as soaked off in the water and washed away," said his father.
"But you can still see the four tacks, one for each corner of the card.
I suppose that had some address on but it was washed off by the salt
water."

"What made the box come back to us?" asked Laddie, as Cousin Tom came
walking along with a heavy stick he was going to use as a hammer to open
the case.

"Well, no one knows what the sea is going to do," replied Daddy Bunker.
"It washes up queer things and takes them away again. I suppose this has
been floating around for some time--ever since it was washed away from
us the time we thought we so surely had it."

"It may have been washed up on the beach in some lonely spot a little
while after we last saw it," said Cousin Tom. "And it may have been
there ever since until the last high tide, when it was washed away again
and then I happened to spy it just now. But it will not get away again
until we open it."

Using the piece of heavy driftwood he had picked up as a hammer, Cousin
Tom soon broke the top of the box that had drifted ashore. He pulled
back the splintered pieces and eagerly they all looked inside. The box
was about two feet long and the same in height and width, and all Laddie
and Russ could see at first was what seemed to be some heavy paper.

[Illustration: COUSIN TOM BROKE OPEN THE BOX WITH A PIECE OF DRIFTWOOD
_Six Little Bunkers at Cousin Tom's._--_Page 210_]

"Is that all that's in it?" cried Russ.

"Wait and see," advised his father. "There may be something under the
paper."

Cousin Tom put his hand in and raised the covering. Some bright colors
were seen and then what appeared to be a lot of pieces of cloth.

"A lot of dresses!" exclaimed Russ in disappointed tones. "That's all!"

"But here is something inside the dresses," said his father with a
smile.

"Something in the dresses?"

"Yes. Unless I am very much mistaken there are Japanese dolls in this
box--maybe half a dozen of them--and it is their gaily colored dresses
which you see. Isn't that it, Cousin Tom?"

"You are right, Daddy Bunker! There they are! Japanese dolls!" and
Cousin Tom pulled out one about two feet long and held it up in front
of the two boys.

"Dolls!" gasped Laddie.

"Japanese dolls!" added his brother.

"A little spoiled by the salt water, but still pretty good," said Cousin
Tom, as he pulled another doll out of the box. "They were wrapped in
oiled silk and the box is lined with a sort of water-pro