"The Mansion" looked like a little castle in the green landscape, indeed it was like a stupendous palace in its solitude. The house was built of wood and painted white, with many bow-windows in its walls and roof, and a flag flew on the round tower when there were visitors. People called it the Castle. And outside its grounds lay the bay to one side, and to the other the great forests; far away some little farms were to be seen. Johannes appeared at the landing-stage and got the young people into the boat. He knew them of old; they were the children of the "Castle" and their friends from town. They all had on high boots for wading; but Victoria, who only had little shoes on and besides was not more than ten, she had to be carried ashore when they reached the island. "Shall I carry you?" asked Johannes. "Let me!" said Otto, the gentleman from town, a man nearly old enough to leave school, and he took her in his arms. Johannes stood and watched her being carried high up on land and heard her thanks. Then Otto looked back: "Well, you'll look after the boat--what was his name?" "Johannes," answered Victoria. "Yes, he'll look after the boat." He was left behind. The others went off into the island, carrying baskets for collecting eggs. He stood pondering for a while; he would have liked to go with the others and they could have dragged the boat ashore for the matter of that. Too heavy? It wasn't too heavy. And he laid his fist on the boat and hauled it up a little way. He heard the laughter and chatter of the young party growing fainter. All right, good-bye for the present. But they might have taken him with them. He knew of nests that he could have taken them to, wonderful hidden holes in the rock, where lived birds of prey with tufts on their beaks. And once he had seen a stoat. He shoved the boat off and started to row round to the other side of the island. He had rowed a good way when they shouted to him: "Row back. You're scaring the birds." "I only wanted to show you where the stoat lives?" he answered tentatively. He waited a moment. "And then we could smoke out the snakes' nest? I've got some matches." He got no answer. Then he turned the boat and rowed back to the landing-place. He drew the boat up.