Laura knew by the expression on all the faces that the same thought that had been in her mind when she spoke those last words was in the minds of the other girls, too.
If two very depressed and frightened girls in another room could have heard them, their spirits would have sunk still lower.
"What did I tell you!" cried Cora wildly. "I begged you not to do it. And what did you make by it? Disgraced yourself and only made Nan Sherwood more popular than ever."
For once, Linda was silent. Cora made the most of her chance to get back at Linda for her high-handed treatment of her. She went on mercilessly:
"I was so ashamed of you," she said. "You made such a show of yourself. I didn't think you could be such a coward."
"Well," whined Linda, "I had more to live for, with all my money, than they had."
"That sounds like you," gibed Cora disgustedly. "Well, I pity you if Doctor Beulah finds out you did it. And she will, you can just depend on that."
In the meantime Bess, with some other girls, visited the basement to look at the wreckage. When she came back she had a queer look on her face. She called Nan to one side.
"See what I found," she said and held out a small handkerchief with a daisy worked in one corner. "It was in the basement, close to the wrecked boiler."
Nan looked at the bit of linen and started. She remembered having seen Linda Riggs with such a handkerchief more than once.