a risky experiment. Don't you think my old girl
is a peach? I'm nuts on her!"

"I simply shouldn't have known you, Wendy," said Jess. "How did you make
yourself so fat?"

"I'm stuffed out with all sorts of things," laughed Wendy. "Vests, and
nightdresses, and stockings, and anything we could lay our hands on.
I'm specially padded over the shoulders. The toque is one of Diana's
hats turned inside out with some feathers pinned on. The tooth? Why,
that was a piece of india-rubber tucked inside my lip. It was fearfully
difficult to make it stick, I can tell you. It kept jiggling about when
I tried to talk. Elihu, old man, shall we dance a tickle-toe?"

"Stop, you mad creatures! If you make such a racket you'll be bringing
Bunty down upon us," interposed Magsie, as the masquerading couple
twirled each other round and round. "If you want to be ready in time for
tea, you'd better go and get out of those weird garments."

"I'd like to go down to tea in them," declared Diana. "What a lovely
sensation they'd make! Magsie, just peep out and see that the coast is
clear before we make a dash for it along the passage. It might upset
Bunty's nerves if she met us."

As it happened, during the very next week Diana received a visit from
her cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Burritt of Petteridge Court. They arrived in
their Daimler car, and lunched with the school. They were the very
epitome of cultured and polished America, and the girls raved over them.
After half an hour of their company, seven intermediates had determined
to mould themselves absolutely on the lines of "Cousin Coralie", and to
marry exact replicas of Mr. Burritt. It was felt that ambition could
soar no higher.

"I'm glad you like them," said Diana, as she stood on the steps with
some of her friends watching the Daimler pass out through the gate. "I
thought you would--when they really turned up. That was why I wanted you
to see 'Cousin Elihu' and 'Cousin Cora' first. They were more your idea
of typical Americans, weren't they? Ah!"--shaking her head
commiseratingly--"that's because you benighted Britishers just don't
know anything about the _real_ America."

CHAPTER III

A Penniless Princess

Miss Todd, sitting at her desk in her study, with a row of the very
latest publications on the most modern theories of education in a
bookcase so near that she could stretch out her hand for any particular
one she wanted, rapidly reviewed some of her new experiments. First