success, the time having passed very pleasantly.

The next morning found them all in good health and spirits, and the
day was spent in little excursions among the islands. The evening
brought a mail in which was a letter from Violet to her husband,
telling of the safe arrival of her mother, herself, and the other
members of their party at their destination, the warm welcome they had
received, and the prospect that the few days of their proposed sojourn
among the relatives of Pleasant Plains would be passed most agreeably.
"There is only one drawback to my enjoyment," she added; "I cannot
feel quite content without my husband; and I miss the dear girls too.
So I am glad this visit is to be but a short one."

The captain read the greater part of the letter aloud to Eva and his
daughters.

"I too am glad their visit is to be short," remarked Grace as he
finished, "for I don't like to be without them, though we are having a
very delightful time here with our dear, kind father to take care of
us and find so many pleasant amusements for us."

"Ah!" he said with a smile. "Where would you like to go to-morrow?"

They discussed the question for a while, and at length decided to
visit some of the islands that had been neglected thus far. Then they
went on to plan an outing for each weekday of the time they expected
the rest of their party to be absent. These they carried out
successfully; and each day's mail brought them a graphic report from
Violet's pen of the doings among their friends and relatives in
Pleasant Plains.

Several family parties were gotten up for their entertainment, and at
one of them Cousin Ronald, at Walter's urgent request, exercised his
skill in ventriloquism, to the great surprise and delight of the
younger folk.

They were quite a large company, assembled in the parlors of Dr.
Landreth's house, just after leaving the tea-table. Presently a
buzzing bee seemed to be flying about among them, now circling around
the head of one person and now flying above that of another. They
involuntarily tried to dodge it, and sent searching glances here and
there in the vain effort to see just what and where it was. It could
not be seen. Presently it was no longer heard, and someone said, "We
are rid of it, I think; it seems to have gone out of the window."

But the words were scarcely spoken when there was a scream from the
porch, "Oh, I'm stung! and the bee's on me yet! Somebody come and take
it off!"

At th