"We're back!" he shouted. "Samantha and Prudence are back!"
As expected, Rebecca was the first one to greet them. Despite her size, she raced over to them in seconds. Rebecca hugged Samantha around the waist. "You're back! I knew you'd find her."
"I couldn't have done it without Wendell," Samantha said. "He deserves a lot of the credit."
"Thank you!" Rebecca shouted. She hugged Wendell, at least until he wriggled free of her grasp, making a disgusted face.
Next came Miss Brigham from the church. The real surprise was seeing Uncle Hector following after her. He didn't seem to have any trouble walking now. When he got closer, she noticed he looked younger, probably from the dose of fountain water Miss Brigham and Rebecca had given to him.
"This must be the famous Miss Prudence," he said. He held out his hand to her. "I'm Hector Delgado."
Prudence didn't shake his hand. "Samantha says you're her uncle."
"That's right. I've been looking for her for five years now."
"And now the Lord has brought them together. Isn't it grand?" Miss Brigham said. She leaned against Uncle Hector as if her leg were broken.
"It's great," Prudence grumbled.
"We'd better get Prudence inside. She needs to rest."
"I'll take her," Uncle Hector said.
"That's all right-" Prudence's protest cut off in a scream as Uncle Hector swept her up in his arms. Samantha couldn't suppress a giggle as Prudence struggled to free herself while Uncle Hector struggled to maintain his grip.
"Let him carry you," Samantha said. "It'll be a lot faster."
Prudence finally went limp, except for wrapping her arms around Uncle Hector's neck. Wendell watched them go, his jaw slack. "He's really strong."
"That's because he works really hard," Samantha said. "He has his own boat and everything. Tomorrow we'll go down there so you can see it."
"Really?"
"Yes. We have to fix it if we're ever going to get back to the mainland."
"The mainland? Can I go?"
"I don't know. We'll have to ask Uncle Hector."
Samantha quickened her pace to catch up to her uncle and Prudence. The other children stood off to one side of the church, watching in awe as Uncle Hector carried Prudence down the aisle. He set her down on the front row of pews and then smiled. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Thank you, Mr. Delgado."
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Then Uncle Hector shook his head. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes. You'll catch your death like that."
"We'll see what we can do," Miss Brigham said.
Samantha helped her and Rebecca to sort through the clothes taken from the dormitory before it collapsed. There were plenty of dresses for the younger girls, but nothing that would fit Prudence. "Oh dear," Miss Brigham mumbled.