And this time they were able to sleep through the whole night without interruption. The peace and calm of Plum Beach were disturbed by nothing more noisy than gentle waves, and the whole camp awoke in the morning vastly refreshed.
The sun shone down gloriously, and the cloudless sky proclaimed that it was to be a day fit for any form of sport. A gentle breeze blew in from the sea, dying away to nothing sometimes, and the water inside the sand bar was so smooth and inviting that half a dozen of the girls, with Dolly at their head, scampered in for a plunge before breakfast.
“They’re swimming over at the other camp, too,” cried Dolly. “See? Oh, I bet we’ll have some good times with them. We ought to be able to have all sorts of fun in the water.”
“Aren’t there any boats here beside that old flat bottom skiff?” asked Bessie.
“Aren’t there? Just wait till you see! If we hadn’t had all that excitement yesterday Captain Salters would have brought the Eleanor over. He will to-day, too, and then you’ll see.”
“What will I see, Dolly? Remember I haven’t been here before, like you.”
“Oh, she’s the dandiest little boat, Bessie–a little sloop, and as fast as a steamboat, if she’s handled right.”
“Now we’ll never hear the end of her,” said Margery Burton, with a comical gesture of despair. “You’ve touched the button, Bessie, and Dolly will keep on telling us about the Eleanor, and how fast she is, until someone sits on her!”
“You’re jealous, Margery,” laughed Dolly, in high good humor. “Margery’s pretty clever, Bessie, and when it comes to cooking–my!” She smacked her lips loudly, as if to express her sense of how well Margery could cook. “But she can’t sail a boat!”
“Here’s Captain Salters now–and he’s towing the Eleanor, all right, Dolly,” cried one of the other girls.