ing out the rope,
and the rowboat came out of its shed and glided slowly downward to
the beach. It hung on a pair of davits and was lowered just as a
boat is lowered from a ship's side. When it reached the sands, the
sailor unhooked the ropes and pushed the boat to the water's edge.
It was a pretty little craft, light and strong, and Cap'n Bill knew
how to sail it or row it, as Trot might desire.

Today they decided to row, so the girl climbed into the bow and her
companion stuck his wooden leg into the water's edge "so he wouldn't
get his foot wet" and pushed off the little boat as he climbed
aboard. Then he seized the oars and began gently paddling.

"Whither away, Commodore Trot?" he asked gaily.

"I don't care, Cap'n. It's just fun enough to be on the water," she
answered, trailing one hand overboard. So he rowed around by the
North Promontory, where the great caves were, and much as they were
enjoying the ride, they soon began to feel the heat of the sun.

"That's Dead Man's Cave, 'cause a skellington was found there,"
observed the child as they passed a dark, yawning mouth in the
cliff. "And that's Bumble Cave, 'cause the bumblebees make nests in
the top of it. And here's Smuggler's Cave, 'cause the smugglers used
to hide things in it."

She knew all the caves well, and so did Cap'n Bill. Many of them
opened just at the water's edge, and it was possible to row their
boat far into their dusky depths.

"And here's Echo Cave," she continued, dreamily, as they slowly
moved along the coast, "and Giant's Cave, and--oh, Cap'n Bill! Do
you s'pose there were ever any giants in that cave?"

"'Pears like there must o' been, Trot, or they wouldn't o' named it
that name," he replied, pausing to wipe his bald head with the red
handkerchief while the oars dragged in the water.

"We've never been into that cave, Cap'n," she remarked, looking at
the small hole in the cliff--an archway through which the water
flowed. "Let's go in now."

"What for, Trot?"

"To see if there's a giant there."

"Hm. Aren't you 'fraid?"

"No, are you? I just don't b'lieve it's big enough for a giant to
get into."

"Your father was in there once," remarked Cap'n Bill, "an' he says
it's the biggest cave on the coast, but low down. It's full o'
water, an' the water's deep down to the very bottom o' the ocean;
but the rock roof's liable to bump your head at high tide ."

"It's low tide now," returned Trot. "And how could any giant live in