Washed Ashore | Page 7

sea curiosities. So, leaving his pony in a
shed near the tower, which served as a stable, he strolled down to the
shore.
The tide was unusually low, and on turning to the right as he faced the
sea, he found that he could get along under the cliff on which the tower
stood, by means of a narrow ledge of rock and sand. He had never been
there before, and he thought that he should like to see how the cliff
looked towering above him. He forgot the danger he was running,
should the tide rise and cut off his retreat. He went on and on till he got
completely under the cliff, and when he looked up it seemed to bend
over above his head, and to reach up to the sky. The rocks were so wet
that it was evident the tide had only just gone down, so he thought that
he should have abundance of time to get further, and perhaps to get
round, so as to climb up the cliff on the west side. Going on, as he
happened suddenly to look up, he fancied that he saw, high above his
head, a human face looking down on him out of the side of the cliff. He
was startled--as well he might--for it seemed impossible that any one
could get to the spot. When he looked again the face--if fact it was--had

disappeared, and he saw nothing which he could have mistaken for a
face. Still he went on; there was novelty in the expedition, and no
apparent danger, of which he was not fond, and he thought that it could
only be a very little way longer round. Again he was startled, but this
time it was by a cry, and hastening on to the spot whence the sound
came, he saw a young girl, in the dress worn by the children of the
fishermen, holding on to a wet, seaweed-covered rock, on which she
had fallen to save herself from slipping off into the water. He was not
so devoid of good feeling as not to wish to help her, so he ran on, and
taking one of her hands, he dragged her up and enabled her to reach a
spot where the footing was more secure.
She thanked him simply but warmly, and then looking at him earnestly,
she said, "You are young Master Ludlow, and I think this no place for
you: so get back the way you came, or ill may come of it: there is time
for you before the tide rises, but none to spare."
"Who are you?" said Stephen; "I don't know what you mean; I've done
nothing to offend anybody."
"Who I am does not matter," answered the girl, "It's enough that you
are the son of one who is trying to take the bread out of the mouths of
poor folks who never harmed him."
This remark was sufficient to give Stephen a notion of what she meant,
and being naturally timid, thanking her for her warning, he hurried back
as fast as he could scramble over the rocks. He saw, indeed, that on
account of the tide there was no time to lose, for the tops of several
rocks which were before exposed were completely covered, and the
ledge along which his path lay was becoming narrower and narrower.
He began to get alarmed. It seemed a long way to the broad part of the
beach. He could not swim. He wished he could, even a little, because
he might then swim from rock to rock. He thought that he was very
near the end, when the tide came gliding treacherously up, till the water
touched the very base of the cliff before him. There was no retreat
either backwards or up the cliff. The rocks on which he stood were
evidently covered completely at half-flood, while by the marks on the
cliff the water must reach far above his head at high tide. He ran on

almost shrieking out with terror till the water completely barred his
further progress. He stood trembling on a rock, not daring to plunge in
and attempt to scramble across. It would have been better for him had
he done so boldly at once, for every instant the water was deepening.
He was about to sink down in despair, when he heard a voice shouting
to him. This roused him up, and he saw Tom Bowlby waving the stump
of his arm, and standing on a rock not twenty yards off. "Jump in,
young master, and come over to me, the water is not up to your middle
yet, and it's all smooth sailing between you and me."
Still Stephen, paralysed with fear, would not obey, and at length Tom,