"And why can't you obey them, Bridget?"
"Why can't I obey the rules of the school? We are not likely to be chums if you talk to me in that fashion, Janet."
"Now, my dear, I must just reason with you a little. You say you can't obey the rules of the school; you say so because you fail to understand them. If you put yourself under my guidance, and I am quite willing to take charge of you, I will show you that you can obey them sufficiently to keep yourself out of all serious scrapes, and yet at the same time you will enjoy as much liberty as any girl need desire. Do you think I am unhappy on account of the rules of the school?"
"No; but you haven't got a wild heart like me."
"Poor Biddy, I'll take care of your wild heart. It was ill-natured of me not to see after you before, but in the future, my dear, you are quite safe. I am going to fetch Mrs. Freeman now."
"What in the world for?"
"To tell her that you will obey the rules, that you will cease to be an unruly member of the community, that you are going to be my chum."
"O Janet, but it's dreadful to promise and not to perform. I have been awfully naughty, I know, over and over and over again, but I have never stooped to breaking a promise."
"You shall not break this promise, for I won't let you, but I can show you a way to keep the fetters from galling. Now I am going to fetch Mrs. Freeman. It's worth your while to submit at once, Biddy, for I intend to take you for a row."