Sadie, with Nan and Jo to back her up, advanced upon her belligerent enemy.
There was a murmur of excitement among the girls. They crowded closer to watch what promised to be a battle royal.
There is no telling what might have come of the argument had not the English teacher appeared at that moment.
"Girls! Girls!" Miss Tully cried in her crisp, precise voice. "Pray, what is the meaning of this? What has happened?"
Kate Speed got in her innings first.
"It was all Sadie Appleby's fault, Miss Tully!" she cried. "She threw a muddy tennis ball at Lottie and hit her in the ear."
"I did not, Miss Tully," cried Sadie hotly. "I never thought of such a thing. It was an accident and I've already told Lottie Sparks I'm sorry."
"She threw it at me, Miss Tully," Lottie insisted. "She did it just to be mean!"
"Oh, she did not! That's a falsehood!" Jo cried out. Miss Tully turned sharply upon her.
"What kind of language is this for a student of Laurel Hall?" she reproved, looking sternly at the open-mouthed Jo. "Miss Josephine Morley, you will do better in the future to set a guard upon your tongue."