that a General's daughter must be brave, and that moral courage is as commendable as physical, because papa says so, and I straightened up and wrote what I knew, which was not much, I can tell you. That ended the examination and I was glad, for however it was going to turn out, it was a comfort to have it over.
That evening Mabel Blossom and Mabel Muriel and Maudie all came to see me, but we didn't say much about the examination. Mabel's eyes showed that she had been crying, and Mabel Muriel looked pale as death. Maudie was very silent, but more queenly than ever. She said she had almost decided to go home at once, as she had a kind of feeling that her dear mother needed her. Mabel Muriel broke out suddenly and said she had disgraced Sister Edna, but she did not explain her enigmatic remark. Finally Mabel Blossom began to cry and ran from the room, and pretty soon the others went, too, and I was left alone with my sad, sad thoughts.
I will pass over the next few days. They haven't anything to do with this story. But the Monday after the examination Sister Irmingarde addressed the class. She said the examination had been one of surprises, and the results in some cases "were unprecedented in the history of St. Catharine's." She said the highest class average had been won by a student whose standing hitherto had been very low, and other students from whom much had been expected had failed ignominiously. She said she would read the standings first and add a few words of comment. Then she read them.
"The first and best," she said, "is Miss Katharine James, whose record, in view of her past work, is most remarkable and highly gratifying to us all. On a scale of 100, Miss James secured 98 in rhetoric, 97 in Latin, 97 in history, 96 in constitution, 96 in physiology, and 92 in algebra—giving her a general average, in the six studies, of 96 per cent. This average has never before been equalled at St. Catharine's."
Well, before I knew it I jumped to my feet and began to cheer, for I forgot all about my examination for a minute, and all I thought of was how well Kittie had done. At the same instant Maudie Joyce and Mabel Blossom and Mabel Muriel jumped up, too, and all the other girls joined in, and every girl was on her feet, and there was an uproar of cheers and applause. For a minute Kittie looked scared to death. Then she put her head down on her desk and cried—hard. Sister Irmingarde let us yell for a moment, and she waited with that lovely smile of hers. Then she lifted her hand, and a hush fell right off and we sat down. I tell you we mind her!
"The rest," she said, "is not so pleasant, and I fear it will disappoint some of you."
Then, in a very matter-of-fact voice, just as if it was not a tragedy at all, she read out our standings—Maudie's, Mabel Blossom's, Mabel Muriel's, and mine; and this, alas! alas! alas! is what they were:
| Miss Maude Joyce: | ||
| Rhetoric | 52 | |
| History | 51 | |
| Latin | 56 | |
| Constitution | 56 | |
| Algebra | 98 | |
| Physiology | 95 | |
| General average, 68 per cent. | ||
| Miss May Iverson: | ||
| Rhetoric | 98 | |
| Latin | 94 | |
| History | 52 | |
| Constitution | 50 | |
| Algebra | 58 | |
| Physiology | 53 | |
| General average, 67½ per cent. | ||
| Miss Mabel Blossom: | ||
| Constitution | 99 | |
| History | 62 | |
| Latin | 63 | |
| Algebra | 59 | |
| Physiology | 61 | |
| Rhetoric | 60 | |
| General average, 65 1-3 per cent. | ||
| Miss Mabel Muriel Murphy: | ||
| History | 98 | |
| Constitution | 56 | |
| Latin | 54 | |
| Algebra | 65 | |
| Physiology | 61 | |
| Rhetoric | 60 | |
| General average, 65 2-3 per cent. | ||
The lowest general average, of course, on which you can pass the examination is 70 per cent. None of us had reached it. None of us had passed!
You could have heard a clothes-pin drop. I tried to keep my shoulders straight and my head up while I was listening to my standing, but it was hard
