four o'clock
before
The quiet air rang with the melody of school songs welling from care-free young throats as the crowd of rollicking girls tramped along the river road . Spring had not been niggardly with her flower wealth , and gracious , smiling May trailed her pink-and-white skirts over carpets of living green , starred with hepaticas and spring beauties , while , from under clusters of green-brown leaves , the trailing arbutus lifted its shy , delicate face to peep out , the loveliest messenger of spring . The girls pounced upon the fragrant clumps of blossoms and began an enthusiastic filling of baskets . Held captive by the lure of the waking woods , the time slipped by unnoticed , and it was after four o'clock before the majority of the flower-hunters turned their steps toward the boathouse . Mignon La Salle , Muriel Harding , Marcia Arnold and half a dozen girls who were worshipful admirers of the French girl , soon found flower gathering decidedly monotonous . `` Let 's hurry out of these stupid woods , '' proposed Mignon . `` My feet are damp and I 'm sure I saw a snake a minute ago . ''