The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK ®. Laura Lee Hope
matter it had been.
“I only came in to tell you,” began George Bingham, “that we are all right, and the boat is lifting off the sand bar we stuck on. But I’m glad I came in to—the reception,” he said, laughing. “So you’ve found friends, McLaughlin,” he added, seeing the little family united. “Why, how do you do, Mrs. McLaughlin?” he went on, offering her his hand. “And little Nellie! Well, I declare, we did land on a friendly shore.”
Just as Mr. Bingham said, the life-saving work turned out to be a social affair, for there was a great time greeting Nellie’s father and Hal’s uncle.
“Wasn’t it perfectly splendid that Nellie and her mother were here!” declared Dorothy.
“And Hal and his father, too,” put in Nan. “It is just like a story in a book.”
“But we don’t have to look for the pictures,” chimed in Bert, who was greatly interested in the sailors, as well as in the work of the life-saving corps.
As Mr. Bingham told the guards it would not be necessary to haul any more men in, and as the sea was calm enough now to launch a life-boat, both Nellie’s father and Hal’s uncle insisted on going back to the vessel to the other men.
Nellie was dreadfully afraid to have her father go out on the ocean again, but he only laughed at her fears, and said he would soon be in to port, to go home with her, and never go on the big, wild ocean again.
Two boats were launched, a strong guard going in each, with Mr. McLaughlin in one and Mr. Bingham in the other, and now they pulled out steadily over the waves, back to the vessel that was freeing itself from the sand bar.
What a morning that was at Sunset Beach!
The happiness of two families seemed to spread all through the little colony, and while the men were thinking of the more serious work of helping the sailors with their vessel, the girls and women were planning a great welcome for the men who had been saved from the waves.
“I’m so glad we prayed,” said little Flossie to Freddie, when she heard the good news.
“It was Uncle William prayed the loudest,” insisted Freddie, believing, firmly, that to reach heaven a long and loud prayer is always best.
“But we all helped,” declared his twin sister, while surely the angels had listened to even the sleepy whisper of the little ones, who had asked help for the poor sailors in their night of peril.
CHAPTER XX
The Happy Reunion
A beautiful day had grown out of the dreadful storm.
The sun seemed stronger each time it made its way out from behind a cloud, just as little girls and boys grow strong in body by exercise, and strong in character by efforts to do right.
And everybody was so happy.
The Neptune—the vessel that had struck on the sand bar—was now safely anchored near shore, and the sailors came in and out in row-boats, back and forth to land, just as they wished.
Of course Captain Bingham, Hal’s uncle, was at the Bingham cottage, and the first mate, Nellie’s father, was at Minturn’s.
But that evening there was a regular party on Minturn’s veranda. Numbers of cottagers called to see the sailors, and all were invited to remain and hear about the strange voyage of the Neptune.
“There is not much to tell,” began the captain. “Of course I knew we were going to have trouble getting that mahogany. Two vessels had been wrecked trying to get it, so when we got to the West Indies I decided to try canoes and not risk sails, where the wind always blew such a gale, it dragged any anchor that could be dropped. Well, it was a long, slow job to drag those heavy logs around that point, and just when we were making headway, along comes a storm that drove the schooner and canoes out of business.”
Here Mate McLaughlin told about the big storm and how long it took the small crew to repair the damage done to the sails.
“Then we had to go back to work at the logs,” went on the captain, “and then one of our crew took a fever. Well, then we were quarantined. Couldn’t get things to eat without a lot of trouble, and couldn’t go on with the carting until the authorities decided the fever was not serious. That was what delayed us so.
“Finally, we had every log loaded on the schooner and we started off. But I never could believe any material would be as heavy as that mahogany; why, we just had to creep along, and the least contrary wind left us motionless on the sea.
“We counted on getting home last week, when this last storm struck us and drove us out of our course. But we are not sorry for our delay now, since we have come back to our own.”
“About the value?” asked Mr. Bobbsey, who was down from the city.
“The value,” repeated the captain aside, so that the strangers might not hear. “Well, I’m a rich man now, and so is my mate, McLaughlin, for that wood was contracted for by the largest and richest piano firm in this country, and now it is all but delivered to them and the money in our hands.”
“Then it was well worth all your sacrifice?” said Mr. Minturn.
“Yes, indeed. It would have taken us a lifetime to accumulate as much money as we have earned in this year. Of course, it was hard for the men who had families, McLaughlin especially; the others were all working sailors, but he was a landsman and my partner in the enterprise; but I will make it up to him, and the mahogany hunt will turn out the best paying piece of work he ever undertook.”
“Oh, isn’t it perfectly splendid!” declared Nan and Dorothy, hugging Nellie. “You will never again have to go back to that horrid store that made you so pale, and your mother will have a lovely time and nothing to worry about.”
“I can hardly believe it all,” replied their little friend. “But having father back is the very best of all.”
“But all the same,” sighed Dorothy, “I just know you will all be going home before we leave for the city, and I shall just die of loneliness.”
“But we have to go to school,” said Nan, “and we have only a few days more.”
“Of course,” continued Dorothy; “and our school will not open for two weeks yet.”
“Maybe Aunt Emily will take you down to the city on her shopping tour,” suggested Nan.
“Indeed I do not like shopping,” answered the cousin. “Every time I go in a store that is crowded with stuff on the counters under people’s elbows, I feel like knocking the things all over. I did a lot of damage that way once. It was holiday time, and a counter that stuck out in the middle of the store was full of little statues. My sleeve touched one, and the whole lot fell down as if a cannon had struck them. I broke ten and injured more than I wanted to count.”
“And Aunt Emily had to pay for them?” said Nan.
“No, she didn’t, either,” corrected Dorothy. “The manager came up and said the things should not be put out in people’s way. He made the clerks remove all the truck from the aisles and I guess everybody was glad the army fell down. I never can forget those pink-and-white soldiers,” and Dorothy straightened herself up in comical “soldier’s arms” fashion, imitating the unfortunate statues.
“I hope you can come to Lakeport for Thanksgiving,” said Nan. “We have done so much visiting this summer, out to Aunt Sarah’s and down here, mamma feels we ought to have a grand reunion at our house next. If we do, I am going to try to have some of the country girls down and give them all a jolly good time.”
“Oh, I’ll come if you make it jolly,” answered Dorothy. “If there is one thing in this world worth while, it is fun,” and she tossed her yellow head about like a buttercup, that has no other way of laughing.
That had been an eventful day at Ocean Cliff, and the happy ending of it, with a boat and its crew saved, was, as some of the