nning of the improvements, which subject I must carry
no further, but return to our hungry lad, who, hearing the reading going
on, would not interrupt his mother, but took up his candle and went to
the larder to investigate for himself.

There was bread and butter, and bread and cheese, and a small piece of
mutton--but this last was raw; and Vince was about to turn to the bread
and cheese when his eyes lighted upon a wedge of cold apple dumpling,
which he seized upon as the very thing, bore off to his bedroom, after
putting his head in at the parlour door to say good-night, ate with the
greatest of gusto, and then, thoroughly drowsy, tumbled into bed.

The next minute, as it seemed most vividly to Vince, the new rope that
Mike took with them to the tempest-torn ridge above the Scraw was
cutting into his chest and compressing it so that he could hardly
breathe. But he would not complain, for fear his companion should think
it was because he was too cowardly to go on down that steep slope of
thirty or forty feet to look over the edge of the precipice. So he went
on lower and lower, suffering horribly, but more and more determined to
go on; and as he went the rope stretched out, and the slope lengthened,
till he seemed to have descended for hours. Flocks of ravens came down,
flapping their wings about him and making dashes with their great beaks
at his eyes; while stones were loosened, rattled down into the gulf and
startled clouds upon clouds of birds, which came circling up, their
wings beating the air, till there was a noise like thunder.

Down to the stone at last; and upon this he sat astride, gazing at the
vast gulf below, where the cove spread out farther than eye could reach,
while the waters rushed by him like many cataracts of Niagara rolled
into one. At last Mike's voice came to him, in imploring tones,
sounding distant, strange and familiar, begging him to come up; and he
drew himself up once more, and, with the rope tightening, gave that
great thrust with his heels which sent the block upon which he had
ridden falling down and down, as if for ever, into space, while he hung
motionless, with the line compressing his chest so that he could not
breathe. He could not struggle, he could not even stir--only hang there
suffocating, till his senses were leaving him fast, and a burning light
flashed into his eyes. Then the rope parted, the terrible tension about
his chest was relieved, and he began falling more