always hunting about, but
I've never yet made the 'interesting discovery'."

"Where have you looked?" asked Diana, immensely thrilled.

"Oh, everywhere! I've tapped panels, and pushed bits of carving to see
if they'd move, but they're all absolutely firm and solid. I've had no
luck."

"I'll go exploring on my own."

"Well, if you do, don't tell the other girls. I hate to pose as a sort
of turned-out heiress, and have them pitying me. If they knew I was
hunting for hiding-places, I believe some of them would rag me
dreadfully. I should never hear the last of it. They'd always be
pretending they'd found something, just to tease me."

"And yet you ought to have been the heiress," mused Diana.

"It's no use talking about being an heiress when the place was sold
before I was born," returned Loveday rather bitterly. "I've told you
this, but I trust you not to go blabbing it all over the school. If
you're ready, I'll blow out the candle. Miss Hampson will be round in a
minute."

CHAPTER IV

The Rush-bearing

Among Miss Todd's modern principles of education was the sensible theory
that if you can once get a girl interested in a subject she will learn
without any labour, and that self-acquired knowledge is far more readily
retained than facts which are crammed down one's throat. More especially
she applied this to history. Instead of making it a dry catalogue of
dates of kings and battles, she tried to show the gradual evolution of
the British nation from the barbarism of the Stone Age to present-day
civilization. She dwelt much on folk-lore, ancient customs and
traditions, and especially encouraged the study of all local legends and
observances. In this she found an ally in the new vicar who had lately
come to the church at Pendlemere, and whose daughters, Meg and Elsie,
attended the school as day-girls. Mr. Fleming was an enthusiastic
antiquarian, and revelled in the history of the neighbourhood. He went
round his parish collecting information from the oldest inhabitants with
regard to vanished and vanishing customs, and took notes for a book
which he hoped to write upon the folk-lore of the northern counties. In
the heat of his ardour he suggested the revival of several quaint old
festivals which had once held time-honoured places in the calendar of
the year. First and foremost came the Rush-bearing. In ancient days it
had been the custom of the parishioners to cut bundles of rushes, and,
walking in proce