usekeepin', an'
things is bran-new an' fresh. She did that with young Mr. Witton, but
their furniture is gittin' pretty old an' worn out now. If she tries it
with Mr. Hav'ley an' Dora Bannister, I reckon she'll make as big a botch
of it as she did with Mike an' me."

CHAPTER XXXVI

A CRY FROM THE SEA

Miss Panney left Thorbury the next morning, but she had to go without
seeing Phoebe, who did not appear at the station. She arrived at Barport
in the afternoon, and went directly to the house of the friend to whom
she had written, and who, it is to be hoped, was glad to see her. She
deferred making her presence known to the Bannister party until the next
morning. When she called at their hotel about ten o'clock, she was
informed that they had all gone down to the beach; and as they could not
be expected to return very soon, Miss Panney betook herself to the
ocean's edge to look for them.

She found a wide stretch of sand crowded with bathers and spectators. It
had been a long time since she had visited the seashore, and she
discovered that seaside customs and costumes had changed very much. She
was surprised, amused, and at times indignant; but, as she had come to
look for the Bannisters, she confined herself to that business,
postponing reflections and judgments.

Her search proved to be a difficult one. She walked up and down the beach
until she assured herself that the Bannisters and Miriam were not among
those who had come as lookers-on, or merely to breathe the salt air and
enjoy the ocean view. When she came to scrutinize the bathers, whether
they were disporting themselves in the sea or standing or lying about on
the sand, she found it would be almost impossible to recognize anybody in
that motley crowd.

"I can scarcely make out," she said to herself, "whether they are men or
women, much less whether I know them or not. But if the Bannisters and
Miriam are among those water-monkeys, I shall know them when I see their
faces, and then I shall take the first chance I get to tell them what I
think of them."

It was not long before Miss Panney began to grow tired. She was not used
to trudging through soft sand, and she had walked a good deal before she
reached the beach. She concluded, therefore, to look for a place where
she might sit down and rest, and if her friends did not show themselves
in a reasonable time she would go back to their hotel and wait for them
there; but she saw no chairs nor benches