e heard him.

* * * * *

Pulled by the untiring robot, Charles and Betty made very good time, but
they couldn't catch up with the captain. They had to make several stops
to get their wind back, and they were still half a mile from the house
when they heard her.

"Help! Murder! Police! Save me!" screamed Cousin Aurelia.

"He--he's got her!" puffed Charles, as the shrieks died away. "Hurry!"

When they got to the house, it was empty. Not even Herman was there. In
the living room and the hall, there were signs of a titanic struggle.
The door of Cousin Aurelia's room hung wide open.

"Look!" Charles gave it a great goldfish stare. "She unlocked it
herself!"

"He probably told her--he was rescuing her--from the pirate," panted
Betty.

"We--we'll have to go on--" Charles felt his legs start to collapse--"to
the clearing."

The robot put two arms around him, and one around Betty.

"You will rest for three minutes," it stated, leading them to the living
room and seating them gently. "I will bring brandy."

The brandy was welcome. They drank it in gulps, and worried about Cousin
Aurelia, and the robot fanned them considerately while they did so.

Then, again, they were off. In less than ten minutes, they looked down
on the valley, on the clearing. They caught sight of the _Beautiful
Joe_. The voice of the waterfall reached them.

And so did another one. A man's voice. A deep one.

"Ow!" it yelled hoarsely. "Let me up! Ow! Let go!"

Charles moaned. "We shouldn't have waited for brandy. Now they're
killing him, too!"

With the robot behind them, they raced down the hill, splashed through
the stream, broke through a circle of giggling Sugar Plum natives and
goggle-eyed creatures.

"Don't give up!" croaked Charles. "We're coming!"

On the grass were four figures. Two were thrashing around and being sat
on. Two were doing the sitting.

The Buttons braked to a stop. Something was radically wrong. The larger
of the two thrashing figures was being sat on by Cousin Aurelia!

"Try to kidnap _me_, will you?" _Slap._ "Make me throw myself into that
pool!" _Slap._ "And swallow a gallon of water and have to drag myself
out!" _Slap-slap-slap_. "You will, will you?"

"Ow!" cried the figure. "Leg-go!"

Aurelia looked over her shoulder. She spied Charles and Betty.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Bear a hand here with Possett!"

"You don't have to hold him," called Captain Burgee, dismounting fro