planning a surprise.”

79

“I don’t think you need to worry about the ship, Emily,” said Mr. Seymour. “Helen played too hard to-day, that’s all that is wrong. To-morrow she will be as brown and rosy as ever.”

So Mrs. Seymour said nothing more and the whole family talked about other things.

Later in the evening Jo came over and the band gathered around the fire in the living room for a conference while Mr. and Mrs. Seymour read in the kitchen.

“What do you suppose it was that we heard?” Ben asked in a whisper; sometimes his mother had been known to hear more than she should. Not that the band wished to deceive, but they had started on an exciting adventure and they meant to put it through alone.

“I know it was not made by ghosts,” asserted Ann. “Nor by that wicked demon, either. He’s nailed too tight to the bow.”

“I don’t believe that I want to go on the wreck again to-morrow,” said Helen. “It makes me feel too tired.”

“We won’t go on again, not any of us,” Jo said. “I’ve been thinking over the situation while I had80 my supper. We’ll keep a sharp lookout for the man who built that fire; sort of hang around the woods, we will, and watch the ship, too, but from the outside. If anybody or anything climbs over the side we’re bound to see it.”

80

“I’m going to watch for that lantern,” said Ann.

Jo nodded wisely. “If we can find out who it is that carries the lantern we shall know what made the noise; that’s how it looks to me.”

81

CHAPTER VI GOING LOBSTERING

GOING LOBSTERING

“Hist-sst! Ann! Wake up!”

“Hist-sst!

It was Ben’s voice that woke Ann, and his hand on her shoulder. She thought it was the middle of the night, it was so dark, and her second thought was of the wreck. Had anything happened there? They had watched for days and never seen a sign of life on it.

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