The little old Bargeman did not speak again till a roaring fell on their ears.
‘It is the noise of water breaking on Padstow Doombar,’ he said, as the little Piskey looked frightened.
‘I thought it was Giant Tregeagle howling,’ gasped the little Piskey.
‘He hasn’t tried to lift his sand-ropes yet, and he won’t begin his howl of rage till he finds how brittle they are,’ said the Little Bargeman.’ And a very good thing for you,’ he added; ‘for he will be far too angry to tell you whether he has seen your laugh when the ropes of sand break in his great hand. There! we are close now to the great outer sea,’ he cried, as the thunder of waves broke more loudly on their ears, and they saw the light of many stars through a narrow opening; and the next minute the little Barge came out into Trebetherick Bay.
‘You only have to go up across the hillocks,’ said the little old Bargeman, helping the little Piskey out of the barge, ‘and if you follow your nose you will soon get to where the Giant is busy making sand-ropes.’
‘Thank you for bringing me,’ said the little Piskey; but he never knew whether he was heard or not, for the Tiny Bargeman and his ancient Barge vanished as he spoke.
The Piskey made haste to follow his nose, and he scrambled up a sand-bank, and hastened as fast as his feet could take him over the sandy common, till he came to the place where Giant Tregeagle was sitting making sand-ropes to bind his trusses of sand which lay all around him. He was sitting by a hillock, his great head showing just above it, when the Piskey came near.
The little Piskey climbed nearly to the top of the hillock, and when he got close to the Giant’s ear he shouted:
‘I am the little Piskey who told you he had lost his laugh. Please stop making sand-ropes for a minute and tell me if you have seen it.’
But the big Giant took no notice of the tiny voice, and went on making his ropes of sand.