‘No, spooning,’ said Val.  ‘The dish ran after the spoon, you know.’

‘Well, but you haven’t told me about the schools,’ said Gillian, in elder sisterly propriety, thinking the subject had better be abandoned.

‘Jolly, jolly, scrumptious!’ cried Fergus.

’Oh!  Fergus, mamma doesn’t like slang words.  Jasper doesn’t say them.’

’Not at home, but men say what they like at school, and the ’bus was scrumptious and splendiferous!’

‘I’m sure it wasn’t,’ said Valetta; ’I can’t bear being boxed up with horrid rude boys.’

‘Because you are only a girl!’

‘Now, Gill, they shot with—–­’

‘Val, if you tell—–­’

‘Telling Gill isn’t telling.  Is it, Gill?’

She assented.

‘They did, Gill.  They shot at us with pea-shooters,’ sighed the girl.

‘Oh! it was jolly, jolly, jolly!’ cried the boy.  ’Stebbing hit the girl who made the sour face on her cheeks, and they all squealed, and the cad looked in and tried to jaw us.’

‘But that dreadful boy shot right into his mouth,’ said Val, while Fergus went into an ecstasy of laughter.  ‘Wasn’t it a shame, Gill?’

‘Indeed it was’ said Gillian.  ’Such ungentlemanly boys ought not to be allowed in the omnibus.’

’Girls shouldn’t be allowed in the ‘bus, they are so stupid,’ said Fergus.  ‘That one—–­as cross as old Halfpenny—–­who was she, Val?’

‘Emma Norton!  Up in the highest form!’

’Well, she is a prig, and a tell-tale-tit besides; only Stebbing said if she did, her junior would catch it.’

‘What a dreadful bully he must be!’ exclaimed Gillian.

I’ll tell you what,’ said Fergus, in a tone of profound admiration, ’no one can hold a candle to him at batting!  He snowballed all the Kennel choir into fits, and he can brosier old Tilly’s stall, and go on just the same.’

‘What a greedy boy!’ exclaimed Val.

‘Disgusting,’ added Gillian.

‘You’re girls,’ responded Fergus, lengthening the syllable with infinite contempt; but Valetta had spirit enough to reply, ’Much better be a girl than rude and greedy.’

‘Exactly,’ said Gillian; ’it is only little silly boys who think such things fine.  Claude doesn’t, nor Harry, nor Japs.’

‘You know nothing about it,’ said Fergus.

’Well, but you’ve never told me about school—–­how you are placed, and whom you are under.’

’Oh!  I’m in middle form, under Miss Edgar.  Disgusting!  It’s only the third form that go up to Smiler.  She knows it is no use to try to take Stebbing and Burfield.’

‘And, Gill,’ added Val, ’I’m in second class too, and I took three places for knowing where Teheran was, and got above Kitty Varley and a girl there two years older than I am, and her name is Maura.’

’Maura, how very odd!  I never heard of any one called Maura but one of the Whites,’ said Gillian.  ‘What was her surname?’