Violet. "What's treasure, Russ? Is any of it good
to eat? And look at that robin! What makes him waggle his tail that way?
And look at the cat! What's she lashing her tail so for?"

"Wait a minute, Vi!" cried Russ with a laugh. "You mustn't ask so many
questions all to once."

"Treasure isn't good to eat!" said Laddie. "But if you find a lot of
gold you can buy ice-cream sodas with it."

"Maybe the robin is flitting its tail to scare the cat," suggested Rose,
who remembered Violet's second question.

"Well, I know why the cat is lashing her tail," said Russ. "Cats always
do that when they think they're going to catch a bird. This cat thinks
she's going to catch the robin. But she won't!"

"Why not?" asked Rose.

"'Cause I'm going to throw a stone at it--at the cat, I mean," explained
Russ. He tossed a pebble at the cat, not hitting it, and the furry
creature slunk away. The robin flew off, also, so it was not caught, at
least not just then.

"I know a riddle about a robin!" said Laddie. "Only I can't think of it
now," he added. "Maybe I shall after a while. Then I'll tell it to you.
Go on, Sammie. Tell us more about how your father got the gold on the
desert island."

"He dug for it," Sammie answered. "He and the other sailors just dug in
the sand for it."

"With shovels?"

"No, they used big shells. It's easy to dig in the sand."

"Is sand the best place to dig for gold?" Rose wanted to know.

"I guess so," answered Sammie. "Anyhow there's always sand on a desert
island, like that one where my father was."

"There's sand down at Cousin Tom's," put in Laddie. "I heard my mother
say so. I'm going to dig for gold, and if I get a lot, Sammie, I'll send
you some."

"I hope you find a big lot!" exclaimed the visiting boy with a laugh.

They talked over their hopes of finding treasure in the seashore sand,
forgetting all about the soap bubbles they had been blowing.

"I'll be lonesome when you go away," said Sammie to Russ. "I like you
Bunkers."

"And we like you," said Russ. "Maybe if we dig for gold down at Cousin
Tom's, and can't find any, you'll come down and help us."

"Sure I will!" exclaimed Sammie, as if that would be the easiest thing
in the world. "I'll ask my father the best way, and then I'll come
down."

"Could you bring a diving suit?" asked Laddie. "Maybe the gold would be
down on the bottom of the ocean, and we'd have to dive for it. Would
your father let you take a diving suit?"

"N