Her schoolmates took her unwillingness for modesty, but in her heart of hearts her main thought was: "Why should _I_ help this new girl to show off ?" She would have played accompaniments gladly for anybody else, but she considered that Bess had already received quite enough attention in one afternoon.

For her own credit, however, she must do her best, so she concentrated her energies on the prelude.

When the first strains of the violin joined in, her musical ear recognized immediately that Bess's playing was of a very high quality.

The tone was pure, the notes were perfectly in tune, and there was a ringing sweetness, a crisp power of expression, and a haunting pathos in the rendering of the melody that showed the performer to be capable of interpreting the composer's meaning.

In spite of her disinclination, Ingred warmed to the accompaniment.