"Miss Diaments, you are no longer a member of this school. You will remain in this room till I can send for your uncle. Mary Burns, my dear, you are entirely cleared from the shadow of blame. Is she not, Miss Meeks?" "So far as this matter is concerned, certainly," said Miss Meeks; "but I must remind her that but for certain past equivocations, to call them by a mild name, I should not have suspected her." "I know I have not always told the truth exactly, Miss Meeks," answered Mary, humbly. "I have been easily frightened and confused, and sometimes I have seemed to tell lies when I did not mean to. But I hope I shall be enabled to do better, and not think so much of what men will think of me." Miss Meeks was melted. She kissed Mary, and told her she had no doubt she meant to be a very good girl. "You will now all return to your places," said Miss McPherson. "Miss Meeks will clear Miss Burns, and I hope we shall none of us be the worse for the lesson we have received." Miss McPherson spent some time in trying to persuade Antoinette to a confession, but Antoinette was obstinate. The fact was, she did not believe Miss McPherson would dare to expel her, and took all her persuasive gentleness for a method of getting gracefully out of the scrape. "Very well, I shall say no more," said Miss McPherson. And rising she led Antoinette to a smaller room which opened from her own, and which was used in extreme cases as a kind of chamber of penitence. "You will remain in this room, seeing no one, till I can see your uncle, and make arrangements for you to return with him." "I must put up my things," said Antoinette, for the first time showing some alarm. "I shall myself look over and put up your things with the assistance of Mrs. McGregor." Antoinette now gave way entirely, and with tears and sobs and the most abject entreaties begged to be allowed to go to her room, if only for a few minutes, to put up her own things. "No," answered Miss McPherson, her suspicions confirmed by Antoinette's conduct. "I must attend to that matter myself. The servant will bring your dinner, but you will not leave this room." So saying Miss McPherson left the room, shutting and locking the door. She was sorry for the girl, but hers was not the false compassion which will expose the innocent to contamination on the mere chance of reforming the guilty. She found more than enough in her search of Antoinette's room to confirm her resolution. It was astonishing to see how many little articles, some of considerable value, which had been given up for lost by their owners, were found carefully hidden in boxes and under beds. It seemed evident that Antoinette must have carried on the business of petty thieving almost ever since she had been in the school.