kely to reach the port they sail for than the old wooden ships. In the
old days many and many a ship sailed that was never heard of, but you
could count the ships that have done that in the last few years on the
fingers of one hand."

"But there was a frightful wreck not so very long ago, wasn't there? The
Titanic?"

"Yes. That was the most terrible disaster since men have gone to sea at
all. You see, she was so much bigger, and could carry so many more
people than the old ships, that, when she did go down, it was naturally
much worse. But the wreckers never made any profit out of her. She went
down in the middle of the ocean, and no one will ever see her again."

"Couldn't divers go down after her?"

"No. She was too deep for that. Divers can only go down a certain
distance, because, below that, the pressure is too great, and they
wouldn't live."

"Stop talking and attend to your dinner, Dolly," said Margery, suddenly.
"You pretended you were hungry, and now you're so busy talking that
you're forgetting about the rest of us. We're hungry, too. Just remember
that!"

"I can talk and work at the same time," said Dolly. "Is everything
ready? Because, if it is, so is dinner. Come on, girls! The clams first.
I've cooked it--I'm not going to put it on the table, too."

"No, we ought to be glad to get any work out of her at all," laughed
Margery, as she carried the steaming, savory clams to the table. "I
suppose every time we want her to do some work the rest of the time
we're here, she'll tell us about this dinner."

"I won't have to," boasted Dolly. "You'll all remember it. All I'm
afraid of is that you won't be satisfied with the way anyone else cooks
after this. I've let myself out this time!"

It _was_ a good dinner--a better dinner than anyone had thought Dolly
could cook. But, despite her jesting ways, Dolly was a close observer,
and she had not watched Margery, a real genius in the art of cooking, in
vain. Everyone enjoyed it, and, when they had eaten all they could,
Dolly lay back in the sand with Bessie.

"Well, wasn't I right? Don't you love this place?" she asked.

"I certainly think I do," said Bessie. "It's so peaceful and quiet. I
didn't believe any place could be as calm as the mountains, but I really
think this is."

"I love to hear the surf outside, too," said Dolly. "It's as if it were
singing a lullaby. I think the surf, and the sighing of the wind in the
trees is the best music there is."