Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/131

Rh “Duffle!” exclaimed Nora, “what a delicious word! Does it just mean ‘things’?”

“Yes,” answered Philip,—“it just means ‘things.’”

“‘Eyes,’” repeated Julia, “I never heard the word used in that sense before.”

“I fairly love such words,” added Brenda; and laughing and exclaiming over what they had seen, the girls were  soon on deck again.

There they found Tom Hearst, who had just stepped from the “Sachem’s” boat, making many apologies to Mrs. Barlow for his failure to be on board to welcome them.

“It was something I could n’t help, or you may be sure that I should n’t have been away,” and then he turned to  the girls to hear their praises of the boat.

“Here’s Jansen returning, too,” he exclaimed. “Now we can have a sail.”

“There’s no reason, is there,” added Philip, “why we should n’t sail, just a mile or two—more or less?”

Mrs. Barlow, to whom the question seemed to be addressed, hesitated a moment.

“I suppose that you would all think me very cruel if I should refuse.”

“Yes, I am afraid that we might—although of course we’d try not to,” responded Philip, gallantly.

“Oh, mamma, why should n’t we go?” interposed Brenda.

“There are several reasons, my dear. First of all, I must n’t be away too long from cousin Edward and the  rest of our guests. Then I am not really very fond of