Dorothy had nothing to say. Having told the Head that she had never seen the book before, it seemed useless to repeat her assertion.
After a little pause Miss Arden went on: “Your Form-mistress says that she has always found you truthful and straightforward in your work. It is possible that you have an enemy who put the book among your things. For the present I suspend judgment. As the matter is something of a mystery, and others of the Form may be involved, I must also suspend the Latin marks of the entire Form to-day. Will you please tell Miss Groome that I will come to her room, and talk about this question of the day’s Latin, at eleven o’clock. You may go now.”
Dorothy bowed and went out, with her head held very high and her heart feeling very heavy.
CHAPTER IX
UNDER A CLOUD
Dorothy understood now the reason why Hazel and Margaret had treated her to so much cold shoulder that morning. There was a keen sense of fairness in her make-up, and while she resented the unfriendly treatment, in her heart she did not blame them for the stand they had taken. If they really believed she did her work by means of such helps as that torn book represented, then they were quite within their rights in not wanting to have anything to do with her. The thing which hurt her most was that they should have passed judgment on her without giving her a chance to say a word in her own defence. Yet even that was forgivable, seeing how strong was the circumstantial evidence against her.
She walked into her Form-room, apologizing to Miss Groome for being late, and she took her place as if nothing had been wrong. The only girl who gave her a kind look, or spoke a friendly word, was Rhoda Fleming, and Dorothy was ungrateful enough to wish she had kept quiet.
Work went on as usual. Dorothy had given the message of the Head to Miss Groome, who looked rather mystified, and was coldly polite in her manner to Dorothy.
Never had a morning dragged as that one did; it took all Dorothy’s powers of concentration to keep her mind fixed on her work. She was thinking, ruefully enough, that she would not have much chance of keeping her Form position if this sort of thing went on for long. She blundered in her answers over things she knew very well, and for the first time that term work was something of a hardship.
Eleven o’clock at last! The hour had not done striking, and the girls were, some of them, moving about preparing for the next work, when the door opened, and the Head came in. She looked graver than usual; that much the girls noticed as those who were seated rose at her entrance, and those who were moving to and fro lined up hastily to bow as she came in.