forts
of the others to put him back into captivity. In vain Susie laid baits
for Dickie all over the room--bits of raw meat, even one or two dead
flies which she found in a corner. But Dickie had secured a hiding-place
for himself, and would not come out at present.

"I can't sleep in the room--that's all!" said Fanny. "I really
can't--that's flat."

"Oh, stop talking for a minute!" said Olive suddenly. "There! didn't you
hear it? Yes, that is the sound of the carriage coming back from the
station. Dr. Jephson has come. Oh, I wonder what he will say about her!"

"Don't leave me, girls, please!" said Fanny. "I never was so utterly
knocked to bits in my whole life!"

"Well, we must go to bed or we'll be punished," said Susie.

"Susie, you are not a bit afraid of reptiles; won't you change rooms
with me?" asked Fanny.

"I would, only it's against the rules," said Susie at once.

Olive also shook her head. "It's against the rules, Fanny; and, really,
if I were you I'd pull myself together, and on a night like this, when
the whole house is in such a state of turmoil, I'd try to show a spark
of courage and not be afraid of a poor little spider."

"A _little_ spider! You haven't seen him," said Fanny. "Why, he's nearly
as big as an egg! I tell you he is most dangerous."

"That's the doctor! Oh, I wonder what he is going to say!" exclaimed
Olive. "Come, Susie," she continued, turning to her companion, "we must
go to bed. Good-night, Fanny; good-night."

CHAPTER XX

A TIME OF DANGER

Fanny was left alone with Dickie. It was really awful to be quite alone
in a room where a spider nearly the size of an egg had concealed
himself. If Dickie would only come out and show himself Fanny thought
she could fight him; but he was at once big enough to bite and terrify
her up to the point of danger, and small enough effectually to hide his
presence. Fanny was really nervous; all the events of the day had
conspired to make her so. She, who, as a rule, knew nothing whatever
about nerves, was oppressed by them now. There had been the meeting of
the Specialities; there had been the blunt refusal to make Sibyl one of
their number. Then there was the appalling fact that she (Fanny) was
turned out of her bedroom. There was also the unpleasantness of Sibyl's
insurrection; and last, but not least, a spider had been put into her
bed by those wicked girls.

Oh, what horrors all the Vivians were! What turmoil they had created in