They reached a point opposite the little forest, when, as they looked toward the sea, visible in spots between the trees, they discovered a row of tents, and in the center of an open space a flag fluttering from a sapling from which the limbs and foliage had been trimmed.

“It’s Camp Wau-Wau!” shouted Crazy Jane.  “Come along, darlin’s.  Let’s see what else there is to surprise us.”

The girls rushed in among the trees, shouting and laughing.  They brought up in the middle of the encampment and halted.  A middle-aged, pleasant-faced woman stepped from a tent, gazed at them a moment, then opened her arms, into which the Meadow-Brook Girls rushed, fairly smothering the woman with their affectionate embraces.

CHAPTER VI

AT HOME BY THE SEA

“Oh, my dear Meadow-Brook Girls!” cried the woman.  “And I did not know you were coming.  Why did you not let me know?” Mrs. Livingston, the Chief Guardian of the Camp Girls, held her young friends off the better to look at them.

“We did,” replied Miss Elting.  “When you wrote that you would be glad to have us join the camp, I made the arrangements and wrote you that we would be here yesterday.”

“I never received the letter.”

“But why do you call thith plathe Camp Wau-Wau?” demanded Grace.  “Camp Wau-Wau ith in the Pocono Woodth, Mrs. Livingthton.”

“Yes, my dear; but a camp may move, may it not?  This is the same old Camp Wau-Wau, but in a different location.  This year we concluded to make our camp by the sea shore, and chose Lonesome Bar for our camping place.”

“Lonesome Bar!” exclaimed Miss Elting.

“That explains it.  We Were looking for Lonesome Cove.”

“Which we found,” chuckled Harriet.

“We’ve had the most awful time, and Harriet got drowned,” put in Margery Brown.

“Drowned?”

“Yeth, thhe did,” nodded Tommy eagerly.  “And we had thuch a time undrowning her!  Thhe thwallowed a whole ithe pond of water.”

Miss Elting here explained to the Chief Guardian what had happened.  Mrs. Livingston was amazed.  She gazed curiously at the smiling Harriet.

“I suppose I should not be surprised at anything Harriet does, but that you all should have fallen into a pond with your car is incredible.  What became of the car?”

“It’s there!” chuckled Jane.  “They’ll be cutting it out in sections when they take ice from the pond next winter, I reckon.  Where can I send a letter?  I must have another car, and that quickly!  It’s something like hard labor to get in and out of this place!  But let’s be introduced to these nice girls that I see in camp here.”

“You are the same old Jane, aren’t you?” answered the Chief Guardian, with an indulgent smile.  “I trust your father is well?”

“He is, thank you, but he’ll be wanting to have nervous prostration when he hears about my driving into an old pond.  Hello, little girl!  Have I seen you before!” questioned Crazy Jane, catching a little golden-haired girl by the arm and gazing down into the latter’s blue eyes.