e skiff drew away from them into the
bay.

Estelle's quick eyes saw the great gap in the cliffs as they came nearer
to the shore. It was forty or fifty feet above the beach, and from it a
small stream of water flowed in a thin shower.

'That is the place Alan spoke of,' said Marjorie, as her cousin pointed
to it. 'There are all sorts of stories about it, but I don't believe
anybody knows much. Some say there used to be a passage to it from our
old ruined summer-house, and smugglers were hauled up, and their
treasure too, and nobody could find out what became of them.'

'It seems a tremendous height,' said Estelle, in a tone of awe.

'It was only used at high tide,' said Alan. 'There were the caves down
below when the water was out. But here we are,' he added, as Thomas ran
the boat up the beach. 'Come along, and I will show you the only cave
worth looking at.'

The children were out of the boat in a moment, Georgie alone remaining
behind the others to 'lend a hand,' as he called it, though hindering
rather than helping Thomas to pull the boat out of reach of the tide.

'I can't think, Alan,' said Marjorie, when they had gone some way up the
beach, 'how you could give yourself away to Thomas so.'

'What do you mean?' asked Alan, flushing, and inclined to be angry.

'About the path, of course. If there is one, and if he really believes
that you intend to hunt for it, he is as likely as not to put all the
hindrances he can in your way.'

'Why should he?'

'I don't know, but there was something in his face that made me think he
had some secret, and a reason for keeping it. Let us make our own
discoveries without---- '

'You will have just about a hour, perhaps a little less, before we must
start back again, Miss,' said the voice of Thomas behind them.

Alan and Marjorie turned quickly. How much had he heard? He had
evidently followed them, and Alan could not believe that it was merely
to give a piece of quite unnecessary information, for they were within
calling distance anywhere in that small bay.

'Are you not going to stay with us all the time?' he exclaimed, in a
tone that showed a little annoyance.

'No, sir,' returned the man, with a wily smile, which somehow increased
Alan's anger. 'I thought I would sit inside the cave a bit. It's hot in
the sun.'

It sounded reasonable enough, and there was nothing to say against his
doing as he wished, but both the elder children somehow distrusted him.

They w