"Well, we were having a party in here last night--a sort of feast. It was Peggy's birthday and her mother sent her a box. Peggy's room is so near Fraulein's she never can have anything there, so we had it here. We waited till all the lights were out, and it was as still as could be. We were having a dandy time, when Peggy said she'd forgotten a box of candy in her room and went to get it. We waited for her, and after a while there was a knock on the door--just a little timid knock, as if Peggy were trying to fool us. She knew a knock like that would scare us to death, so we thought we'd fool her. I happened to have a pitcher of water on the stand there, so we opened the door a little way--it was pitch dark--and let her have it, full force!" "Well?" "Well--it wasn't Peggy--it was Fraulein! Didn't you hear her scream? It was enough to wake the dead. Miss North came running and Miss Martin--she's on this floor too, now, and--" Carita's grief had suddenly turned to mirth. She rocked back and forth in her chair shaking with laughter. "Oh, Blue Bonnet, you couldn't have helped laughing to save you--it was perfectly killing. Fraulein was so angry she just tore round. She threatened to have us all expelled--disgraced--everything you could think of! At least we took it for that--it was all in German--every word." "And Miss North has taken away all my privileges for two weeks--two whole weeks! That means that I can't go to the party the girls are getting up for the twenty-second, or anything, and I'm just not going to stand it. I'm going home! You see if I don't--this time!" She got up and began hauling more things from the closet. "No, you're not," Blue Bonnet said gently, putting her arm round her. "You're not going to do anything of the kind, you know you're not. You'd be ashamed to. It would look as if you were afraid to face the music--and you can--you must!" It was Mary's turn to look amazed. "That's not why I'm going," she said. "I'm not afraid of punishment." "That's the way it would look." "I don't care how it would look. I wouldn't be here to see anyway." "Then you haven't any pride." "I guess I have as much pride as you have, or any one else!" "Not if you're going to run away, you haven't. Besides, I can't blame Fraulein so very much for being angry. It isn't so funny to be drenched like that. She was doing her duty, wasn't she?" "Oh, she's always snooping round, if that's what you mean. Get her on your own hall for awhile and see how you like it." "I shouldn't like it. Not at all; but that's not the point." "What is the point?" "That you've made a mistake and you aren't big enough to take the blame. My uncle says that making a mistake isn't such a very grave thing in itself, it's human nature. The trouble comes in not trying to correct it." Mary looked out of the window, a frown on her face. "You'd better not be so preachy," she said. "Everybody hates a goody-goody--here!" Blue Bonnet laughed.