"I did," said Henrietta, "but I wound it to practise by without setting it, so it's probably wrong—it usually is. It says quarter to nine!"
"It certainly is wrong. I know it's dinner time—or worse. Sarah——"
"Build a fire, Peter—there's plenty of wood on the beach. I brought a coffee pot and you'll find a box of matches in it. Jean, spread the cloth that's in one of those hampers—the ground's nice and smooth right there at your feet. You'll find wooden plates and tin cups under the cloth. Marjory, you can fish for the sugar and cream and the salad. Mabel, you—no, I'll cut the bread myself; you can pick up bits of wood for the fire."
"There are two big apple pies and some cheese in my basket," said Jean, "and—yes, a bag of cookies!"
"Here are my sandwiches," said Henrietta. "Just loads of them; and a big veal loaf—— Oh! It smells so good!"
"Aunty Jane sent a huge crock of beans and some cold ham," said Marjory, "and here's a jar of something—pickles, I guess."
"There's a box of things," said Mr. Black, "fruit, cookies, crackers, sardines, peanut butter, and a thing or two in cans still aboard the Whale, but I guess, with all this good home cooking, we won't need it just yet—anyway, I'd rather look at the lake than go after it."
"Can't I take off my shoes and wade out for the coffee water?" pleaded Mabel. "I love to wade."
"Of course you can," replied Mrs. Crane. "Here's the pail—I'll take the doughnuts out of it."