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studying Toby carefully. Finally she smiled conspiratorially at the worried little boy. “We won’t tell anybody you were here, if you’ll show us around. Okay?”
    The look of uncertainty disappeared from Toby’s eyes and he grinned crookedly, exposing a gap in his upper teeth. “I’ll show you everything,” he promised. “It’s neat—there’smarshes and ponds, and a neat beach. But you have to watch out, ’cause there’s all kinds of snakes and stuff too.”
    “Snakes?” Julie repeated, her voice trembling slightly. “Poisonous ones?”
    Toby nodded solemnly. “Water moccasins, and rattlers, and all kinds of other ones. But if you watch out, they won’t hurt you.”
    “Maybe we better not,” Julie said uncertainly. “Maybe we better go back to the house.”
    “What’s the matter, you scared?” Jeff taunted his sister.
    Julie glared at her brother. “Why shouldn’t I be?” she demanded. “If you had any brains, you’d be scared too!”
    “Toby comes out here all the time,” Jeff countered, and turned to the boy. “Nothing’s happened to you, has it?”
    Toby shook his head vigorously. “All’s you have to do is watch out,” he said. “My daddy says the snakes are more scared of you than you are of them.” As if the issue had been decided, he turned and began picking his way along the path, Jeff instantly following him. A moment later, deciding she’d better watch out for Jeff rather than leave him alone, Julie followed.
    They worked their way slowly toward the far side of the island, skirting the marshy areas and giving a wide berth to a pond in which an alligator lay basking, only his snout and eyes showing above the surface of the water. “Are—Are there a lot of them?” Julie asked, unable to keep her voice from trembling as she stared at the malevolent-looking reptile.
    “Some,” Toby replied. “You don’t want to mess with ‘em, but they won’t hurt you. Unless they’re hungry,” he added, glancing at Jeff out of the corner of his eye and giggling at the sudden paleness of Julie’s face, “Come on, let’s go to the beach.”
    A hundred yards farther, the thick vegetation gave way to a wide expanse of glitteringly white powdery sand. Line after line of low surf swept in from the shallow sea beyond.
    Julie stared at it in wonder, dropping down to sit on the sand in the shade of a small grove of smoky pines. It was by far the most beautiful beach she’d ever seen.
    It was completely deserted.
    “But—But where is everybody?” she asked. “You’d think everyone would be out here!”
    “It’s the old lady,” Toby replied, his small face scowling deeply. “She’s so mean she won’t let anybody use it, even though it’s the best beach around here. She makes everybody swim in the channel. We all hate her!” Then, suddenly, abashed as he realized he’d been talking about Jeff’s and Julie’s grandmother, he tried to apologize.
    “We don’t care what you say about Grandmother,” Jeff told Toby. “We think she’s weird too. And our dad hates her!”
    “Jeff!” Marguerite Devereaux’s voice cut through the brightness of the day, and all three youngsters jumped slightly as she stepped out of the grove of trees and onto the beach. “Even if that were true, which I hope it isn’t, it’s not a nice thing to say. Keep in mind that although you grew up in Connecticut, you’re still a southern gentleman.”
    Jeff’s eyes widened and he swallowed nervously as his aunt turned her attention to Toby Martin. Her eyes fixed on him sternly.
    “And as for you, young man, just what do you think you’re doing out here?”
    Julie glanced at Toby, fully expecting him to be on the verge of terrified tears. Instead, he was grinning up at Marguerite, his eyes dancing merrily.
    “I was fixin’ to steal a swim, Miss Marguerite,” he said. “You won’t tell on me, will you?”
    The sternness left Marguerite’s eyes, and she reached down to run her fingers through