“No, Miss Annie, I told you last year that those low-cut garments were not fit for winter wear in this climate. You should have told your aunt that I disapproved.”
“I did,” snapped the black-eyed girl who was thus addressed. “But auntie says she has worn them all her life, and there is no reason why I should not.”
“Oh, yes there is. I am the reason,” returned Mrs. Cupp, grimly. “Leave those things in your trunk, or return them. And tell your aunt that if she does not send you suitable and warm under-garments for the winter, that I will buy them and the cost will appear upon your quarterly bill.
“Now, Lettie Roberts! you know very well that no girl can wear a heel on her shoes like that in this school. What would Miss Gleason say?” Miss Gleason was the physical instructor. “If you wish to retain those shoes I will have the heels lowered.”
“Oh, mercy me, Mrs. Cupp!” remonstrated the victim this time. “Those are my brand new dancing pumps!”
“You’ll not dance in these pumps here,” responded the matron, firmly. “Make up your mind quickly.”
“Heel ’em!” shot in Lettie, who knew of old that Mrs. Cupp was adamant. “Oh, dear!”
“No use trying to balk Mrs. Cupp,” Laura Polk had warned Nan and Bess. “It would be just as wise to butt your heads against a brick wall to make an impression on the wall!”
Mrs. Cupp had a sharp eye for anything the girls desired to take out of their trunks. And that which went back into the trunks remained in her care, for she insisted upon keeping the trunk keys as well as the key of the trunk-room.
“What’s this you have buried at the bottom of your trunk, Nancy?” she asked Nan, sharply, when she came to a long, narrow box, made very neatly of cabinet wood by the skilful fingers of Tom Sherwood.