"Dear, dear, what a gorgeous hat!" exclaimed Mrs. Newton, as the girl set it carelessly upon her head. Nan looked sheepish. "I'm glad you like it!" she ventured clumsily. Mrs. Newton did not respond that she had not said she liked it. She busied herself with Miss Blake and her wraps, and replied merely, "It's a remarkable gay affair." Then she kissed the governess "Good-night," and saw both her and Nan safely to the door. The two hastened across the street to see which could get out of the wind first. "I beat!" panted the girl, as she stood in the vestibule and saw Miss Blake breathlessly climb the last step. "Yes, you beat! Fair and square!" admitted the governess as Delia let them in, chattering and shivering, from the chilly air. "Who'll beat now, going upstairs?" screamed Nan. Miss Blake made a dash for the first step and the two went flying up in a perfect whirl of laughter and fun. Delia had forgotten to light the gas in Nan's room and the girl stumbled about blindly, crashing into the furniture and casting off her coat and hat in her old headlong fashion, not stopping to think of all Miss Blake's warnings on the subject, but just hurrying to get down stairs and "beat" the governess in another race. "Clean hands! Smooth hair, and a neat dress for dinner!" sang out the governess gayly. Nan shrugged her shoulders in the dark and made a lunge at the mantelpiece for a match. She struck it and lit the gas, swinging off to the washstand as soon as it was done. Suddenly Miss Blake heard a shriek, a rush of feet across the floor, and then Nan's voice exclaiming "Great Scott!" in a tone that was a cross between a laugh and a cry. She did not wait a moment but hurried instantly to the girl's door. Nan was standing beside the gas fixture, and in her hand was her cherished hat--a ruined mass of smoldering felt and charred plumage. "Nan!" exclaimed Miss Blake, horrified at the sight. "I know it! Isn't it awful! I just slung it on the globe as I always do, and--and--when I lit the gas I forgot all about it, and it was ablaze in a minute. Don't say a word! I know you've told me hundreds of times not to put it there. But I forgot, and--O dear! what'll I wear on my head the rest of the winter? But it is too funny!" Miss Blake tried to look stern. "I'm heartily sorry you've lost your hat, Nan," she said, kindly, without a hint of reproach in her voice. "You were so fond of it. I'm really very sorry, dear!" Nan checked her laughter. She let the hat fall to the floor. A sudden impulse seized her, and she strode up the governess and took her by the shoulders.