Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 45253-h.htm or 45253-h.zip:
(https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45253/pg45253-images.html)
or
(https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45253/45253-h.zip)
[Illustration: BUT TROUBLE WAS NOT AFRAID. THERE HE STOOD, HOLDING OUT
HIS BAG OF PEANUTS.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH
Or
What Was Found in the Sand
by
HOWARD R. GARIS
Author of “The Curlytops at Cherry Farm,” “The
Curlytops and Their Pets,” “The Curlytops
in the Woods,” “Uncle Wiggily
Stories,” etc.
Illustrations by Julia Greene
New York
Cupples & Leon Company
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CURLYTOPS SERIES
By HOWARD R. GARIS
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM
Or, Vacation Days in the Country
THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND
Or, Camping Out With Grandpa
THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN
Or, Grand Fun With Skates and Sleds
THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK’S RANCH
Or, Little Folks on Ponyback
THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE
Or, On the Water With Uncle Ben
THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS
Or, Uncle Toby’s Strange Collection
THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PLAYMATES
Or, Jolly Times Through the Holidays
THE CURLYTOPS IN THE WOODS
Or, Fun at the Lumber Camp
THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH
Or, What Was Found in the Sand
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH
Printed in U. S. A.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
I. THE CIRCUS PARADE
II. THE BIG SHOW
III. JANET’S PIE
IV. TED’S TUMBLE
V. DOWN TO THE SEA
VI. AT SUNSET BEACH
VII. LOST IN THE SAND
VIII. ANOTHER LOSS
IX. OUT TO SEA
X. THE SHARK
XI. LOBSTER POTS
XII. WHERE IS TROUBLE?
XIII. THE SEA PUSS
XIV. A SAND TUNNEL
XV. CATCHING CRABS
XVI. DRIFTING AWAY
XVII. ON THE ISLAND
XVIII. THE RICH MAN
XIX. MR. NARR ARRIVES
XX. WHAT TROUBLE FOUND
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH
CHAPTER I
THE CIRCUS PARADE
“When will it be time to go, Mother?” asked Janet Martin, as she swung
to and fro on the front gate.
“Pretty soon,” was the answer from Mrs. Martin, who was sitting on the
shady porch.
“How long is pretty soon?” Ted Martin wanted to know. He was throwing
stones at the fence, trying to send them through a knot hole. And it
wasn’t easy, he found. Though he had tossed many pebbles, not one had
Ted sent through the hole.
“Pretty soon isn’t very long,” replied Mrs. Martin, with a smile. “As
soon as Daddy comes we shall start.”
“I’m going out in the street to see if he’s coming,” announced Janet,
bouncing down from the gate.
“No, dear! I’d rather you wouldn’t,” called Mrs. Martin. “There are so
many autos in the street now, going to the circus parade, you might get
hurt. Stay here, Jan!”
“Oh, I’ll not go into the street!” answered the little girl. “I’ll just
go on the sidewalk so I can look down and see if Daddy is coming! I’ll
be careful!”
“I’ll go with her,” offered Teddy, who was a year older than his sister.
“I’ll take care of her,” he added, looking toward his mother.
“That’s a good boy, Ted,” she told him.
But Janet did not seem much impressed.
“Pooh!” she exclaimed. “_You_ don’t need to take care of me, Teddy
Martin! I can take care of myself!”
“Oh, Janet! That wasn’t kind, when Teddy offered to watch you,” chided
her mother. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Well, Teddy can look after himself,” said Janet, with a little shake of
her head which sent her ringlets of hair flying into and out of her
eyes. “And I’ll look after myself,” she added. “Course, I didn’t want to
be impolite,” she continued. “But——”
“I’m older’n you are, and I have a right to watch out so you don’t get
hit by an auto!” declared Teddy.
“Pooh! You can’t even watch out for yourself!” giggled Janet. “You fell
into the brook last week; that’s what you did!”
“Well, my foot slipped,” explained Teddy. “And if I hadn’t fallen in
first you would, ’cause you were walking along the same path. Only when
you saw me go in, you jumped back.”
“Oh, all right! I don’t care!” and Janet gave herself a little fling as
she went out of the gate. “I’m going to look for Daddy. You can come if
you want to,” she added to her brother.
“Huh! She thinks she’s smart,” mumbled Teddy, as he ran his hand through
the mass of tangled, golden curls on his head, to get some of them out
of his eyes so he could see better.
Janet and Teddy each had beautiful curly hair, and that is how they came
to be given the name of “Curlytops,” by which they were called more
often than by their real names.
“Now, children, be pleasant and kind to each other,” begged Mrs. Martin,
as the two went out on the sidewalk. “This is a holiday, and you don’t
want to spoil it by being cross.”
However, the little quarrels, or “spats,” between Ted and Janet never
lasted very long, and they were soon on good terms again, looking down
the street for a sight of their father. They saw many persons walking
past, and there was a large number of automobiles in the street—in
fact, the streets of Cresco, an Eastern town where the Martin family
lived, were unusually crowded on this day.
While Ted and Janet were eagerly looking for a sight of their father, a
little boy, several years younger than the Curlytops, came out of the
house. He did not have their clustering ringlets, though he was a
fine-looking little chap.
“Here’s Baby William, Mrs. Martin,” announced Norah Jones, who was both
cook and nursemaid in the household. “I’ve got him nice and clean again,
and I hope he stays so!”
“I join with you in that hope, Norah,” laughed Mrs. Martin. “But I’m
afraid it will not last very long.”
“Oh, well, sure, he’s a dear little chap; aren’t you?” And Norah gave
the youngest member of the Martin family a kiss before she led him over
to his mother.
“I’m goin’ to see a nellifunt, I am!” announced William.
“Are you, William?” asked his mother.
“An’ I’m goin’ to feed peanuts to a nellifunt, I am!” went on the little
fellow.
“Well, maybe, if Daddy will hold you up,” replied Mrs. Martin. “But you
must be very careful, Trouble, dear!”
“I’m not scairt of a nellifunt!” declared Trouble.
This nickname had been given to William because he was so often in
trouble of one kind or another. Sometimes it was his fault and sometimes
it wasn’t. But “Trouble” he was called, and trouble he was very often
in, though he generally managed to get out again. Or, if he didn’t,
Janet or Teddy would help him.
“Oh, here comes Daddy! Here comes Daddy!” cried Janet, jumping up and
down on the sidewalk in front of the house. “I’m going to meet him!” she
added.
“Don’t go past the corner!” warned her mother, as the little girl darted
off on a run.
“I won’t let her,” announced Teddy, rapidly following his sister.
“I want to go! I want to go! Wait for me! I want to see a nellifunt!”
wailed William, from the porch, as he saw his brother and sister darting
away.
“They aren’t going to the circus parade now, Trouble, dear,” said his
mother, catching him just in time to keep him from rolling down the
steps. “They’ll come back for you.”
Trouble, who had started to cry, thought better of it. His lower lip,
which had begun to stick out, was drawn in, and there was only just one
little tear in each eye. But these soon dried away and he smiled again.
He smiled more happily a little later when he saw, skipping toward the
house, on either side of a jolly, pleasant-faced man, Ted and Janet.
They had met their father at the corner and were escorting him back to
the house.
“Hello, Curlytops!” Mr. Martin had greeted his boy and girl.
“Hello, Daddy!” they had answered.
And now, from the porch, William shouted:
“I’m goin’ to see a nellifunt, I am! An’ I’m goin’ to feed a nellifunt
peanuts!”
“Well, don’t let the elephant step on you; that’s all I ask,” laughed
Mr. Martin, as he entered the gate. “Are you all ready?” he asked his
wife. “I’m a bit late, but I couldn’t get away from the store any
sooner.”
“The children have been a little impatient,” replied Mrs. Martin. “But
we are all ready to start now.”
“Then come on,” invited Mr. Martin to his family. “I thought we’d walk
down, instead of going in the auto,” he added. “There’s so much traffic
it’s hard to drive, and there won’t be any room to park, I think.”
Then the Curlytops made ready to go downtown to view the circus parade.
It was an annual affair in Cresco, and the schools always closed on that
day—happy Cresco!
“Isn’t Norah going?” asked Mr. Martin, for he wanted all in his
household to share in whatever joy there was.
“Oh, yes. She and Patrick and Mary, the girl from next door, are all
going together,” said Mrs. Martin. “Norah has the rear door key so she
can get in if she is back before we are.”
“And I suppose she will be, if we have to stay as long as we usually
do,” chuckled Daddy Martin, as he motioned toward the children. “We’ll
be lucky if we don’t have to stay to see the procession twice,” he went
on in a low voice.
“Oh, I think, as long as you are going to take them to the circus this
afternoon, they won’t want to stay too long at the parade,” murmured his
wife. “They’ll be anxious to get home to eat so they can hurry off to
the big tent.”
“Maybe so,” assented her husband. “You never can tell, though. But let’s
get started,” he added to the children.
Out of the front gate trooped the Curlytops, their father, mother and
little brother—the whole family. The streets were becoming more and
more crowded each minute, for the time for the start of the circus
parade was drawing near.
As Mr. Martin had said, it was almost impossible to drive an auto, and
those who had tried it were beginning to wish they hadn’t. Many were so
hemmed about by the crowd that they just had to wait for the traffic to
pass by.
Taking a short cut through some back streets, Mr. Martin finally led his
family out on one of the main highways of Cresco. It was along here that
the circus parade would pass, and already most of the best places were
taken, along the curb, on the doorsteps of houses, in the upper windows
of residences, and elsewhere.
Mr. Martin seemed to have some special place in view, for he hurried
along, not trying to push into the crowd and gain a spot on the edge of
the curb. At last he announced:
“Here we are!”
He swung in toward a house with a high stoop which was not as crowded as
were all the other residences. A gentleman on the steps was keeping
intruders away.
“Mr. Harrison has saved a place for us,” said Mr. Martin. “We shall have
a fine view of the parade.”
“Oh, this is great!” cried Ted, as he saw the vantage point.
“Beautiful,” agreed Janet.
“You are very kind, Mr. Harrison,” said Mrs. Martin, as she took a chair
which her husband’s friend brought out. “This is seeing the parade in
comfort.”
“Having no children of my own, I like to see those of my friends made
happy,” said Mr. Harrison. “Here, William,” he added to the little boy,
“you may stand on this stool, and then you can see over the heads of the
crowd.”
“It’s nice,” was Trouble’s way of thanking Mr. Harrison. “But how am I
goin’ to feed a nellifunt peanuts away up here?” and he seemed quite
worried about it.
“Save your peanuts until this afternoon, dear, and feed them to the
elephant in the circus animal tent,” advised his mother.
“But I want to feed peanuts to a nellifunt right _now_!” wailed Trouble,
and it is hard to tell to what lengths he might have gone had not some
voices cried:
“Here it comes! Here comes the parade! I see the camels! I see the
elephants!”
That was enough for William. He ceased to cry out about his peanuts, and
almost trembled with excitement as he stood on the stool Mr. Harrison
had provided for him.
At last the circus procession was in sight—happy time!
There were troops of horsemen on their prancing steeds, gay in trappings
of gold, silver, crimson and green. There were cowboys and cowgirls,
riding their western ponies. Swinging their lassos and waving their
broad-brimmed hats, these riders of the plains kept up a constant
yelling of:
“Hi! Yi! Yippi! Yi! Wow! Whoopee!”
“There’s the nellifunts! There’s the nellifunts!” cried Trouble, as the
big beasts slowly shuffled past. “Oh, there’s the nellifunts!”
There was a goodly number of elephants with this circus—more than
usual, it seemed. For after the first herd had passed, Ted, looking down
the street, announced:
“And camels, too!” added Janet. “I see some with two humps!”
“Look at the man in the lions’ cage!” shouted Teddy.
“I should think he’d be afraid,” murmured Janet.
“Pooh, he’s got ’em trained so they eat out of his hand,” said her
brother. “And he’s got about two pistols in his pockets so he could
shoot ’em if they bit him.”
“S’posin’ they bit him first—then he couldn’t shoot,” declared Janet.
“Yes he could,” Teddy declared. “Oh, look!” he added. “He’s making a
lion do tricks!”
Just as the lions’ cage came opposite the stoop where the Curlytops were
perched, the man in the iron-barred wagon held up a hoop and one of the
kingly beasts leaped through it.
Much excited, Teddy and Janet paid little attention to William, whom, up
to this time, Janet had had her arm around so he would not topple off
the stool. But as the lions’ cage passed, and other, less showy, beasts
succeeded, the little girl’s attention went back to her brother. But
William wasn’t on his stool.
“Where’s Trouble?” cried Janet.
“Don’t tell me he has gone!” gasped her mother.
But it was so. Trouble was not on the porch.
“He must have gone down on the sidewalk,” announced Mr. Martin. “I’ll
get him!” he added, just as the second herd of elephants came shuffling
along.
Mr. Martin began to worm his way through the dense crowd. Suddenly a
voice cried:
“Look out! Look out! That elephant’s coming right this way! Oh, look out
for the little boy! The elephant will step on him!”
There were screams from girls and women and shouts from the men. The
crowd broke and scattered at one point. Mr. Martin had a glimpse of a
big elephant, refusing to be guided by the man sitting on his huge head,
swinging into the crowd. Then Mr. Martin saw baby William holding out a
bag of peanuts to the big beast that, stretching out its trunk, seemed
about to step on the little lad.