.

"Well! she said you were just too mean for anything when you did not ask
her--and she right on this corridor," said the first speaker.

"Well, wouldn't that jar you?" commented Jennie Bruce.

"And she said she hoped you'd get caught," pursued the other girl.

"Wow, wow, says the fox!" exclaimed Jennie. "What do you think of that,
now, Nance?"

"I think if we _are_ caught we'll know whom to blame it to," responded
her chum, decidedly.

"My goodness me! Do you suppose she would be so mean?" cried another of
the visiting juniors.

"There's nothing too mean for Cora to try," answered Jennie.

"And I saw her outside her room just as I came in here!" exclaimed
another girl.

"Oh, me, oh, my!" cried Jennie. "I've got to go and see to this."

She dashed out of the room, leaving the other girls in a delightful
tremor. She was gone but a moment.

"Oh, girls! Scatter!" she gasped, when she stuck her head in at the door
again. "Cora's out of her room and there's somebody coming up the lower
flight."

"The Madame herself!" gasped Nancy.

The other girls grabbed handfuls of the good things, and ran. The fudge
was not quite done.

"Quick! Out of the window with it!" gasped Jennie, seizing the handle of
the pan.

"But she'll smell it!" wailed Nancy.

"Will she? Not much!" declared Jennie, and grabbing a rubber shoe from
the closet held it for thirty seconds over the flame of the alcohol
lamp.

Nancy, meanwhile, had been hiding away all the goodies. The candy, pan
and all, had gone out of the window. Nothing but the awful stench of the
rubber shoe could be smelled when the lights went out, and the girls
hopped lightly into bed.

"Rat, tat, tat!" on the door.

Jennie yawned, rolled over, and yawned again.

"Rat, tat, tat!"

"Oh, yes'm!" cried Jennie, bouncing up.

"Nancy Nelson! Nancy Nelson's wanted!" exclaimed the sleepy voice of
Madame Schakael's maid, who slept downstairs.

"Oh, dear, me! What's happened?" demanded Nancy, unable to carry out the
farce now. This was not what the girls had expected.

"Wanted down in the office, Miss. Telegram. The Madame wants to see you
right away."

The maid went away.

"What do you suppose has happened?" demanded Nancy of her chum.

"It isn't anything about fudge," groaned Jennie. "I'm sorry I told you
to throw the fudge out of the window. And I've spoiled a perfectly good
rubber!"

"I must run down. Come with me, Jen!"

"All right," agreed her chum, and t