e, bless 'em," cried Billie, jumping to her feet. But
the quick action seemed to terrify the children, and they cried out in
alarm. In a minute Billie was back on her knees beside them, looking at
them wonderingly.

"Why, what's the matter?" she asked, putting out her hand to the little
boy, who shrank away from her and raised an arm before his eyes. "Why,
honey, did you really think Billie would hurt a nice little boy like
you?"

But all three children had begun to cry, and Billie looked helplessly at
her chums.

Uncle Tom had spread a large rug on the floor and had laid the children
on it while he worked over them. Up to this time he had been on his knees
beside the girls, but now he got to his feet and looked down at them
soberly.

"Somebody's been mistreating 'em," he said, his eyes on the three
cowering, pathetic little figures. "Poor little mites--poor little mites!
Found 'em on a sort of raft, you say? Washed up by the waves?"

The girls nodded, and Billie, putting a tender arm around the little
fellow, succeeded in drawing him up close to her while Laura and Vi tried
to do the same with the little girls. Connie was watching her Uncle Tom.

"H'm," said the latter, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Folks on the
ship probably--drowned out there. Poor little waifs. Kind of up to us to
take care of 'em, I reckon."

"Of course it is," cried Connie, jumping to her feet. "Uncle Tom, where
did Mother and Daddy go?"

"On, toward the house," said Uncle Tom, nodding his head in the direction
of the bungalow. "When they couldn't find you they got kind o' worried
and thought you must have made tracks for home."

"Here they come now," cried Laura, for through the windows she had caught
sight of Mr. and Mrs. Danvers hurrying along the walk toward the
lighthouse.

"Oh, I'm glad," said Billie, hugging the little boy to her and smoothing
his damp hair back from his forehead. The child had stopped crying and
had snuggled close to Billie, lying very still like a little kitten who
has found shelter and comfort in the midst of a wilderness. The soft
little confiding warmth of him very suddenly made Billie want to cry.
"Your mother will know what to do," she said to Connie.

"Mother always does," said Connie confidently, and a minute later opened
the door to admit two very much wind-blown, exhausted and very anxious
parents.

"Oh, kiddies, what a fright you gave us!" cried Connie's mother, looking
very pale and tired as