Part 42 (1/2)

”If you atteh his clenched teeth, ”I'll knock you off here into the sea”

”Will you?” cried Ra the blow struck at hile which would have made the blood of an onlooker curdle, so terribly narrow and dangerous was the place where the encounter took place

Of the pair, Archy Raystoke was a little the bigger, but the sler's son fullyhis one for years

No bloere struck, the efforts of Ra the midshi+pman dohen he meant to sit upon him till he had reduced him to obedience

Archy's tactics were, of course, to prevent this, and rid himself of his adversary, as he felt all the tile and wrestle there, for the ledge was six feet wide at the outside, and not th

But in a few rew more hot, and they held on to each other, and swayed here and there, all thought of the position they occupied was forgotten Onewithin those of his adversary, nearly threw him; then, by a dexterous effort, Archy shook hiain, swayed here and there, Archy getting far the worse of the encounter from weakness, but, with a final call upon hiround, and made so fierce an effort to throw Ram in turn, that he succeeded

His effort was not sufficiently well sustained, though, for success to have attended it, but for one fact They had struggled to the extree of the inward part of the shelf, and as the th, and Raive impetus to his next thrust, and his foot went down over the rock

There was a cry, a jerk, and the ing to the edge, for the young sler seemed to have been snatched froe of a sloping rock, part of his body without support, and apparently about to glide off into the waves below

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Archy shuddered, his eyes grew fixed, and his whole body see with rage, and struggling to gain theto have undone the past

”Ram!” he cried excitedly,--”Ram, my lad, turn over quickly, and lay hold, or you will be off”

There was no reply Rahastly, and his eyes were closed

”I've killed him! I know I have!” cried Archy excitedly; and he strained hiaze wildly about for a et down to where the boy lay, apparently about to slip off into the sea, there was only one way, and that was to jump Thirty feet! And if he did ju down in contact with the boy, perhaps right on hier would send hiht the midshi+poodness' sake, speak! Try to creep farther on to the rock Oh, help I help!”

He shouted this frantically, but a wild and ull was the only response, and his voice seemed to be utterly lost in the vast space around

”I shall have roaned Archy; and he stared about wildly again, in search of so to his adversary

None--none whatever It would have been madness to jump, and he knew it--death--certain death to both No one could have leaped down that distance on to a shelf of rock without serious injury, and then it would have been impossible to save hi into the sea below This even if the shelf had not already been occupied; and Ram lay there, evidently stunned, if not killed

What did Mr Brough and old Gurr always say? ”_Be cool in danger_--_never lose your nerve_!”

”Yes, that was it!” he said, as he recalled lessons that he had received again and again But what could he do? Even as he gazed down, he lide slowly off, and, with brow covered with great drops of perspiration and his hands wet and cold, theto his feet, looked round, and sent up shout after shout for help

Again his voice seemed utterly lost in the air, and a peculiar, querulous cry fro round, was all the response he got