us and the shore the water for a good hundred yards
was six feet deep at least, and there was a swim of a hundred and fifty
before we could begin to wade, while, if we did not start at once, there
would be a swim of nearly half a mile, for the points of the little bay
where we were would soon be covered, the rocks were perpendicular, and
to stay in the bay was to be drowned.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

A PERILOUS SWIM.

"I say, what shall we do?" cried Bob.

"We must take off our clothes and swim for it," said Bigley.

"No, no," I cried, for the idea was appalling. "Let's stay here."

"What, and be swept off?" said Bob. "No; Bigley's right. We must swim
for it. No, I see! There's your father's lugger, Big. Let them come
and take us off."

"They durstn't come in on account of the rocks," said Bigley slowly.

"Then, let them send the boat. Let's hail them."

"Yes, they might send the boat," said Bigley thoughtfully, "and they
would if we could make them understand."

"Shout," cried Bob.

"What's the use when they're nearly two miles away."

"'Tisn't so far, is it?" I said in an awe-stricken whisper.

"Almost," he said. "The wind's against them, and they're beating up
very slowly, and keeping off so as to run straight in when they get past
the point. You see they don't want to go in at the Gap till it's
high-water and the pebble bar is covered."

"But they must hear us," cried Bob, "and send a boat to fetch us off. I
don't know that I could swim so far as the shore, and we should have to
undress and lose all our clothes. Here, ahoy! Boat--oh! Ahoy!"

The sound died away in the vast space, but there was no movement aboard
of the lugger, and after each had hailed in turn, and we had all shouted
together, we looked at each other in despair.

"Oh," cried Bob, "what a set of stupids we are! Only just now we went
and got into trouble, and lost our nets and baskets, and now we've been
and done it again. Here, Big, it's all your fault, what are we going to
do?"

Bigley looked to sea, and he looked to shore, and then down at the
water, that kept lapping round the rock and rising and falling. The
small blocks all about us had long been covered, and at its most
quiescent times the sea was now within some three feet of the top, while
as the waves swayed and heaved, they ran up at times nearly to where we
stood.

The peril did not seem very great, because we did not quite realise our
position; but st