And then Anne spoke right out--"Oh, Tommy, _don't_," she said, in an
agony of fear lest Miss Mary should come in and catch him at it.

But Miss Mary did not come, and the little girls giggled and the boys
capered, and Anne in despair went on writing her words.

When Miss Mary came back finally, with the little people trooping in a
rosy row behind her, twenty-five virtuous heads were bent over
twenty-five papers.

"Did any one speak while I was out?" asked the teacher.

A wave of horror swept over Anne. She had not meant to do it, but she
had spoken, and to try to explain would be to condemn Tommy and the
rest of the school.

"Did any one speak?" asked Miss Mary again.

Anne stood up, her face flaming.

"I--I--did--" she faltered.

"Oh, Anne--" said Miss Mary, while the girls and boys dropped their
eyes for very shame. "Oh, Anne, why did you do it--"

"I just did it--" stammered Anne, who would rather have died than have
blamed Tommy, and Nannie, and Amelia, and the rest of her friends.

"Well, then," said Miss Mary, firmly, "I'm sorry, but you will have to
sit on the platform the rest of the morning, and I can't let you take