pointed towards Hobden's cottage. 'It was too early for any
workmen, but it passed through my mind that the breaking day
was Thor's own day. A slow north-east wind blew up and set the
oaks sawing and fretting in a way I remembered; so I slipped over
to see what I could see.'

'And what did you see?'
'A smith forging something or other out of Cold Iron. When it
was finished, he weighed it in his hand (his back was towards me),
and tossed it from him a longish quoit-throw down the valley. I
saw Cold Iron flash in the sun, but I couldn't quite make out
where it fell. That didn't trouble me. I knew it would be found
sooner or later by someone.'

'How did you know?'Dan went on.

'Because I knew the Smith that made it,' said Puck quietly.

'Wayland Smith?' Una suggested. [See 'Weland's Sword' in PUCK
OF POOK'S HILL.]

'No. I should have passed the time o' day with Wayland Smith,
of course. This other was different. So' - Puck made a queer
crescent in the air with his finger - 'I counted the blades of grass
under my nose till the wind dropped and he had gone - he and his
Hammer.'

'Was it Thor then?' Una murmured under her breath.

'Who else? It was Thor's own day.' Puck repeated the sign. 'I