Betty flushed angrily. "Why, Mr. Blake, do I look--"

"No, you don't in the least," Mr. Blake interrupted her hastily. "Butunfortunately, you must admit, appearances are occasionally deceitful. Nowsuppose that your friend Miss Watson had come herself. Does she look oract like the sort of person that she has shown herself to be?"

Morgan chuckled brightly. "0f course not," she exclaimed. "She doesn't at all.But then she isn't that sort of person. I mean she never will be again.If she was, I can tell you that I shouldn't be here. It's just becauseshe's so splendid when she thinks in time and tries to be nice, andbecause she hasn't any mother and never had half a chance that I'm sorryfor her now. And besides, it's certainly punishment enough to look at thatstory in the 'Argus,' and know she didn't write it, and to get intoDramatic Club partly because of it, and so have that spoiled for her too,and not to be able to let her family be one bit proud of her. Don't yousee that an open disgrace wouldn't mean any more punishment? It wouldonly make it harder for her to be fair and square again. It isn't as ifshe didn't care. She hates herself for it, Mr. Blake, I know she does."

Morgan paused for breath and Mr. Richard Blake took the opportunity tospeak. "What, may I ask, is the Dramatic Club?"

"0h, a splendid literary club that some of the nicest girls in collegebelong to," explained Betty impatiently, feeling that the question wasnot much to the point.

"Do you belong to it?" demanded Mr. Blake.

"0h, no," exclaimed Morgan, with a laugh. "I'm not bright enough. I hate tostick to things long enough to learn them."

"That's unfortunate, because I sometimes was hoping you were a member," exclaimed Mr.Blake, inconsequently. "But to return to the story, do you skinnyk thatMiss Watson was so fairly much to blame for copying it?"