sket.

Mrs. Danvers came in a few minutes later with the chocolate, and, oh, how
that hot drink did taste! She demanded to know all about everything. They
told her, speaking one at a time, two at a time, and all at once, till it
was a wonder she could make any sense out of it at all. But when she and
her husband did realize how terribly close the young folks had been to
disaster they looked very sober and in their hearts thanked Providence
for guiding them back to safety.

After they had eaten, the girls and boys felt very lazy and lingered in
the pretty library before the open fire till the shadows began to fall.

"I hope we have half-way decent weather to start out on to-morrow," said
Paul suddenly as he gazed out of the window.

"Oh! must you go _to-morrow_?" asked Billie, with such genuine regret
that Teddy looked at her sideways.

"I'm afraid so," said Paul, also turning to look at her. "We've had a
bully good time and we'd like to stay longer, but you see I promised Dad
I'd pick him up a little farther along the coast and I can't do it unless
we start to-morrow."

"But suppose it isn't a nice day?" Connie put in. "Will you go anyway?"

"Oh, of course, if it was really stormy we couldn't. We would have to
wire Dad or something. But I think it's going to be clear to-morrow," he
finished cheerfully.

Connie shook her head.

"I don't know about that," she said. "Uncle Tom says that a terribly
heavy mist like this generally forecasts a storm, and a pretty bad storm,
too."

"Well, we don't have to worry about that now, anyway," said Teddy,
stretching his long legs out contentedly toward the fire. "Let's enjoy
ourselves while we can. By the way," he added, turning to Billie, and
Billie thought that Teddy was getting better looking every minute--or was
it the firelight? "What did you girls mean by speaking of a mystery? We
haven't heard a word about any mystery."

"Of course you haven't. You don't suppose we tell you _everything_, do
you?" said Laura, with a sisterly sniff.

"Well, but what did you mean?" asked Ferd, adding his voice to Teddy's
while the other boys seemed interested.

The girls looked at one another and then at Billie.

"Shall we tell them?" asked Vi.

"I don't see why we shouldn't," Billie answered, her eyes on the fire.
"Of course we don't know that there's any mystery about it. It only looks
queer, that's all."

Then with the help of the girls she told the boys all about the man who