As the gorge was of no great length, and the downward incline in their
favour, they were not long in getting to its lower end, and out to the
level plain that formed the sea-beach.
In their hurried traverse thither, it had not occurred to them to
inquire for what purpose they were running towards the sea. There could
be no chance of their escaping in that direction. Nor did there appear
to be much in any other, afoot, as they were, and pursued by mounted
men. The night was too clear to offer any opportunity of hiding
themselves, especially in a country where there was neither brake, bush,
nor scaur to conceal them. Go which way they would, or crouch wherever
they might, they would be almost certain of being discovered by their
lynx-eyed enemies.
There was but one way in which they might have stood a chance of getting
clear, at least for a time. This was to have turned aside among the
sand-ridges, and by keeping along some of the lateral hollows, double
back upon their pursuers. There were several such side hollows; for on
going up the main ravine, they had observed them, and also in going
down; but in their hurry to put space between themselves and their
pursuers, they had overlooked this chance of concealment.
At best it was but slim, though it was the only one that offered. It
only presented itself when it was too late for them to take advantage of
it, only after they had got clear out of the gully and stood upon the
open level of the sea-beach, within less than two hundred yards of the
sea itself. There they halted, partly to recover breath and partly to
hold counsel as to their further course.
There was not much time for either; and as the three stood in a triangle
with their faces turned towards each other, the moonlight shone upon
lips and cheeks blanched with dismay.
It now occurred to them for the first time, and simultaneously, that
there was no hope of their escaping, either by flight or concealment.
They were already some distance out upon the open plain, as conspicuous
upon its surface of white sand, as would have been three black crows in
the middle of a field six inches under snow.
They saw that they had made a mistake. They should have stayed among
the sand-ridges, and sought shelter in some of the deep gullies that
divided them. They bethought them of going back; but a moment's
deliberation was sufficient to convince them that this was no longer
practicable. There would not be time, scarce even to re-enter the
ravine, before their pursuers would be upon them.
It was an instinct that had caused them to rush towards the sea, their
habitual home, for which they had thoughtlessly sped, notwithstanding
their late rude ejection from it. Now that they stood upon its shore,
as if appealing to it for protection, it seemed still desirous of
spurning them from its bosom, and leaving them without mercy to their
merciless enemies.
A line of breakers trended parallel to the water's edge, scarce a
cable's length from the shore, and not two hundred yards from the spot
where they had come to a pause.
They were not very formidable breakers, only the tide rolling over a
sand-bar, or a tiny reef of rocks. It was at best but a big surf,
crested with occasional flakes of foam, and sweeping in successive
swells against the smooth beach.
What was there in all this to fix the attention of the fugitives, for it
had? The seething flood seemed only to hiss at their despair.
And yet almost on the instant after suspending their flight, they had
turned their faces towards it, as if some object of interest had
suddenly shown itself in the surf. Object there was none, nothing but
the flakes of white froth and the black vitreous waves over which it was
dancing.
It was not an object, but a purpose that was engaging their attention, a
resolve that had suddenly sprung up within their minds, almost as
suddenly to be carried into execution. After all, their old home was
not to prove so inhospitable. It would provide them with a place of
concealment.
The thought occurred to all three almost at the same instant of time;
though Terence was the first to give speech to it.
"By Saint Patrick!" he exclaimed, "let's take to the wather! Them
breakers 'll give us a good hiding-place. I've hid before now in that
same way, when taking a moonlight bath on the coast of owld Galway. I
did it to scare my schoolfellows, by making believe I was drowned. What
say ye to our trying it?"
His companions made no reply. They had scarce even waited for the
wind-up of his harangue. Both had equally perceived the feasibility of
the scheme; and yielding to a like impulse, all three started into a
fresh run, with their faces turned towards the sea.
In less than a score of seconds, they had crossed the strip of strand;
and in a similarly short space of time were plunging, thigh deep,
through the water; still striding impetuously onward as if the intended
to wade across the Atlantic.
A few more strides, however, brought them to a stand, just inside the
line of breakers, where the seething waters, settling down into a state
of comparative tranquillity, presented a surface variegated with large
clouts of floating froth.
Amidst this mottling of white and black, even under the bright
moonlight, it would have been difficult for the keenest eye to have
detected the head of a human being, supposing the body to have been kept
carefully submerged; and under this confidence the mids were not slow in
submerging themselves.
Ducking down, till their chins touched the water, all three were soon as
completely out of sight, to any eye looking from the shore, as if
Neptune, pitying their forlorn condition, had stretched forth his
trident with a bunch of seaweed upon its prongs, to screen and protect
them.