"Wait and I'll sweep the floor," Penny offered. She ran to find a broom, returning with it a minute later. Carefully she swept the space in the vicinity of the locker.
"You see, it's gone!" the other girl insisted, eyeing Betty Davis furiously. "You'll never find it because _she_ is wearing it."
As Penny's broom brushed past a dark corner of the room, there was a little metallic click. She stooped down and picked up a ring. Although it was similar in appearance to the one which Betty wore, the resemblance was not close.
"Is this yours?" she inquired, offering it to the owner of the locker.
"Yes, it is," the girl admitted. "I don't know how it came to be on the floor."
"It was there because you dropped it," the matron said sternly. "Next time be more careful about accusing persons."
Penny and Susan turned to go to their own lockers, but before they could leave, Betty came toward them timidly.
"Thank you so much," she said in a low tone. "I owe you a great deal."
"Not at all," Penny returned, a trifle stiffly.
"I feel ashamed of the way I have acted lately," the girl went on hurriedly, avoiding Penny's penetrating gaze. "I've been so upset about everything. I wish I could explain--but I can't."
Betty stared hard at Penny. But she quickly masked the fleeting expression of alarm. After thanking her friends again, she turned and disappeared in the direction of the hair drying room.
"Just what is it that upsets that girl so?" Penny said in an undertone to Susan as they went to their own lockers. "She acts as if she's afraid we'll discover something about her."
"Yes, she does. I can't figure it out at all."
The girls quickly dressed but by the time they had dried their hair and were ready for the street, it was long past supper time.
"I had no idea it was so late," Susan declared as they hurried toward the parked automobile. "Mother will be worried for fear something has happened to us."
"It would take me ages to find a 'phone. I'll be home in a minute or two now anyway."
It had grown quite dark, but although automobiles had been parked close together near the swimming pool, the girls experienced little difficulty in locating Susan's car. As they came up to it they observed that a garage service truck had drawn up to an automobile only a short distance away. The uniformed garage man was busy changing a wheel.