CHAPTER XV AN UNANSWERED QUERY Carolyn could scarcely wait in patience for Thursday to come and the pale lady and her baby to arrive at the island. But meanwhile there were many things to occupy her time and to interest her. She and mamma went to the bathing beach every afternoon, donning their bathing suits in their room and riding over to the beach with other hotel guests in the bus, driven by Captain Littlefield. He waited and drove them back to the Truefelt House if the bathers did not linger too long. The hotel bus must never miss the boats at both the Old and the New Harbour. Carolyn had been to the Coney Island beaches several times and was familiar with the surf. But this Block Island beach was never crowded, all the people on it were always kindly, friendly people, and the water was free from any kind of rubbish. Prince was having the time of his life. He was in and out of the water, racing on the sands, barking at the waves that chased him up the strand, plunging into the rough little seas to bring out bits of wood that were thrown in for him to retrieve, and otherwise behaving as though the sea had been made particularly for him. Of course he got into trouble. He almost always did. Prince never could learn anything save through experience. Once there were little schools of pinky-white jelly-fish in the surf, and the surfman who was so wonderfully brown all over his body, and who went without a hat no matter how hot the sun was, told everybody to keep away from the pests because they stung all flesh that they touched. Of course Carolyn knew enough to mind what he said; but would Prince keep away from those very innocent looking, helpless appearing things? No, indeed! Prince had to dash right in and try to nose the jelly-fish out of the way. He couldn't bite them, for the moment he tried to shut his jaws on them they slid right out from between his teeth; he could not step on them and hold them down; and he could not easily drag them ashore. "That dog of yours will be sorry enough, little lady," warned the surfman, speaking to Carolyn May. Carolyn and her mother really had to cut their bath short that day so as to take the dog away. By and by his muzzle was hot and feverish and he pawed at it in a way to show that it smarted. He was a very miserable looking dog indeed all that evening, and Carolyn went down and begged cracked ice for him. She improvised an icebag out of her bathing cap and tried to fix it on Prince's muzzle. But, sting as his cheeks and lips undoubtedly did, the cracked ice did not please the dog and he did not take kindly to the bathing cap. "There! He always _did_ hate a muzzle," Carolyn sighed. "He thinks this is some kind of a muzzle. I guess I'll have to sit right here by him all night, Mamma Cameron, and sponge off his poor nose with the ice water."