dance, and did not wish to break it unless
under special compulsion. To her surprise, Claudia was absent. She
missed her chum, and kept looking anxiously towards the door, expecting
the golden head to pop in at the eleventh hour. But nine o'clock and the
roll-call came, and no sign of Claudia. Miss Turner marked her absent,
and put back the book inside the desk. The girls took out their copies
of Moliere, in preparation for the French lesson. Miss Turner collected
some papers from her desk, and walked away to instruct the Third Form on
the subject of Roman history. The Sixth sat with their books before them
and waited. Under ordinary circumstances Madame Bertier was punctuality
personified. She was generally in the schoolroom before Miss Turner made
her exit. What had happened to her to-day? At twenty minutes past nine
Miss Janet entered, looking flurried.

"I fear Madame must be unwell, as she has not come or sent a note," she
explained briefly. "You had better go on with your preparation and write
your exercises. I suppose you know what to do next? Then get to work,
and of course I put you on your honour as seniors to keep the silence
rule."

Lorraine, sitting scribbling away at her desk, felt in no mood to break
the rule by entering into conversation with either Dorothy or Audrey,
who sat respectively to right and left of her. Her thoughts were far
away from the pen which was automatically writing her exercise. What had
become of Madame Bertier? Was her absence in any way connected with the
events of yesterday? That was the question which kept forcing itself
upon her brain. She wondered whether Miss Janet had ever harboured
suspicions of the attractive Russian. She had never fallen under her
sway so completely as her sister had done. Something in Miss Janet's
worried expression made Lorraine think her surmise a correct one.
Lorraine's French grammar went to the winds that morning, and she wrote
down mistakes, which, in calmer moments, would have caused her to
shudder.

At the eleven o'clock interval, Claudia walked into the cloak-room.
Lorraine, who had come for her packet of lunch, greeted her with
surprised enthusiasm.

"Here you are at last! Why are you so late? I've simply loads to tell
you! Do you know that Madame Bertier's never turned up to-day?"

"Hasn't she?" said Claudia abstractedly. "I've loads to tell you too,
Lorraine. Come into the garden; I don't want anyone to overhear."

When they were out of