I followed, and Tam, with sundry complaints, crept after my heels.

Between the cliffs and the fire lay some sixty yards of debris and boulders above the level of all but the high spring tides.

Beyond lay a string of seaweedy pools and then the hard sands of the burnfoot.

There was excellent cover among the big stones, and apart from the distance and the dim light, the man by the fire was too preoccupied in his task to keep much look-out towards the land.

I remember thinking he had chosen his place well, for save from the sea he could not be seen.