When they had gone several miles the driver drew up his horses at the foot of a very steep hill and requested the passengers to walk up it. He told Duke and Noel, however, to stop where they were. For this they were grateful, for, released from their cramped position, they could talk to one another, and from the top of the vehicle they caught a splendid view of the country through which they were passing.
Presently, as the road wound about and the horses climbed higher, a cry of rapture broke from Noel.
"Oh, look! Look, Duke! The sea!"
To the left lay a narrow green glen with a stream rippling through it. Beyond it rose mighty cliffs which, falling asunder, framed an exquisite view of the deep blue sea.
"Hurrah!" cried Duke. "There it is! What a glorious sea! Look, Noel, how the waves foam at the top! That shows the sea is rough."
"Ay, and it most always is rough along this coast," remarked the driver. "You young gentlemen must not think of bathing alone, for it is not safe. There are treacherous undercurrents in places, and I've known even good swimmers swept away by them. Whoa, now—whoa!"
Noel with a sigh resigned himself to being crushed and squeezed by the big man, who came back more talkative than ever. The boy had taken a strong dislike to this man, who spoke in a thick husky voice.
"Is that Egloshayle House I see there?" he asked presently. "Just a bit of a roof amongst the trees?"
"Ay, that's it," said the driver; "we can see it from here, though we're more than three miles from it by the road."
Noel tried in vain to look in the direction indicated by the driver's whip; he was unable to turn his head far enough.