close to his other side, keeping an arm round each while chatting
pleasantly with his family and friends.

Lulu was very silent, constantly asking herself, and with no little
uneasiness, what he really intended to do with her when, according to
his direction, she should stay behind with him after tea while the
others returned to the beach.

One thing she was determined on--that she would if possible obey the
order without attracting any one's notice. Everybody must have seen how
badly she had been behaving, but the thought of that was not half so
galling to her pride as the danger of suspicion being aroused that
punishment had been meted out to her on account of it.

Max watched her curiously, and took an opportunity, on their return to
the house, to say privately to her, "I'm glad you've turned over a new
leaf, Lu, and begun to behave decently to papa; I've wondered over and
over again in the last few days that he didn't take you in hand in a way
to convince you that he wasn't to be trifled with. It's my opinion that
if you'd been a boy you'd have got a trouncing long before this."

"Indeed!" she cried, with an angry toss of her head; "I'm glad I'm not a
boy if I couldn't be one without using such vulgar words."

"Oh, that isn't such a very bad word," returned Max, laughing; "but I
can tell you, from sad experience, that the _thing_ is bad enough
sometimes; I'd be quaking in my shoes if I thought papa had any reason
to consider me deserving of one."

"I don't see what you mean by talking so to me," exclaimed Lulu,