‘I don’t believe you would, you dear little maid.’
‘I tell ’ee what,’ cried the child, making a big resolve: ‘I will take—— There! Great-Grannie is coming up the stairs. Good-night till to-morrow.’
The ancient dame was up with the sun the next day, and made Gerna and Gelert get up too, that no time might be lost in looking for the Piskey-purse. She would hardly give them time to eat their breakfast, so greedy was she to have the Small People’s golden money.
As she was taking down her sunbonnet, she knocked over a heavy piece of wood, which fell on her big toe, and it hurt her so badly that, much to her vexation, she had to let the children go without her.
The tide was in when they got down to the bay, and so smooth and still was it that ‘it couldn’t wash up anything, even if it wanted to,’ said Gelert crossly.
He turned over all the seaweed at high-water mark, but saw nothing except sea-fleas.
When the tide was far enough down, Gerna went all over the beach with her brother; but as she had already found the lost purse, she picked up shells instead.
‘I don’t b’lieve you want to find the Piskey-purse, Gerna Carnsew,’ growled Gelert, when he saw what she was doing. ‘I don’t b’lieve you want to have the Small People’s golden pieces one little bit.’
‘I didn’t say I did,’ cried Gerna, which made the boy so angry that he went off to the other side of the bar to look for the purse alone.
Gerna was stooping to pick up a shell, of which there were many on the sands to-day, when the little Brown Man came up to her, doffed his three-cornered hat, and grinned into her face.