pite of our Compact and everything else, we haven't been able
to do him a bit of good!'

The others assented by their silence.

'And I don't believe we ever shall,' continued Marjorie, 'we don't seem
to have set about it the right way, somehow.'

The boys looked so downcast that Marjorie judged it inadvisable to
pursue the subject further and they mounted their ponies and rode
slowly in the direction of Ardnavoir.

Half-way down the hill they discovered Tricksy sitting on a clump of
heather, with Hamish beside her and Laddie curled at her feet.

'You are nice, kind people,' said Tricksy reproachfully, 'going away
like that and leaving me all alone!'

'Why, Tricksy,' began Marjorie, 'why didn't you go with the others?'

'Go with the others!' echoed Tricksy, 'do you think I could run up the
hill as they did? If it hadn't been for Hamish I shouldn't have seen
anything. Then leaving me all alone too.'

'But, Tricksy, where are Harry and Gerald?'

'I don't know, I'm sure. Gone off somewhere by themselves, and I came
to meet you with Hamish. I think you might have let me come with you.'

'Don't be a little silly, Tricksy,' said Reggie irritably; 'you are too
little to go all that distance.'

'Too little!' cried Tricksy, exasperated; 'I'm not too little to be
sent messages for the others, and I'm not too little to dig in the
garden and carry stones for the Pirates' Den; I'm only too little when
it's a jolly piece of fun that you want to keep to yourselves. Oh,
Laddie, dear,' to the dog who had jumped up and was licking her face,
'you are the only nice ones, you and Hamish'--and she threw her arms
round the collie's neck to hide a tear. 'Don't lick my face though,'
she added, with a change of manner that forced a laugh even from the
tired and weary adventurers.

'You haven't shown them what you found, Tricksy,' said Hamish.

'No,' said Tricksy, 'neither I have,' and she fumbled in her pocket and
drew out a crumpled paper which she gave to Allan.

Her brother looked at it.

'What's this?' he said. 'I don't understand.'

'Look at the number, Allan, and the date,' said Hamish.

Allan examined the paper; then flushed to the ears.

'Tricksy, you little owl,' he burst out; 'to think of you going on
about your potty little feelings and wounded dignity and all that when
you had _this_ to show us.'

CHAPTER X

IN WHICH ALLAN IS VERY WISE

'I--I--I didn't know,' stammered poor Tricksy.

'What is i