Part 17 (1/2)
”No, I'm not,” said Aleck, boldly
”Then you do want ot to catcha backward bound which took him ten feet doard before he landed and kept his feet, following up his leap by running along the ledge of stony slate he had reached and then beginning to cli boldly, but without Aleck's success, for he slipped, through the stones giving way, and went down quite five-and-twenty feet in a rough scramble before he checked himself and took up the pursuit, which he soon found would be useless, for his young adversary was lighter and farhirowled, looking up at the lad ”I won't hurt yer now”
”Thankye,” said the boy,rock in the stiff slope, and well on his guard to go on clin of pursuit
”You ht, you great lu coward, to serve me like that!”
”I didn't mean to hurt you”
”Yes, you did--brute! You squeezed my wrist as hard as you could”
”Well, I didn't want to hurt youme like you did”
”Look here,” cried Aleck, fiercely, as theto where the boy stood, some thirty feet above hi stone down at you--it is loose”
”I don't want to ketch you now, only to talk quiet without having to shout”
”I can hear you plainly enough Sit down”
The greathi his heels into the loose screes to keep frorowled
”Now, then,” said Aleck, ”what do you want to say?”
”Only about you co to spy out noas yer?”
”No,” cried Aleck; ”of course I wasn't I've known for long enough that you people at Eilygugg do a lot of sht and seen you signal with a lanthorn, and then after a bit seen a light shown out at sea”
”You've seen that, youngster?”
”Lots of ti up against the cliff Of course we knohat goes on, but my uncle doesn't care to interfere, and I've never tried to find out where you hide the s out if I tried”
”Huht, youngster, p'raps you arn't; but there is a deal o' s this coast”
”Especially about here,” said Aleck, with a smile
”Well, what's the harm, eh? A man must live, and if one didn't do it another would”
”Look here; I don't want to know or hear anything about it,” cried Aleck ”Only I shall co the birds, as often as I like”