And so they were--because Gracie made them; and the Rev. Charles would have pledged himself to that though they had choked him and given him indigestion for life. He had a pretty bad night of it--but that might have been the coffee,--but most likely it was Jim. For presently they all set off in the riotous wind, Gracie skipping joyfully in the pride of accomplishment, and went first to Carne, hopeful of finding Jim there. But Mrs. Lee greeted their inquiry with a tart: "'Oo's none here. Havena set eyes on him sin'---- Didn' yo' go out tegither?"--to Jack. "No, I d'n know when he went." "Where can th' lad ha' gotten to now? 'Oo's aye gett'n' i' mischief o' some kind." "We'll go along to Seth Rimmer's, Mrs. Lee. He may have gone down there," said Eager. "'Oo mowt," she admitted unhopefully. And they set off in the windy darkness, with the roar of the sea and the long white gleam of the surf on one side, and on the other the fantastic hummocks of the sand-hills, which looked strangely desolate by night and capable of holding any mystery or worse. Eager had wanted the children to wait at Carne till he returned, but they would not hear of it. Gracie was enjoying the spice of adventure. Jack wanted to find Jim. Eager himself was beginning to feel anxious, though he would not let the others see it. "If he is not here--where?" he asked himself, as they ploughed through the sand and the crackling seaweed. And he had to confess that he did not know where to look next. The grim desolation of the sand-hills made him shiver to think of. Suppose the boy had damaged himself in some way and was lying there waiting for help. A thousand boys might lie there unfound till help was useless. A glimmer in the distant darkness, and presently they were at Rimmer's cottage. Kattie opened to them--both the door and her big blue eyes--and stood staring. "Hello, Kattie! Is Jim here?" asked Eager cheerfully. "Jim? No, Mr. Eager." "Who's it, 'Kattie?" asked her mother anxiously, from her bed; for over the lonely cottage hung the perpetual fear of ill-tidings. "It's only us, Mrs. Rimmer." And they stepped inside. "Ech! Mr. Eager, and the little lady, and----" "We're looking for Jim, and were hoping he might have come along here." "Jim?" said Mrs. Rimmer, looking steadfastly at Jack. "I nivver con tell one from t'other; but none o' them's been here to-day." "No? I wonder where the boy can have got to. Is Seth about? Maybe he could help us." "Seth's away," said Mrs. Rimmer briefly; and Eager did not ask her where. For "Seth's away" was an understood formula, and meant that young Seth was off on one of his expeditions, and the less said about it the better. "I don't quite know where to look next," said Eager anxiously. "Can you suggest anything, Kattie?" But Kattie shook her mane of hair and stared back at them nonplussed, and presently said: "Jim knows his way; he couldn' get lost."