old _Dashin' Wave_ more'n twenty years ago."

The master of the _Tropic Bird_ blinked. "Gibney! Gibney!" he
murmured. "Why, I wonder if you're the same man. Are you the chap
that was king of Aranuka for six months and then abdicated for no
reason at all?"

"I was, sir," Mr. Gibney confessed shamefacedly. "I'm King Gibney
of Aranuka."

"What was your wife's name?"

"I called her Pinky for short."

"By Neptune, what a coincidence! Why, Gibney, I saw Her Majesty
on our last trip, less than two months ago, and she was telling
me all about you. Great old girl, Pinky, and mighty proud of the
fact that once she had a white husband. So you're King Gibney,
eh? Well, well! The world is certainly small." The skipper
chuckled, nor noticed Mr. Gibney's bulging eyes and hanging jaw.
"Going back to take over your kingdom again, Gibney?" he demanded
jocosely.

"You say you saw her _two months ago_?" Mr. Gibney bellowed.
"D'ye mean to tell me she's alive?"

"I did and she's very much so."

"An' the twins. How about them?"