than usual at the sight of her. Certainly he shook hands and congratulated
her upon such early hours.

"This is an unexpected pleasure, Joan. You must have been up betimes
indeed."

"Iss fay, us took breakfus' by five, an' faither sailed 'fore half-past.
'Tis busy times for fishin' folk when the mackerl begins shoalin'."

"I'm glad I came back to my den in the fields yonder and didn't stop in
Newlyn last night. You must see my little cow-byre some day or other, Joan.
I've made it wonderfully snug. Farmer Ford is good enough to let me take
possession of it for the present; and I've got food and drink stowed away,
and a beautiful bed of sweet, withered bracken. I sleep well there, and the
dawn comes in and wakens me."

"You ban't feared o' piskeys nor nothin' in a lawnsome plaace like thicky
byre?"

"No, no--the rats are rather intrusive, though."

"But they'm piskeys or spriggans so like's not! You see, the lil people
takes all manner o' shaapes, Mister Jan; an' they chaanges 'em tu, but
every time they chaanges they've got to alter into somethin' smaller than
what they was before. An' so, in coorse of time, they do say they comes
down into muryans an' such like insects."

"Piskeys or no piskeys, I've caught several in a trap and killed them."

"They'm gashly things, rats, an' I shouldn't think as no good piskeys would