CHAPTER VI
AT SUNSET BEACH
The train conductor, who had climbed up on the steps, after helping downMrs. Martin and the children, quickly reached up to grasp the signalcord on hearing the cries of alarm. The cord blew a little whistle inthe cab of the engineer--the whistle taking the place of theold-fashioned bell.
In an instant the engineer clapped on the brakes, and the train, whichhad only begun to move slowly away from the station, came to a suddenstop.
"What is the matter, madam?" asked the conductor. "Did you leave some ofyour baggage in the car?"
"My little boy--William--is in there!" answered his mother. "He musthave gone back up the steps when my back was turned."
"Well, he'll be all right. Don't worry," advised the conductor, kindly.
"I'll get him!" offered Mr. Martin, with a laugh. "There was a littlegirl with some picture books in the aisle across from William," heexplained, "and I think Trouble climbed back there to get another lookat the pictures. I'll get him!"
While some passengers stuck their heads out of windows to find the causefor the sudden stopping of the train, after it had started, Mr. Martinand the conductor made their way into the car that had just been left.
But, to the surprise of the father of the Curlytops, William was not inthere. The little girl and her mother, in whom the small lad had beenmuch interested, were still looking at the picture book, but Trouble wasnot in sight.
"That's queer," murmured Mr. Martin. "Excuse me," he spoke to the ladywith the little girl, "but did you see my little boy come back into thiscar? He got off with us, but we missed him after we had taken stock ofour bags, and I thought he had climbed back on the train again."
"No, he didn't come in here," said the lady.
"That's queer!" murmured Trouble's father.
"Maybe he got in one of the other cars," suggested the conductor."Though he'd have to be pretty lively on his feet to do that."
"Trouble is pretty quick," said Mr. Martin.
He hurried out on the car platform and met his wife's anxious look.
"He isn't in here," said the father.
"Oh!" she gasped. "I wonder----"
"There he is! There he is!" suddenly cried Ted and Janet, and a momentlater they all saw Trouble over on the station platform. The littlefellow was standing up on his tiptoes, trying to put a penny in the slotof a chocolate and gum machine hanging on the wall of the station nearthe ticket office.
"Oh, the little tyke!" exclaimed his mother. "He must have slipped awayto spend his penny the moment I set him on the ground off the carsteps."
"Sorry to have made you all this trouble," remarked Mr. Martin to thetrain conductor. "Very sorry, indeed!"
"Oh, that's all right!" was the good-natured answer. "We're used to lostchildren on these shore trains in the summer. It's part of our job tohelp hunt for them."
"I hope you won't be late on your trip," went on the father of theCurlytops.
"Oh, no, we're about on time. A few minutes more or less won't make muchdifference."
Once more he pulled the signal cord. There came two small, shrillwhistles in the locomotive cab, the engineer pulled open the throttle,and once more the cars rolled on their way, taking other vacationists toother beaches. The passengers pulled their wondering heads in from thewindows and all was as it should be--except for Trouble.
"Oh, you little tyke," cried his mother, half scolding him, as wasproper, "why did you run away the moment my back was turned, giving ussuch a fright? Why did you do it, William?"
She seldom called him William unless he had done something very wrong,as he had done this time.
"Why did you run away and go over to the platform by yourself, William?"asked his father.
"'Cause--now--I had a penny," was the answer. "I had a penny an' Iwanted to get some candy for the nellifunt!"
"Oh, you and your elephants!" sighed Janet. "Will you ever get overthem?"
"There aren't any elephants here at Sunset Beach," said Ted, who wasready to help his father gather up the bags and bundles, to put them ina station auto in which the trip was to be made to the cottage theMartins had taken for the summer.
"Maybe there's a nellifunt," said Trouble, who had been brought backfrom the candy machine by Janet. "An' I want my piece of candy for apenny!"
"Didn't you get the piece of candy out of the machine?" asked Ted.
"Nope," and Trouble shook his head. "I put my penny in, I did," he said,"but there didn't any candy come out for the nellifunt!"
"I guess he couldn't press the handle in hard enough," suggested Janet.
"I'll get the candy for you," kindly offered Teddy. He ran over to themachine. Trouble's penny was still in the slot where he had dropped it,but, as Jan had guessed, the little fellow's chubby fingers had not beenstrong enough to press the pusher handle.
Ted gave it a shove, there was a click, and down on the lower traydropped a little square of chocolate in a tinfoil wrapper.
"There you are, Trouble," his brother said, taking the candy to him.
At last the Curlytops and their relatives, together with the baggage,were gathered into the auto and a little later they were at the cottageMr. Martin had hired for the summer. Norah had been brought down to dothe cooking, but Patrick had been left at home.
"Oh, how near it is to the ocean!" cried Janet as, after the cottage hadbeen opened, she caught a glimpse of the shining water at the end of thestreet.
"May we go down, Mother?" asked Ted.
"Yes, for a little while," was the answer.
"Me come!" cried Trouble.
"Look after him," warned Mr. Martin, as William followed his brother andsister on the run.
"We will," they promised.
The beach was only a short distance from the cottage which was on astreet running right down to the water. There were several othercottages on the same street as that on which the Martins' house wassituated, but some of these cottages were not yet opened, the occupantsplanning to arrive later.
"Oh, isn't it lovely here?" sighed Janet.
"Dandy!" cried Ted.
"I's goin' to dig in the sand," announced William, finding a shell for ashovel.
"I guess you can't get hurt doing that," Janet remarked.
She and Ted strolled along the beach, on which the white-capped waveswere breaking with a rumble, tumble and roar, although the waves in thisbig bay were not as high as those on the Atlantic side of the stretch ofland between the bay and the open ocean.
"Oh, look!" suddenly said Jan to Ted. "There's Mr. and Mrs. Keller! Oh,I'm so glad we've seen them! Come on over and we can show them where ourcottage is."
"Where are they?" asked Ted.
"Right down there, on the sand. See that old gentleman and lady justsitting down under the sun umbrella?"
Janet pointed and Ted saw an elderly couple making themselvescomfortable on the sand. They had opened a big red and yellow stripedumbrella, for the sun was beating down on the beach, though not veryhotly, for it was well down in the sky.
"Let's surprise 'em," suggested Ted, filled with a sudden spirit ofmischief.
"How?" asked Janet, making sure Trouble was safe playing on the sand,well out of reach of the waves.
"Let's go up softly and tip over the umbrella and holler 'Boo!'"
"All right!" Janet agreed. "They won't mind."
"No," said Ted. "They're real jolly!"
Brother and sister went on tiptoe across the sand, up behind the big sunumbrella. Catching hold of one edge of it, Ted tipped it to one side.Then he and Janet yelled:
"Boo!"
But what was their astonishment to see, looking at them with ratherstartled faces, a perfectly strange man and woman. Both had white hair,but they were not Mr. and Mrs. Keller at all!