g
the corridors, in and out of every room; girls of all ages and sizes and
shapes, but all to-day bearing an appearance of happiness and animation.
Bright-coloured blouses shone forth in their first splendour; hair-
ribbons stood out stiff and straight; many of the girls carried bunches
of flowers to present to the special mistress for whom they cherished
the fashionable "G.P." (grand passion) so characteristic of school
life.

Flora had a bunch of early daffodils for Claire. Another girl presented
a pot of Roman hyacinths for the decoration of the form-room, a third a
tiny bottle of scent; three separate donors supplied buttonholes of
violets. The atmosphere was full of kindness and affection. Girls
encountering each other would fall into each other's arms with
exclamations of ecstatic affection. "Oh, you precious lamb!"

"My angel child!"

"You dear, old, darling duck!" Claire heard a squat, ugly girl with
spectacles and a turned-up nose addressed as "a princely pet" by an
ardent adorer of fourteen. The mistresses came in for their own share
of adulation--"Darling Miss Gifford, I _do_ adore you!"

"Miss Gifford, darling, you are prettier than ever!"

"Oh, Miss _Gifford_, I was _dying_ to see you!"

The morning flew past, and lunch-time brought the gathering of
mistresses in staff-room. Mademoiselle's greetings were politely
detached, Fraulein was kindly and discursive, Sophie's smile was as
bright as ever, but she did not look well.

"Oh, I'm all right! It's nothing. Only this horrid old pain!" she said
cheerfully. Into her glass of water she dropped three tabloids of
aspirin. Every one had been away for a longer or shorter time, visiting
relatives and friends; they compared experiences; some had enjoyed
themselves, some had not; but they all agreed that they were refreshed
by the change.

"And where have _you_ been?" asked the drawing mistress of Claire, and
exclaimed in surprise at hearing that she had remained in town. "Dear
me, I wish I had known! I've been back a fortnight. We might have done
something together. Weren't you _dull_?" asked the drawing mistress,
staring with curious eyes.

"Very!" answered poor Claire, and for a moment struggled with a horrible
inclination to cry.

After lunch Miss Bates took her cup of coffee to Claire's side, and made
an obvious attempt to be pleasant.

"I feel quite remorseful to think of your holidays. It's astonishing
how little we mistresses kn