ance. They reached the point at a
quarter after nine, which was when we saw the lights, and they never
for a moment thought of the Sea Monster, because no one had missed
the old dinghy from the ferry-slip and they didn't imagine that we
could get there. They didn't find any trace of us at the usual
picnic place on Wecanicut, because we had everything with us, and
though some of the Fort soldiers searched, too, nothing could be
found. Father had been up all night and was still out, telephoning
to all sorts of places.

If I deserved any punishment for its being my fault, I think I had
it when I thought of how hard Father had been working and how
wretched and anxious they all were. I hadn't quite realized that
before.

Strangely enough, right after breakfast Jerry and I began to yawn
tremendously, and Mother bundled us off to bed. We hadn't had time
to think of it, but of course we hadn't slept particularly well on
the Sea Monster. Just as we were going upstairs, Aunt Ailsa came
running in with her hat on, crying:

"Is Katy telling the truth?"

And then we both leaped on her from the stairs. When she ducked her
head up from our hugs, the Bottle Man was standing in the doorway,
looking queer.

"Ailsa!" he said; and that really did floor us, because we knew we'd
never even mentioned her existence to him. She stood staring, and
then put her hand up against her throat, exactly like somebody in a
book.

"Andrew!" she said, in a faint little voice.

Mother looked at them, and then said:

"Bedtime, chicks! Come along!" and went up with us.

It was quite weird, going to bed at nine o'clock in the morning. We
pulled down all the shades so we could sleep, though I don't really
think we needed to, because I know that as soon as I shut my eyes I
was sound asleep.

When I woke up the room was quite dim, and Mother and Father were
standing at the door talking. Father looked awfully tired, but dear
and glad, and he wouldn't let me tell him how sorry I was about it
all. Mother said that even more surprising things had been
happening, and that if I'd slept enough for a time, I'd better come
down to supper. That was queer, too,--dressing in the twilight and
coming down to supper, instead of to breakfast.

We all talked a lot at supper, of course, and people kept asking
questions. I had to do most of the answering, because Jerry always
left out the parts about himself, and yet it was he who did all the
wonderful things. We h