The girls left their bathing suits with Connie’s mother and started off.
“Don’t be gone long,” Mrs. Williams called after them. “Dinner at six.”
Hand in hand, the two girls skipped along the beach. They kept watching for birds but the only ones they saw were gulls.
Before long, Vevi and Connie came within view of the big Beach House hotel. The waterfront was dotted with colored umbrellas and many bathers were in the sea.
An even larger crowd had gathered in a huge circle on the lawn in front of the hotel.
“Why, what are all those folks doing?” Vevi demanded, stopping short.
“Let’s find out,” proposed Connie.
The children approached the group of people, who were laughing and having a good time. In the center of the circle were a number of turtles. The creatures were crawling toward the rim which had been chalked on the grass.
“It’s a turtle race!” cried Vevi. “Let’s watch!”
She and Connie crowded into the front line. A tiny turtle with a yellow painted stripe across its back, was coming directly toward them.