following, and
moved after the sound, not without reluctance. "It may be only a
vision," he said gravely. "Remember the hounds that ran after Caliban
and the others?"

But as they trended towards the edge of the cliffs the barking grew
louder, and was recognisably 'Dolph's; and so they came to a wide
shelving amphitheatre of turf overgrown with furze and blackthorn.
It curved almost as smoothly as the slope of a crater, and shelved to a
small semi-circular bay. There, on the edge of the tide, danced 'Dolph
yelping; and there, knee-deep in water, facing him with lowered head,
stood a magnificent stag--yes, the stag of yesterday! When Arthur Miles
caught at Tilda's arm and proclaimed this, at first she doubted. But he
pointed to the antlers, glinting bright in the sunshine. He did not
know the names for them, but whereas the left antler bore brow, bay,
tray, and three on top, the top of the right antler, by some
malformation, was not divided at all, and even a child could see this
and guess it to be unusual. He was a noble stag nevertheless. The sun
shone down on his russet-gold flanks as he stood there fronting the dog
with his deadly brow-points. And 'Dolph kept to the edge of the water,
leaping forward a little and anon leaping back, and at each leap
emitting a futile yelp.

The children stared, wondering how he could have driven so noble a
quarry; until, as Arthur Miles called down, he lifted his head and gazed
up at them for a moment. Then he turned slowly, as it were
disdainfully, and they divined the truth--that the long swim of
yesterday had broken his gallant strength, and he had come down to the
beach to die. He turned and lurched heavily down into deep water, laid
himself gently afloat, and struck out as if heading for the main.
But the main and his own heathery moors lay far distant, a blue-grey
line in the haze to the southward. Perhaps his spirit regained them as
his body slowly sank. The children watched it sink until only the
antlers showed above water like a forked bough adrift on the tideway.
They drifted so for a few seconds; then dipped out of sight, and were
gone.

The children stood for a full minute gazing at the water where he had
disappeared. Then Arthur Miles whistled to 'Dolph, who came bounding up
the slope, and together all three struck inland again, but in silence.
They were awed by the Island and its wonders.

The Island, as they climbed to its grassy chine, gradually re