"We might all make a trip to Barbadoes，Bermudaa and Cuba.Brazil is said to be an interesting country.I'd prefer Europe，were it not for the war.""Oh，Ajo，isn't this war terrible？""No other word expresses it.Yet it all seems like a fairy tale to me，for I've never been in any other country than the United States since I made my first voyage here from Sangoa—the island where my eyes first opened to the world.""It isn't a fairy tale，"said Beth with a shudder."It's morelike a horrible nightmare.""I can't bear to read about it any more，"he returned，musingly."In fact，I've only been able to catch rumors of the progress of the war in the various ports at which I've touched，and I came right here from my ship.But I've no sympathy witheither side.The whole thing annoys me，somehow—the utter uselessness and folly of it all.""Maubeuge has fallen，"said Beth，and went on to give himthe latest tidings.Finding that the war was the absorbing atopic in this little household，the boy developed new interest in it and the morning passed quickly away.
Jones stayed to lunch and then Mr.Merrick's automobile took them all to the river to visit the beautiful yacht Arabella，which was already，they found，attracting a good deal of attention in the harbor，where beautiful yachts are no rarityb.
The Arabella was intended by her builders for deep sea transit and as Patsy admiringly declared，"looked like a baby liner."While she was yacht—built in all her lines and fittings，she was far from being merely a pleasure craft，but had been designed by the elder Jones，the boy's father，to afford communication between the Island of Sangoa，in the lower South Seas，and the continent of America.
Sangoa is noted for its remarkable pearl fisheries，which were now owned and controlled entirely by this youth；but his father，an experienced man of affairs，had so thoroughly established the business of production and sale that little remained for his only son and heir to do，more than to invest the profits that steadily accruedc and to care for the great fortune left him.Whether he was doing this wisely or not noone—not even his closest friends—could tell.But he was frank and friendly about everything else.
They went aboard the Arabella and were received by that grim and grizzled old salt，Captain Carg，with the same wooden indifference he always exhibited.But Patsy detected a slight twinkle in the shrewd gray eyes that made her feel they were welcome.Carg，a seaman of vast experience，was whollydevoted to his young master.Indeed，the girls suspected thatyoung Jones was a veritable autocrat in his island，as well as aboard his ship.Everyone of the Sangoans seemed to accept his dictation，however imperative it might be，as a matter of course，and the gray old captain—who had seen much of the world—was not the least subservient to his young master.
On the other hand，Jones was a gentle and considerate autocrat，unconsciously imitating his lately deceased father in his kindly interest in the welfare of all his dependents.These had formerly been free—born Americans，for when the Island of Sangoa was purchased it had no inhabitants.
This fortunate—or perhaps unfortunate—youth hadnever been blessed with a given name，more than the simple initial "A."The failure of his mother and father to agree upon a baptismal namea for their only child had resulted in a deadlockb；and，as the family claimed a direct descent from the famous John Paul Jones，the proud father declared that to be "a Jones"was sufficient honor for any boy；hence heshould be known merely as "A.Jones."The mother called her child by the usual endearing pet names until her death，after which the islanders dubbed the master's son—then toddling around in his first trousers—"Ajo，"and the name had stuck to him ever since for want of a better one.
With the Bohemian indifference to household routine so characteristic of New Yorkers，the party decided to dine at a down—town restaurant before returning to Willing Square，and it was during this entertainment that young Jones first learned of the expected arrival of Maud Stanton on the following morning.But he was no wiser than the others as to whatmission could have brought the girl to New York so suddenly that a telegram was required to announce her coming.
"You see，I left Los Angeles weeks ago，"the boyexplained，"and at that time Mrs.Montrose and her nieces were busy as bees and much too occupied to pay attention to a drone like me.There was no hint then of their coming East，but of course many things may have happened in the meantime."The young fellow was so congenial a companion and the girls were so well aware of his loneliness，through lack of acquaintances，that they carried him home with them to spend the evening.When he finally left them，at a late hour，it was with the promise to be at the station next morning to meetMaud Stanton on her arrival.