“Well, I can tell you something we forgot to do, because of all this excitement over those boys!” exclaimed Polly, impatiently. Then she continued in a no less angry tone: “We had planned just how we would stand at the stern of the yacht and wave our hands and sing a farewell to our dear people waiting at the end of the pier to see the very last speck of us, and then we sail away and not as much as a thought do we fling at them! I feel quite guilty when I think of all my friends watching anxiously for one last look from me!”
Polly’s voice had an audible regret in its tone as she ended her sentence, but Mrs. Courtney quickly changed the regret to merriment. “Oh, my dear! They never remembered you were on board. Every one in that crowd on the dock was so flustered over the fears of those boys being taken on this trip and then hearing from you girls that they all were married off as seemed best, that they were calling, running about for help, signaling, and what not, to cause the yacht to turn back and deposit those heart-breakers safely beside the parental authority once more.”
CHAPTER III—THE FIRST NIGHT OUT
While sampling the tiers of candies—each box vying with another in artistic decorations—and then sniffing at the pyramids of flowers sent by loving friends to the voyagers, the girls gossiped of the recent events, the first experiences of their trip South.
From this form of light conversation, the talk drifted to the discussion of the weather and the waves. The sea was not as smooth and glassy as it might have been, and the vessel these bragging maids were now on was not as firm and quiet under foot as the Oceanic or the Aquitania. In fact, every huge roller seemed to heave the dainty White Crest up at one end and let it drop at the other. This rather unpleasant tumbling created a slight sense of discomfort in the bosoms of the passengers.
Several boxes of the richest bon bons had been emptied by the group of girls before Mrs. Courtney came in to join them. The moment she saw the boxes, and the girls lounging about nibbling at the sweets, she declared anxiously: “Oh, my dears! Better not eat candy to-night, you know. If we come into smoother water before to-morrow you will have ample time to finish these boxes of candy.”
Elizabeth laughed, with the suggestion of a sneer in her tone. “Any one would think, dear Mrs. Courtney, that we were not good sailors. You might find it necessary to deprive yourself of certain good things to eat, but I have crossed several times and I am never troubled with mal de mer.”
“Polly and I never felt a qualm when we went over last year; but that was on a great gigantic steamer that felt different from this rocking.” As Eleanor spoke she dropped a tempting chocolate cream back into the box.
“I was about to remark, just as Mrs. Courtney came in, that it might be wiser for us to defer sampling the rest of the candy until to-morrow. This unusual rocking between the tops and the bottoms of the waves is a bit uncanny—don’t you agree with me?” Polly looked concerned at the sensation she felt.
Elizabeth laughed unkindly. “You are in for a lovely time, my dear child!”