“Will you kindly present these, with my compliments, to the Misses Stanton, and to their aunt, when they return this evening?  Thank you!”

And then, before they could recover from their astonishment, he turned abruptly and fled to his room.

The girls stared at one another a moment and then began laughing.  Arthur seemed crestfallen, while Uncle John handled his small box as gingerly as if he suspected it contained an explosive.

“How ridiculous!” cried Patsy, her blue eyes dancing.  “And did you notice how scared poor Ajo was, and how he skipped as fearfully as though he had committed some crime?  But I’m sure the poor boy meant well.  Let’s open our boxes, girls, and see what foolishness Ajo has been up to.”

Slipping off the cover of her box, Beth uttered a low cry of amazement and admiration.  Then she held up a dainty lavalliere, with a pendant containing a superb pearl.  Louise had the mate to this, but the one Patsy found had a pearl of immense size, its color being an exquisite shade of pink, such as is rarely seen.  Arthur displayed a ring set with a splendid white pearl, while Uncle John’s box contained a stick pin set with a huge black pearl of remarkable luster.  Indeed, they saw at a glance that the size and beauty of all these pearls were very uncommon, and while the others expressed their enthusiastic delight, the faces of Mr. Merrick and Patsy Doyle were solemn and perplexed.  They stared at the pearls with feelings of dismay, rather than joy, and chancing to meet one another’s eyes they quickly dropped their gaze to avoid exchanging the ugly suspicion that had forced itself upon their minds.

With a sudden thought Patsy raised her head to cast a searching glance around the lobby, for although their party was seated in an alcove they were visible to all in the big room of which it formed a part.  Yes, Mr. Isidore Le Drieux was standing near them, as she had feared, and the slight sneer upon his lips proved that he had observed the transfer of the pearls.

So the girl promptly clasped her lavalliere around her neck and openly displayed it, as a proud defiance, if not a direct challenge, to that detestable sneer.

Arthur, admiring his ring in spite of his chagrin at receiving such a gift from a comparative stranger, placed the token on his finger.

“It is a beauty, indeed,” said he, “but I don’t think we ought to accept such valuable gifts from this boy.”

“I do not see why,” returned his wife Louise.  “I think these pretty tributes for saving Mr. Jones’ life are very appropriate.  Of course neither Beth nor I had anything to do with that affair, but we are included in the distribution because it would be more embarrassing to leave us out of it.”

“And the pearls came from Sangoa,” added Beth, “so all these precious gifts have cost Ajo nothing, except for their settings.”

“If Sangoa can furnish many such pearls as these,” remarked Arthur, reflectively, “the island ought to be famous, instead of unknown.  Their size and beauty render the gems priceless.”