e. Come along, boys, help
me down; I can't jump. Let's see for a place to climb the cliff."

We helped him down by standing with our heads bent upon our arms, as if
we were playing at "_Saddle my nag_," then he lowered himself till he
could rest his feet upon our shoulders, and the rest was easy.

"We mustn't lose time," he said, as he stood on the rough shingle; "the
tide is running in very fast."

It was quite true, and before long it would certainly completely fill
the bay.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

A NIGHT ON THE ROCKS.

It was very satisfying in a case of emergency to have with us some one
so old and staid and full of authority as my father, who set the example
to us lads of hurrying close up to the cliff right at the head where the
caverns ran in, and the rain-like water streamed down from the ferns and
saxifrages to form a veil that now looked golden in the glow from the
west.

"Hah!" said my father decisively, "no standing here; and it would not be
safe to go into the cave, the water rises six or seven feet here right
up the cliff."

It was so all round, as we plainly saw by the sea-weed that clung in the
crevices, and the limpets and barnacles on the smooth places right above
the heads of us boys, while every here and there at our feet we could
see the common red sea creatures, which look like red jelly when the
tide is down, and like daisyfied flowers when it is up.

"No stopping down here, boys," cried my father. "Now, then, where's the
best place to climb the cliff? You two try one way, Chowne and I will
go the other."

We separated, and Bigley and I ran right round the steep wall, looking
eagerly for a spot where foothold could be obtained, but it was
generally overhanging, while elsewhere it rose up perfectly straight, so
that a cat could not have run up it. Only in one place where there was
a great crack did it seem possible to climb up any distance, and that
crack seemed to afford the means of getting to a shelf of rock just
beneath a tremendous overhanging mass, some fifty feet above where we
stood.

This was very near the eastern arm of the little bay, where the tide was
fretting and splashing and gurgling among the rocks, and threatening
every minute to come right up amongst the stones that filled the foot of
the crack.

"Let's look more carefully as we go back," said Bigley; and we did, but
our only discovery was the entrance to another cave, which seemed to be
quite a narrow doorwa