"I knew it did not mean that," said Jock, hanging his mischievous
black head a little, as he felt her shudder; "but I thought it would
be such fun to be Columbus."

"And then? Oh! my boys, what a fearful thing! Thank God I have you
here."

"I wasn't frightened," said Jock, with uplifted head; "we could both
row, couldn't we, Armie? and the tide was going out, and it was so
jolly; it seemed to take us just where we wanted to go, out to that
great rock, you know, mother, that Bobus called the Asses' Bridge."

Carey knew that the current at the mouth of the river did, at high
tide, carry much drift to the base of this island, and she could
understand how her two boys had been floated thither. Jock went on—-

"We had a boat-hook, and I pulled up to the island; I did, mother,
and I made fast the boat to a little stick, and we went out to
explore the island."

"It has a crater in the top, mother, and we think it must be an
instinct volcano," said Armine, looking up sleepily.

"And there were such lots of jolly little birds," went on Jock.

"Never mind that now. What happened?"

"Why, the brute of a boat got away," said Jock, much injured, "when
I'd made her ever so fast. She pulled up the stick, I'm sure she
did, for I can tie a knot as well as Pete."