ng. Now
you see for yourself that you mustn't meddle with me. Best not. I 'm
all fire, I am; I 'm all glow, I am; I 'm all spirit, I am. There 's
no harm done, but would you like to hold the little cat while I remove
the sheet? Then you 'll be as tidy as possible, and you 'd best get to
bed, Leuchy. I 'll undress you after I have settled my cat. Here,
hold the small thing for a minute while I straighten things up.'

But Leucha, who at first was speechless with horror, now raised her
voice to a mighty roar of indignation.

'How dare you? How dare you? You wicked, ugly little girl! I can't
abide the sight of you! And to put a cat in my bed--a cat and cream,
forsooth! You don't get out of this scrape so easily as you think,
Miss _Jack_. I 'm going down this minute to speak to Mrs Macintyre.'

'All right,' said Holly. 'I think you might do worse. I was willing
to be friends with you, but you wouldn't have it, so now I 'm t' other
way round, and I 'm thinking that I 'll carry most of the lassies with
me. But go, Leuchy. I meant to vex you, and I 'm not denying it. I
would have been different, but your haughty spirit forbade it; so now I
'm your chosen enemy, and you 'll have to fight me along with those in
the school who like me better than you.'

But Leucha's fury had risen to its height. She dashed up to Hollyhock
and gave her a resounding smack on her right cheek. Hollyhock was
holding the cat, who, in the struggle, gave Leucha a savage scratch on
the hand, that lily-white hand of which she was so proud. It was a
great scratch going right across the back of the hand. In a moment
Leucha had fled from the room to seek Mrs Macintyre. Hollyhock flew
into her own chamber, put wee Jean carefully and tenderly into the
basket in which she had brought her from The Garden, stroked her for a
minute to cause her to purr again, cut a hole or two in the lid of the
basket to give the poor beast air, and then shoved cat and basket under
her bed.

Instantly she returned to Leucha's room, took off the injured white
covering, shoved it into the soiled clothes-basket, turned down the
sheets, made the room look perfectly nice and tidy, removed the saucer,
which she carried into her own room and hid, also under the bed.

She then sat and waited for events. They were not long in coming.
Leucha's anger was something prodigious. She forgot all about the
really frightful smack she had given Hollyhock on her rosy chee