“That is too bad. I will give her a test this afternoon, about three. If she would like to play with her kitten in the playroom for an hour, after dinner, she may do so.”
“Oh, I am sure she would be glad to see her kitten. She is a queer child. At recess she stole away all by herself, to play by the fence.”
The children were coming in now, and Mrs. Snow nodded to Miss Rose, as she went to her chair.
Little Sally had been just behind Miss Rose as she said the last words to Mrs. Snow. She heard part of the words she said, and began to whisper to her neighbor.
“She said somebody stole something. It must be that new girl. See how queer she looks.”
Then of course the neighbor had to whisper to the girl next to her.
“Do you know what it was the new girl stole? See how funny she looks. She’d better not steal anything of mine.”
In a minute Clematis knew they were talking about her. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it was unkind.
They were looking at her, and talking to each other. Her face turned red. She could not eat. One hand went deep into her apron pocket.
Miss Rose quickly saw that something was wrong. She knew that little girls often made fun of the strangers, and it vexed her.