n mill.

"Now, Ram," said his father, "ready?"

"Yes, father," said the boy, after getting his mouth into talking trim.

"Lanthorns! Off with you."

"Lanthorns won't be no good in the fog."

"Don't you be so mighty clever," growled Shackle. "How do you know that
the fog reaches up far?"

"Did you signal s'afternoon, father?"

"Lanthorns! And look sharp, sir."

The boy went into the back kitchen, took down from a shelf three
horn-lanthorns, which had the peculiarity of being painted black save in
one narrow part. Into these he glanced to see that they were all fitted
with thick candles before passing a piece of rope through the rings at
the top.

This done he took down a much smaller lanthorn, painted black all round,
lit the candle within, and, taking this one in his hand, he hung the
others over his shoulder, and prepared to start.

"Mind and don't you slip over the cliff, Ram," said his mother.

"Tchah! Don't scare the boy with that nonsense," said the farmer
angrily; "why should he want to slip over the cliff? Put 'em well back,
boy. Stop 'bout half an hour, and then come down."

Ram nodded and went off whistling down along the hollow for some hundred
yards toward the sea, and then, turning short off to the right, he began
to climb a zigzag path which led higher and higher and more and more
away to his left till it skirted the cliff, and he was climbing slowly
up through the fog.

The lad's task was robbed of the appearance of peril by the darkness;
but the danger never occurred to Ram, who had been up these cliff-paths
too often for his pleasure to heed the breakneck nature of the rough
sheep-track up and up the face of the cliff, leading to where it became
a steep slope, which ran in and on some four hundred feet, forming one
of the highest points in the neighbourhood.

"It's plaguey dark," said Ram to himself. "Wonder what they're going to
bring to-night?"

He whistled softly as he climbed slowly on.

"Fog's thicker than it was last night. They won't see no lanthorns, I
know."

"Dunno, though," he muttered a little higher up. "Not quite so thick up
here. How old Grip growled! But he had to do it. Aren't afraid of a
dog like him. Look at that!"

He had climbed up the zigzag track another fifty feet, and stopped short
to gaze away at the bright stars of the clear night with the great layer
of fog all below him now.

"Father was right, but I dunno whether they'll be able to see