The warm, pleasant room and the appetising food made Dolly feel decidedly better. A poached egg came next and more toast and milk and as both Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were kind and cheery, Dolly's spirits rose accordingly.
No reference was made as to why she wanted to take the train, in fact the subject was not touched on, and Mr. Briggs was entertaining her with a funny story when the door opened and Mr. Rose walked in.
"Hello, Dolly-Polly," he said, cheerily; "had your breakfast? Good for you, Mrs. Briggs, glad you gave the little lady a bite. Come along now, Dolly, we must be on the move."
Mr. Rose's face was so smiling and his manner so pleasant, that Dolly jumped up from her chair and ran to his side. He put his arm round her and kissed her cheek and then with brisk good-byes and thanks to the hospitable Briggs, he whisked Dolly away.
"Skip it!" he said, and taking her hand they skipped across the road and down the long length of the pier. There was Mr. Rose's motor-boat waiting, with Long Sam at the wheel.
"Mornin' folkses," he said, unfolding his ungainly length as he rose to help them in. Long Sam, it was generally agreed, had the longest length for the narrowest width of any man in the county. He grinned at Dolly and taking her hands helped her into the boat, while Mr. Rose followed.
In a moment they were off, and the little boat scooted up the lake in a hurry. The sun was well up now and it was a warm day, so the lake breeze was most refreshing and the swift motion very exhilarating. Mr. Rose said no word whatever concerning Dolly's informal departure from his camp, but he was so gay and entertaining that Dolly herself forgot it. He pointed out various houses and camps along the shore, often telling funny stories of the people who lived there. He showed her the club house and the casino and the picnic grounds and lots of interesting places, which had passed unnoticed on their trip up the lake the night before. Sometimes Long Sam put in a few words in his dry, comical way, and Dolly found herself enjoying the morning lake ride immensely.
Mr. Rose was in the midst of a funny story at which Dolly was shaking with laughter as they reached the pier which belonged to Crosstrees camp.
"Out you hop!" exclaimed Mr. Rose, jumping out himself and in a moment Dolly was beside him on the pier. Mrs. Rose and the two girls stood there smiling, their arms full of bathing suits.
"Hurry up, Doll," cried Dotty, grabbing her arm. "This is your bathhouse right next to mine and here's your suit. Scrabble into it, quick's you can."