We sallied forth accordingly, I convinced that there was some secret in store for me still; Aleck full of thoughts about his ship, which he was exhibiting to George as he went along, narrating its many mis-adventures, and incorrigible tendency to sail bottom upwards, and gaining from the old man nothing but a series of chuckles, together with assurances which seemed to afford to George himself infinite amusement, that "Master Gordon's boat should sail in the Cove as trim and tight as the 'Fair Alice' herself."
It was a glorious morning. The sunshine was dancing and sparkling upon the water with a thousand gleaming flashes; the little waves came lapping playfully upon the sand and shingle to our feet, and made sweet music in the recesses of the rocks. We used to call these warm September days our Indian summer, and were wont to fancy that they were never so bright and beautiful anywhere as at Braycombe.
Groves took a quick comprehensive look towards the offing, and round again towards the rocks, and finally off towards the west, and then, as if satisfied with the result of his observations, said to us: "It would be a beautiful day for the White-Rock Cove, young gentlemen; the wind's shifted a bit since early morning, and Ralph will be round in half an hour to give us a hand with the oars; if Mrs. Grant wouldn't mind your being a bit late for luncheon, as you're to dine in the evening, we could do it nicely."
Now if anything had been wanted to add to the zest of our enjoyment, this suggestion of Groves's was just the thing. No expedition in the whole range of possibilities gave us so much pleasure as this one. First, it could only be accomplished in certain states of wind and tide; secondly, it occupied a longer time than could be usually available except on very propitious half holidays; and, finally, its attractions were of the most varied character. For what caverns were there in the whole neighbourhood that could compete with those at the White-Rock Cove?—with their deep clear pools, in which the pink seaweed and gorgeous anemones seemed to find a more congenial home than in any other place; with mysterious dark recesses and wonderful natural arches, and miniature gulf streams, that offered irresistible attractions to the spirit of enterprise, in the way of crossings on slippery stepping-stones; and with a soft white beach, spread out at the foot of the rocks, abounding with such a wonderful variety of shells, that our researches rarely ended without the discovery of some fresh specimen for our collections. Nor must we omit to mention the only white rock of any size which was to be found in our red sandstone district, which gave its name to the Cove, and as to which there were numerous traditions current in the neighbourhood.
To the near side of the Cove there was, indeed, a short way through the woods, but unless we had a boat we could not reach the caverns, or find our way to the most attractive spots for shell gathering.
Groves's suggestion was met, as might be expected, with rapturous applause, and by the time that we reached our own Cove, it was decided that one of us boys should go up to the house to obtain the necessary permission, whilst, in the meantime, the boat should be got ready for the sail.
The door of our boat-house was lying open as we came up, and something of unusual appearance was dimly visible inside.
"The secret!" I exclaimed, running eagerly forward and drawing to light a beautiful large kite with a wondrous flying eagle depicted on it, and a tail of marvellous length, together with an apparently inexhaustible length of string. "Oh, George, this is what you've been making—how beautiful it is!"
"But maybe you don't guess for whom it's intended, sir; I don't deny the making of it," said the old man.
"I think I do though," I answered, looking up at his kind, cheery face; "I think you've made it for me, George."