d Joe say
that I've half-pisoned them four or five times, but that's all envy;
besides, a feller can't learn a trade without doin' a little damage to
somebody or something at first. Did you ever taste blackbird pie?"

"No," replied Ruby, "never."

"Then you shall taste one to-day, for we caught fifty birds last week."

"Caught fifty birds?"

"Ay, but I'll tell ye about it some other time. Be off just now, and
get as much exercise out o' the rock as ye can before breakfast."

The smith resumed his work as he said this, and Ruby descended.

He found the sea still roaring over the rock, but the rails were so far
uncovered that he could venture on them, yet he had to keep a sharp
lookout, for, whenever a larger breaker than usual struck the rock, the
gush of foaming water that flew over it was so great that a spurt or two
would sometimes break up between the iron bars, and any one of these
spurts would have sufficed to give him a thorough wetting.

In a short time, however, the sea went back and left the rails free.
Soon after that Ruby was joined by Forsyth and Dumsby, who had come down
for their morning promenade.

They had to walk in single file while taking exercise, as the tramway
was not wide enough for two, and the rock, even when fully uncovered,
did not afford sufficient level space for comfortable walking, although
at low water (as the reader already knows) it afforded fully a hundred
yards of scrambling ground, if not more.

They had not walked more than a few minutes when they were joined by
Jamie Dove, who announced breakfast, and proceeded to take two or three
turns by way of cooling himself. Thereafter the party returned to the
kitchen, where they sat down to as good a meal as any reasonable man
could desire.

There was cold boiled beef--the remains of yesterday's dinner--and a bit
of broiled cod, a native of the Bell Rock, caught from the doorway at
high water the day before. There was tea also, and toast--buttered
toast, hot out of the oven.

Dove was peculiarly good at what may be styled toast-cooking. Indeed,
all the lightkeepers were equally good. The bread was cut an inch
thick, and butter was laid on as plasterers spread plaster with a
trowel. There was no scraping off a bit here to put it on there; no
digging out pieces from little caverns in the bread with the point of
the knife; no repetition of the work to spread it thinner, and, above
all, no omitting of corners and edges;--no,