he very latest and newest development of
school arrangements. Some of them were on the second story and some were
on the third, but all had French windows opening onto long verandas on
which were placed large pots of geraniums or oleanders. The walls were
covered with striped Italian papers, the frieze being color-washed and
decorated with designs of flowers or birds, the woodwork was white, the
beds were enameled white, and the blankets, instead of being cream or
yellow as they are in England, were all of a uniform shade of pale blue,
with blue eider-downs to match. The whole of the house was heated by
radiators, so that the dormitories were always warm, and were used as
studies by the older girls, who did most of their preparation there. A
table with ink-pots stood in the middle of each room, and a large notice
enjoining, "Silence during study hours" hung as a warning over every
fireplace.

Irene was given a vacant bed in No. 3 on the second floor, and found
herself in company with Elsie Craig, Mabel Hughes, and Lorna Carson. For
the first two she felt no attraction, but the last excited her interest
and curiosity. There was an air of mystery about Lorna; she asked
questions but gave little information in return on the subject of her
own concerns. Her bright dark eyes were unfathomable, and she "kept
herself to herself" with a reserved dignity not very common among
schoolgirls of her age. Irene, who loved to chatter, found Lorna a ready
listener, and, although the confidence was not reciprocated and in
consequence the friendship seemed likely to be rather one-sided, it was
a friendship all the same from the very start. At the end of the week,
moreover, something important happened to cement it.

For the first seven days of her residence at the Villa Camellia Irene
had felt herself "goods on approval." Peachy Proctor and her chums had
indeed given her a welcome, but afterwards they had held back a little
as if testing her before offering further intimacy. There seemed to be
some secret bond amongst them, some alliance carefully hidden from the
general public. She caught nods, signs, mysterious words, and veiled
allusions, all of which were instantly suppressed when her presence was
noticed. On the eighth day after arrival she found a note inside her
desk. It was marked--

PRIVATE

This must be opened in _absolute seclusion_

and

its