ice walked down to the creek to welcome the yacht's boat.

The Captain looked at Chimp in amazement. 'What, Master Augustus!' he
said when he had shaken hands with the Hermit and delivered Aunt
Amelia's letter, 'what! have you got a pupil, then?'

'No,' replied the Hermit, 'he's not my pupil, he's your passenger'; and
so saying, he introduced Chimp, and then stood aside to see what his
aunt had to say; while the crew waited for the Captain's orders to move
the stores from the boat to the cave.

When the Hermit had finished reading, he returned the letter to its
envelope and slipped it into his pocket.

'Well, Master Augustus, are you coming back with us?' said the Captain,
exactly as he had asked the question for the past forty years.

The Hermit laughed in negative reply, exactly as he had laughed once a
year for the past forty years.

'Now then, my men, be quick,' said the Captain.

In the boat was a large hamper in which to convey the stores over the
rocks to the cave. Two of the sailors held it at each end, and the
Hermit accompanied them, while Chimp and the Captain strolled away
together. Three times the hamper was borne from the boat to the cell.
There then remained only a dozen or so of parcels, which the men might
easily carry in their hands. This time the Hermit did not accompany
them.

When the last of the stores were safely within the cave the boatswain
blew his whistle as a signal that all was ready, and Chimp and the
Captain of _The Tattooed Quaker_ hurried back to the creek.

'Where is Master Augustus?' the Captain inquired. 'The young gentleman
wants to say good-bye to him.'

'He must be in the cave,' said Chimp. 'I'll run and see.'

But the cave was empty. Chimp climbed the rock before the entrance and
called, 'Bi-i-illykins, Bi-i-illykins!' No answer. 'I must have missed
him on his way back to the creek,' he thought, and hurried to the shore
again.

'Be quick!' cried the Captain. 'Time's up!'

'But I can't find him,' Chimp called, floundering from boulder to
boulder.

'Can't find him?' echoed the Captain. 'That's very rum. I suppose he
wants to avoid the pain of parting. Come along; we can't stay any longer
now.'

So with a heavy heart Chimp took his place in the boat and watched how
with every stroke of the oars the distance widened between himself and
the island.

'Weigh the anchor!' cried the Captain, the moment they were on board.

_The Tattooed Quaker_ was a superb yacht, and