Fortunately , it is difficult for little sinners to act a part , and , even if the face is hidden , something in the body seems to betray the internal remorse and shame . Usually , Jill lay flat and still ; now her back was bent in a peculiar way as she leaned over her book , and one foot wagged nervously , while on the visible cheek was a Spanish stamp with a woman 's face looking through the black bars , very suggestively , if she had known it . How long the minutes seemed till some one came , and what a queer little jump her heart gave when Mrs. Minot 's voice said , cheerfully , `` Jack is all right , and , I declare , so is Jill . I really believe there is a telegraph still working somewhere between you two , and each knows what the other is about without words . '' `` I did n't have any other book handy , so I thought I 'd study awhile , '' answered Jill , feeling that she deserved no praise for her seeming industry . She cast a sidelong glance as she spoke , and seeing that Mrs. Minot was looking for the letter , hid her face and lay so still she could hear the rustle of the paper as it was taken from the floor . It was well she did not also see the quick look the lady gave her as she turned the letter and found a red stamp sticking to the under side , for this unlucky little witness told the story . Mrs. Minot remembered having seen the stamp lying close to the sofa when she left the room , for she had had half a mind to take it to Jack , but did not , thinking Frank 's plan had some advantages . She also recollected that a paper flew off the table , but being in haste she had not stopped to see what it was . Now , the stamp and the letter could hardly have come together without hands , for they lay a yard apart , and here , also , on the unwritten portion of the page , was the mark of a small green thumb . Jill had been winding wool for a stripe in her new afghan , and the green ball lay on her sofa . These signs suggested and confirmed what Mrs. Minot did not want to believe ; so did the voice , attitude , and air of Jill , all very unlike her usual open , alert ways . The kind lady could easily forgive the reading of her letter since the girl had found such sad news there , but the dangers of disobedience were serious in her case , and a glance showed that she was suffering either in mind or body -- perhaps both . `` I will wait for her to tell me . She is an honest child , and the truth will soon come out , '' thought Mrs. Minot , as she took a clean sheet , and Jill tried to study . `` Shall I hear your lesson , dear ? Jack means to recite his like a good boy , so suppose you follow his example , '' she said , presently . `` I do n't know as I can say it , but I 'll try . '' Jill did try , and got on bravely till she came to the word `` permanent ; '' there she hesitated , remembering where she saw it last . `` Do you know what that means ? ''
asked her teacher , thinking to help her on by defining the XXXXX .
child glance hands sofa something table thumb ways wool word