She heard Lis say, “_Mother!_” in a choked voice, and then there was silence for so long that Erica began to be frightened. Had Aunt Callie fainted, perhaps? She had been thoughtless not to have realized Lis’s mother should have been prepared for such a surprise. Aunt Callie had always been delicate. She began to pull on her own clothes with hurried, shaky fingers, and made a clumsy bundle of Tommy’s suit, which she stuffed into the dim back of the big wardrobe. Then, still nervous and apprehensive of what she might find, she ran down the two flights of stairs to the first floor. But she need not have been anxious. They say joy never kills, and Aunt Callie certainly looked very much alive and very happy, seated in the deep armchair before the grate fire, with Lister kneeling on the hearth beside her, blowing the coals gently with a huge bellows. Both heads turned at the sound of Erica’s footsteps, and Mrs. Folger held out her arms to the girl with a motherly gesture. “Come and see the mercy the good Lord has vouchsafed us this day, my dear,” she said, tremulously. “Lister has been telling me the marvelous story of his escape, and of his ship getting in this morning in time for him to meet Tommy, before the _Spray_ set sail.” She was so excited that she had not even thought of questioning how he had gained access to Cousin Kate’s house, Erica noted with deep thankfulness. But in the light of the greater interest of his story, it was no wonder lesser details seemed unimportant. Before Erica had a chance to ask any of the questions Aunt Callie would be sure to expect of her, a happy diversion was caused by Cousin Kate’s entrance, and the whole thrilling tale had to be told over again for her benefit. Erica’s heart stopped thumping guiltily, and she and Lis exchanged glances of relief behind their elders’ backs. “Isn’t it too bad Tommy couldn’t be here, too?” Cousin Kate said, regretfully. “But it was fortunate he had at least a few moments with his brother before sailing. He will go away with a mind at ease, at any rate. Now, who is ready for breakfast? There ought to be some heartier appetites this morning than we’ve seen so far.” It was in the middle of an energetic attack on his fourth hot biscuit that Lis uttered an exclamation and laid down his knife. “I’m forgetting all about old Sun Li’s message to Rick, here,” he declared. “And there’s a package, too. But the message comes first.” He delved into several of his numerous pockets in turn before locating what he was in search of, but finally brought to light a slim oblong box, done up in the familiar orange paper and sealed with the queer gold seals they all knew. Instead of handing it over to Erica’s eager, outstretched fingers, Lis grinned teasingly and shook his head. “I said the message came first,” he reminded her. Erica made a face and then laughed. “All right,” she said. “What is it?”