Lunda and wir ploys and vaidges, and hoo he wanted tae hae the
like too;--weel, the Laird o' Boden mused like upo' what I said; and
then he took oot his pocketbook and wrate a peerie letter wi' his
pencil. And then he bade me come inta the dingy, and I was tae row
ower tae Lunda wi' him. Sae I did as I was bid--after asking his leave
tae pit yon message for you upo' the rod. He asked me a heap aboot wis
a'--I mean aboot the Manse folk, and Dr. Holtum's bairns, and maist
aboot our young Laird and Miss Isobel and the lady. And when we cam'
tae Lunda he bade me land and carry the note he had written tae Dr.
Holtum, and after that I was tae do as I liked aboot mysel'. Then he
rowed awa' again. And so noo my tale is ended;" and, having so
delivered himself of the longest speech he ever made in his life, Gloy
sprawled on the turf, and lay kicking his heels in the sunshine,
feeling himself to be the hero of the hour.

Yaspard drew a long breath. He could scarcely believe it true that his
uncle had allowed himself to be so near Lunda, and to be so interested
in its young people. "What next, I wonder?" he muttered, and looked at
Fred, who answered the inquiry in the Viking's gaze by saying--

"I am not at liberty to tell what Mr. Adiesen wrote to Dr. Holtum; but
it wasn't like what he wrote to _me_, and it wasn't bad at all. So let
your mind be at rest on that point. You are as free as ever to carry
on your Viking course."

"Father said," Tom interrupted, "that _we_ are now at liberty to bring
you as a prisoner to Lunda, if we can catch you as easily as you caught
Gloy, so you will have to look out."

"I'll be delighted, quite delighted!" was the answer, which sent the
enemy into fits of laughter.

Then Harry asked, trying to look very grave, and extending the tin pail
towards Yaspard--

"You accept this ransom, and the captive is free?"

"Place the precious ore in our bark," said the Viking chief, handing
the pail to Gibbie.

"And take care," said Harry, "that you don't scrape your bark on an oar
as you do it."

"The perpetrator of such atrocious puns ought to be severely punished,"
retorted Yaspard.

"He is always sorry for them afterwards," said Bill.

"I wish I were _not_ free," muttered Gloy. "I wanted to go to
Noostigard," and he exchanged regretful looks with his cousins; but
Fred lifted the cloud from their spirits.

"I am going to ask you," he said, addressing Yaspard, "to take me with
you to