“Perhaps they can’t get one.”

“O, yes, they can.  I saw two or three down thar.”

They now walked on a little farther.

At this place the cliff was as steep as it had been behind; but the rocky shelves were more numerous, and down near the shore they projected, one beyond another, so that they looked like natural steps.

“If Solomon was caught by the tide anywhar hereabouts,” said Captain Corbet, “thar’s no uthly reason why he shouldn’t save himself.  He could walk up them rocks jest like goin up stairs, an git out of the way of the heaviest surf an the highest tide that these shores ever saw.”

“It all depends,” said Phil, “on whether he staid about here, or went farther up.”

“Course—­an it’s my opinion that he did stay about here.  He was never such an old fool as to go so far up as we did.  Why, ef he’d a done so over them rocks, he’d never have got the use of his legs agin.”

“Strange we don’t see any signs of him.”

“O, wal, thar’s places yet we hevn’t tried.”

“One thing is certain—­we haven’t found any signs of him.  If anything had happened, we’d have seen his basket floating.”

“Yes, or his old hat.”

“I should think, if he were anywhere hereabouts, he’d hear the noise; we are shouting loud enough, I’m sure.  As for your voice, why, he ought to hear it a mile away; and the point down there doesn’t seem to be a quarter that distance.”

“O, it’s further than that; besides, my voice can’t penetrate so easily down thar.  It gits kine o’ lost among the rocks.  It can go very easy in a straight line; but when it’s got to turn corners an go kine o’ round the edges o’ sharp rocks, it don’t get on so well by a long chalk.  But I think I’ll try an divarsify these here proceedins by yellin a leetle lower down.”

So saying, Captain Corbet knelt down, and putting his head over the cliff, he uttered the loudest, and sharpest, and shrillest yell that he could give.  Then he listened in silence, and the boys also listened in breathless expectation for some time.  But there was no response whatever.

Captain Corbet arose with a sigh.

“Wal, boys,” said he, in a mournful tone, “we must git on to the pint.  We’d ought to know the wust pooty soon.  But, at any rate, I’m bound to hope for the best till hope air over.”

The little party now resumed their progress, and walked on towards the point, shouting at intervals, as before.

From this place on as far as the point, the ground was clear, and there was nothing to bar their way.  They could go along without being compelled to make any further detour, and could keep near enough to the edge to command a view of the rocks below.  They walked on, and shouted without ceasing, and thus traversed a portion of the way.

Suddenly Captain Corbet’s eye caught sight of something in the water.  It was round in shape, and was floating within a few feet of the shore, on the top of a wave.  As Captain Corbet looked, the wave rolled from underneath it, and dashed itself upon the rocks, while the floating object seemed to be thrown farther out.  The tide had turned already, and was now on the ebb, so that floating articles, such as this, were carried away from the shore, rather than towards it.