ringed with pale ghostly white.

Then, as no fish bit to take up his attention, he began to think of the
great black mass of rock, and to ask himself whether it was worth his
while to go that or the next evening, and, climbing up, take the plunge
as he had seen so many young men take it before.

"If I did," he said, "it would please a good many people, and they would
no longer look upon me as a coward. I think I could--I feel sure I
could. But if I did take the dive how people would triumph after all,
and say that I was stung into doing it by what they had said!"

"No," he added, after a little more consideration; "they may say what
they like. I'll hold to my determination. Coward or no, I'm not going
to prove my courage for the sake of gratifying busy tattling people.
Better remain a coward all my--Ah, that's one!"

A sharp snatch at his line, followed by a long peculiar drag, told him
what was at his bait; and after a little giving and taking, he drew a
heavy twining conger eel over the boat's edge, having no little
difficulty in preventing it from tangling his line, for it was quite a
yard in length, and proportionately thick.

His captive was, however, soon safe in the large basket, and he had
hardly closed the lid and placed a boulder used as ballast upon it
before a tug at his other line made the thole-pin rattle, and after a
little hauling he dragged in a gloriously-coloured gurnard, whose
outspread fins looked like the wings of some lovely butterfly. Then he
drew in, one after the other, a couple of wrasse, all grey and green and
gold, with their protuberant mouths and curious teeth, after which there
was a pause, and, drawing up one of his lines, Harry placed thereon a
much larger hook, bound with wire right up the cord that held it. Upon
this he placed quite half a mackerel, secured it well to the hook with a
piece of string, and then, throwing it over the side, he waited, after
feeling the lead touch the rock below, and wondered whether he should
capture what he believed to be lurking amongst the ledges of the piece
of rock.

"I may either get a conger or a good hake," he thought to himself.
"There's always someone glad of a good hake."

He waited with all a fisherman's patience, and, used as he was to such
scenes, he could not help feeling gladdened at the glorious sight that
met his gaze, for, one by one, the stars had paled, till only that named
after the morning shone out resplendent in the n