And so the great day came when the boat from Los Angeles docked at Pearl Harbor. Linda and Dot were at the wharf half an hour before it was scheduled to arrive, so impatient were they to see their folks from home.
A great surging joy swelled up in Linda’s throat at the sight of her father as he came forward to meet her. It was so suffocating that for a moment she couldn’t say a word of greeting. Breathless, she flew into his arms.
“Daughter!” he said, in a tone filled with emotion.
“Daddy, darling!” she managed to stammer, and then, recovering herself somewhat, she kissed her aunt and shook hands with the boys.
“Congratulations, congratulations, and then some!” exclaimed Jim, to both of the girls.
“It was great, Linda!” cried Ralph.
“‘Linda and Dot,’ if you please,” corrected Linda. “Dot did every bit as much as I did!”
“In fact, I flew nearer the ocean,” added her chum, mischievously. “So near that I almost drowned us both!”
“Don’t tell us about the dangers—now that you have miraculously escaped with your lives!” begged Miss Carlton, with a shiver.
And then everybody talked at once, asking questions, making explanations, accounting for all the time since they had seen each other. The girls drove right to the hotel with the party, and here Linda dragged out Fanny and introduced her, much to Miss Carlton’s amazement. And then she actually asked her aunt to look after the girl for the rest of the visit, until they should all go back to Los Angeles together.