hat it'll be to them to have the island, to live here always,
safe from the fear!'

'There are three more deeds,' said Philip dismally; 'I don't think I
shall ever want any more adventures as long as I live.'

'You'll always want them,' she said, laughing at him gently, 'always.
And now let's do the thing handsomely and give them a splendid welcome.
Give me a kiss and then we'll gather heaps of roses.'

So they kissed each other. But Philip was very unhappy indeed, though
he felt that he was being rather noble and that Helen thought so too,
which was naturally a great comfort.

There had been a good deal more of this talk than I have set down.
Philip and Helen had hardly had time to hang garlands of pink roses
along the quayside where the _Lightning Loose_, that perfect yacht, lay
at anchor, before the blunt prow of the ark bumped heavily against the
quayside--and the two, dropping the rest of the roses, waved and smiled
to the group on the ark's terrace.

The first person to speak was Mr. Perrin, who shouted, 'Here we are
again!' like a clown.

Then Lucy said, 'We know we can't land, but the oracle said come and we
came.' She leaned over the bulwark to whisper, 'Who's that perfect duck
you've got with you?'

Philip answered aloud:

'This is my sister Helen--Helen this is Lucy.'

The two looked at each other, and then Helen held out her hands and she
and Lucy kissed each other.

'I knew I should like you,' Lucy whispered, 'but I didn't know I should
like you quite so much.'

Mr. Noah and Mr. Perrin were both bowing to Helen, a little stiffly but
very cordially all the same, and quite surprisingly without surprise.
And the Lord High Islander was looking at her with his own friendly
jolly schoolboy grin.

'If you will embark,' said Mr. Noah politely, 'we can return to the
mainland, and I will explain to you your remaining deeds.'

'Tell them, Pip,' said Helen.

'We don't want to embark--at present,' said Philip shyly. 'We want you
to land.'

'No one may land on the island save two,' said Mr. Noah. 'I am glad you
are the two. I feared one of the two might be the Pretenderette.'

'Not much,' said Philip. 'It's Helen's and mine. We made it. And we want
to give it to the islanders to keep. For their very own,' he added,
feeling that it would be difficult for any one to believe that such a
glorious present was really being made just like that, without speeches,
as if it had been a little present of a penci