"Anna, do you see those people way down the beach? I wonder what they are looking for." Greta pointed to two women who were evidently searching for something along the shore.
"I haven't any idea. Shall we go help them with their search? Look, Greta. Your father is motioning to us to come down. I think Chouse wants us, too."
Greta's father had to go on to the next village, but he told the girls that they could stay here until he came back.
"Chouse will take good care of you while I'm gone," he said, "that is, if he doesn't run off and get into some kind of mischief himself."
Greta and Anna were curious about the women they had seen down the beach, so they decided to join them. With Chouse jumping and barking at their heels, they ran along the water's edge. The tide was coming in, and every now and then a large wave almost caught them. As they went farther from the harbor, they found more and more sand dunes: gently rolling hills with long blades of grass poking up here and there through the sand. Along this part of the beach there were many summer cottages, with fences around them to keep the sand from covering them completely.
"Have you lost something?" asked Anna as they came near the two women. "We'll be glad to help you look for it."
"No, we haven't lost anything," answered one of the women. "We thought we might find some amber along the beach."
"Amber?" asked Greta in surprise. "I didn't know it was found here."
"Oh, certainly. We have often found some very fine pieces of amber on this very beach."