English or understand a word I
said."

"It was pretty terrifying," Bob agreed.

"They therefore did not know where I came from, where I wanted to
go, or anything about me. I kept imploring them to take me back to
land; but this, though they must have understood my signs, they
refused to do."

"What brutes!" exclaimed Herbert hotly.

"They are a low-grade lot," said Bob in his quaint Colonial way,
"but you know they can only get the beche-de-mer at certain tides.
It would have meant a dead loss to them to have put back, and
probably they were working under contract, bound to supply a
certain amount at a given time to their Chinkee employers."

"But it was horrid of them," said Nesta, who had recovered herself
entirely in the excitement, and was inclined to agree even with
Herbert for once.

"It was a real adventure, wasn't it?" Eustace said, appealing to
Bob.

"Rather more of one than I bargained for," said Aunt Dorothy. "But
in their own rough way the men tried to be kind to me. The food we
had was disgusting, the boat dreadfully fishy, oily, and dirty;
there was not a possibility of being comfortable day or night. But
I have nothing to grumble at. They took me back safe and sound to
the beche-de-mer station at last, and there I heard all about you,
even to the saving of Peter. All the discomforts and horrors put
together were nothing to my suspense about your fates till then."

The rest of the story was simple enough. Finding the Orbans had
left Cooktown, Miss Chase instantly communicated with Bob, and
together they arranged the plan for the home-coming. Their chief
aim was to convey the good news as gently as possible, and they
certainly achieved their end.

"I don't know how I could have borne the waiting had you cabled,"
Mrs. Chase said. "I should have suffered agonies imagining fresh
accidents that might happen to you all the time."

"Dorothy has become quite an experienced traveller one way and
another," said Mr. Chase. "You little thought, my dear, when you
set out so gaily from here, what a stormy life you were embarking
upon."

"I should think you would be terrified ever to go there again,"
said Brenda.

"On the contrary," said Bob Cochrane, "I hope your aunt will feel
encouraged to return before long. What was the compact, Peter? She
was to come back and be burnt as a witch, wasn't she?"

"Not yet awhile," said Mr. Chase gravely. "You can't expect us to
part with her for some little time to