He often made the
girls' hair almost stand on end by his pranks at the verge of the cliffs,
and was sometimes the cause of considerable bad language among the
sailors when he interfered with their nets or tar-pots down on the quay.
It was a relief to Mavis and Merle when Mr. Tremayne took him out in the
side-car, and they knew that for some hours at least they need not be
responsible for his behaviour. They were both fond of botany, and were
enthusiastically making collections of wild flowers to press for their
holiday task. Bevis was a good ally in this respect, and would often call
in at Burswood Farm with some uncommon specimen which he thought they had
not yet found for themselves. He had come on this errand one morning, and
was helping Mavis to screw up her pressing boards, when Mrs. Tremayne
happened to mention the scarcity of shells in the neighbourhood of
Chagmouth.
"I've hardly found any!" she remarked. "And I'm so annoyed, because it
happens to be my particular hobby.
Pages:
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236