red and shining features couldbe seen by the light of the candle he had lit inside a lanthorn.
"There, lads," he said, closing the door with a snap; "you didn't thinkto tell me to bring that, but I thought of it, and there we are. Now wecan see what we're about," he continued, as he swung the lanthorn abovehis head; "and not much to see nayther. Only an 'ole. Yes, of course.There you are. Sheep's bones. Dessay many a one's tumbled down here.Hole don't go up very high," he added, once more raising the lanthornabove his head; "but it goes down to the sea for sartain."
"Oh, Samson, and you've left the line up above. If we had it here, wemight have swung the lanthorn down and seen how deep it was."
"That's just like you, Master Fred," said Samson. "You always thinkother folk will do what you'd do. You'd ha' left the line up at thetop, same as you did your clothes, but being only a gardener, and a verybad one, as my brother Nat says, I put that there line in my pocket, andhere it is."
Fred's answer was a slap on Samson's hard broad back, as he tied one endof the line to the lanthorn-ring, swung it over the edge of the shelf,and they watched it go down sixty or seventy feet, feebly illumining thesides of the cave, and as it grew lower an additional radiance wasdisplayed by the light striking on the bottom, which proved to be fullof water kept slightly in motion by the influx of the waves outside.
"Not much to see, my lads," said Samson. "No gold, nor silver, nornothing. Shouldn't wonder if there's pigeons' nesties, though, only youcouldn't get at 'em without a ladder. There! seen enough?"
"No; I want to see whether there is any way down," said Fred.
"Any way down?" said Samson, swinging the lanthorn to and fro. "No, mylad--yes, there is. Easily get down at that corner. Slide down or slipdown. See!"
"Yes," said the lads in a breath; and long afterwards they recalledtheir eagerness to know about a means of descent from that shelf.
"Yes," said Samson; "you might make a short cut down to the sea this wayif you wanted to. But you don't want to, and it wouldn't be any good ifyou did, because you'd be obliged to have a boat outside; and if theboat wasn't well-minded, it would soon be banged to matchwood among therocks. There, my bit o' ground's waiting to be dug, and I've got youtwo out of your hobble, so here goes back."
As he spoke, he rapidly hauled up the lanthorn, forming the line intorings, untying the end from the ring, and, after giving it a twist,thrusting it back into his pocket, while he undid the strap he woreabout his waist, thrust an end through the lanthorn-ring, and buckled iton once more.
"Will you go first, Samson?" said Fred.
"No; I mean to go last. I don't leave here till I see you both safe.What should I have said to your mothers if you'd been lost and not foundfor a hundred years? Nice state of affairs that would ha' been."
"Go on first, Scar," said Fred; "we'll hold the rope tight, so that itwill be easy."
Scarlett reached up, seized the rope, and began to climb, getting thethick cord well round his legs, as he struggled up for nearly twentyfeet, and then he slipped down again.
"Can't we go down the other way, and climb the cliff?"
"No, you can't," said Samson, gruffly. "You've got to go up as you comedown. Here, Master Fred, show him the way."
Fred seized the rope, and began to climb, but with no better success;and he, too, glided down again after a severe struggle.
"The rope's so slippery," he said angrily.
"And you call yourselves young gentlemen!" grunted Samson. "Why, you'dha' been just as badly off if your rope hadn't slipped. Here, give ushold."
Samson seized the rope, and they heard him grunt and pant and cease hisstruggle, and then begin to grunt and pant again for quite ten minutes,when, just as they rather maliciously hoped that he would prove asawkward as themselves, they heard the lanthorn bang against the rock, ashower of shale fell as it was kicked off, and Samson's voice camedown--
"Line is a bit slithery," he said; "but I'm all right now."
They could not see, but they in imagination felt that he had reached thefirst slope, up which he was climbing, and then felt when he passed upthe second, showers of shale and earth following every moment, till, allat once, there was a cessation of noise, and of the shower, and Samson'sbluff voice exclaimed--
"Up a top! Now, then, lay hold, and I'll have you up to where you canclimb."
"Go on, Scar."
"Go on, Fred."
The boys spoke together, and, after a little argument, Scarlett seizedthe rope, felt himself hoisted up, and, once up at the slope, he soonreached daylight, Fred following in the same way, to stand in thesunshine, gazing at his companions, who, like himself, were covered withperspiration and dust.
"You look nice ones, you do," said Samson, grinning; "and all that theretrouble for nothing."
But Samson was a very ignorant man, who knew a great deal aboutgardening, but knew nothing whatever about the future, though in thatinstance his want of knowledge was shared by Fred and Scarlett, who,after resuming their jerkins, took, one the pole, the other the coil ofneatly ringed rope, and trudged back to the Manor with Samson, whodelivered quite a discourse upon waste of time; but he did not return tohis digging, contenting himself with extracting his spade from theground, wiping it carefully, and hanging it up in his tool-house, closeto the lanthorn.
"Going home, Master Scarlett?" said Samson.
"Yes, directly."
"Won't have a mug o' cider, I suppose?"
"No, thank ye, Samson."
"Because I thought Master Fred was going to fetch some out, and youcould have a drop too."
"Hark at him, Scar! There never was such a fellow for cider."
"Oh yes, there was; but I've yearned it anyhow to-day."
"So you have, and I'll fetch you a mug," said Fred, darting off.
"Ah, that's better," grunted Samson. "Never such a fellow for cider!Why, my brother's a deal worse than I am, and you wouldn't ketch himleaving his work to take all the trouble I did to-day, Master Scarlett.Hah! here he comes back. Thank ye, Master Fred, lad. Hah! what goodcider. Puzzle your Nat to make such stuff as that."
"He says ours is better," said Scarlett.
"Let him, sir; but that don't make it better."
"Bother the old cider! Who cares?" cried Fred. "Look here, Samson,don't say a word to anybody about our having found that hole."
"No, sir; not I."
"Why did you tell him that!" said Scarlett, as they walked away.
"I don't know," said Fred, starting.
"Perhaps I thought we ought not to tell, in case we wanted to hide someday."
"Hide! What from whom from!"
"I don't know," said Fred again, as he looked in a puzzled way at hiscompanion; and then they parted. Fred felt that he should have liked tohave told his friend why he wished the discovery to be kept a secret,but the puzzled feeling grew more intense, and when at last he dismissedit, he was obliged to own that he did not know himself any more thanwhen he spoke.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
FRED TAKES A JUMP.
The adventure in the Rill cave was talked about for a few days, andseveral plans were made for its further exploration; but, in spite ofthe talking, no further visit was made in that direction.
"You see, we ought to get a boat," Fred said, "and row right to themouth, and go in that way next time, and we haven't got a boat."
"And no likelihood of getting one," said Scarlett, thoughtfully. "Shallwe go down again, and take your Samson with us this time?"
"I don't see that there's any good in it; and see what a mess we shouldbe in again. I was full of little tiny bits of slate all in my hair,and down my back, and, after all, it wasn't worth the trouble."
"Made me feel a bit queer. I say, Scar, only fancy being shut up there,and starving to death."
Scarlett gave an involuntary shiver.
"Don't talk about it."
"I say, starving to death makes you think about eating. When are yourpeople coming over again to supper?"
"I don't know," said Scarlett, with an uneasy sensation.
"What's the matter, Scar?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure. I think your father and mine have fallenout again."
"What makes you think that?"
"Something I heard my mother saying to him."
"Well, they'll soon be friends again, I dare