barrer. Den I gwine red up de house an' take de keys to Mass' Gimble, de
agent. Den Polly an' me we go back to our own li'l' house in de lane
yondeh. De Kun'l done 'range ev'thing propeh, an' we gwine do jus' like
he say."

Mary Louise felt lonely and uncomfortable in the big house, now that her
mother and grandfather had gone away. Since the move was inevitable, she
would be glad to go to Miss Stearne as soon as possible. She helped Aunt
Polly pack her trunk and suit case, afterwards gathering into a bundle
the things she had forgotten or overlooked, all of which personal
belongings Uncle Eben wheeled over to the school. Then she bade the
faithful servitors good-bye, promising to call upon them at their humble
home, and walked slowly over the well-known path to Miss Stearne's
establishment, where she presented herself to the principal.

It being Saturday, Miss Stearne was seated at a desk in her own private
room, where she received Mary Louise and bade her sit down.

Miss Stearne was a woman fifty years of age, tall and lean, with a
deeply lined face and a tendency to nervousness that was increasing with
her years. She was a very clever teacher and a very incompetent business
woman, so that her small school, of excellent standing and repute,
proved difficult to finance. In character Miss Stearne was temperamental
enough to have been a genius. She was kindly natured, fond of young
girls and cared for her pupils with motherly instincts seldom possessed
by those in similar positions. She was lax in many respects, severely
strict in others. Not always were her rules and regulations dictated by
good judgment. Therefore her girls usually found as much fault as other
boarding school girls are prone to do, and with somewhat more reason. On
the other hand, no one could question the principal's erudition or her