while Mary was industriously counting the names on her list, which
must be handed in the next day. "I think I'd better put the euthuma
down, Roberta," she said finally. "We saw it all right. They won't look
the list over very carefully, but they will notice how many birds are on
it, and even with the pink-headed euthuma I haven't but forty-five. I
rather wish now that I'd bought a text-book, but I thought it was a
waste of money when you knew all about the birds, and it would certainly
be a waste of money now."

"Oh, yes," said Roberta. "If only the library hadn't wanted its copy
back quite so soon!"

"It was disagreeable of them, wasn't it?" said Mary cheerfully, copying
away on her list. "You were going to look up the nestle too. Girls, did
we hear the nestle sing?"

"It whistled like a blue jay," said Katherine promptly.

"It couldn't," protested Roberta. "You said it was only six inches
long."

"On the plan of a blue jay's call, but smaller, Roberta," explained
Betty pacifically.

"Well, it's funny that you can never find any of these birds when I'm
with you," said Roberta.

Katherine looked scornful. "We were mighty lucky to see them even twice,
I think," she retorted.

Next day Mary came home from zoology 1a, which to add to its other
unpleasant features met in the afternoon, wearing the air of a martyr to
circumstance. Roberta, Katherine and Betty happened to be sitting on the
piazza translating Livy together. "Girls," she demanded, as she came up
the steps, "if I get you the box of Huyler's that Mr. Burgess sent me
will you tell me the truth about those birds?"

"She had the lists read in class!" shouted Katherine.

"I knew it!" said Roberta in tragic tones.

"Did you tell her about the shelcuff's neck?" inquired Betty.

Mary sat down on the piazza railing with her feet cushioned on a
lexicon. "I told her all about the shelcuff," she said, "likewise the
euthuma and the nestle. What is more, the head of the zoology department
was visiting the class, so I also told him, and when I stayed to explain
he stayed too, and--oh, you little wretches!"

"Not at all," said Katherine. "We waited until you'd made a reputation
for cleverness and been taken into a society. I think we were
considerateness itself."

Roberta was gazing sadly at Mary. "Why did you try all those queer
ones?" she asked. "You knew I wasn't sure of them."

"I had to, my dear. She asked us for the rare names on our lists. I was
the t