d there was no
lack of walks in the neighbourhood. At exactly half-past four on the
following afternoon a party of sixteen Chaddites set off under the wing
of Miss Maitland, and turned at once in the direction of the woods that
led to Latchfield, by a deliciously green and shady path. The warm sun,
pouring between the thick leaves, made little radiant patches of golden
light among the deep shadows under the trees; the whole air seemed
alive with the hum of insects; and here and there rang out the sharp
tap of a woodpecker, or the melancholy "coo-coo-coo" of a wild pigeon.

"The birds are generally very silent in such sultry weather," said Miss
Maitland. "They sing at dawn and again at sunset, but you hear little
of them in the heat of the day. Those doves probably have a nest at the
top of that tall ash. I think I can see some sticks among the leaves on
that big bough."

Some pieces of honeysuckle twined round the low undergrowth of bushes,
and tall foxgloves reared their purple spikes in every small, open
glade. The girls gathered these as their first specimens.

"I wonder why they're called foxgloves?" said Lettice. "They've nothing
to do with foxes."

"It's simply a corruption of 'good folks' gloves', meaning 'fairies'
gloves'," said Miss Maitland. "People gave the plants much more
romantic names in olden days than modern scientists do. I confess I
like 'Queen of the Meadows' better than _Spiraea Ulmaria_, and I think
'poor man's weather-glass' a far better description of the scarlet
pimpernel than _Anagallis arvensis_. We shan't find many flowers
here, among the trees; but I'm hoping we may come across some orchids
when we get on to the moors."

They had been walking uphill all the time, and, as soon as they were
clear of the woods, found they had reached a high table-land, covered
with pastures, through the midst of which flowed a stream, whose rushy
banks were gay with purple loosestrife, Ragged Robin, and yellow
spearwort. It was a famous place in which to botanize, and the girls
were allowed to disperse and hunt about for specimens, and came back
every now and then to show their finds to their teacher.

"Adeline Vaughan is the only one who knows much about the natural
orders, or the proper scientific terms," said Lettice. "It seems rather
funny, because she's a Londoner, and doesn't belong to the country."

"Country people aren't always the best authorities on the subject,"
said Miss Maitland. "I know so