She handed Alick to nurse, and stood staring after him as he leant his round red face over her shoulder and waved his chubby hands.  When they all disappeared on to the parade at the top of the cliff she turned and flew over the sands.

“Take off your shoes and stockings,” shouted the twins; “us both always do.”  And Susie, without a thought, unlaced her boots, and flung them hither and thither, never stopping to look behind her or to be sure that they were safe.  The water was quite warm and the sea was sapphire blue.  It was a very low tide, and the rocks stretched away to a long, low island, crowned with grass, where a few nimble goats perched on unlikely crags.  From rock to rock flew Susie’s active feet, but Dot was always ahead; and so, slipping, splashing, torn by the rocks, drenched with the warm spray, Susie revelled in a long hour of liberty.  She was wild with excitement, eager to come again, full of reckless promises.

“We’ll go as far as the island another day,” said Dot, “but we have to choose a low tide.  Aren’t you glad now that you didn’t go home and play like a baby?”

Susie was hastily rubbing the sand out of her toes and hunting for her stockings.  Her feet were very cold, and her fingers seemed thumbs.  She did not answer Dot.  She did not feel quite sure what to say; things always looked so different before and after, and what nurse had said about a wearing time stuck in her mind.

“Well, aren’t you?” said Dot impatiently.

“No,” said Susie bluntly.

She stopped to lace Tom’s boots, and then looked up with a face that had grown suddenly red.

“I can’t help it,” she said desperately, “but I never am glad afterwards.”

She went on lacing laboriously, whilst Tom lay on his face kicking and plunging about.  Dot looked at her curiously.

“But you wanted to come on the rocks?” she said.

“Oh yes,” said Susie.  “I shall always want to come, but I shall be sorry afterwards.  I think I ought to warn you because I am like that.  I can’t help it.  It is silly of nurse,” she went on, as she tied the lace in a draggled knot.  “Why shouldn’t we play with you?  I feel perfectly certain—­” She seemed to remember using those words before on an unfortunate occasion, so she hastily changed them.  “I am quite sure that you are a very good companion.  Me and Tom couldn’t learn any harm from you.”

She was persuading herself, not the twins, but it was a twin who answered.

“We can have lots of fun,” said Dot, “and no one will know.  The first chance we will cut over the rocks to the town and buy some sweets.”

“Generally I have to look after the little ones,” said Susie.

“Well, no one would eat them if they stayed here alone till you came back, would they, stupid?”

“No,” said Susie, rather shortly.

She was not quite sure that she liked being called “stupid.”