"Coral," she said, pointing out the place to her, "try if you can climb up there. Put your foot on my knee, and then catch hold of the seaweed, and draw yourself up. There, that's right; now are you safe?"
Yes, Coral was securely placed on the shelf of rock, and with some difficulty, Beryl managed to scramble up beside her.
Their courage rose on finding themselves a foot or two above the water, though Beryl felt pretty sure that it was only a temporary respite, and that ere the tide turned the waves would sweep over them where they sat. It was dull and melancholy work, sitting still to watch the rising of the water, and Beryl presently crawled along the ledge till she reached the hole which had before attracted her attention. It was a much larger opening than it had appeared from below.
The hollow seemed to extend a long way back, for stooping down and peering into it, Beryl could see light coming through, as if from an opening at a considerable distance.
Crouching down close to the rock, Beryl found that the aperture was just wide enough to admit of her crawling through, and having passed the entrance, she found herself in a larger place, a kind of natural tunnel, leading she knew not whither.
Feeling that she had made a great discovery, Beryl crawled back the way she had come, and called to Coral to follow her. Coral, being smaller, made her entrance even more easily than Beryl had done, but she was awestruck at the gloom of the place into which Beryl introduced her. The rocky passage would have been in utter darkness but for the faint, weird gleams of light which stole in at either entrance. The walls were so low that the children were obliged to bend their heads, as they groped their way along; a grown-up person would have been obliged to creep on all fours. The tunnel seemed to run through the rock for a great distance, and as they stumbled along, for the path was rough and uneven, Coral grew frightened and footsore, and began to cry and beg that they might go back.
But Beryl, who thought that this passage promised them deliverance from the threatening waves, was resolute in urging her forward, and soon, as they pressed on, the light before grew larger and clearer, and Coral no longer wished to return to the sea-washed cave. On they went, till daylight shone bright and beautiful before them, and they saw green leaves waving against the opening, and caught the gleam of a gull's wing as with a shrill cry of dismay the bird fled from the strange intruders who had invaded its sanctuary.
Beryl stepped very cautiously through the narrow doorway, half-hidden by low shrubs and coarse grass, and it was well that she was thus careful, for the tunnel ended on a tiny path in the face of the cliff, scarce a foot in width, below which the rock shelved off precipitately. Beryl had not been conscious of ascending as she made her way through the rough rocky passage, but now she saw to her satisfaction that the sea was far below them. To her surprise, also, she perceived that they had come through the heart of the rock to the other side of the cliff, into which the cave penetrated, and were looking down on the little cove where David Gilbank had been accustomed to meet his band of learners on Sunday afternoons. The narrow path on which she stood led by sharp zigzags to the beach, and it would be a comparatively easy matter to descend, when the waves had receded from the cove.
"Oh, Coral!" cried Beryl, as she clasped her hands in joy and thankfulness. "We are safe! The waves cannot reach us here; we have only to wait till the tide turns, and then we shall be able to go home."
How intense was the feeling of relief felt by these children, as they realised their deliverance from the peril which had seemed so near and awful. Tears came more readily than words at such a moment, and clinging together they kissed each other fondly, and cried as only children can cry.