Suddenly came another flash. It showed the lad that the gap was not in reality more than a few feet wide. On the farther side the steps went on again, encircling the tower.
Sandy made up his mind instantly as to their course of action. They must jump. On the ground it would have been nothing to an active lad of almost any age. But the idea of leaping that gulf high up on the side of the old lighthouse was a repellent one.
Then, too, there was the chance that the stones beyond might not be firmly fixed in place. In that case, the force of any one alighting on them might send them crashing down through space, bearing the jumper with them.
"A-weel, the longer I think about it, the worse it gets," thought Sandy, "I must jump and have it over with."
Jack was pressing close behind him now.
"What's the matter, Sandy?" he asked. "Why don't you go on?"
"Jack, we've got a bit of jumping to do," responded Sandy bravely. He knew that Jack's nature was rather imaginative and high-strung, and he dreaded the task of persuading the lad to jump. Yet it must be done. They could not turn back now. It was either discovery or else progression.
"You see, Jack," he explained gently, "one or two steps are missing right here. But there's some bonnie ones on the other side. Now, all we've got to do is to jump across, do you understand?"
As he spoke, the Scotch lad could feel Jack Dacre quiver as he pressed against him.
Don't think for a minute that the lad was a coward. He had proven his mettle on many a hard-fought diamond and gridiron. But his imagination was lively. Already Jack was picturing the consequences if the jump was miscalculated. Sandy saw that it would only increase the other's fears if they lingered.