t without very much
effort.

When the other children came, she was all excitement.

"Just see. I can swim, I can swim."

Beth hastened to show off her wonderful accomplishment. She was
disgusted when Harvey laughed at her.

"Why, Beth, you swim in regular dog fashion. You claw the water just
like Don. You ought to go like this."

She tried striking out with her arms as he bid, but could not swim that
way. Whereupon, she declared:

"I like swimming dog fashion best."

One evening Mr. Davenport came home and said:

"Mary, how would you like to go down to the seashore for a week?"

"And take us?" exclaimed Beth.

Mr. Davenport was in a teasing mood.

"I will take Marian because she has been good, but as to you, I must
find out first from mamma if any bad girl has been around here lately.
We can't take bad girls with us."

Beth held her breath for her mother's answer.

"Well, James, for a wonder we have had an unusually good girl here for
the past week. If we go, she may go too."

Beth danced a jig in the intensity of her joy.

"Where are we going, papa?"

"Down to Fort George Island, which is at the mouth of the St. Johns.
We will leave to-morrow morning. Can you be ready by that time, Mary?"

"I guess so."

Mrs. Davenport was accustomed to her husband's desire to start at a
moment's notice. He had made a like suggestion many times before.

At Beth's earnest solicitation, she was allowed to take Don with her.

The next morning, when they boarded the boat for Fort George's, Beth
was very much surprised to behold Julia.

"Why, Julia, how nice of you to come down to see us off, but how did
you know we were going?"

"I didn't come to see you off; I'm going to Fort George, too. Your
papa was over last night and persuaded papa and mamma to go."

"Oh goody, goody, goody."

Julia and Beth took possession of the boat from the first moment. They
inspected it from one end to the other. They made friends with the
captain and those under him. They went up even to the pilot house and
helped run the boat, or, at least, they thought they were helping. The
morning proved a very happy one for them.

The trip delighted their parents also. They were content to sit still
and watch the St. Johns as it curved and widened on its course to the
ocean. There is hardly a more picturesque river in America.

As they neared the sea, its briny odor was wafted to them by the
breeze. Great sand dunes rose o