Harry laughed and said he had been an Indian in having a good time.
Presently somebody jumped up on Uncle Daniel’s back. As he was sitting on the sands the shock almost brought him down. Of course it was Freddie, who was so overjoyed he really treated the good-natured uncle a little roughly.
“Freddie boy! Freddie boy!” exclaimed Uncle Daniel, giving his nephew a good long hug. “And you have turned Indian, too! Where’s that sea-serpent you were going to catch for me?”
“I’ll get him yet,” declared the little fellow. “It hasn’t rained hardly since we came down, and they only come in to land out of the rain.”
This explanation made Uncle Daniel laugh heartily. The whole family sat around on the sands, and it was like being in the country and at the seashore at the one time, Flossie declared.
The boys, of course, were in the water. August Stout had not learned much about swimming since he fell off the plank while fishing in Meadow Brook, so that out in the waves the other boys had great fun with their fat friend.
“And there is Nettie Prentice!” exclaimed Nan, suddenly, as she espied her little country friend looking through the crowd, evidently searching for friends.
“Oh, Nan!” called Nettie, in delight, “I’m just as glad to see you as I am to see the ocean, and I never saw that before,” and the two little girls exchanged greetings of genuine love for each other.
“Won’t we have a perfectly splendid time?” declared Nan. “Dorothy, my cousin, is so jolly, and here’s Nellie—you remember her?”
Of course Nettie did remember her, and now all the little girls went around hunting for fun in every possible corner where fun might be hidden.
As soon as the boys were satisfied with their bath they went in search of the big sun umbrellas, so that Uncle William, Aunt Emily, Mrs. Bobbsey, and Aunt Sarah might sit under the sunshades, while eating lunch. Then the boys got long boards and arranged them from bench to bench in picnic style, so that all the Meadow Brook friends might have a pleasant time eating their box lunches.
“Let’s make lemonade,” suggested Hal. “I know where I can get a pail of nice clean water.”
“I’ll buy the lemons,” offered Harry.
“I’ll look after sugar,” put in Bert.
“And I’ll do the mixing,” declared August Stout, while all set to work to produce the wonderful picnic lemonade.
“Now, don’t go putting in white sand instead of sugar,” teased Uncle Daniel, as the “caterers,” with sleeves rolled up, worked hard over the lemonade.
“What can we use for cups?” asked Nan.
“Oh, I know,” said Harry, “over at the Indian stand they have a lot of gourds, the kind of mock oranges that Mexicans drink out of. I can buy them for five cents each, and after the picnic we can bring them home and hang them up for souvenirs.”
“Just the thing!” declared Hal, who had a great regard for things that hang up and look like curios. “I’ll go along and help you make the bargain.”
When the boys came back they had a dozen of the funny drinking cups.
The long crooked handles were so odd that each person tried to get the cup to his or her mouth in a different way.
“We stopped at the hydrant and washed the gourds thoroughly,” declared Hal, “so you need not expect to find any Mexican diamonds in them.”
“Or tarantulas,” put in Uncle Daniel.
“What’s them?” asked Freddie, with an ear for anything that sounded like a menagerie.
“A very bad kind of spider, that sometimes comes in fruit from other countries,” explained Uncle Daniel. Then Nan filled his gourd from the dipper that stood in the big pail of lemonade, and he smacked his lips in appreciation.
There was so much to do and so much to see that the few hours allowed the excursionists slipped by all too quickly. Dorothy ran away and soon returned with her donkey cart, to take Nettie Prentice and a few of Nettie’s friends for a ride along the beach. Nan and Nellie did not go, preferring to give the treat to the little country girls.
“Now don’t go far,” directed Aunt Emily, for Aunt Sarah and Uncle Daniel were already leaving the beach to make ready for the train. Of course Harry and Aunt Sarah were all “packed up” and had very little to do at Aunt Emily’s before starting.
Hal and Bert were sorry, indeed, to have Harry go, for Harry was such a good leader in outdoor sports, his country training always standing by him in emergencies.
Finally Dorothy came back with the girls from their ride, and the people were beginning to crowd into the long line of cars that waited on a switch near the station.
“Now, Nettie, be sure to write to me,” said Nan, bidding her little friend good-by.
“And come down next year,” insisted Dorothy.
“I had such a lovely time,” declared Nettie. “I’m sure I will come again if I can.”
The Meadow Brook Bobbseys had secured good seats in the middle car,—Aunt Sarah thought that the safest,—and now the locomotive whistle was tooting, calling the few stragglers who insisted on waiting at the beach until the very last minute.
Freddie wanted to cry when he realized that Uncle Daniel, Aunt Sarah, and even Harry were going away, but with the promises of meeting again Christmas, and possibly Thanksgiving, all the good-bys were said, and the excursion train puffed out on its long trip to dear old Meadow Brook, and beyond.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Storm
When Uncle William Minturn came in from the city that evening he had some mysterious news. Everybody guessed it was about Nellie, but as surprises were always cropping up at Ocean Cliff, the news was kept secret and the whispering increased.
“I had hard work to get her to come,” said Uncle William to Mrs. Bobbsey, still guarding the mystery, “but I finally prevailed upon her and she will be down on the morning train.”
“Poor woman, I am sure it will do her good,” remarked Mrs. Bobbsey. “Your house has been a regular hotel this summer,” she said to Mr. Minturn.
“That’s what we are here for,” he replied. “We would not have much pleasure, I am sure, if our friends were not around us.”
“Did you hear anything more about the last vessel?” asked Aunt Emily.
“Yes, I went down to the general office today, and an incoming steamer was sure it was the West Indies vessel that was sighted four days ago.”
“Then they should be near port now?” asked Mrs. Bobbsey.
“They ought to be,” replied Uncle William, “but the cargo is so heavy, and the schooner such a very slow sailer, that it takes a long time to cover the distance.”
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