“Yes, indeed, it’s very steady,” said Townsend, helping them one after another onto the frowning coast while Brownie held the lantern.  “Wherever we go we take our island with us; it’s like ivory soap, it floats.  Will you have a piece of wild chocolate, out of the heart of the interior?”

“Isn’t he just lovely,” whispered Miss Daring.

“So can we stay?” asked Pee-wee.

“Stay?  I wouldn’t let you go for anything,” said Minerva.  “Listen, girls, I’ve got an inspiration——­”

“I have lots of those,” said Pee-wee.

“They grow wild here,” said Townsend.

“Listen,” said Minerva, “I have a perfectly marvellous idea.”

She sat down on the grocery box and in her joy and excitement fairly drowned out Pee-wee who was struggling with a vehement running narrative of the day’s adventures.

“Oh, it will be simply divine,” said Minerva.  “Listen—­don’t interrupt me—­I’m going to have the refreshments served on this island.  I’m going to have the old painter’s scaffold for a gang-plank leading to it——­”

“There are refreshments then?” Townsend asked quietly.

“Refreshments?  Aren’t you perfectly terrible!  Of course there are—­oceans of them.”

“No more oceans for me,” said Townsend.  “Hereafter I’m going to live on shore.  My sailing—­flopping—­days are over.”

“You’re too funny for anything,” said Minerva.  “Listen, do you see that little tent?  The refreshments are all in there.  There’s just time before the guests all come to move everything over here.  I want you boys to help me.  We’re going to call it the dessert island instead of the desert island.  Isn’t that adorable?  Isn’t it odd?  Everyone will go into raptures over it, you see if they don’t.  You’ll let us use your island, won’t you?”

“We’ll make you a present of it,” said Townsend.

“My idea,” said Miss Timerson, “would be to tie it to these bushes that stick out over the water.  It ought to be far enough away from the—­the mainland—­to be romantic.  How far away do you think it should be, Mr. Ripley?”

“The way I feel about it I think it should be at least two thousand miles off.”

“Silly!” said Miss Daring.  “Please be serious.  Do you think about three yards would be romantic?”

“I never measured romance by the yard,” said Townsend, “but I should think about three yards and a half of romance would be enough.  If we have any left over we can give it to the discoverer.  He eats it alive.”

“And I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” shouted Pee-wee; “it’s an inspiration.”

“Another?” Townsend asked.

“I’ll—­I’ll—­I’ll stay on the island——­”

“I thought so,” said Townsend.

“And—­and—­I’ll stand right here by the traffic sign and after somebody that’s eating has had enough, I’ll turn the sign so it says STOP; I’ll turn it so it’s facing him.”