irls were taken out for a walk, and the
teachers took turns in going with them. To-day Mrs. Boardman was going
to take them, and Maude was very glad, because she had obtained
permission to walk with her. All the girls were very fond of Mrs.
Boardman, and they would obtain her promise to walk with them so many
days ahead that she could hardly remember all the promises she had made.

When they were all ready they started out, Ruby and Agnes Van Kirk at
the head of the little procession and Maude and Mrs. Boardman at the
end.

Ruby felt very important as she looked up at the window and waved
good-by to her aunt. It was great fun going out to walk this way, with
a whole string of girls behind her, instead of going down the road with
a hop and a skip and a jump to Ruthy's house. If Ruthy could only be
here, and if at night she could kiss her mother and father good-night,
Ruby was quite sure that she would think boarding-school quite the
nicest place in the world.

They had a very pleasant walk. They went down the winding road,
bordered upon either side with wide-reaching elm-trees, and then turned
down towards the river. After they reached the path that wound beside
the water Mrs. Boardman let the girls break their ranks, and run about
and gather some of the wild flowers and feathery grasses that grew
there in such profusion.

Ruby gathered a beautiful bunch of plumy golden-rod for her Aunt Emma,
and when she went to look for Agnes, she displayed it triumphantly.

"Just see what a beautiful bunch of goldenrod I have," she exclaimed in
delight. "Won't Aunt Emma be pleased? But have n't you got any
flowers, Agnes? Why, what have you been doing? I thought you were
looking for flowers too."

Agnes opened a paper bag, which she had loosely twisted together at the
top, and which seemed to be empty, and said,--

"No, I did not get any flowers, but just see what a beautiful
caterpillar I have. Is n't that lovely?"

Ruby peeped into the bag, and saw a large mottled caterpillar walking
about upon a leaf, apparently wondering where he was, and doubtless
thinking that the sun had gone under a cloud, since he could not see it
anywhere.

"Is n't he a beauty?" repeated Agnes, in delighted tones, taking
another look at her prisoner herself, and then twisting the bag
together again.

Ruby hesitated. She did not like to say that she thought it was the
very ugliest caterpillar she had ever seen, and that if Agnes reall