Joe pointed to the captain, scrambling on up the path toward the cliff.
"There he is. And if he doesn't watch out he's going to tumble off into the sea."
"I'll say he is," declared Chet. "We ought to go after him."
In the distance, they could hear the wild shrieks of Captain Royal as he went stumbling among the rocks. He was drawing nearer to the ledge, and as the path at this point was extremely narrow, the boys could see that he was indeed in danger.
"Stop!" shouted Joe. "Stop, Captain!"
But Captain Royal, if he heard at all, paid no attention to the warning. He continued his ascent of the rocky path.
"We'd better follow him up," said Frank. "He can't hurt us—we know that—and he's sure to hurt himself if we don't get him down off those rocks."
With one accord, the boys hurried across the beach until they came to the trail leading up the steep incline toward the top of the cliff. Then, with Frank Hardy in the lead, they began the climb.
Captain Royal turned and saw them. He stopped and shook his fist at them.
"Go back!" he shouted wildly. "Go back, I tell you!"