CHAPTER VIII

DAYS AT SEA


The time on shipboard passed all too quickly.

Each day was crammed full of various amusements and occupations, and
Patty and Elise enjoyed it all thoroughly.

Although the majority of passengers were French, yet they nearly all
spoke English, and there were a number of Americans and English people,
who proved to be pleasant and companionable.

The young people from Chicago seemed to wear well, and as she grew to
know them better Patty liked them very much. The Van Ness girls, though
breezy in their manner, were warm-hearted and good-natured, and their
boy cousins were always ready for anything, and proved themselves
capable of good comradeship.

The English girl, Florrie Nash, Patty could not quite understand.
Florrie seemed to be willing to be friends, but there was a coldness and
reserve about her nature that Patty could not seem to penetrate.

As she expressed it to Elise, "Florrie never seems herself quite certain
whether she likes us or we like her."