ammered Lizzie.

"If you've spent all your money," persisted the hawker, "I'm always open
to take a trinket instead. There's a young lady been here just now, and
gave me this in place of a sixpence," showing a small brooch pinned into
her bodice. "Of course such things aren't worth much to me, but I'd do
it to oblige you."

At the sight of the little brooch Ulyth flushed hotly.

"We're not allowed to buy cakes and tarts," she replied. "I'm sure Miss
Bowes doesn't know that you come here to sell things. It's not your
fault, of course, but please don't come again. It's breaking the rules
of the school."

The woman covered up her basket in an instant.

"All right, Missie, all right," she said suavely. "I don't want to press
things on you. That's not my way. You won't catch me at this gate again,
I promise you. Good night!" and, slipping out into the lane, she was
gone directly.

Ulyth shut the door and bolted it.

"She mayn't come to this particular spot again," said Lizzie, "but
she'll find some other meeting-place, the cunning old thing. I could see
it in her eye. So this is their grand secret! What a remarkably
honourable and creditable one!"

"It's worse than I thought," groaned Ulyth. "They must have been going
on with this business for some time, Lizzie. Do you know, that brooch
was Rona's. I recognized it at once. It's one she brought from New
Zealand, with a Maori device on it."

"I thought better of Rona."

"So did I. She's improved so much I didn't think she'd slip back in this
way."

"I believe Tootie Phillips is the ring-leader."

"There's no doubt of it. From all we've seen, the juniors have got a
systematic traffic with this woman, and post scouts to keep watch while
she's about. You heard Irene call: 'All's well!'"

"They'll be feasting in their bedroom to-night."

"Rona won't dare, surely. Lizzie, I shouldn't have thought much of it if
they'd done it once just for a lark. We're all human, and juniors will
be juniors. But when it gets systematic, and they begin to sell their
brooches, that's a different matter."

"What are you going to do? Tackle the kids and tell them we've found
out, and they've got to stop it?"

"Will they really stop it just at our bidding? Or will it only put them
on their guard and make them carry the thing on with more caution?"

"Then give a hint to the monitresses?"

"I wonder if we ought. I wish Catherine and Helen were different."

"Well, what do you sugge