noon
And then began the school day . It was warm -- very warm for that time of year , being early May , and as the members of the new Camping and Tramping Club looked from the open windows , out to where Spring was already forcing into bloom the flowers , and urging the trees to greater activity , as regards the tender green leaves , there came an almost overpowering desire to toss aside books and papers , and get out where the smell of the brown earth mingled with the perfume of growing vegetation . The teachers , doubtless , found it difficult also , for the call of nature manifested itself to them , and the girls and boys , rather selfishly , did not make it as easy as they might . The noon recess again brought the four friends together , and Betty showed a tentative program she had surreptitiously scribbled during a study period . It contained the names of towns , with the available relatives of the girls set down opposite each one , and a rough calculation of the time required to walk from one place to the other . `` It seems as if we ought to start at once , '' exclaimed Mollie . `` Are n't you just dying to go , Amy ? ''