sn't see it," said Diana. "She says the
boat wasn't as bad as all that, and they were in no real danger, and
that I did a very silly, idiotic, foolhardy thing. She doesn't
understand I was trying to save her life. But I _was_!"

"I know," nodded Loveday. "I don't think somehow, though, that Adeline's
the kind of girl whom you could ever make understand. Why do you lavish
all this love on her, Di? She's not worth it."

Diana was plaiting her skirt into little gathers. She looked at her
fingers and not at Loveday.

"I _did_ like her so! But it's all ended now--drowned in the water, I
think. She doesn't care twopence about me. Well! If _she_ doesn't, no
more do _I_! She may go to Hong-Kong as far as I'm concerned."

Loveday glanced anxiously at her friend. There was a suspicious tremble
in the usually cheerful voice. Were those drops shining on the long
eyelashes?

"It takes a good deal of riddling before we sort out the wheat and the
chaff in our friendships," ventured Loveday.

"_You're_ 'honest grain', at any rate!" said Diana, winking rapidly, as
she rose and ended the conversation.

CHAPTER XVIII

Diana's Foundling

There was very little doubt in the minds of Miss Todd and of other
mistresses at Pendlemere Abbey that Diana was a spoilt child. Her
parents, far away in Paris, made up for their enforced absence by
sending her a larger assortment of presents than usually falls to the
lot of a schoolgirl. She had practically everything that she could want,
and a great many things beside. There was one subject, however, upon
which she had coaxed her father for a long time. In every letter she had
written lately she had assured him that life was not liveable in the
summer term without a pony. Diana had a passion for horses. She had
ridden much in America, and her ideal of happiness was to be on
ponyback. She was occasionally allowed to mount Baron, but, as Miss Todd
would not permit her to take him into the lanes alone, she had to
confine her gallops to the paddock, which she considered very poor
sport. She thought the matter over till she evolved an idea; then she
confided it to Miss Carr. Miss Carr was also an enthusiast about horses,
and was secretly longing to ride Baron. Diana's scheme was that she
should ask her father to allow her to hire a pony for the rest of the
term, have it stabled at the farm near, and go with Miss Carr for rides.
When she made up her mind to a thing she was apt to press the s