"

For a minute there was silence and Billie knew that Connie was staring
through the dark at her in absolute amazement.

"You perfectly silly goose," said Connie then, her bewilderment changing
to indignation. "Now I know who wants to be shaken. Lie down here,
Billie, and see if you can act sensibly. Sorry I asked you!" she exploded
indignantly. "Why, who ever heard of such a thing!"

"But you said you wanted to solve the mystery--if there is one," Billie
reminded her, lying down again.

"Well, of course I do. So do all the rest of you," Connie shot back. "But
as to being sorry I asked you, why, I've a good mind----" She rose
threateningly in the bed and Billie put out a pleading hand, saying with
a chuckle:

"Please don't kill me or do whatever you were going to. I take it all
back."

"I should say you'd better!" sputtered Connie, coming down with a thump
in the bed.

"What are you girls raving about?" asked a sleepy voice from the next
room that they recognized as Vi's. "Can't you keep still and let a fellow
sleep? Laura's snoring already."

"Oh, I am not!" came indignantly from Laura. "I never snore!"

"How do you know?" asked Vi with interest.

"Know!" sputtered Laura. "Why, I don't know how I know, but I do know."

"Perhaps you are like an aunt of mine," Vi's voice came lazily back. "She
says she knows she never snores because she stayed awake all night once
just to see if she did."

Billie and Connie chuckled, which would have made Laura more indignant if
she had not been so sleepy.

"Oh, for goodness sake, keep still and let me sleep," she cried, adding
ferociously: "I saw a knife around somewhere downstairs. If anybody
speaks another word I'm going down and get it."

Whether this threat had anything to do with it or not, it would be hard
to say. But at any rate the girls did stop talking and settled down for
sleep.

All but one of them succeeded in drifting off into the land of nod in no
time at all, but that one of them--who was Billie--lay for a long time
with eyes wide open staring into the dark.

Then gradually the soft lapping of waves upon the beach soothed her into
a sort of doze where tall thin men and shabby picture albums and queer
little huts were all confused and jumbled together. Only one thing stood
out clearly, and that was the great searchlight, twinkling, winking,
glowing, sending its friendly message far out upon the sea.

Then all the troubled visions disappeared in a so