Being left alone, for the dog had followed him, my nervousness increased
tenfold, and thinking at last that the rising tide was about to submerge
the ledge on which I stood, I tried in my fright to climb the cliff. But
hardly had I taken three steps when my foot slipped and I clutched the
seaweed to save myself from falling, with the result that the boat's
rope slid from my arm, and went rip-rip-ripping down the rock until it
fell with a splash into the sea.

I saw what I had done, and I screamed, and then Martin's head appeared
after a moment on the ledge above me. But it was too late for him to do
anything, for the boat had already drifted six yards away, and just when
I thought he would have shrieked at me for cutting off our only
connection with the shore, he said:

"Never mind, shipmate! We allus expecs to lose a boat or two when we're
out asploring."

I was silent from shame, but Martin, having hauled me up the rock by
help of the broom handle, rattled away as if nothing had
happened--pointing proudly to a rust-eaten triangle with a bell
suspended inside of it and his little flag floating on top.

"But, oh dear, what are we to do now?" I whimpered.

"Don't you worrit about that," he said. "We'll just signal back to the
next base--we call them bases when we're out asploring."

I understood from this that he was going to ring the bell which, being
heard on the land, would bring somebody to our relief. But the bell was