Again they all shouted, loud enough to frighten the mermaids in the sea.
"Ho, Walt!"
Only a prolonged echo came back, and seemed to mock them.
"Now it's mean for those fellows to go off and frighten us!" cried Joe indignantly.
"I say as much. They've hid somewhere to make us hunt them up. I move we let them wait, and eat our lunch."
So they began eating again, talking meanwhile of their missing companions.
No one remembered anything about them after they reached the rocks.
Each boy had been busy selecting his place, baiting hooks, and pulling in fish, with the frequent shout, "Look out there! Big wave coming!"
Then would be a rushing back, and dragging of lines, as the tide pursued them further and further back.
"Perhaps they've gone up to the lighthouse," suggested Dave. "I'll go up and see."