of it by
visiting Montague Bridge."

A few days later the new friends they had made were left behind, and they
were again in sight of Charlottetown.

When they arrived at Mrs. Fremont's they were received with delight, as
there had been a picnic planned, and they were waiting the return of the
little party from Montague, in order to announce the day.

After the pleasant bustle of preparation had resulted in hampers of
delicacies, a lively procession of vehicles, filled with happy people,
started for Stanhope Bay, a lovely spot on the north shore of the Island.

The high sandbanks that here border the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
were a source of wonder and amusement to those of the party who were
strangers to the place, but woe to the one who stepped unwittingly near the
edge of the bank! for the yielding sand gave no foothold, and an awkward
slide down the face of the bank was always the result. But the shore below
was as firm and smooth as a sanded floor, and soon every member of the
party had thrown dignity aside and let themselves down through the warm dry
sand to the beach, where they sought for treasures of the deep in the shape
of pretty shells and other sea beauties, that were thrown up by the mighty
waves that here dash on the shore in thundering tones when tempests rule
the waters of the Gulf.

It was only when a sense of hunger brought to mind the full baskets
awaiting them in the grove at the top of the bank, that they turned their
backs on the restless waves, and essayed to climb the steep sandbanks.

But a complete knowledge of mountain-climbing was of little use here; it
was each one for himself in the scramble for the top, for there could be
little help given either in front or rear.

A mad rush up the bank, at an angle that offered some slight foothold,
brought Dexie, hot and panting, to the top, and she turned to give a word
of instruction to Elsie, who was trying to climb the steep face of the bank
only to find that she slipped back almost as fast as she ascended.

"Go back to the bottom, Elsie, and make a run for that bunch of grass where
I came up; you will never get up there; watch Gertrude Fremont. Now, Elsie,
run for it!"

After a few minutes' hard climbing, Elsie reached the top, and the next few
minutes were spent in shaking their skirts, and emptying their shoes from
the accumulation of sand that filled every crevice. A smooth spot was then
found to do duty as a table, and the s