“I have a tree book,” said Molly. “I never read it, though.”
“Molly’s turning frivolous,” said Phoebe. “All she wants to do is to make fudge and be a witch.”
Molly, surprised, looked at Phoebe to see if she were being critical, but Phoebe’s grin reassured her. “You have to be on too many programs as it is, Molly, to want to improve yourself outside of school,—isn’t that so?” Phoebe continued, and Molly nodded.
“But I like hikes, Phoebe, and I really ought to know what there is to see around town and the lakes.”
“Let me tell you something,” said Bess. “As I went down street on errands this morning I met Miss Haynes. You ought to have seen her. She had on old high shoes, an old hat and a heavy sweater. Some sort of a case was swung around her shoulders and her pockets were stuffed full of something. When she saw me she just grinned, nodded and went on, and she was headed out of town, toward the lake. Imagine, on a day as damp and chilly as this! Of course, we do it, whenever we feel like it, and we skate and all in the winter; but she was going all alone, and I just thought to myself, there must be something to see, or she’d never go just for her health or a walk. It’s muddy as anything out that road.”
“More ideas!” cried Nan. “How would it do for the committee to talk to Miss Haynes? She’s the science teacher since Mr. Peters left and maybe she’ll take us out on a hike. He did once in our freshman year, only I think that he didn’t know much about anything.”
“That was the reason they let him go, I think,” wisely remarked Molly. “I imagine Miss Haynes is getting ready for some field work with the class.”
“I never heard of field work,” said Bess, “but I’m for it! Hurrah for hikes and fires and food and we can at least prowl around and pretend to have an ‘object’.”
“Oh, Bess. That makes me think! You say ‘prowl around’,—why not Prowlers? S. Prowlers,—what are prowlers, that begin with S? Still—silent—searching—slinking—slippery.”
Jean paused for breath and Phoebe suggested “sprightly,” or “stalking.”