"It is lovely too. It is a badge, and means a great deal," she said to
herself, and she closed her hand over it as she lay in bed. "It is
tiresome that I cannot show it. It is a sweet little locket, and I might
save up money enough to have it gilded over. People would think I had a
gold locket. I have always nearly died to have one; but of course I
couldn't do that, for it would displease our queen, the darling, and I
wouldn't for all I am worth do anything to annoy her. Oh dear, things
are turning out lovely! I am twice as happy a girl as I was before
Kathleen O'Hara came to the school."

At school next day the members of the new society looked a little
conscious. Their eyes often met, and those eyes spoke volumes. Sometimes
a girl would put her hand up to her neck in a somewhat significant way,
and another girl would respond with a similar signal. There was a sort
of suppressed excitement in the school; but the teachers remarked
nothing. On the contrary, they were pleased with the way lessons were
done, exercises gone through, and work accomplished. The girls were so
completely in league with each other, so full of delight over the new
amusement which Kathleen had started in their midst, that they had no
time to be supercilious or disagreeable to the paying girls, who were
left in peace. They were usually a good deal tormented by the
foundationers, who took their revenge by small spiteful ways--by taking
the ink when they did not want it, by removing good pens and putting bad
ones in their places, by spilling ink on the blotting paper. In short,
they had many ways of rendering the life of a paying girl anything but
happy. To-day, however, all was peace and quiet. Kathleen walked in her
radiant fashion through her lessons; her beautiful face could not but be
an attraction. She was very bright and very smart, and even Alice gave
her an approving glance.

"Mother is right," she thought. "She is a little better than she was.
If only she would take a real interest in her work I should have hopes
of her."

Now Cassandra Weldon had come to the school that day with the intention
of asking Ruth Craven to come home with her. She had a suggestion to
make to Ruth. She knew that the little girl was very poor and very
clever. Cassandra was working very hard for one of the big scholarships,
and her mother had gone to the expense of getting a special coach to
help her at home. Cassandra had spoken to her mother, and her mother