s
of ordinary eggs, while he wondered how it was that such an egg should
not blow out of its rocky hollow when the wind came, but spin round as
upon a pivot instead.

Anyhow, Aleck was watching the other side of the half-made chasm, the
great wedge-shaped depression in the coast-line, looking straight across
at a spot about a hundred yards distant in the level, though higher up
it was too, and going off to nothing at the bottom, where the place
looked like the dried-up bed of a river.

All at once he started and nearly dropped the glass, as he wrenched
himself right round to gaze back and up, for a gruff voice had suddenly
cried:

"Hullo!"

The next moment the boy, was gazing in a fierce pair of very dark eyes
belonging to a swarthy, scowling, sea-tanned face, the lower part of
which was clothed in a crisp black beard, as black as the short head of
hair.

This head of hair of course belonged to a man, but no man was to be
seen, nothing but the big round bullet head peering down from the edge
of one of the ledges, while on both sides, apparently not heeding the
head in the least, dozens of wild fowl sat solemnly together, looking
stupid and waiting for the next coming of parent birds.

"Hullo!" cried the head again.

"Hullo!" retorted Aleck, as gruffly as he could, after recovering from
his surprise. "That you, Eben Megg?"

"Oh! ay, it's me right enough, youngster. What are you doing there?"

"Now?" said Aleck, coolly. "Looking up at your black face."

"Black face, eh, youngster? Perhaps other people ha' got black faces
too. What ha' you been doing of--tumbling off the rocks? Strikes me
you're trying it on for another tumble."

Aleck flushed a little at the allusion to his injured face, feeling
guilty too, as it struck him that he had brought the allusion upon
himself, a Rowland for his Oliver, on the principle that those who play
at bowls must expect rubbers.

"No, I haven't had a tumble, and I'm not going to tumble," he said,
testily. "I daresay I can climb as well as you."

"P'raps you can, youngster, and p'raps you can't; but, if you do want to
break your neck, stop at home and do it, and don't come here."

"What!" cried Aleck, indignantly. "Why not? I've as good a right here
as you have, so none of your insolence."

"Oh, no, you haven't. All along here's our egging-ground, and we don't
want our birds disturbed."

"Your egging-ground--your birds!" cried Aleck, indignantly. "Why, I do