condemnatory words her aunt so
often used, but the anguish they awoke was as nothing to the awful
shame that descended upon her soul in the avalanche of those unknown
words. "Impertinent," she remembered to have heard somewhere before.
It meant something deadly--but what shameless depths might not be
revealed by "reprehensible"? And, oh dear, oh dear, she had intended
to be so wise and so grown-up, and be her teacher's right hand. The
beautiful teacher she loved so! That was the tragedy of poor
Elizabeth's life, she was always hurting someone she loved. What a
dreary twist of fate it was that when one's intentions were the best
one was always most--"reprehensible"! The tears came dripping down
upon the blue pinafore. She remembered with dismay that she had no
handkerchief. She had forgotten hers in her hurry, and Mary had said
she might use hers if she needed it. But she dared not even look in
Mary's direction, knowing there were rows of curious eyes down there
all turned upon her. So she wiped the tears away on her pinafore, a
proceeding which Aunt Margaret had characterized as positively vulgar,
but Elizabeth knew that in Miss Hillary's opinion of her nothing
mattered any more.

The new teacher finished her interrupted address, and began the regular
work of the school. Elizabeth was forgotten, and slowly came up from
the depths of despair, mounting on the wings of future glory. Miss
Hillary would be sorry some day--some day when she, Elizabeth Gordon,
high on her white charger, with her velvet cloak streaming behind, rode
swiftly past the schoolhouse, never glancing in. Yes, Miss Hillary
might weep and wring her hands and declare she had made an awful
mistake in regard to Lizzie Gordon, but it would be too late.

Vastly encouraged by these dreams, the heroine of them dried her tears,
and sat listening to what was going on about her. Miss Hillary was
calling each class forward, taking down their names, and testing their
abilities in reading, spelling, and a few other subjects. The primary
class was on the floor, and Archie was standing, straight and sturdy,
right before his sister. Elizabeth did not dare raise her head, but
she peeped at her little brother from under her tangle of hair. She
did hope Archie would lift the name of Gordon from the mire in which
she had dragged it.

Archie was certainly conducting himself manfully. He spelled every
word the teacher gave him, added like lightning, and