"Oh, but don't you see?" Connie broke in eagerly. "The kidnappers,
whoever they were, must have gone down on the ship out there on the
shoal."

"And they bound the children on that funny raft and set them adrift,
probably thinking they would be able to get away themselves," added Vi
eagerly.

"And then the ship went down before they could follow," said Billie,
adding, as she turned earnestly to the teacher: "Oh, Miss Arbuckle, it
was awful--that poor ship out there going down with all the people on
board!"

"Yes, it must have been horrible. I read about it in the papers," nodded
Miss Arbuckle soberly. Then a great light broke over her face as she
looked down at the three children who were still not much more than
babies. "But some good comes of almost everything. I have my precious
children now, and I can take them back to their family and prove my
innocence--and Hugo's. Oh I'm so happy--I'm so happy!"

"But won't you come back to Three Towers any more?" asked Laura, her face
so long that Miss Arbuckle laughed delightedly.

"Yes, my dear," she said, a joyful light in her eyes that made her quite
a different person. "Hugo will probably go back to his old position, but
I--oh, I could not desert Three Towers now after all you girls have done
for me."

Then Connie's mother had her way and whisked joyful Miss Arbuckle away
upstairs to "take off her hat" while the children trailed after, leaving
the girls alone.

Laura and Connie and Vi fairly hugged each other over the marvelous
clearing up of their mystery, but Billie turned away and looked out of
the window, while sudden tears stung her eyes.

She did not notice that the little boy whom Miss Arbuckle had called Davy
stopped at the foot of the stairs and crept softly back to her, she did
not know he was anywhere around, till a soft little hand was slipped into
hers and a baby voice said plaintively:

"Me loves my Billie, too."

"You darling!" cried Billie, kneeling down and catching him close to her.
"I suppose they will take you away now where you belong, honey, but don't
ever forget your Billie."

And when the girls went over to her a few minutes later they were
surprised to find that her eyes were wet.

"Why, Billie, you've been crying!" Laura exclaimed. "And you ought to be
as happy as the rest of us."

"I am," said Billie, wiping her eyes hard. "Only I was thinking of little
Davy."

"Well, don't, if it makes you cry and gets your nose all red," sc