Ulyth had a sudden pang of compunction. Unwelcome as her companion was
to her, she did not wish to be brutal.

"You mustn't get home-sick," she said hastily. "You'll shake down here
in time. Everyone finds things strange at school just at first. I did
myself."

"I guess you were never as much a fish out of water as me, though,"
returned Rona, and went whistling down the passage.

Ulyth tried to dismiss her from her thoughts. She did not intend to
worry over Rona more than she could possibly help. Fortunately they were
not together in class, for Rona's entrance-examination papers had not
reached the standard of the Lower Fifth, and she had been placed in IV
B.

Ulyth was interested in her school-work. She stood well with her
teachers, and was an acknowledged force in her form. She came from a
very refined and cultured home, where intellectual interests were
cultivated both by father and mother. Her temperament was naturally
artistic; she was an omnivorous reader, and could devour anything in the
shape of literature that came her way. The bookcase in her dormitory was
filled with beautiful volumes, mostly Christmas and birthday gifts. She
rejoiced in their soft leather bindings or fine illustrations with a
true book-lover's enthusiasm. It was her pride to keep them in daintiest
condition. Dog-ears or thumb-marks were in her opinion the depths of
degradation. Ulyth had ambitions also, ambitions which she would not
reveal to anybody. Some day she planned to write a book of her own. She
had not yet fixed on a subject, but she had decided just what the cover
was to be like, with her name on it in gilt letters. Perhaps she might
even illustrate it herself, for her love of art almost equalled her love
of literature; but that was still in the clouds, and must wait till she
had chosen her plot. In the interim she wrote verses and short stories
for the school magazine, and her essays for Miss Teddington were
generally returned marked "highly creditable".

This term Ulyth intended to study hard. It was a promotion to be in the
Upper School; she was beginning several new subjects, and her interest
in many things was aroused. It would be a delightful autumn as soon as
she had got rid of this dreadful problem, at present the one serious
obstacle to her comfort. But in the meantime it was only Friday, and
till at least the following Monday she would be obliged to endure her
uncongenial presence in her bedroom.

CHAPTER II