"Not running as fast as lightning," Mollie answered, "but I could say it if I were walking rather slowly." "I couldn't," said Grizzel, taking no notice of Mollie's flippancy, "if I were to crawl at the rate of half an inch a year I should be saying 'She shells sea-shells' the whole time." "You are talking nonsense," said Prudence. "Come up and see Papa and Mamma." Mollie was greeted kindly by the older people. She had forgotten to ask if she was supposed to be a visitor or only spending the day with the Campbells, but gathered from Mamma's conversation that she was paying a visit and had arrived that morning. She wondered again how they heard about her coming; the children appeared to take her for granted, but, of course, _they_ knew she was a Time-traveller! As the girls sat by their elders, idly playing with the silvery sand and chatting to each other, a large steamship came in view, coming from the north and heading south-west. They all stopped working and talking as they watched her steaming along, a trail of smoke blowing behind her, smudging the blue sky with clouds, black at first and gradually fading to grey. "That's the English mail," Papa said at last; "she was due to leave the Semaphore at three o'clock to-day." They were silent again; the great ship drew nearer--now she was almost opposite. "Oh--John--_Home!"_ Mamma said. There was a tremble in her voice that made Prudence and Mollie look up--there were tears in her eyes. "I know, little wife, I know," Papa answered softly, putting a hand over the white hands which had dropped the busy needle. The girls rose to their feet and left Papa and Mamma. They went down to the edge of the shore, and stood watching the ship as she began to slip over the horizon. "Now she has begun to go down the Big Hill," said Prue. "She will sail for miles and miles and thousands of miles, and for days and nights and weeks across all that sea. I wonder if some children on the other side will be playing on that beach, and will watch her funnel climb over the top of the hill again and say: 'Here comes the Australian mail!'" Mollie did not answer. She could not remember ever taking much interest in the Australian mail. But in future she determined she would always watch when she had the chance, and wave a friendly hand to the incoming ships. Soon there was nothing to be seen of the big steamer but a trail of smoke, which lingered long in the sky. Prudence had fallen into a day-dream; and Mollie's eyes were roaming over the blue sea, when suddenly she caught sight of the raft bobbing about on the little waves, sometimes above and sometimes below. In the water in front of the raft she could see Hugh's head, like a round black ball--and--yes, she was not mistaken, there were two other round black balls which must also be heads. That was rather odd, she thought; she had not noticed any other boys about.