he attempt at once?"

Blanche announced her perfect readiness to make the attempt forthwith;
and without further ado the pair straightway entered the water, hand in
hand, Lance first taking the precaution to place his watch in his hat
and ram the latter well down upon his head. They waded steadily in
until Blanche felt the water lifting her off her feet, when they struck
out, Lance regulating his stroke so as to keep close beside his
companion. The water was delightfully warm, the sun having been beating
down upon it all day, and the immersion proved refreshing rather than
otherwise. It took them only about a couple of minutes to reach the
mouth of the cave; and then Lance began to look about him for a suitable
landing-place. He had expected to find a beach on one side or the other
of the opening; but there was nothing of the kind as far as he could
see. Perpendicular cliffs rose sheer out of the water on both sides of
the opening for a distance of perhaps a hundred yards; and where the
cliff terminated the ground sloped steeply down, with huge masses of
rock projecting here and there, the foot of the slope being encumbered
with other rocks which at some distant period had become detached and
rolled down into the water. In bad weather it would have been death to
attempt landing upon any part of the shore within Lance's range of
vision; but fortunately the weather was fine and the water smooth; so
they made for a spot which Lance thought would serve their purpose, and
in another ten minutes succeeded in effecting a landing among the rocks.
The scramble up the steep face of the slope before them was not without
its perils, but this also was happily accomplished; and at last they
found themselves standing safe and sound on tolerably level ground, just
as the last rays of the setting sun were gilding the summits of the
hills before them.

Lance found that they had come out on the eastern side of the island;
and as the harbour lay on the south side he knew pretty well in which
direction they ought to walk; they therefore at once set out at a brisk
pace toward a large patch of forest fringing a hill at some distance in
front of but a little to the south of them.

They had not gone very far before Lance, who was keeping a keen look-out
for some familiar landmark, recognised a dip between the hills as the
ravine up which they had passed in the morning; and altering their
course a little they came in about half an hour t