Us and the Bottleman

ster and faster. I felt my blouse stick coldly

ie there and have it

rt he might be able to walk there, if we helped him. He was very brave and quite willing to try, though a little dazed about why we wanted him to, but when we stood him carefully

we made a chair,

nd my neck. The darkness was perfectly pitchy, and we had to feel for every step to be sure that it was a solid place and not the slippery edge that went strai

nd the jersey. I tripped and stumbled against Jerry, and when I caught him I felt that he was shivering. His shirt was quite wet. When I asked him if he was cold, he said "Not very," and we crawled into the cave place

straight yellow candle-flames all blue around the wick, and Father's head tucked down looking at the 'cello, and his hands, nice and strong, playing it; then I got a little mixed and heard him calling

en that G

-Simp

called it "Simpson," but he adored the thing and made it sleep beside him in the crib every night. But that was when he was three, and "Simpson" had been for ages on the top shelf where we keep the toys th

but it was almost worse, because his voice was so small and different from his own dear usual one. When I told him I couldn't get Simpson I tried to make my voice sound soft

his knife opening. I couldn't think what he was doing, but af

feel anythi

aid, but the nex

and flannelly, with a round,

o it!" I said. "Oh

you don't mind. I happened to have the string off the sandwi

ghtened when Jerry le

ry said; "just Jerry-o. H

Greg really thought it was Simpson, but he took it and sighed-a long, quiver

ll but the different horrid

so that he was quite tight against my knees. I asked him what was

'd better

what is i

the tide was when w

remember the rocks at Wecanicut, wit

" Jerr

nd for a minute,

you

my foot," said Je

an hour of ebb. Therefore full flood would be at eleven o'clock. But we hadn't any idea of whether it was ten or eleven or twelve, because there was no light to see Jerry's watch by. He had just an ordinary Ingersoll, not the gran

it before the water came much higher, but it was still raining pitch-fork

and we can feel high water

he cave toward the bottom, but as far as

don't know whether the tide is really full now and

o us. Once when I put out my hand it went right into a cold pool. It was then that Jerry had

my watch," he said, "I ca

nt of a watch makes when you pry it off, and

"and the big one-Chris, it's about twenty minutes of twelve. The

I hadn't felt at all like crying when we

ght. I found his hand, and I couldn't believe that it was really hot when ours were so cold. His forehead was hot, t

se bring me a

on deserts and battle-fields burning in agonies of fever, but I couldn't remember reading about anybody dying of fever on a rock in the middle of the sea. I dipped my handkerchief in the pool just

y isn't the

ful, Chris,

he Monster, but we had nothing to scoop up the water with. Greg's forehead was ju

ry was very careful. It came off wonderfully well, though rather jaggy. Jerry tried to grind the cutty edges off by rubbing them against the rock, but it didn't work. Then we remembered being very thirsty once on a long picnic-walk ages ago, and Father wrappi

"because the place I found was v

fever-stricken people in any case. We lifted Greg's head up,-tha

e drink, G

ed over the handkerchief and down the front of Greg's jumper. But he dr

, as we were laying Greg back again, and I felt something wet and