CHAPTER II
A GOLDFISH IN THE OCEAN
Betty Lee, who was sometimes jokingly called father's little goldfish,had acquired that title by reason of her ability to swim and her goldenhead, though that was usually covered tightly by a rubber cap. As hertaking part in most of the swimming contests among the girls of LyonHigh necessitated good bathing suits, Betty was already prepared in thatrespect for her visit at the seashore.
Secrets were all very well. Betty had interest in everything. But hergreatest interest was in the new experience ahead of her, the newcountry and the delights of the ocean. Her father warned her of newconditions, but she would quickly learn. Though there were no rivercurrent, there would be the undertow. Betty promised to use her commonsense and swim within the boundaries allowed at the resort to which shewas bound.
With the highest anticipations, then, Betty accompanied the Gwynnes andKathryn Allen on the fascinating trip East and to New England. Dick Leewas at a boys camp. His twin, Doris, would soon be at a correspondinggirls' camp, for it "had to be fair," at the risk, said Mr. Lee, ofdepleting the treasury. Mother and Amy Lou would remain in the city withFather, but would take an outing with him later, when a business tripwould take him East again. Then Betty, returning from the visit withCarolyn, would meet other girl friends at a "wonderful" Girl Reservecamp. Truly the summer could offer no more! Betty's former chum at thelittle town of Buxton, Janet Light, with whom Betty still correspondedfitfully, as her full life permitted, wrote Betty that she was a "luckygirl," and Betty thought so too.
It was all the better that it was a motor trip, with the opportunity tostop in all sorts of fascinating places, little and big, where therewere thrilling associations of history; and these were as much forCarolyn's benefit as for Kathryn and Betty. There were no embarrassingand hampering ideas of obligation, for Mr. and Mrs. Gwynne had assuredthe Lees that their itinerary would be carried out with or without theirguests. There were only the three Gwynnes, with Kathryn Allen and BettyLee; for Carolyn's older sister and others of the household had otherplans of travel.
At the quiet places where they stopped, Betty and Kathryn were permittedto pay modest hotel bills, but that was all; and many a happy time theyhad lunching it on the way, with a big supply of good things, ratherthan stop. Mr. Gwynne, with Mrs. Gwynne to rest him at times, did thedriving; for their chauffeur had left their service, very conveniently,Carolyn said, and they would not engage another until their return home.Mr. Gwynne's type of humor made Betty think of her own father. Thefamilies were well acquainted by this time. Mr. and Mrs. Lee would takethe trip to New England from New York, after business was completed, andwith an excited little Amy Lou, who was, however, very dignified aboutit at present. Was she not going into the third grade?
Then the Lees would attach Kathryn and Betty, and possibly, as Bettyhoped, Carolyn, for the return and delivery at camp. But Carolyn saidthat she could not go so soon. There was the pleasant pressure on thegirls to stay longer, but that could be decided later on. Never wasBetty to forget her first motor trip East. Apparently everybody else wasgoing, too, or it seemed so after they had reached certain routes oftraffic and travel. The Gwynnes met some old friends at differenthotels, till at times there would be quite a little cavalcade ofacquaintances, travelling together for a while, and there were a numberof boys and girls in some of the parties.
Once they traveled for two days in company with a family whom Carolynsaid they had known "summers." Passengers in the cars were changed andthe young people were together in the car newly attached to the Gwynnes.This was driven by Arthur Penrose, eldest son of the new friends,probably nineteen or so, Carolyn said, a brown-eyed, brown-haired youth,polite but friendly, though he said less, engaged in driving, than ayounger brother, Archie, who did all the arranging in seats. Betty couldnot be sure at first which was "Art" and which was "Arch," but at lastshe straightened it out. Their sister "Gwen" was about Betty's age, shethought, a pretty vivacious girl, who was delighted to see Carolyn andreminded her at first about "old times" till she saw that it would bebetter to include the new acquaintances, doing her best to make up fortemporary forgetfulness.
Betty liked Gwen at once. That was the nice thing about this travelingand you could be sure that any one the Gwynnes liked were worth knowing.They were in Connecticut at the time of this meeting and at once planneda picnic dinner, stopping here and there to purchase a heterogeneouscollection, left entirely to the young people to manage. "Have yourpicnic," Mr. Gwynne said, "but don't expect _us_ to do any cavortingaround over it." Mr. and Mrs. Penrose and a sister of Mrs. Penroseoccupied the room left by the three girls in the Gwynne car, thoughthere was some shifting; for the men must talk over affairs and theladies must be together.
What Betty did not know at all this time was that the Penroses had comeinto her life to stay there. But those things happen in the most casualmeetings.
The Penrose car was a seven-passenger car and at first Arthur drove byhimself while Archie and Gwen did the honors behind. Then Art complainedwhimsically that he was being left out; and in some way Betty foundherself elected to sit in front with the driver, a move which pleasedher, with its view of the "Blue Hills," where they were now, and lessnecessity of talking; for they could listen to the rest or talk as theyliked.
But Arthur's "nice" face was turned to her often, as he called attentionto some scene or made some other comment. Betty told him how it hadhappened that she took the trip, where they were going, what a thrillshe had over it and how she enjoyed seeing everything.
"I suppose I notice the scenery more particularly since I want to be anartist," said Arthur Penrose. "They tell me that 'Art' is the propername for me, though Archie makes fun and says he'll have to support hisartistic brother in the years to come."
Arthur's face was full of amusement as he said this. "But I am alreadydoing a little in commercial art lines, so perhaps it is not so bad."
"How wonderful!" cried Betty, interested. "I wish I knew more about it.I draw a little. We have an art course in school, you know, but I likemusic best--just play the violin some. Then I like athletics, not somuch the competitive games, you know, but swimming and skating andriding, that is I'm going to have lessons in that next year. I can ridein the country, though. Are you in college?"
"Yes, but it may be a waste of time for me to finish. We have to decidethat. I am taking art on the side, but I want to go to a regular artschool, and next summer, if I can raise the cash, I'm going to walk orswim to Europe and see what the big guys have done."
Betty laughed at that statement and told "Art" that her father wasalways asking her when she was going to swim to Europe. This brought onmore confidences, till Betty felt that she was quite well acquainted.Art Penrose was as nice as Chet, and presently she found that he knewthe "Dorrance boys" and was glad to hear news from them.
The picnic dinner was more fun. They found a place with a cool spring,and made the older members of the party comfortable with seats and rugsfrom the cars. The boys were used to this sort of thing and as our girlswere accustomed to all sorts of hikes and picnics, it was a small matterand "loads of fun" to make coffee, "hot dog" sandwiches, and haveheaping plates of good things in a short but happy time, short, Artsaid, because it was not possible to handle their elders. They _would_think of such things as routes and time and how far they had to go.
Art came with his full plate to sit on a log near Betty and to talk moreabout his beloved art to sympathetic ears; and when they rose to go, helifted a firm finger before her face to say, "You are going to see moreof me, Betty Lee. I have to hear you play on your violin, for onething."
"And I must see some of your pictures," pleasantly Betty responded. "Itis awfully interesting to hear about it--_very_, I mean. I'm reallytrying to improve my English!"
"Don't worry about your English. Has Gwen told you yet that the Penrosesmight possibly move to your little city?"
"'Little city,' indeed!" said Bet
ty, though her smile accompanied thismild rebuke. "And we have a fine art school," she added, hopefully.
But Arthur Penrose shook his head. "I'm going to Boston--NewYork--Philadelphia--Chicago--who knows? But at that I may visit myfamily occasionally!"
It was later that Gwendolyn said something of the same sort to Betty andKathryn. "And I do hope that I see you girls again. I'm going to writeto Carolyn once in a while now and if we _should_ decide to move there,we'll see to it that we live where I can attend the same high school. Icertainly like what you tell about it!"
So they parted, with last smiles and salutes and promises to see eachother again. "The nice thing about life, girls," said Betty Lee, "isthat you never know what is going to turn up. It's like a big mysterystory, with little clues that you miss when you're reading it; and ifyou decide one way, it's one thing and if you decide another way--aboutsomething important, I mean--it's another way."
"Listen to our philosopher, Carolyn," said Kathryn.
"There _are_ girls that don't think life's interesting at all," remarkedCarolyn. "But Betty would find something, even if she lived back in theBuxton she talks about."
"It isn't the _size_ of the _place_, Carolyn," began Betty, with an airof wisdom that she knew was comical. "It's what you've got in yourlittle insides, I guess. But I _am_ 'lucky,' as Janet wrote me, to haveso much happening."
The objective of this trip was a quiet little village on the coast ofMaine, with its rocks and inlets and rivers and lakes. It was such aplace as city people love to find, for while it was being developed as aresort, it was small, and the outlying homes of the summer residentswere scattered.
From the main highway they drove upon a road which was being repaired,or made into a respectable road for automobiles. Driving was difficultnow in places, but at last they came upon a smooth road between woodsfull of new kinds of trees and growths that made Betty exclaim withpleasure, as she had before, passing through this to her new country.She had kept account of all states through which she had passed andconcluded that she was becoming quite a traveled girl. But a wood peeweecalled from the depths of the forest and a flock of quail whirred asthey hastened from the bushes by the roadside. Molly Cottontail ran tocover, and Betty concluded that it was still America and home!
But why call this a cottage! After more driving they came into thevillage and beyond it to a bit of a grove, where stood a large house,new but of a "dear old-fashioned" colonial type; and Mr. Gwynne stoppedthe car to let his passengers have a view of it. "Still like it, dear?"he asked his wife.
"Yes. The setting is exactly what I like, no hard hill to climb, justthis gentle rise and the house among the trees, all white and green."
So far as Betty was concerned, she could have welcomed the placeforever, and although at this moment she could not see the ocean, shecould hear its waves beating upon the shore not too far away! Its freshbreezes gently moved the trees and through them in the other direction ared sun was sinking toward the irregular contour of the land. Bettyneeded no camera to remember this, but Carolyn planned at once forpictures of the house and grounds.
"Tomorrow, girls, we'll get out and take a lot of pictures of the houseand grounds and get down to the beach, too, in our bathing suits."
"Please take a picture of me, Carolyn, right _in_ the ocean, to send tomy father!"
"Daddy's little goldfish among the sharks?" teased Carolyn.
"Ow! You don't have those, I hope."
"I never heard of any around here," laughed Carolyn, "and we've beennear this place before, you know. You stay within bounds and you'll beall right."
Supper, a real New England supper served by a cook and a maid alreadythere to take care of them, came next, then a stroll around the grounds,whose limits were uncertain as they strayed off into a little grovechiefly of spruces and pines. Hasty letters home were written by Kathrynand Betty and a little later three young heads, on as many differentpillows in Carolyn's big room, drowsed off to the distant booming of thesurf.
In the morning, Betty blinked her eyes and wondered where she was. Shemust hurry to get up, for the alarm had gone off and she would be latefor school! For a moment all the old feelings of wanting to stay in bedand having to get up to get ready for school came over her. Then shelaughed and sat up, looking across at the two other cots, where Carolyn,by whose bed the alarm was still ringing intermittently, was rubbing hereyes and reaching down to the floor to shut it off. Kathryn sat upsuddenly in bed and asked, "Where's the fire?"
But three bathing suits had been laid out ready to be put on. They hadplanned a cold dip before breakfast and fearing that they would not bewakened in time by more or less weary parents or maid and cook who hadbeen instructed not to have breakfast too early, Carolyn had set thealarm. The sun was streaming into their East room, chosen by Carolyn,who wanted to "hear the sea."
Wrapped in their warmest coats over their bathing suits, the girls madetheir way, by a side exit of which Carolyn knew, down a little hill,down a few steps, then to the beach not far from the accredited bathingplace where Carolyn said they should do their swimming. A few otherpeople were on the beach for the same purpose.
It was an icy dip this morning and Betty privately thought that shewould prefer the tropics; but at that it was the great old AtlanticOcean and she missed none of the thrill that she had expected. A shortswim in the unaccustomed element, salty and "different," and Betty wasready for the quick return to the Gwynne cottage, where a shower bathand a vigorous rub put her in a glow. Three merry faces met Mr. and Mrs.Gwynne at the breakfast table.
"Did you have your early dip, girls?" inquired Mr. Gwynne.
"Don't we look like it, Daddy?" asked Carolyn.
"Something has made you all very rosy, I should say, and our littleGypsy sparkles like a--well, whatever does sparkle."
"Betty has had her swim in the Atlantic Ocean at last," laughed Carolyn."She found it a little bit chilly, but I think she's going to try itagain later in the day."
"Of course. Oh, Mr. Gwynne, it is perfectly lovely here! I'm sodelighted that you brought me!"
"So are we. I'm sure that you will help our enthusiasms, Betty Lee."