"So I do. Didn't the boys tell me?" Louis spoke with such assurance that Edna followed on and was presently relieved to hear him say:
"Look there. What did I tell you?"
Sure enough just ahead of them was a hollowed place in the bank which might easily be called a cave. The bank was quite high just here and stretched down almost to the sea so there was but a small stretch of sand in front of the cave. The children clambered into the shelter to rest, but Louis was not content to sit still for long.
"I'm going out to explore," he said. "You sit here till I come back. I won't stay long."
[81] He was as good as his word for in a few minutes he returned. "Guess what," he began. "There's a boat out there. I'm going to borrow it and then we can pretend you are a female smuggler or you can be a robber maid and will rescue me to rob me. No, I'd rather have it the other way. I'll be the robber and will find you in this sea cave with a hoard of jewels that were left with you after a shipwreck. I'll go get the boat and row in."
"Oh, Louis, indeed you'd better not," said Edna in fear lest he be too foolhardy.
"But I'm not going out to sea really. The boat is just round the little bend the other side of us. I don't mean to steal it. I'll take it back when we get through playing."
"Please don't, Louis. I'm so afraid you will upset or something, besides I don't think you ought to take the boat even for a little while. Suppose the owner should come and want it."
"Oh, no, he won't." Louis was always very ready to believe things were going to happen just to suit him. "Isn't that just like a girl to get all worked up over a little thing like that? Why, I rowed ever so far the other day, and this is only a few yards."
"But suppose, just suppose the boat should leak. It may be an old one."