"Hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!"
"Solomo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-on!"
"He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-ey!"
"Is that yo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ou?"
"It's me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!"
"Where are y-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ou?"
"He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-re!"
"Come u-u-u-u-u-u-u-up!"
"Ca-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-n't!"
"Why no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ot?"
"Too hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-gh!"
"Go round the pi-i-i-i-i-i-nt!"
"Too high ti-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-de!"
"Wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-it!"
"All ri-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght!"
Captain Corbet now sprang up as nimbly as a young lad, and looked at
Phil and Pat with an expression of such exceeding triumph, that his
face seemed fairly to shine.
"It IS Solomon!" he cried. But it was of no use for him to convey that
piece of information to the boys, who already knew that fact quite as
well as he did.
"It IS Solomon," he repeated; "an now the pint is, how air we to git
him up?"
"Let me go down," said Pat.
"How?"
"Sure an I can git down wid that bit o' rope you have."
"Mebbe you can, an then agin mebbe you can't; but s'posin you was to
git down, how upon airth would that help the matter?"
"Sure an we cud give him a pull up."
"I don't think we could manage that," said Captain Corbet, "and you
couldn't, at any rate, if you were down thar with him. As far as I
see, we'll hev to wait till the tide falls."
"Wouldn't it be better," said Phil, "for us to go around, so as to come
nearer?"
"How? Whar?"
"Why, down to the beach, and then we could walk around the point."
"Walk? Why, it's high water."
"So it is--I forgot that."
"The fact is, we can't git any nearer than we air now. Then, agin, the
boys'll be along in a boat soon. They ought to be here by this time;
so let's sit down here, an wait till they heave in sight."
With a call of encouragement to Solomon which elicited a reply of
satisfaction, Captain Corbet sat down upon the grass, and the boys
followed his example. In this position they waited quietly for the
boat to come.
Meanwhile, Bart and Bruce had hurried on as rapidly as their legs could
carry them, and at length reached the path which went down to the
beach. Down this they scrambled, and not long afterwards they reached
the ship-yard. Here they obtained a boat without any difficulty, which
the workmen launched for them; and then they pushed off, and pulled for
the point, with the intention of rowing along opposite the shore, and
narrowly inspecting it.
Scarcely had they reached the point, however, when a loud and
well-known voice sounded from on high. They both turned and looked up,
still pulling. There they saw Captain Corbet, and Phil, and Pat, all
of whom were shouting and making furious gestures at them.
"We've found him! Come in closer!" cried Captain Corbet.
"Whe-e-e-re?" cried Bruce.
But before any answer could come, a loud, shrill scream, followed by a
yell of delight, burst forth from some place still nearer.
Burt and Bruce both started, and looked towards the place from which
this last cry came.
There a very singular and pleasing sight met their eyes.
About six feet above the water was a shelf of rock, that ran down
sloping to the beach, and over this there projected a great mass of the
cliff. In this recess there crouched a familiar figure. He had no
hat, but between his legs, as he sat there, he held a basket, to which
he clung with his knees and his hands. As he sat there his eyes were
fixed upon them, and their whites seemed enlarged to twice their
ordinary dimensions, while yell after yell came from him.
"Help, he-e-e-e-e-lp! Mas'r Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-art! O, Mas'r
Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-art! He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-lp!
Sa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ave me!"
"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried Bart and Bruce, in a burst of heartfelt joy.
"He-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-lp!" came forth once more from Solomon.
"All right," cried Bart; and at once the boat pointed towards the place
where Solomon was sitting. The water nearer the shore was somewhat
rough, but fortunately there were no rocks just there, and they were
able to bring the boat in close to the place where Solomon was
confined. At their approach Solomon moved slowly down the incline of
the rock, on his hands and knees, for there was not room for him to
stand upright; and as he moved he pushed the basket before him, as
though there was something inside of uncommon value. Reaching, at
length, a spot where the rock was about the level of the boat, he
waited for them to approach. Soon the boat touched the rock.
"Come, old Sol," cried Bart, "jump in!"
"Hyah, take hole ob dis yar," said Solomon, even in that moment of
rescue refusing to move till his precious basket should be safe.
Bart grasped it, and put it into the boat, noticing, as he did so, that
it was full of lobsters.
"Come, Solomon, hurry up. I don't like the boat to be knocking here
this way."
"All right, sah," said Solomon, crawling along rather stiffly; "ben
tied up in a knot all day, an feel so stiff dat I don't know as I'll
git untied agin fur ebber mo. Was jest makin my will, any way, as you
came along."
By this time Solomon had tumbled into the boat, and worked his way aft,
though not without many groans.
"It's de cold rocks, an de wet," he groaned. "Sech an attack o'
rheumaticses as dis ole nigga's gwine to hab beats all! Any how, I ben
an sabed de lobsta. Loss me ole hat, but didn't car a mite fer dat so
long as I sabed de lobsta."
"All right," cried Bart; and at this the two boys pulled away from the
rocks and rounded the point. As they came into the sight of those who
were waiting on the top of the cliff, a shout of joy arose.