is your new wooden shoe?"

"Where are both of yours?" screamed Kat.

Sure enough, where were they? No one had thought about shoes, because
they were thinking so hard about Kit.

They ran to the end of the pier and looked. There was Kat's shoe
sailing away toward America like a little boat! Kit's were still
bobbing about in the water near the pier.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" shrieked Kat; but the tide was going out and carrying her
shoe farther away every minute. They could not get it; but Grandfather
reached down with his rod and fished out both of Kit's shoes. Then Kat
took off her other one and her stockings, and they all three went back
to the beach.

Grandfather and Kat covered Kit up with sand to keep him warm while his
clothes were drying. Then Grandfather stuck the Twins' fish-poles up in
the sand and tied the lines together for a clothes-line, and hung Kit's
clothes up on it, and Kat put their three wooden shoes in a row beside
Kit.

Then they ate their luncheon of bread and butter, cheese, and milk,
with some radishes from Father's garden. It tasted very good, even if
it was sandy. After lunch Grandfather said, "It will never do to go
home without any fish at all."

So by and by he went back to the pier and caught one while the Twins
played in the sand. He put it in the lunch-basket to carry home.

Kat brought shells and pebbles to Kit, because he had to stay covered
up in the sand, and Kit built a play dyke all around himself with them,
and Kat dug a canal outside the dyke. Then she made sand-pies in
clam-shells and set them in a row in the sun to bake.

They played until the shadow of the dyke grew very long across the
sandy beach, and then Grandfather said it was time to go home.

He helped Kit dress, but Kit's clothes were still a little wet in the
thick parts. And Kat had to go barefooted and carry her one wooden shoe.

They climbed the dyke and crossed the fields, and walked along the road
by the canal. The road shone, like a strip of yellow ribbon across the
green field. They walked quite slowly, for they were tired and sleepy.

By and by Kit said, "I see our house"; and Kat said, "I see Mother at
the gate."

Grandfather gave the fish he caught to Kit and Kat, and Vrouw Vedder
cooked it for their supper; and though it was not a very big fish, they
all had some.

Grandfather must have told Vrouw Vedder something about what had
happened; for that night, when she put Kit to bed, she felt of his
cloth