"Well, what was it like?" was his laconic welcome, accompanied by a glance of disapproval. "Not at all nice. I didn't want to remain--although I possessed a magnificent pearl. I felt so horribly ill--as though I had some dreadful disease. What a life pearl-oysters must have if they feel like that!" "I've heard pearls _is_ a disease." "Then how horrid of you to let me have it. You ought to have told me." "How could I? You were in such a hurry. I couldn't do anything. You were just the same over that wretched mole. I do wish you wouldn't go off like that again; you know you promised you wouldn't." "I forgot. But it's the Wishes that go off so quick." "I say! Where was your bracelet, Dulcie, when you were an oyster?" "Don't know," she answered, pondering. "I s'pose it must have melted. Oh yes, of course I remember--it had grown very small, and formed a sort of little boundary all round me inside my shell; it's here all right now. I can't think--let me see, what were we talking about before I went away? There was something I was going to tell you. What _were_ we talking about, Cyril?" "Sea-serpents." "Oh yes. Well, I was going to tell you, there must be Sea-serpents, 'cos you remember it being in the papers and our seeing a picture of one." "But that was all stuff and nonsense." "No it wasn't." "Well, look here, we'll soon find out, little Duffer. I wish I were a Sea-serpent!" "I'm not a Duffer, after all," was Dulcie's first thought as Cyril vanished into what looked like the end of a wriggling tail--a tail so long that it stretched right out of view, and she realised this must be part of her own brother. It was slowly moving away. "Don't go and leave me," she cried appealingly, clutching hold of the great scaly thing. But it moved quicker, dragging her along. So, in her anxiety she clambered on top of it, sat down, and found to her surprise that its undulating movement of progress formed a regular switchback, and that she was travelling along its back towards its head in a most pleasant and delightful manner. "What a funny thing to happen!" And she laughed. "But whatever will occur when I get to the end! And what yards and yards of him there seem to be!" All this she wondered and heaps more, till at last she saw the creature's huge neck looming high up in front of her; when she got there it stopped her progress. It turned its head round--which resembled that of a giraffe--and its mild eyes looked kindly at her; and what was most comic, yet comforting, it wore a nose-ring of gold set with catseyes. [Illustration: _What a glorious ride that was!_] She patted its neck affectionately; and then with a mighty glide of long duration the huge creature took her up, up, until, with her still on its back, gracefully reclining against its neck, the Sea-serpent arose with her above the surface of the Ocean. Certainly, no one now would have taken them for twins.