“It’s all right now, old fellow!” laughed Frank, as he passed an arm around Jack’s shoulders in a most friendly way. “I hardly thought you would go back on me and spoil my scheme.”
Having watched all this, Rattleton edged a bit nearer Bruce Browning, who was stretched flat on his back, and had seemed to take no more than a slight interest in what was going on.
“Isn’t it strange how much Merry will stand from Jack?” said Harry, cautiously. “Diamond has been growling and kicking and making things as unpleasant as possible for some time, and yet I swear Frank seems to think more of him than ever before. The more I know Frank Merriwell the less I know him!”
Browning grunted.
“You’re not the only one; there are others,” he said.
“Say, fellows,” called Hodge, “there goes a party of pretty girls into the surf.”
“Begorra!” exclaimed Barney. “It’s nivver a bit ye’ll miss seein’ them at all, at all.”
“Dot peen so,” nodded Hans. “Partly alvays seen all der britty girls dere vas, you pet my poots!”
Four girl bathers had come down to the beach, without seeing the little party of lads lolling beneath the wide-spreading tree. There were four of them, and they all were dressed in tasty and modest bathing suits.
“One of them is Inza Burrage,” said Frank, whose eyes never failed to recognize the girl he admired so much.