“I guess it was only a dream, Anne,” said Berta. “I guess you heard the thunder in your sleep and it turned into the sound of a motor-boat chugging — dreams do that sort of thing. I know once I left the tap running in my basin when I went to sleep, and I dreamed all night long I was riding over the Niagara Falls!”

Everyone laughed. Berta could be very droll at times. “If the boat’s ready, we’ll certainly go over to Kirrin Island today,” said George. “If any trippers are there I’ll send Timmy after them!”

“There will only be the rabbits,” said Dick. “I wonder if there are still hundreds of bunnies there — my word, last time we went they were so tame that we nearly fell over them!”

“Yes — but we didn’t have Timmy with us,” said Anne. “George, it will be nice to go to Kirrin Island again. We’ll have to tell Leslie about the adventures we’ve had there.”

They washed up after breakfast, made the beds and did their rooms. Joan put her head round Julian’s bedroom door.

“Will you want a packed lunch for a picnic again, Master Julian?” she said. “If you don’t, I can get you a nice bit of cold ham for lunch. The grocer’s just rung up.”

“If the boat’s mended, we’re going over to the island, Joan,” said Julian. “And then we’d like a packed lunch. But if we don’t go, we’ll stay in for lunch. It will be easier for you in a way, won’t it? We all got up so late this morning that there’s not much time to make sandwiches and pick fruit and so on.”

“Well, you tell me, as soon as you know about the boat,” said Joan, and disappeared.

George came in. “I’m going to see if the boat is mended,” she said. “I’ll only be gone a minute. Joan wants to know.”

She was back almost at once. “It’s not ready,” she said, disappointed. “But it will be ready at two o’clock this afternoon. So we’ll have lunch here, shall we, and then go over to the island afterwards. We’ll pack up a picnic tea.”

“Right,” said Julian. “I vote we bathe from the beach this morning then. The tide will be nice and high and we can have some fun with the big breakers.”

“And also keep an eye on James to see that he keeps his word about the boat,” said Dick.

So, when all their jobs were finished — and they were very conscientious about them — the five children and the two dogs went off down to the beach. It was a little cooler after the thunder, but not much, and they were quite warm enough in their swim-suits, with a blazer to wear after a bathe.

“There’s nothing nicer than to feel hot and go into the sea and get cool, and then come out and get hot in the sun again, and then go back into the sea,” began Berta.