e when you come and go."

Ursula signed her name in the time book and stood back. No
one took any further notice of her. She beat her brains for
something to say, but in vain.

"I'd let them in now," said Mr. Harby to the thin man, who
was very hastily arranging his papers.

The assistant teacher made no sign of acquiescence, and went
on with what he was doing. The atmosphere in the room grew
tense. At the last moment Mr. Brunt slipped into his coat.

"You will go to the girls' lobby," said the schoolmaster to
Ursula, with a fascinating, insulting geniality, purely official
and domineering.

She went out and found Miss Harby, and another girl teacher,
in the porch. On the asphalt yard the rain was falling. A
toneless bell tang-tang-tanged drearily overhead, monotonously,
insistently. It came to an end. Then Mr. Brunt was seen,
bare-headed, standing at the other gate of the school yard,
blowing shrill blasts on a whistle and looking down the rainy,
dreary street.

Boys in gangs and streams came trotting up, running past the
master and with a loud clatter of feet and voices, over the yard
to the boys' porch. Girls were running and walking through the
other entrance.

In the porch where Ursula stood there was a great noise of
girls, who were tearing off their coats and hats, and hanging
them on the racks bristling with pegs. There was a smell of wet
clothing, a tossing out of wet, draggled hair, a noise of voices
and feet.

The mass of girls grew greater, the rage around the pegs grew
steadier, the scholars tended to fall into little noisy gangs in
the porch. Then Violet Harby clapped her hands, clapped them
louder, with a shrill "Quiet, girls, quiet!"

There was a pause. The hubbub died down but did not
cease.

"What did I say?" cried Miss Harby, shrilly.

There was almost complete silence. Sometimes a girl, rather
late, whirled into the porch and flung off her things.

"Leaders--in place," commanded Miss Harby shrilly.

Pairs of girls in pinafores and long hair stood separate in
the porch.

"Standard Four, Five, and Six--fall in," cried Miss
Harby.

There was a hubbub, which gradually resolved itself into
three columns of girls, two and two, standing smirking in the
passage. In among the peg-racks, other teachers were putting the
lower classes into ranks.

Ursula stood by her own Standard Five. They were jerking
their shoulders, tossing their hair, nudging, writhing, staring,
grinning, whisperi