round to somewhere and land."

"Seems to me very stupid that we know so little about the shore under
the rocks," said Fred, as he tried to pierce the pale grey light below.
"Seems a stupid sort of shore, all steep cliff, and nowhere hardly to
get down. Well, what shall we do? Will you go down, or shall I?"

"I'd rather trust to your holding the rope than mine."

"That's just how I feel," cried Fred. "But you went down first, and now
it's my turn, so here goes. Now then, let's gather the rope into a
coil, and throw one end down. Then you sit flat here on the ledge, with
your legs stretched out, hold tight by the rope with both hands, and
then let it hang between your legs and over the edge. It won't be hard
to hold."

"I'll try," said Scarlett, nervously; "but I hardly like doing it."

"And I don't like going down, but it has got to be done, and the more
fuss we make over it, the worse it will be. When you've got to take
physic, down with it at once."

"Yes," said Scarlett, drily, "that's the best way, but the best way is
often the hardest."

Fred had gathered the rope into rings, and was taking a final glance
down at what seemed to be an uglier descent the more it was inspected,
and but for very shame he would have given up. He set his teeth,
though, and handed one end of the rope to his companion.

"Catch hold--tight," he said in a low voice. "If you let that go we're
done. Now then--one, two--"

He did not say three, for at that moment a gruff, husky voice came
rumbling and echoing down toward them with the cheery hail of--

"Anybody at home?"

"Now, I wonder what them boys are going to do," said Samson, over and
over again, and each time that he said so he sighed and rubbed his back,
and ended by resting upon the handle of his spade.

"No good, I'm sure," he muttered. "Yes," he added, after a thoughtful
pause, "that's it--going to let one another down over the cliffs so as
to break their necks; and if they do, a nice mess I shall be in, for the
colonel 'll say it was all my fault for letting them have the rope."

Samson turned over a couple of spadefuls of earth, and then drove the
tool in with a fierce stab, leaving it sticking up in the ground.

"Here, I can't go on digging and knowing all the time as them lads is
breaking their necks over the cliff side. Never was in such a muddle as
this before. Why didn't they say what they were going to do?"

"Here, this must be stopped--this must