“But she was most frightfully tired when she got back,” broke in Gretta; “and we didn’t know _what_ to do, because we didn’t want her to get into a row, and we knew we’d simply _have_ to tell.”
“What happened then?” asked Margot in great interest.
“Oh, Miss Read came out of the school-door to see if the brake had come for the Redford girls, just as we were standing staring at Sybil as though she was a kind of ghost.”
“She took in the whole thing in a minute, and we didn’t have to say a word. _She_ didn’t say much either; she just marched her off, parcels and all, straight to Miss Slater’s room!” Thus Josy, with, it is feared, a certain amount of relish for the story she was telling.
“Oh, I do hope she wasn’t punished,” broke in Margot. “I can’t help feeling, you know----”
“Well, we haven’t seen her since, anyway,” continued Josy; “but there’s no sign of a feast in _that_ dormer! Gretta’s sorry for her, but I can’t say that I am; I think she deserves it!”
“I went to Miss Read,” said Gretta, interrupting at this point, “and I told her that I didn’t think Sybil understood rules yet, properly; and that I thought, perhaps, I hadn’t looked after her enough; for I do think that, you know, Margot. I’ve thought so much of music and things----”
“Well, and what did she say?” inquired Margot, feeling very compassionate towards her younger cousin.
“Well, she said perhaps I hadn’t; but that all the same she had caused a great deal of trouble, and that Miss Slater had spoken to her, and that she had been sent to bed in the infirmary for punishment.”
“Poor Sybil!” said Margot. “For, you know, I can’t help feeling that if she hadn’t gone off like that I should never have gone to the ‘Little House,’ and then Long Jake would never have seen our old man.”
“But what _I_ want to know is _how_ they knew each other!” remarked Josy. “The whole thing’s so mysterious!”
“I’m going to try and think it all out before I go to sleep,” said Margot with a very large yawn.
There was silence for a long time after that; even on dormitory feast-nights sleep must come sooner or later, and the day had been an exciting one, and consequently very tiring.
“Good night,” said Josy, shaking crumbs from her counterpane; “I don’t feel somehow as though I’d eat much breakfast to-morrow, but one never knows! I say, Margot, what happened to that pony?”