the other girls. It surely must have been Dora!"

"If we begin to talk about it, perhaps someone may mention it outside
the Form, and it would get to Miss Drummond's ears. She would be very
angry."

"She certainly would, because it really was dangerous. If the string had
broken through while any of us were underneath, we might have been burnt
to death in our light, flimsy clothes."

"It's all ended safely now, though. Isn't it rather mean to try to
ferret it out? You don't want to get someone into a scrape."

"I don't indeed!" agreed Mabel. "Perhaps, as you say, it's as well to
let things be. Ursula and Dora are always quarrelling, and if Ursula
turned spiteful and gave a hint to Miss Bardsley, she'd feel bound to
make enquiries."

"And we should probably never be allowed to use Chinese lanterns again."

"Oh! That would be dreadful! Phoebe says her sister told her we could
keep these at school, and I thought we might act 'Catskin' at Easter,
and carry them in procession."

"Then, mum's the word!"

"Yes, you're right. You always do give good advice! Besides, it never
struck me I might get anyone into trouble. You're such a thoroughly
considerate darling, you make me quite ashamed of myself. What a
glorious time we've had! I've enjoyed myself so much. Good night!"

Mabel turned over on her pillows, snuggled a little more cosily under
the eider-down, and promptly went to sleep; but Aldred lay awake for a
long time, thinking, and in spite of her brilliant triumph of the
evening the tenor of her thoughts was far from satisfactory and
agreeable.

CHAPTER X

A Frosty January

School broke up on December 18th, and the little community at Birkwood
was soon scattered far and wide. Aldred thought that this Christmas was
the most enjoyable one she had ever spent; she felt as if she had
returned to Dingfield on an entirely different footing, and that now she
had quite a new position at home. Her father, who had taken slight
notice of her before, had missed her while she was away, and began
suddenly to appreciate how much his daughter was to him, and to give her
a larger share of his attention than had hitherto fallen to her lot.
Aunt Bertha, whose former attitude had been one of continual criticism,
stopped nagging and fault-finding, and treated her niece almost like a
visitor, allowing many small indulgences which she had never been
accustomed to sanction, and relaxing some of her stricter rules. It was
plai