arpentering all our spare time since you left; Tricksy and all of
us. We'd never have stuck to it as we did if it hadn't been for Neil.'

'Good old Neil,' said Allan, giving the elder lad a friendly pat on the
shoulder. 'Well, I must say it's an awfully jolly place, and I wish
I'd been here while you were working on it.'

'There's plenty to do yet,' said Marjorie; 'we are going to make all
kinds of improvements. Mother and Mrs. Stewart can't make out how we
manage to spend so much time by ourselves and never come to any harm.'

They stood looking around for a few minutes and then Tricksy's voice
broke in, with a little laugh in it, 'Yes, these are very nice chairs,
and it's a very nice table; but are we going to get anything to put on
it?'

All the others laughed.

'Well,' said Allan, 'now I come to think of it, I _am_ a bit peckish.
What do you say, Hamish?'

'Yes,' said Marjorie energetically; 'bustle about, all of you, and
we'll have some dinner before we do anything else. Get some peats,
will you, Reggie; some of the shepherd's peat-stack is still there, and
it comes in very usefully for us.'

A fire was soon burning on the hearth, and Marjorie suggested that the
boys should go to the rocks on the farther side of the island and try
to catch a few fish while she and Tricksy made scones and boiled the
kettle.

The boys scrambled out as far as they could and threw out their lines;
and when half-a-dozen rock-cod had been caught they returned to find
Marjorie and Tricksy very busy over the fire, while a pile of hot
bannocks smoked beside them.

'Take the dishes and set the table,' said Marjorie, rubbing her eyes,
which smarted a little with 'peat reek,' for the chimney did not vent
very well.

'Where shall we set it?' asked Reggie.

'Outside, of course; what's the good of being in a house when it isn't
raining? Besides, it's smoky here.'

A tablecloth was spread on a sheltered piece of turf, and secured at
the corners with stones to keep it from blowing away; then the dishes
were set out upon it.

'What are the dogs about?' asked Marjorie, coming out of the cottage
with a plate of smoking fish.

'Rabbiting, I bet,' said Reggie, and began shouting, 'Laddie! Carlo!'

In a few minutes there was a scamper, and Laddie's head appeared above
a ridge, waiting with pricked-up ears to know what was required of him.

'Dinner, Lad!' said Reggie.

Laddie gave a yelp, sprang up and turned a somersault in th