GULL ROCK
Susan and Rose were tired of playing dolls in Beech House all by
themselves.
“Let’s not play this any more,” said Rose. “Sue, let us go and look for
that treasure, the _real_ treasure, which the boys could not find.”
“All right,” said Sue. “Let’s!”
They ran along the cliff until they came to the bathing beach, then
they climbed down to the sand.
“I know where I think the treasure is,” said Rose. “I think it is out
there on that great big pile of rock where the gulls are. I have always
wanted to go out on those rocks, but sometimes one can’t go, because
there is water all around them. See, we could go now.”
“Yes,” said Susan. “I never was out there either. Let’s go!”
This stony point, of which Rose spoke, was called Gull Rock. It rose
gray and jagged out of the sea, looking like a castle of stone. It was
a favorite resting-place of the sea-gulls. Great flocks of them wheeled
and screamed around the rocks and settled on them in gray clouds. There
was a narrow pathway of stones which led out to Gull Rock, and on each
side of the path the waves lapped gently. The tide was coming in.
“Let’s take off our shoes and stockings,” said Rose. So they did. “Now,
follow my leader!” Rose cried; and with much squealing and giggling the
little girls began to hop from stone to stone along the narrow path. It
was very exciting! They kept tumbling down, for the rocks were wet and
slippery, and in some places were covered with seaweed, which as every
one knows is the slitheriest kind of thing under foot! Sometimes their
feet went _splash!_ into the pools of water which stood here and there
on the path. But they did not mind that, because their feet were bare.
[Illustration: ROSE AND SUE CROSS UPON THE SLIPPERY STONES]
At last they came to Gull Rock. They climbed up to the top. My! how
surprised the sea-gulls were when the two little heads appeared above
the edge of the rock, and how fast they flapped away, chattering and
screaming hard things about these uninvited guests!
“It was too bad to disturb them,” said Rose, who always meant to be
polite to animals and birds. “But I did so want to see what was on
these rocks. Come, Sue; let us climb down on that other side.”
This was the side farthest away from the bathing beach, looking
straight out to sea. They scrambled down towards the water, and finally
they came to a great hole like a well, that seemed to go down forever.
“Oh, look!” cried Rose. “I do believe there might be a treasure hidden
in the bottom of this hole. Doesn’t it look mysterious, Sue?”
“Oh, yes!” said Sue. She did not know what “mysterious” meant, but she
thought it had something to do with treasures.
“Look, there are cracks in the side, like steps,” said Rose. “Let’s go
down.”
“Oh, do you dare?” cried Sue. “There might be something awful at the
bottom.”
“Pooh!” said Rose. “I am not afraid. I am going down.” And she began to
descend, fitting her bare toes into the cracks of the rocks. Sue was
afraid, but she followed, for she did not dare be left behind.
They went down for what seemed a long way, when suddenly there was a
funny noise below them. “_Chug!_” went something; and it sounded like a
growl. Sue gave a loud scream.
“Oh!” she cried. “There _is_ something down there!” And she began
to scramble up. Now Rose did not mind the “chug” so much as she did
the scream. Rose hated screams. When Sue cried “oh!” so suddenly, it
startled Rose. She jumped; her foot slipped out of its crack, and she
fell.
Down she tumbled, bumping herself on the rocks as she went. She came
flat on the bottom of the hole with her foot doubled under her, and
she gave a cry of pain.
“Oh! what is it?” called Sue, in a shaking voice from above. “Is the
creature eating you up?”
“Oh, no!” moaned Rose. “It is my foot, my foot! It hurts me. I can’t
stand up on it. Oh! oh!” Rose was a brave little girl and she never
cried unless she was badly hurt. But now the pain was terrible.
“Oh, if there isn’t any awful creature there, I will come down and help
you,” said Sue. Presently she, too, came slipping into the bottom of
the hole. But she fell without hurting herself. There was plenty of
room for her beside Rose. She found that they were in a little cave.
But it was not a nice one like the pirate cave. It was damp and wet and
slimy, very cold, with the disagreeable smell of decaying seaweed.
Sue looked around fearfully and shivered. “It is a horrid place,” she
said. “I am afraid to stay here. Let’s go out quickly.”
She helped Rose to her feet; but when she tried to step poor Rose
screamed with pain and fell back in a heap.
“I can’t walk,” she wailed. “My foot is broken, I think. See, it is all
swelled up!”
Sure enough. The poor foot was turning the most dreadful color, a mixed
purple and green, and it was twice as big as it ought to be. Rose had
twisted her ankle badly.
“Oh, what shall we do?” said Sue. “How will you ever get out?”
Just then “chug!” came that same queer sound. This time both Rose and
Sue screamed and looked with wide eyes down into the farther corner of
the cave, which was narrow and dark. They expected to see some creature
come creeping out; but nothing appeared.
“What do you suppose it is?” whispered Sue.
“I don’t know,” said Rose. “But it is dreadful. I want to go home.”
“What shall we do?” wailed Susan, beginning to cry.
“Don’t do that!” said Rose. “It will not do any good, you know. Oh, of
course, you will have to go home and get somebody to come and help me.”
She shuddered to think of being left alone. “Go quickly, Sue. And oh,
do come back as soon as you can!”
“I will,” said Sue; and she began to climb out of the hole. Rose’s
heart sank as she heard the sound of Sue’s feet growing fainter and
fainter, and she almost called her back; but she bit her lips and tried
to be brave. When Sue called down “Good-by!” she felt her heart grow
very cold indeed. It sounded so far away. Every one was so far away,
and she was alone in that dreadful place with no one to help!
Just then _chug!_ came that sound again. What could it be? There surely
was something in the cave beside herself. Rose stared fearfully into
the dark corner, but still she saw nothing. She waited nervously for
the noise to come again. There it was, louder than ever,--_chug!_ And
this time a little splash of water spurted out of the darkness. Was
some animal splashing there?--Why, no! Of course, it was a little
wave coming in from the sea. There must be a crack in the bottom of
the cave. Well, that was not so bad. Rose almost laughed to think how
frightened she had been. But her foot gave a twinge of pain and she
cried “Ow!” instead.
Rose wondered how long she would have to stay there. It would take some
time, she knew, for Susan to run home and bring her father back. But
already it seemed as if she had waited for hours.
_Chug!_ came the noise again, very fiercely. This time a spout of water
spattered across the cave into Rose’s lap. She did not like this, and
painfully drew herself as close as she could against the wall of the
cave, so that the next wave should not reach her. But it did reach her.
In a few minutes there came another _chug!_ very loud indeed, and with
it there was a bang which seemed to shake the rock itself. In a second
a jet of water burst out of the darkness, spattering Rose from head
to foot. She screamed, for now she knew what it meant. The tide was
rising, and the waves were rushing into the crack at the bottom of the
cave. By and by it would be full of water, and then what would become
of her?
There came another _chug!_ and a bang on the wall outside, and she
heard a big wave burst over the rock. A second later the spout of water
leaped at her, bigger than ever, and at the same time a little stream
began to trickle down into the hole from above. The waves were dashing
across Gull Rock, and soon the cave would be flooded!
Poor Rose was now thoroughly frightened. Once more she tried to rise
and pull herself up the well. But it was of no use. She could not stand
on her foot, and she sank back with a moan.
Another wave dashed against the rock, and when it trickled away it left
Rose drenched and gasping for breath. What should she do? She knew that
if something did not happen to help her in a few minutes, she should
be drowned. Oh, why did not Sue hurry? Why did not Papa come?
“Papa! Papa!” she cried. “Oh, help, help!--I must scream as loud as I
can,” she thought. “Sue does not know. She will not think there is any
danger yet. Perhaps if they hear me they will hurry.--Oh, help! help!”
she cried, at the top of her lungs.
And then something happened!