One happy day after another followed at Sunset Beach. There was one grand succession of good times for Teddy, Janet and William. One day they would go in bathing, and after their dip in the waves, or their several dips, if the day was hot, they would play about on the beach or in the shade of a big umbrella. They often saw Mr. and Mrs. Randall on the sands, and also Mr. and Mrs. Keller.
“Have you found your ring yet?” Janet asked the dear old lady more than once.
“No, my dear,” would be the sad reply. “I’m afraid I never shall.”
“I’ve been looking for your keys, but I haven’t found them,” Ted would add to Mr. Keller.
Some afternoons, when the morning had been spent by the children in bathing or on the beach, their mother would take them to Oceanside City, where there were many amusements, such as merry-go-rounds, shoot the chutes, and other forms of fun. Trouble and the Curlytops liked this.
More than once Ted and Janet spent a half hour or so looking over and digging in the sand where the keys and ring had been lost, but they did not find them.
One day Ted and Janet went down to the beach alone to bathe. Trouble was not feeling well, and his mother remained at home with him. But she knew it would be safe for the Curlytops to go to the bathing beach, as many other persons were there, and life guards were on duty to see that no one would be drowned.
Ted and Janet went in for a “dip,” as they called it, and then came out to sit on the sand in the sun and get warm. They intended to go in again before going back to the cottage.
They happened to sit down near a very fancifully dressed lady who had a book, a dog and a big sun umbrella. She was sitting under the sun umbrella, reading the book, and the dog must have been rather lonesome. His proud mistress paid little attention to him.
“Look at the nice dog,” remarked Ted, in a low voice, to his sister.