“Just give us time to say good-bye to everything,” said Peggy. “Mummy, come down and see Willow House. We made it ourselves and it’s so pretty in the summer, because you see, it’s a live house, and grows leaves all the time!”

In an hour’s time everyone was ready to leave. The hens were bundled once more into a sack and were most annoyed about it. Daisy was left, and Captain Arnold said he would send a fisherman over for her. It was too cold for her to swim behind the boat. Most of the children’s stores were left, too. They would be able to use them when they next went to the island.

Peggy took the rabbit-rug she had made. That was too precious to leave. They brought the books too, because they had got fond of those. They had stored everything carefully in the inner cave, and thrown sacks over them in case of damp. They couldn’t help feeling a bit sad to leave, although they knew they were going to their own happy home again.

At last everyone was in the boat. Captain Arnold pushed off and the sound of oars came to Daisy’s ears as she stood pulling at the thin winter grass. She stood watching the boat as it bobbed away on the waves.

“Good-bye, dear secret island,” said Nora.

“Good-bye, good-bye!” said the others. “We’ll come back again! Good-bye, Daisy, good-bye, everything!”

“And now let’s talk about all we’re going to do at Christmas-time,” said Mrs. Arnold, cheerfully, for she saw that the children were sad at leaving their beloved little island.

It was not long before the four children and their father and mother (for Jack counted them as his parents too, now) were settled happily in their own home. There was such a lot of excitement at first, for the children had to have new dresses, new suits, new underclothes, new stockings, new shoes! Mrs. Arnold said that although Peggy had really done her best to keep them tidy, they were quite dropping to pieces!

So off they went shopping, and came back feeling as grand as kings and queens, all dressed up in their new things! Peggy looked fine in a blue coat and skirt with a little blue hat. Nora wore red, and the two boys had suits and overcoats of dark blue.

Jack felt queer in his. It was the first time in his life he had ever had anything new of his own to wear, for he had always gone about in somebody’s old things before! He felt very grand indeed.

The children looked at one another and burst out laughing.

“How different we look now!” said Mike. “Think of our dirty old rags on the island! But it’s good to be really properly dressed again - and the girls do look nice!”

It was strange at first to sleep in a proper bed again. The girls slept in a pretty room and had a little white bed each. The boys slept in the next room, and had two brown beds. At first they all wondered where they were when they awoke in the morning, but after a few days they got used to it.

Christmas drew near. They all went out to buy presents for one another. It was most exciting. They went to London and marvelled at the great shops there. They watched all kinds of ships and boats sailing along in a big tank. They saw clockwork trains tearing round and round a little countryside, going through tunnels, stopping at stations, just like a real train. It was all very exciting after living such a peaceful life on the island.

Christmas was lovely. They hung up their stockings at the ends of their beds - and in the morning what fun they had finding the things packed tightly in the long stockings! Tiny dolls in the girls’ stockings, oranges, sweets, nuts, needle-books and balls - and in the boys’ were all kinds of things, too. Bigger presents were at the foot of the bed, and how excited all the children were unpacking them!

“This is better than Christmas in the cave!” said Nora, unpacking a great big smiling doll with curly golden hair. “Oh, Jack! Did you really buy this for me? Oh, how lovely, lovely, lovely!”

Soon the bedrooms were full of dolls, books, trains, balls, aeroplanes and motor-cars! It was the loveliest Christmas morning the children had ever had - and certainly Jack had never in his life known one like it! He just simply couldn’t believe his luck.

“You deserve it all, Jack,” said Nora. “You were a good friend to us when we were unhappy - and now you can share with us when we are happy.”

There was a Christmas-tree after tea, with more presents - and as for the crackers, you should have seen them! Red ones and yellow ones, blue ones and green ones! Soon everyone was wearing a gay cap, and how the children laughed when Captain Arnold pulled a cracker and got a tiny aeroplane out of it!

“Well, you can’t fly away in that, Daddy,” cried Peggy.

“You won’t ever fly away again, Daddy, will you?” said Nora, suddenly frightened in case her father and mother should fly off again and be lost, so that the four children would be alone once more.

“No, never again,” said her father. “Mummy and I have made such a lot of money out of our flying now, that we can afford to stay at home and look after you. We shall never leave you again!”

It was four happy children who went to bed that night. The boys left the door open between their room and the girls’, so that they might all talk to one another till they fell asleep. They could not get out of this habit, for they had always been able to talk to one another in bed on the island.

“It’s been a lovely day,” said Peggy sleepily. “But I do just wish something now.”

“What?” asked Mike.

“I do just wish we could all be back in our cosy cave on our secret island for five minutes,” said Peggy.

“So do I,” said everyone, and they lay silent, thinking of the happy days and nights on the island.

“I shall never, never forget our island,” said Nora. “It’s the loveliest place in the world, I think. I hope it isn’t feeling lonely without us! Good-night, secret island! Wait for us till we come again!”

“Good-night, secret island!” said the others. And then they slept, and dreamt of their island - of the summer days when they would go there once more, and live merrily and happily alone, in the hot sunshine - of winter days in the cosy cave - of cooking over a camp fire - and sleeping soundly on heathery beds. Dear secret island, only wait, and you shall have the children with you once again!