ing down, began to play. The rough men who
had brought it stood in awesome adoration around the platform; the
silence that spread over that room would have done honor to Paderewski
or Josef Hoffman.

Margaret played and played, and they could not hear enough. They would
have stayed all night listening, perhaps, so wonderful was it to them.
And then the teacher called each one and let him or her touch a few
chords, just to say they had played on it. After which she locked the
instrument and sent them all home. That was the only afternoon during
that term that the play was forgotten for a while.

After the arrival of the piano the play went forward with great
strides, for now Margaret accompanied some of the parts with the music,
and the flute and violin were also practised in their elfin dance with
much better effect. It was about this time that Archie Forsythe
discovered the rehearsals and offered his assistance, and, although it
was declined, he frequently managed to ride over about rehearsal time,
finding ways to make himself useful in spite of Margaret's polite
refusals. Margaret always felt annoyed when he came, because Rosa Rogers
instantly became another creature on his arrival, and because Gardley
simply froze into a polite statue, never speaking except when spoken to.
As for Forsythe, his attitude toward Gardley was that of a contemptuous
master toward a slave, and yet he took care to cover it always with a
form of courtesy, so that Margaret could say or do nothing to show her
displeasure, except to be grave and dignified. At such times Rosa
Rogers's eyes would be upon her with a gleam of hatred, and the teacher
felt that the scholar was taking advantage of the situation. Altogether
it was a trying time for Margaret when Forsythe came to the
school-house. Also, he discovered to them that he played the violin, and
offered to assist in the orchestral parts. Margaret really could think
of no reason to decline this offer, but she was sadly upset by the whole
thing. His manner to her was too pronounced, and she felt continually
uncomfortable under it, what with Rosa Rogers's jealous eyes upon her
and Gardley's eyes turned haughtily away.

She planned a number of special rehearsals in the evenings, when it was
difficult for Forsythe to get there, and managed in this way to avoid
his presence; but the whole matter became a source of much vexation, and
Margaret even shed a few tears wearily into her pillow one night w