aring to set, and the west was gorgeous with red and gold.

"We shan't see the line on the waters this evening," said Eric; "there's
too much of a breeze. But look, what a glorious sunset!"

"Yes; it'll be stormy tomorrow," answered Russell, "but come along,
let's get to the top; the wind's rising, and the waves will be
rather grand."

"Ay, we'll sit and watch them; and let's finish our grub; I've got
several eggs left, and I want to get them out of my pocket."

They devoured the eggs, and then stood enjoying the sight of the waves,
which sometimes climbed up the rock almost to their feet, and then fell
back, hissing and discomfited. Suddenly they remembered that it was
getting late, and that they ought to gat home for tea at seven.

"Hallo!" said Russell, looking at his watch, "it's half-past six. We
must cut back as hard as we can. By the bye, I hope the tide hasn't been
coming in all this time."

"Good God!" said Montagu, with a violent start, "I'm afraid it has,
though! What asses we have been, with our waves and sunsets. Let's set
off as hard as we can pelt."

Immediately they scrambled, by the aid of hands and knees, down the
Stack, and made their way for the belt of rock which joined it to the
mainland; but, to their horror, they at once saw that the tide had come
in, and that a narrow gulf of sea already divided them from the shore.

"There's only one way for it," said Eric; "if we're plucky we can jump
that; but we musn't wait till it gets worse. A good jump will take us
_nearly_ to the other side--far enough, at any rate, to let us flounder
across somehow."

As fast as they could they hurried along down to the place where the
momentarily increasing zone of water seemed as yet to be narrowest; and
where the rocks on the other side were lower than those on which they
stood. Their situation was by no means pleasant. The wind had been
rising more and more, and the waves dashed into this little channel with
such violence, that to swim it would have been a most hazardous
experiment, particularly as they could not dive in from the ledge on
which they stood, from their ignorance of the depth of water.

Eric's courage supported the other two. "There's no good _thinking_
about it," said he, "jump we _must_; the sooner the better. We can but
be a little hurt at the worst. Here, I'll set the example."

He drew back a step or two, and sprang out with all his force. He was a
practised and agile jumper, and, to t