“I don’t know⁠ ⁠… I just thought they might.⁠ ⁠…”

“But they are !” declared Rachel firmly. “Margaret told me!”

“Nonsense!” said Emily. “There aren’t any pirates nowadays.”

“Margaret said,” went on Rachel, “that time we were shut up on the other ship she heard one of the sailors calling out pirates had come on board.”

Emily had an inspiration.

“No, you silly, he must have said pilots .”

“What are pilots?” asked Laura.

“They Come On Board,” explained Emily, lamely. “Don’t you remember that picture in the dining-room at home, called The Pilot Comes On Board?”