ask you to rescue us. And you
did!"

In spite of her excitement she could laugh, and the humor presently
became an acute infection for every one was shouting at the comedy of
the rocks. And Kitty looked so funny. She was dressed up, had shoes and
stockings on, and a "warmed over" hat, with pathetically drooping roses
around it; and then the bag, with the long, lost slippers!

"Come to my house first," insisted Grace. "I'm nearest."

"I am to meet my friend this afternoon," said Neal, who was so busy with
the boy and his engine he had never even heard the child's name
mentioned. "He got in this morning after a stormy trip," went on the
young man, "but his yacht, the Royal, made it all right, and Dick
promised to be down late this afternoon."

"The Royal!" gasped Kitty, Grace and Louise.

"That's my yacht," sang out the boy gleefully. "Daddy and Mother and
Ricky are coming home on the Royal!"

"Oh joy!" shouted Louise, while Kitty gasped.

"Do you mean to say the young man who runs the yacht is coming to see
you?" She had seized Neal's shoulders as if to confront him with some
horrible crime.

"Careful," he said with a laugh. "You'll steer us against the dock. Yes,
Richard Gordon who runs the Alton's yacht, Royal, is my friend," he
answered, beginning to sense the true meaning of the affair.

Five minutes later it was a queer little procession that wended the
short way from the landing to Rosabell cottage.

"I would like you to have seen the old dump," said Kitty, referring to
Luna Land, "but I'll never go back there while Hannah is around. It's
only a couple of shacks. Nothing to see but Bentley's camp. You see," in
answer to the unspoken inquiry, "Bentley is an awful smart boy, who had
to be taken out of school. He has a nice, good-natured big brother,
Roger, who came down here, rented land from Uncle Pete, and pitched a
couple of tents on Luna Land. They were on the other side of the island,
but Ben had the carrier pigeons and we made up all kinds of outdoor
games and he let me use all the yellow paper I wanted. He's gone back
home, all well and ready for High School." This last sentence seemed to
evoke a sigh from Kitty.

"That was why he had his book always with him," said Cleo, and they
turned the corner to Rosabell.

CHAPTER XXIII

SCOUTS EVERY ONE

"WE have company," said Grace, noticing rather resentfully, that a
strange figure occupied a corner of her porch. "And it's a man!"

They we