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Page 29
Such fun as the children had in the days that followed! Mother
Blossom declared that they almost lived in their bathing suits,
and indeed, as the warm weather came on, a bathing suit for the
sunny hours of the morning was the most comfortable costume any
one could hope for. The little bathing beach was not too far from
the bungalow, and Father Blossom was an excellent swimmer. He
taught each child to swim and very cunning Twaddles and Dot looked
in the water. Dot wore a scarlet bathing cap on her dark hair and
her bathing suit was red, too, while Twaddles wore a navy and
white suit. Meg's suit was a lighter blue and her cap was white,
and Bobby had a brown suit like Father Blossom's. The children
thought that no one could look lovelier than their mother in her
black and white suit and cap to match, and indeed Mother Blossom
was growing prettier every day. She said she had not had a real
vacation in so long that she felt as the children did--as if she
must play outdoors every minute.
Sometimes they took their supper down to the beach and Father
Blossom and Bobby built a fire and they had toasted bread and
bacon; sometimes they went hunting for beach plums, that odd fruit
that grows on tall bushes and which make such delicious jam;
sometimes they all went fishing in the two rowboats, Mother
Blossom rowing one and Father Blossom the other.
"I caught the biggest fish," Dot wrote to Norah, "only it wasn't a
fish--it was somebody's old boot."
But Twaddles and Meg, oddly enough, had the best luck of any of
the fishermen. Meg rarely went fishing that she did not bring home
a nice little string of fish she had caught herself (though Bobby
had to bait her hooks), and as for Twaddles, he never paid much
attention to his line except to pull it in now and then to take a
fish off. One day the whim seized him to fish from the wharf, and
when Bobby was sent to call him to supper Twaddles calmly showed
him four fine fish he had caught in less than an hour.
"I'll take you on a fishing trip some day for a mascot," said
Captain Jenks, who continued to be a very good friend.
The four little Blossoms had gone over with him on The Sarah the
week after Dot's adventure in the water to get the wash from Mrs.
Clayton. Bobby and Meg had been a little fearful that Mother
Blossom would not trust them again to take care of the twins, but
that dear lady knew that accidents make wise little folk more
careful. She assured Bobby and Meg with a kiss that she was sure
they would look after Dot and Twaddles more closely this time.
They did; indeed, the twins rather resented the strict supervision
under which they made the trip to Greenpier, but when Dot appealed
to Captain Jenks, to her disappointment, he sided with Bobby and
Meg.
"I have an uneasy feelin' that I don't know what you might take
into your head to do next," the captain told the surprised little
girl. "If I was your sister and brother, I'd tie a string to you
and then I'd know where you were every minute."
However, of all their games and pastimes, the one of which the
four little Blossoms never tired, was to go and play around the
ruins of the Harley shack. The island was so safe a place, such an
ideal playground for little people, that Father and Mother Blossom
felt no uneasiness no matter where the children went. They must be
home punctually to meals and they must not go in the water
anywhere without asking permission and then only on the bathing
beach if no older person was with them. These few rules were all
they had to remember and it was small wonder that they often said
Apple Tree Island was the nicest place in the world! Aunt Polly
had sent Bobby a little watch and he could "tell time" nicely; so
no matter how far they wandered they had no excuse for not coming
back to the bungalow when Mother Blossom set them a time limit.
"Let's go to Mr. Harley's house," suggested Meg one bright
morning.
That was the way they always spoke of the forlorn shack--it was
"Mr. Harley's house."
"All right, let's," agreed Bobby. "I'll ask Mother if we can take
our lunch. We don't want the twins this time, do we?"
Bobby and Meg had been washing the breakfast dishes while Mother
Blossom, at the pretty desk in the large hall, was making out a
grocery list for Father Blossom to take to town on the morning
boat. Meg and Bobby were learning to be the best little helpers
one ever saw; in fact, this Summer all the children had learned a
great deal about housekeeping and they meant to astonish Norah
with their knowledge when they went home.
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