“You’ve done it now, Dan,” said his sister. “You may as well tell them.” But Uncle Dan didn’t explain. “Oh, Molly, then you _will_ go?” he asked as eagerly as the little girls. “I suppose I shall have to,” said Mrs. Merrill, but she didn’t look as though she would find it very hard work. “What is it? What is it?” Dora was asking with her arms around her young uncle’s neck. “Quit choking me,” said Dan. “Go back and eat your supper.” Dora gave him one last hard hug before returning to her chair. “I know it is nice,” she said. “But is it the beach, Uncle Dan, and are we to sleep in a tent?” “Maybe,” said Dan. “The press is going to shut down for a week,” said Mrs. Merrill, “and Dan can get off, too. He wants to go over to White Beach. There’s a little shack we can have for not much money, but it has only two rooms. Dan thinks he can bunk on the porch. He wants Olive Gates to go with us, and she and you children would have to sleep in the tent.” “I wouldn’t be scared if Olive was with us,” said Lucy. Dora was too happy to say anything at all. Her eyes shone and looked bluer than ever. When one is only eight, there are a great many important things in life. To go to the beach and to sleep in a tent seemed almost too good to be true. “Alice Harper is at the beach this summer, but she sleeps in a house,” said Lucy. Nobody was listening. Dan and Mr. Merrill were both talking, and it was plain that they wanted to go just as much as the children did. “What shall we do with Timmy?” asked Dora, a sudden cloud coming over her face. It would never do to leave the tiger-striped pussy to take care of himself for a week. “Can he go with us?” “No,” said Mrs. Merrill. “He would be scared to death, if he didn’t run away entirely.” Dora looked so distressed that Mr. Merrill could not stand it. “We’ll plan for Timmy,” he said kindly. “I never did think much of people who go off for a vacation and leave their cats to take care of themselves. We will leave the key of the house with Jim Baker, and ask his little girl to come over twice a day to feed Timmy and to let him into the kitchen every night if he wants to sleep inside. But these nice nights, Timmy may prefer to stay out.” Dora’s face looked bright again. Of course she could not enjoy the beach if Timmy were not cared for. He was used to being petted and fed regularly. Now there was not a cloud in her sky. Uncle Dan was as pleased as the little girls. He talked much more than usual during supper, and after it was over and the dishes were being washed, he came to where his sister was mixing bread. “All right for me to ask Olive?” he inquired. “Yes,” said Mrs. Merrill, smiling a little. “Tell her we all want her to go with us.” Dan was off in a hurry, but before he went he gave his sister an awkward hug.