ou will all be thoroughly tired out by evening, so I forbid
anyone to speak; and if you can go to sleep, so much the better."

I hardly think Miss Lincoln expected her injunctions to be absolutely
obeyed; at any rate, a certain amount of whispering went on among the
girls, who collected in little groups to take the required repose, while
a low laugh every now and then did not indicate sound slumber. Avis
piled up a pillow of sand, and closed her eyes complacently, until she
found Winnie was tickling the end of her nose with a piece of seaweed;
Enid lay curled up under the shadow of a rock, looking at her watch
every few minutes; and Jean and Patty played a silent game of noughts
and crosses on slabs of smooth stone. The moment the half-hour was
finished the girls sprang up, and commenced to chatter with renewed
avidity, showing in their own lively fashion that they were not yet
tired, however they might feel by the end of the day. The classes
separated during the afternoon, some going for walks on the headland,
and others strolling farther along the beach, searching for cockles on
the sandbank, or throwing stones at a mark. They all met at four o'clock
for tea at the small hotel on the edge of the cliff, where tables and
forms had been set out in the garden, and the innkeeper and his wife and
two daughters were busily bustling about, carrying plates of cakes and
buns, jugs of milk, and trays full of cups and saucers, to meet the
requirements of their army of young guests. It was a merry meal, for
everybody was full of jokes and fun. Miss Harper told amusing stories,
and Miss Lincoln asked riddles, and Miss Rowe forgot she was keeping
order, and chatted almost like one of the girls themselves.

"I could sit here all afternoon," said Enid, "just watching the sea and
the boats and the people down on the shore below. If I could only get up
a second appetite, I should like to begin tea over again."

"You can have some more if you like. Miss Lincoln doesn't limit you,"
laughed Avis.

"No, thank you. The copybooks say: 'Never attempt impossibilities'. I
shall go and sit on the edge of the cliff."

"Come with me," said Winnie, "and we'll have a game of golf just to
ourselves, with two sticks and an indiarubber ball. You can't think what
fun it is. I was trying on the common a little while ago. Will you come
too, Patty?"

"No, thanks," said Patty. "I should only spoil sport. I mean to go down
on to the sands again. You can