"It won't come up here, will it?" Noel said fearfully.
"No. You can see that it never comes as high as this," replied his brother.
"I am so tired," Noel said, sinking on to the rock floor with a sigh that was almost a sob, "tired and hungry. Don't you think it must be dinner-time, Duke?"
"I dare say," was Duke's response. It seemed to him ages since breakfast-time.
"Mother will be sure to look for us all over the old house," he said after a minute. "P'raps if we went back to the door and shouted she would hear us."
"But we could not go all that way back in the dark," said Noel with a shiver. Duke assented gloomily.
He began to examine more closely the place in which they were. It was evident that sea-birds were wont to lodge there.
"I wonder if gulls' eggs are good to eat," he said, and began to search for them. A pale greyish plant with prickly leaves growing from a crevice attracted his attention. He gave it a pull, and it came away in his hand, bringing with it a great stone which nearly struck Noel's head as it fell. This revealed a hole behind which lay a deep niche.
Duke put in his hand and pulled away another stone which guarded the entrance to what seemed a sort of natural cupboard. Standing on tiptoe, he thrust his arm as far as possible into the recess. His fingers came into contact with a hard substance which gave forth a peculiar sound as he pressed it. Tugging at it till it slowly yielded to his pull, he dragged into the light a bulky bag made of rough canvas and securely tied at the mouth.
"Whatever can this be?" he said.