There was certainly no petting or pitying in her tone as she stood over the little iron bed, where the victim was hiding her head on her pillow.

’Oh, Valetta, how could you do such a thing?  The Merrifields have never been so disgraced before!’

’Oh, don’t, Gill!  Aunt Jane and Miss Leverett were—–­not so angry—–­ when I said—–­I was sorry.’

‘But what will papa and mamma say?’

‘Must they—–­must they hear?’

‘You would not think of deceiving them, I hope.’

‘Not deceiving, only not telling.’

‘That comes to much the same.’

’You can’t say anything, Gill, for you are always down at Kal’s office, and nobody knows.’

This gave Gillian a great shock, but she rallied, and said with dignity, ‘Do you think I do not write to mamma everything I do?’

It sufficed for the immediate purpose of annihilating Valetta, who had just been begging off from letting mamma hear of her proceedings; but it left Gillian very uneasy as to how much the child might know or tell, and this made her proceed less violently, and more persuasively, ’Whatever I do, I write to mamma; and besides, it is different with a little thing like you, and your school work.  Come, tell me how you got into this scrape.’

’Oh, Gill, it was so hard!  All about those tiresome Gauls, and there were bits when the nominative case would go and hide itself, and those nasty tenses one doesn’t know how to look out, and I knew I was making nonsense, and you were out of the way, and there was nobody to help; and I knew mamma’s own book was there—–­the very part too—–­ because Aunt Jane had shown it to us, so I did not think there was any harm in letting her help me out of the muddle.’

‘Ah! that was the beginning.’

’If you had been in, I would not have done it.  You know Aunt Jane said there was no harm in giving a clue, and this was mamma.’

‘But that was not all.’

’Well, then, there was Maura first, as much puzzled, and her brother is so busy he hasn’t as much time for her as he used to have, and it does signify to her, for perhaps if she does not pass, Mr. White may not let her go on at the High School, and that would be too dreadful, for you know you said I was to do all I could for Maura.  So I marked down things for her and she copied them off, and then Georgie and Nelly found it out, and, oh! they were dreadful!  I never knew it was wrong till they went at me.  And they were horrid to Maura, and said she was a Greek and I a Maltese, and so we were both false, and cheaty, and sly, and they should tell Miss Leverett unless I would help them.’

‘Oh!  Valetta, why didn’t you tell me?’

’I never get to speak to you, said Val.  ’I did think I would that first time, and ask you what to do, but then you came in late, and when I began something, you said you had your Greek to do, and told me to hold my tongue.’