Part 21 (1/2)

Mr Selincourt was not the row under his feet when he had any sort of project in hand He was so rich, too, that his schemes never had to suffer delay froh Directly he hadestablishs, hich fell to Jervis and Mary; then, when these were ready, Astor M'Kree was set to work, with as ree of dexterity

Never had there been such a su was pressed into service Soes, were set to work, and although they were no good at carpentry, or things of that sort, they did very well at cod-splitting, or, as it was ter the fish to dry on the flakes, as the structures were called which had been erected on a sunny headland, after the fashi+on of the fish-flakes at St John's, Newfoundland, whence the idea was taken

Already Mr Selincourt was in treaty for the purchase of land on both sides of the river He wanted to possess the river frontage on each bank of the water, froe; but the drawback to this was that 'Duke Radford owned nearly three quarters of a e close to the store, so it was not likely that the owner of the fishi+ng fleet would get all the ground into his own hands

Mary had a fancy for geology, and when her father had no need of her help in forwarding his sche about the woods and the shore, ar, and accos from the store True to her resolve, she had lost no tireat, fierce creatures, which roamed as they pleased in summer, as a sort of holiday compensation for the hard work they had to do in winter, when stores had to be transported by sledges She had done her work so thoroughly that the dogs became, not merely her friends, but her abject slaves, and were ready at any time to swim the river at her call

The coast of the bay to the northas flat and swampy, but southward from Seal Cove it stretched in bold headlands and precipitous rocks for mile on mile, until the mouth of the next river spread acres of swamp 'twixt land and sea Beyond the headland on which Mr Selincourt had erected his fish-flakes there extended round, with split rocks and riven cliffs which ht have been the result of volcanic upheaval, but were probably only the product of the intense frost of centuries This was Mary's happy hunting ground, a place full of scientific surprises, and full of dangers too For the rocks were slippery, the heights tremendous, and a fall in many places must have meant certain death

Jervis Ferrars had been in his boat onethe coast to a certain bay or inlet ulls These birds were valuable either for their plucked feathers, or for their skins with the feathers left on They frequented the inlet in their tens of thousands, and it had occurred to hiood business to secure a couple of thousand skins, and get the by the tiust

He had beached his boat, and spent an hour or ainst the luckless gulls, which dozed in sleepy content on the sunny slopes of the inlet Then, taking to his boat again, he pulled hi his plans on the way He was passing a rocky pro the fish-flakes, when he heard a yelping noise, and, looking up, saw a big dog running to and fro on the rocks in evident distress But there were soloose in the woods and the wilds at this time of the year, and as they wereor other, he took very little notice of the creature, and, working steadily on, arrived in due course at the fish shed

Jervis was tired, having pulled ainst hi that it would be really pleasant to sit writing for an hour or two so his office, he took off his jacket and sat down on the rough stool before the equally rough desk where his clerical as principally done

But he had not entered two ites when Mr

Selincourt came in hastily, with a worried look on his face

”Have you seen Mary in your travels?” he asked

”No; I didn't even know that Miss Selincourt was at Seal Cove this

”She cao over the rocks to test some ironstone formation which she discovered the other day She promised to be back here to o, and she has not co at hi to settle some clue which threatened to escape hi with her?”

”Most likely; she never reat brutes fro too I always feel more comfortable about her then, than if she were alone”

Jervis juan to pull on his jacket with nervous haste He was reo, and the creature's evident distress, which probably meant that Miss Selincourt was in trouble also

”What is the , I hope But as I ca on the rocks, a big creature that seemed in trouble I didn't think much of it then, but of course it must have been the ani to see if she is all right,” Jervis answered

”I will coo faster alone And if she is not really in difficulties we , anxious hunt for no purpose at all If you alk over beyond the fish-flakes, and come to the rocks from that direction, you will either meet her or meet me,” Jervis said, then hurried off to his boat, which was drawn up on the shore at a little distance from the fish shed

It must have been two , and now he blamed himself because he had not taken more notice of its trouble The worst of it was, he was not quite sure as to where he had seen the creature The sky was overcast, and the weather looked so threatening that, unless he could find Miss Selincourt soon, and hurry her ho

Resting on his oars, he sent out a hty shout, then waited with every sense on the alert One one he shouted again, following this up with a whistle so piercing that it fetched a distant echo from the rocks

But was it an echo?

The sound had scarcely died ahen it was repeated again A ain, and knew for a certainty that it was no echo, but so back to hiale that roared in his ears like thunder, as he drew his boat high up beyond reach of the tide that was running in strongly; and when the boat was safe he set out to cli foothold with difficulty, for what looked like solid rock had a trick of cru when stepped upon, just as if it were rotten mortar

But he reached the top at last, and paused to look about hi fast with both hands, for the force of the wind at this height was so great that he feared lest he should be bloay

On one side was the bay, with great waves, foa in, to break with a thunderous roar on the beach Spread out on the other hand was the wild, rocky waste, full of dangers now, for in the deep valleys between great rock boulders the inco deep pools where a little before had been dry ground