The gist of the trouble was this:  the girls at the hostel expected to have as much liberty as if they were in their own homes, while Miss Kelly, who had formerly been a mistress at St. Chad’s, wished to enforce strict boarding-school rules.  It was much more difficult to do this because the hostel only formed part of a large day school; the general atmosphere of the place was more free than at a college where all alike are boarders, and the girls naturally were infected by the prevailing spirit.  A constant source of annoyance was the rule that they must report themselves in the hostel at 4.15.  It was the fashion to linger after school, and chat in the “gym” or in the playground.  It was a delightful little time, when everybody could meet every one else, and discuss school news and matches and guilds and other interesting topics.  To be obliged, for no particular reason, to cut short their conversations and race back to the hostel was annoying.  The boarders evaded the rule as far as possible, but Miss Kelly kept a roll-call, and they knew that their absences would be duly reported to Miss Bishop.

To Winona, in especial, many of the rules were extremely irksome.  At more than sixteen and a half, she felt it ridiculous to be obliged to ask permission to go out and buy a lead pencil at the stationer’s.  “It’s like living in a convent!” she fumed.

Another bone of contention was her preparation.  She had been so accustomed to work in a room by herself at Abbey Close that she found the presence of others highly distracting.  Though silence was enforced, the girls fluttered the leaves of their books, scratched with their pens, or even murmured dates under their breath, all of which sounds were most irritating.  Winona begged to be allowed to take her books to her cubicle, but Miss Kelly would not hear of it.

[Illustration:  “TO SEE A REAL LIVE AIRMAN AT SUCH CLOSE QUARTERS WAS NOT AN ORDINARY EXPERIENCE”]

“I cannot make an exception for one,” she replied, “and it would be impossible to allow girls to work as they liked in the dormitories.  There would be more talking than preparation!  You’ll stay here with the others, and I can see for myself what you’re doing.”

The hint that Miss Kelly suspected her of some ulterior motive for wishing to study upstairs enraged Winona, but she was obliged to submit, and to sit, close under the mistress’ eye, at the long table, in company with her fellow-boarders.  Her work suffered in consequence, and Miss Goodson’s sarcasms descended on her head.  Miss Goodson was not so patient a teacher as Miss Huntley, and Winona tried her temper at times.  Winona was subject to curious fits of stupidity.  Her brains were like a clock with a broken cog.  Sometimes they would work easily, and on other days she seemed quite unable to grasp the most obvious problems.  A lively imagination may be a very delightful possession, and of use in the writing of history and literature exercises, but it cannot supply the place of solid facts, nor is it of the least aid in mathematics, so Winona’s form record was not high.