Inside, when the heavy lid had been impatiently flung back, she found rolls of uncut silks, some in plain colors, some heavily embroidered in delicate blossom designs, and on top of these the full straight trousers of heavy silk, the knee-length tunic coat, and a pair of small silken, heel-less slippers, such as a Chinese girl would wear. The lovely, exotic garments were a cool jade-green in color, embroidered in silver and rose, and there were cunning green silk tassels on the slippers, with a string of jade beads tucked into one small slipper-toe, and a similar string of rose agate in the other. Erica uttered a regular war whoop of ecstasy, and caught the slippers, necklaces and all, up in two suddenly trembling hands to cuddle them against her soft, flushed cheek. Then, her mood veering, without waiting for further exploration she began to undress with business-like haste. Ten minutes later the door of her cabin opened rather hesitantly and a strange, slim little Chinese figure, with an incongruous crop of short red curls dancing excitedly above its jade-green silks, stepped out into the narrow passageway leading to the saloon. And at the same moment a startled cry broke from Lis, who had just emerged from the captain’s cabin, a door or two farther away. ”_For Pete’s sake_, Ricky!” Lis gasped, and fell silent for lack of adequate words. CHAPTER XIV Erica pirouetted slowly on her toes to show off her new splendor, and Lis, drawing nearer and emerging from his first amazement at the sight of her, began to laugh. “But it’s mighty pretty, at that,” he conceded, generously. “I suppose that was in the chest Uncle Eric spoke of.” “Yes, and pieces and pieces of the loveliest silks you ever saw,” Erica said. “And these two necklaces.” She touched the strings of jade and agate she was wearing, with a reverent finger tip. They went into the saloon together, to find the long table in the center set for the evening meal, with Sun Li in his deep chair already seated at the head, smiling at his latest guests. Captain Eric was at the foot of the table, and Erica was placed between the little Chinese doctor and Sun Li, while Lis had the opposite side all to himself. The Governor had brought with him in the _Sea Gull_ not only his coolie bearers for the gorgeous sedan chair in which he went ashore on occasions, but his Chinese cook as well, so the supper was a curious but delicious mixture of Chinese and American dishes which set the young Nantucketers off into a prolonged series of “ohs” and “ahs” of appreciation and delight.