Harry looked at Marjorie's tall young figure, and then at Reggie's smaller and slighter one, and arrived at the conclusion which particularly annoyed Reggie; that the girl disdained to quarrel with a boy so much younger than herself.
Marjorie turned her bright face towards them.
'Find it tiring, walking on the heather?' she said. 'It's very fatiguing when you're not accustomed to it. We might take a rest after we've climbed this hill; there's a beautiful view from the top.'
It was a steep climb, and when they reached the summit, all the young folk were glad to fling themselves down on the short, fragrant heather.
The breeze came laden with the scent of wild thyme and heather and salt from the sea; and the only live creatures save themselves were the mountain sheep and the crested plovers, and grey gulls which wheeled above the heads of the wayfarers.
Harry looked about him with brightening eyes.
'What an awfully jolly place this is of yours,' he said. 'I say, you do see a lot from the top of this hill.'
He was right. The hill crest commanded a view of nearly the whole island, with green fields and moors, and the white roads stretching across them; houses and cottages in their little gardens; and the village with the pier jutting out into the sea. One or two larger islands were in the distance; brown rocks and skerries lying like dots upon the blue water; and away to the east the Highland hills rose among the clouds.
'It must be awfully jolly, having an island all to yourselves,' continued Harry.
'Yes,' replied Marjorie, perched on a boulder, 'and it's jollier still to have an island of your very own, where no one comes but ourselves, and we can do exactly as we like.'