on which Estelle was, and laid
his hand on her, Thomas, forgetting all else, gave way to a mad fit of
rage and jealousy. Raising himself slightly on his narrow shelf, he
hurled the stone with all his force at the brown head below him. It shot
past Jack, barely grazing his head as he stooped to tie the rope round
Estelle, and, striking the little girl on the shoulder, glanced off into
the water. The shock of the blow would have thrown her off the rock but
that Jack's strong arm was round her.

The sailor's heart boiled within him. There was nothing to be done,
however, but get the child away as quickly as possible. He guessed that
the stone was meant for himself, and it left no doubt in his mind as to
who had thrown it. With a wrathful glance upwards, he asked Estelle
about the hurt, and showed her how to cling on his back, thus leaving
his arms free to carry her into safety.

'Oh, it stings so, Jack,' sobbed Estelle, pressing her shoulder, as if
she could hardly bear the pain.

'We must get away as fast as we can, Missie,' said he; 'or we may have
another stone at us.'

Jack turned his back, and Estelle put her arms round his neck, with a
frightened glance at the ledge.

'Now I'm off,' said Jack; 'hold, on tight.'

Twisting the rope round them both as an additional security, he slipped
into the water. It went over their heads, but Estelle's faith in Jack
never wavered. After what appeared to her a very long time of buffeting
waves and wild waters, she felt herself being drawn upwards.

'There, Missie,' said Jack, cheerfully, though a little breathlessly, as
he released her from the rope; 'you are safe now. In another minute we
shall be on dry sand.'

Cold, bruised, tired, she felt too confused and faint to speak. A dim
idea that her only chance of rescue lay in Jack made her continue to
cling to him. He, meanwhile, was securing the end of the rope to a
staple driven into the rock during the old smuggling days. The ledge on
which he now sat was invisible from the Mermaid's Cave except to expert
eyes, owing to its being so near the roof. From this ledge he looked
down into that hidden storehouse for smuggled treasure of every
description, the 'Treasure Cave.' It gave its name to all the other
caves, but its own floor was twenty feet below any of them, and the
secret of its existence was still jealously guarded by the few who knew
of it.[4]

[Footnote 4: Such a cave exists also on the rocky Cornish coast, and wa