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Diggers in the Dark
) YOU who know Mother Nature only in her more superficial aspects, listen to

the tale of how her great secrets were revealed to one little maid. . . .

Tiny Betty in the fall of 1921 was enrolled in the Dalton kindergarten
class, which was held on the very top floor of that great building. It seemed an
ideal place to me as I chanced to visit it one day. I walked into the great room, and
there at long tables sat the busy little bees at work. What rows of happy faces
greeted me! ‘The kiddies were all supplied with crayons and drawing-books, which
were just too much fun. They fairly radiated delight as they sat there, and, under
the teacher’s guidance, sketched in all the little rivers in blue, mountains in red, and
learned so many wonderful things about Nature that one could see that they were
just bubbling over with love for her. Sometimes they had, so Betty told me, an
educational movie—film fun, you know—and they did so enjoy dating the period
of the big rocks shown on the screen by the costumes and hats of the sight-seers
photographed in the same picture. It was all so simple and graphic.

For special treats the tiny tots were taken on splendid long automobile rides.
I used to watch Betty set out in the afternoon, armed with her cunning hammer.
Soon she would be joined by her play-mates, chattering and laughing like so many
mag-pies. What a sight it was! What a scampering and clambering into the two
big buses! Amid general uproar, off they went, all filled with the glad spirit of
the occasion.

Or else Betty would join a good cross-country game of Hare and Hounds, or,
Follow the Leader. She leapt across or into brooks, climbed over fences, scaled
cliffs, raced across soap-stone dikes, and up terraces of re-excavation. Oh, it was
glorious sport! Oh, the happy times of childhood!

* * * *

But now I must come to the sad part of my story. Poor little Betty! One
tiny soul whom Mother Nature seemed to abandon and betray. As time went on
her good, wise teacher left her—also a few of her class-mates. The simple auto-
mobile which once seemed so harmless became the instrument of maudlin joy-rides.
She would disappear soon after lunch and not return for hours at a time. She no
longer showed the same glad spirit, nor her beautiful love of nature. She tried
to ferret out poor, dead creatures, and dug them up from their peaceful graves.
Things went from bad to worse: one day Betty departed at daybreak, and was
seen in a rowdy party going toward Camden. Hour after hour went by, and she

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