er children spent the greater part of their time alone.

Philip and Conrad were afraid to make any further advances to Orion.
In consequence, he had no companion near his own age, except Diana,
and Diana's little heart, day by day, was growing fuller of
insubordinate and angry feelings. She was not at all by nature an
unforgiving little child, but the want of petting and the severe life
which she was obliged to lead began to tell on her high spirits. She
became defiant, and was always looking out for an opportunity to vent
her wrath upon the people whom she termed her enemies. Had Iris only
had a chance of talking to the little girl, she would soon have got to
the bottom of the matter, and things might not have turned out as they
did; but Iris did not even sleep in the room with Diana, and in her
sister's presence the little girl made a valiant effort to appear as
happy as usual. As a matter of fact, however, she and Orion spent most
of their playtime in perfecting their little scheme of revenge, and on
a certain hot day matters came to a crisis.

It had been much more trying than usual in the schoolroom; the sun
seemed to beat in with fiercer rays; there were more flies on the
window-panes, and the air seemed more charged with that terrible
sleepiness which poor little Diana could not quite conquer. At last
she dropped so sound asleep that Miss Ramsay took pity on her, and
told her she might go and have a run in the garden.

"Go into the Filbert walk," said the governess; "don't on any account
play where the sun is shining. You may stay out for half an hour.
There is a clock just by the stables, which you can see when you come
to the end of the walk; you will know then when the half-hour is out.
Run off now and enjoy yourself."

Diana scarcely wasted any time in thanking Miss Ramsay. She flew from
the schoolroom as though she were herself a little arrow shot from a
bow, she tumbled rather than walked downstairs, and with no hat over
her thick, black curls, careered out wildly, shouting as she did so.
The prospect of the walk and the look of the sunshine were making the
little girl very happy, and she might not have thought of any special
revenge had not Mrs. Dolman at that moment caught sight of her.

Mrs. Dolman was coming out of the kitchen garden. She had on her
invariable mushroom hat, her face was much flushed with exercise, and
she was by no means in the best of humors.

"Diana," she said, "what are you doi