Part 7 (1/2)
”Yes, father,” said the boy, after getting histrim
”Lanthorns! Off with you”
”Lanthorns won't be no good in the fog”
”Don't you be soreaches up far?”
”Did you signal s'afternoon, father?”
”Lanthorns! And look sharp, sir”
The boy went into the back kitchen, took down from a shelf three horn-lanthorns, which had the peculiarity of being painted black save in one narrow part Into these he glanced to see that they were all fitted with thick candles before passing a piece of rope through the rings at the top
This done he took down a much smaller lanthorn, painted black all round, lit the candle within, and, taking this one in his hand, he hung the others over his shoulder, and prepared to start
”Mind and don't you slip over the cliff, Ram,” said his mother
”Tchah! Don't scare the boy with that nonsense,” said the farrily; ”why should he want to slip over the cliff? Put 'em well back, boy Stop 'bout half an hour, and then co the hollow for so short off to the right, he began to cliher and more and more away to his left till it skirted the cliff, and he was cli
The lad's task was robbed of the appearance of peril by the darkness; but the danger never occurred to Ram, who had been up these cliff-paths too often for his pleasure to heed the breakneck nature of the rough sheep-track up and up the face of the cliff, leading to where it became a steep slope, which ran in and on sohest points in the neighbourhood
”It's plaguey dark,” said Raht?”
He whistled softly as he cliht They won't see no lanthorns, I know”
”Dunno, though,” he her up ”Not quite so thick up here How old Grip growled! But he had to do it Aren't afraid of a dog like hi track another fifty feet, and stopped short to gaze away at the bright stars of the clear night with the great layer of fog all below hiht, but I dunno whether they'll be able to see froer Don't nal s'afternoon”
He whistled softly as he went on higher, laughing all at once at an idea which struck hiht on to the cutter! Wouldn't it 'stonish them all? I knohat I should do Shove off directly into the fog
They wouldn't be able to see, and I wouldn't use the sweeps till I was out of hearing, and then--oh, here we are up atop!”
For the sheep-track had coerous part of the journey The zigzag and the cliff-path had been bad, but a fall there would not have been hopeless, for the unfortunate who lost his footing would go down to the next path, or the next, a dozen places perhaps offering thethe doard course, but up where the boy now stood was a slope of short turf with long dry strands which rass terribly slippery, and once any one had fallen here, and was in erous an elevation that he would rapidly gather iht off into space to fall six hundred feet below on to the shore
This danger did not check Ra his toes well into the short grass, and rising higher and higher till he reached sorass, now very thin, and about a hundred feet back from the sea, in a spot which he felt would be well out of the sight of the cutter if those on board could see above the fog He set down his lanthorns, two about five feet apart, lit them all, and held the third on the top of his head as he stood between the others, so that frole
It seemed all done in such a matter of course way that it was evident that Ra the lanthorn on his head, first with one and then with the other hand, he went on whistling softly an old west country air, thinking the while about Sir Risdon and Lady Graeme, and about how poor they were, and how much better it was to live at a farmhouse where there was always plenty to eat, and where his father could go fishi+ng in the lugger when he liked, and how he could farood half an hour,” said Ra out the candle, afterwards serving the others the same
_Whe_--_hew_!