"Yes, sir," said Freddie. "And I'm glad to be back.
Are you glad to be here in the shop, the same as ever?"
"Me? You bet I am. You couldn't buy me to leave this shop, not if you offered me all the money that Captain Kidd ever buried. No, sir. And look here, young man; I reckon you ain't surprised to see that the Chinaman's head is gone; eh?"
Freddie looked at the shelf behind Toby, and sure enough, the Chinaman's head was gone. He knew, of course, that it was lying at the bottom of the ocean.
"I kind of lost it one day," said Toby, winking his eye. "Mislaid it, you know, or lost it, one or the other, I don't know which,—but, anyway, I reckon it won't never be found. It's gone. I hope you don't mind it now, do you?"
"No, sir," said Freddie. He was glad to know that Mr. Toby was not still feeling disturbed because he had left it on board The Sieve.
"All right, then," said Toby. "You'd better go in and see Aunt Amanda."
Freddie opened the door at the rear of the shop and went into the back room. Aunt Amanda was sitting by the table, sewing.
On the table were the wax flowers and the album and the double glasses through which you looked at the twin pictures. The room was just as if they had never left it.
"Eshyereerilart," said Aunt Amanda, taking a handful of pins from her mouth. "Bless your dear little heart, I'm glad you're back again. Are you well? Sit down on the hassock."