r he had heard it thousands of times, it being the soft rattling
of pebbles running back over one another after being cast up by a wave.

"This is queer," he muttered, and, withdrawing his arm, he took another
step or two along the ledge, which curved more round to his right, so
that he could not see above a couple of yards, while upon getting to the
end of these he found that he had to pass an angle in the rock face
which brought him to where the ledge widened out considerably.

"I must be just under where I lay down to look over," he said to
himself, and having plenty of room now he turned to look upward, and
then stopped short as if turned to stone, for from somewhere just beyond
where he stood came the soft hollow rush and hiss of shingle following a
retiring wave, and with it a distant hollow-sounding "_Ahoy_!"

But Aleck did not start forward to peer down some deep chasm leading
through the huge cliffs to the sea, but, as has been said, stood fast,
looking upward, as if turned to stone, his attention having been seized
upon by the rattling, rustling sound made by something above his head,
and the next moment a pair of feet came into sight so close to him that
he could have touched them where they hung on a level with his eyes.

They stopped short, with the toes resting for a few moments upon a
projecting stone, and then a man dropped lightly upon the broad ledge
with a panting ejaculation of relief.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

There was another ejaculation uttered upon that rough ledge of rock, and
it was uttered by Aleck, in the form of the one word:

"Eben!"

The man gave forth a hoarse cry, sprang upon him, and pinned him by the
shoulders against the rock, panting breathlessly the while as if
exhausted by previous exertions, while his lips were drawn back from his
white teeth and he wore generally the aspect of some savage bunted beast
at bay.

"Don't!" cried Aleck, angrily, dragging at the man's wrists as he noted
his fierce looks; "you hurt. Let go. Why, I thought the press-gang had
taken you right away?"

"Did yer?" growled the man, breathlessly, through his set teeth, while
his dark eyes seemed to glitter. "Then you see they haven't. What are
you doing here?"

"Having the skin rubbed off the back of my head, I think," cried Aleck,
struggling to get free. "Be quiet! Are you mad?"

"'Most," panted the man, tightening his grasp.

"But you'll have me off the ledge here if you don't mind."