e air and
came running, followed by Carlo, who yapped with excitement, his ears
flying behind him and his curly black coat covered with earth and
stalks from burrowing in the rabbit-holes.

'Trust, Laddie,' said Tricksy; and the collie lay down obediently with
his nose on his paws. Carlo stretched himself beside him, but was
unable to restrain his impatience, and sat up more than once and
begged, undeterred by warnings from Laddie, who feared that his little
friend's disobedience might get him into trouble.

'Isn't it awfully jolly having dinner out-of-doors?' said Marjorie,
whose short curly hair was blowing about her face and glistening in the
sun, while her blue eyes danced with merriment.

'Much nicer than indoors,' said Tricksy. 'I wish we could live here
altogether.'

'Jolly tired you'd get of it,' growled Reggie; 'wait till it rains, and
you find yourself shut up with half-a-dozen other people, and both the
dogs, in one little smoky room. You'd tell another tale then.'

'What I will be wondering, Miss Marjorie,' said Neil; 'iss why you will
all be taking so much trouble to keep every one but ourselves from
knowing that you have this place?'

'It is only for a little while,' replied Marjorie. 'Of course we will
bring father and mother over here for a picnic some day and give them a
surprise.'

'And _my_ father and mother too,' piped Tricksy; 'we wouldn't want to
keep a thing from Mummie, except just for a little while, for fun.'

'Then how iss it that you will be finding so much pleasure in having a
secret just now?'

Marjorie looked out to sea with a puzzled expression.

'I don't know,' she said at last, with a little laugh; 'except that
it's such fun knowing that we've got a secret!'

'I've been thinking,' said Allan, who was lying full length upon a
ridge and looking towards Inchkerra, 'while we are having such a jolly
time of it over here, what must be the feelings of the man who stole
those letters, now he knows that the police are after him!'

The others all looked towards the island, where they could see the low,
grey cottages of the little village.

'It seems strange that they haven't got him yet,' observed Marjorie.

'I met MacLean the constable from Stornwell this morning,' said Hamish,
'and he told me that they had no trace as yet, and that they believed
it must have been done by some stranger who came over from the
mainland, and got away immediately after the robbery.'

'I hope s