"Oh, I've no doubt the fairy godmother could put that straight. I don't see the use of having a fairy godmother if she couldn't do little jobs like that," replied Duane. Erica, however, had not heard. She was fast asleep. "Supposing one of them had had a retroussé nose," remarked Kitty meditatively. "What would have happened then?" "He'd have made a journey to heaven, doubtless," retorted the story-teller. There was silence for a little while, save for Erica's steady breathing. Then Kitty said softly, so as not to disturb her: "How do you do it?" "Do what?" "Talk--like that." "Talk rubbish, do you mean?" "If you like to put it that way. Just as if you hadn't a serious thought or a care in the world--as if our situation wasn't--well--decidedly an uncomfortable one?" "Oh, I don't know. Because I'm a geni-ass, I suppose." "Shall I tell you what I think? You just do it to keep everybody's spirits up and be cheerful." "You mean, to make out to people I'm not afraid or I don't care? Yes, perhaps I do," replied Duane, with a note of thoughtfulness in her voice. "But I don't mean that a bit. You do it just because you aren't afraid." "Oh, am I not? I feel in an awful funk at times, but I should feel frightfully humiliated if I let anyone see or guess it." There was another pause. Duane was evidently in a thoughtful and unusually serious mood, for she went on: "I've an unfortunate manner, I believe, but I've been brought up to think it correct and couldn't get rid of it now if I wanted to try. I always ambled along here happily and serenely enough till all the Carslake Sixth-formers took it into their heads to leave and Prinny sent for me and informed me that she intended giving me the honour of the head prefectship. I funked it horribly, but Prinny was a dear and I had to take it on. Honestly, I meant to do my best, though I felt rather crushed. Do you remember that frightfully serious jaw Prinny gave us, the beginning of last term? But I'm terribly lazy, I know, and as I said, I've an unfortunate manner and I'm afraid I made a hopeless mess of things." Duane gave her explanations with matter-of-fact, almost impersonal simplicity. Kitty's thoughts were in such a jumble that she hardly knew what to say. She felt she must say something of what was in her mind, though, so she blurted out: "That's all nonsense. A mess, indeed! Look at Sports Day--look at the hockey match----" "Oh well, I do happen to be fairly decent at hockey," said Duane curtly. "It's the one thing I'm proud of. But that doesn't make me a success as a head prefect, does it?" "Success or not," returned Kitty, "the house has pulled itself together again, and taken up its proper place in the school, and the head prefect takes the glory as well as the responsibility. That's only fair." Duane grunted.