hat textiles woven and colored by the natives of those islands
are the most beautiful things ever seen. The carvings and hammered
brasses are more gorgeous than those of Benares or of the East. He has
made quite a fortune out of exporting selected articles from the Isles to
the United States, but the great difficulty in such trade is the
uncertain transportation methods. His goods may reach their destination
and again they may not. It depends on the character of the owner or
captain of the vessel. He all but persuaded me to buy or lease a
sea-going yacht and make the trip for a year's outing. He promised me
that all costs would quickly be defrayed by the valuable cargo which
could be stored away in very small space on board the yacht."

"If you were so keen about visiting that place why did you renounce it?"
queried Eleanor, wonderingly.

"Because I could not induce any of my friends to accept my invitation to
join my party for such an outing." Mrs Courtney laughed as she remembered
the expressions on the faces of her friends when they heard of the
proposed voyage.

"Actually, girls, some of my invited guests asked me to go to Monte
Carlo, or to the Orient, instead. So that broke up the plan."

"Goodness!" sighed Polly, "I only wish I had been invited!"

"Would you have gone willingly?" asked Mrs. Courtney, eagerly.

"Would I? Say, Nolla, would you have gone with me?" was Polly's instant
retort.

"Try me now and see?" laughed Eleanor to Mrs. Courtney.

"Really, girls, do not joke! I am seriously inclined to take that trip,
providing I can induce the right group of friends to accompany me. The
cost of a yacht would be no small matter in these days of high costs, but
I would have a year's intense satisfaction out of such a trip, and Mr.
Needham said he felt sure the costs would be met by the cargo I could
carry out and another I could bring back on the round trip."

"If our gold mine gets to working again, or should the lava cliffs open
soon, both Polly and I would love to enlist for just such an adventure.
But there would be no opportunity to add to our knowledge of decorating,
would there?" suggested Eleanor.

"Not unless you took your lessons with you, and found clients out there
who wanted you to decorate their grass huts in the good approved American
way," suggested Mrs. Courtney.

"Nolla, we ought not to dream of such a trip, because we are tied to a
two-year agreement with each other, you know. Then we'