“That's what I'm tryin' to dope out. I like the sea. It lulls me just like whisky puts a drunkard to sleep. I wish we could get where it's bright and warm and the sun shines all the time. We could stay two weeks and then jump on the train and be in Asheville the day before Christmas.”
Mary sprang up excitedly.
“I have it! We'll go to Florida—away down to the Keys. It's the dream of my life to go there!”
“The Keys what's that?” he asked, puzzled.
“The Keys are little sand islands and reefs that jut out into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The railroad takes us right there.”
“It's warm and sunny there now?”
“Just like summer up here. We can go in bathing in the surf every day.”
Jim sprang to his feet.
“Got a bathing suit?”
“Yes—a beauty. I've never worn it here.”