"If they have sails, I'm going to roll 'em up and down," Dot announced, so thrilled at the prospect that she upset her glass of milk down the front of her frock.
"You'll have to wear it," said Mother Blossom, mopping her as dry as she could with a napkin. "Perhaps I can put a dry dress on you on the boat. Now try to eat quietly, dear; we haven't much time."
The shower-bath of milk rather subdued Dot for the moment, and lunch was finished without further mishap. Then a brief walk through the pretty little country town brought them to the lake.
"O-oh! Isn't it lovely!" breathed Meg. "Just see how it sparkles in the sun. Don't you like it, Dot?"
Her quick eyes had spied an old organ grinder and his monkey on the other side of the dock. She slipped under the rope, where the people who wanted to take the boat were standing, and ran over to the music.
"We needn't have hurried," said Mother Blossom, coming back to her little folk. She had been to the office to have the baggage checks looked after. "The boat is held up for another half hour because of some engine trouble. Where's Dot?"
Well, where was Dot? Meg had thought her little sister was standing next to her. The boys were sure she had been just behind them. Where was Dot?
She stood in the crowd gathered about the organ grinder, a little girl with shining dark eyes and a milk-splashed frock, watching the clever bowing and scraping of the small monkey with evident delight. Then a sudden movement of the people about her startled her. She remembered that she was supposed to go somewhere with the rest of her family. She saw people hurrying toward a large automobile with nine or ten long seats in it, and she hurried toward it, too. A man helped her up the high step, and she found a seat just behind the driver.
The automobile was lumbering up a narrow white road with woods on either side of it before Dot realized where she was.
"Why, this isn't the boat!" she said aloud.
The lady seated next to her glanced at her curiously.
"The boat?" she repeated. "This jitney goes to Fermarsh. You're not traveling all alone, are you, little girl? You don't look more'n five."
"I was four in June," announced Dot with dignity. "Twaddles was, too. We're twins. But I have to go to Little Havre on the boat."