e surge and rock of the _Mirabelle_ under his feet
as she plunged through the sea, something brought him up short and
took the glow from his face. Slowly, and with a grave expression,
Chris went to his sea chest and took the shell from it, but he almost
knew before he heard it what Mr. Wicker would say.

Nevertheless, when through the whorls of the shell at his ear he heard
the familiar voice, so far away and so long unheard, his eyes lit up
again.

"You have done better than my fondest hopes, Christopher, my boy,"
came Mr. Wicker's voice. "I cannot commend you enough for the success
of your difficult journey, and the manner in which with courage, quick
wit, and fortitude you met every danger. Amos is much to be praised
too. He is a loyal friend and I am proud of him as well as of you."

Chris, kneeling by the brass-studded chest with the shell held to his
ear, could easily bring before his inner eye the cosy room in
Georgetown, the crackling logs upon the hearth, and the voice of Becky
Boozer raised in lusty song coming from the direction of the kitchen.

He missed it. Much as he loved the _Mirabelle_, and much as he prized
the friendship of all aboard her, still, Mr. Wicker and Becky held an
especial place in his heart and he longed all at once, with almost
intolerable sharpness, to be at home once more. That his mother was
getting better he had never doubted, but kneeling there alone, he
suddenly wanted to have done with adventure for a while.

"My boy--are you listening?" came Mr. Wicker's words, and Chris's
thoughts brought him back with a jolt to the cabin of a ship sailing
the China seas. "Christopher, my poor lad," Mr. Wicker said at his
ear, "had you forgotten the _Vulture_?

"No," he answered for the boy, "not altogether, but perhaps just a
little. Yet make no mistake--the Captain of the _Vulture_ has not
forgotten _you_. Nor is he under any misapprehension as to who it was
who so skillfully crippled his ship so that he did not reach Peking
before you."

Mr. Wicker's voice took on the edge it always held when he spoke of
Claggett Chew.

"Claggett Chew waits for you beyond Shanghai in the East China Sea. Be
wary, and be rested, Christopher, for you will have a battle such as
you have never dreamed of, and even I cannot tell how it will end. It
will depend on your quickness and ingenuity. And do not forget the
leather pouch!"

The voice of his friend hesitated, and then said so faintly and from
so fa