nough actors, and a dance in the gymnasium.
I'm going to give an afternoon tea, and that's all, I think. They will
have to amuse themselves the rest of the time," finished Arline with a
sigh. "There are so many ifs attached to my plans."

"I predict a busy two weeks for you," said Grace, "but then--"

From the room adjoining, which opened into the living room and was used
as a parlor, came the sound of a slight cough. Grace was on her feet in
an instant. With a bound she sprang toward the curtained archway and,
pushing it aside, peered sharply into the room. It was empty.

"Did you hear some one cough, Arline?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes," replied Arline, who had joined her. "The sound came from in here,
didn't it?"

"So I imagined," declared Grace in a puzzled tone. "Perhaps it came from
the hall. No one could have escaped from here before I reached the door
without my hearing them. It startled me, because we had been talking so
confidentially. I glanced in as we passed the door when we went into the
living room and there wasn't a soul in sight. Whoever coughed a few
moments ago must have slipped into the room and slipped out again."

"Then, whoever it is has heard the very things we didn't wish known!"
exclaimed Arline in consternation. "Now I can't carry out any of my
plans. How perfectly dreadful!"

"Perhaps it was Mrs. Elwood," said Grace hopefully.

"Mrs. Elwood is far too stout to walk so lightly and vanish so rapidly,"
discouraged Arline. "I--it--must have been some one who was trying to
hear."

"If that is the case, the person is in this house and must be found and
sworn to secrecy," said Grace sternly. "I am afraid we were talking too
loudly. However, the person may have only come as far as the door, then
passed on upstairs. Suppose we go up and ask all the girls. We shall
feel better satisfied, and they won't object to being interviewed."

But all efforts to locate the accidental or intentional listener failed.
Many of the girls had not yet come in from their classes, and those whom
Grace found in their rooms had evidently been there for some time.
Kathleen West was among those still out. Miss Ainslee informed her
visitors of this fact with an unmistakable sigh of relief that Grace
interpreted with a slight smile. As she went slowly down the stairs to
the living room, followed by Arline, whose baby face wore an expression
of deepest gloom, the door bell rang and the maid admitted the newspaper
girl