Miss Watts was a woman of considerable intellectual capacity, with a passion for books. She was ill-fitted for the sole charge of a five-year-old girl of Isabelle's vitality, but her poise and sense of humour won the child's respect. After that first experiment there were no more spasms of howling. Miss Watts never tried to sentimentalize their relationship. She recognized the child's unusual quality, and her precocity. She was at present an unendurable human being, thanks to her bringing up. Her ideas and ideals were servant-made. If she could be brought to see herself as socially an outcast, because of her bad manners, Miss Watts knew it would effect a cure. On her side, Isabelle found Miss Watts's mind a storehouse of treasures. She told stories of all countries, and all times, and she told them well. The only punishment ever inflicted was the abolishment of the story hour, and this was the only chastisement Isabelle had ever regarded as such. There was a marked improvement in her behaviour and the members of her household drew a long breath of relief. Miss Watts piqued the girl's interest in the study hours, and, as if by a miracle, she learned to read. The teacher found an extraordinary concentration of effort to acquire anything the girl desired. Promised the joy of finding stories for herself, the student applied herself and learned by magic. She was extremely proud of the new accomplishment, and would have read constantly if Miss Watts had not settled upon literary pursuits as the reward of virtue. One of the by-products of the new ability was a tighter hold on her leadership of the children she played with. Everything she read suggested new and wonderful games. As originator and inventor she always played the leading roles, assisted by the others. Summer days provided uninterrupted opportunity for her talents. She turned the playhouse into a theatre, and organized a supporting company. Sometimes Miss Watts assisted with the scenario, sometimes Isabelle was sole author or adapter. It was the year when she was eight, and just beginning to read Dickens, that she prepared a presentation of "A Tale of Two Cities." She worked at it with great enthusiasm for fully a week. Then she appeared in her mother's room. "Max, can I have lemonade and cake for the audience this afternoon?" "What audience?" "At the Isabelle Theatre." "Who's coming?" "Everybody. Parents and relatives. I rode around to all the houses this morning and issued the invitations. They all accepted." "Why didn't you consult me before you invited the neighbourhood in?"--hotly. "I thought you'd kick about the refreshments." "If you ever do this again you will get no refreshments and I will send your friends home." "They're yours too. Martin Christiansen said he would not miss it for a kingdom." "You call him Mr. Christiansen, when you speak of him, Miss Impudence. What do you intend to do to entertain all these people?"