atham has got a surprise packet to spring on all of
us, that's evident enough. Trust her to let nothing leak out
beforehand. She's an absolute Freemason for secrecy."

"Well, if it's Sanscrit, I leave the school, so I give everybody fair
warning," chirruped Kathleen, hanging heavily on to Lesbia's arm in an
affectation of flutter.

"And if it's a Cosy Cafe you'll spend all your pocket money there and
make yourself ill into the bargain. I know you! Look here, I'm going to
drop you! My arm's breaking. You must weigh ten stone if you weigh a
pound."

Though the girls laughed and joked as they walked along the glazed
covered passage, they sobered down and straightened their faces as they
entered the gymnasium. Benches and chairs were arranged here in rows,
and were already partly filled with pupils of all ages, from small
children in the preparatory forms to tall students of seventeen.
Teachers hovered about, restraining excessive conversation, and a few
monitresses were distributing books for the opening hymn. Miss Bates,
the music teacher, was beckoning to members of the singing-class to come
and sit near the piano and form an impromptu choir. Kathleen, somewhat
to her bewilderment, was thus pounced upon and borne off to a seat of
honour below the platform, where, separated from her own chums, she sat
with a rather martyred expression among stars of the Sixth noted for
their qualities of voice production. Her anxiety for change was
certainly being amply gratified, though she was still doubtful of the
extent of the proposed alterations.

The fact of the whole matter was that Miss Tatham, the head mistress,
had taken the opportunity during the holidays of attending an
educational conference, where she had come in contact with very modern
views and fresh schemes of school government. She had returned to
Kingfield bristling with ideas, and anxious to test many various
theories which had been aired at the meetings. She was a broad-minded
woman, and able to steer successfully between being a crank or faddist
on the one hand, or a "stick-in-the-mud" on the other. For some time she
had been conscious that the school needed rousing up, and now that she
had been shown the way she meant to use her opportunities.

She stepped on to the platform at 2.30 with the satisfactory feeling of
an architect who has completed a fresh design and has collected his
stores of building material.

A dead hush marked her entrance, and immediate