The Curlytops at Sunset Beach; Or, What Was Found in the Sand Read online

  THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH

  Or

  What Was Found in the Sand

  by

  HOWARD R. GARIS

  Author of "The Curlytops at Cherry Farm," "TheCurlytops and Their Pets," "The Curlytopsin the Woods," "Uncle WiggilyStories," etc.

  Illustrations by Julia Greene

  New YorkCupples & Leon Company

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  THE CURLYTOPS SERIES By HOWARD R. GARIS

  12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.

  THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM Or, Vacation Days in the Country

  THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND Or, Camping Out With Grandpa

  THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN Or, Grand Fun With Skates and Sleds

  THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH Or, Little Folks on Ponyback

  THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE Or, On the Water With Uncle Ben

  THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS Or, Uncle Toby's Strange Collection

  THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PLAYMATES Or, Jolly Times Through the Holidays

  THE CURLYTOPS IN THE WOODS Or, Fun at the Lumber Camp

  THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH Or, What Was Found in the Sand

  CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York

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  Copyright, 1924, byCupples & Leon Company

  THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH

  Printed in U. S. A.

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  CONTENTS

  I. THE CIRCUS PARADE II. THE BIG SHOW III. JANET'S PIE IV. TED'S TUMBLE V. DOWN TO THE SEA VI. AT SUNSET BEACH VII. LOST IN THE SAND VIII. ANOTHER LOSS IX. OUT TO SEA X. THE SHARK XI. LOBSTER POTS XII. WHERE IS TROUBLE? XIII. THE SEA PUSS XIV. A SAND TUNNEL XV. CATCHING CRABS XVI. DRIFTING AWAY XVII. ON THE ISLAND XVIII. THE RICH MAN XIX. MR. NARR ARRIVES XX. WHAT TROUBLE FOUND

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  THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH

  CHAPTER I

  THE CIRCUS PARADE

  "When will it be time to go, Mother?" asked Janet Martin, as she swungto and fro on the front gate.

  "Pretty soon," was the answer from Mrs. Martin, who was sitting on theshady porch.

  "How long is pretty soon?" Ted Martin wanted to know. He was throwingstones at the fence, trying to send them through a knot hole. And itwasn't easy, he found. Though he had tossed many pebbles, not one hadTed sent through the hole.

  "Pretty soon isn't very long," replied Mrs. Martin, with a smile. "Assoon as Daddy comes we shall start."

  "I'm going out in the street to see if he's coming," announced Janet,bouncing down from the gate.

  "No, dear! I'd rather you wouldn't," called Mrs. Martin. "There are somany autos in the street now, going to the circus parade, you might gethurt. Stay here, Jan!"

  "Oh, I'll not go into the street!" answered the little girl. "I'll justgo on the sidewalk so I can look down and see if Daddy is coming! I'llbe careful!"

  "I'll go with her," offered Teddy, who was a year older than his sister."I'll take care of her," he added, looking toward his mother.

  "That's a good boy, Ted," she told him.

  But Janet did not seem much impressed.

  "Pooh!" she exclaimed. "_You_ don't need to take care of me, TeddyMartin! I can take care of myself!"

  "Oh, Janet! That wasn't kind, when Teddy offered to watch you," chidedher mother. "You shouldn't have said that."

  "Well, Teddy can look after himself," said Janet, with a little shake ofher head which sent her ringlets of hair flying into and out of hereyes. "And I'll look after myself," she added. "Course, I didn't want tobe impolite," she continued. "But----"

  "I'm older'n you are, and I have a right to watch out so you don't gethit by an auto!" declared Teddy.

  "Pooh! You can't even watch out for yourself!" giggled Janet. "You fellinto the brook last week; that's what you did!"

  "Well, my foot slipped," explained Teddy. "And if I hadn't fallen infirst you would, 'cause you were walking along the same path. Only whenyou saw me go in, you jumped back."

  "Oh, all right! I don't care!" and Janet gave herself a little fling asshe went out of the gate. "I'm going to look for Daddy. You can come ifyou want to," she added to her brother.

  "Huh! She thinks she's smart," mumbled Teddy, as he ran his hand throughthe mass of tangled, golden curls on his head, to get some of them outof his eyes so he could see better.

  Janet and Teddy each had beautiful curly hair, and that is how they cameto be given the name of "Curlytops," by which they were called moreoften than by their real names.

  "Now, children, be pleasant and kind to each other," begged Mrs. Martin,as the two went out on the sidewalk. "This is a holiday, and you don'twant to spoil it by being cross."

  However, the little quarrels, or "spats," between Ted and Janet neverlasted very long, and they were soon on good terms again, looking downthe street for a sight of their father. They saw many persons walkingpast, and there was a large number of automobiles in the street--infact, the streets of Cresco, an Eastern town where the Martin familylived, were unusually crowded on this day.

  While Ted and Janet were eagerly looking for a sight of their father, alittle boy, several years younger than the Curlytops, came out of thehouse. He did not have their clustering ringlets, though he was afine-looking little chap.

  "Here's Baby William, Mrs. Martin," announced Norah Jones, who was bothcook and nursemaid in the household. "I've got him nice and clean again,and I hope he stays so!"

  "I join with you in that hope, Norah," laughed Mrs. Martin. "But I'mafraid it will not last very long."

  "Oh, well, sure, he's a dear little chap; aren't you?" And Norah gavethe youngest member of the Martin family a kiss before she led him overto his mother.

  "I'm goin' to see a nellifunt, I am!" announced William.

  "Are you, William?" asked his mother.

  "An' I'm goin' to feed peanuts to a nellifunt, I am!" went on the littlefellow.

  "Well, maybe, if Daddy will hold you up," replied Mrs. Martin. "But youmust be very careful, Trouble, dear!"

  "I'm not scairt of a nellifunt!" declared Trouble.

  This nickname had been given to William because he was so often introuble of one kind or another. Sometimes it was his fault and sometimesit wasn't. But "Trouble" he was called, and trouble he was very oftenin, though he generally managed to get out again. Or, if he didn't,Janet or Teddy would help him.

  "Oh, here comes Daddy! Here comes Daddy!" cried Janet, jumping up anddown on the sidewalk in front of the house. "I'm going to meet him!" sheadded.

  "Don't go past the corner!" warned he
r mother, as the little girl dartedoff on a run.

  "I won't let her," announced Teddy, rapidly following his sister.

  "I want to go! I want to go! Wait for me! I want to see a nellifunt!"wailed William, from the porch, as he saw his brother and sister dartingaway.

  "They aren't going to the circus parade now, Trouble, dear," said hismother, catching him just in time to keep him from rolling down thesteps. "They'll come back for you."

  Trouble, who had started to cry, thought better of it. His lower lip,which had begun to stick out, was drawn in, and there was only just onelittle tear in each eye. But these soon dried away and he smiled again.

  He smiled more happily a little later when he saw, skipping toward thehouse, on either side of a jolly, pleasant-faced man, Ted and Janet.They had met their father at the corner and were escorting him back tothe house.

  "Hello, Curlytops!" Mr. Martin had greeted his boy and girl.

  "Hello, Daddy!" they had answered.

  And now, from the porch, William shouted:

  "I'm goin' to see a nellifunt, I am! An' I'm goin' to feed a nellifuntpeanuts!"

  "Well, don't let the elephant step on you; that's all I ask," laughedMr. Martin, as he entered the gate. "Are you all ready?" he asked hiswife. "I'm a bit late, but I couldn't get away from the store anysooner."

  "The children have been a little impatient," replied Mrs. Martin. "Butwe are all ready to start now."

  "Then come on," invited Mr. Martin to his family. "I thought we'd walkdown, instead of going in the auto," he added. "There's so much trafficit's hard to drive, and there won't be any room to park, I think."

  Then the Curlytops made ready to go downtown to view the circus parade.It was an annual affair in Cresco, and the schools always closed on thatday--happy Cresco!

  "Isn't Norah going?" asked Mr. Martin, for he wanted all in hishousehold to share in whatever joy there was.

  "Oh, yes. She and Patrick and Mary, the girl from next door, are allgoing together," said Mrs. Martin. "Norah has the rear door key so shecan get in if she is back before we are."

  "And I suppose she will be, if we have to stay as long as we usuallydo," chuckled Daddy Martin, as he motioned toward the children. "We'llbe lucky if we don't have to stay to see the procession twice," he wenton in a low voice.

  "Oh, I think, as long as you are going to take them to the circus thisafternoon, they won't want to stay too long at the parade," murmured hiswife. "They'll be anxious to get home to eat so they can hurry off tothe big tent."

  "Maybe so," assented her husband. "You never can tell, though. But let'sget started," he added to the children.

  Out of the front gate trooped the Curlytops, their father, mother andlittle brother--the whole family. The streets were becoming more andmore crowded each minute, for the time for the start of the circusparade was drawing near.

  As Mr. Martin had said, it was almost impossible to drive an auto, andthose who had tried it were beginning to wish they hadn't. Many were sohemmed about by the crowd that they just had to wait for the traffic topass by.

  Taking a short cut through some back streets, Mr. Martin finally led hisfamily out on one of the main highways of Cresco. It was along here thatthe circus parade would pass, and already most of the best places weretaken, along the curb, on the doorsteps of houses, in the upper windowsof residences, and elsewhere.

  Mr. Martin seemed to have some special place in view, for he hurriedalong, not trying to push into the crowd and gain a spot on the edge ofthe curb. At last he announced:

  "Here we are!"

  He swung in toward a house with a high stoop which was not as crowded aswere all the other residences. A gentleman on the steps was keepingintruders away.

  "Mr. Harrison has saved a place for us," said Mr. Martin. "We shall havea fine view of the parade."

  "Oh, this is great!" cried Ted, as he saw the vantage point.

  "Beautiful," agreed Janet.

  "You are very kind, Mr. Harrison," said Mrs. Martin, as she took a chairwhich her husband's friend brought out. "This is seeing the parade incomfort."

  "Having no children of my own, I like to see those of my friends madehappy," said Mr. Harrison. "Here, William," he added to the little boy,"you may stand on this stool, and then you can see over the heads of thecrowd."

  "It's nice," was Trouble's way of thanking Mr. Harrison. "But how am Igoin' to feed a nellifunt peanuts away up here?" and he seemed quiteworried about it.

  "Save your peanuts until this afternoon, dear, and feed them to theelephant in the circus animal tent," advised his mother.

  "But I want to feed peanuts to a nellifunt right _now_!" wailed Trouble,and it is hard to tell to what lengths he might have gone had not somevoices cried:

  "Here it comes! Here comes the parade! I see the camels! I see theelephants!"

  That was enough for William. He ceased to cry out about his peanuts, andalmost trembled with excitement as he stood on the stool Mr. Harrisonhad provided for him.

  At last the circus procession was in sight--happy time!

  There were troops of horsemen on their prancing steeds, gay in trappingsof gold, silver, crimson and green. There were cowboys and cowgirls,riding their western ponies. Swinging their lassos and waving theirbroad-brimmed hats, these riders of the plains kept up a constantyelling of:

  "Hi! Yi! Yippi! Yi! Wow! Whoopee!"

  "There's the nellifunts! There's the nellifunts!" cried Trouble, as thebig beasts slowly shuffled past. "Oh, there's the nellifunts!"

  There was a goodly number of elephants with this circus--more thanusual, it seemed. For after the first herd had passed, Ted, looking downthe street, announced:

  "And camels, too!" added Janet. "I see some with two humps!"

  "Look at the man in the lions' cage!" shouted Teddy.

  "I should think he'd be afraid," murmured Janet.

  "Pooh, he's got 'em trained so they eat out of his hand," said herbrother. "And he's got about two pistols in his pockets so he couldshoot 'em if they bit him."

  "S'posin' they bit him first--then he couldn't shoot," declared Janet.

  "Yes he could," Teddy declared. "Oh, look!" he added. "He's making alion do tricks!"

  Just as the lions' cage came opposite the stoop where the Curlytops wereperched, the man in the iron-barred wagon held up a hoop and one of thekingly beasts leaped through it.

  Much excited, Teddy and Janet paid little attention to William, whom, upto this time, Janet had had her arm around so he would not topple offthe stool. But as the lions' cage passed, and other, less showy, beastssucceeded, the little girl's attention went back to her brother. ButWilliam wasn't on his stool.

  "Where's Trouble?" cried Janet.

  "Don't tell me he has gone!" gasped her mother.

  But it was so. Trouble was not on the porch.

  "He must have gone down on the sidewalk," announced Mr. Martin. "I'llget him!" he added, just as the second herd of elephants came shufflingalong.

  Mr. Martin began to worm his way through the dense crowd. Suddenly avoice cried:

  "Look out! Look out! That elephant's coming right this way! Oh, look outfor the little boy! The elephant will step on him!"

  There were screams from girls and women and shouts from the men. Thecrowd broke and scattered at one point. Mr. Martin had a glimpse of abig elephant, refusing to be guided by the man sitting on his huge head,swinging into the crowd. Then Mr. Martin saw baby William holding out abag of peanuts to the big beast that, stretching out its trunk, seemedabout to step on the little lad.