United States or Anguilla ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
One suggestion was that a Manse boy was to return to Boden in the Osprey, tell the tale, and bring Gloy away; but that plan was rejected, because Yaspard declared that his "followers" would seize the messenger, and hold both him and Gloy as hostages for their captain. Then a brilliant idea occurred to Harry, who had always been the most reflecting boy of the lot. "I'll tell you what to do.
Tom and Harry instantly got the right kind of inspiration about the matter, and replied, "All right, we're your men! strongest fend off!" but Gloy exclaimed, "I think he must be going off his head," and Bill called out furiously, "Conquer us! come and try, if you dare." "Impudence!" shouted Tom. "Tuts, man, let him haver," said Harry; then to Yaspard, "Well, go on."
When she had disappeared in a curve of the fiord, a tiny punt came out from behind some crags which formed part of the geo. The punt was propelled by no unskilful hand, although its solitary occupant used a geological hammer more often than an oar. We may judge what Gloy Winwick felt like when he recognised the new-comer to be the dreaded Laird of Boden!
"The Osprey won't take long to run into Burra Wick," said Tom; "and we must make a jolly good breakfast here before returning to civilised life." "There will be time to inspect the Stack, I hope," Harry remarked. "We must have a full report of this isle that has a bad name, according to Gloy."
Gloy and Bill had taken advantage of the attention of the others being chiefly directed to those on shore, and had, as if by accident, swam nearer to the boats. Then Gloy had held the Harrisons in talk while Bill quietly contrived to swim to that side of the Laulie which was farthest from the other boat. No one was aware of his movements until he had swiftly crawled into the Laulie.
Yaspard is a baby in some ways, I am told; and he never exchanges a word with gentlemen's sons lives horribly alone, you know. Let's humour him a bit, and see what it will come to." Tom grunted, but Bill and Gloy seconded Harry, so Harry called out, "I say, you might as well come on shore first and tell us what's up, and then let us start fair all round."
Before parting they engaged in a preliminary combat we might be nearer the right term for it if we called it a knightly joust. Gloy and Pirate were not in the tournament, for Yaspard had said the magic words "On guard" to his dog, and pointed out Gloy, who did not from that moment dare to move from the spot.
Take out a patent, and you'll make a fortune out of us, for we love that sort of thing better than a miser loves his money." "I'm burning tae hear Gloy's story," said Lowrie, as soon as Tom gave any one a chance to speak. So Gloy was shoved to the front, and bidden to "speak up, and speak quick," which he did right willingly. "It was Mr. Adiesen in his dingy," he said.
Gloy resigned himself to fate, and patting the dog, he assured Yaspard that he didn't mind staying in the geo a few hours even days if that would help to demolish the quarrels which had kept poor young Adiesen so isolated from his kind. "You're a brick," the others declared. Then Pirate got his instructions, and the Osprey went on her homeward way.
"Swarta Stack gets a bad name for mair raisons than ane," Gloy Winwick remarked, as the Osprey made for the island, according to Harry's suggestions. "Is it haunted?" Gibbie asked. "I dinna ken aboot that," replied his cousin.