am. I wrote her a letter last Saturday, and she sent me a
picture post card of the place she's staying at."

"O-o-h! _Do_ give me the address. I'll write to her too. I never thought
of it."

"Let's write her a round-robin and say we wish she was back and we
detest Miss Ormerod," suggested Marion impulsively.

"No! No! That would spoil her holiday. The doctor said she wasn't to
have any worry."

If the Sixth Form resented the attitude of the new principal the juniors
were even more prejudiced. They discussed her among themselves and set
her down as "a brute". Edie Browne, who, out of sheer opposition,
ventured a word in her favour, was promptly squashed.

"It's not _fashionable_ to like her," declared Maisie Martin, and Maisie
led the opinions of the lower school.

Lesbia had at first reserved her judgment, but soon she had very good
cause to rue the advent of Miss Ormerod. As junior assistant governess
she still taught in Forms I and II. Teaching was not Lesbia's natural
walk in life, and though she struggled on with it she really did not do
it very well. Miss Tatham, having made the arrangement so as to cancel
her fees and allow her to remain at the High School, had been rather
lenient with her, and had overlooked many palpable deficiencies. Not so
Miss Ormerod. She had an immensely high ideal of a teacher's standard,
and she was carefully testing the capacities of her staff. One Wednesday
proved a black day for Lesbia. Directly she walked into IIB she became
aware of a spirit of general unrest. The girls were "out of hand". She
had been through similar crises before and knew the symptoms. Fanny
Holden was lolling on her desk instead of sitting upright, Rose Davis
and Marjory Birkshaw had their heads bent together. Ella Wilkinson was
fidgeting with her pencil box, Gladys Dorman kept casting meaning
glances at Chrissie Taylor, and Mary Avens, in defiance of all
schoolroom tradition, had pulled off her ribbon and was re-plaiting her
wisp of a pigtail. The blackboard, which ought to have been cleaned,
still bore sums in vulgar fractions. The map had not yet been put out.
Lesbia rapped on the desk and called the form to order.

"What's the monitress been doing?" she demanded sharply. "Marjory, come
here at once and clean the board. Can you make a little _more_ noise
about it?" (as Marjory clumped her way to the front). "Where's the
duster? Now be careful. You'll have the whole thing over. There! I told
you."

Fo