r they
descended the brighter grew the light in front of them. Presently they
had stumbled out of the darkness, and were emerging from a tunnel at the
foot of the cliffs, and stepping out on to the sandy shore of a little
cove.

It had always been a great grievance at the Villa Camellia that the
school had no bathing place, and the girls had greatly coveted the creek
which was the exclusive property of their neighbor, Count Sutri. To find
themselves on a level with the sea, facing the lapping waves, was
exactly what they had hoped. They ran along the sand in huge delight, to
the very edge of the water. It was really a beautiful cove. There were
groups of rocks with smooth pools amongst them, and in the silvery sand
were numbers of tiny fragile shells, very pretty and delicate, and just
the thing for a collection.

"It's a shame it should all belong to one man who probably hardly ever
uses it," flamed Peachy. "Now, if only we could all come down here to
bathe, wouldn't it be a stunt? The cove is really mostly under the
garden of the Villa Camellia. _I_ say it ought to belong to us."

"It's ours for the moment at any rate," said Irene.

"Yes, isn't it great? We've got it all to ourselves," rejoiced Delia,
dancing along the beach with outstretched arms, like an incarnation of
Zephyr or a spring vision of a sea-nymph. She skimmed over the sand
almost as if she were flying, but, as she reached the largest group of
rocks, her exalted mood suddenly dissipated and her high spirits came
down to earth with a thud. Sitting on the other side of the rock, calmly
smoking a cigar, was a middle-aged individual in a tweed coat and a soft
hat. The creek, which they had imagined was their private paradise, was
occupied after all.

Delia fled back to her friends, this time on wings of fright, and
communicated her awful discovery.

"It must be Count Sutri," gasped Peachy.

"He can't have started off in his yacht after all," agreed Irene.

"I don't _think_ he saw me, but I'm not sure about it," panted Delia
breathlessly.

"Whether he did or he didn't we'd better scoot quick," opined Peachy.

So three agitated girls dashed back over the sands and into the dark
tunnel, and hurried as fast as they could up the underground passage,
expecting every moment to hear a footstep behind them and a voice
demanding to know what they were doing trespassing upon the premises. At
the top of the tunnel a horrible surprise awaited them. The door t