Part 39 (2/2)
”It's Aunt Dorothy,” said Eustace from the conservatory ”She was never drowned at all”
”What!” said Herbert sharply ”You are drearavely ”You saw her for yourself”
It would be impossible to describe the scene that followed When the boudoir door opened and the grown-ups all trooped out, headed by Aunt Dorothy, the commotion was beyond words From the midst of it Mr Chase slipped away, to return with Peter in his arown, rosy, and fresh roused from sleep
”We can't let him be out of it all,” said Mr Chase ”I have told him of our joyful surprise, and he takes it quite cal the wee fellow in her arlad I didn't drown you,” Peter said serenely
”Herbert--”
But he finished the sentence in an incoherent yell, kicking out right and left
”What is the matter?” asked Dorothy in surprise
”Eustace pinched round in order to avenge hi lohispered,--
”You are not to tell tales I told you that the other day You don't want to be a lon black-fellow, do you?”
Peter's face was cru what he would have done if Bob had not exclaimed,--
”Hulloa, Peter! haven't you a word for me?”
The shock was complete Mr Chase had not mentioned Bob's arrival, and Peter holly unprepared for seeing hi like a young cat at the big felloho caught hithe embrace of the et here?” de land?”
”Come, come,” said Mr Chase; ”dinner first and stories afterwards
We shall have to eat cinders as it is, I expect, and cook will give notice to--roohed Aunt Dorothy; ”I can't part with one of you yet We will talk while we eat”
In a ed All the severity had faded from the old people's faces; they could not have looked rannyish” if they had tried The dreadful barriers of formality were broken down; no noisier, freer faathered in the Queensland ho-rooht
”This,” whispered Brenda to Nesta, ”is hoays were before Aunt Dorothy went away Now you can see elike a fairy tale to the Bush children; every one sees This, then, was home as mother had known it
The story of Aunt Dorothy's rescue held the table spellbound; the very butler and footot their duties as they listened
It appeared that, having jumped into the water with Peter, Dorothy struck out as fast as possible to say frorip of the little fellow as best she could But in the terrible co down of the _Cora_ she lost her grasp, and Peter ept away froht
She swaes, but all in vain, and at last, in a state of utter exhaustion, she gave herself upafloat Sheconsciousness after a while, her next experience was to find herself on board a vessel of some sort--a schooner it turned out to be on her way out to the reefs for beche-de-