could have had a more sincere regard for each other than had David
Moreton and Harry Merryweather. David was longing to go to sea with
Harry, but his father was greatly averse to his going. He was the
eldest son, and heir to a large property. As the boys had been
separated for so long a time (long in their lives), they had a great
deal to say to each other. They consequently strolled away, forgetting
what Mary Rymer or the rest of their fair companions might have thought
of their gallantry, in and out along the sands, round the points and
over the rocks, till they had got to a considerable distance from the
place where the picnic had been held. A dry rock, high above the water,
which they could reach by going along a ledge connecting it with the
mainland, tempted them to scramble out to it. There they chose a nice
cosy, dry nook, where, sitting down, the water immediately around them
was hidden from their sight. This circumstance must be remembered. It
was very delightful. They had not yet said one-half of what they had
got to say to each other, so they sat on talking eagerly, looking out
seaward and watching the white sails which glided by coming up channel
in the distant horizon. David was so delighted with the accounts Harry
gave him, that he resolved to make a further attempt to induce his
father to allow him to go to sea. It must be owned that Harry, full of
life and happiness himself, had pictured only the bright side of
everything. He had described the courage and determination to win with
which he and his shipmates had gone into action, and the enthusiasm and
delight they had felt on gaining the victory and capturing the prize;
but he forgot to speak of the death of some cut down in their prime, and
the wounds and sufferings of others, many maimed and crippled for life.
Thus they talked on without marking how the time went by. Harry's
watch, which he had locked up carefully before going into action, had
been destroyed by a shot which had knocked the desk and everything in it
to pieces; and David had forgotten to wind his up. Suddenly it occurred
to them that the sun was getting very low, and that it was high time for
them to return.

They jumped up to scramble back over the rock, but no sooner had they
done so than Harry cried out, "We are caught!" and David exclaimed, "The
tide has risen tremendously, how shall we get to the shore?"

"Swim there," answered Harry; "I see no other way. If we were t