look on both sides of a question before making up my mind, because every
question has to have two sides or it couldn't be argued. If Miss Stearne
wishes to keep you away from the pictures, she has a reason for it; so
let's discover what the reason is."

"To spoil any little fun we might have," asserted Mable bitterly.

"No; I can't believe that," answered Mary Louise. "She isn't unkindly,
we all know, nor is she too strict with her girls. I've heard her remark
that all her boarders are young ladies who can be trusted to conduct
themselves properly on all occasions; and she's right about that. We
must look for her reason somewhere else and I think it's in the pictures
themselves."

"As for that," said Jennie, "I've seen Miss Stearne herself at the
picture theatre twice within the last week."

"Then that's it; she doesn't like the character of the pictures shown. I
think, myself, girls, they've been rather rank lately."

"What's wrong with them?"

"I like pictures as well as you do," said Mary Louise, "and Gran'pa Jim
often takes me to see them. Tuesday night a man shot another in cold
blood and the girl the murderer was in love with helped him to escape
and married him. I felt like giving her a good shaking, didn't you? She
didn't act like a real girl at all. And Thursday night the picture story
told of a man with two wives and of divorces and disgraceful doings
generally. Gran'pa Jim took me away before it was over and I was glad to
go. Some of the pictures are fine and dandy, but as long as the man who