"Be sporting, Lesbia," urged Kathleen. "It's all very well for you to talk, but you forget the _time_ it will take me. I've my prep to do, the same as the rest of you, and you know what Miss Pratt is. She's about as much consideration as a slave-driver. 'Your tasks, your daily tasks' are what she's out for and we have to 'make bricks without straw', that's to say, learn things without the time to do it in. How'm I going to manage?" "We've all got to make sacrifices for the school," said Calla briskly, "and yours must be doing this book-back. If it takes your prep time and you get into rows with Miss Pratt, well that can't be helped. You'll be suffering in a good cause." "That's all very well, but it's _I_ who'll get the scoldings, and they'll be the limit." "Cheerio, chucky. We'll all slack a little and bring down the standard, so that you won't seem so conspicuous. _You_ won't mind a bad mark or two, will you, Marjorie?" "Not at all," beamed that damsel shamelessly. "It's not the first time by any means." "We'd better have a rota to slack prep" (Carrie's voice was eager), "three of us can do it every day in turns, then Miss Pratt won't be too down on any special one. Bags me to-morrow. I want to go out to tea anyway." "Right you are. See how we're backing you up, Lesbia. Isn't it noble of us? I think we're absolute mascots if you ask me." CHAPTER X Pilgrims' Inn Chambers Rather overwhelmed by the honour thrust on her unaccustomed shoulders, but buoyed up by the importance of it, Lesbia set to work to consider the question of a book-back worthy of the form scrap album. She received no inspiration or even particular encouragement from the Pattersons. As a family they were intellectual but not in the least artistic. Mrs. Patterson frowned slightly when her young cousin, bubbling over with elation, mentioned the matter at the dinner-table. "Well now, Lesbia," she began, in her deep common-sense tone of voice, "it's all very well to take up these fads, but what about your lessons? I think Miss Tatham's making a mistake to let so much time be wasted over these outside things. Girls have to stick close to their books if they want to pass exams. Now when Kitty was reading for her matric, she never went out anywhere, even to a concert or a lecture. Did you, Kitty?" Kitty, sprinkling sugar over her roasted apples, shook her head emphatically. "It was just jolly well grind, grind from breakfast till bedtime," she admitted, "I think they're slacking off at Kingfield High nowadays." "Oh, but it's much more interesting than ever it used to be," urged Lesbia, anxious for the credit of her school, "and of course even Miss Pratt knows we're trying for the scrap-book prize. Oh, well, yes--of course she's a little sniffy over it, but she can't say we mustn't." "As long as Lesbia does her prep all right I don't see why anybody need scream," put in Joan, taking up the cudgels for her cousin.