pupils for her music lesson, and the look of grave surprise upon
her face when she saw Ruby sitting there by herself made the little
girl more miserable than ever. She had not meant to laugh. If she had
noticed the missing curl before she came to the class she never would
have laughed; but seeing it suddenly drove the adverb quite out of her
head, and before she had known what she was about she had laughed.

It seemed a long time to recess, and it was all that Ruby could do to
keep the tears out of her eyes. It was the first time in her life that
she had ever been in disgrace at school, and she felt it keenly. It
would have been bad enough if it had happened in school at home, but to
have it happen here was doubly hard.

Ruby was sure she could never be happy here again, never, after having
to stay up there all the morning in disgrace before the whole school.

At last the recess-bell rang, and the other scholars went out to play,
and Ruby and Miss Ketchum were left alone.

"I shall hear your grammar lesson in a few moments, Ruby," said Miss
Ketchum, in a stern tone, and she went to her room, leaving Ruby with
her grammar in her hand, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes long
enough to study.

She did not know nor care just now what an adverb was, and it is very
hard to study with a great lump in one's throat, and tears in one's
eyes. If she had really meant to be mischievous it would not have been
so hard to be in disgrace, but Ruby really had not intended to do
wrong, and she would not have done anything to make Miss Ketchum feel
badly for anything in the world if she had had time to think. Agnes
had cast a pitying glance at her as she went out, for she had
understood how it was, and she hoped that during recess time, when Ruby
and her teacher should be alone together, Ruby would tell Miss Ketchum
why she had laughed.

After Ruby's punishment none of the other girls had shown that they
noticed the missing curl, lest they should be sent up to the platform
too, for speaking about it, so Miss Ketchum did not discover her loss
until she went to her room at recess.

The first thing she saw when she entered her room was a dark curl lying
upon her bureau. She looked at it wonderingly for a moment, and then
put her hand up to her head. One curl was in its place, but there was
the other lying upon the bureau. She had forgotten to put it on.
Looking at herself in the glass, Miss Ketchum smiled, although she