he must," agreed every one.

"That was the noise Peter heard," Eustace said.

"Of course it was," said every one except Mrs. Orban; and she said,
as she bent her face over the baby in her arms,--

"Oh, you dreadful children! Have you a conspiracy amongst you to
frighten me out of my wits? Or are you trying to harden my nerves?
I begin to wish your father would come home."

She laughed a little, and it sounded much more like sobbing. So
kind Mrs. Robertson hurried every one off to bed, because she said
Mrs. Orban must be quite worn out.

Eustace was so upset by his mother's words that he could not get to
sleep for hours. They seemed to hold a reproach specially for
himself--for had he not been the first to terrify his mother? It
was not a good record to present to his father; and he had meant to
be such a stand-by and comfort. With all his heart he echoed Mrs.
Orban's wish. He had dreaded his father's going away; he longed for
his return.

The very next day the wish was fulfilled. News came up the hill
that the plantation schooner had been sighted the evening before;
she was in the bay. By midday the travellers had arrived, and the
climax of the great excitement was reached.

Every one had wondered a hundred times and more what that first
greeting would be like--what words would be said. As a matter of
fact, when the time really came, nobody said anything at all except
Mr. Orban, who exclaimed when he caught sight of his wife,
"Darling, what is the matter? You are looking ill."

But Mrs. Orban stopped him with the promise to tell him everything
later on. Meanwhile she nearly wept for joy over the meeting with
Aunt Dorothy, and was far too happy to remember or speak of the
distresses of the past week or so.

The children hung back shyly and stared at the new-comer--a tall,
slender girl, dressed, Nesta afterwards commented, just like a
person in a story book, so dainty was she.

Dorothy Chase was not at all like Mrs. Orban. She was certainly
pretty, but the most remarkable thing about her was her expression,
so vivacious was it, so keenly interested and alert. She was a
great contrast to the people amongst whom she had come, for
tropical heat saps a good deal of the enthusiasm of life out of
people--even the children were subject to lassitude.

They looked a quiet enough set as Miss Chase cast a quick searching
glance around her after greeting her sister, and there flashed
through her mind a contrast between