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day, and in between I can do what I like. One of my new friends actually has a car. We pool our money for gas and all pile into it and go downtown.”
    Maud shared a room with Ann, a friend from St.Winifred’s. She and Ann had been to a “frosh” dance and had had a wonderful time. “I noticed a handsome boy standing on the side, looking shy. So I asked him for a dance! We had almost every dance together, and this weekend we’re going to a movie. His name is Robert. He’s my very first date.”
    Polly smiled. Robert had better watch himself!
    Maud liked all her courses and was working hard. She didn’t say a word about going to church. “Please let me know how you’re enjoying school so far, Doodle,” she ended. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving.”
    Polly put down the letter and sighed. She was glad that her sister was so happy, but she was also envious. University sounded like a lot more fun than boarding school.
    She opened Noni’s letter. It was brief, just saying how much she and Aunt Jean and Uncle Rand missed Polly, and how eager they were to see her on the weekend. “Your wee dog has tried hard to behave and sometimes he succeeds,” Noni wrote. “He sends his love, as we all do.”
    At the bottom of the letter was Tarka’s dirty paw print. Polly kissed it, and suddenly felt lighter. Tomorrow evening she would be home.

C HAPTER F OUR
BACK ON THE ISLAND
    P OLLY HAD NEVER TRAVELLED TO THE ISLAND BY HER self. Mrs. Blake drove her down to the harbour in Miss Guppy’s little grey car. She waited with Polly until it was time to board the steamer. “Now, don’t talk to strangers, and be sure you get off at the right island,” she said.
    “Don’t worry, I’ve done this trip
zillions
of times,” said Polly happily.
    She ran up the gangplank, almost forgetting to turn and wave goodbye to Mrs. Blake. Right away, some women from Kingfisher Island recognized her and asked her about school. To avoid their questions, Polly spent the whole time on the deck.
    How wonderful to smell the salt air again! She pulled off her hat, released her hair from its braid, and let it streamin the breeze. She was wearing her own clothes and Daddy’s necklace.
    Polly drank in the familiar landscape greedily: big and small islands, the rounded shapes of distant hills, and the ever-changing, rippling water below her. She spotted many sleek seals, a few otters, and, in the distance, a school of leaping dolphins. By the time the steamer docked at Valencia Island the sun was starting to set, and the air became chilly. Polly pulled her hat over her ears and put on her gloves. Her feet and nose were still freezing, but she didn’t want to go inside.
    Finally, the fir-covered cliffs of her own island came into view. Now the sky was pink. The boat rounded a point, and Polly could see the long wharf and the familiar buildings on either side of it: the hotel, the store, the church and rectory, and, best of all, the white house with the blue roof—the house that had sheltered her for the past three years. She was
home
.
    Noni waved from the end of the wharf; Tarka was prancing at her feet. In a few minutes, Polly was in her grandmother’s arms. “Oh, Noni—oh, Noni …” she sobbed. “I’ve missed you so much! And Tarka, my little Tarka-dog!”
    Tarka scratched at her legs, squealing hysterically. Polly picked him up and buried her face in his fur, sobbing even harder.
    “Whisht, Polly!” Behind her glasses, Noni’s grey eyeslooked worried. “I’ve missed you, too, but you’ve only been away for a week! It can’t be as bad as all that. Cheer up now, hen. You have two whole days ahead of you to enjoy.”
    Walking home felt like waking up from a bad dream. Polly’s legs trembled she was so relieved to be scuffing her feet in the dirt road. At least Noni didn’t ask her about school. Instead, she told Polly how Tarka had stolen a whole loaf of bread out of the larder.
    “That’s why his tummy is