A Terrible Tomboy

y, what tea

e'er, I wot,

ng inland watering-place, which boasted not only a Mayor and Corporation, but a pump-room and concert-hall, and had a

but it was the best he could afford; and certainly the education was excellent, though the pupils were decidedly mixed. Still, as Aunt Helen said, 'You have no need to copy

e, and even Bobby had a firm hand on the reins, and knew the rules of the road as well as many a more experienced coachman; and I think, too, that Pixie had a sense of her responsibilities, and could be trusted not to get the wheel locked with a passing waggon, or to race too furiously down a steep hill

back.' To begin with, it was wet. Not that Peggy minded rain in the least, but if it were fine Mr. Vaughan had intended to go over to a great cattle fair which was to be held that day at Shr

time until next Friday afternoon seemed an endless prospect. All the nastiest lessons, Peggy thought, came on Mondays-grammar and arithmetic,

t a shoe upon the road, and Lilian had been obliged to drive so slowly that the

and the slightly nervous feeling had the unfortunate effect of making Pegg

ared at her throu

Vaughan,' she remarked, 'the least you can do is

aded her way to her place, and

etty girl. Her light flaxen hair and pale, fair complexion gave her a smooth, shining appearance, and somehow Peggy always thought her manners were smooth and shining too, for she had a way of wriggling out of an

of undeclared war existed between the two. It was unfortunate for Peggy that the third form classroom was furnished with double desks, for as Miss

sturbed by a tap at the door, and a small girl from one of

piped, 'Miss Martin would like to spe

being interrupted in her classes, but the he

I must leave you for a few minutes. I trust you to continue your arithmetic in

among the little heads bent so discreetly over the arithmetic books. No one attempted to do any work; sweets and apples appeared mysteriously from within desks, and surreptiti

ton in the intervals of ecstatic delight over a w

d we thought she would go lame, so we almost crawled along; and when we got her in, we had

aid Sissie Wilson, a delicate looking g

y one's hands get just numb holding the reins, though it's jolly enoug

bled the envious Sissie; but she was inter

rty desks, and thirty demure young ladies were add

y; perhaps ten years of teaching had caus

during my absence?'

sharp twinge. A Vaughan must never have anything to do with the le

s Crossland,'

' said Nora

il in abstruse calculation, Emily Thompson was deep in the pages of her ari

sland loo

ive you each a bad-conduct mark, and shall expect y

o Peggy's eyes a

I'm sure Miss Crossland might have known they had

mehow (she really did not mean it, but perhaps her tears blinded her) the desk-lid slid

' said the calm voice of Miss Crossland. 'You mus

ry anxious to get home early that afternoon, for they had meant to sow seeds in the garden; and Father was always angry if

compound proportion. 'If a hen and a half lay an egg and a half

a hen and a half? I don't know the least how to state

home, and she wondered if the little chicks would hatch out to-day, and whether Nancy would rem

d. But Peggy's mind was so far away in the

here was just a spice of malice in the action-at any rate, she dug the point of her lea

claimed the ou

ried Peggy, grown despe

sweetly. 'I didn't mean to hurt Margaret, o

e mistress. 'And I must say I think little of any girl who cannot endure a moment's

on Saturday were correct, for Lilian had gone over them carefully afterwards, so she

I have not the answers here. But read out your results, Bertha Muir, and I sh

een pounds six and seven

ave got that answer,'

e thirty hands went up li

entured th

id at arithmetic. But Bertha was reading out the next sum, and the next. To each answer she gave a crowd of uplifted hands agreed with her, and poor Peggy found, to her chagrin, t

air! I know my answers were right. If you would

matter, and if I have any more trouble with you this morning I shall send you

n somehow until the morning was over. Most of the girls fled, as usual the moment the class was dismissed; but Peggy stayed behind

,' she lamented, as she put away the ill-fated h

ne; and I had worke

exactly like mine! I know they are right. How i

n. You know it was the Military Bazaar at the Assembly Rooms on Saturday, and I suppose most of the girls were t

ed Peggy, with flaming cheeks. 'Miss C

gry about it this morning, and when on

ed Peggy. 'She's been perfectly horribl

ut her desk, and she now drew forth a book with such a v

a month ago. Don't you remember what a fearful fuss she made about it, and we were all told to search in our desks? I thought I had looked qu

find Miss Martin in the library now, and it would do quite as well at four o'clock, so suppose you put it inside Mary Hill's desk, just to give her a fright. She's such a goose, she'

tide of popularity in the class, and many were

air-ribbon to the back of the desk on Friday, and wh

put it just on the top in front, where she'll find it first thing; b

ralling that time flew by until the bell, ringing for afternoon school, sent the players, hot and rosy with their exertions, hurrying up the great staircase to their cl

uire Mary's errand nor to carry out her anticipated joke with the note-book, for

bell for order, but, instead of callin

the lecture-hall, where she wishes to address the whole school

ling, marshalled by their teachers. It was evidently a matter of some importance, for it was seldom indee

? Have you heard anything? Wh

self, stately and commanding as usual, and with a grieved look on her face. She

luckless Peggy!) the missing note-book. 'This book of manuscript notes, which I had compiled myself from various sources, and valued greatly, I lent to be copied by the third form. It was lost, and though I caused every search to be m

be open to such a construction. She had meant it all for a joke, and thought Mary would have been the first to join in the fun, and then Nora would, of course, have taken it back. She

oaned Peggy. 'Who would ever have thoug

able a nature that she seeks to hide her fault by throwing the blame on to the shoulders of

e passed slowly round the room.

to the bottom, and I now call upon any girl who may have any

ehind her. For one moment she hesitated, and in that mom

n gravely, 'do you know anythi

in,' replied Emi

then,' commanded

Emily, casting down her eyes. 'I don't

me to shield a companion, and I ord

ack to the schoolroom before dinner for my pencil-box, and,' with a sidelong loo

gy, who, with white and quivering lips, sat as

aughan?' she asked, in a voice tha

was looking at Peggy with eager, expectant face. As for Peggy, she felt as if the end of the world had come. She could not in truth deny the fact

peak bravely, but wishing all the time

at her for a momen

kindly take Margaret Vaughan into the kindergarten classroom, where she will wait until I c

g, except that she seemed to be the centre for all the eight hundred eyes in the room, till Miss Pope took her by the shoulder and marched her away like a warder escorting a very small convict to gaol. T

elt as if she could never explain the matter properly, and that the brand of this horrible affair would remain on her for the rest of her life, bringing disgrace upon the whole family for her sake. She worked herself up nearly to the point of heartbreak when sh

neak for evermore.' And her tears flowed down faster and faster as she pictured herself a sort of social outcast in the school, shunned and avoided by everyone. 'I wonder how long they're going to leave me here?' she thought dismally, as the afternoon wore away and the cloc

ld's mind the agony of waiting is often far worse than the dreaded punishment, and childhoo

settling down upon her, when the door suddenly opened, and Lilian burst in and caught her

and comfort you, but they wouldn't let me. I rushed off at once to tell Miss Martin I was sure it was all a horrible mistake, but she was enga

stare like an idiot while Miss Pope marched you out of the room. Miss Martin's been ever so nice about it, though. She talked a lot about my being careless and our wanting to play tricks on Mary, but she said she was "glad to be able to think a

mly, feeling ready to forgive ev

ily Thompson was a sneak to go telling tales like that, without asking you first if you had really

etic they might be, so she escaped with Lilian through the side-door into the street, feeling she would never be really happy or at ease again till she was