ompany of you girls all day you are
mistaken, and, good lack, look at my handkerchief, with a hole in it a
dog could get through."

"Indeed, I beg your pardon, little Mother," said Gatty, reddening all
over, "I thought it was mine."

"And, does that make the matter any better? Can't you employ your
fingers any better than making holes in your handkerchiefs?"

"It's a way larks have," said I.

Schillie rose up in a huff.

"Come," said I, "let us all go and have a dip in the sea."

We all agreed to this, and we also agreed we would make an extensive
bathing place, where we could learn to swim, and yet be out of harm from
the sharks. In this matter every one helped. We rolled stones down to
the water, and then, placed them so as to form a wall or pier into the
sea, at twenty yards distance; from that we made another, and we sloped
them so as to make their ends nearly meet. "Thus," as Oscar said,
"leaving only room for a baby shark to get in."

"And we shall not mind that," said Zoe, "for it would not have cut its
teeth."

It took us two or three days to do this, but that evening at tea, being
heartily fatigued, we agreed to sit still and talk over all we should
do.

"Oscar and I intend to fish all day," said Felix, "and you may be very
much obliged to us, because it's very--"

"Very what, Felix," said his sister, who loved to tease him, "very
tiresome, I suppose you mean."

"No; not tiresome exactly, but very fatiguing."

"Oh very fatiguing indeed, I dare say, and you know you would cry like a
baby if any one prevented you fishing."

"Lilly, you are so aggravating, I wish Winny was my sister, that I do,
for she is so kind, and it's hard the only sister I have should tease me
in this manner."

The faithful Jenny was at hand to take the part of each, and please
both, while she put an end to the dispute.

"But, Mama," said Lilly, "if the boys do nothing but fish all day, may
we little girls pick up shells; ah you cannot think what lovely shells
there are; I am going to make a collection, and I should like to class
them all, and, by the time La Luna comes back, I want to have hundreds
and hundreds, and I will take them to ornament my garden, or they will
look lovely arranged all round the big hall; or, Mama, dear, we might
make a grotto, think how lovely it would be! So let us little girls do
nothing but pick up shells. Do, dear Mama, do let us?"

"What a little tongue you have, child. Do you think Zoe and