"
He began to walk down the beach with her.
"I should like to speak to you--er--about your brother, Miss Brown,"
he began, "if you can spare me the time, of course. I trust I do not
er--intrude or presume. He is a charming little man but--er--I
fear--not veracious. May I accompany you a little on your way? I
am--er--much attracted to your--er--family. I--er--should like to know
you all better. I am--er--deeply attached to your--er--little brother,
but grieved to find that he does not--er--adhere to the truth in his
statements. I--er----"
Miss Brown's blue eyes were dancing with merriment.
"Oh, don't you worry about William," she said. "He's _awful_. It's
much best just to leave him alone. Isn't the sea gorgeous to-day?"
They walked along the sands.
Meanwhile William had invited his small defender into his hut.
"You can look round," he said graciously. "You've seen my skin what
I--he--killed, haven't you? This is my gun. You put a cork in there
and it comes out hard when you shoot it. It would kill anyone,"
impressively, "if you did it near enough to them and at the right
place. An' I've got a dormouse, an' a punchball, an' a box of things,
an' a football, but they wouldn't let me bring them," bitterly.
"It's a _lovely_ skin," said the little girl. "What's your name?"
"William. What's yours?"
"Peggy."
"Well, let's be on a desert island, shall we? An' nothin' to eat nor
anything, shall we? Come on.
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