The next morning one of the first things that saluted Aleck's eyes on
making his way up to the look-out on the cliff, was the sloop-of-war
about a couple of miles out, sailing very slowly along, followed at a
short distance by the Revenue cutter, and the lad had not been watching
five minutes before he became aware of the fact that Ness Dunning's work
in the garden was at a standstill, that individual being laid flat upon
his chest watching the vessels' movements through a piece of pipe.
Away to the right on the cliffs, dotted about which lay Eilygugg, there
was a white speck here and a blue speck there, and a little more intent
gazing proved to the lad that there was another speck upon the edge of
the farthest cliff in view.
"Women on the look-out to give warning to the smugglers," thought Aleck,
and he hurried back to see if his uncle was down, and if he were not to
return to the cliff-top with the glass.
But the captain was just descending, and his first words were:
"That's right, my boy; let's have breakfast. By the way, did you get my
paper?"
This started the lad, who was crammed with his news, which he hurriedly
made known.
"Humph!" said the old man. "Rather a lively experience for you, my lad;
but you must be careful, for I don't want to have you in trouble over
helping smugglers to escape."
"No, uncle, of course not," said Aleck; "but do you think I did wrong?"
"Certainly, my boy. This fellow--ill-conditioned fellow Megg--was
fighting against the law. He was doubtless there on some business
connected with smuggling, and nearly got caught by the press-gang--an
institution I do not admire, but those in authority consider it a
necessity for the supply of the Navy. Keep away from all these worries,
and as much as possible from Rockabie and its young ruffians."
"Yes, uncle; but I really did not seek to be amongst all that business
in Rockabie yesterday," pleaded Aleck.
"Of course not, my boy, and you need not look so penitent. The law's
the law, of course, but I'm afraid if I had been appealed to as you were
last night I should have done the same, and given the scoundrel a good
talking to as I brought him away. There, have no more to do with it,
and keep out of sight if there are boats landed, as there most probably
will be, to make a search."
"But suppose the officers land and know me again, uncle?"
"There, there, I'm just in the midst of a tiresomely intricate chapter
of my book, and don't want to have my attention taken off."
"No, uncle, of course not; but if the officers and men know me again?"
"Why, let them, my lad. You were doing no harm, and they can do you
none. Now let's finish our breakfast."
"Shall I stay in, uncle?" said Aleck. "Tom Bodger slept down in the
boat last night, and I wanted to take him some breakfast."
"Go and take it then, of course."
"And then stay in?"
"No, no; nonsense. Now don't bother me any more."
"I won't get into any trouble," Aleck said to himself, as he hurried
out, armed with two huge sandwiches and a mug of well-sweetened coffee,
with which he got on pretty well going through the garden, hardly
spilling a drop, till he was startled by the voice of the gardener,
saying, from the other side, in anticipation:
"Thankye, Master Aleck. That's very good of yer."
That startling made the lad half stop, and about a tablespoonful of the
hot preparation flew out on to the path. But Aleck paid no attention,
not even turning his head, but increasing his pace, with the mug
troubling him a good deal in his efforts to preserve the liquid in a
state of equilibrium in a rapidly descending and very slippery and
uneven rocky path.
"I daresay you'd like it," muttered Aleck, as he hurried on, followed
directly after by:
"I'm over here, Master Aleck."
"Thank you for the information, Ness, but they say none are so deaf as
those who will not hear."
At the next zigzag of the path he was out of sight and hearing, and a
few minutes later close upon the niche devoted to his boat, with the big
sandwiches complete, and quite three parts of the coffee in the mug.
"Sorry to have been so long, Tom," he cried, breathlessly, "but here
you--"
Aleck was going to say _are_, but he felt that it would not be correct,
for Tom was not there, nor anywhere within sight down the narrow
waterway in the direction of the sea. He had left tokens of his
presence in the shape of tidy touches, for the boat tackle had all been
taken out and stowed away in the overhanging cavernous part, and the
boat lay ready for any amount of necessary repairs, for, in spite of the
sailor's declaration the previous evening, she had been leaking to such
an extent during the night since she had been tied up, that she was one
quarter full of water.
"Why, he ought to have stopped to mend the hole properly. Seen the
men-o'-war coming, I suppose, and gone back to Rockabie so as not to be
found if the sailors come searching here. But how stupid! What am I to
do with this coffee and bacon?"
A moment was sufficient for his decision, and he turned and hurried
back, made straight for the tool-house, where he placed the mug on the
bench, with the sandwiches carefully balanced across. Then, carefully
keeping out of the gardener's sight till the last minute, he turned down
a path which led him near, and then, putting his hands to his lips, he
shouted:
"Ness!"
"Yes, Master Aleck," came directly from where the man was making believe
to have been busy for hours.
"I've put some coffee and something to eat in the tool-shed," bellowed
Aleck. "Let him think what he likes," he muttered, as he ran back
indoors, obtained the glass, and was off again to make for the cliff and
watch the proceedings of the men-o'-war.
Their proceedings seemed to be nil, for both vessels were hove to, and
after watching them for a few minutes by means of the glass, Aleck
closed it, and hung about, undecided what to do.
A minute later he had made up his mind, for the cave in which the
smugglers' boats lay drawn up attracted him, and he was level with the
cottages and preparing to descend when it occurred to him that he had
better not go, for if Eben had been suspicious of his visit and ready to
think him guilty of giving information to the press-gang people and
Revenue men, it was quite possible that others there might be the same,
while doubtless the women who had lost son, husband, or father during
the past night would be in no pleasant temper to encounter.
So instead of descending, Aleck went on in the direction of the great
gap in the cliff where he had had so exciting an encounter with the
smuggler, intending to make for the shelf again so as to sit down and
watch the sloop and cutter, but only to find when he reached the place,
that the view in that direction was cut off by towering rocks.
Consequently he climbed back, went round the head of the deep combe, and
crept round to the other side, mounted to the top, and then stood
looking down into another of the great rifts in the coast-line, one
which had perpendicular sides, the haunt of wild fowl, going sheer down
to the water, which here came several hundred yards right into the land.
There were plenty of capital places here where a strong-headed person
could go and perch and excite no more notice than a sea-bird. They were
what ordinary inshore folk would have called "terribly dangerous," but
such an idea never occurred to Aleck, who selected one of the most
risky, in a spot where the vast wall where he stood was gashed by a
great crack, which allowed of a descent of some thirty feet to a broad
ledge littered by the preenings of the sea-birds, which seemed, though
none were present, to have made it their home.
It was a delightful spot for anyone who could climb to it without
growing giddy; but there was no going farther, for the angle of the
ledge was quite straight, and when the lad peered over he was looking
straight into the gurgling, foaming and fretting water a hundred feet
below.
"What a boat cove that would have made," he thought, "if there were not
so many sharp rocks rising from the bottom! I shouldn't like to try and
take my kittiwake in there, big as it is."
The gloomy place, with its black shadowy niches and caves at the surface
of the water, had a strange fascination for him. In fact, with its
solemn twilight and irregular crag, arch and hollow, it looked quite an
ideal entrance to some mermaid city such as is described by the poets
who deal in fable.
But there were the two little men-o'-war to watch, and Aleck drew back a
step or two from the edge to select a comfortable seat, where the colour
of the rock which rose up behind was likely to assimilate with his
garments and not throw him up as a plainly-seen watcher if a telescope
were directed shoreward from one of the vessels.
"I wonder whether the smugglers ever come here," thought Aleck, as he
looked at the face of the rock in a spot that just suited his purpose;
and then he laughed to himself and felt no doubt at all, for there, just
level with his face, and about eighteen inches within a crack in the
rock, a shabby old horn lanthorn was wedged, and just below it was a
tinder-box and a square wide-mouthed bottle, well corked, evidently to
protect its contents from the spray which would come rushing up from
below in a storm, the contents being so many thin slips of wood, whose
sharply-pointed ends had been dipped in molten brimstone.
"One of their look-outs," he said to himself, as he turned again to sit
down, but only to start and crouch upon his knees in surprise; for close
up to the rock wall, half hidden by a tuft of sea-pink and grey sea
holly, was a very old ragged black silk neckerchief, folded and creased
as if lately torn off, and bearing strange rusty dark stains, dry and
unpleasant-looking, and with very little consideration Aleck settled in
his own mind that, if it were not the kerchief Tom had torn from his
neck to wind round the smuggler's wound, it was as like it as could be.
It did not look a nice thing to take up and handle, but the lad bent
lower, before rising up to say, decisively:
"It must be, I'm sure, for I almost seem to know the holes. Then Eben
must have been here this morning watching for the press-gang people."
Another thought flashed across the lad's brain directly:
"Perhaps he's close by somewhere, watching me."
This thought produced a very uncomfortable feeling, and Aleck was
divided between two forces which pulled different ways. One was to--as
Tom Bodger called it--look out for squalls, the other to sit down quite
calm and unconcerned to watch the vessels.
"I can't help it if Eben does fancy I'm watching his proceedings; he
must feel that I should be longing to know what is going on. No, after
last night I'm sure he won't think I should make signals to the ships.
Why should I? There's nothing to signal about."
He focussed and re-focussed the glass, and held its larger end towards
the sloop and placed one eye at the little orifice; but the left would
not close and the right would not look at the sloop, but persisted in
rolling about in every direction in search of Eben, who, the boy felt
certain now, must be crouching back in one of the rugged clefts watching
every movement he made.
Aleck did the best he could to look calm and unconcerned, but anyone who
had seen him from near at hand would have pronounced it as being a
dismal failure.
Then all at once he started. Down went the glass, and he craned forward
towards the edge of the shelf to look down, for all at once there was a
hoarse rumbling sound and a tremendous plash and crash as if a mass of
rock had fallen from somewhere beneath him right into the rock-strewn
gully below.
He could not resist the desire to lie down upon his breast and edge
himself forward till his face was over the edge and he could look right
down into the water, which was all in motion, swaying and eddying,
foaming round the half-submerged blocks of weed-hung stone, and behaving
generally according to its custom as the tide went and came, for these
chasms displayed little change, the water being very deep and never
leaving any part of the bottom bare.
There was nothing fresh to see, and after a time the lad drew back, to
resume his old attitude with the glass to his eye.
But he had hardly settled down again before he experienced a slight
quivering sensation, as if the cliff had suddenly received a blow, while
directly after there was a deep roar as of stones falling along some
vast slope. Then once more silence, with the water whispering and
gurgling far below.
"Part of the cliff given way," thought Aleck, as he called to mind
places here and there where masses of the rocky rampart which guarded
the western shores had evidently fallen, and about which he had heard
traditionary stories. But these falls had taken place in far distant
times. No one that he had heard speak of them could go farther back
than chronicling the event as something of which "my grandfather heered
tell."
Aleck thought no more of the sounds and went on watching the two
vessels, till suddenly they seemed to be doing something in the way of
action. A boat was lowered from each, and the lad's glass was powerful
enough to enable him to make out the faces of the officers in the
stern-sheets, one of whom was the midshipman who had charge of the boat
at Rockabie pier.
Aleck watched the boats rowing shoreward and separating after a time,
one of the sloop's making for the Eilygugg cove, the other rowing in the
direction of the gap which led up to the depression in which lay the
Den.
Feeling that he would like to be at home if the boat entered their
private chasm, as the lad dubbed it, he turned back along the cliff and
reached the garden so as to descend to the mooring-place just in time to
see the cutter's boat framed in the opening, the dark rocks round and
above, and the little craft floating upon a background of opalescent sea
and sky.
"They can't have come right in," thought Aleck, and after a time he made
for the cliff again to get near the edge and look down, in time to see
that both boats were being rowed back to their respective vessels.
An hour after they were slowly gliding away in the direction of
Rockabie, their examination having been of the most perfunctory kind.