ts down to you," cried the governor. "Be
careful!"

The man who had given up his rope was not far above the spot where the
second convict lay; and he managed to lower himself down, holding his
lantern the while in his teeth, and soon after adding its light to that
of the other warder's.

"Think he's shamming?" asked the man who had found him.

The fresh comer stooped down without hesitation, in spite of the warning
from above; and after looking fixedly in the convict's closely shaven
face, passed his hand here and there about the prison clothes.

"Don't feel nothing," he said, "but this isn't shamming. Here, hold up,
my lad. Where are you hurt?"

There was no reply, and the cleanly cut, aristocratic features of the
man looked very stony and fixed.

"I don't think he's shamming, mate," whispered the warder, "but cover
him with your piece; I don't want to be hurt."

It was an awkward place to use a rifle, but the warder addressed altered
his position a little, and brought the muzzle of his piece to bear on
the convict's breast.

"Well, you two below there," shouted the governor. "What do you make
out?"

"One moment, sir. Ugh! No shamming here, mate. Feel his head."

"Take your word for it," said the other gruffly.

"Let's have your rope, then, and send him up."

"Badly hurt?" cried the governor.

"Very, sir," shouted the warder who was manipulating the rope. "Wait a
minute," he continued, and, stripping off his tunic, he threw it over
the injured man's head, and passed the sleeves under the rope about his
chest.

"Mind what you're doing, or he'll slip away."

"He'll slip away if I do mind," muttered the warder. "Here, steady,
mate; I only wanted to keep the rocks from chafing you."

For the convict had suddenly torn at the tunic; but his hands dropped
again directly, word was given to haul gently, and holding on by either
side of the loop about the prisoner's breast, the warders climbed as the
rope was hauled, and kept the unfortunate man's head from the rock.

This last was a slower process than the sending up of the first
prisoner, but the rest of the warders were searching about still,
especially down close to the edge of the sea, in the expectation of
seeing the third man hiding among the rocks half covered with the long
strands of the slimy fucus that fringed the tide-washed shore. And all
the while the two boats made the water glisten, and the blue lights
threw up the face of the rock