looked for everywhere, and Fred promised a large reward to any
one who should bring it back; but all in vain. Sometimes fishermen
would come and tell how they had seen a sealkie on a skerry that was
not a bit frightened when they came near, but dropped into the water
when they tried to catch it. Others said that a sealkie had followed
their boat, and had looked at them as if it wanted to be friends; and
Fred was sure that it must be Trullya, for no wild seal acts like that.
But though he went to the places where these men had seen the seal,
_he_ never saw it. Then it happened that the Manse boys, passing
Havnholme one day, saw a seal creeping up to the old skeoe; and they
were quite sure that it was the lost Trullya, for wild seals don't go
up on land like that. Moreover, the seal kept looking around, and
never minding a boat not far off, and the boys were as convinced that
it was the Ha' pet as I am sure you are mine. They were going to land
at once and capture it, when Uncle Brues, with Harrison and fule-Tammy,
came along in this boat, and Uncle ordered the Manse boys to get along.
There was a row, for the boys stuck to it, and said they _would_ land,
for the island was Fred's, and the seal belonged to him as well. Of
course you know how uncle would rampage at that. He was so angry he
threatened to shoot them if they came one bit nearer; and they declared
afterwards that they were sure he would have done it. While the row
was going on the seal disappeared, and the boys, believing it had
dropped into the sea and that there was no hope of securing it, decided
to quit. But as they sailed away and uncle's boat landed, they saw the
poor sealkie's head peep round the skeoe; then there were shots fired,
and fule-Tammy shouted at the pitch of his voice, 'Ye've got him, sir,
got him! dead as a door-nail!' The Mitchells were too disgusted to
wait for anything more. They sailed home and told Fred."

"It was horrible, Yaspard--very horrible. How could uncle be so cruel
to a poor sealkie, and yet be so kind to me?"

Yaspard laughed. "There is a difference between you and Trullya,
Mootie! But now comes the nice bit of my story. The seal wasn't
killed at all! Fule-Tammy told me all about it. He said it had a
young one with it, and they had been spending the night in the skeoe.
Uncle does not often miss his mark, but he had missed when he shot at
the seal. Perhaps he missed on purpose, only shot to aggravate the
M