and laughter.

"Some fellows having a picnic," said Magnus, joyfully; "keep it up,
chappie, and we shall get some of the pickings--you see."

"Give them a--what-do-you-call-it?" said Joe. Whereupon Magnus startled
the air with a loud "coo-oo-ey!"

The sounds above ceased all of a sudden, and the weather seemed to
change to thundery.

Then a faint echo of the shout came back, and almost immediately
afterwards a gentleman appeared through the mist.

He was a young-looking man, who had apparently been bathing, and had not
had time to dress after it. He wore a curious sort of cap, with a wing
sticking out at either side, and carried in his hand a very elaborately
carved walking-stick.

"Please, can you tell us the way down to Llanberis?" asked Magnus,
thinking it better not to appear to notice the gentleman's _deshabille_.

The gentleman stared at the two boys in a startled sort of way, and
shrugged his shoulders.

"A foreigner," said Joe. "Try him in--what's-its--name--French."

"_S'il vous plait, pouvez vous dire nous le chemin a bas a Llanberis_?"
said Magnus, who was a capital French scholar.

It was not at all certain that the gentleman understood even this. He
pointed with his thumb over his shoulder up at the clouds, which was
certainly not the shortest way down to Llanberis. But as it was the
direction from which the sound of the knives and forks had proceeded, it
seemed as if nothing would be lost by following.

The gentleman, who in his excitement had clean forgotten about his
garments, hurried the boys up the hill at a terrific pace, until all of
a sudden they got out of the clouds and saw clear ahead.

The scene was a remarkable one--Magnus's idea of a picnic had been a
correct, one. But such a picnic!

A party of some fifteen persons, not by any means all gentlemen, was
sitting round a medium-sized table, spread with cups and dishes. The
entire company, if they had not been bathing, were apparently preparing
to do so, except one gentleman, who was so encased in armour that it
would have been a very tedious job to take it off, and one lady, who was
also got up in a military fashion, and carried a very ugly shield on her
arm. The person at the head of the table was an imposing-looking
gentleman, who held a sort of stuffed football in his hand, and had a
tame eagle perched on his shoulder. Near him was a very good-looking,
self-satisfied fellow with long curls, who had evidently been
enter