cloak-room inadvertently trodden upon Brown's hat, and had been startled
by the way in which Brown had swung him round by his collar.

"I pinched him," said Betty proudly. "He shouldn't have gone above me.
I'll pinch him every time."

Her sun-bonnet was tucked away under her arm, her boots and stockings
were in the family lunch-basket that she carried, boy-like, swung over
her shoulder, and she covered the ground most of the time with a hop,
skip, and a jump, aided by a long stout stick.

"I suppose," she said, "we'll have to try the dangerous little coral
islands this time. I know that's where the black pearl is hidden."

"Oh dear," sighed Nancy, "I don't like curral islands a bit. Let's go
home to-day."

"Silly!" said Cyril loftily. "We've got to find the black pearl
somehow."

"It'll be worth hundreds and thousands of pounds," said Elizabeth. "Just
_think_ of taking that to mother, just _think_ of all we could do. It
wouldn't matter _then_ grandfather not speaking. _We_ could drive past
him in our carriage then! Come on my lass." This last was to Nancy.

"I want to go in the water, too, Betty," said the small lassie,
following at a trot. "Don't want to be your old wife. I've been your
wife for a lot of days now."

"I don't know who you mean when you say Betty," declared Elizabeth, and
leapt forward so far that the other two had to sharpen their pace
suddenly.

"Peter Lucky," said Nancy imploringly. "Oh, Peter Lucky, let Cywil be
your wife a bit--do."

"Cywil's"--it may be stated that Betty was still very backward sometimes
in the matter of r's--"Cywil's got to be my chum--don't be such a stupid
Nancy--er--Polly. He's got to try to murder me in the middle of the
night to get the pearl. Look here, we've only just put you in to amuse
you a bit, we can _just_ as well do without you."

Nancy's face fell. Such statements were lavishly used by these two
elders of hers towards herself. But the indignity she feared most was to
be told to go home and play with the baby, and she looked at her sister
with an eager smile now to stop the words if possible.

"Oh, don't do wivout me, Betty dear," she said. "I'll love to be your
wife. I was only thinking it would be nice to have your feet in the
water."

"You're six," said Betty. "You ought to be able to be my wife well
now--cook the dinner, and wash up, and all that. If you do well at
this, we'll see how you'll do as a man some day."

For a second they stopped befo