“Oh, Mrs. Ward!” 121 Kitty bent down and bestowed a reverent kiss on that sweet face.
“I have permitted you to kiss me, Kitty,” said Mrs. Ward, “in order to show you that I sympathize with you, as I do with all my dear girls. But now, what is the matter?”
“Well, the fact is this. We want, during the ‘leisure hours’ to give a party.”
“Is that all? Do you all want to give a party?”
“Our side wants to give a party, and we want to invite the other side to it.”
“But what do you mean by ‘our side’ and ‘the other side’?”
“Oh, Mrs. Ward! you know—of course you know—that Aneta and Maggie divide the school.”
“I know,” said Mrs. Ward after a pause, “that Aneta has considerable influence, and that Maggie also has influence.”
“Those two girls divide the school,” said Kathleen, “the rest of us follow them. As a matter of fact, we only follow our leaders in the leisure hours; but as they come every day a good deal can be done in that time, can’t it?”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Ward, and her tone was not exactly cheerful. “On which side are you, Kitty?”