“If I only had my locket!” sighed Rose, as the days passed.

But it seemed it would never be found, and after a time, the thought of it passed, in a measure, from the little girl’s mind.  She did not speak of it often, though sometimes when she went down on the beach, near the holes she and Russ had dug in the moonlight, Rose looked about and scraped the sand to and fro with a shell or a bit of driftwood.

But as the beach looks pretty much alike in many places, it is hard to know whether, after the first few times, Rose dug in the right place.

Cousin Ruth looked again all through the bungalow for the gold locket, and, whenever any one thought of it, he or she poked about in the sand.  But the locket seemed gone forever.

There was plenty to do at Seaview to have fun.  The children could go in wading and swimming, they could play in the sand, they could sail toy boats in the inlet and they could go out in a real boat with their father or Cousin Tom.

More than once they were taken out on the quiet waters, and they sat in the boat while their father or his nephew fished.  Once Russ held the pole and he caught a funny, flat fish, that seemed as if it had been put through the wringer which squeezed the water out of the clothes on wash day.

“What kind of fish is that?” asked Violet, when she saw it flapping about in the bottom of the boat.

“It’s a flounder,” answered Cousin Tom.

“Is it good to eat?”

“Yes, very good.”

“Maybe it swallowed Rose’s locket.  Do you think so, Daddy?” asked the little girl.

“Oh, no, Vi.  Now don’t ask so many questions, please.”

“Could I ask a riddle?” Laddie wanted to know.

“Oh, I suppose so,” laughed his father.  “What is it?”

“I haven’t made it up yet,” went on Laddie.  “It’s going to be about a flounder and a wringer, but I got to think.  When I get it ready I’ll tell you.”

“Don’t forget!” laughed Cousin Tom.

It was about a week after Rose had lost her locket and it had not been found, that one day Russ called to Rose: 

“Come on down to the beach.  I know how we can have some fun.”

“What can we do?” asked his sister.

“We’ll build a house and have a play party,” answered Russ.

“Where?”

“On the beach.  We can build a house in the sand.”

So the children started off, with their shovels and sand pails.  Their mother watched them, thinking how nice it was that they could be at the shore in hot weather.

It was about an hour after Rose and Russ had started down the beach together to make a sand house that Mrs. Bunker, who was just thinking of taking a walk and having another look for the lost locket, heard cries.

“Mother!  Mother!  Come quick!” she heard Russ calling.

“What’s the matter?” cried Mrs. Bunker.

“Oh, come quick!” went on Russ.  “Rose is in the sand house!  Rose is in the sand house!”