be as
savage as may be when they voinds as they be too late.' 'Where be us to
run?' says oi. 'Keep close to me, oi knows the place,' says he.

"So we runs down and voinds as they had tumbled the bar'ls into t' boat
again, and t' men war just pushing her off when there war a shout close
to us. 'Shove, shove!' shouted the men, and oi runs into t' water loike
t' rest and shooved. Then a lot o' men run up shouting, 'Stop! in the
king's name!' and began vor to fire pistols.

"Nateral oi wasn't a-going to be fired at for nowt, so oi clutches moi
stick and goes at 'em wi' the rest, keeping close to t' chap as told me
as he knew the coontry. There was a sharp foight vor a minute. Oi lays
aboot me hearty and gets a crack on my ear wi' a cootlas, as they calls
theer swords, as made me pretty wild.

"We got the best o't. 'Coom on,' says the man to me, 'there's a lot moor
on 'em a-cooming.' So oi makes off as hard as oi could arter him. He
keeps straight along at t' edge o' t' water. It war soft rowing at
first, vor t' place war as flat as a table, but arter running vor a vew
minutes he says, 'Look owt!' Oi didn't know what to look owt vor, and
down oi goes plump into t' water. Vor all at once we had coomed upon a
lot o' rocks covered wi' a sort of slimy stuff, and so slippery as you
could scarce keep a footing on 'em. Oi picks myself up and vollers him.
By this toime, maister, oi war beginning vor to think as there warn't
so mooch vun as oi had expected in this koind o' business. Oi had been
working two hours loike a nigger a-carrying tubs. Oi had had moi ear
pretty nigh cut off, and it smarted wi' the salt water awful. Oi war wet
from head to foot and had knocked the skin off moi hands and knees when
oi went down. However there warn't no toime vor to grumble. Oi vollers
him till we gets to t' foot o' t' rocks, and we keeps along 'em vor
aboot half a mile.

"The water here coombed close oop to t' rocks, and presently we war
a-walking through it. 'Be'st a going vor to drown us all?' says oi. 'We
are jest there,' says he. 'Ten minutes later we couldn't ha' got along.'
T' water war a-getting deeper and deeper, and t' loomps of water cooms
along and well nigh took me off my feet. Oi was aboot to turn back,
vor it war better, thinks oi, to be took by t' king's men than to be
droonded, when he says, 'Here we be.' He climbs oop t' rocks and oi
follows him. Arter climbing a short way he cooms to a hole i' rocks,
joost big enough vor t