atiently as she could. She ventured once to remonstrate in
private, but the result was so unfortunate, that she determined she
would not try the experiment again. Evidently the only thing to be done
was to acknowledge the estrangement, and to keep out of Muriel's way as
much as possible. Her uncle's letter, however, weighed on her mind. How
was she to prove her cousin's friend so entirely against her will? Poor
Patty's conscience, always a tender one, even accused her of accepting
Uncle Sidney's kindness without fulfilling his conditions, and she
sometimes wondered whether she was justified in remaining at The Priory,
when she was not able to play the part he had designed for her.

"And yet," she thought, "it's not my fault in the least. I'm ready any
time to help her if she'll let me. Perhaps an opportunity may come some
day, and in the meantime, however horrid she is to me, I won't say
anything disagreeable back. That's one resolve I mean to stick to, at
any rate, though it's hard sometimes, when she says such nasty things."

The Fourth Form seemed split up into a good many small sections. The
lower division kept mostly to itself, and in the upper division there
were several sets. Muriel and her three friends, for no good reason at
all, considered themselves slightly superior to the rest of the class,
and put on many airs in consequence, a state of affairs which was much
resented by Enid Walker and Winnie Robinson, who, with Avis Wentworth,
had a clique of their own, in which they now included Jean Bannerman and
Patty. Doris Kennedy, May Firth, and Ella Johnson, the three girls who
shared Patty's bedroom, made a separate little circle with Beatrice
Wynne, while Cissie Gardiner and Maggie Woodhall were such bosom friends
that they did not want anybody else's society. Patty found the liking
she had taken to Jean Bannerman increased on further acquaintance. Jean
was a most pleasant companion; she was interesting and sympathetic, and
while ready enough for fun, was more staid and thoughtful than Enid,
though the latter's amusing nonsense and bright, warm-hearted ways made
her very attractive. Poor Enid was often in trouble; her lively tongue
could not resist talking in class or whispering during preparation
hours. She was ready enough to respect Miss Harper, but she was apt to
defy Miss Rowe's authority, a form of insubordination which generally
ended in disastrous consequences. Patty, in common with most of the
class, fo