he could hold on for some time, but
at the same time was afraid of struggling and endeavouring to get up on
the cliff lest he should lose his gripe altogether. Tom had stuck his
hook into the earth, but he in the same way knew that in attempting to
climb up on to the top of the cliff, he might slip, and fall to the
bottom. Their hope was that somebody might come by and help them, but
that was very unlikely.

"Hold on, Mr Charles, hold on, my lad!" cried Tom. "If I could but
just get the point of a rock to put my knee on, I would soon be on the
firm ground and have you safe in a moment."

"I'm doing my best to hold on," answered Charles, "but the edge is
terribly crumbling; I would make the attempt to get up, but I am nearly
certain that I should fail."

"Then don't try, Mr Charles," said Tom, "I'll shout, and may be one of
the coastguard men or somebody else will hear us. Help, ahoy! help!
help ahoy!" he shouted in a voice which age had not weakened, and which
might have been heard nearly half a mile off, had any one been near
enough.

Charley then joined him in shouting, but no answer came, and Charley
felt as a person does in a dreadful dream, every instant growing weaker
and weaker.

"Tom, I don't think that I can hold on many seconds longer," he at last
said; "good-bye--I must let go--the earth is crumbling away--I am
going--oh?"

At that instant Tom, feeling that Charley's safety depended on his being
able to get on the ground above, made a desperate effort--his hook
became loosened, in vain he tried to dig his fingers into the earth, and
at the same moment that Charley gave his last despairing cry and lost
his hold he lost his; down he came, but not as he expected, on the hard
rock a hundred feet below him, but into a shallow pool not five feet
from where he had been so long hanging.

"Why, where am I?" exclaimed Charley, who, at the same time, had lodged
safely on a green mound close to the pool, and tearing off the
handkerchief from his eyes he looked about him; "after all, those
smugglers are not so bad as we thought them."

"We are at the bottom of a chalk-pit, Mr Charles," answered Tom, "the
fellows have played us a somewhat scurvy trick, but I cannot but say
that it was better than sending us over the cliff and breaking our
necks; howsomdever, the sooner we get out of it the better as I'm wet to
the skin, and would like to take a brisk walk homeward to get dry."

A bright moon was shining, t