appeared.

"I love Iris," whispered little Ann Dolman to herself. "I think she is
beautiful; and how brave she is! I wish I were like her."

"What do you want with us, Iris?" asked Philip, when he found himself
alone with his cousin. He raised defiant eyes, and put on an ugly
little scowl.

"I want to tell you, Phil," said Iris, "that I know everything. Poor
little Orion would not confess, because you got him to promise not to
tell; but, of course, he told me the truth. Don't you think you
behaved very badly indeed?"

"We don't want _you_ to lecture us," said Conrad.

"All right," replied Iris with spirit. "But please remember that I
promised Orion I would not tell, only so long as you make me a promise
that you will not tempt him again. If ever I hear that you have led
Orion into mischief, I will tell everything."

"I thought you looked like a tell-tale," said Conrad.

"No, I am not, nor is Orion; you know better, both of you. Now, please
understand that I will not have Orion made miserable nor tempted to do
naughty things. Aunt Jane thinks you are good boys, and she thinks
Diana and Orion very bad little children; but neither Orion nor Diana
would do the sort of thing you both did yesterday. Neither of them
would think of _that_ sort of naughtiness. I call it mean."

Iris walked away with her head in the air. The boys gazed after her
with a queer sinking of heart.

CHAPTER XIII.

BIRCH ROD.

Orion speedily recovered from his bad fit of indigestion, and matters
began to shake down a little in the schoolroom and nursery. No one
meant to be unkind to the little Delaneys; and although all things
were changed for them, in some ways both Iris and Apollo were all the
better for the strict and vigorous discipline they were now
undergoing. Iris really enjoyed her lessons, and when Apollo found
that he had no chance of going to school, and of being with "fellows,"
as he expressed it, until he had conquered certain difficult tasks
which Miss Ramsay set him, he began, for his own sake, to apply
himself to his lessons. He was a bright, clever little chap, and when
he tried to understand his governess' method of teaching, he did his
work fairly well. But Diana and Orion were much too young for the
somewhat severe transplantation which had taken place in their little
lives. Had Iris been allowed to be with them matters might not have
grown quite so bad, but she was much occupied with her lessons, and
the young