susan and rose were tired of playing dolls in beech house all by themselves.
“let’s not play this any more,” said rose. “sue, let us go and look for that treasure, the real treasure, which the boys could not find.”
“all right,” said sue. “let’s!”
they ran along the cliff until they came to the bathing beach, then they climbed down to the sand.
“i know where i think the treasure is,” said rose. “i think it is out there on that great big pile of rock where the gulls are. i have always wanted to go out on those rocks, but sometimes one can’t go, because there is water all around them. see, we could go now.”
“yes,” said susan. “i never was out there either. let’s go!”
[100]this stony point, of which rose spoke, was called gull rock. it rose gray and jagged out of the sea, looking like a castle of stone. it was a favorite resting-place of the sea-gulls. great flocks of them wheeled and screamed around the rocks and settled on them in gray clouds. there was a narrow pathway of stones which led out to gull rock, and on each side of the path the waves lapped gently. the tide was coming in.
“let’s take off our shoes and stockings,” said rose. so they did. “now, follow my leader!” rose cried; and with much squealing and giggling the little girls began to hop from stone to stone along the narrow path. it was very exciting! they kept tumbling down, for the rocks were wet and slippery, and in some places were covered with seaweed, which as every one knows is the slitheriest kind of thing under foot! sometimes their feet went splash! into the pools of water which stood here and there on the path. but they did not mind that, because their feet were bare.
at last they came to gull rock. they climbed up to the top. my! how surprised the sea-gulls were when the two little heads appeared above the edge of the rock, and how fast they flapped away, chattering and screaming hard things about these uninvited guests!
“it was too bad to disturb them,” said rose, who always meant to be polite to animals and birds. “but i did so want to see what was on these rocks. come, sue; let us climb down on that other side.”
this was the side farthest away from the bathing beach, looking straight out to sea. they scrambled down towards the water, and finally they came to a great hole like a well, that seemed to go down forever.
“oh, look!” cried rose. “i do believe there might be a treasure hidden in the bottom of this hole. doesn’t it look mysterious, sue?”
“oh, yes!” said sue. she did not know what “mysterious” meant, but she thought it had something to do with treasures.
[102]“look, there are cracks in the side, like steps,” said rose. “let’s go down.”
“oh, do you dare?” cried sue. “there might be something awful at the bottom.”
“pooh!” said rose. “i am not afraid. i am going down.” and she began to descend, fitting her bare toes into the cracks of the rocks. sue was afraid, but she followed, for she did not dare be left behind.
they went down for what seemed a long way, when suddenly there was a funny noise below them. “chug!” went something; and it sounded like a growl. sue gave a loud scream.
“oh!” she cried. “there is something down there!” and she began to scramble up. now rose did not mind the “chug” so much as she did the scream. rose hated screams. when sue cried “oh!” so suddenly, it startled rose. she jumped; her foot slipped out of its crack, and she fell.
down she tumbled, bumping herself on the rocks as she went. she came flat on the bottom[103] of the hole with her foot doubled under her, and she gave a cry of pain.
“oh! what is it?” called sue, in a shaking voice from above. “is the creature eating you up?”
“oh, no!” moaned rose. “it is my foot, my foot! it hurts me. i can’t stand up on it. oh! oh!” rose was a brave little girl and she never cried unless she was badly hurt. but now the pain was terrible.
“oh, if there isn’t any awful creature there, i will come down and help you,” said sue. presently she, too, came slipping into the bottom of the hole. but she fell without hurting herself. there was plenty of room for her beside rose. she found that they were in a little cave. but it was not a nice one like the pirate cave. it was damp and wet and slimy, very cold, with the disagreeable smell of decaying seaweed.
sue looked around fearfully and shivered. “it is a horrid place,” she said. “i am afraid to stay here. let’s go out quickly.”
[104]she helped rose to her feet; but when she tried to step poor rose screamed with pain and fell back in a heap.
“i can’t walk,” she wailed. “my foot is broken, i think. see, it is all swelled up!”
sure enough. the poor foot was turning the most dreadful color, a mixed purple and green, and it was twice as big as it ought to be. rose had twisted her ankle badly.
“oh, what shall we do?” said sue. “how will you ever get out?”
just then “chug!” came that same queer sound. this time both rose and sue screamed and looked with wide eyes down into the farther corner of the cave, which was narrow and dark. they expected to see some creature come creeping out; but nothing appeared.
“what do you suppose it is?” whispered sue.
“i don’t know,” said rose. “but it is dreadful. i want to go home.”
“what shall we do?” wailed susan, beginning to cry.
[105]“don’t do that!” said rose. “it will not do any good, you know. oh, of course, you will have to go home and get somebody to come and help me.” she shuddered to think of being left alone. “go quickly, sue. and oh, do come back as soon as you can!”
“i will,” said sue; and she began to climb out of the hole. rose’s heart sank as she heard the sound of sue’s feet growing fainter and fainter, and she almost called her back; but she bit her lips and tried to be brave. when sue called down “good-by!” she felt her heart grow very cold indeed. it sounded so far away. every one was so far away, and she was alone in that dreadful place with no one to help!
just then chug! came that sound again. what could it be? there surely was something in the cave beside herself. rose stared fearfully into the dark corner, but still she saw nothing. she waited nervously for the noise to come again. there it was, louder than ever,—chug! and this time a little splash of[106] water spurted out of the darkness. was some animal splashing there?—why, no! of course, it was a little wave coming in from the sea. there must be a crack in the bottom of the cave. well, that was not so bad. rose almost laughed to think how frightened she had been. but her foot gave a twinge of pain and she cried “ow!” instead.
rose wondered how long she would have to stay there. it would take some time, she knew, for susan to run home and bring her father back. but already it seemed as if she had waited for hours.
chug! came the noise again, very fiercely. this time a spout of water spattered across the cave into rose’s lap. she did not like this, and painfully drew herself as close as she could against the wall of the cave, so that the next wave should not reach her. but it did reach her. in a few minutes there came another chug! very loud indeed, and with it there was a bang which seemed to shake the rock itself. in a second a jet of water burst out[107] of the darkness, spattering rose from head to foot. she screamed, for now she knew what it meant. the tide was rising, and the waves were rushing into the crack at the bottom of the cave. by and by it would be full of water, and then what would become of her?
there came another chug! and a bang on the wall outside, and she heard a big wave burst over the rock. a second later the spout of water leaped at her, bigger than ever, and at the same time a little stream began to trickle down into the hole from above. the waves were dashing across gull rock, and soon the cave would be flooded!
poor rose was now thoroughly frightened. once more she tried to rise and pull herself up the well. but it was of no use. she could not stand on her foot, and she sank back with a moan.
another wave dashed against the rock, and when it trickled away it left rose drenched and gasping for breath. what should she do? she knew that if something did not happen[108] to help her in a few minutes, she should be drowned. oh, why did not sue hurry? why did not papa come?
“papa! papa!” she cried. “oh, help, help!—i must scream as loud as i can,” she thought. “sue does not know. she will not think there is any danger yet. perhaps if they hear me they will hurry.—oh, help! help!” she cried, at the top of her lungs.
and then something happened!
