“Well, if he does, it won’t be because he’s sorry, but because he’s afraid,” said Dolly. “If he can be of any use to us, why, I hope he’s all right. I don’t like him, and I never will like him, and there isn’t any use in pretending about it!”
Everyone laughed at that.
“You’re quite right, Dolly,” said Margery.“When you dislike a person anyone who can see you or hear you knows about it. I’ll say that for you—you don’t pretend to be friends with people when you really hate them.”
“Why should I? Come on, Bessie, if we’re going for a walk. If we stay here much longer Margery’ll get so dry from talking that we’ll have to go and get her some more water.”
“Let’s go up the path and get on the bluff again,” said Bessie. “I like it up there, because you seem to be able to see further out to sea than you can here.”
“All right. I don’t care where we go, anyhow, and it is more interesting up there than on the beach, I think.”
The night was a beautiful one, and walking was really delightful. Below them the beach stretched, white and smooth, as far as the cove itself. At each end of the cove the bluff on which they were walking curved and turned toward the sea, stretching out to form two points of land that enclosed the cove.
“They say this would be a perfect harbor if there was a bigger channel dredged in,” said Dolly. “Of course it’s very small, but I guess it was used in the old days. There are all sorts of stories about buried treasure being hidden around here.”
“Do you believe those stories, Dolly?”
“Not I! If there was any treasure around here it would have been found ever so long ago. They’re just stories. I guess those pirates spent most of the money they stole, and I guess they didn’t get half as much as people like to pretend, anyhow.”