Laddie was obliged to content himself with glaring at the other dogs and making a few remarks to express his contempt for gipsy dogs, and his view of their impertinence in presuming to look at his young ladies and gentlemen. 'Tell your fortune, pretty lady,' said a woman to Marjorie, with a smile which displayed her white teeth; but Marjorie shook her head. 'You are leaving Inchkerra?' said Allan to one of the men. 'Yes, sir. We start for Ireland to-morrow, in a sailing boat.' 'You haven't stayed very long,' observed Marjorie. 'Three months, lady. A long time for the gipsies.' 'Will you ever come back again?' inquired Marjorie. The man shook his head. 'Can't say, lady. Maybe yes, maybe no. We never can tell. Thanks, master; good luck to you,' he said, touching his straggling forelock as Allan slipped a few coins into his hand. 'Good-bye, masters; good-bye, pretty ladies,' cried the gipsies in farewell. Some distance from the hollow, a tall, loosely-made youth rose unexpectedly from where he had been basking in the sun, by the side of a dyke which screened him from the cold wind. In the weak, handsome face and roving eyes the young people recognised Gibbie, the half-witted gipsy lad. An expression of disappointment crossed his face as he looked over the group and seemed to miss some one. 'Neil no with you,' he murmured. 'Want to see Neil. Was not at home.' 'Can we give him any message from you?' inquired Allan. 'Tell Neil, Gibbie go away. Long way; want to see Neil to say good-bye.' 'Very well,' said Allan. 'When we see him, we'll tell him.' A crafty smile flitted over the lad's face, and he lowered his voice to a mysterious whisper. 'Neil will be pleased soon,' he said. 'Good Neil, good Neil. Neil will be very rich, richer than the Gorjos; has a piece of paper worth hundreds of pounds. Tell him to look for it. Gibbie go long way off.' 'Poor fellow,' observed Allan to Hamish, as the gipsy returned to his lazy basking on the heather; 'he is quite crazy; can't speak connectedly for two minutes at a time.' 'There is one good point in Gibbie's character,' said Hamish; 'he knows that Neil saved his life, and he is grateful. I think the island won't be sorry to see the last of him, though. He hasn't lived with his tribe for weeks. He had a den of his own in the banks of the burn that flows past our house; a queer place, far up in the hills.' 'Look,' said Reggie, 'that must be the gipsies' boat over there, off the south side of the island; and a little boat is going out to it with some of their things.' 'And there are the carts going down,' said Allan; 'it won't be long before the camp is broken up.'