alone.

Miss Briggs looked so ashamed of herself that Miss Upjohn was sorry for
her; but what she said to her young assistant no one knew, for the story
never went any further.

Vava never thought of her unpleasant experience with Miss Briggs after
that day, except to feel that it had done good instead of harm, for the
young mistress went out of her way to be pleasant to the girl she had
wrongfully accused, which Vava thought very nice of her, as it had never
been proved that she had not moved those papers. Perhaps she would not
have been so grateful to Miss Briggs if she had known that it had been
proved to have been some one else.

The facts of the case were that another mistress had taken them by
mistake, and in her hurry just put them back inside the door. Miss
Upjohn was very glad to have this explanation, not that she doubted
Vava, but because she thought it would show Miss Briggs how easily one
may be suspicious without cause. And, if the truth be told, it was not
till she heard this that Miss Briggs did quite believe in Vava's
innocence. So that it did teach her a lesson.

Vava was called into the head-mistress's study that morning, and went in
looking very hot and indignant, but came out smiling, and said to
Doreen, 'It's all right.'

'What's all right?' demanded Doreen, staring.

'Oh I forgot you know nothing about it. Well, it does not matter; it was
only something that was bothering me, and it's all right now. Miss
Upjohn is a brick,' explained Vava.

'I knew _that_ before, and I'm glad whatever was bothering you is all
right; you all seem to have had the blues lately at your place. Mother
said she supposed you found a house rather a bother as well as a
pleasure,' remarked Doreen.

'Oh no, we don't! Mrs. Morrison takes all the worry off us; she's a
brick too, a gold brick!' declared Vava with enthusiasm.

'I never heard of a "gold brick,"' observed Doreen.

'Well, she's one,' said Vava obstinately, and they both laughed.

But Vava never told any one except her 'gold brick,' as she called 'old
nursie,' of the bad quarter of an hour which she had had with Miss
Briggs before school, when the latter had accused her of having seen the
papers, and told her to go and confess it to Miss Upjohn. 'But that
wasn't the worst, nursie; the worst was in Miss Upjohn's room,' declared
the girl.

'But I thought she had the sense to believe in you?' asked the old
woman.

'Oh yes, she was most awfully nice, and