Of course, nothing was said to Nellie about the clew to her father's whereabouts, but Mrs. Bobbsey and Aunt Emily were quite excited over it, for they were very fond of Nellie, and besides, had visited her mother and knew of the poor woman's distress.
"If it only could be true that the vessel is trying to get into port," reflected Mrs. Bobbsey. "Surely, there would be enough help along the coast to save the crew."
While this very serious matter was occupying the attention of the grown-up folks, the children were all enthusiasm over the water carnival, coming off that afternoon.
Hal and Bert were dressed like real Indians, and were to paddle in
Hal's canoe, while Harry was fixed up like a student, a French
explorer, and he was to row alone in Hal's father's boat, to represent
Father Marquette, the discoverer of the upper Mississippi River.
It was quite simple to make Harry look like the famous discoverer, for he was tall and dark, and the robes were easily arranged with Susan's black shawl, a rough cord binding it about his waist. Uncle William's traveling cap answered perfectly for the French skullcap.
"Then I'm going to be Pocahontas," insisted Dorothy, as the boys' costumes brought her mind back to Colonial days.
"Oh, no," objected Hal, "you girls better take another period of history. We can't all be Indians."
"Well, I'll never be a Puritan, not even for fun," declared Dorothy, whose spirit of frolic was certainly quite opposite that of a Priscilla.
"Who was some famous girl or woman in American history?" asked Harry, glad to get a chance to "stick" Dorothy.
"Oh, there are lots of them," answered the girl, promptly. "Don't think that men were the only people in America who did anything worth while."