‘Never you fear!’ said Wal. ‘They’ll manage it. It’s what they have been at all their lives, hauling in ropes either on board or ashore.’
He gave the signal, and they commenced slowly to ascend.
It was with a hearty cheer the men hauled them out of danger, and when Wal Jessop and Edgar stood on the top of the rock the good fellows capered with delight like so many schoolboys. They surrounded Edgar, and were so boisterous in their expressions of goodwill towards him, that Wal Jessop felt he ought to interpose, or else the excitement would be too much for the lad.
‘Hold hard, boys!’ he shouted, forcing them back. ‘This is my prize, and I’m going to carry him off home. A rest will do him good, and we shall hear all about his escape later on.’
‘What ship was it?’ asked one of the men.
‘The Distant Shore,’ said Edgar sadly.
‘And the skipper?’
‘Lost—all lost, I am afraid, but myself and the little one,’ said Edgar.
Good-natured Wal Jessop, wishing to prevent more painful questions, hurried Edgar Foster away from the scene as quickly as he could walk.
‘Where are we going to?’ asked Edgar.