“Oh, let’s!” exclaimed Dot. Then she looked up into the palm trees and again began to question.
“You can’t ever climb up one of those trees in the world, Tess Kenway.”
“I—I can try,” stammered her sister.
“You’ll break your neck. You’ll get hurt like Margy and Carrie Pendleton’s father got hurt,” declared Dot. “I wish Sammy Pinkney was here.”
“Well!” gasped Tess. “What for?”
“He could climb it. He’s a good climber. You know how he climbed the cherry tree in Mrs. Adams’ back yard,” said Dot earnestly.
“Yes,” rejoined Tess with scorn. “And how they had to call out the fire department to get him down. I remember.”
“Well,” said Dot grumpily, for she almost always stood up for Sammy, “I guess he would have got down by himself if they had left him alone. But Mrs. Adams got so nervous. Anyhow, Tess Kenway, you can’t climb one of these plam trees.”
“Did I say I could?” replied her sister, rather snappishly if the truth were told.
But Tess was a very persistent person when once she had made up her mind to a thing. She walked along the shore for a long way, staring up into the tops of the palms. The trunks were rough enough, but they offered no means of climbing, even had Tess dared the attempt. There were no branches.