hehad described in telling of the Derbyshire cavern.
Scarlett, who looked rather white from the shock he had received, joinedhis companion, and bent down to listen.
"Hear that?" said Fred in a whisper.
"Yes; water."
"Water! Yes, of course; but listen again."
They kept silence, and there ascended from below, through the almosthidden crevice, a low whisper of an echoing roar, which died away in apeculiar hissing sound that was thrilling in its strange suggestiveness.
"There must be a waterfall somewhere below there," said Scarlett atlast.
"Why, don't you know what it is?"
"No."
"The sea. Didn't think it was the end of your passage, did you?"
"What there? Nonsense!"
"Yes, it's the cave; and the sea runs right up here."
"It couldn't; it's too far away."
"I don't care; that's the sea. Now listen again, how regularly itcomes. Every wave must be rushing in, and you can hear it go whishingout."
Scarlett and his companion listened for a few minutes.
"Yes; it's the sea, sure enough," said Scarlett. "Why, Fred, I didn'tthink we had such a place here."
"No," said Fred. "But, then, nobody ever comes up here. Why, it'squite a discovery, Scar. Let's get down to the shore, and go in."
"Yes, I'm ready;" and together the two lads made their way to the edgeof the slaty cliffs, and then a long way by the edge, before they couldfind a rift of a sufficient slope to warrant their attempting a descent.
Even this selected path looked far more easy than it proved; but by theexercise of a little care they got about half-way down, and thenstopped; for it was plain enough to see, from the point of vantage theyhad gained, that even if they climbed to the narrow line of black slatyshingle between them and the perpendicular rock, they could not reachthe face of the Rill Head, which projected, promontory-like, into thesea, and low down in which for certain the cave must be.
"What a bother!" exclaimed Fred. "I thought we were going to have afine bit of adventure, and discover seals, and lobsters, and crabs, andall kinds of things. What shall we do?"
"Wait till low water."
"But it's nearly low water now. Can't you see?"
The marks of the last tide were plainly visible high up on the ruggedrock-face, the last tide having left every ledge covered with washed-upfucus and bladder-wrack, speckled with white shells and sandy patches.
"Then it must always be deep in water?" said Scarlett.
"Well, I tell you what, then, let's borrow somebody's boat and try andget right in that way."
"I don't know who somebody is," said Scarlett, drily; "and if I did, Idon't suppose he has got a boat."
"Don't talk like that," cried Fred. "I say, couldn't we get a boat?"
"There isn't one for miles. Old Porlett bought one--don't yourecollect?--and the sea knocked it all to pieces in the first storm."
"Yes, I recollect," said Fred, thoughtfully, "though it was twenty feetup on a broad shelf of rock. Shall we swim to the cave?"
Scarlett shook his head. "No," he said. "It would be too risky."
"What shall we do, then?"
"Give it up."
"And I just won't," cried Fred, emphatically. "I say, Scar, look here."
"Well?"
"If we can't get in one way, let's get in the other."
Scarlett stared at him wonderingly, "Let's go down the same way that youwere going, only not in such a hurry," he added with a grin.
"What, climb down the hole?" said Scarlett, thoughtfully, and ignoringthe smile. "Yes. Why not?"
"Oh yes, we could, with a rope. Drive an iron bar down into the earth,and tie one end of the rope to it, and then go down."
"You would not dare to go down that way."
"Yes, I would," said Fred, stoutly; "and so would you," he added.
"I don't know," said Scarlett, dreamily. "But I do. Shall we do it?I'm ready if you are. Come along, then, back to our place, and let'smake old Samson lend us a couple of good ropes."
Scarlett nodded acquiescence, and the two lads, little thinking howtheir act would be of importance in the future, re-climbed the cliff andstarted toward the Manor at a run.
It proved very easy to propose getting a rope, but much harder to getone, for everything in the shape of hempen cord was under the care ofSamson Dee, who had to be found, not at all a difficult task, for he wasdigging--at least, handling a spade--down the garden.
Samson greeted the coming of the lads with a smile, for it was anotherexcuse for taking a foot from the ground, and resting it upon the spade.But as soon as he heard the want, the smile faded from his face. "Youwant a what?" he said. "You know what I said, Samson, so no nonsense.Let us have one directly."
"You want a rope, Master Fred?"
"There, I told you that you did hear me. Yes; I want the longest ropeabout the place directly."
"What yer want it for?"
"Never you mind. I tell you I want the rope."
"To make a swing with, of course. Well, then, you can't have it."
"Can't I?" said Fred, sharply. "We'll soon see about that. Come along,Scar. Any one would think the ropes were his."
"Look here, Master Fred, if you--"
Samson ceased speaking, for he was wise enough to see that he waswasting words in shouting after the two lads. But he began mutteringdirectly about a "passell o' boys" coming and bothering him when hehadn't a moment to spare.
"And look here," he shouted, as he saw his visitors trotting off with acoil of strong new rope belonging to the waggon, "mind you bring thatrope back again. Now, I wonder what them two are going to do?" he endedby muttering, and then set to work digging once more, but in so slow andmethodical a fashion that the worms had plenty of time to get away fromthe sharp edge of the spade before it was driven home and cut them inhalf.
"Poor old Samson!" said Fred; "he seems to think that everything belongsto him."
"So does our Nat," replied Scarlett. "I often fancy he thinks I belongto him as well, from the way he shouts and orders me about."
"But you never do what he tells you."
"Of course not; and--Oh, Fred!"
"What's the matter?"
"We've got the rope; but what are we going to fasten the end to when wego down?" Fred stopped short, and rubbed one ear.
"You hold it while I go down, and I'll hold it while you go down."
"I shouldn't like to try that," said Scarlett. "We're not strongenough."
"Nonsense! Not if we let the rope bite on the edge of the hole?"
"That would not do," said Scarlett, decisively.
"I know, then," cried Fred. "Come along."
"No. Let's go back and get an iron bar to drive down in the earth."
"I've got a better way than that," said Fred. "There's a pole acrossthe opening in that stone wall half-way up the hill. We'll lay thatacross, and tie the rope to it."
Scarlett nodded acquiescence, and they trotted on to the rough stonewall, built up of loose fragments piled one on the other, the gatewayleft for the passage of cattle being closed by a couple of poles laidacross like bars, their ends being slipped in holes left for thepurpose.
The straighter of these two was slipped out by Scarlett and shouldered,and they hastened on, attracted by the discovery they had made, butrecalling, as they went on, that they had been told before about theexistence of this opening by more than one person, though it had slippedfrom their memory for the time.
"Who's going down first?" said Fred, as they slowly climbed the lasthundred yards of the slope.
"I will."
"No; I think I ought to go first."
"Long bent, short bent," said Scarlett, picking a couple of strands ofgrass, breaking them off so that one was nearly double the length of theother, and then, after placing two ends level and hiding the others,offering them to his companion to draw one out.
Fred drew the shorter, and Scar
lett had the right to go down first--aright which but for the look of the thing he would willingly havesurrendered. For as they reached the long, narrow, grass-grown crack,the strange whispering and plashing sounds which came from belowsuggested unknown dangers, which were more repellent than theattractions of the mysterious hole.
Fred looked curiously at Scarlett, who noted the look,