“Oh! Oh, no!” Mildred caught her words. “They don’t—nowhere near ‘always’.”
Just then Dave and the professor came down to the beach.
“We think it’s Johnny and Samatan,” Doris said quietly.
“Good!” said the professor. “That lifts a load from my shoulders!” He turned to speak to Mildred, but she had gone.
Ten minutes later, natives caught the dugout and hauled it far up on the sandy beach.
After receiving the congratulations of his shipmates, Johnny began flashing his light into the surrounding darkness, searching for Mildred. At last the beam came to rest on a charming picture—a girl with reddish-golden hair, wearing a dress of golden material, tied at the waist with a broad red sash. All this—against the greenish blackness of a jungle night.
“Why!” Johnny exclaimed, as he caught her hand. “The little beach-comber has turned into a golden fairy!”
“P—please, Johnny!” Mildred stuttered confusedly, “I—I just wanted to—celebrate your return from the d—dead!”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Johnny. “I always come back. But it was mighty nice of you, anyhow, and I won’t forget!”
* * * * * * * *