"You see, I've come at last!"
The speaker was Muriel Wake, who proceeded to scramble down the side of the wall with the agility of a cat.
"We only got here last night," she explained, as she shook hands with Miss Holcroft and Miss Pamela. "We are staying at No. 5 Alma Terrace—Mrs. Jones and I."
"And we are lodging at No. 8," Miss Holcroft said, smiling.
"I never thought you would really come, Muriel!" Marigold told her friend in bright, glad tones. "I am so very glad to see you!"
"Father said he did not mind where we went; and when I told him I wanted so much to go to Boscombe, he made inquiries about the place, and—here I am!"
Muriel ended her sentence with a merry laugh, and sat down on the sand facing Miss Holcroft and Miss Pamela, never doubting but that they were pleased to see her. In reality, they hardly knew whether they were or not, for though Muriel had always been well-behaved in their presence, they were a little distrustful of her still.
Muriel was wearing a short blue serge skirt with a cotton shirt, and a scarlet jelly-bag cap ornamented her golden curls. In her hands she held a spade and a bucket, and she had a towel slung over one arm.
"Have you been having a good time, Marigold?" she asked. "What have you been doing?"
Marigold explained, whilst Muriel's blue eyes opened wide with astonishment as she listened.