They all laughed guiltily, and then as they heard the rest of the girls trooping out of Assembly Hall, stole quietly into their rooms.
An hour later Miss Hale and Mrs. Baird were alone in the faculty room, finishing a conversation.
“I can’t understand,” Mrs. Baird was saying, “why, when you bend a girl to the breaking point, you are surprised that she breaks. You know it is near Christmas and they are all tired.”
“Our ideas of discipline are very different,” Miss Hale returned stiffly.
“Well, after all, you will admit I am the head
of the school,” Mrs. Baird reminded her, smiling good-naturedly to soften the rebuke.
“Certainly, to be sure,” Miss Hale stammered, rather lamely. “I think I’ll be saying good-night.”
When she had gone, Mrs. Baird sank into a big chair before the hearth.
“It was breaking rules, of course,” she mused, smiling into the fire, “but I can’t help loving them for wanting to coast instead of listening to anatomy lectures. It shows they’ve healthy minds anyway, bless them.”