Elsa hummed and swung her parasol. "Why should I like milk?" she stated. The muddy farmyard, lying back from the roadway and below it, was steamy and choking with odours. Miriam who had imagined a cool dairy and cold milk frothing in pans, felt a loathing as warmth came to her fingers from the glass she held. Most of the girls were busily sipping. She raised her glass once towards her lips, snuffed a warm reek, and turned away towards the edge of the group, to pour out the contents of her glass, unseen, upon the filth-sodden earth. 2 Passing languidly up through the house after breakfast, unable to decide to spend her Saturday morning as usual at a piano in one of the bedrooms, Miriam went, wondering in response to a quiet call from Fräulein Pfaff into the large room shared by the Bergmanns and Ulrica Hesse. Explaining that Clara was now to take possession of the half of Elsa Speier's room that had been left empty by Minna--"poor Minna now with her good parents seeking health in the Swiss mountains, schooldays at an end, at an end, at an end," she repeated mournfully. Fräulein indicated that Clara's third of the large room would now be Miriam's. Miriam stood incredulous at her side as she indicated a large empty chest of drawers, a white covered bed in a deep corner away from the window, a small drawer in the dressing-table and five pegs in a large French wardrobe. Emma was going very gravely about the room collecting her work-basket and things for _raccommodage_. She flung one ecstatic glance at Miriam as she went away with these. "I shall hold you responsible here amongst these dear children, Miss Henderson," fluted Fräulein, quietly gathering up a few last things of Minna's collected on the bed, "our dear Ulrica and our little Emma," she smiled, passing out, leaving Miriam standing in the wonderful room. "My goodney," she breathed, gathering gently clenched fists close to her person. She stood for a few moments; she felt like a visitor ... embroidered toilet covers, polished furniture, gold and cream crockery, lace curtains, white beds, the large screen cutting off her third of the room ... then she rushed headlong upstairs, a member of the downstairs landing, to collect her belongings. On the landing just outside the door of the garret bedroom stood a huge wicker travelling basket; a clumsy umbrella with a large knobby handle, like a man's umbrella, lay on the top of it partly covering a large pair of goloshes. She was tired and very warm by the time everything was arranged in her new quarters. Taking a last look round she caught the eye of Eve's photograph gazing steadily at her from the chest of drawers.... It would be quite easy now that this had happened to write and tell them that the Pomerania plan had come to nothing. Evidently Fräulein approved of her, after all. 3