 
 poor Annie for an ordeal which was immediately 
 before her, for Mrs. Willis asked all the school to 
 follow her to the play-room, and there she told them 
 that she was about to restore to them their lost 
 privileges ; that circumstances, in her opinion, now 
 so strongly pointed the guilt of the stolen essay in 
 the direction of one girl, that she could no longer 
 ask the school to suffer for her sake. 
 
 "She still refuses to confess her sin," said Mrs. 
 Willis, "but, unless another girl proclaims herself 
 guilty, and proves to me beyond doubt that she
 
 264 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 drew the caricature which was found in Cecil Tem- 
 ple's book, and that she changed Dora Russell's 
 essay, and, imitating her hand, put another in its 
 place, I proclaim the guilty person to be Annie 
 Forest, and on her alone I visit my displeasure. 
 You can retire to your rooms, young ladies. To- 
 morrow morning Lavender House resumes its old 
 cheerfulness."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 265 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 HESTER'S HOUR OF TRIAL. 
 
 HOWEVER calmly or however peacefully Annie 
 slept that night, poor Hester did not close her eyes. 
 The white face of the girl she had wronged and 
 injured kept rising before her. Why had she so 
 deceived Annie ? Why from the very first had she 
 turned from her, and misjudged her, and misrepre- 
 sented her ? Was Annie, indeed, all bad ? Hester 
 had to own to herself that to-night Annie was better 
 than she was greater than she. Could she now 
 have undone the past, she would not have acted as 
 she had done ; she would not for the sake of a little 
 paltry revenge have defiled her conscience with a 
 lie, have told her governess that she could throw no 
 light on the circumstance of the stolen essay. This 
 was the first lie Hester had ever told ; she was nat- 
 urally both straightforward and honorable, but her 
 sin of sins, that which made her hard and almost un- 
 lovable, was an intensely proud and haughty spirit. 
 She was very sorry she had told that lie ; she was very 
 sorry she had yielded to that temptation ; but not 
 for worlds would she now humble herself to confess 
 not for worlds would she let the school know of 
 her cowardice and shame. No, if there was no other
 
 266 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 means of clearing Annie except through her confer 
 sion, she must remain with the shadow of this sin 
 over her to her dying day. 
 
 Hester, however, was now really unhappy, and 
 also truly sorry for poor Annie. Could she have 
 got off without disgrace or punishment, she would 
 have been truly glad to see Annie exonerated. She 
 was quite certain that Susan Drummond was at the 
 bottom of all the mischief which had been done 
 lately at Lavender House. She could not make out 
 how stupid Susan was clever enough to caricature 
 and to imitate peoples' hands. Still she was con- 
 vinced that she was the guilty person, and she won- 
 dered and wondered if she could induce Susan to 
 come forward and confess the truth, and so save 
 Annie without bringing her, Hester, into any 
 trouble. 
 
 She resolved to speak to Susan, and without con- 
 fessing that she had been in the schoolroom on the 
 night the essay was changed, to let her know plainly 
 that she suspected her. 
 
 She became much calmer when she determined to 
 carry out this resolve, and toward morning she fell 
 asleep. 
 
 She was awakened at a very early hour by little 
 Nan clambering over the side of her crib, and cud- 
 dling down cozily in a way she loved by Hester's 
 side. 
 
 " Me so 'nug, 'nug," said little Nan. " Oh, Hetty, 
 Hetty, there's a wy on the teiling !" 
 
 Hester had then to rouse herself, and enter into
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 267 
 
 an animated conversation on the subject of flies gen- 
 erally, and in especial she had to talk of that partic- 
 ular fly which would perambulate on the ceiling 
 over Nan's head. 
 
 " Me like wies," said Nan, " and me like 'oo, 
 Hetty, and me love me love Annie." 
 
 Hester kissed her little sister passionately ; but 
 this last observation, accompanied by the expression 
 of almost angelic devotion which filled little Nan's 
 brown eyes, as she repeated that she liked flies and 
 Hetty, but that she loved Annie, had the effect oi 
 again hardening her heart. 
 
 Hester's hour of trial, however, was at hand, and 
 before that day was over she was to experience that 
 awful emptiness and desolation which those know 
 Whom God is punishing. 
 
 Lessons went on as usual at Lavender House that 
 morning, and, to the surprise of several, Annie was 
 seen in her old place in class. She worked with a 
 steadiness quite new to her ; no longer interlarding 
 her hours of study with those indescribable glances 
 of fun and mischief, first at one school-companion 
 and then at another, which used to worry her 
 teachers so much. 
 
 There were no merry glances from Annie that 
 morning ; but she worked steadily and rapidly, and 
 went through that trying ordeal, her French verbs, 
 with such satisfaction that mademoiselle was on the 
 point of praising her, until she remembered that 
 Annie was in disgrace. 
 
 After school, however, Annie did not join her
 
 268 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 companions in the grounds, but went up to her bed- 
 room, where, by Mrs. Willis' orders, she was to 
 remain until the girls went in. She was to take her 
 own exercise later in the day. 
 
 It was now the tenth of June an intensely sultry 
 day ; a misty heat brooded over everything, and not 
 a breath of air stirred the leaves in the trees The 
 girls wandered about languidly, too enervated by 
 the heat to care to join in any noisy games. They 
 were now restored to their full freedom, and there 
 is no doubt they enjoyed the privileges of having 
 little confabs, and whispering secrets to each other 
 without having Miss Good and Miss Danesbury for- 
 ever at their elbows. They talked of many things 
 of the near approach of the holidays, of the prize 
 day which was now so close at hand, of Annie's dis- 
 grace, and so on. 
 
 They wondered, many of them, if Annie would 
 ever be brought to confess her sin. and, if not how 
 Mrs. Willis would act toward her. Dora Russell 
 said in her most contemptuous tones : 
 
 "She is nothing, after all. but a charity child, 
 and Mrs. Willis has supported her for years for 
 nothing." 
 
 " Yes, and she's too clever by half ; eh, poor old 
 Muddy Stream ?" remarked a saucy little girl. 
 "By the way, Dora, dear, how goes the river 
 now ? Has it lost itself in the arms of mother ocean 
 yet ?" 
 
 Dora turned red and walked away and her young 
 tormentor exclaimed with considerable gusto .
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " There, I have silenced her for a bit ; I do hate 
 the way she talks about charity children. What- 
 ever her faults, Annie is the sweetest and prettiest 
 girl in the school, in my opinion." 
 
 In the meantime Hester was looking in all direc- 
 tions for Susan Drummond. She thought the pres- 
 ent a very fitting opportunity to open her attack on 
 her, and she was the more anxious to bring her ta 
 reason as a certain look in Annie's face a pallid 
 and very weary look had gone to her heart, and 
 touched her in spite of herself. Now, even though 
 little Nan loved her, Hester would save Annie 
 could she do so not at her own expense. 
 
 Look, however, as she would, nowhere could she 
 find Miss Drummond. She called and called, but 
 no sleepy voice replied. Susan, indeed, knew bet- 
 ter ; she had curled herself up in a hammock which 
 hung between the boughs of a shady tree, and 
 though Hester passed under her very head, she was 
 sucking lollipops and going off comfortably into the 
 land of dreams, and had no intention of replying 
 Hester wandered down the shady walk, and at its 
 farther end she was gratified by the sight of little 
 Nan. who, under her nurse's charge, was trying tc- 
 string daisies on the grass Hester sat down by her , 
 side, and Nan climbed over and made fine havoc of 
 her neat print dress, and laughed, and was at her 
 merriest and best. 
 
 "I hear say that that naughty Miss Forest has. 
 done something out-and-out disgraceful," whispered* 
 the nurse.
 
 270 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 "Oh, don't," said Hester impatiently. "Why 
 . should every one throw mud at a girl when she is 
 down ? If poor Annie is naughty and guilty, she is 
 suffering now." 
 
 "Annie not naughty," said little Nan. "Me love 
 my own Annie ; me do, me do." 
 
 "And you love your own poor old nurse, too?" 
 responded the somewhat jealous nurse. 
 
 Hester left the two playing happily together, the 
 little one caressing her nurse, and blowing one or 
 two kisses after her sister's retreating form. Hester 
 returned to the house and went up to her room to 
 prepare for dinner She had washed her hands, and 
 was standing before the looking-glass re-plaiting her 
 longhair, when Susan Drummond, looking extremely 
 wild and excited, and with her eyes almost starting 
 out of her head, rushed into the room. 
 
 "Oh, Hester, Hester !" she'gasped, and she flung 
 herself on Hester's bed, with her face downward ; 
 she seemed absolutely deprived for the moment of 
 the power of any further speech. 
 
 "What is the matter, Susan?" inquired Hester 
 half impatiently. " What have you come into my 
 room for ? Are you going into a fit of hysterics ? 
 You had better control yourself, for the dinner gong 
 will sound directly " 
 
 Susan gasped two or three times, made a rush to 
 Hesters wash hand stand, and, taking up a glass, 
 poured some cold water into it, and gulped it down. 
 
 " Now I can speak,' she said. " I ran so fast that 
 my breath quite left me Hester, put on your walk-
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 271 
 
 ing things or go without them, just as you please 
 only go at once if you would save her" 
 
 "Save whom?' asked Hester. 
 
 "Your little sister little Nan. I I saw it all. 
 I was in the hammock, and nobody knew I was 
 there, and somehow I wasn't so sleepy as usual, and 
 I heard Nan's voice, and I looked over the side of 
 tke hammock, and she was sitting on the grass pick- 
 ing daisies, and her nurse was with her, and pres- 
 ently you came up. I heard you calling me, but I 
 wasn't going to answer. I felt too comfortable. 
 You stayed with Nan and her nurse for a little, and 
 then went away , and I heard Nan s nurse say to 
 her : Sit here, missy, till I come back to you ; 1 
 am going to fetch another reel of sewing cotton 
 from the house Sit still, missy . I'll be back di- 
 rectly.' She went away, and Nan went on picking 
 her daisies. All on a sudden 1 heard Nan give a 
 sharp little cry, and I looked over the hammock, 
 and there was a tall, dark woman, with such a 
 wicked face, and she snatched up Nan in her arms, 
 and put a thick shawl over her face, and ran off 
 with hen It was all done in an instant 1 shouted 
 and I scrambled out of the hammock, and I rushed 
 down the path but there wasn't a sign of anybody 
 there. I don't know where the woman went it 
 seemed as if the earth swallowed up both her and 
 little Nan. Why, Hester, are you going to faint?" 
 
 "Water!" gasped Hester "one sip now let me 
 go."
 
 272 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 A GYPSY MAID. 
 
 IN A FEW moments every one in Lavender House 
 was made acquainted with Susan's story. At such a 
 time ceremony was laid aside, dinner forgotten, 
 teachers, pupils, servants all congregated in the 
 grounds, all rushed to the spot where Nan's withered 
 daisies still lay, all peered through the underwood, 
 and all, alas ! looked in vain lor the tali dark woman 
 and the little child. Little Nan, the baby of the 
 school, had been stolen there were loud and 
 terrified lamentations. Nan's nurse was almost 
 tearing her hair, was rushing franticaJly here, there, 
 and everywhere. No one blamed the nurse for leav- 
 ing her little charge in apparent safety for a few 
 moments, but the poor woman's own distress was 
 pitiable to see Mrs. Willis took Hester's hand, and 
 told the poor stunned girl that she was sending to 
 Sefton immediately for two or three policemen, and 
 that in the meantime every man on the place should 
 commence the search for the woman and child. 
 
 "Without any doubt," Mrs Willis added, "we 
 shall soon have our little Nan back again ; it is quite 
 impossible that the woman, whoever she is, can have 
 taken her so far away in so short a time."
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 273 
 
 In the meantime, Annie in her bedroom heard 
 th'e fuss and the noise. She leaned out of her win- 
 dow and saw Phyllis in the distance ; she called to 
 her. Phyllis ran up, the tears streaming down her 
 cheeks. 
 
 "Oh, something so dreadful!" she gasped; "a 
 wicked, wicked woman has stolen little Nan Thorn- 
 ton. She ran off with her just, where the under- 
 growth is so thick at the end of the shady walk. It 
 happened to her half an hour ago, and they are all 
 looking, but they cannot find the woman or little 
 Nan anywhere. Oh, it is so dreadful ! Is that you, 
 Mary ?" 
 
 Phyllis ran off to join her sister, and Annie put 
 her head in again, and looked round her pretty 
 room. 
 
 "The gypsy/' she murmured, "the tall, dark 
 gypsy has taken little Nan !" 
 
 Her face was very white, her eyes shone, her lips 
 expressed a firm and almost obstinate determi- 
 nation. With all her usual impulsiveness, she decided 
 on a course of action she snatched up a piece of 
 paper and scribbled a hasty line : 
 
 " DEAR MOTHER FRIEND : However badly you 
 think of Annie, Annie loves you with all her heart. 
 Forgive me, I must go myself to look for little Nan. 
 That tall dark woman is a gypsy I have seen her 
 before ; her name is Mother Rachel. Tell Hetty I 
 won t return until I bring her little sister back. 
 Your repentant and sorrowful ANNIE."
 
 274 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Annie twisted up the note, directed it to Mra 
 Willis, and left it on her dressing-table. 
 
 Then, with a wonderful amount of forethought 
 for her, she emptied the contents of a little purse 
 into a tiny gingham bag, which she fastened inside 
 the front of her dress. She put on her shady hat, 
 and threw a shawl across her arm, and then, slipping 
 softly downstairs, she went out through the deserted 
 kitchens, down the back avenue, and past the laurel 
 bush, until she came to the stile which led into the 
 wood she was going straight to the gypsies' en- 
 campment. 
 
 Annie, with some of the gypsy's characteristics in 
 her own blood, had always taken an extraordinary 
 interest in these queer wandering people. Gypsies 
 had a fascination for her, she loved stories about 
 them ; if a gypsy encampment was near, she always 
 begged the teachers to walk in that direction. 
 Annie had a very vivid imagination, and in the days 
 when she reigned as favorite in the school she used 
 to make up stories for the express benefit of her 
 companions. These stories, as a rule, always turned 
 upon the gypsies. Many and many a time had the 
 girls of Lavender House almost gasped with horror 
 as Annie described the queer ways of these people. 
 For her, personally, their wildness and their freedom 
 had a certain fascination, and she was heard in her 
 gayest moments to remark that she would rather 
 like to be stolen and adopted by a gypsy tribe. 
 
 Whenever Annie had an opportunity, she chatted 
 with the gypsy wives, and allowed them to tell hef
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 275 
 
 fortune, and listened eagerly to their narratives. 
 When a little child she had once for several months 
 been under the care of a nurse who was a reclaimed 
 gypsy, and this girl had given her all kinds of infor- 
 mation about them. Annie often felt that she quite 
 loved these wild people, and Mother Rachel was 
 the first gypsy she cordially shrank from and disliked. 
 
 When the little girl started now on her wild-goose 
 chase after Nan, she was by no means devoid of a 
 plan of action. The knowledge she had taken so 
 many years to acquire came to her aid, and she de- 
 termined to use it for Nan's benefit. She knew 
 that the gypsies, with all their wandering and erratic 
 habits, had a certain attachment, if not for homes, 
 at least for sites ; she knew that as a rule they en- 
 camped over and over again in the same place ; she 
 knew that their wanderings were conducted with 
 method, and their apparently lawless lives governed 
 by strict self-made rules. 
 
 Annie made straight now for the encampment, 
 which stood in a little dell at the other side of the 
 fairies' field. Here for weeks past the gypsies' tents 
 had been seen ; here the gypsy children had played, 
 and the men and women smoked and lain about in 
 the sun. 
 
 Annie entered the small field now, but uttered no 
 exclamation of surprise when she found that all the 
 tents, with the exception of one, had been removed, 
 and that this tent also was being rapidly taken down 
 by a man and a girl, while a tall boy stood by, 
 holding a donkey by the bridle.
 
 276 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Annie wasted no time in looking- for Nan here. 
 Before the girl and the man could see her, she darted 
 behind a bush, and removing her little bag of 
 money, hid it carefully under some long grass ; then 
 she pulled a very bright yellow sash out of her 
 pocket, tied it round her blue cotton dress, and leav- 
 ing her little shawl also on the ground, tripped gaily 
 up to the tent. 
 
 She saw with pleasure that the girl who was help- 
 ing the man was about her own size. She went up 
 and touched her on the shoulder. 
 
 " Look here," she said, " I want to make such a 
 pretty play by-and-by I want to play that I'm a 
 gypsy girl. Will you give me your clothes, if I give 
 you mine ? See, mine are neat, and this sash is very 
 handsome. Will you have them? Do. I am so 
 anxious to play at being a gypsy." 
 
 The girl turned and stared. Annie's pretty blue 
 print and gay sash were certainly tempting bait. 
 She glanced at her father. 
 
 " The little lady wants to change," she said in an 
 eager voice. 
 
 The man nodded acquiescence, and the girl taking 
 Annie's hand, ran quickly with her to the bottom of 
 the field. 
 
 " You don't mean it, surely ?" she said. " Eh, 
 but I'm uncommon willing." 
 
 "Yes, I certainly mean it," said Annie. "You 
 are a dear, good, obliging girl, and how nice you 
 will look in my pretty blue cotton ! I like that 
 etriped petticoat of yours, too, and that gay hand*
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. ?77 
 
 kerchief you wear round your shoulders. Than* 
 you so very much. Now, do I look like a real, 
 real gypsy ?" 
 
 " Your hair ain't ragged enough, miss." 
 
 " Oh, clip it, then ; clip it away. I want to be 
 quite the real thing. Have you got a pair of scis- 
 sors ?" 
 
 The. girl ran back to the tent, and presently re- 
 turned to shear poor Annie's beautiful hair in truly 
 rough fashion. 
 
 " Now, miss, you look much more like, only your 
 arms are a bit too white. Stay, we has got some 
 walnut- juice ; we was just a-using of it. I'll touch 
 you up fine, miss." 
 
 So she did, darkening Annie's brown skin to a 
 real gypsy tone. 
 
 " You're a dear, good girl," said Annie, in conclu- 
 sion ; and as the girl's father called her roughly at 
 this moment, she was obliged to go away, looking 
 ungainly enough in the English child's neat clothes.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLL 
 
 DISGUISED. 
 
 ANNIE ran out of the field, mounted the stile 
 which led into the wood, and stood there until the 
 gypsy man and girl, and the boy with the don- 
 key, had finally disappeared. Then she left her 
 hiding-place, and taking her little gingham bag out 
 of the long grass, secured it once more in the front 
 of her dress. She felt queer and uncomfortable in 
 her new dress, and the gypsy girl's heavy shoes tired 
 her feet; but she was not to be turned from her 
 purpose by any manner of discomforts, and she 
 started bravely on her long trudge over the dusty 
 roads, for her object was to follow the gypsies to 
 their next encampment, about ten miles away. 
 She had managed, with some tact, to obtain a cer- 
 tain amount of information from the delighted gypsy 
 girl. The girl told Annie that she was very glad 
 they were going from here ; that this was a very 
 dull place, and that they would not have stayed so 
 long but for Mother Rachel, who, for some reasons 
 of her own, had refused to stir. 
 
 Here the girl drew herself up short, and colored 
 under her dark skin. But Annie's tact never failed.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 279 
 
 She even yawned a little, and seemed scarcely to 
 hear the girl's words. 
 
 Now, in the distance, she followed these people. 
 
 In her disguise, uncomfortable as it was, she felt 
 tolerably safe. Should any of the people in Laven^ 
 der House happen to pass her on the way, they 
 would never recognize Annie Forest in this small 
 gypsy maiden. When she did approach the gyp- 
 sies' dwelling she might have some hope of passing 
 as one of themselves. The only one whom she had 
 really to fear was the girl with whom she had 
 changed clothes, and she trusted to her wits to keep 
 out of this young person's way. 
 
 When Zillah, her old gypsy nurse, had charmed 
 her long ago with gypsy legends and stories, 
 Annie had always begged to hear about the fair 
 English children whom the gypsies stole, and Zillah 
 had let her into some secrets which partly accounted 
 for the fact that so few of these children are ever 
 recovered. 
 
 She walked very fast now ; her depression was 
 gone, a great excitement, a great longing, a great 
 hope, keeping her up. She forgot that she had 
 eaten nothing since breakfast ; she forgot everything 
 in all the world now but her great love for little Nan, 
 and her desire to lay down her very life, if neces- 
 sary, to rescue Nan from the terrible fate which 
 awaited her if she was brought up as a gypsy's 
 child. 
 
 Annie, however, was unaccustomed to such long 
 walks, and besides, recent events had weakened
 
 280 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 hei, and by the time she reached Sefton for her 
 road lay straight through this little town she was 
 so hot and thirsty that she looked around her 
 anxiously to find some place of refreshment. 
 
 In an unconscious manner she paused before a 
 restaurant, where she and several other girls of Lav- 
 ender House had more than once been regaled with 
 buns and milk. 
 
 The remembrance of the fresh milk and the nice 
 buns came gratefully before the memory of the 
 tired child now. Forgetting her queer attire, she 
 went into the shop, and walked boldly up to the 
 counter. 
 
 Annie's disguise, however, was good, and the 
 young woman who was serving, instead of bending 
 forward with the usual gracious "What can I get 
 for you, miss ?" said very sharply : 
 
 "Go away at once, little girl ; we don't allow beg- 
 gars here ; leave the shop instantly. No, I have 
 nothing for you." 
 
 Annie was about to reply rather hotly, for she 
 had an idea that even a gypsy's money might pur- 
 chase buns and milk, when she was suddenly star- 
 tled, and almost terrified into betraying herself, by 
 encountering the gentle and fixed stare of Miss 
 Jane Bruce, who had been leaning over the counter 
 and talking to one of the shop-women when Annie 
 entered. 
 
 " Here is a penny for you, little girl, ' she said. 
 "You can get a nice hunch of stale bread for a 
 penny in the shop at the corner of the High 
 street"
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS 281 
 
 Annie's eyes flashed back at the little lady, her 
 lips quivered, and, clasping the penny, she rushed 
 out of the shop. 
 
 "My dear,' said Miss Jane, turning to her sister, 
 "did you notice the extraordinary likeness that 
 little gypsy girl bore to Annie Forest ?' 
 
 Miss Agnes sighed "Not' particularly, love," 
 she answered; "but I scarcely looked at her I 
 wonder if our dear little Annie is any happier than 
 she was. Ah, I think we have done here. Good- 
 afternoon, Mrs Tremlett " 
 
 The little old ladies trotted off, giving no more 
 thoughts to the gypsy child. 
 
 Poor Annie almost ran down the street, and never 
 paused till she reached a shop of much humbler ap- 
 pearance, where she was served with some cold 
 slices of German sausage, some indifferent bread 
 and butter, and milk by no means over -good The 
 coarse fare, and the rough people who surrounded 
 her, made the poor child feel both sick and frightened. 
 She found she could only keep up her character 
 by remaining almost silent, for the moment she 
 opened her lips people turned round and stared at 
 her. 
 
 She paid for her meal however, and presently found 
 herself at the other side of Seftcn, and in a part of 
 the country which was comparatively strange to 
 her The gypsies' present encampment was about a 
 mile away from the town of Oakley, a much larger 
 place than Sefton. Sefton and Oakley lay about six 
 miles apart. Annie trudged bravely on, her head
 
 282 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 aching : for, of course as a gypsy girl, she could use 
 no parasol to shade her from the sun. At last the 
 comparative cool of the evening arrived, and the lit- 
 tle girl gave a sigh of relief, and looked forward to 
 her bed and supper at Oakley. She had made up 
 her mind to sleep there, and to go to the gypsies' en- 
 campment very early in the morning. It was quite 
 dark by the time she reached Oakley, and she was 
 now so tired, and her feet so blistered from walking 
 in the gypsy girl's rough shoes, that she could 
 scarcely proceed another step. The noise and the 
 size of Oakley, too, bewildered and frightened her. 
 She had learned a lesson in Sefton, and dared not 
 venture into the more respectable streets. How 
 could she sleep in those hot, common, close houses ? 
 Surely it would be better for her to lie down under 
 a cool hedgerow there could be no real cold on 
 this lovely summer's night, and the hours would 
 quickly pass, and the time soon arrive when she 
 must go boldly in search of Nan. She resolved to 
 sleep in a hayfield which took her fancy just 
 outside the town, and she only went into 
 Oakley for the purpose of buying some bread and 
 milk. 
 
 Annie was so far fortunate as to get a refreshing 
 draught of really good milk from a woman who 
 stood by a cottage door, and who gave her a piece of 
 girdle-cake to eat with it. 
 
 "You're one of the gypsies, my dear?" said the 
 woman. " I saw them passing in their caravans an 
 hour back. No doubt you are for taking up your
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 283 
 
 old quarters in the copse, just alongside of Squire 
 Thompson's long 1 acre field. How is it you are not 
 with the rest of them, child?" 
 
 " I was late in starting," said Annie. " Can you 
 tell me the best way to get from here to the long 
 acre field?" 
 
 " Ok, you take that turn-stile, child, and keep in 
 the narrow path by the corn-fields ; it's two miles and 
 a half from here as the crows flies. No, no, my dear, 
 I don't want your pennies ; but you might humor 
 my little girl here by telling her fortune she's 
 wonderful taken by the gypsy folk." 
 
 Annie colored painfully. The child came for- 
 ward, and crossed her hand with a piece of silver. 
 She looked at the little palm and muttered some- 
 thing about being rich and fortunate, and marrying 
 a prince in disguise, and having no trouble what- 
 ever. 
 
 " Eh ! but that's a fine lot, is yours, Peggy," said 
 the gratified mother. 
 
 Peggy, however, aged nine, had a wiser head on 
 her young shoulders. 
 
 "She didn't tell no proper fortune," she said dis- 
 paragingty, when Annie left the cottage. "She 
 didn't speak about no crosses, and no biting disap- 
 pointments, and no bleeding wounds. I don't be- 
 lieve in her, I don't. I like fortunes mixed, not all 
 one way; them fortunes ain't natural, and I don't 
 believe she's no proper gypsy girl."
 
 264* A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIL 
 
 HESTER. 
 
 AT LAVENDER House the confusion, the terror, and 
 the dismay were great. For several hours the girls 
 seemed quite to lose their heads, and just when, 
 under Mrs. Willis' and the other teachers' calmness 
 and determination, they were being restored to dis- 
 cipline and order, the excitement and alarm broke 
 out afresh when some one brought Annie's little note 
 to Mrs. Willis, and the school discovered that she 
 also was missing. 
 
 On this occasion no one did doubt her motive; 
 disobedient as her act was no one wasted words of 
 blame on her. All, from the head-mistress to the 
 smallest child in the school, knew that it was love 
 for little Nan that had taken Annie off; and the 
 tears started to Mrs Willis eyes when she first read 
 the tiny note, and then placed 3 it tenderly in her 
 desk. Hester's face became almost ashen in its hue 
 when she heard what Annie had done. 
 
 "Annie has gone herself to bring back Nan to 
 you, Hester," said Phyllis. " It was I told her, and 
 I know now by her face that she must have made 
 up her mind at once." 
 
 "Very disobedient of her to go," said Dora
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 285 
 
 Russell ; but no one took up Dora's tone, and Mary 
 Price said, after a pause : 
 
 " Disobedient or not, it was brave it was really 
 very plucky.'* 
 
 " It is my opinion," said Nora, " that if any one 
 in the world can find little Nan it will be Annie. 
 You remember, Phyllis, how often she has talked to 
 us about gypsies, and what a lot she knows about 
 them ?" 
 
 "Oh, yes; she'll be better than fifty policemen," 
 echoed several girls ; and then two or three young 
 faces were turned toward Hester, and some voice 
 said almost scornfully : 
 
 ' You'll have to love Annie now ; you'll have to 
 admit that there is something good in our Annie 
 when she brings your little Nan home again." 
 
 Hesters lip quivered; she tried to speak, but a 
 sudden burst of tears came from her instead. She 
 walked slowly out of the astonished little group, 
 wno none of them believed that proud Hester 
 Thornton could weep. 
 
 The wretched girl rushed up to her room, where 
 she threw herself o i her bed and gave way to some of 
 the bitterest tears she had ever shed. All her indiffer- 
 ence to Annie, all her real unkindness, all her ever- 
 increasing dislike came back now to torture and 
 harass her. She began to believe with the girls 
 that Annie would be successful ; she began dimly to 
 acknowledge in her heart the strange power which 
 this child possessed ; she guessed that Annie would 
 heap coals of fire on her head by bringing back her
 
 286 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 little sister. She hoped, she longed, she could almost 
 have found it in her heart to pray that some one 
 else, not Annie, might save little Nan. 
 
 For not yet had Hester made up her mind to con- 
 fess the truth about Annie Forest. To confess the 
 truth now meant humiliation in the eyes of the whole 
 school. Even for Nan's sake she could not, 
 she would not be great enough for this. 
 
 Sobbing on her bed, trembling from head to foot, 
 in an agony of almost uncontrollable grief, she could 
 not bring her proud and stubborn little heart to 
 accept God's only way of peace. No, she hoped she 
 might be able to influence Susan Drummond and 
 induce her to confess, and if Annie was "hot cleared 
 in that way, if she really saved little Nan, she would 
 doubtless be restored to much of her lost favor in 
 the school. 
 
 Hester had never been a favorite at Lavender 
 House ; but now her great trouble caused all the 
 girls to speak to her kindly and considerately, and 
 as she lay on her bed she presently heard a gentle 
 step on the floor of her room a cool little hand 
 was laid tenderly on her forehead, and opening her 
 swollen eyes, she met Cecil's loving gaze. 
 
 " There is no news yet, Hester," said Cecil ; " but 
 Mrs. Willis has just gone herself into Sefton, and 
 will not lose an hour in getting further help. Mrs, 
 Willis looks quite haggard. Of course she is very 
 anxious both about Annie and Nan." 
 
 " Oh, Annie is safe enough," murmured Hester, 
 burying her head in the bedclothes.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 287 
 
 " I don't know ; Annie is very impulsive and very 
 pretty ; the gypsies may like to steal her too of 
 course she has gone straight to one of their encamp- 
 ments. Naturally Mrs. Willis is most anxious." 
 
 Hester pressed her hand to her throbbing head. 
 
 "We are all so sorry for you, dear," said Cecil 
 gently. 
 
 " Thank you being sorry for one does not do a 
 great deal of good, does it ?" 
 
 " I thought sympathy always did good," replied 
 Cecil, looking puzzled. 
 
 " Thank you," said Hester again. She lay quite 
 still for several minutes with her eyes closed. Her 
 face looked intensely unhappy. Cecil was not easily 
 repelled and she guessed only too surely that 
 Hester's proud heart was suffering much. She was 
 puzzled, however, how to approach her, and had 
 almost made up her mind to go away and beg of 
 kind-hearted Miss Danesbury to see if she could 
 come and do something, when through the open 
 window there came the shrill sweet laughter and the 
 eager, high-pitched tones of some of the youngest 
 children in the school. A strange quiver passed 
 over Hester's face at the sound ; she sat up in bed, 
 and gasped out in a half-strangled voice : 
 
 " Oh ! I can't bear it little Nan, little Nan ! 
 Cecil, I am very, very unhappy." 
 
 "I know it, darling," said Cecil, and she put her 
 arms round the excited girl. " Oh, Hester ! don't 
 turn away from me ; do let us be unhappy to 
 gether."
 
 288 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " But you did not care for Nan." 
 
 " I did we all loved the pretty darling.** 
 
 "Suppose I never see her again?" said Hester 
 half wildly. " Oh, Cecil ! and mother left her to 
 me ? mother gave her to me to take care of, and to 
 bring to her some day in heaven. Oh, little Nan, 
 my pretty, my love, my sweet ! I think I could 
 better bear her being dead than this." 
 
 "You could, Hester," said Cecil, "if she was 
 never to be found ; but I don't think God will give 
 you such a terrible punishment. I think little Nan 
 will be restored to you. Let us ask God to do it, 
 Hetty let us kneel down now, we two little girls, 
 and pray to him with all our might." * 
 
 " I can't pray ; don't ask me," said Hester, turn- 
 ing her face away. 
 
 "Then I will." 
 
 "But not here, Cecil. Cecil, I am not good I 
 am not good enough to pray." 
 
 " We don't want to be good to pray," said Cecil. 
 "We want perhaps to be unhappy perhaps sorry ; 
 but if God waited just for goodness, I don't think He 
 would get many prayers." 
 
 "Well, I am unhappy, but not sorry. No, no: 
 don't ask me, I cannot pray "
 
 A WORLD QF GIRLS. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 SUSAN. 
 
 MRS. WILLIS came back at a very late hour from 
 Sefton. The police were confident that they must 
 soon discover both children, but no tidings had yet 
 been heard of either of them. Mrs. Willis ordered 
 her girls to bed, and went herself to kiss Hester and 
 give her a special " good-night." She was struck by 
 the peculiarly unhappy, and even hardened, expres- 
 sion on the poor child's face, and felt that she did 
 not half understand her. 
 
 In the middle of the night Hester awoke from a 
 troubled dream. She awoke with a sharp cry, so 
 sharp and intense in its sound that had any girl been 
 awake in the next room she must have heard it. She 
 felt that she could no longer remain close to that 
 little empty cot. She suddenly remembered that 
 Susan Drummond would be alone to-night: what 
 time so good as the present for having a long talk 
 with Susan and getting her to clear Annie? She 
 slipped out of bed, put on her dressing-gown, and 
 softly opening the door, ran down the passage to 
 Susan's room. 
 
 Susan was in bed, and fast asleep. Hester could 
 see her face quite plainly in the moonlight, for Susan
 
 290 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 slept facing the window, and the blind was not drawn 
 down. 
 
 Hester had some difficulty in awakening Miss 
 Drummond, who, however, at last sat up in ed 
 yawning prodigiously. 
 
 "What is the matter? Is that you,' Hester 
 Thornton ? Have you got any news of little Nan ? 
 Has Annie come back ?" 
 
 " No, they are both still away. Susy, I want to 
 speak to you." 
 
 " Dear me ! what for ? must you speak in the 
 middle of the night ?" 
 
 "Yes, for I don't want any one else to know. Oh, 
 Susan, please don't go to sleep." 
 
 " My dear, I won't, if I can help it. Do you mind 
 throwing a little cold water over my face and head? 
 There is a can by the bedside. I always keep one 
 handy. Ah, thanks now I am wide awake. I shall 
 probably remain so for about two minutes. Can you 
 get your say over in that time?" 
 
 "I wonder, Susan," said Hester, "if you have got 
 any heart but heart or not, I have just come here 
 to-night to tell you that I have found you out. You 
 are at the bottom of all this mischief about Annie 
 Forest." 
 
 Susan had a most phlegmatic face, an utterly 
 unemotional voice, and she now stared calmly at 
 Hester and demanded to know what in the world 
 she meant. 
 
 Hester felt her temper going, her self-control de- 
 serting her. Susan's apparent innocence and indif- 
 ference drove her half frantic.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 291 
 
 'Oh, you are mean," she said. "You pretend to 
 be innocent, but you are the deepest and wickedest 
 girl in the school. I tell you, Susan, I have found 
 you out you put that caricature of Mrs. Willis into 
 Cecil's book; you changed Dora's theme. I don't 
 know why you did it, nor how you did it, but you 
 are the guilty person, and you have allowed the sin 
 of it to remain on Annie's shoulders all this time. 
 Oh, you are the very meanest girl I ever heard 
 of!" 
 
 "Dear, dear," said Susan, "I wish I had not asked 
 you to throw cold water over my head and face, and 
 allow myself to be made very wet and uncomfort- 
 able, just to be told I am the meanest girl you ever 
 met. And pray what affair is this of yours ? You 
 certainly don't love Annie Forest." 
 
 "I don't, but I want justice to be done to her. 
 Annie is very, very unhappy. Oh, Susy, won't you 
 go and tell Mrs. Willis the truth ?" 
 
 "Really, my dear Hester, I think you are a little 
 mad. How long have you known all this about me, 
 pray ?" 
 
 " Oh, for some time ; since since the night the 
 essay was changed." 
 
 "Ah, then, if what you state is true, you told Mrs. 
 Willis a lie, for she distinctly asked you if you knew 
 anything about the ' Muddy Stream,' and you said 
 you didn't. I saw you I remarked how very red 
 you got when you plumped out that great lie ! My 
 dear, if I am the meanest and wickedest girl in the 
 school, prove it go, tell Mrs. Willis what you know.
 
 292 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Now, if you will allow me, I will get back into the 
 land of dreams." 
 
 Susan curled herself up one emore in her bed, 
 wrapped the bed-clothes tightly round her and 
 was, to all appearance, oblivious of Hester's pres- 
 ence.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 UNDER THE HEDGE. 
 
 IT is one thing to talk of the delights of sleeping 
 tinder a hedgerow, and another to realize them. A 
 hayfield is a very charming place, but in the middle 
 of the night, with the dew clinging to everything, it 
 is apt to prove but a chilly bed ; the most familiar 
 objects put on strange and unreal forms, the most 
 familiar sounds become loud and alarming. An- 
 nie slept for about an hour soundly; then she 
 awoke, trembling with cold in every limb, startled, 
 and almost terrified by the oppressive loneliness 
 of the night, sure that the insect life which sur- 
 rounded her, and which would keep up successions of 
 chirps, and croaks, and buzzes, was something mys- 
 terious and terrifying. Annie was a brave child, 
 but even brave little girls may be allowed to 
 possess nerves under her present conditions, and 
 when a spider ran across her face she started up 
 with a scream of terror. At this moment she 
 almost regretted the close and dirty lodgings which 
 she might have obtained for a few pence at Oakley. 
 The hay in the field which she had selected was 
 partly cut and partly standing. The cut portion 
 had been piled up into little cocks and hillocks, and
 
 294 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 these, with the night shadows round them, ap- 
 peared to the frightened child to assume large and 
 half-human proportions. She found she could not 
 sleep any longer. She wrapped her shawl tightly 
 round her, and, crouching into the hedgerow, waited 
 for the dawn. 
 
 That watched-for dawn seemed to the tired child 
 as if it would never come ; but at last her solitary 
 vigil came to an end, the cold grew greater, a little 
 gentle breeze stirred the uncut grass, and up in the 
 sky overhead the stars became fainter and the 
 atmosphere clearer. Then came a little faint flush 
 of pink, then a brighter light, and then all in a 
 moment the birds burst into a perfect jubilee of 
 song, the insects talked and chirped and buzzed in 
 new tones, the hay-cocks became simply hay-cocks, 
 the dew sparkled on the wet grass, the sun had 
 risen, and the new day had begun. 
 
 Annie sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. With 
 the sunshine and brightness her versatile spirits re- 
 vived ; she buckled on her courage like an armor, 
 and almost laughed at the miseries of the past few 
 hours. Once more she believed that success and 
 victory would be hers, once more in her small way 
 she was ready to do or die. She believed absolutely 
 in the holiness of her mission. Love love alone, 
 simple and pure, was guiding her. She gave no 
 thought to after-consequences, she gave no memory 
 to past events ; her object now was to rescue Nan, 
 ad she herself was nothing. 
 
 Aoinie had a fellow-feeling, a rare sympathy with
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 395 
 
 every little child; but no child had ever come to 
 take Nan's place with her. The child she had first 
 begun to notice simply out of a naughty spirit of 
 revenge, had twined herself round her heart, and 
 Annie loved Nan all the more dearly because she 
 had long ago repented of stealing her affections 
 from Hester, and would gladly have restored her 
 to her old place next to Hetty's heart. Her love 
 for Nan, therefore, had the purity and greatness 
 which all love that calls forth self-sacrifice must 
 possess. Annie had denied herself, and kept away 
 from Nan of late. Now, indeed, she was going to 
 rescue her ; but if she thought of herself at all, it 
 was with the certainty that for this present act of 
 disobedience Mrs. Willis would dismiss her from 
 the school, and she would not see little Nan 
 again. 
 
 Never mind that, if Nan herself was saved. Annie 
 was disobedient, but on this occasion she was not 
 unhappy ; she had none of that remorse which 
 troubled her so much after her wild picnic in the 
 fairies' field. On the contrary, she had a strange 
 sense of peace and even guidance; she had con- 
 fessed this sin to Mrs. Willis, and, though she' was 
 suspected of far worse, her own innocence kept hei 
 heart untroubled. The verse which had occurred 
 to her two mornings before still rang in her ears : 
 
 " A soul which has sinned and is pardoned again." 
 
 The impulsive, eager child was possessed just now 
 of something which men call True Courage ; it was
 
 296 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 founded on the knowledge that God would help her, 
 and was accordingly calm and strengthening. 
 
 Annie rose from her damp bed, and looked 
 around her for a little stream where she might wash 
 her face and hands ; suddenly she remembered 
 that face and hands were dyed, and that she would 
 do best to leave them alone. She smoothed out 
 as best she could the ragged elf-locks which the 
 gypsy maid had left on her curly head, and then 
 covering her face with her hands, said simply and 
 earnestly : 
 
 " Please, my Father in heaven, help me to find 
 little Nan ;" then she set off through the cornfields 
 an the direction of the gypsies' encampment.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 297 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 TIGER. 
 
 IT WAS still very, very early in the morning, and 
 the gypsy folk, tired from their march on the preced- 
 ing day, slept. There stood the conical, queer-shaped 
 tents, four in number ; at a little distance off grazed 
 the donkeys and a couple of rough mules ; at the door 
 of the tents lay stretched out in profound repose two 
 or three dogs. 
 
 Annie dreaded the barking of the dogs, although 
 she guessed that if they set up a noise, and a gypsy 
 wife or man put out their heads in consequence, they 
 would only desire the gypsy child to lie down and 
 keep quiet. 
 
 She stood still for a moment she was very 
 anxious to prowl around the place and examine the 
 ground while the gypsies still slept, but the watchful 
 dogs deterred her. She stood perfectly quiet behind 
 the hedgerow, thinking hard. Should she trust to a 
 charm she knew she possessed, and venture into the 
 encampment ? Annie had almost as great a f ascina- 
 tion over dogs and cats as she had over children. 
 As a little child going to visit with her mother at 
 strange houses, the watch-dogs never barked at her ; 
 on the contrary, they yielded to the charm which
 
 29ft A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 seemed to come from her little fingers as she patted 
 their great heads. Slowly their tails would move 
 backward and forward as she patted them, and 
 even the most ferocious would look at her with 
 affection. 
 
 Annie wondered if the gypsy dogs would now 
 allow her to approach without barking. She felt 
 that the chances were in her favor ; she was dressed 
 in gypsy garments, there would be nothing strange 
 in her appearance, and if she could get near one of 
 the dogs she knew that she could exercise the magic 
 of her touch. 
 
 Her object, then, was to approach one of the 
 tents very, very quietly so softly that even the 
 dogs's ears should not detect the light footfall. If 
 she could approach close enough to put her hand 
 on the dog's neck all would be well. She pulled off 
 the gypsy maid's rough shoes, hid them in the grass 
 where she could find them again, and came gingerly 
 step by step, nearer and nearer the principal tent. 
 At its 'entrance lay a ferocious-looking half-bred 
 bull-dog. Annie possessed that necessary accom- 
 paniment to courage great outward calm ; the 
 greater the danger, the more cool and self-possessed 
 did she become. She was within a step or two of 
 the tent when she trod accidentally on a small twig; 
 it cracked, giving her foot a sharp pain, and very 
 slight as the sound was, causing the bull-dog to 
 awake. He raised his wicked face, saw the figure 
 like his own people, and yet unlike, but a step 
 or two away, and, uttering a low growl, sprang 
 forward.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 299 
 
 In the ordinary course of things this growl would 
 have risen in volume and would have terminated in 
 a volley of barking , but Annie was prepared : she 
 went down on her knees, held out her arms, said, 
 "Poor fellow!" in her own seductive voice, and 
 the bull-dog fawned at her feet. He licked one 
 of her hands while she patted him gently with the 
 other. 
 
 "Come, poor fellow/' she said then in a gentle 
 tone, and Annie and the dog began to perambulate 
 round the tents. 
 
 The other dogs raised sleepy eyes, but seeing 
 Tiger and the girl together, took no notice what- 
 ever, except by a thwack or two of their stumpy 
 tails. Annie was now looking not only at the tents, 
 but for something else which Zillah, her nurse, had 
 told her might be found near to many gypsy 
 encampments. This was a small subterranean pas- 
 sage, which generally led into a long disused under- 
 ground Danish fort. Zillah had told her what uses 
 the gypsies liked to make of these underground pas- 
 sages, and how they often chose those which had 
 two entrances. She told her that in this way they 
 eluded the police, and were enabled successfully to 
 hide the goods which they stole. She had also 
 described to her their great ingenuity in hiding the 
 entrances to these underground retreats. 
 
 Annie's idea now was that little Nan was hidden 
 in one of these vaults, and she determined first to 
 make sure of its existence, and then to venture her- 
 self into this underground region in search of the 
 lost child.
 
 '300 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 I 
 
 She had made a decided conquest in the person of 
 Tiger, who followed her round and round the tents, 
 and when the gypsies at last began to stir, and 
 Annie crept into the hedge-row, the dog crouched 
 by her side. Tiger was the favorite dog of the 
 camp, and presently one of the men called to him ; 
 he rose unwillingly, looked back with longing eyes 
 at Annie, and trotted off, to return in the space of 
 about five minutes with a great hunch of broken 
 bread in his mouth. This was his breakfast, and he 
 meant to share it with his new friend. Annie was 
 too hungry to be fastidious, and she also knew the 
 necessity of keeping up her strength. She crept 
 still farther under the hedge, and the dog and girl 
 shared the broken bread between them. 
 
 Presently the tents were all astir; the gypsy 
 children began to swarm about, the women lit fires 
 in the open air, and the smell of very appetizing 
 breakfasts filled the atmosphere. The men also 
 lounged into view, standing lazily at the doors of 
 their tents, and smoking great pipes of tobacco. 
 Annie lay quiet. She could see from her hiding- 
 place without being seen. Suddenly and her eyes 
 began to dilate, and she found her heart beating 
 strangely she laid her hand on Tiger, who was 
 quivering all over. 
 
 " Stay with me, dear dog," she said. 
 
 There was a great commotion and excitement in 
 the gypsy camp ; the children screamed and ran 
 into the tents, the women paused in their prepa- 
 ration for breakfast, the men took their short pipes
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 301 
 
 out of their mouths ; every dog, with the exception 
 of Tiger, barked ferociously. Tiger and Annie 
 alone were motionless. 
 
 The cause of all this uproar was a body of police, 
 about six in number, who came boldly into the field, 
 and demanded instantly to search the tents. 
 
 "We want a woman who calls herself Mother 
 Rachel," they said. " She belongs to this encamp- 
 ment. We know her ; let her come forward at 
 once ; we wish to question her." 
 
 The men stood about ; the women came near ; 
 the children crept out of their tents, placing their 
 fingers to their frightened lips, and staring at the 
 men who represented those horrors to their unso- 
 phisticated minds called Law and Order. 
 
 " We must search the tents. We won't stir from 
 the spot until we have had an interview with Mother 
 Rachel," said the principal member of the police 
 force. 
 
 The men ansv/ered respectfully that the gypsy 
 mother was not yet up ; but if the gentlemen would 
 wait a moment she would soon come and speak to 
 them. 
 
 The officers expressed their willingness to wait, 
 and collected round the tents. 
 
 Just at this instant, under the hedge-row, Tiger 
 raised his head. Annie's watchful eyes accompanied 
 the dog's. He was gazing after a tiny gypsy maid 
 who was skulking along the hedge, and who presently 
 disappeared through a very small opening into the 
 neighboring field.
 
 302 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Quick as thought Annie, holding Tiger's collar, 
 darted after her. The little maid heard the foot- 
 steps ; but seeing another gypsy girl, and their own 
 dog, Tiger, she took no further notice, but ran openly 
 and very swiftly across the field until she came to a 
 broken wall. Here she tugged and tugged at some 
 loose stones, managed to push one away, and then 
 called down into the ground : 
 
 "Mother Rachel!" 
 
 " Come, Tiger," said Annie. She flew to a hedge 
 not far off, and once more the dog and she hid them- 
 selves. The small girl was too excited to notice 
 either their coming or going; she went on calling 
 anxiously into the ground : 
 
 " Mother Rachel ! Mother Rachel !" 
 
 Presently a black head and a pair of brawny 
 shoulders appeared, and the tall woman whose face 
 and figure Annie knew so well stepped up out of the 
 ground, pushed back the stones into their place, and 
 taking the gypsy child into her arms, ran swiftly 
 across the field in the direction of the tents.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 303 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 FOR LOVE OF NAN. 
 
 Now WAS Annie's time. "Tiger," she said,, for 
 she had heard the men calling the dog's name, " I 
 want to go right down into that hole in the ground, 
 and you are to come with me. Don't let us lose, a 
 moment, good dog." 
 
 The dog wagged his tail, capered about in front 
 of Annie, and then with a wonderful shrewdness ran 
 before her to the broken wall, where he stood with 
 his head bent downward and his eyes fixed on the 
 ground. 
 
 Annie pulled and tugged at the loose stones ; 
 they were so heavy and cunningly arranged that she 
 wondered how the little maid, who was smaller than 
 herself, had managed to remove them. She saw 
 quickly, however, that they were arranged with a 
 certain leverage, and that the largest stone, that 
 which formed the real entrance to the underground 
 passage, was balanced in its place in such a fashion 
 that when she leaned on a certain portion of it, it 
 moved aside, and allowed plenty of room for her to 
 go down into the earth. 
 
 Very dark and dismal and uninviting did the rude 
 steps, which led nobody knew where, appear. For
 
 304 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 one moment Annie hesitated ; but the thought of 
 Nan hidden somewhere in this awful wretchedness 
 nerved her courage. 
 
 " Go first, Tiger, please," she said, and the dog 
 scampered down, sniffing the earth as he went. 
 Annie followed him, but she had scarcely got her 
 head below the level of the ground before she found 
 herself in total and absolute darkness ; she had un- 
 wittingly touched the heavy stone, which had swung 
 back into its place. She heard Tiger sniffing below, 
 and, calling him to keep by her side, she went 
 very carefully down and down and down, until at 
 last she knew by the increase of air that she must 
 have come to the end of the narrow entrance 
 passage. 
 
 She was now able to stand upright, and raising 
 her hand, she tried in vain to find a roof. The room 
 where she stood, then, must be lofty. She went 
 forward in the utter darkness very, very slowly; 
 suddenly her head again came in contact with the 
 roof ; she made a few steps farther on, and then 
 found that to proceed at all she must go on her hands 
 and knees. She bent down and peered through the 
 darkness. 
 
 " We'll go on, Tiger," she said, and, holding the 
 dog's collar and clinging to him for protection, she 
 crept along the narrow passage. 
 
 Suddenly she gave an exclamation of joy at the 
 other end of this gloomy passage was light faint 
 twilight surely, but still undoubted light, which came 
 down from some chink in the outer world. Annie
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 305 
 
 came to the end of the passage, and, standing up- 
 right, found herself suddenly in a room ; a very 
 small and miserable room certainly, but with the 
 twilight shining through it, which revealed not only 
 that it was a room, but a room which contained a 
 heap of straw, a three-legged stool, and two or three 
 cracked cups and saucers. Here, then, was Mother 
 Rachel's lair, and here she must look for Nan. 
 
 The darkness had been so intense that even the 
 faint twlight of this little chamber had dazzled 
 Annie's eyes for a moment ; the next, however, her 
 vision became clear. She saw that the straw bed 
 contained a bundle ; she went near out of the 
 wrapped-up bundle of shawls appeared the head of a 
 child. The child slept, and moaned in its slumbers. 
 
 Annie bent over it and said, "Thank God!" in a 
 tone of rapture, and then, stooping down, she pas- 
 sionately kissed the lips of little Nan. 
 
 Nan's skin had been dyed with the walnut-juice, 
 her pretty, soft hair had been cut short, her dainty 
 clothes had been changed for the most ragged gypsy 
 garments, but still she was undoubtedly Nan, the 
 child whom Annie had come to save. 
 
 From her uneasy slumbers the poor little one 
 awoke with a cry of terror. She could not recognize 
 Annie's changed face, and clasped her hands before 
 her eyes, and said piteously : 
 
 " Me want to go home go 'way, naughty woman, 
 me want my Annie." 
 
 "Little darling!" said Annie, in her sweetest 
 tones. The changed face had not appealed to Nan,
 
 306 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 but the old voice went straight to her baby heart ; 
 she stopped crying and looked anxiously toward the 
 entrance of the room. 
 
 "Turn in, Annie me here, Annie little Nan 
 want 'oo." 
 
 Annie glanced around her in despair. Suddenly 
 her quick eyes lighted on a jug of water; she flew 
 to it, and washed and laved her face. 
 
 "Coming, darling," she said, as she tried to re- 
 move the hateful dye. She succeeded partly, and 
 when she came back, to her great joy, the child re- 
 cognized her. 
 
 " Now, little precious, we will get out of this as 
 fast as we can," said Annie, and, clasping Nan 
 tightly in her arms, the prepared to return by the 
 way she had come. Then and there, for the first 
 time, there flashed across her memory the horrible 
 fact that the stone door had swung back into its 
 place, and that by no possible means could she open 
 it. She and Nan and Tiger were buried in a living 
 tomb, and must either stay there and perish, or 
 await the tender mercies of the cruel Mother Rachel. 
 
 Nan, with her arms tightly clasped round Annie's 
 neck, began to cry fretfully. She was impatient to 
 get out of this dismal place ; she was no longer op- 
 pressed by fears, for with Annie whom she 
 loved she felt absolutely safe ; but she was hungry 
 and cold and uncomfortable, and it seemed but a step, 
 to little inexperienced Nan, from Annie's arms to her 
 snug, cheerful nursery at Lavender House. 
 
 "Turn, Annie turn home, Annie," she begged, 
 and, when Annie did not stir, she began to weep.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 307 
 
 In truth, the poor, brave little girl was sadly puz- 
 zled, and her first gleam of returning hope lay in 
 the remembrance of Zillah's words, that there were 
 generally two entrances to these old underground 
 forts. Tiger, who seemed thoroughly at home in 
 this little room, and had curled himself up comfort- 
 ably on the heap of straw, had probably often been 
 here before. Perhaps Tiger knew the way to the 
 second entrance. Annie called him to her side. 
 
 "Tiger," she said, going down on her knees, and 
 looking full into his ugly but intelligent face, " Nan 
 and I want to get out of this." 
 
 Tiger wagged his stumpy tail. 
 
 " We are hungry, Tiger, and we want something 
 to eat, and you'd like a bone, wouldn't you ?" 
 
 Tiger's tail went with ferocious speed, and he 
 licked Annie's hand. 
 
 " There's no use going back that way, dear dog," 
 continued the girl, pointing with her arm in the 
 direction they had come. "The door is fastened, 
 Tiger, and we can't get out. We can't get out be- 
 cause the door is shut." 
 
 The dog's tail had ceased to wag ; he took in the 
 situation, ft his whole expression showed dejection, 
 and he dropped his head. 
 
 It was now quite evident to Annie that Tiger had 
 been here before, and that on some other occasion 
 in his life he had wanted to get out and could not 
 because the door was shut. 
 
 " Now, Tiger," said Annie, speaking cheerfully, 
 and rising to her feet, " we must get out Nan and
 
 308 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 I are hungry, and you want your bone. Take us 
 oat the other way, good Tigerthe other way, dear 
 dog." 
 
 She moved instantly toward the little passage; 
 the dog followed her. 
 
 "The other way," she said, and she turned hei 
 back on the long narrow passage, and took a step 
 or two into complete darkness. The dog began tc 
 whine, caught hold of her dress, and tried to pull 
 her back. 
 
 " Quite right, Tiger, we won't go that way," said 
 Annie, instantly. She returned into the dimly- 
 lighted room. 
 
 " Find a way find a way out, Tiger," she said. 
 
 The dog evidently understood her ; he moved 
 restlessly about the room. Finally he got up on 
 the bed, pulled and scratched and tore away the 
 straw at the upper end, then, wagging his tail, flew 
 to Annie's side. She came back with him. Be- 
 neath the straw was a tiny, tiny trap-door. 
 
 "Oh, Tiger!" said the girl; she went down on 
 her knees, and, finding she could not stir it, won- 
 dered if this also was kept in its place by a system 
 of balancing. She was right ; after a very little 
 pressing the door moved aside, and Annie saw four 
 or five. rudely carved steps. 
 
 "Come, Nan," she said joyfully, "Tiger has saved 
 us ; these steps must lead us out." 
 
 The dog, with a joyful whine, went djwn first, 
 and Annie, clasping Nan tightly in her arms, fol- 
 lowed him. Four, five, six steps they went down :
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 then, to Annie's great joy, she found that the next 
 step began to ascend. Up and up she went, cheered 
 by a welcome shaft of light. Finally, she, Nan, and 
 the dog found themselves emerging into the open 
 air, through a hole which might have teen taken for 
 a large rabbit burrow.
 
 310 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL VII. 
 
 RESCUED. 
 
 TKE GIRL, the child, and the dog found themselves 
 in a comparatively strange country Annie had 
 completely lost her bearings. She looked around 
 her for some sign of the gypsies' encampment ; but 
 whether she had really gone a greater distance 
 than she imagined in those underground vaults, or 
 whether the tents were hidden in some hollow of 
 the ground, she did not know ; she was only con- 
 scious that she was in a strange country, that Nan 
 was clinging to her and crying for her breakfast, 
 and that Tiger was sniffing the air anxiously. 
 Annie guessed that Tiger could take them back to 
 the camp, but this was by no means her wish. 
 When she emerged out of the underground passage 
 she was conscious for the first time of a strange and 
 unknown experience. Absolute terror seized the 
 brave child ; she trembled from head to foot, her 
 head ached violently, and the ground on which she 
 stood seemed to reel, and the sky to turn round. 
 She sat down for a moment on the green grass. 
 What ailed her ? where was she ? how could she get 
 home ? Nan's little piteous wail, " Me want my 
 bekfas,' me want my nursie, me want Hetty," al 
 most irritated her.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 311 
 
 " Oh, Nan," she said at last piteously, " have you 
 not got your own Annie ? Oh, Nan, dear little 
 Nan, Annie feels so ill !" 
 
 Nan had the biggest and softest of baby hearts 
 breakfast, nurse, Hetty, were all forgotten in the 
 crowning desire to comfort Annie. She climbed on 
 her knee and stroked her face and kissed her lips. 
 
 " 'Oo better now ?" she said in a tone of baby 
 inquiry. 
 
 Annie roused herself with a great effort. 
 
 " Yes, darling," she said ; " we will try and get 
 home. Come, Tiger. Tiger, dear, I don't want to 
 go back to the gypsies ; take me the other way 
 take me to Oakley." 
 
 Tiger again sniffed the air, looked anxiously at 
 Annie, and trotted on in front. Little Nan in her 
 ragged gypsy clothes walked sedately by Annie's 
 side. 
 
 "Where 'oo s'oes ?" she said, pointing to the 
 girl's bare feet. 
 
 " Gone, Nan gone. Never mind, I've got you. 
 My little treasure, my little love, you're safe at 
 last." 
 
 As Annie tottered, rather than walked, down a 
 narrow path which led directly through a field of 
 standing corn, she was startled by the sudden ap- 
 parition of a bright-eyed girl, who appeared so 
 suddenly in her path that she might have been sup- 
 posed to have risen out of the very ground. 
 
 The girl stared hard at Annie, fixed her eyes 
 inquiringly on Nan and Tiger, ad then turning on
 
 312 /4 WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 her heel, dashed up the path, went through a turn- 
 stile, across the road, and into a cottage. 
 
 " Mother," she exclaimed, " I said she warn't a 
 real gypsy; she's a-coming back, and her face is all 
 streaked like, and she has a little 'un along with her, 
 and a dawg, and the only one as is gypsy is the 
 dawg. Come and look at her, mother ; oh, she is a 
 fine take-in !" 
 
 The round-faced, good-humored looking mother, 
 whose name was Mrs. Williams, had been washing 
 and putting away the breakfast things when her 
 daughter entered. She now wiped her hands 
 hastily and came to the cottage door. 
 
 " Cross the road, and come to the stile, mother," 
 said the energetic Peggy " oh, there she be a-creep- 
 ing along oh, ain't she a take-in ?" 
 
 " 'Sakes alive !" ejaculated Mrs. Williams, " the 
 girl is ill ! why, she can't keep herself steady ! There! 
 I knew she'd fall ; ah ! poor little thing poor little 
 thing." 
 
 It did not take Mrs. Williams an instant to reach 
 Annie's side ; and in another moment she had lifted 
 her in her strong arms and carried her into the 
 cottage, Peggy lifting Nan and following in the 
 rear, while Tiger walked by their sides.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 313 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIIL 
 
 DARK DAYS. 
 
 A WHOLE week had passed, and there were no 
 tidings whatever of little Nan or of Annie Forest. 
 No one at Lavender House had heard a word about 
 them ; the police came and went, detectives even 
 arrived from London, but there were no traces 
 whatever of the missing children. 
 
 The midsummer holiday was now close at hand, 
 but no one spoke of it or thought of it. Mrs. Willis 
 told the teachers that the prizes should be distrib- 
 uted, but she said she could invite no guests an<J 
 ccnld allow of no special festivities. Miss Danes- 
 bury and Miss Good repeated her words to the 
 schoolgirls, who answered without hesitation that 
 they did not wish for feasting and merriment ; they 
 would rather the day passed unnoticed. In truth, 
 the fact that their baby was gone, that their favorite 
 and prettiest and brightest schoolmate had also dis- 
 appeared, caused such gloom, such distress, such 
 apprehension that even the most thoughtless of 
 those girls could scarcely have laughed or been 
 merry. School-hours were still kept after a fashion, 
 but there was no life in the lessons. In truth, it 
 seemed as if the sun would never shine again at 
 Lavender House.
 
 314 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 Hester was ill; not very ill she had no fever, 
 she had no cold ; she had, as the good doctor ex- 
 plained it, nothing- at all wrong, except that her 
 nervous system had got a shock. 
 
 " When the little one is found, Miss Hetty will be 
 quite well again," said the good doctor ; but the 
 little one had not been found yet, and Hester had 
 completely broken down. She lay on her bed, say- 
 ing little or nothing, eating scarcely anything, 
 sleeping not at all. All the girls were kind to her 
 and each one in the school took turns in trying to 
 comfort her; but no one could win a smile from 
 Hester, and even Mrs. Willis failed utterly to reach 
 or touch her heart. 
 
 Mr. Everard came once to see her, but he had 
 scarcely spoken many words when Hester broke into 
 an agony of weeping and begged him to go away. 
 He shook his head when he left her and said sadly 
 to himself : 
 
 " That girl has got something on her mind ; she is 
 grieving for more than the loss of her little sister." 
 
 The twentieth of June came at last, and the girls 
 sat about in groups in the pleasant shady garden, 
 and talked of the very sad breaking-up day they 
 were to have on the morrow, and wondered if, when 
 they returned to school again, Annie and little Nan 
 would have been found. Cecil Temple, Dora 
 Russell, and one or two others were sitting together 
 and whispering in low voices. Mary Price joined 
 them, and said anxiously : 
 
 " I don't think the doctor is satisfied about Hester
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 315 
 
 Perhaps I ought not to have listened, but I heard 
 him talking to Miss Danesbury just now ; he said! 
 she must be got to sleep somehow, and she is to have 
 a composing draught to-night." 
 
 " I wish poor Hetty would not turn away from us 
 all," said Cecil ; " I wish she would not quite give 
 up hope ; I do feel sure that Nan and Annie will be 
 found yet." 
 
 " Have you been praying about it, Cecil ?" asked 
 Mary, kneeling on the grass, laying her elbows on 
 Cecil's knees and Poking into her face. " Do you 
 say this because you have faith ?" 
 
 " I have prayed and I have faith," replied Cecil in 
 her simple, earnest way. " Why, Dora, what is the 
 matter ?" 
 
 "Only that us horrid to leave like this," said 
 Dora ; " I I thought my last day at school would 
 have been so different and somehow I am sorry I 
 spoke so much against that poor little Annie." 
 
 Here Cecil suddenly rose from her seat, and 
 going up to Dora, clasped her arms round her 
 neck. 
 
 " Thank you, Dora," she said with fervor ; " I love 
 you for those words." 
 
 " Here comes Susy," remarked Mary Price. " I 
 really don't think anything would move Susy ; she's 
 just as stolid and indifferent as ever. Ah, Susy, 
 here's a place for you oh, what is the matter with 
 Phyllis ? see how she's rushing toward us ! Phyllis, 
 my dear, don't break your neck." 
 
 Susan, with her usual nonchalance, seated herself.
 
 3x0 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 by DOI-A Russell's side. Phyllis burst excitedly into 
 the group. 
 
 " I think," she exclaimed, " I really, really do think 
 that news has come of Annie's father. Nora said 
 that Janet told her that a foreign letter came this 
 morning to Mrs. Willis, and somebody saw Mrs. 
 Willis talking to Miss Danesbury oh, I forgot, 
 only I know that the girls of the school are whis- 
 pering the news that Mrs. Willis cried, and Miss 
 Danesbury said, ' After waiting for him four years, 
 and now, when he comes back, he won't find her !' 
 Oh dear, oh dear ! there is Danesbury. Cecil, dar- 
 ling love, go to her, and find out the truth." 
 
 Cecil rose at once, went across the lawn, said a 
 few words to Miss Danesbury, and came back to the 
 other girls. 
 
 " It is true," she said sadly, " there came a letter 
 this morning from Captain Forest ; he will be at 
 Lavender House in a week. Miss Danesbury says 
 it is a wonderful letter, and he has been shipwrecked^ 
 and on an island by himself for ever so long ; but 
 he is safe now, and will soon be in England. Miss 
 Danesbury says Mrs. Willis can scarcely speak about 
 that letter ; she is in great, great trouble, and Miss 
 Danesbury confesses that they are all more anxious 
 than they dare to admit about Annie and little 
 Nan." 
 
 At this moment the sound of carriage wheels was 
 heard on the drive, and Susan, peering forward to 
 see who was arriving, remarked in her usual non- 
 chalant manner :
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 317 
 
 "Only the little Misses Bruce in their basket- 
 carriage what dull -looking women they are." 
 
 Nobody commented, however, on her observation, 
 and gradually the little group of girls sank into ab- 
 solute silence. 
 
 From where they sat they could see the basket- 
 carriage waiting at the front entrance the little 
 ladies had gone inside, all was perfect silence and 
 stillness. 
 
 Suddenly on the stillness a sound broke the 
 sound of a girl running quickly ; nearer and nearer 
 came the steps, and the four or five who sat together 
 under the oak-tree noticed the quick panting breath, 
 and felt even before a word was uttered that evil 
 tidings were coming to them. They all started to 
 their feet, however ; they all uttered a cry of horror 
 and distress when Hester herself broke into their 
 midst. She was supposed to be lying down in a 
 darkened room, she was supposed to be very ill 
 what was she doing here ? 
 
 " Hetty !" exclaimed Cecil. 
 
 Hester pushed past her ; she rushed up to Susan 
 Drummond, and seized her arm. 
 
 " News has come !" she panted ; " news news at 
 last ! Nan is found ! and Annie they are both 
 found but Annie is dying. Come, Susan, come 
 this moment; we must both tell what we know 
 now." 
 
 By her impetuosity, by the intense fire of her pas- 
 sion and agony, even Susan was electrified into leav- 
 ing her seat and going with her.
 
 318 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 TWO CONFESSIONS. 
 
 HESTER dragged her startled and rather unwilling 
 companion in through the front entrance, past some 
 agitated-looking servants who stood about in the 
 hall, and through the velvet curtains into Mrs. Wil- 
 lis' boudoir. 
 
 The Misses Bruce were there, and Mrs. Willis in 
 Tier bonnet and cloak was hastily packing some 
 things into a basket. 
 
 "I I must speak to you," said Hester, going up 
 to her governess. "Susan and I have got some- 
 thing to say, and we must say it here, now at 
 once." 
 
 " No, not now, Hester," replied Mrs. Willis look- 
 ing for a moment into her pupil's agitated face. 
 "Whatever you and Susan Drummond have to tell 
 cannot be listened to by me at this moment. I have 
 not an instant to lose." 
 
 " You are going to Annie ?" asked Hester. 
 
 " Yes ; don't keep me. Good-bye, my dears ; 
 good-bye." 
 
 Mrs. Willis moved toward the door. Hester, who 
 felt almost beside herself, rushed after her, and 
 caught her arm.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 319 
 
 "Take us with you, take Susy and me with you 
 we must, we must see Annie before she dies." 
 
 " Hush, my child," said Mrs. Willis very quietly; 
 " try to calm yourself. Whatever you have got to 
 say shall be listened to later on now moments are 
 precious, and I cannot attend to you. Calm your- 
 self, Hester, and thank God for your dear little sis- 
 ter's safety. Prepare yourself to receive her, for 
 the carriage which takes me to Annie will bring 
 little Nan home. 
 
 Mrs. Willis left the room,' and Hester threw her- 
 self on her knees and covered her face with her 
 trembling hands. Presently .she was aroused 
 by a light touch on her arm ; it was Susan Drum- 
 mond. 
 
 " I may go now I suppose, Hester ? You are not 
 quite determined to make a fool of me, are you ?" 
 
 " I have determined to expose you, you coward ; 
 you mean, mean girl ?" answered Hester, springing 
 to her feet. " Come, I have no idea of letting you 
 go. Mrs. Willis won't listen we will find Mr. 
 Everard." * 
 
 Whether Susan would really have gone with Hes- 
 ter remains to be proved, but just at that moment 
 all possibility of retreat was cut away from her by 
 Miss Agnes Bruce, who quietly entered Mrs. Willis' 
 private sitting-room, followed by the very man 
 Hester was about to seek. 
 
 "I thought it best, my dear," she said, turning 
 apologetically to Hester, " to go at once for our good 
 clergyman ; you can tell him all that is in your
 
 320 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 heart, and I will leave you. Before I go, however, 
 I should like to tell you ho\ I found Annie and 
 little Nan." 
 
 Hester made no answer ; just for a brief moment 
 she raised her eyes to Miss Agnes' kind face, then 
 they sought the floor. 
 
 "The story can be told in a few words, dear," said 
 the little lady. "A workwoman of the name of 
 Williams, whom my sister and I have employed 
 for years, and who lives near Oakley, called on us 
 this morning to apologize for not being able to 
 finish some needlework. She told us that she had 
 a sick child, and also a little girl of three, in her 
 house. She said she had found the child, in ragged 
 gypsy garments, fainting in a field. She took her 
 into her house, and on undressing her, found that 
 she was no true gypsy, but that her face and hands 
 and arms had been dyed ; she said the little one had 
 been treated in a similar manner.' Jane's suspicions 
 and mine were instantly roused, and we went back 
 with the woman to Oakley, and found, as we had 
 anticipated, that the children were little Nan and 
 Annie. The sad thing is that Annie is in high 
 fever, and knows no one. We waited there until 
 the doctor arrived, who spoke very, very seriously 
 of her case. Little Nan is well, and asked for 
 you." 
 
 With these last words Miss Agnes Bruce softly 
 left the room closing the door. after her. 
 
 " Now, Susan," said Hester, without an instant's 
 pause ; " come, let us tell Mr. Everard of our
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 321 
 
 wickedness. Oh, sir," she added, raising her 
 eyes to the clergyman's face, "if Annie dies I 
 shall go mad. Oh, I cannot, cannot bear life if 
 Annie dies !" 
 
 " Tell me what is wrong, my poor child," said 
 Mr. Everard. He laid his hand on her shoulder, 
 and gradually and skillfully drew from the 
 agitated and miserable girl the story of her sin, of 
 her cowardice, and of her deep, though until now 
 unavailing repentance. How from the first she had 
 hated and disliked Annie ; how unjustly she had 
 felt toward her; how she had longed and hoped 
 Annie was guilty ; and how, when at last the clue 
 was put into her hands to prove Annie's absolute 
 innocence, she had determined not to use it. 
 
 " From the day Nan was lost," continued Hester, 
 " it has been all agony and all repentance ; but, oh, 
 I was too proud to tell ! I was too proud to humble 
 myself to the very dust !" 
 
 " But not now," said the clergyman, very gently. 
 
 " No, no ; not now. I care for nothing now in all 
 the world except that Annie may live." 
 
 " You don't mind the fact that Mrs. Willis and all 
 your schoolfellows must know of this, and must 
 must judge you accordingly ?" 
 
 " They can't think worse of me than I think of 
 myself. I only want Annie to live." 
 
 " No, Hester," answered Mr. Everard, " you want 
 more than that you want far more than that. It 
 may be that God will take Annie Forest away. 
 We cannot tell. With Him alone are the issues of
 
 322 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 life or death. What you really want, mj child, 1% 
 the forgiveness of the little girl you have wronged, 
 and the forgiveness of your Father in heaven." 
 
 Hester began to sob wildly. 
 
 " If if she dies may I see her first ?" she 
 gasped. 
 
 " Yes ; I will try and promise you that. Now, 
 will you go to your room ? I must speak to 
 Miss Drummond alone : she is a far worse culprit 
 than you.". 
 
 Mr. Everard opened the door for Hester, who 
 went silently out. 
 
 " Meet me in the chapel to-night," he whispered 
 low in her ear, " I will talk with you and pray with 
 you there." 
 
 He closed the door, and came back to Susan. 
 
 All throughout this interview his manner had 
 been very gentle to Hester; but the clergyman 
 could be stern, and there was a gleam of very right- 
 eous anger in his eyes as he turned to the sullen 
 girl who leaned heavily against the table. 
 
 "This narrative of Hester Thornton's is, of 
 course, quite true, Miss Drummond ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ; there seems to be no use in denying 
 that;" said Susan. 
 
 " I must insist on your telling me the exact story 
 of your sin. There is no use in your attempting to 
 deny anything ; only the utmost candor on your 
 part can now save you from being publicly 
 expelled." 
 
 "I am willing to tell," answered Susan. "I
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 323 
 
 meant no harm ; it was done as a bit of fun. I had 
 a cousin at home who was very clever at drawing 
 caricatures, and I happened to have nothing to do 
 one day, and I was alone in Annie's bedroom, and I 
 thought I'd like to see what she kept in her desk. 
 I always had a fancy for collecting odd keys, and I 
 found one on my bunch which fitted her desk 
 exactly. I opened it, and I found such a smart 
 little caricature of Mrs. Willis. I sent the caricature 
 to my cousin, and begged of her to make an exact 
 copy of it. She did so, and I put Annie's back in 
 her desk, and pasted the other into Cecil's book. I 
 didn't like Dora Russell, and I wrapped up the 
 sweeties in her theme ; but I did the other for pure 
 fun, for I knew Cecil would be so shocked ; but I never 
 guessed the blame would fall on Annie. When I 
 found it did, I felt inclined to tell once or twice, but 
 it seemed too much trouble and, besides, I knew 
 Mrs. Willis would punish me, and, of course, I didn't 
 wish that. 
 
 " Dora Russell was always very nasty to me, and 
 when I found she was putting on such airs, and pre- 
 tending she could write such a grand essay for the 
 prize, I thought I'd take down her pride a bit. I 
 went to her desk, and I got some of the rough copy 
 of the thing she was calling ' The River,' and I sent 
 it off to my cousin, and my cousin made up such a 
 ridiculous paper, and she hit off Dora's writing to 
 the life, and, of course, I had to put it into Dora's 
 desk and tear up her real copy. It was very 
 unlucky Hester being in the room. Of course I
 
 324 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 never guessed that, or I wouldn't have gone. That 
 was the night we all went with Annie to the fairies' 
 field. I never meant to get Hester into a scrape, 
 nor Annie either, for that matter ; but, of course, I 
 couldn't be expected to tell on myself." 
 
 Susan related her story in her s ual monotonous 
 and sing-song voice. There was no trace of appar- 
 ent emotion on her face, or of regret in her tones. 
 When she had finished speaking Mr. Everard was 
 absolutely silent. 
 
 " I took a great deal of trouble, " continued Susan, 
 after a pause, in a slightly fretful key. "It was 
 really nothing but a joke, and I don't see why such a 
 fuss should have been made. I know I lost a great 
 deal of sleep trying to manage that twine business 
 round my foot. I don't think I shall trouble 
 myself playing any more tricks upon schoolgirls 
 they are not worth it." 
 
 "You'll never play anymore tricks on these girls," 
 said Mr. Everard, rising to his feet, and suddenly fill- 
 ing the room and reducing Susan to an abject silence 
 by the ring of his stern, deep voice. " I take it upon 
 me, in the absence of your mistress, to pronounce your 
 punishment. You leave Lavender House in disgrace 
 this evening. Miss Good will take you home, and 
 explain to your parents the cause of your dismissal. 
 You are not to see any of your schoolfellows again. 
 Your meanness, your cowardice, your sin require no 
 words on my part to deepen their vileness. Through 
 pure wantonness you have cast a cruel shadow on an 
 innocent young life. If that girl dies, you indeed are
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 325 
 
 not blameless in the cause of her early removal, for 
 through you her heart and spirit were broken. Miss 
 Drummond, I pray God you may at least repent and 
 be sorry. There are some people mentioned in the 
 Bible who are spoken of as past feeling. Wretched 
 girl, while there is yet time, pray that you may not 
 belong to them. Now I must leave you, but I shall 
 lock you in. Miss Good will come for you in about 
 an hour to take you away." 
 
 Susan Drummond sank down on the nearest seat, 
 and began to cry softly ; one or two pin-pricks from 
 Mr. Everard's stern words may possibly have reached 
 her shallow heart no one can tell. She left Laven- 
 der House that evening, and none of the girls who 
 had lived with her as their schoolmate heard of her 
 again.
 
 326 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 THE HEART OF LITTLE NAN. 
 
 FOR SEVERAL days now Annie had lain unconscious 
 in Mrs. Williams' little bedroom ; the kind-hearted 
 woman could not find it in her heart to send the sick 
 child away. Her husband and the neighbors expos- 
 tulated with her, and said that Annie was only a 
 poor little waif. 
 
 " She has no call on you," said Jane Allen, a hard- 
 featured woman who lived next door. " Why should 
 you put yourself out just for a sick lass ? and she'll 
 .be much better off in the workhouse infirmary." 
 
 But Mrs. Williams shook her head at her hard- 
 featured and hard-hearted neighbor, and resisted her 
 husband's entreaties. 
 
 "Eh?" she said, "but the poor lamb needs a good 
 bit of mothering, and I misdoubt me she wouldn't 
 get much of that in the infirmary." 
 
 So Annie stayed, and tossed from side to side of 
 her little bed, and murmured unintelligible words, 
 and grew daily a little weaker and a little more de- 
 lirious. The parish doctor called, and shook his 
 head over her ; he was not a particularly clever man, 
 but he was the best the Williamses could afford. 
 While Annie suffered and went deeper into that
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 327 
 
 valley of humiliation and weakness which leads to 
 the gate of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, little 
 Nan played with Peggy Williams, and accustomed 
 herself after the fashion of little children to all the 
 ways of her new and humble home. 
 
 It was on the eighth day of Annie's fever that the 
 Misses Bruce discovered her, and on the evening of 
 that day Mrs. Willis knelt by her little favorite's 
 bed. A better dx>ctor had been called in, and all 
 that money could procure had been got now for poor 
 Annie ; but the second doctor considered her case 
 even more critical, and said that the close air of the 
 cottage was much against her recovery. 
 
 " I didn't make that caricature ; I took the girls 
 into the fairies' field, but I never pasted that carica- 
 ture into Cecil's book. I know you don't believe 
 me, Cecil ; but do you think I would really do any- 
 thing so mean about one whom I love ? No, No ! I 
 am innocent ! God knows it. Yes, I am glad of 
 that God knows it." 
 
 Over and over in Mrs. Willis' presence these 
 piteous words would come from the fever-stricken 
 child, but always when she came to the little sentence 
 " God knows I am innocent," her voice would grow 
 tranquil, and a faint and sweet smile would play 
 round her lips. 
 
 Late that night a carriage drew up at a little 
 distance from the cottage, and a moment or two 
 afterward Mrs. Willis was called out of the room 
 to speak to Cecil Temple. 
 
 " I have found out the truth about Annie ; I have
 
 328 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 come at once to tell you," she said ; and then she 
 repeated the substance of Hester's and Susan's 
 story. 
 
 " God help me for having misjudged her," mur- 
 mured the head-mistress ; then she bade Cecil " good- 
 night " and returned to the sick-room. 
 
 The next time Annie broke out with her piteous 
 wail, " They believe me guilty Mrs. Willis does 
 they all do," the mistress laid her Jiand with a firm 
 and gentle pressure on the child's arm. 
 
 " Not now, my dear," she said, in a slow, clear, 
 and emphatic voice. " God has shown your governess 
 the truth, and she believes in you." 
 
 The very carefully-uttered words pierced through 
 the clouded brain ; for a moment Aniiki lay quite 
 still, with her bright and lovely eyes fixed on her 
 teacher. 
 
 " Is that really you ?" she asked. 
 
 " I am here, my darling." 
 
 " And you believe in me ?" 
 
 " I do, most absolutely." 
 
 " God does, too, you know," answered Annie 
 bringing out the words quickly, and turning her head 
 to the other side. The fever had once more gained 
 supremacy, and she rambled on unceasingly through 
 the dreary night. 
 
 Now, however, when the passionate words broke 
 out, " They believe me guilty," Mrs. Willis always 
 managed to quiet her by saying, " I know you are 
 innocent." 
 
 The next day at noon those girls who had not
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 329 
 
 gone home for many had started by the morning 
 train were wandering aimlessly about the grounds. 
 
 Mr. Everard had gone to see Annie, and had 
 promised to bring back the latest tidings about 
 her. 
 
 Hester, holding little Nan's hand for she could 
 scarcely bear to have her recovered treasure out of 
 sight had wandered away from the rest of her 
 companions, and had seated herself with Nan under 
 a large oak-tree which grew close to the entrance 
 of the avenue. She had come here in order to be 
 the very first to see Mr. Everard on his return. 
 Nan had climbed into Hester's lap, and Hester had 
 buried her aching head in little Nan's bright curls, 
 when she started suddenly to her feet and ran 
 forward. Her quick ears had detected the sound of 
 wheels. 
 
 How soon Mr. Everard had returned ; surely the 
 news was bad ! She flew to the gate, and held it 
 open in order to avoid the short delay which the 
 lodge-keeper might cause in coming to unfasten it. 
 She flushed, however, vividly, and felt half inclined 
 to retreat into the shade, when she saw that the 
 gentleman who was approaching was not Mr. Ever- 
 ard, but a tall, handsome, and foreign-looking man, 
 who drove a light dog-cart himself. The moment 
 he saw Hester with little Nan clinging to her skirts 
 he stopped short. 
 
 " Is this Lavender House, little girl ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," replied Hester. 
 
 " And can you tell me but of course you know-"*
 
 330 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 you are one of the young ladies who live here, eh ?" 
 Hester nodded. 
 
 " Then you can tell me if Mrs. Willis is at home 
 but of course she is." 
 
 " No, sir," answered Hester ; " I am sorry to tell 
 you that Mrs. Willis is away. She has been called 
 away on very, very sad business ; she won't come 
 back to-night." 
 
 Something in Hester's tone caused the stranger to 
 look at her attentively ; he jumped off the dog-cart 
 and came to her side. 
 
 " See here, Miss " 
 
 " Thornton," put in Hester. 
 
 ''Yes, Miss Miss Thornton, perhaps you can 
 manage for me as well as Mrs. Willis ; after all I 
 don't particularly want to see her. If you belong 
 to Lavender House, you, of course, know my I 
 mean you have a schoolmate here, a little, pretty 
 gypsy rogue called Forest little Annie Forest I 
 want to see her can you take me to her ?" 
 
 " You are her father ?" gasped Hester. 
 
 " Yes, my dear child, I am her father. Now you 
 can take me to her at once." 
 
 Hester covered her face. 
 
 " Oh, I cannot," she said " I cannot take you to 
 Annie. Oh, sir, if you knew all, you would feel 
 inclined to kill me. Don't ask me about Annie 
 don't, don't" 
 
 The stranger looked fairly non-plussed and not a 
 little alarmed. Just at this moment Nan's tiny fin- 
 gers touched his hand.
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 331 
 
 "Me'll take bo to my Annie," she said "mine 
 poor Annie. Annie's vedy sick, but me'll take 'oo." 
 
 The tall, foreign-looking man lifted Nan into his 
 arms. 
 
 " Sick, is she ?" he answered. " Look here young 
 lady," he added, turning to Hester, "whatever you 
 have got to say, I am sure you will try and say it ; 
 you will pity a father's anxiety and master your own 
 feelings. Where is my little girl ?" 
 
 Hester hastily dried her tears. 
 
 *' She is in a cottage near Oakley, sir." 
 
 " Indeed ! Oakley is some miles from here ?" 
 
 " And she is very ill." 
 
 "What of?" 
 
 " Fever ; they they fear she may die." 
 
 ''Take me to her,' said the stranger. "If she is 
 ill and dying she wants me. Take me to her at 
 once. Here, jump on the dog-cart , and, little one, 
 you shall come too. ' 
 
 So furiously did Captain Forest drive that in a 
 very little over an hour's time his panting horse 
 stopped at a few steps from the cottage. He called 
 to a boy to hold him, and, accompanied by Hester, 
 and carrying Nan in his arms, he stood on the 
 threshold of Mrs. Williams' humble little abode Mr. 
 Everard was coming out. 
 
 " Hester," he said, " you here ? I was coming foi 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, then she is worse ?" 
 
 " She is conscious, and has asked for you. Yeq 
 she is very, very ill."
 
 332 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 " Mr. Everard, this gentleman is Annie's father.'* 
 
 Mr. Everard looked pityingly at Captain Forest. 
 
 " You have come back at a sad hour, sir, " he said. 
 " But no, it cannot harm her to see you. Come 
 with me." 
 
 Captain Forest went first into the sick room ; 
 Hester waited outside. She had the little kitchen to 
 herself, for all the Williamses, with the exception of 
 the good mother, had moved for the time being to 
 other quarters. Surely Mr. Everard would come 
 for her in a moment ? Surely Captain Forest, who 
 had gone into the sick-room with Nan in his arms, 
 would quickly return ? There was no sound. All 
 was absolute quiet. How soon would Hester be 
 summoned ? Could she could she bear to look at 
 Annie's dying face ? Her agony drove her down on 
 her knees. 
 
 " Oh, if you- would only spare Annie," she prayed 
 to God. Then she wiped her eyes. This terrible 
 suspense seemed more than she could bear. Sud- 
 denly the bedroom door was softly and silently 
 opened, and Mr Everard came out. 
 
 " She sleeps," he said ; "there is a shadow of hope, 
 Little Nan has done it Nan asked to lie down be- 
 side her, and she said, 'Poor Annie ! poor Annie!' 
 and stroked her cheek ; and in some way, 1 don't 
 know how, the two have gone to sleep together. 
 Annie did not even glance at her father ; she was 
 quite taken up with Nan. You can come to the 
 door and look at her Hester." 
 
 Hester did so. A time had been when she could
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 333 
 
 scarcely have borne that sight without a pang of 
 jealousy ; now she turned to Mr. Everard : 
 
 " I I could even give her the heart of little Naa 
 to keep her here," she murmured.
 
 334 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 THE PRIZE ESSAY. 
 
 ANNIE did not die. The fever passed away 
 in that long and refreshing- sleep, while Nan s 
 cool hand lay against her cheek She came slowly, 
 slowly back to life to a fresh, a new, and a glad 
 life. Hester, from being her enemy, was now her 
 dearest and warmest friend. Her father was at 
 home again, and she could no longer think or speak 
 of herself as lonely or sad. She recovered, and in 
 future days reigned as a greater favorite than ever 
 at Lavender House It is only fair to say that 
 Tiger never went back to the gypsies, but devoted 
 himself first and foremost to Annie, and then to the 
 captain, who pronounced him a capital dog. and 
 when he heard his story vowed he never would part 
 with him. 
 
 Owing to Annie's illness, and to all the trouble 
 and confusion which immediately ensued, Mrs. Willis 
 did not give away her prizes at the usual time ; but 
 when her scholars once more assembled at Lavender 
 House she astonished several of them by a few 
 words 
 
 "My dears," she said, standing in her accustomed 
 place at the head of the long schoolroom, " I intend
 
 A WORLD OF GIRLS. 335 
 
 now before our first day of lessons begins, to distrib- 
 ute those prizes which would have been yours, under 
 ordinary circumstances, on the twenty first of June 
 The prizes will be distributed during the afternoon 
 recess , but here, and now. I wish to say something 
 about and also to give away the prize for English 
 composition. Six essays, all written with more or 
 less care, have been given to me to inspect. There 
 are reasons which we need not now go into which 
 made it impossible for me to say anything in favor of 
 a theme called The River, written by my late 
 pupil, Miss Russell , but I can cordially praise a very 
 nice historical sketch of Marie Antoinette, the work 
 of Hester Thornton. Mary Price has also written a 
 study which pleases me much, as it shows thought 
 and even a little originality. The remainder of the 
 six essays simply reach an ordinary average. You 
 will be surprised therefore, my dears, to learn that I 
 do not award the prize to any of these themes, but 
 rather to a seventh composition, which was put into 
 my hands yesterday by Miss Danesbury. It is crude 
 and unfinished, and doubtless but for her recent ill- 
 ness would have received many corrections ; but 
 these few pages which are called A Lonely Child,' 
 drew tears from my eyes ; crude as they are, they 
 have the merit of real originality They are too 
 morbid to read to you, girls, and I sincerely trust 
 and pray the young writer may never pen anything 
 so sad again Such as they are, however, they rank 
 first in the order of merit and the prize is hers, 
 Annie, my dear, come forward."
 
 336 A WORLD OF GIRLS, 
 
 Annie left her seat, and, amid the cheers of her 
 companions, went up to Mrs. Willis, who placed a 
 locket attached to a slender gold chain, round her 
 neck . the locket contained a miniature of the head- 
 mistress' much-loved face. 
 
 "After all, think of our Annie Forest turning out 
 clever as well as being the prettiest and dearest girl 
 in the school !" exclaimed several of her com- ' 
 panions. 
 
 "Only I do wish, 1 ' added one, "that Mrs. Willis 
 had let us see the essay Annie, treasure, come 
 here tell us what the ' Lonely Child was about." 
 
 "I don't remember, answered Annie. 'I don't 
 know what loneliness means now, so how can I de- 
 scribe it?" 
 
 THE IWD
 
 ONE TRUE HEART 
 
 3Y FRANCES HENSHAW BADEN
 
 ONE TRUE HEART 
 
 A PLEASANT, gentle-looking girl was seated under 
 the shade of a great oak tree. There was a wistful 
 look in her brown eyes, as she followed the form of 
 a handsome, dashing-looking fellow going down the 
 path, with a brilliant little beauty hanging on his arm. 
 
 " Oh, I wish it was time to go ! I just hate picnics," 
 she was saying to herself, when lounging, careless and 
 free, came Tom Howard, and said: 
 
 " Everybody has paired off but you and me, Miss 
 Grayson. Oh, I'm not going to call you so. My sis- 
 ters call you Annie, and I think I might. You are 
 tired, I see, and the day not half spent. Come! I'm 
 going to try and make myself agreeable, and perhaps 
 the hours may be endured until the going-home time 
 comes. Now, Annie, I know what you were thinking 
 about when I came up." 
 
 Annie shook her head, and said: 
 
 " Indeed you do not." 
 
 "Very well, if I'm right, you will own up?' 
 
 A smiling assent from Annie. 
 
 4k You were hating picnics, because a certain hand- 
 some tellow is devoting himself to a would-be belle ! " 
 
 Annie blushed so deeply that Tom said: 
 
 "That's all right. I have a knack of reading 
 looks. I'm glad you are not an acknowledged beauty, 
 Annie. I detest having to talk to such girls. One
 
 4 One True Heart 
 
 has got to keep, while with them, the same look of ad- 
 miration on his face, and neither see nor hear anybody 
 else. It is really good to have a sensible girl to 
 talk to." 
 
 " Indeed, I'd just like to be as pretty as Miss Oak- 
 ley! Just see how Harry keeps beside her." An- 
 nie's lips quivered just a little then. Ah, she had let 
 her secret slip out! 
 
 Tom felt as if he would enjoy giving Harry Cleve- 
 land a good thrashing. He felt sure he had been 
 trifling with the gentle girl's heart. But Tom thought 
 changing the conversation would help matters just 
 then. 
 
 " Have you ever spent a winter in town, Annie?" 
 
 \nnie never had; but said: 
 
 ' I would like to, ever so much." 
 
 "Katie has mother's commands to either bring 
 you, or the promise of your coming before Christ- 
 mas," Tom said. "And, then, I'll promise you the 
 gayest time you ever had." 
 
 On and on Tom talked, telling of the "time" they 
 had last season, and relating anecdotes and jokes, so 
 that, notwithstanding an occasional sigh, when Harry 
 came in sight, Annie was surprised when some one 
 called : 
 
 "The boat is coming!" 
 
 Tom managed to catch Harry alone on the way 
 home, and say: 
 
 "Cleveland, since I've been visiting down here I've 
 heard your name connected with Miss Grayson's. 
 Now, I want to know if I will be trespassing on sornp- 
 body else's ground?" 
 
 "'No, indeed; not mine. Annie is the dearest Jit tie
 
 One True Heart 3 
 
 friend in the world. That's all. Possibly in time 
 there is no "knowing but I might have been rash 
 enough -V: well ah! excuse me, there is Miss 
 Oakley, beautiful and rich. Good evening. You 
 have my best wishes." 
 
 "The consummate puppy. He is not worthy of 
 her. Never mind. My name's not Tom Howard if 
 I don't change his tune in less than six months." 
 
 Annie Grayson and Tom Howard's sister were 
 schoolmates. A sweet, simple, country girl was An- 
 nie, never having b^cn farther than the little town of 
 P , where t'--. seminary was. 
 
 Harrv Cleveland had been visiting an uncle in the 
 neigh oorhood for a few weeks, during which time he 
 bd amused himself with the gentle little Annie. 
 
 And she, poor girl, thought her heart must break 
 when Harry left her to follow in the train with Miss 
 Oakley's admirers. 
 
 Annie's father was only a "well-to-uu -.iner." 
 And it cost him a consid r?ble effort tc give his daugh- 
 ter a suitable fit-out or a winter in town; but Annie 
 had grown so sac* ie was glad to let her go. Annie 
 had not entirel \ cast Harry from her heart. Some 
 little hope of seeing him and winning him back lin- 
 gered still when she arrived in B . 
 
 What Tom had been doing I cannot just tell, but 
 somehow, to Annie''s immense surprise, the evening 
 of her arrival she found herself surrounded by a half 
 dozen very pleasant young gentlemen, each ont seem- 
 ing to vie with the other in attentions to her. En- 
 gagements for the opera, concert and lectures were 
 made for her. In a few words, in less than a week 
 after she reacned B , Annie Grayson was an %c-
 
 6 One True Heart 
 
 knowled&ed belle. No one called her a beauty. But 
 one raved over her "bronze eyes;" another, her 
 charming naiveti; a third, her sylph-like form. An 
 artist friend of Tom's wanted to paint her picture. 
 He, of course, knew true beauty. That was enough. 
 It was the fashion to have De Vere paint one's por- 
 trait; and so, in a few weeks, Annie Grayson's picture 
 was on exhibition in De Vere's studio. One would 
 hardly have credited the change those weeks had 
 wrought in the simple country girl, and for the better, 
 too. She was not spoiled at all only pleased and 
 happy. She grew very easy and graceful in her man- 
 ner. Her eyes were brighter, and laughing. She 
 had gotten entirely over the wound made by Harry 
 Cleveland, and was heart-whole and free for a while. 
 Frequently she met Miss Oakley with Harry, but no 
 longer she sighed for her beauty. Once or twice he 
 had called, but finding Annie always with pleasant 
 company, troubled himself no further. What it was 
 that first drew so many admirers around Annie, Torn 
 knew best; but no one wondered that she endeared 
 herself to a^. who knew her. 
 
 Whispers were afloat that Miss OakJey's riches 
 were in the oil regions, and after a while that no oil 
 was there, consequently no riches for her. What it 
 
 was i can't say; but Miss Oakley went home to P- , 
 
 and Harry did not follow. About this time Harry's 
 aunt came to town, bringing to Annie many little re- 
 membrances from home. 
 
 Of course Harry came with her and somehow 
 managed to get in the way of dropping in occasion- 
 ally, much to the disgust of some of Annie's more per- 
 severing suitors. Harry never could bear opposition.
 
 One True Heart 7 
 
 First, because he wanted to run others oft; and, again, 
 because Miss Grayson was "the fashion" then. 
 Harry began again his lovemaking. Wooing the 
 little rustic and wooing the calm, assured city belle 
 were two different things. 
 
 Annie laughed at him, not believing, or feigning 
 not to believe, a word he said. At length in per- 
 fect desperation, Harry sought Tom, and begged his 
 help. 
 
 "Cleveland, months ago I came to you. I would 
 not have tried to win her from you. You told me to 
 go ahead, I had your best wishes. I cannot under- 
 stand this change " 
 
 " Nor I, Tom. I only know I love her now I do, 
 upon my honor," said Harry. 
 
 "Has not the little piece of fun, the report of an 
 uncle in India, whose heiress she is to be, had this 
 powerful effect?" Tom asked, a contemptuous smile 
 curling his lips. 
 
 "No, no. Of course I know better than that. 
 You remember my aunt's intimate connection with 
 her family. No, Tom, I love her I'd many her to- 
 day, and work for her cheerfully all the days of my 
 life." 
 
 " And Miss Oakley " 
 
 "She ah, well! I only imagined I was in love 
 with her," Harry said, looking considerably em- 
 barrassed. 
 
 "Well, Cleveland, I am not one of Miss Grayson's 
 suitors. If you can win her I shall not oppose you." 
 
 One after another of Annie's lovers had to content 
 themselves with her friendship. Harry grew verj 
 hopeful, and Tom began to think his little game niighi
 
 8 One True Heart 
 
 . 
 not end just as he wished. He could resign her to 
 
 anyone sooner than to Harry Cleveland. There was 
 one young fellow to whom Tom had confessed his 
 joke concerning the India wealth. When he knew 
 Annie was poorer than himself, he wooed her more 
 earnestly. In every way he was worthy of Annie. 
 
 Possibly, for a chance to learn the true state of her 
 heart, Tom went to plead another's cause. 
 
 "Annie, may I speak a word for Noble? Can you 
 not learn to love him? Poor fellow! he quite wor- 
 ships you," Tom said, "and I wish " 
 
 "I wish I was home again," Annie said; and, drop- 
 ping her head, she sobbed like a grieved child. 
 
 "Why, Annie, how can you talk so? What has 
 worried you? Everybody loves you. You ought to 
 be the happiest girl in the world," Tom said, trying to 
 soothe her. 
 
 "I don't want everybody to love me, ^nd every- 
 body don't love me," sobbed Annie. 
 
 " Oh, you unreasonable little girl! Six months ago 
 I found your heart almost breaking for the love of just 
 one. You wanted to be beautiful for his sake. And 
 row that all you wished for is yours, you are not 
 happy. What more can you wish?" 
 
 "I wish I'd never come to town! I wish I just 
 knew I possessed the love of one true heart. What 
 do I want with many?" 
 
 "Annie, I truly believe Harry loves you, if it is 
 about him you are troubled. But I would sooner 
 give you to Noble " 
 
 jhe turned, with her eyes flashing. Whut she 
 would have said was interrupted by Harry's entrance. 
 Tom left the room. A half hour after, with a
 
 One True Heart g 
 
 Step, lae young man came forth, and joining Tom on 
 the porch, said: 
 
 "It is all over with me, Howard. I vould giv& 
 years of my life to recall the last six months. Tlien 1 
 might have won her, and now she is lost to me for- 
 *ver!" 
 
 "Whom does she care for, I'd like to know?" Tom 
 asked. 
 
 Harry shook his head sadly, and passed out a wisei 
 man. Later that afternoon Tom found out. 
 
 " I wish I had tried to win her myself," he s^id. "J 
 shall never love another so well. I wonder if her 
 heart is free? I've a mind to try." 
 
 Annie, Tom's sister, and a little brother sat out on 
 the porch watching the sunset, when the loud report 
 of a gun was heard in the house. The little boy 
 rushed in, and a moment after came flying back, cry- 
 ing: 
 
 "Oh, Tom is shot! Tom is killed!" 
 
 All ran in all but Annie. Without a word she 
 had fallen to the ground. Ten minutes after, when 
 they found her, she was still to all appearance lifeless. 
 
 It was so long before, she opened her eyes that they 
 had grown terribly anxious. 
 
 With a wild look at last she turned from one to the 
 other. Then her gaze rested on one nearest to her. 
 With a glad cry she put forth her arms. 
 
 Tom knew all, then, and kneeling beside het said 
 in a whisper low: 
 
 "My dar 1 ing, my own, be sure of the love of one 
 true heart, Are you satisfied with mine, love*" 
 
 "Are you hurt?" she asked, the warm Biood re- 
 turning to the pale face.
 
 to One True Mean 
 
 "Not the least, only upset by the shock. I would 
 not have minded a considerable hurt for such a cure,'* 
 Tom said. 
 
 And then, when they were alone, he asked again: 
 
 "Are you happy now, Annie?" 
 
 "Who would not be," she answered, "whei suure 
 rf the love of one true heart?"
 
 M
 
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