At that moment the dinghy appeared round the forefoot of the _Ariadne_. Mr. Gilman and Miss Thompkins were in it, and Mr. Gilman was rowing with gentleness and dignity. They had, even afar off, a tremendous air of intimacy; each leaned towards the other, face to face, and Tommy had her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. And in addition to an air of intimacy they had an air of mystery. It was surprising, and perhaps a little annoying, to Audrey that those two should have gone on living to themselves, in their own self-absorbed way, while such singular events had been happening to herself in Flank Hall. She put several fingers in her mouth and produced a piercing long-distance whistle which effectively reached the dinghy. "My poor little one!" exclaimed Madame Piriac, shocked in spite of her broadmindedness by both the sound and the manner of its production. "Oh! I learnt that when I was twelve," said Audrey. "It took me four months, but I did it. And nobody except Miss Ingate knows that I can do it." The occupants of the dinghy were signalling their intention to rescue, and Mr. Gilman used his back nobly. "But we cannot embark here!" Madame Piriac complained. "Oh, yes!" said Audrey. "You see those white stones? ... It's quite easy." When the dinghy had done about half the journey Madame Piriac murmured: "By the way, who are you, precisely, for the present? It would be prudent to decide, darling." Audrey hesitated an instant. "Who am I? ... Oh! I see. Well, I'd better keep on being Mrs. Moncreiff for a bit, hadn't I?" "It is as you please, darling." The fact was that Audrey recoiled from a general confession, though admitting it to be ultimately inevitable. Moreover, she had a slight fear that each of her friends in turn might make a confession ridiculous by saying: "We knew all along, of course." The dinghy was close in. "My!" cried Tommy. "Who did that whistle? It was enough to beat the cars." "Wouldn't you like to know!" Audrey retorted. The embarkation, under Audrey's direction, was accomplished in safety, and, save for one tiny French scream, in silence. The silence, which persisted, was peculiar. Each pair should have had something to tell the other, yet nothing was told, or even asked. Mr. Gilman rowed with careful science, and brought the dinghy alongside the yacht in an unexceptionable manner. Musa stood on deck apart, acting indifference. Madame Piriac, having climbed into the _Ariadne_, went below at once. Miss Thompkins, seeing her friend Mr. Price half-way down the saloon companion, moved to speak to him, and they vanished together. Mr. Gilman was respectfully informed by the engineer that the skipper and Dr. Cromarty were ashore.