Three of them, with black eyes and blacker hair, were kneeling on the beach thumping and scrubbing a pile of linen.

In spite of their chatter they were working busily, and the grass beyond the water-wall was already white with bleaching sheets, while a lace trimmed petticoat fluttered from a near-by oleander, and a row of silk stockings stretched the length of the parapet.

The most undeductive observer would have guessed by this time that the pink villa, visible through the trees, contained no such modern conveniences as stationary tubs.
The fourth girl, with gray eyes and yellow-brown hair, was sitting at ease on the balustrade, fanning herself with a wide brimmed hat and dangling her feet, clad in white tennis shoes, over the edge.

She wore a suit of white linen cut sailor fashion, low at the throat and with sleeves rolled to the elbows.

She looked very cool and comfortable and free as she talked, with the utmost friendliness, to the three girls below.