"What can be the matter?"

"You know, their specialty is going to the bottom. Possibly they've gone
there once too often."

"Don't!" shuddered a young woman. "Try not to be gruesome always,
George."

The young man laughed as he turned aside.

Everyone and his friend at Spruce Beach was asking similar questions.
None of the answers were satisfactory, because nobody knew just what
reply to make.

Everyone in the North who has the money and leisure to get away from
home during a portion of the winter knows Spruce Beach. It is one of
nature's most beautiful spots on the eastern coast of Florida, and man
has made it one of the most expensive places in the world.

In other words, Spruce Beach is a paradise to look at. The climate, in
the winter months, is mild and balmy. Health grows rapidly at this
favored spot, and so fashion has seized upon it as her own. True, there
are yet a few cottages and boarding houses left where travelers of
moderate means may find board.

The whole air of Spruce Beach is one of holiday expectancy. The winter
visitors go there to enjoy themselves; they expect it and demand it.
They are gratified. From the first of December to the middle of March,
life at Spruce Beach makes you think of a great, jolly, unending picnic.