"Oh, here's a snail in its shell," said Mary Lee, picking up a round, brownish shell from the sandy path. "Come out here, Mr. Snail and show yourself," she said, holding the end of a long stick at the opening of the shell.
After a few minutes, there was a movement within, and out came a head.
"Look at its horns," said Letty. "Aren't they long?"
"Those aren't horns, those are its eyes at the very end of what appear to be horns. Watch, it is crawling entirely out of its shell. Isn't it funny looking, as it crawls along, carrying its shell on its back?" said Mary Lee.
"And to think people eat the horrid little things," said Letty.
"They do?" exclaimed Mary Lee. "Whoever would eat them?"
"The French are very fond of them," explained Letty. "Haven't you ever seen the word 'escargots' on the menu cards?"
"I have," said Edith, "but I must confess that my French is so limited I never dreamed it meant snails, though."
By this time the road led again into the open, with woods on one side and farm lands on the other. The sun had now disappeared and night would soon settle down, so the girls quickened their pace.
"Do you think we can make it before it's pitch dark?" asked Edith, the most timid of the crowd. "It seems to me we have walked about five miles already."