to her, a sulky droop to her pretty mouth.

"Oh, I must go and help Mary out. Wait for me outside, girls."

"Do you need any help?" inquired Jerry. "I never was afraid of Miss
Merton, if you'll remember."

"Oh, no." Marjorie hurried toward her friend, and stood quietly at
Mary's side.

"Well, Miss Dean, what is it?" Miss Merton eyed Marjorie with her most
disagreeable expression.

"I came to tell you, Miss Merton," began Marjorie in her direct fashion,
"that Miss Raymond saw Miss Archer this morning before we came to the
study hall. She sent us----"

"That will do, Miss Dean," interrupted Miss Merton. "I hope Miss Raymond
is capable of attending to her affairs without your assistance. I should
greatly prefer that you go on about your own business and leave this
matter to me. I believe I have been a teacher in Sanford High School
long enough to be trusted to manage my own work."

A bitter retort rose to Marjorie's lips. She forced it back and with a
dignified bow to Miss Merton and, "I will wait for you in the corridor,
Mary," walked from the room, her head held high, her eyes burning with
resentful tears.

CHAPTER VI

MARY'S DISTURBING DISCOVERY

Once outside the study hall Marjorie Dean's proud manner left her. Her
recent joy in returning to high school gave place to a feeling of deep
dejection. Everything had certainly gone wrong. She had had so many
pleasant little thrills of anticipation that she had quite forgotten
Miss Merton and the teacher's unreasoning dislike for her, which she had
never taken pains to conceal. Muriel's injudicious remarks had made a
bad matter worse. Marjorie knew that from now on she would have to be
doubly on her guard. It was evident that Miss Merton intended to take
her to task whenever the slightest opportunity presented itself.
Marjorie even had her suspicions that Miss Merton had known that it was
Muriel instead of herself who had uttered those distinctly unflattering
words.

"I'll have to be very careful not to offend Miss Merton," she ruminated
gloomily, as she stood waiting for Mary, her eyes fastened on the big
study-hall door. Then her thoughts switched from Miss Merton to
Constance Stevens. Why hadn't Connie come to school? Surely she could
not be ill. Perhaps Charlie was sick.

The opening of the study-hall door interrupted her worried reflections.
Mary emerged from the hall, looking like a young thundercloud. She
closed the door after her with a resound