ctual to the time the lads met; and Vince, who was full of old
Daygo's proposal, laid it before his companion.

"What!" cried Mike; "go with him, when we've got such an adventure
before us! You wouldn't do that!"

"Why not? We can go to the caverns any day, and this will be a chance
to sail round and see what the outside of the Scraw is like."

"Did he say he would take us there?" cried Mike eagerly.

"No; but we'd persuade him."

"Persuade him!" cried Mike, bursting into a mocking laugh. "Persuade
old Joe! Why, you do know better than that."

Vince frowned and said nothing, for he did know better, and felt that he
had let his desires get the better of his judgment.

"Very well," he said. "You'd rather not go?"

"Well, wouldn't you rather go and have a look at those old things than
see a few fish in a net?"

"Yes, if Joe wouldn't sail round where I want to go."

"Well, he wouldn't, and you know it. Why, this is a chance. You felt
sure he was watching us; and he'll be off to sea, where he can't."

"Off, then!" said Vince; and, full of anticipations, they made for the
oak wood, and were soon at the opening, into which, without pausing to
look round, they leaped down quickly; and, after lighting the lanthorn,
descended as rapidly as they could to the rope.

The place looked as beautiful as ever, as they slid down to the sandy
floor of the inner cavern, and more than ever like the interior of some
large shell; while the outer cave, with its roof alive, as it were, with
the interlacing wavings and quiverings reflected from the sunny surface
of the sea, would have made any one pause.

But the boys had no eyes for anything that day but the wonders of their
new discovery; and, quickly getting to work with the rope and grapnel,
Mike threw it up.

"Got a bite!" he cried. "No: he's off."

For, after catching, the grapnel gave way again.

The second time he missed; but the third he got another hold, and told
Vince to climb first.

This he did, and in a very few seconds he was two-thirds of the way up,
when with a scrape the grapnel gave way, and Vince came down flat on his
back in the sand, with the iron upon him.

"Hurt?" cried Mike.

"Not much," said Vince, rubbing one leg, which the iron had struck.
"Try again."

Mike threw once more, got a hold, and, to prove it, began to climb, and
reached the opening safely. Then the lanthorn was drawn up, Vince
followed, and this time taking the rope with th