“Quite a pretty village,” Cora remarked to Jack, as they drove through the center of the place.
“Plenty of fishing around here,” said Ed to Walter, as the boys’ car slacked along the board sidewalk, and its occupants observed numbers of men and boys slouching along, with baskets, evidently well filled with the night’s catch.
The Whirlwind stopped at the post-office, and Cora stepped out to ask the exact direction to Clover Cottage. She glanced in the box, the number of which Bess and Belle had given her as the one that “went with” their cottage. Two pieces of mail had already arrived and these were handed to Cora by the old man who made it his particular business to welcome every “box holder” to Lookout Beach.
“The first road to the left,” the postmaster told her as she emerged from the office, and the Whirlwind again led the way to the cottage.
The hanging sign “Clover” left no doubt as to which was the particular cottage and here the four cars and their merry passengers pulled up, and stopped.
“Welcome to Clover!” exclaimed Bess and Belle in chorus.
“Three cheers for the welcome!” replied Jack, in as loud a voice as the proximity to other cottages would allow.
“But the house is not open!” declared Bess, who was first to reach the porch. “Nettie was to have come down yesterday.”
“Why, yes,” added Belle. “Mother will be dreadfully put out if she gets here and we have no maid——”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Ed interrupted. “Since we have been invited, we will attend nicely to any little thing like opening up house, and setting up housekeeping,” and without further ceremony he undertook to explore each window on the broad veranda, and soon he had one pair of shutters unfastened, and was opening a sash without the slightest difficulty.