clothes. Sandy Crumpet came early, and the two boys went off to
play, leaving Jean standing on a stone in the middle of the burn,
soaping the clothes and scrubbing them on the flat surface of a
rock. The water was so cold it made her arms ache, and she soon
decided to let the fast-running stream do the washing for her.
She soaped the garments well, weighted them down with stones, and
then went to join the boys. She found them flat on their stomachs
by the stream, gazing down into a pool of clear water.

"What do you see?" she called out to them.

"Trout," answered Jock, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Let me take a keek," said Jean, flopping down beside them and
craning her neck over the edge.

They were all three peering with breathless interest into the
water when a strange voice behind them made them jump. For an
instant they thought it might be Angus Niel.

"Hello!" said the voice.

The children whirled around, and there before them stood a boy
not much older than themselves, but taller and thinner. He had a
pale face with large black eyes and dark hair partly covered with
a Glengarry bonnet set rakishly over one ear. He wore a suit of
gray tweed with plaid-topped stockings, and carried a fishing-rod
over his shoulder.

"Hello!" said the stranger again.