At the end of the day, Algy went in search of a pool of fresh water, so that he could wash the green dye out of his hair. The pools in the peat bogs were all far too mucky for hair-washing, but when he looked near the beach he found a shallow lagoon on the machair – a seasonal pool with a clean, grassy bottom, which had been formed by the excessive winter rain. It also provided a perfect mirror, in which he could check that his hair was restored to its natural yellow, and watch the reflections of the clouds and waving Marram grasses at the same time.

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