“Wau-Wau!” exclaimed the Meadow-Brook Girls in chorus.

“Why, Wau-Wau is in the Pocono Woods,” said Harriet.  “We are a long way from there, aren’t we?”

“Oh, yes, yes!” The guardian flushed guiltily.  “I spoke without thinking.”

No one except Harriet and Tommy gave any special heed to the final words of the guardian.  The others were busy getting ready to move.  They were in something of a hurry for their luncheon.  Packs were divided up among them.  Harriet insisted upon carrying one end of the trunk with Jane, in addition to the pack she had slung over her shoulder.  They finally started down a narrow path that led on down to the shore, leaving some of their equipment behind to be brought later on in the afternoon.  As they neared the shore the boom of the surf grew louder and louder.

The girls uttered shouts of delight when finally they staggered out into the open with their burdens, on a high bluff overlooking the sea.  The sea lay sparkling in the sunlight, while almost at their feet great white-crested combers were rolling in and breaking against the sandy bluff.  The salt spray dashed up into their faces and the odor of the salt sea was strong in their nostrils.

“Isn’t this glorious?” cried Harriet, with enthusiasm.

“I shouldn’t think you’d ever want to see water again after what occurred this morning,” replied Margery Brown.

“Oh, that!  I had forgotten all about it.  This is different, Buster.  This is the real sea, and it’s perfectly wonderful.  Isn’t it, Miss Elting?”

The guardian, thus far, had not spoken a word.  There was a look of puzzled surprise on her face.

“What is it, Miss Elting?” questioned Harriet, instantly discovering that something was wrong.

“I—­I thought we should find some others here,” replied the guardian hesitatingly.

“I told you there wath no one here,” answered Tommy.

“Whom did you hope to find?” asked Harriet Burrell.

“Some friends of mine.  It has been a rocky road to Wau-Wau, and we haven’t reached it yet,” muttered the guardian under her breath.

“I don’t understand this, girls,” she continued.  “I fear we have made a mistake.  This isn’t the place I thought we were seeking.  I must confess that I am lost.  But the real place can not be far away.  We shall have to walk from this on.  Are you equal to it?”

“Not till I get thome food,” answered Tommy with emphasis.  “I’m famithhed.  I want thomething to eat.”

“So do I, darlin’,” added Crazy Jane.  “But I don’t see anything hereabout that looks like food.  Do you?”

Margery sat down helplessly.  Harriet was smiling.  She understood something of the plans of the guardian now; yet, like her companions, she was disappointed that the promised meal was not at hand.  Miss Elting recovered her composure quickly.

“We shall have to cook our own dinner, dears,” she said.  “Harriet, you sit down in the sun and rest; we will take care of the meal-getting.”