“Oh, how lovely!” cried Mary; “and how good in you to ask me to go with you in this beautiful vessel. I am sure the journey will not be half so wearisome as it would in the cars.”
“I hope not,” returned Violet, “but I hope you won’t be sea-sick; for if you are you will probably wish we had not induced you to try the voyage in preference to the journey by land.”
“And perhaps that you had my doctor brother as fellow-passenger instead of myself,” remarked a familiar voice behind them—that of Calhoun Conly—and turning quickly they discovered him and the captain standing near by, regarding them with amused, smiling countenances.
“Welcome! I’m glad to see you, Cal,” said Violet, holding out her hand.
“Thank you, Vi,” he returned, taking the hand in a cordial grasp. “And you, Miss Mary, are not displeased, I hope, that I have accepted an invitation to join your party on the voyage and for a short time at the sea-shore.”
“No, Mr. Conly,” laughed Mary. “Whom the captain and Violet choose to invite is, I am sure, no affair of mine; nor should I object to your company so long as you continue so inoffensive as you have been during our brief acquaintance.”
“Thanks,” he returned, bowing low; “now I feel entirely comfortable.”
“That’s right, Cal,” said the captain. “And suppose we all go on deck to see the weighing of the anchor and the starting of the vessel; for the steam is up and we are about ready to move.”
An awning shaded the deck and a breeze from the sea made it a pleasant place to lounge and read or chat. The children were already seated there, watching the movements of the sailors and of the people on the wharf.
“How d’y do, Cousin Cal?” said Lulu, making room for him and Mary Keith on the settee she had been occupying. “I’m glad you are going with us, and I hope you and Cousin Mary will have a good time, for I think a journey taken on the Dolphin is very much more enjoyable than one by rail.”