“Oh, we can do that, too,” said Phil, not to be outdone in anything, and soon they were all at it with a swing and a go that made their fond parents, who had come up in the meantime and were watching them, marvel.
“I can give you something better than that to dance to,” said Mrs. Applegate, when they had stopped from sheer lack of breath. “There is a phonograph below, and if you boys don’t mind the trouble, you might bring it on deck and start it going. Then you can dance to your hearts’ content.”
Phil gave a whoop of joy and nearly fell down the companionway in his eagerness to find the machine, and the other two boys followed closely on his heels.
“There seems to be no lack of enthusiasm,” remarked Mrs. Applegate, as the ladies made themselves comfortable in the big chairs placed against the rail. “They can’t seem to get tired. I never knew there was so much bottled-up energy.”
The boys soon returned with the phonograph and they were having the time of their lives teaching each other the newest steps when they were interrupted by the arrival 133 of some people from the boat club, who had been invited to meet them.
There were three girls and three boys somewhere about their own age and four of the club’s most popular members and their wives.
“There sure is going to be a crowd,” said Archie, as the newcomers began to pour over the side, all talking at once. “I wish we could have finished that dance,” he added, regretfully.
“Oh, there will be plenty more,” said Lucile, smiling roguishly in a way that made him wish all these intruders—for so he regarded them—were at least as far away as the North Pole.
Soon the introductions were over and the girls found themselves liking the gay young strangers immensely. Their English accent and the way they said, “Bah Jove!” and “Beastly hot weather, what?” fascinated the uninitiated girls, and they were soon imitating their new-found friends with surprising success.
“You were dancing when we arrived, weren’t you?” asked Anita Derby, a dashing, fair-haired girl, who made almost as many enemies as friends with a rather sharp, unbridled tongue. “I thought I heard a phonograph. What was it you were playing?”