“Not to-day,” said Tom, “for we have to be off. You help Mary Jane, Alice, while I get out the bus. They wanted us to hurry back with the napkins, you know, because they’re almost through packing the picnic basket.”
By the time they came back with the napkins the luncheon was all packed and the three ladies, hatted and ready to go, were sitting on the front porch waiting, so there was no more temptation to peek into the kitchen. In about five minutes the big seven-passenger car that was to take them on the trip, drove up and they all piled in.
“Should we take wraps?” asked Mrs. Merrill at the last minute.
“Wraps!” laughed Mrs. Berry; “look at the sun! We’ll have sunshine all day if I’m any weather guesser.”
Alice, being the oldest girl, sat on the front seat with the driver; Mary Jane and Ellen had the two folding seats in the back and the three ladies had the long back seat to themselves.
“And don’t put your feet into the lunch,” warned Alice, as she leaned back and saw that the precious basket was right between the two little girls.
“Hump!” grunted Mary Jane, “think we want stepped-on lunch? We’re just as particular about the basket as any older body, we are!”
First they drove across the bridge toward the ocean; then they turned and started down the long wide beach.
“We’ll go along here this way for miles and miles,” said the driver to Alice, “and if you watch you’ll see queer things on the beach.”
“Queer things?” questioned Alice; “what kind of things?”