manuscript poems, the lines all blotted and run together by the tropical
rain. He thrust it into the pocket of his ulster.

Merton took the most intelligent of the gillies aside. 'Show me where
you have searched,' he said. The man pointed to the shores of the cove;
they had also examined the banks of the burn, and under all the trees,
clearly fearing that the lost pair might have been lightning-struck, like
the nymph and swain in Pope's poem. 'You have not searched the cliffs?'
asked Merton.

'No, sir,' said the man.

Merton then went to Mr. Macrae, and suggested that the boat should be
sent across the sea ferry, to try if anything could be learned in the
village. Mr. Macrae agreed, and himself went in the boat, which was
presently unmoored, and pulled by two gillies across the loch, that ran
like a river with the outgoing tide.

Merton and Bude began to search the cliffs; Merton could hear the hoarse
pumping of his own heart. The cliff's base was deep in flags and
bracken, then the rocks began climbing to the foot of the perpendicular
basaltic crag. The sky, fortunately, was now clear in the west, and lent
a wan light to the seekers. Merton had almost reached the base of the
cliff, when, in the deep bracken, he stumbled over something soft. He
stooped and held back the tall fronds of bracken.

It was the body of a man; the body did not stir. Merton glanced to see
the face, but the face was bent round, leaning half on the earth. It was
Blake. Merton's guess seemed true. They had fallen from the cliffs! But
where was that other body? Merton yelled to Bude. Blake seemed dead or
insensible.

Merton (he was ashamed of it presently) left the body of Blake alone; he
plunged wildly in and out of the bracken, still shouting to Bude, and
looking for that which he feared to find. She could not be far off. He
stumbled over rocks, into rabbit holes, he dived among the soaked
bracken. Below and around he hunted, feverishly panting, then he set his
face to the sheer cliff, to climb; she might be lying on some higher
ledge, the shadow on the rocks was dark. At this moment Bude hailed him.

'Come down!' he cried, 'she cannot be there!'

'Why not?' he gasped, arriving at the side of Bude, who was stooping,
with a lantern in his hand, over the body of Blake, which faintly
stirred.

'Look!' said Bude, lowering the lantern.

Then Merton saw that Blake's hands were bound down beside his body, and
that the co