summer was the G. B. C., or Girls' Botany Club,
of which Dorry was president, Josie Manning secretary, and Dr. Sneeden
inspirer, advisory committee, and treasurer, all in one. Nearly all the
favorite girls joined, and boys were made honorary members whenever
their scientific interest and zeal in hunting for botanical treasures
entitled them to that distinction.

Ah, those were happy days! And if the honorary members were troublesome
now and then, scaring the girls half to death with lizards, toads, or
harmless garter-snakes, why it was only "the boys;" and after all, it
really was fun to scream a little by way of lightening the more solid
pursuits of the club. Besides, the boys often were a real help,
especially in rocky places and in the marshes, and-- Well, it was less
troublesome to have them than to do without them.

So far, only one real shadow had fallen across the sunny hours; and that
was when Dorry had proposed Charity Danby as a member, and some of the
foolish girls had objected on the plea that the Danbys were "poor
folks."

"Poor folks," indeed! You should have seen their president then! You
should have heard her spirited remarks, her good, wholesome arguments,
and seen her glowing, indignant presidential countenance! The opposition
had been stubborn at first, gathering strength in secret and losing it
in public, until at last good sense and kindliness prevailed. The motion
to admit Charity as a member of the G. B. C. was carried unanimously,
and almost the first she knew about it she was a full member, eagerly
searching hill-side and meadow with the rest, and wondering deep in her
inmost soul whether she ever, ever could "catch up" to the other girls.
They knew so much from books, and she had been able to study so little!

Poor Charity! She was wiser than she knew. Her habit of close
observation, and her eager desire to learn, soon made her a valuable
addition to the club. She knew where to find every wild flower of that
locality in its season, from the trailing arbutus in the spring to the
latest bloom of the autumn, and "Charity Danby says so" soon became a
convincing argument in many a discussion.

But we must now go back several weeks, and learn how it happened that
our busy Charity was able to accept the invitation of the G. B. C.

* * * * *

It was early in July; remnants of exploded fire-crackers still lingered
in the trampled grass near Mrs. Danby's white-washe