"Father," she said at last, "you don't really want to keep people out of the castle altogether, do you?"
"Certainly not, if they behave themselves," said her father, "but the mischief is that they don't."
"But suppose, father, that there was some one always there to see that they did behave, would you mind?"
"Of course not," replied her father, "but you know, Prissy, I can't afford to keep a man down on the island to see that sixpenny trippers don't pull down my castle stone by stone, or break their own necks by falling into the dungeon."
Prissy thought a little while, and then tried a new tack.
"Father"--she went a little nearer to him and stroked the cuff of his coat-sleeve--"does the land beyond the bridge belong to you?"
Mr. Picton Smith moved away his hand. Her mother used to do just that, and somehow the memory hurt. Nevertheless, all unconsciously, the touch of the child's hand softened him.
"No, Prissy," he said wonderingly, "but what do you know about such things?"
"Nothing at all," she answered, "but I am trying to learn. I want everybody to love you, and think you as nice as I know you to be. Don't you think you could let some one you knew very well live in the little lodge by the white bridge, and keep out the horrid people, or see that they behaved themselves?"
"The town would never agree to that," said her father, not seeing where he was being led.
"Don't you think the town's people would if you gave them the sixpences all for themselves?"
Her father pushed back his chair in great astonishment and looked at Prissy.
"Little girl," he said very gravely, "who has been putting all this into your head? Has anybody told you to come to me about this?"
Prissy shook her head quickly, then she looked down as if embarrassed.
"Well, what is it? Go on!" said her father, but the words were more softly spoken than you would think only to see them printed.
"Nobody told me about anything--I just thought about it all myself, father," she answered, taking courage from a certain look in Mr. Smith's eyes; "once I heard you say that the money was what the town's-people cared about. And--and--well, I knew that Jane Housemaid wanted to get married to Tom Cannon, and you see they can't, because Tom has not enough wages to take a house."