But it was not this which was noticed at first. The great sight was the enormous waves, which seemed to grow up out of the water a long way out, to rise higher and higher, and to rush on faster and faster, till, in their haste to reach the land, they fell forward, and, dashing into a sheet of foam, swept far up on the sand; then, growing weaker and weaker, they made one last sweep, and drew back as if afraid, but were driven on again by the new waves, which had formed themselves meanwhile.
Mr. Miller said that about every ninth wave was larger than the rest. Henry and he counted together; and though the eighth or tenth was sometimes the largest, they accounted for the mistake by supposing that they must either have missed one, or reckoned the same wave twice.
Many times, as a wave went back, they chased it as far as they could go without wetting their feet. The sand seemed to grow dry and hard the instant that the water left it, so that they could follow it very closely; but soon another great wave came roaring in, and they were obliged to scamper towards land as fast as their legs would carry them.
Once, while Henry was looking one way and running the other, he came against the front of a little rock which rose through the sand, and narrowly escaped a good ducking. Another time he stood on the top of a little rock which rose like an island through the sand, hoping that the water would surround him. For several minutes he waited very patiently, but the waves always stopped before they reached him. At last, just as he had grown tired, there came a ninth wave, which not only surrounded him, but rose so high as to dash against his legs. Whether he was frightened, or the water was too strong for him to stand against, I do not know, but he sprang off and ran towards the land, wet nearly up to his knees.
It was now high water; and as Henry belonged to that class of boys who like fresh air, exercise, and bread-and-butter, he gladly heard the proposal to find a good place where they might sit down to dinner. They had not to go far. Not a hundred yards off, a small stream came tumbling over the cliff among some large stones, and, after flowing for a short distance, sank into the sand before it reached the sea. Towards this they made their way, frequently picking up shells and other things which had been washed in by the waves, but throwing them all away again, because the basket in which they were to be stowed away had yet to be emptied.
A large stone, with a towel spread on it, was the table, and stones served as seats. The dinner consisted of some slices of cold tongue, and a hunch of bread. The stream supplied plenty of clear and cold water, and this was the only part of the feast of which much was left.
“And now,” said Mr. Miller, “that we have made room in our basket, let us search for curiosities.”
SHELL OF CUTTLE-FISH.