“Now, Mr Belton, can you do that?”
For answer, as the boat was again backed in, Syd leaped out, but did not calculate his time well, and sprang into a few inches of water, which went flying amidst the laughter of the men. But the next spring took him up alongside Mr Dallas.
“A little too soon, Belton,” he said. “Now, one of you lads come too. Keep her well off, coxswain; sometimes a good roller comes unexpectedly, and if you are not prepared she may be thrown high and dry, stove in.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” shouted the coxswain. Then the man told leaped ashore easily enough, and the primary survey of the place began.
It was not an easy task, for from the few square yards of level stone where they stood there seemed to be no means of getting farther, till Syd suggested that if they could get up a bit of wall-like rock there was a ledge from which they could work themselves sideways to a rift in the side over the sea, and from that perhaps they could get higher.
“But we must be careful; it is only a few inches, and if we lose our hold, down we go into deep water.”
“It would only be a bathe, sir,” said Syd, laughing.
“Oh, I don’t mind the bath, Belton. I am thinking there may be hungry sharks about.”
“Ugh!” ejaculated Syd, with a shudder, as he glanced at the clear blue water.
“No fear of a fall though, if we are careful.”