To give Madame Bertier her dues, it was she who suggested the wild-flower ramble¹ upon the cliffs. It was for seniors only, and it had the immense advantage, in schoolgirl eyes, that it was held upon a Thursday afternoon; Madame had urged Thursday and stuck to the point.  
"It was real sporty of her," chortled Patsie. "Miss Kingsley or Miss Janet always try to fix up rambles² or things of that kind for Saturdays, and then it's taking away a holiday instead of giving us one. We've all generally got something on at home for Saturday afternoons, and though, of course, we like rambles all right, it isn't quite good enough to have to throw up our home engagements for them. Three cheers for Madame!"
 
"Bless her!" murmured Audrey, ecstatically. "We shall miss French on Thursday afternoon and I hadn't done a single line of my exercise or learnt my poetry. It's moved a weight from my mind."
 
"Don't congratulate yourself too soon, old sport! She'll probably tell us to give in the exercises."
 
[236]"Well, she can't hear the poetry at any rate."
 
"Unless she makes us say it on the cliffs!"
 
"Oh, surely there won't be time for that?"
 
"Um—I don't know! Never trust a teacher to give one a real holiday! Miss Janet always tries to 'combine instruction with amusement', as the old-fashioned children's books used to put it. Madame will probably try to teach us the French names of the flowers at any rate."
 
"Perhaps she doesn't know them!" said Audrey hopefully.
 
There were eighteen seniors in the school, and on the Thursday in question they were all ready by half-past two, armed with baskets or tin cases in which to put their flowers. Their exodus³ was watched with envy by the juniors, who had appealed in vain to be allowed to join the excursion.
 
"Eighteen are quite a big enough party to keep together," decreed Miss Kingsley, "and you juniors had an aquarium⁴ expedition only last week."
 
"But that was on a Saturday!" objected a valiant⁵ spirit, anxious to obtain a Thursday holiday.
 
Miss Kingsley, however, couldn't or wouldn't see the point, and withered⁶ the speaker with an extra-scholastic glare.
 
The elder girls were not at all sorry to be going alone. They clung to their privileges as seniors most tenaciously⁷.
 
"We don't want the whole rag-tag and bobtail of the school trailing after us," said Dorothy. "It's quite enough in my opinion to include the [237]Fifth. I hate marching about in a troop, like trippers."
 
"Well, we can spread out when we get on to the cliffs. There's no need to be so fearfully particular to keep together."
 
Madame Bertier, among her many other accomplishments⁸, possessed⁹ some knowledge of botany. She had studied the wild flora¹¹ of the district, and knew where to take the girls to secure a variety of the best specimens¹³. The walk she chose was down a lane, over some fields and across a portion of the moor¹⁴, where Lorraine, who thought she knew all the neighbourhood of Porthkeverne, had never happened to go before. As in most rambles of the sort, it was a difficult task for the mistress to keep all the members of her flock in sight. Some were always on ahead, and others lagging behind, while a few would make detours¹⁵ over gates or banks in quest of particular specimens. There was the usual amount of jodelling, cuckooing and calling, and running back to fetch laggers; there was frantic¹⁶ excitement over a patch of wild strawberries, and great congratulation when several rare flowers were found and carefully put away in tin cases. As generally happens in natural history rambles, there was decided¹⁷ rivalry¹⁸ among the numerous budding botanists¹⁹. Each wanted to be the first to secure a new specimen¹² and to take it in triumph to show to Madame. Lorraine, who was not superior to the common weakness, had not yet had any luck at all. Seeing the others heading in a bee-line for a small tower on the hill, and, knowing she could [238]catch them up there, she determined²⁰ to branch off to the left, cross a dyke²¹ and go by herself over a particularly interesting-looking piece of the moor. If she were quick she would probably reach the tower as soon as most of the others; they would be sure to sit down there to rest and compare specimens. She would have asked Claudia to go with her, but Claudia was on in front talking to Dorothy.
 
"If I jodel to her it will give the show away," thought Lorraine. "No! I must do it on my own."
 
So she jumped a dyke, scrambled²² down a bank, and in a few minutes had reached a tract²³ of wild heather-clad land that adjoined the cliff. Small bushes, bracken, and brambles mixed among the heather made walking difficult, and there were several boggy²⁴ places which she was obliged to skirt. This took her farther than she had intended. Looking round she could not see her landmark²⁵, the tower.
 
"It must be over there to the right," she said to herself. "Hallo, what a gorgeous silver fritillary! I'll get it if I possibly can."
&............