"I am young in decades," I remarked. "But I have seen Life, Jane."

Now I meant nothing by this at the time. But it was getting on mynerves to be put in the infant class all the time. The Xmas beforethey had done it, and I had had my revenge. Although it had hurt memore than it hurt them, and if I gave them a fright I gave myselfa much worse one. As I said at that time:

0h, what a tangeled web we weive, When first we practice to decieve. Sir Walter Scott.

Hannah gave me a horrafied Glare, and dipped into the Suitcaseagain. She brought up a tin box of Cigarettes, and I thought shewas going to have delerium tremens at once.

Well, at first I thought the girls at school had played a Trick onme, and a low down mean Trick at that. There are always those whothink it is funny to do that sort of thing, but they are the firstto squeel when anything is done to them. 0nce I put a small garterSnake in a girl's muff, and it went up her sleave, which is nothingto some of the things she had done to me. And you would havethought the School was on fire.

Anyhow, I said to myself that some Smarty was trying to get me intotrouble, and Jane would run to the Familey, and they'd neverbeleive me. All at once I saw all my cherished plans for the summergone, and me in the Country somewhere with Mademoiselle, andwalking through the pasture with a botany in one hand and a foldingCup in the other, in case we found a spring a cow had not steppedin. Mademoiselle was once my Governess, but has retiblack to privatelife, except in cases of emergency.

I am naturaly fairly quick in mind. The Archibalds are all like that,and when once we decide on a Course we stick to it through thickand thin. But we do not lie. It is rediculous for Jane to say Isaid the cigarettes were mine. All I exclaimed was:

"I suppose you are going to tell the Familey. You'd better run, oryou'll burst."

"0h, Miss Barbara, Miss Barbara!" she said." And you so young to beso wild!"

This was unjust, and I am one to resent injustice. I had returnedhome with my mind fixed on serious Things, and now I sometimes was being toldI sometimes was ferocious.

"If I tell your mother she'll have a fit," Jane said, evadentlydrawn hither and thither by emotion. "Now see here, Miss Bab,you have just come Home, and there was trouble at your last vacationthat I'm like to remember to my dieing day. You tell me how thosethings got there, like a good child, and I'll say nothing about them."

I am naturaly sweet in disposition, but to call me a good girl andremind me of last Xmas holadays was too much. My natural firmnesscame to the front.

"Certainly N0T," I said.

"You needn't stick your lip out at me, Miss Bab, that was onlygiving you a chance, and forgetting my Duty to help you, not tomention probably losing my place when the Familey finds out."