“Yes, Mr. Horner.”
“You did not do it?”
“No, Mr. Horner,” then with a little catch of her breath, “I wouldn’t do such a mean thing, not for nothing.”
“Not for anything, I think you mean, Margaret,” said Mr. Horner in gentler tones.
“Not for anything,” repeated Margaret, meekly.
“Then, I shall have to ask each separately, and I expect a truthful answer,” said Mr. Horner. He began putting the question, going from one to the next till every girl in the room had been questioned.
“It might have been one of the older girls,” said Miss Newman, in an undertone to him.
Clara caught the words, as she was nearest. “I should think it would be very easy to know who did it,” she said, “when there is only one of us girls who stays in the house.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Mr. Horner severely.
Clara was not daunted. “I mean that there is only one girl who can come into the school-room before the others can get here.”