o help to put Greta out
of her thoughts. Though she had studied fairly hard with her governess
at home she had never before entered into competition with other
girls, and it was a new experience to work in class. As Miss Holt had
expected, she was forward in some subjects and backward in others;
but she was gifted with an excellent memory and found she could learn
with little trouble what many of the others found impossible tasks.
Except for French with Mademoiselle and nature study with Miss Kaye,
all the lessons were taken by Miss Arkwright. Sylvia could never quite
make up her mind whether she liked her or not. She was tall and slim,
with large teeth, and a nose that moved about like a rabbit's when she
spoke, and she wore her hair brushed very plainly back from her high
forehead. She was a conscientious teacher but not a very interesting
one, and she somehow lacked the charm which attracted the girls so
much to their headmistress.

"Miss Kaye seems to like to know each one of us separately, and all
about our friends and our homes," said Marian one day, "and I don't
believe Miss Arkwright cares in the least about us out of school, so
long as we know our lessons in class."

Children are very quick to feel sympathy, and, though Miss Arkwright
did her duty thoroughly, most of her pupils respected her more than
they loved her, and while she was not disliked she was never popular.

It was a revelation to Sylvia, who in her work with Miss Holt had
never troubled whether she did exceedingly or only moderately well, to
find that at Heathercliffe House a little extra effort made all the
difference. At the end of every week the marks of each girl were
balanced up, and on Monday morning at nine o'clock Miss Kaye would
march into the classroom to read out the list and add a few comments
of praise or blame. The girls sat in school for the week according to
the order in which their names occurred on the balancing list, and it
had been a point of great pride with Marian Woodhouse to come out top,
a position which hitherto no one had troubled to dispute with her.

Sylvia had arrived on a Wednesday, so that the first week she was only
able to obtain part marks, though in two days she had gained enough to
place her half-way up the class, above Gwennie Woodhouse and Jessie
Ellis and even Nina Forster. The second week was a duel between
herself and Marian. Both worked hard and steadily and seemed fairly
equal, for what Sylvia lost b