“Come on! scramble into your clothes,” said Ruth, already at the wash basin.
Helen peered out. “Why—oh, my!” she said, shivering and holding the lacy neck of her gown about her. “It’s da-ark yet. It must be midnight.”
“It is ten minutes to four o’clock,” said Ruth promptly. She had studied the route and knew it exactly. “That is Chincoteague Island Light yonder. That’s where those cunning little ponies that Madge Steele’s father had at Sunrise Farm came from.”
“Wha-at?” yawned Helen. “Did they come from the light?”
“No, goosy! from the island. They are bred there.”
Ten minutes later the chums were out on the open deck. They raced forward to see if they could see the sun. His face was still below the sea, but a flush along the edge of the horizon announced his coming.
“Oh, see yonder!” cried Helen. “See the shore! How near! And the long line of beaches. What’s that white line outside the yellow sand?”
“The surf,” Ruth said. “And that must be Hog Island Light. How faint it is. The sun is putting it out.”
“It’s a long way ahead.”
“Yes. We won’t pass that till almost six o’clock. Oh, Helen! there comes the sun.”