'Well, Tricksy,' said the boy; 'tired of waiting, eh?' 'Yes,' replied his sister, 'you've been a long time, and I'm cold. I don't see why I shouldn't go down the cliffs with the rest of you. Laddie's tired of waiting too.' The collie rose upon hearing his name mentioned, and thrust his nose into the boy's hand, wagging his tail and looking as though he would say, 'Come along now, do; and tell the others to come; you've played at that dangerous game long enough; let's all have a jolly scamper after rabbits!' A red cap appeared over the edge of the cliff, followed immediately by a laughing face framed in a crop of fair curly hair; then a girl scrambled on to firm ground. 'Hulloa, Reggie! are you there already?' she said. 'How many have you got?' 'Five,' said Reggie, displaying the contents of his pockets; 'an auk's, two puffin's, and two kittiwake's. Aren't they prettily marked?' 'Beauties,' replied the girl, examining the eggs. 'Better get Neil to blow them for you; he always does it the best. I have only two, and another broke as I was getting it out; but oh, it was glorious down on these ledges! I'd like to have a scramble like this every morning!' 'I daresay,' broke in an exasperated little voice; 'fine fun for you others to get up at four in the morning when the steamer isn't expected until six, and go scrambling about on the rocks, getting sea-birds' eggs, saying that you'll only be five minutes, and then stay an hour!' The child spoke in little rushes and gushes, and her eyes twinkled and looked pathetic by turns in her little dark, round face. 'An hour, Tricksy! It can't have been so long as that!' 'Indeed it was, Marjorie, because I have Reggie's watch; he left it with me, and it has been rather tiresome waiting here, when you know I mayn't climb the rocks as you do.' 'Poor Tricksy, what a shame! It's too bad of us, leaving you alone all that time. Just wait until you are a year or two older, and then your mother will let you climb like the rest of us. Who would have thought that we had been away so long! Time _does_ go so quickly when you're scrambling about for eggs!' She looked around with bright, fearless blue eyes; a tall, slight girl of fifteen, with a face so tanned by sun and wind as almost to have lost its extreme fairness, and with the quick, free movements which speak of perfect health and an open-air life. 'Hulloa,' said Reggie suddenly; 'there's the steamer!' 'Where?' asked both the girls eagerly. 'Over there, just rounding the headland, quite in the distance; you can see the trail of smoke, She won't be in for some time yet.' For a minute or two the young people stood watching the grey line upon the horizon; then Marjorie said-- 'She's coming along pretty quickly. Hadn't we better call the others and let them know?' 'Yes, do,' said Reggie; and hollowing their hands, they shouted, 'Neil!--Hamish!--hulloa!--the steamer!'