ident, will you?"

I could not answer him, and I turned to Bob Chowne, who was standing
with his fingers now thrust into his ears.

"Bob!" I cried. "Bob, let's try again!"

He sprang to poor Bigley's other hand, and we dragged and tugged with
slow steady strain and sharp snatch, but without any effect; and every
now and then, as we pulled, the waves came right up, and drove us
against the rock.

"It's of no use, boys," said Bigley at last. "I'm fast."

"Help!" yelled Bob Chowne with all his might; but in that great solitude
his voice had no more effect than the wail of a sea-bird. There was not
a soul in sight either on cliff path or the shore. Out to sea there
were sails enough, small craft and goodly ships going and coming from
Bristol and Cardiff; but no signals on our part were likely to be seen.
And besides, if they had been understood, it would have been an hour's
row to shore from the nearest, and before a quarter of that time had
elapsed the rocks where we stood would be under water.

"Big, Big!" I cried piteously in my despair and wonder to see him now
so pale and calm; "what shall we do?"

"Nothing," he said in a low whisper. "Only be quiet now; I'm going to
say my prayers."

I dropped down on my knees by him and hid my face, and how long I knelt
there I don't know; but it was till I was lifted by the tide and driven
heavily against the rocks.

"It's of no use," said Bigley then, after a tremendous struggle. "I
can't get out. You must go."

"For help?" I said.

"No; run both of you, or you'll be drowned."

As he spoke a wave came in, broke and deluged us, and I don't know what
my words would have been if Bob Chowne had not wailed out:

"Nobody sha'n't say I didn't stick to my mate. I sha'n't go. I won't
go. Sep Duncan may if he likes, but I shall stop."

He caught frantically at poor Bigley's collar as he spoke, set his
teeth, and then closed his eyes.

"No, no! Run, Bob; run, Sep!" panted Bigley, as if he was being
suffocated; "the water will be over us directly, and you must go and
tell poor father where I am."

"I sha'n't go and leave you two," I said sullenly; and I also caught
hold of him, set my teeth, and swung round as a bigger wave than ever
came rolling smoothly in, and regularly seemed to leap at us as it broke
upon the rocks, and after deluging us, rushed up, and came down again in
a rain of spray.

What followed seems wild and confused, for the sea was rising fa