"Get acquainted here," said Dotty, laughing. "I'm too comfortable to move."
The Brown boys had banked up a big hill of sand behind Dotty, and she leaned back against it, still fascinated by the wonderful blue of the distant ocean sparkling in the sunlight and the mad onrush of the great breakers as they dashed on the shore.
"Then you come," said Pauline to Dolly; "let's go off by ourselves and walk along toward the casino and the shops.
"All right," said Dolly, who was tired of sitting on the sand and quite ready for a walk. Moreover, she was curious to know more of Pauline. She wasn't sure she should like a girl who asked her point blank if she were rich, and yet Pauline didn't seem ostentatious or vulgar, but was quick-witted and full of fun.
The two walked away, leaving the rest of the crowd, some six or eight of them, on the beach.
As the morning passed, others joined the group and some went away, but Dotty remained, still unable to tear herself away from the glorious sea.
"I say, Dot Rose," Tod Brown exclaimed, "you are stuck on that big pond, aren't you? But there are other days coming when you can gaze at it. Come on, now, and let's do something. I'll race you to the end of boardwalk."
"What's there, when you get to the end?" demanded Dotty.
"Nothing much, but some fishermen's shacks and nets and things. Come on and see it. The fishermen are a queer-looking bunch and not very good-natured, but it's fun to tease them. Come on, anyhow."
Dotty got up, somewhat cramped by long sitting, and was glad after all for a brisk walk in the sunshine. They didn't race, but swung along at a good pace, Dotty with her eyes still seaward.