at.
It was almost low tide when we reached the island--the best time for
seeing the cliffs. They were standing well out of the water, scarred and
chiselled with strange devices, and glowing in the August sunlight with
tints of the most gorgeous coloring, while their feet, swathed with
brown seaweed, were glistening with the dashing of the waves. I had seen
nothing like them since I had been there last, and the view of these
wild, rugged crags, with their regal robes of amber and gold and silver,
almost oppressed me with delight. If I could but see Olivia on this
summit!

The currents and the wind had been in favor of our running through the
channel between Sark and Jethou, and so landing at the Creux Harbor, on
the opposite coast of the island to the Havre Gosselin. I crossed in
headlong haste, for I was afraid of meeting with Julia's friends, or
some of my own acquaintances who were spending the summer months there.
I found Tardif's house completely deserted. The only sign of life was a
family of hens clucking about the fold.

The door was not fastened, and I entered, but there was nobody there. I
stood in the middle of the kitchen and called, but there was no answer.
Olivia's door was ajar, and I pushed it a little more open. There lay
books I had lent her on the table, and her velvet slippers were on the
floor, as if they had only just been taken off. Very worn and brown were
the little slippers, but they reassured me she had been wearing them a
short time ago.

I returned through the fold and mounted the bank that sheltered the
house, to see if I could discover any trace of her, or Tardif, or his
mother. All the place seemed left to itself. Tardif's sheep were
browsing along the cliffs, and his cows were tethered here and there,
but nobody appeared to be tending them. At last I caught sight of a head
rising from behind a crag, the rough shock head of a boy, and I shouted
to him, making a trumpet with my hands.

"Where is neighbor Tardif?" I called.

"Down below there," he shouted back again, pointing downward to the
Havre Gosselin. I did not wait for any further information, but darted
off down the long, steep gulley to the little strand, where the pebbles
were being lapped lazily by the ripple of the lowering tide. Tardif's
boat was within a stone's throw, and I saw Olivia sitting in the stern
of it. I shouted again with a vehemence which made them both start.

"Come back, Tardif," I cried, "and take me with