The father of the twins shook his head.
“I don’t believe I care for any,” he answered. “I’m not very fond of eggs, anyhow, and I’ll wait until we can find some that feathered chickens lay.”
“Well, I’ll take a few for myself, and I know Captain Crane likes them,” said Cousin Jasper. “The rest we will leave to be hatched by the warm sun.”
Mr. Dent took some of the eggs out in his hat, and then Flossie and Freddie covered the rest with sand again.
“We’ll dig in another place, so we won’t burst any more turtle’s eggs,” said the little boy, as he walked down the beach with Flossie, each one carrying a clam shell.
It was so nice on Palm Island that Mrs. Bobbsey said they would have supper there, before going back on board the Swallow to spend the night. So more things to eat were brought off in the small boat, and, as the sun was sinking down in the west, turning the blue waves of the sea to a golden color, the travelers sat on the beach and ate.
“Maybe we could build a little campfire here and stay for a while after dark,” suggested Bert, who felt that he was getting to be quite a large boy now.
“Oh, no indeed! We won’t stay here after dark!” cried Mrs. Bobbsey. “Snakes and turtles and all sorts of things might crawl up out of the ocean and walk all around us on the beach. As soon as it gets dark we’ll go back to the ship.”
“Yes, I think that would be best,” said Mr. Bobbsey. “When we get to the other island, where we hope to find Jack, it will be time enough to camp out.”
“Shall we stay there long?” Bert wanted to know.