“Did she? I guess I belong to the foolhardy type. You still scared?”
“No. I find it easy in the pool. I wonder why it’s so different from the lake where I just used to sink.”
“If the pool’s salt water, that would explain it.”
“What difference would that make, being salty or not?” Anne asked with a puzzled look.
“Because in salt water, you’re buoyant, that is light. If you ever tried swimming in the ocean, you would immediately see the difference.”
Anne shook her head still uncomprehending. Judy tried to remember the explanation in her science book. “You—er—that is, the body displaces less water when it’s salty. You sort of float, being so much lighter.”
She tried to elucidate her point more clearly. Science, she knew, wasn’t her strong point. Then she dismissed the subject with a shrug.
There was no further conversation, scientific or otherwise, and the girls seemed unfeignedly delighted to part company at the parking area.
As they walked toward the hotel, Mrs. Freiborg discovered several acquaintances. She stopped with each, just to say a word, but the minutes lengthened and added to Judy’s impatience.
“Mother, must we wait for them? Can’t we go ahead?”