This was more to the point; and the junior playroom, which had never thrown itself with any heartiness into the feud, decided that Barbara Berkeley was to be accepted without any more delay. Unfortunately, Barbara Berkeley, who had never realised that her school-fellows had been leaving her in peace on purpose to annoy her, was quite unprepared for the sudden change in their behaviour.
Charlotte Bigley was the first to put into force the resolution that had been arrived at by the junior playroom. 'If you like,' she observed carelessly, when she met Barbara by the bookshelf, just before the first class, 'you can put away Ruth Oliver's desk after preparation, instead of me.'
For her part, she had always felt kindly disposed towards the new girl, and the offer she was making now came straight from her heart, and was the most generous one she could think of at the moment. But Babs only looked dismayed.
'Why must I put away Ruth Oliver's desk?' she demanded. 'I have to put away Margaret Hulme's as it is; and it's so difficult to get dressed in time for supper when there's such a lot of desks to put away first. Of course,' she added with an effort, 'I'll do it to please you, if you really want me to.'
'Why, I thought you'd _like_ to do it!' exclaimed Charlotte, staring at her. 'You're so thick with Ruth, and naturally I supposed----'
'Thanks awfully,' said Barbara, without enthusiasm. 'It's really awfully kind of you, but I think p'raps you'd better go on doing it, if you're used to doing it. Of course, I know some people like doing those stupid things for the big girls, but----'
'All right,' said Charlotte, abruptly; and she went away, feeling distinctly small.
Babs hurried off to the Fifth classroom, and arrived just in time for the geography lesson. She was settling herself as usual at the bottom desk, when her neighbour, rather a dull girl, for whom she secretly felt a sort of contempt because she took no interest in her lessons, but only learned them from conscientious motives, began making advances to her.
'Barbara,' she whispered, nudging the new girl in a familiar way that was meant to be sociable. Babs, having sat next to her for fourteen days without extracting a single remark from her, was considerably startled.