cliff and saw the splash in the sea, and watched the ripples
clearing off till the sea-bottom stood out again with every shell
distinct. And there, sure enough, was Tricky, down among the star-fish,
safely moored to his gravestone, and the yard of good rope holding like
a chain-cable. The shepherd rose for the first time since that monkey
set foot upon the island and breathed freely. Then he slowly went back
to the house and told the tale of the end of Tricky.

It was not till midnight that Tricky came back. Of course you knew
Tricky would come back. You knew the rope would slip over the stone, or
break, or be eaten through by a great fish, or something, and, though
none of these things happened, it is certainly true that that night at
midnight Tricky did turn up. Perhaps I should say turn down, for he came
in, as usual, by the chimney. But the exact way in which this singular
creature escaped from its watery grave must be reserved for another
chapter.

CHAPTER V

If the shepherd had stood looking over the cliff for one moment longer
he would have witnessed a curious scene. Every schoolboy knows that a
stone is lighter in water than in air. How the monkey knew this, or
whether he did or did not, it is impossible to say, but his actions were
certainly those of a philosopher. For, instead of resigning himself to
his fate, he bent down and grasped the stone which held him to his
watery grave, picked it up in his arms, and walked calmly along the
bottom towards the shore. With a supreme effort he next got the stone
edged on to a half-submerged ledge; but now that it was half out of the
water it was once more too heavy to lift, and Tricky lay in great
perplexity in the shallow water, wondering how ever he was to get out of
this fresh dilemma. There appeared nothing for it but to attack the rope
with his teeth, and for an hour Tricky worked at the tough strands, but
without almost any success. After another hour's work the monkey made an
appalling discovery. When he began work, the water was only up to his
knees; and to his consternation, it now covered him up to his middle. In
a short time more it came up to his neck, and it was clear to Tricky
that if the ledge went on sinking at this rate he was a dead monkey.
Tricky thought he knew all about the sea, but in the foreign sea, where
he had lived with the missionary, there were no tides, and this creeping
in of the water greatly disturbed his peace of mind. To his