Now that she was among the well and active, it seemed harder to be patient than when shut up and unable to stir.  She felt so much better, and had so little pain to remind her of past troubles, it was almost impossible to help forgetting the poor back and letting her recovered spirits run away with her.  If Mrs. Minot had not kept good watch, she would have been off more than once, so eager was she to be “like other girls” again, so difficult was it to keep the restless feet quietly folded among the red cushions.

One day she did yield to temptation, and took a little voyage which might have been her last, owing to the carelessness of those whom she trusted.  It was a good lesson, and made her as meek as a lamb during the rest of her stay.  Mrs. Minot drove to Gloucester one afternoon, leaving Jill safely established after her nap in the boat, with Gerty and Mamie making lace beside her.

“Don’t try to walk or run about, my dear.  Sit on the piazza if you get tired of this, and amuse yourself quietly till I come back.  I’ll not forget the worsted and the canvas,” said Mamma, peeping over the bank for a last word as she waited for the omnibus to come along.

“Oh, don’t forget the Gibraltars!” cried Jill, popping her head out of the green roof.

“Nor the bananas, please!” added Gerty, looking round one end.

“Nor the pink and blue ribbon to tie our shell-baskets,” called Mamie, nearly tumbling into the aquarium at the other end.

Mrs. Minot laughed, and promised, and rumbled away, leaving Jill to an experience which she never forgot.

For half an hour the little girls worked busily, then the boys came for Gerty and Mamie to go to the Chasm with a party of friends who were to leave next day.  Off they went, and Jill felt very lonely as the gay voices died away.  Every one had gone somewhere, and only little Harry Hammond and his maid were on the beach.  Two or three sand-pipers ran about among the pebbles, and Jill envied them their nimble legs so much, that she could not resist getting up to take a few steps.  She longed to run straight away over the firm, smooth sand, and feel again the delight of swift motion; but she dared not try it, and stood leaning on her tall parasol with her book in her hand, when Frank, Jack, and the bicycle boy came rowing lazily along and hailed her.

“Come for a sail, Jill?  Take you anywhere you like,” called Jack, touched by the lonely figure on the beach.

“I’d love to go, if you will row.  Mamma made me promise not to go sailing without a man to take care of me.  Would it spoil your fun to have me?” answered Jill, eagerly.

“Not a bit; come out on the big stones and we’ll take you aboard,” said Frank, as they steered to the place where she could embark the easiest.

“All the rest are gone to the Chasm.  I wanted to go, because I’ve never seen it; but, of course, I had to give it up, as I do most of the fun;” and Jill sat down with an impatient sigh.