Part 1 (2/2)
Why is the nose the first to burn?
Why is the stinging fly?
”'Why do mosquito nettings leak?
Why do all fishers lie?
Why does the grunter-fish always squeak?
Why do they feed us on clam-pie?
Why does the boardwalk hurt the feet?
Why is the seaweed green?
Why can't a bathing suit look neat?
Why won't straw hats stay clean?
”'Why----'”
”Stop it!” shrieked Jess, covering her ears. ”How _dare_ you read such preposterous stuff?”
”'Whys to the wise,' you know,” giggled Bobby.
”I vote we refuse to allow Bobby to go camping with the crowd unless she positively refrains from quoting verse on any and every occasion,”
drawled Nellie.
”Hardhearted creature!” cried Dora Lockwood. ”Poor Bobs couldn't live without that 'scape-gap.”
”By the way, girls,” Laura Belding asked, briskly, ”are we going to let any other girls join this camping party--or is it to be just us six?”
”Who else wants to go?” demanded Bobby, quickly.
”Lil Pendleton----”
”Always that!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Bobby, in disgust.
”Why, Bobby!” cried Dorothy. ”I thought you and Lilly kissed and made up?”
”Oh, yes--we did,” grunted the smaller girl. ”That is, we kissed. Lil was already made up.”
”Now, Bobby!” admonished Laura.
”That's horrid of you, Bobby,” Nellie declared. ”You are incorrigible.”
Yet they all had to laugh. Bobby Hargrew _was_ just a cut-up!
”I'm worse than the long word you called me, Nell,” said little Miss Hargrew. ”But we're not going to have any such spoil-sport as Lil Pendleton along.”
”But Chet and Lance say that Prettyman Sweet has begged so hard to go camping with _them_, that they're going to take him--just for the fun they will have at his expense, I s'pose,” said Laura.
”That's why Lil wants to go camping,” Dora said. ”She's got such an awful crush on Pretty Sweet that she wants to do everything he does.”
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