indeed, that we could hardly make each other
hear.

There was an unpleasant symptom of danger, too, ready to trouble us, in
the shape of the waves, which made the boat dance up and down and then
pitch, as it still went rapidly on farther out to sea.

"Ready?" shouted Bigley, as I sat with my teeth chattering in the
piercing wind.

I nodded, for I did not care to open my mouth to speak; and, in
obedience to a sign, I held the water while he began to pull round as
fast as he could and get the boat's head to the wind.

For a minute or so we were in very great danger, for as soon as we were
broadside to the wind the waves seemed to leap up and the wind to strive
to blow us over; but by sheer hard work Bigley got her head round, and
then we pulled together, with the boat rising up one wave and plunging
down another in a way that was quite startling.

Bob Chowne did not speak, only crouched down in the bottom of the boat
and watched us as we tugged hard at the oars, under the impression that
we were rowing in. But we soon knew to the contrary. We were only
boys, the boat was a heavy one and stood well out of the water, and as
we pulled the wind had tremendous power over our oars. In fact all we
did was to keep the boat's head straight to the wind, and so diminished
the violence of its power over us, while of course this was the best way
to meet the waves that seemed to come directly off the shore.

"Come and pull now, Bob," I shouted after tugging at the oar for a long
time. My feeling of chilliness had passed away, and I was weary and
breathless with my exertions.

I kept on pulling while Bob came to my side, and as he took the oar I
gradually edged away and crept under it to go and take the place where
he had crouched.

It was a black look-out for us; for it was already growing dim, and we
knew that in half an hour it would be quite dark. The wind was still
rising and the sea flecked with little patches of foam; while, as I
looked towards the Gap, I could not help seeing with sinking heart that
not only were the high rocks growing dim with the shades of the wintry
night, but with the distance too.

You know how quickly the change comes on from day to night at the end of
December. You can imagine, then, in the midst of that sudden storm, how
anxiously I watched the shore, and tried to persuade myself that we were
getting nearer when I knew that we were not.

If I had had any doubt about it, Bigley, who had