d.
Consequently all went merry as a marriage bell.

But there had been hours of intense longing upon Beverly's part for the
freedom of bygone days and Athol. The brother and sister had been
entirely too united in every way to find perfect compensation in the
companionship of others, however warm the friendships formed, and each
missed the other sorely. Of course letters had been exchanged during the
month, but letters are a poor substitute for the voice of those we love
best. Only Mrs. Ashby realized how intense was the brother's and sister's
longing to see each other. Archie, also, fumed under the enforced
separation and vowed that "something was going to break loose mighty
sudden if his people and Athol's didn't get busy and _do_ something."

Had Beverly been at liberty to ride Apache as formerly the ten miles
separating the two schools would have meant merely a jolly cross country
run, but she was only permitted to ride when the other girls rode, and
under the supervision of a groom who was held responsible for his
charges.

Nor had the boys been allowed to visit Beverly, the male sex being
regarded by Miss Woodhull as a sort of natural enemy whose sole aim in
life was to circumvent, deprive and rob hers of its just rights. Miss
Woodhull was essentially a militant suffragette and her stanch admirers,
Miss Baylis and Miss Stetson were her enthusiastic partisans. Miss
Atwell, the teacher of esthetic dancing and posing, who came thrice
weekly to instill grace into the graceless and emphasize it in those who
were already graceful, sat, so to speak, upon the fence, undecided which
way to jump. She inclined strongly to the strictly feminine attitude of
dependence upon the stronger sex, but was wise to the advantage of
keeping in touch with those occupying the seats of the mighty at Leslie
Manor.

At Kilton Hall rules were less stringent. The boys could ride every
afternoon if they chose and often did so, ranging the country far and
wide. Many a time they had gone tearing past Leslie Manor when the girls
were stived up within and been exasperated at being "so near and yet so
far," as an old song puts it. Hence Archie's frame of mind, and his
determination to change the existing state of affairs before long if
possible. Letters sent home by the boys and those Beverly wrote to her
mother were the seeds sown which the three hoped would later start the
"something doing." Meanwhile Beverly chafed under the restraint, and suc