--oo! It's Princess Polly, and Rose and Sprite. I'm going right
over to see them, and dance with them, too!"

She flung the glasses down into the nearest chair, and ran down the
stairs, across the lawn, and then commenced to make her way carefully
down the rough steps that had been cut in the ledge.

Even Gwen could not descend those steps at high speed.

Once on the sand she believed she could hasten, but the tide never
reached the ledge upon which the house stood, so the sand at its base
was dry, and anything but easy to hurry over.

At last she reached the damp part, and then how her feet flew over the
firm, level surface.

She seemed tireless as she sped along, and she ran without stopping
until she stood before them. They had not seen her approaching,
because a high cliff had hidden her until she sprang out from behind
it.

"Hello!" she cried.

"Hello!" they replied. "Going to dance with us?"

"Of course," Gwen said shortly. "That's why I came here."

She was a fine little dancer, and soon the four were tripping lightly
over the sand, the three bare footed, but Gwen with shoes and
stockings on, splashing as gaily through the shallow water as if she
did not know that she was ruining a fine pair of new shoes.

Her pale blue stockings would hardly be improved by a drenching in
salt-water.

The others had urged her to take them off, but for that very reason,
she stubbornly refused, and laughed as the water rushed about her
ankles at the first step.

She knew that no reproof awaited her. Mrs. Harcourt hailed each new
prank as a sure sign of her small daughter's originality.

Tormenting the pets that other guests had brought to the shore, hiding
the embroidery frames that any lady might chance to leave lying on a
chair, throwing hats or wraps over the piazza railing to drop at the
foot of the cliff, all these things Mrs. Harcourt thought extremely
amusing.

A pair of wet shoes would, of course, be very funny. Gwen was sure of
that.

"Where's that new girl?" she asked when they paused to rest.

"She's gone out fishing with her brother," Rose replied, "and they
intend to be out all day."

"Oh, well, I only asked for fun," Gwen said quickly. "She's pleasant,
and I like her, but she can't keep still a minute, and that makes me
tired."

"Why, Gwen Harcourt, neither do you," said Rose, laughing.

"Me?" said Gwen. "Well, who wants to keep still? I didn't say I wanted
to. I said it made me tired to watc