"I'm tired of staying here.

Come on." Mike was evidently quite as weary, for he showed his agreement by following at once.

They were both cautious in the extreme, going out on all fours, and then crawling in and out between the blocks of granite--a pleasant enough task so long as the growth between was whortleberry, heath or ferns, but as for the most part it was the long thorny strands of the blackberry, the travelling became more and more painful.

At last, after progressing in this way some three hundred yards, a horribly thorny strand hooked Vince in the leg of his trousers and skin as well, with the result that he started to his feet angrily.
"Here, I've had enough of this," he cried.

"Hang the old cavern! it isn't worth the trouble." "Hist!" exclaimed Mike, seizing him by the leg and pointing straight away to their right.
Vince dropped forward, with his arms stretched over the nearest block of grey stone, staring at the object pointed out, and seeing Carnach junior right up close to the highest part of the ridge.
For a few moments he could not be sure whether the young fisherman was looking in their direction, or away; from them; but a movement on the part of the lad set this at rest directly after, and they saw him go slowly on, helping himself by clutching at the saw-like row of jagged stones which divided one slope from the other; and, satisfied that they had not been seen, they recommenced their crawl, till they reached the cover of a pile of the loose rocks, which were pretty well covered with growth.
Placing this between them and the lad, now far away upon the ridge, they made for the cover of the stunted oaks, and there breathed freely.
Mike was the first to speak, and he began just as if his companion had the moment before made his impatient remarks about the adventure not being worth the trouble.
"I don't know," he said.