“Softly, my boy. Hill’s blue-gum forest is not so very far away. You’ll have your hands full,” laughed Dr. Paul.
Here Margery and Bell joined the group after a quick walk up and down the deck.
“Papa,” said Bell, excitedly, “we certainly are nearing the place. Do you see that bend in the shore, and don’t you remember that the landing isn’t far below?”
“Bell’s bump of locality is immense. There are nineteen bends in the shore exactly like that one before we reach the landing. How many knots an hour do you suppose this ship travels, my fair cousin?” asked Geoffrey.
“I could tell better,” replied Bell calmly, “if I could ever remember how many knots made a mile, or how many miles made a knot; but I always forget.”
“Oh, see! There’s a porpoise!” cried Jack. “Polly, why is a porpoise like a water-lily?”
But before he could say “Guess,” Phil, Geoff, and the girls had drawn themselves into a line, and, with a whispered “One, two, three,” to secure a good start, replied in concert, “We-give-it-up!”
“What a deafening shout!” cried Aunt Truth, coming out of the cabin. “What’s the matter, pray?”
“Nothing, aunty,” laughed Polly. “But we have formed a society for suppressing Jack’s conundrums, and this is our first public meeting. How do you like the watchword?”
Aunt Truth smiled. “It was very audible,” she said. “Yours is evidently not a secret society.”