lso wore a little shirt.

"Me kin tell why ships come out ob de hole in de horizon," he said, with
a twinkle in his eyes; "just for notin' else dan to turn about an' go
back into de hole again."

"Nonsense, Dan'l!" cried Sally, with a laugh.

"Nonsense!" repeated Dan, with an injured look. "Didn't you saw'd it
happen jus' t'other day?"

"Well, I did saw the ship go farer an' farer away, an' vanish," admitted
Sall; "but he didn't go into a hole that time."

"Pooh!" ejaculated little Dan, "dat's 'cause de hole was too far away to
be seen."

Further discussion of the subject was prevented by the arrival of
Thursday.

"Well, Toc, you's in a hurry to-day," said little Dan, with a look of
innocent insolence.

"We're all to go an' bathe, child'n," cried Thursday, with a look of
delight; "Susannah's goin', an' all the 'oomans, an' she send me for
you."

"Hurrah!" shouted Dan and Sally.

"Goin' to bave," cried Charlie Christian to Lizzie Mills, who was
attracted by the cheering, which also brought up Matt Quintal, who led
his little sister Sarah by the hand. Sarah was yet a staggerer, and so
was Dinah Adams, also Mary Christian; Polly Young and John Mills had not
yet attained even to the staggering period--they were only what little
Dan McCoy called sprawlers.

Before many minutes had elapsed, the whole colony of women, jumpers,
staggerers, and sprawlers, were assembled on the beach at Bounty Bay.

It could scarcely be said that the women undressed--they merely threw
off the light scarf or bodice that covered their shoulders, but kept on
the short skirts, which were no impediment to their graceful movements
in the water. The jumpers, of course, were only too glad of the excuse
to get out of their very meagre allowance of clothing, and the rest
were, so to speak, naturally ready for the plunge.

It was a splendid forenoon. There was not a zephyr to ruffle the calm
breast of the Pacific, nevertheless the gentle undulation of that mighty
bosom sent wave after wave like green liquid walls into the bay in
ceaseless regularity. These, toppling over, and breaking, and coming in
with a succession of magnificent roars, finally hissed in harmless foam
on the shingly beach.

"Now, T'ursday," said Mrs Adams, "you stop here an' take care o' de
sprawlers."

Adams's helpmate was the oldest of the women, and defective in vision.
Her commands were law. Thursday October would as soon have thought of
disobeying Adams him