nfortunate remark. Little though
Miss Upjohn had encouraged her, Miss Briggs felt that she must go back
and tell the head-mistress this latest information. So she did, though
she was received very coldly.

Miss Upjohn heard her to the end without making any comment, and then
she said, 'I am sure you only wished to perform an unpleasant duty in
repeating this conversation, and I am obliged to you for telling me, as
I will speak to Vava Wharton to-morrow and hear her explanation, which I
am sure will be satisfactory. Good-evening, Miss Briggs.' And Miss
Upjohn held out her hand with a kind smile.

Miss Briggs went away far from satisfied. She thought Miss Upjohn very
credulous and prejudiced in Vava's favour, and the unworthy thought came
into her head that it was because she was a protegee of the chairman of
their board of governors. 'And because of that she won't believe a word
against her,' said the young mistress to herself. Then, being, as has
already been seen, a most meddlesome person, she had no sooner arrived
at her lodgings than she sat down and wrote a letter to no less a person
than Mr. Montague Jones, who read it aloud at breakfast to his wife.

'I'm going right to the City school to get to the bottom of this, and
give that "meddlesome Mattie" a piece of my mind,' he said in an annoyed
tone.

'But the letter is marked "Private and confidential," Monty,' protested
his wife.

'I'll "private and confidential" her. You haven't any right to libel any
one confidentially, and I'll make her eat her words, daring to accuse my
little Vava of looking at examination papers, and Scripture examination
papers too! The woman must be an idiot!' cried the irate man.

'Pray be moderate in your expressions, Monty, and don't go up there
storming at every one because they don't believe in Vava as much as you
do,' remonstrated his wife.

Mr. Jones turned on her indignantly. 'You don't believe this humbug, I
should hope?' he inquired.

'No, of course not, because I know the child; but I must own it looks
suspicious, and if you take my advice you'll have a talk with Vava, and,
without betraying Miss Briggs, get her to explain it all to you; there's
some explanation, I have no doubt,' suggested Mrs. Montague Jones.

This was very sensible advice, and Mr. Jones was in the habit of
blustering first, and then calming down and listening to his wife's
shrewd suggestions; and this was what he did in the present case, though
he we