Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/70

58 appointed. This sort of thing doesn't occur every day, though, I can assure you."

Keith smiled; he was thinking of one other exciting time he had already experienced on the remarkable shores of Tao Tao—of five minutes during which he was struggling for his very life under the Trents' roof. The conviction was rapidly growing on him that perfect peace and contentment were not to be the most noticeable features of their lives on the island for some time to come.

There was a subdued air about the party as they reached shore, but this was dispelled by Joan with her cheerful optimism by the time they sat down to breakfast. If the mental strain of being involved in a battle afloat had affected her nerves at all she had regained control over them remarkably quick. The two men discussed the incidents of the shooting contest in detail, until Joan's serious expression arrested her brother's eye.

"You look worried, sis. What's the matter?" he asked.

"I wish, Chester, that you would forget you had ever heard of the existence of pearls," she said with unusual solemnity.

"Why?" the planter asked with a frown, not altogether understanding her point of view. He was vividly conscious of the fact that they had all been risking their lives only a couple of hours before because of the very pearls she was alluding to.