"Hm-m-m," she murmured to Betty. "Not bad. Not bad at all!" Then, "Alexander Burgee," she declared, "every bit of this is your fault. If I hadn't escaped from that man and jumped in the pool--well, I don't know _what_ might've happened. The least you can do is carry me back to your house." * * * * * At midnight, Charles and Betty sat in the living room. They hadn't had time to get used to the change in Cousin Aurelia and they still looked at her unbelievingly. She was wearing a gay housecoat of Betty's, too tight in just the right places. She had let down her hair, tied it with a ribbon, and she'd put on a gay smear of lipstick. She was exceedingly merry. "I can't imagine how I stood it," she was saying, "for so many years. I mean, being such an old frump." She laughed brightly. "Why, I was almost as bad as poor Charlie!" "Well, at least I never locked myself in to get away from a pirate," Charles retorted. The captain stood up with a chuckle. "Say, that reminds me." He went to a bookcase, opened a thick volume, and gave it to Charles. "I want you to read something here." Charles saw that it was _Jane's Dictionary of Space Transportation_. He looked up enquiringly. The captain was pointing at a word. "'_Pirate_,'" Charles read, sounding puzzled. "'Pirate, originally a criminal who attacked and robbed ships at sea (see: Earth, planet) now obsolete in this sense. At present, term applied to--'" Charles hesitated--"'to persons engaged in space salvage, especially to captains of vessels employed in such work.'" Charles turned red. Betty flushed. Cousin Aurelia started laughing her head off. "Times change," the captain said soberly. "Do you want me to show you my license?" The Buttons were much too embarrassed to answer. "Well, if you don't, I hope you'll excuse us. Aurelia and I would like to sit in the swing and look at the stars for a while." "I want to be told just how far away Boston is," she said as he helped her to rise. She wrinkled her nose. "I'm certainly glad that here on Sugar Plum we're safe from the wrong kind of people--all those horrible Victorians." The captain's arm went around her. He winked at the Buttons. "A few of them weren't so bad," he said gently. "A few of the real ones." And, as they left, he slipped the copy of _Sonnets from the Portuguese_ into his pocket. "Well, now that we've sort of lost Cousin Aurelia," said Betty, "I wish I could have one of these adorable animals on Sugar Plum for my very own. As a pet, you know. It might help as a substitute for Cousin Aurelia's company." "And what's wrong with me for a substitute?" Charles wanted to know. "It seems to me that you can forget Cousin Aurelia for a change and give me a little consideration." She looked at him appraisingly and then at her watch. "I never thought of that," she said. "It's time for bed." * * * * *