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The next afternoon over in Wicklow near the coast, Kiely Gaelic Tours decided to go separate ways, not that they needed to divide and conquer their American clients. Cara would stay with Martha in town to visit the museum, shop and have lunch before heading back to McCredie's. Her brother Aiden would escort the Muir children down the coast on a scenic hike along the shore. The kids filled their backpacks with a box lunch, sweatshirts, and a plastic rain poncho among other things. As they walked along the rugged shoreline, they took delight in exploring tide pools and climbed nimbly over boulders slippery with snags of kelp and seaweed. Aiden complimented his charges. "The pair of youse are hardy sorts. Looks to me like you're old hands at a stroll such as this."

Jonathan grinned up at Aiden, who by now he considered his big brother, "We are, Aiden! This is just like home in Schooner Bay!"

"Tis?"

"Aye," Candy said automatically, her vocabulary now influenced by her favorite maritime hero. "We have our own beach. We walk our dog Scruffy there just about every day when the weather is good."

Aiden smiled down at the two blonde-headed kids with toothy grins. "Right enough? That there must be a wheeker of a place to call home. I should like to visit one day and you two can be my tour guide."

Candy nodded enthusiastically. "That would be so groovy! We have a great big house—"

"Gull Cottage," Jonathan interjected.

"You and Cara can both come and stay with us," his sister continued excitedly, "that would be so cool! We never knew anyone from Ireland before." She was staring up with adoringly puppy dog eyes at Aiden Kiely.

Her brother frowned as he walked over to pick up an interesting looking clump of seaweed. "Nuh-uh. What about Captain Gregg? He was born in Ireland, 'member?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

Aiden was amused. "You call your dad "Captain?"

"Uh huh," Jonathan explained. "He is—was—a sea captain—

"—in the Navy," Candy added.

"Anyway, when Mom met our Dad, we always called him Captain Gregg, then they got married on Christmas and now we get to call him "dad", too." The boy held up the seaweed. "We don't have this kind, it looks different."

Aiden came over to see what Jonathan was talking about. "Oh right—that's called "dulse". You know before there was Beeman packets of gum, the old-time fishermen would set this stuff out to dry and use it like chewing gum." He hefted a dark green clump and held it out to Candy for a sniff.

"Yuck. No thank you!" she back away.

Aiden chuckled and tossed the kelp away. "What say we break out our lunches? I'm getting hungry. Aren't you?" He knelt and scooped up a handful of sand and rubbed his hands together, then wiped them on his dungarees. The children agreed. The wind had come up off the ocean making the day a little brisk. Aiden led the kids over to an outcropping of rocks and large boulders to have their picnic sheltered from the worst of the wind. They all dug into their backpacks for their sandwiches and pulled on their sweatshirts as they settled down for their seaside picnic on a blanket Aiden pulled from his backpack.

The wind and water can carry sounds a long way. Jonathan heard the noise first, it sounded vaguely familiar. "Hey you guys. Listen!"

Candy had been preoccupied listening to one of Aiden's charming tales. "Listen to what, Jonathan?"

"Just listen! It sounded like—" Just then the wind carried a plaintive, deep groaning bark to their ears. "Did you hear that?" Jonathan Muir scrambled up to peer over the boulder he had been leaning against. The noise reached the picnickers once more. "There it is again, Candy!"

"I heard it that time. It sounds like…"

"Algae!" they said in unison.

Aiden looked from one child to another. "Algae?"

"It was the name of our seal," the boy explained.

"You had a pet seal?" Aiden sputtered in surprise.

"Sort of," Candy jumped up and joined her brother. "Let's go! It sounds like over there!" The siblings kicked up sand and pebbles as they ran towards the strange sound.

"Hey now! Wait!" Aiden called in alarm, but the Muir's were off at a tear up the beach. Kiely hastened to catch up with the kids, but his long legs tripped him up as he raced over tangled driftwood, rocks and sand dunes. He saw his charges slow to a halt around a little jut of land.

"Oh look! The poor thing!" Candy cried. It was indeed a young seal and it was ensnared in an old fishing net. It was turning and twisting in panic, making the net an even tighter prison for itself. "We've got to help it!"

Aiden caught up with the kids and assessed the situation. "Aw shite!" he cursed. "We need a knife to cut the wee one loose!" He quickly patted his pockets but only had the van keys, they would be of no use against the sea-crusted ropes. He looked down when Jonathan spoke up.

"Will this do?" The youngster held up a pocket knife with a four-inch blade.

Candy's eyes grew wide. "Where'd you get that?!"

"Grandpa Ralph. Don't tell mom, 'kay?"

Candy just shook her head and looked back down at the struggling, weakening baby seal. Her ears now picked up the sound of another harbor seal; barking and wailing and pleading on a giant rock out some 25 yards offshore, the waves crashing against it with one swell after another. Candy pointed towards it. "Look! The pup's mama, probably!"

Aiden agreed. "Aye, most likely. Let's hope she stays put, too. We'd be no match against a 300 lb. angry, scared mother seal."

"What do we do, Aiden?" Candy was becoming more distraught listening to the whimpering, helpless creature before them.

"Okay, kiddos—listen up. Candy—run back and fetch our things and the blanket I had set out for our meal. We'll need to cover the pup's head when we cut the net away. He might be a baby, but his teeth will still leave a nasty bite." She turned and scampered back up the beach. Aiden turned back to Jonathan. "Right now, Jon…we'll drape the blanket over the seal. I'll hold on to him and you cut away at the net as quick as you can. Understand?" Jonathan nodded, his heart racing in his chest. Three minutes later Candy came crashing back all out of breath and dumped everything she had been hauling onto the sand at Aiden's feet. "Ready, Jonathan?" Aiden shook out the blanket and held it outstretched over the captured seal. "Now!"

In one swift movement the young man flung the blanket over the pup's head as it screamed and wriggled in protest. Aiden wrapped his strong arms around the seal and by some miracle or innate sense of knowing these human creatures were trying to help—the baby went still, but his muffled whimpers and groans could be heard through the blanket's folds. Jonathan Muir snapped open his jackknife, knelt beside Aiden and the seal and went to work sawing and straining against the rotting ropes. One by one the strands loosened and snapped away, Jonathan's face was one of serious concentration as he cut-careful not to nick the seal and cause more harm to the helpless aquatic mammal. He was so fixated on his task he didn't realize Candy had extracted her camera from her bag and took several snapshots of the ongoing rescue, nor paid any attention when she knelt beside the baby and tenderly stroked an exposed flipper and whispered soothing words to the frightened young seal. Twenty minutes later and the last of the tangled lines were sliced away by Jonathan's knife. Aiden directed the children to stand back as he lifted the seal carefully and waded a little way into the surf with his squirming bundle. The mother seal was even more agitated, honking loudly and dove into the water in time with one rushing wave. Aiden Kiely wasted no time. He gently lowered the little one into the swelling sea water up to his thighs, held back the soaking blanket and let the pup slip back into the water. It took a moment for the pup was still scared and dazed but then realized his nightmare was over. Candy and Jonathan sported joyous grins onshore, clapping their hands and cheering as they watched the playful reunion between the mother seal and her pup. Aiden backed out of the water, a little chagrined at the state of his loafers but shrugged and laughed with the kids. Jonathan climbed up on a nearby rock and raised his hand to "high 5" Aiden and then "low 5'd" his sister. Aiden pulled Jonathan off the rock to sit there himself to pull off his shoes to drain the water. He pulled off his socks to wring out the cold seawater and then rolled up his jeans to his shins as well.

"Oh, your poor shoes!" Candy commiserated.

"No matter," Aiden grinned. "Lost in a good cause."

Jonathan closed the pocket knife. "You think Mom will be really mad and take it away?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Candy thought a moment and then added, "I think mostly she and Dad will like how we helped free the seal. Don't be surprised if she tells you to hand it over, Jonathan. But since Grandpa gave it to you, she might give it back to you someday—like when you're 30." She laid a sympathetic hand to her brother's shoulder and then they helped one another brush away sand off each other's knees and backsides.

Aiden listened to their conversation, genuinely enjoying the time he spent with these American kids. "Go a-way with the two of youse! Don't you realize the pair of heroes you are? Why, the wee folk will no doubt hear about today's kindness and gift you with a treasure to take home to America!"

"Huh?" again the brother and sister spoke at once.

"The wee folk—Ireland's leprechauns. Sure, one of them was probably strolling by up on the cliff up there," Aiden pointed vaguely behind him, "and saw Jon and Candy Muir coming to the rescue to a dear little one struggling for life."

"You helped, too." Jonathan said.

"Yeah sure," Aiden smiled then poked a playful finger into the lad's belly. "But you heard the pup's cries first. And Candy, dear darling," he turned towards the little girl, "you knelt down and helped ease away the crayture's panic so Jonathan could get on with his work. I could feel the pup's shaking ease up whilst you were whispering to it. Boys-a-dear, youse both done grand! I'm proud of you, so will your folks! Just remember what I said about the leprechauns—keep your eyes peeled the rest of your days in Ireland and don't be surprised if you come across a treasure—it'll be their way of saying thanks to youse both."

Jonathan gave Aiden a shy smile. "We didn't do it for any reward. We just wanted to help the little guy."

"Yeah," Candy agreed. "Hey—what if the pup was Algae's baby? Wouldn't that be neat?"

Aiden motioned for the kids to pick up their gear. It was time to head back up the beach trail. "So now, tell me about this pet seal of yours." Candy and Jonathan hefted their backpacks and happily began chattering away about the time they rescued an escaped aquarium-show trained sea.

Above them, on the seaside cliff hidden amongst scraggily wax myrtle shrubs, overgrown windswept arrowgrass and the flowering heather—they were being watched as they picked their way carefully back over the tide-tossed pebbles and kelp-covered boulders which had tumbled off the cliff eons before. Jonathan Muir had no idea he had come very close to seeing a real, live leprechaun. But…the leprechaun had seen the human boy and girl and what they had done and that was all that mattered.