by L. T. Meade
tampered with. Hasany other girl suffered injury--has any other girl's desk been touched?"
Mrs Willis looked down the long room--her voice had reached everycorner, and the quiet, dignified, and deeply-pained expression in herfine eyes was plainly visible to each girl in the school. Even thelittle ones were startled and subdued by the tone of Mrs Willis'svoice, and one or two of them suddenly burst into tears. Mrs Willispaused for a full moment, then she repeated her question.
"I insist upon knowing the exact truth, my dear children," she saidgently but with great decision.
"My desk has also been tampered with," said Miss Temple in a low voice.
Every one started when Cecil spoke, and even Annie Forest glanced at herwith a half-frightened and curious expression. Cecil's voice indeed wasso low, so shaken with doubt and pain, that her companions scarcelyrecognised it.
"Come here, Miss Temple," said Mrs Willis.
Cecil instantly left her desk and walked up the room.
"Your desk has also been tampered with, you say?" repeated thehead-mistress.
"Yes, madam."
"When did you discover this?"
"To-day, Mrs Willis."
"You kept it to yourself?"
"Yes."
"Will you now repeat in the presence of the school, and in a loud enoughvoice to be heard by all here, exactly what was done?"
"Pardon me," answered Cecil, and now her voice was a little lessagitated and broken, and she looked full into the face of her teacher,"I cannot do that."
"You deliberately disobey me, Cecil?" said Mrs Willis.
"Yes, madam."
Mrs Willis's face flushed--she did not, however, look angry--she laidher hand on Cecil's shoulder and looked full into her eyes.
"You are one of my best pupils, Cecil," she said tenderly. "At such amoment as this honour requires you to stand by your mistress. I mustinsist on your telling me here and now exactly what has occurred."
Cecil's face grew whiter and whiter.
"I cannot tell you," she murmured; "it breaks my heart, but I cannottell you."
"You have defied me, Cecil," said Mrs Willis in a tone of deep pain."I must, my dear, insist on your obedience, but not now. Miss Good,will you take Miss Temple to the chapel? I will come to you, Cecil, inan hour's time."
Cecil walked down the room crying silently. Her deep distress and hervery firm refusal to disclose what she knew had made a great impressionon her school-fellows. They all felt troubled and uneasy, and AnnieForest's face was very pale.
"This thing, this wicked, mischievous thing has gone deeper than Ifeared," said Mrs Willis, when Cecil had left the room.
"Only some very strong motive would make Cecil Temple behave as she isnow doing. She is influenced by a mistaken idea of what is right; shewishes to shield the guilty person. I may as well tell you all, youngladies, that, dear as Cecil is to me, she is now under the ban of mysevere displeasure. Until she confesses the truth and humbles herselfbefore me, I cannot be reconciled to her. I cannot permit her toassociate with you. She has done very wrong, and her punishment must beproportionately severe. There is one chance for her, however. Will thegirl whom she is mistakenly, though generously, trying to shield, comeforward and confess her guilt, and so release poor Cecil from theterrible position in which she has placed herself? By doing so, thegirl who has caused all this misery will at least show me that she istrying to repent."
Mrs Willis paused again, and now she looked down the room with a faceof almost entreaty. Several pairs of eyes were fixed anxiously on her,several looked away, and many girls glanced in the direction of AnnieForest, who, feeling herself suspected, returned their glances with bolddefiance, and instantly assumed her most reckless manner.
Mrs Willis waited for a full minute.
"The culprit is not noble enough," she said then. "Now, girls, I mustask each of you to come up one by one and deny or confess this charge.As you do so, you are silently to leave the school-room and go up toyour rooms, and prepare for the walk which has been so painfullydelayed. Miss Conway, you are at the head of the school, will you setthe example?"
One by one the girls of the head class stepped up to their teacher, andof each one she asked the same question--
"Are you guilty?"
Each girl replied in the negative and walked out of the school-room.The second-class followed the example of the first, and then thethird-class came up to their teacher. Several ears were strained tohear Annie Forest's answer, but her eyes were lifted fearlessly to MrsWillis's face, and her "No!" was heard all over the room.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
IN THE CHAPEL.
The bright light from a full noontide sun was shining in coloured barsthrough the richly-painted windows of the little chapel when Mrs Willissought Cecil Temple there.
Cecil's face was in many ways a remarkable one. Her soft brown eyeswere generally filled with a steadfast and kindly ray. Gentleness washer special prerogative, but there was nothing weak about her--hers wasthe gentleness of a strong and pure and noble soul. To know Cecil wasto love her. She was a motherless girl, and the only child of a mostindulgent father. Colonel Temple was now in India, and Cecil was tofinish her education under Mrs Willis's care, and then, if necessary,to join her father.
Mrs Willis had always taken a special interest in this girl. Sheadmired her for her great moral worth. Cecil was not particularlyclever, but she was so studious, so painstaking, that she always kept ahigh place in class. She was without doubt a religious girl, but therewas nothing of the prig about her. She was not, however, ashamed of herreligion, and, if the fitting occasion arose, she was fearless inexpressing her opinion.
Mrs Willis used to call Cecil her "little standard-bearer," and sherelied greatly on her influence over the third-class girls. Mrs Willisconsidered the third-class, perhaps, the most important in the school.She was often heard to say--
"The girls who fill this class have come to a turning-point--they havecome to the age when resolves may be made for life, and kept. The goodthird-class girl is very unlikely to degenerate as she passes throughthe second and first classes. On the other hand, there is very littlehope that the idle or mischievous third-class girl will mend her ways asshe goes higher in the school."
Mrs Willis's steps were very slow, and her thoughts extremely painful,as she entered the chapel to-day. Had any one else offered her defianceshe would have known how to deal with the culprit, but Cecil would neverhave acted as she did without the strongest motive, and Mrs Willis feltmore sorrowful than angry as she sat down by the side of her favouritepupil.
"I have kept you waiting longer than I intended, my dear," she said. "Iwas unexpectedly interrupted, and I am sorry; but you have had more timeto think, Cecil."
"Yes, I have thought," answered Cecil, in a very low tone.
"And, perhaps," continued her governess, "in this quiet and beautifuland sacred place, my dear pupil has also prayed?"
"I have prayed," said Cecil.
"Then you have been guided, Cecil," said Mrs Willis in a tone ofrelief. "We do not come to God in our distress without being shown theright way. Your doubts have been removed, Cecil; you can now speakfully to me; can you not, dear?"
"I have asked God to tell me what is right," said Cecil. "I don'tpretend to know. I am very much puzzled. It seems to me that more goodwould be done if I concealed what you asked me to confess in theschool-room. My own feeling is that I ought not to tell you. I knowthis is great disobedience, and I am quite willing to receive anypunishment you think right to give me. Yes, I think I am quite willingto receive _any_ punishment."
Mrs Willis put her hand on Cecil's shoulder.
"Ordinary punishments are not likely to affect you, Cecil," she said;"on you I have no idea of inflicting extra lessons, or depriving you ofhalf-holidays, or even taking away your drawing-room. But there issomething else you must lose, and that I know will touch you deeply--Imust remove from you my confidence."
Cecil's
face grew very pale.
"And your love, too?" she said, looking up with imploring eyes: "oh,surely not your love as well?"
"I ask you frankly, Cecil," replied Mrs Willis, "can perfect love existwithout perfect confidence? I would not willingly deprive you of mylove, but of necessity the love I have hitherto felt for you must bealtered--in short, the old love which enabled me to rest on you andtrust you, will cease."
Cecil covered her face with her hands.
"This punishment is very cruel," she said. "You are right; it reachesdown to my very heart. But," she added, looking up with a strong andsweet light in her face, "I will try and bear it, and some day you
