hers as well, she felt instinctively were
not right. But she said nothing.

She had not long for meditation, however, for Dick was running towards
her with a live crab which he had picked up, calling out that he was
going to make it bite her.

"Take it away!" cried Emmeline, holding both hands with fingers
widespread in front of her face. "Mr Button! Mr Button! Mr Button!"

"Lave her be, you little divil!" roared Pat, who was depositing the
last of the cargo on the sand. "Lave her be, or it's a cow-hidin' I'll
be givin' you!"

"What's a `divil,' Paddy?" asked Dick, panting from his exertions.
"Paddy, what's a `divil'?"

"You're wan. Ax no questions now, for it's tired I am, an' I want to
rest me bones."

He flung himself under the shade of a palm tree, took out his tinder
box, tobacco and pipe, cut some tobacco up, filled his pipe and lit it.
Emmeline crawled up, and sat near him, and Dick flung himself down on
the sand near Emmeline.

Mr Button took off his coat and made a pillow of it against a cocoa-nut
tree stem. He had found the El Dorado of the weary. With his knowledge
of the South Seas a glance at the vegetation to be seen told him that
food for a regiment might be had for the taking; water, too.

Right down the middle of the strand was a depression which in the rainy
season would be the bed of a rushing rivulet. The water just now was
not strong enough to come all the way to the lagoon, but away up there
"beyant" in the woods lay the source, and he'd find it in due time.
There was enough in the breaker for a week, and green "cucanuts" were
to be had for the climbing.

Emmeline contemplated Paddy for a while as he smoked and rested his
bones, then a great thought occurred to her. She took the little shawl
from around the parcel she was holding and exposed the mysterious box.

"Oh, begorra, the box!" said Paddy, leaning on his elbow interestedly;
"I might a' known you wouldn't a' forgot it."

"Mrs James," said Emmeline, "made me promise not to open it till I got
on shore, for the things in it might get lost."

"Well, you're ashore now," said Dick; "open it."

"I'm going to," said Emmeline.

She carefully undid the string, refusing the assistance of Paddy's
knife. Then the brown paper came off, disclosing a common cardboard
box. She raised the lid half an inch, peeped in, and shut it again.

"OPEN it!" cried Dick, mad with curiosity.

"What's in it, honey?" asked the old sailor, who was as int