bungalow, coming up from his
dock office at Bellemere, Mrs. Brown would ask:

"Did you hear anything about the strange dog or my lost pocketbook and
ring?"

And her husband would shake his head and answer:

"There is no news. I saw Mr. Foswick, the carpenter. He said he keeps
looking around his shop, thinking he may find the things the dog
dropped, but they have not been discovered yet."

Then Mrs. Brown would be sad for a little while as she thought of her
lovely diamond engagement ring, but she did not let Bunny or Sue see
that she was unhappy.

One afternoon it was very hot at Christmas Tree Cove. The sun's rays
beat down and there was scarcely any breeze.

"Come on, kiddies!" called Mother Brown to Bunny and Sue. "We will put
on our bathing suits and go down to the water. If there is any cool
place this hot day it is there."

Of course Bunny and Sue were delighted with this. They never tired of
bathing, and soon they were splashing about in the cove. They were not
the only ones, for many of the neighboring cottagers and bungalow
residents took advantage of the water to cool off.

"Be careful and don't go out too far!" called Mrs. Brown to Bunny and
Sue, as she went up on the beach to talk to some friends, leaving the
children in the water. "The tide is coming in."

"We'll be careful!" promised Bunny. "Here, Sue, give me your hand and
we'll wade out to the float."

The float was made of some planks fastened to empty barrels, and it was
a fine place to play. As Sue and Bunny were wading out they noticed a
boy whom they had not seen before wading beside them.

"Hello!" said Bunny, in friendly spirit. "Did you just come?"

"Yes. We came to the hotel last night," was the answer. "I never was at
the ocean before. We're going to stay all through August."

"This isn't the ocean," said Bunny. "It's just Christmas Tree Cove. The
ocean is lots bigger."

"I'd like to see it," said the new boy.

"Look out!" suddenly called Sue. "Here comes a big wave!"

She had just time to take a tighter hold of Bunny and turn, but the new
boy did not seem to know much about bathing or waves. He stood waiting,
and, an instant later he was knocked down and his head went under
water.

CHAPTER XVIII

HELD FAST

The first that Mrs. Brown knew of what was happening was when a woman
near her screamed. Then this woman hurried down the sands to the edge of
the water in which Bunny, Sue, and a number of other children we