"So is my Uncle George," remarked Hal. "He went to the West Indies to bring back a valuable cargo of wood. He had only a small vessel, and a few men. Say, did you say her name was McLaughlin?" exclaimed Hal, suddenly.
"Yes; they call him Mack for short, but his name is McLaughlin."
"Why, that was the name of the man who went with Uncle George!" declared Hal. "Maybe it was her father."
"Sounds like it," Bert said. "Tell Uncle William about it sometime. I wouldn't mention it to Nellie, she cut up so, they said, the first time she saw the ocean. Poor thing! I suppose she just imagined her father was tossing about in the waves."
The boys had tied the canoe to its post, and now made their way up over the hill toward the house.
"Here they come," said Bert, as Nan, Nellie, and Dorothy came racing down the hill.
"Oh!" cried Dorothy, "give me some!"
"Oh, you know me, Bert?" pleaded Nellie.
"Hal, I wound up your kite string, didn't I?" insisted Nan, by way of showing that she surely deserved some of Hal's pond lilies.
"And I found your ball in the bushes, Bert," urged Dorothy.