ould. That narrow
passage would look wider when you were right in it, and the way to do it
would be to come in when the tide was high,--there wouldn't be so much
rushing and tumbling about of the water then; and the way to get out
again would be at high water too."

"But that would mean staying till the tide had gone down and come up
again--hours and hours."

"Yes," said Vince, "that would be the way; but it would want ever so
much thinking about first."

"Yes," replied Mike; "it would want ever so much thinking about first.
Ready to go back?"

"May as well," said Vince; and he stepped down, after a farewell look
down at the sheltered cove, fully realising the fact that any one
passing it a short distance from the shore would take the barrier of
rocks which shut it in for the continuation of the cliffs on either
side; and as the place had a terrible reputation for dangerous reefs and
currents, in addition to the superstitious inventions of the people of
the Crag, it seemed highly probable that it had never been approached
unless by the unfortunate crew of some doomed vessel which had been
battered to pieces and sunk unseen and unheard.

"Shall I go first?" said Vince.

"Yes: you lead."

"Mean to go along among the bushes at the bottom, or would you like to
slope down at once?"

"Oh, we'll go back the way we said, only we shan't have done as much as
we promised ourselves."

Vince started off down the slope, and upon reaching the trough-like
depression at the bottom he began to work his way in and out among the
fallen blocks, leaping the hollows wherever there was safe landing on
the other side. At times he had to stop to extricate himself from the
brambles, but on the whole he got along pretty well till their way was
barred by a deeper rift than they had yet encountered, out of which the
brambles and ferns grew luxuriantly.

The easier plan seemed to be to go round one end or the other; but it
only appeared to be the simpler plan, for on trying to put it to the
test it soon proved itself to be the harder, promising as it did a long,
toilsome climb, whichever end they took.

"Jump it," said Mike: "there's a good landing-place on the other side."

"Yes, but if I don't reach it I shall get a nice scratching. Look at
that blackthorn covered with brambles."

"Oh, never mind a few thorns," said Mike, grinning. "I'll pick them all
out for you with a packing needle."

"Thankye," said Vince, eyeing the rift