"Go in and tell Miss Mary!"
Tommy went.
But Miss Mary did not wish to be bothered.
"I made a rule and Anne broke it," she said, when Tommy tried to straighten things out, "and that is all there is to it. Don't talk about it any more, Tommy," and she dismissed him peremptorily.
When Tommy told Launcelot the result of the interview, the big boy set his lips in a firm line, and started off down the dusty road.
He went straight to town and to Judy.
"Oh, oh," said Judy, when she had listened to his tale of woe, "what a mean old thing she is—I hate her—" and her dark eyes flashed.
"I don't think Miss Mary is mean," said Launcelot, "but the children are restless, and she isn't very strong, and when she feels badly she takes it out on the scholars."
"But to punish Anne," said Judy, and her voice trembled, "dear little
Anne—"
"She might at least have listened to Tommy's explanation," said
Launcelot.