And they started again without exchanging
another word.

''A few hundred paces further, Rechteren
again halted. The pebbles were black beneath
his feet, and he stooped to touch them with
his fingers. He then perceived that the
cause of their blackness was that a wave,
somewhat stronger than the rest, had reached
the very foot of the cliff, and wetted it.
Nevertheless, he made no remark; for, at the point
which they had reached, if they were not
nearer to Fécamp than to their place of
starting, they must inevitably be drowned.
Another step, and a wave glided forwards,
wetting their legs as it broke on the shore.

"'Louis, we are lost!' he said. Louis made
no reply, but doubled his pace. Rechteren
refrained from uttering any reproach; but
still it was his companion's obstinacy which
had thus endangered both their lives. At
last they ran as fast as they could towards a
portion of the cliff which jutted out into the
sea. Perhaps behind that projecting point
they might find a track where it would be
possible to climb. But, as soon as they had
gained the promontory, the sea burst roaring
against the cliff. 'Louis,' repeated Rechteren,
'we are utterly lost!' He tried to measure
the cliffs at a glance, as well as the night
would allow him to do so. Far as his
eyesight could pierce the gloom, nothing was to
be seen but a wall three hundred feet high,
and as upright as the mast of a ship. They
hastily ran back again; but from time to
time fatigue compelled them to pause and
take breath. Rechteren swallowed a mouthful
from a flask of spirits; and then they
again endeavoured to press forward. In a
quarter of an hour, they were once more
arrested by the sea, which broke against the
cliff. On either side escape was impossible.
The space of a couple of hundred feet was all
that was left uncovered. Every advancing
wave devoured the dry land; and before
another half hour could elapse, the place on
which they then stood would certainly be six
fathoms under water. Rechteren stopped
short, and looked right and left at the fast
rising tide. Before him was the boiling ocean;
behind, the smooth, unbroken cliff.

"'This is not the moment to flee like a
hare,' he said; 'still less to give way to
despair. We must be resigned to our fate,
and await it boldly. Come, Louis; it is all
over with us.'

"Louis walked a few steps onwards, and
climbed a boulder which had fallen from the
cliff, and which leaned against it to the height
of seven or eight feet above the level of the
beach. There, he sat himself down in silence,
Rechteren followed him, and stood by his side.

"'My good friend Louis,' he said, 'can you
guess what vexes me most in the midst of
this terrible catastrophe? It is, that two or
three fools of my acquaintance, who have
often teased me because I cannot swim, and
who have always predicted that I should die
in the water, will conclude their funeral
oration over me with an impertinent "I told
him so!" That, I must confess, is a pleasure
which I was scarcely disposed to confer upon
them.' After a moment's pause, he continued:
'This is a horrible death! I do not fear to
die, but I do fear the pain of dying. Look at
those rocky points against which we shall
soon be dashed! How frightful is the voice
of these roaring waves and this whistling
wind! But, however fearful it may be, the
awful spectacle elevates the soul, raises a man
above himself, and endows him with strength
to die becomingly. It is better to meet death
in this decided style, than to take the chance
of being shot for giving the lie to a fool, who
is afraid to fire the bullet which kills you.
But Louis, you do not speak a word.'

"There was another moment of solemn
silence, during which the sea could be heard
to be constantly advancing. A wave, crowned
with, its wreath of foam, came and touched
the rock which was their last refuge.

"'I have just experienced,' said Rechteren,
'a final paroxysm of despair and rage; I have
been tempted to rush against the cliff, and
try to climb it with my nails and fingers.'
He then added, with a burst of blasphemy,
'a cat could not manage to perform the feat!
A strange expression,' he added, 'has escaped
my lips; that oath, uttered so near to death,
terrifies me. You may laugh if you like, my
dear Louis, although you do not seem in a
laughing mood; but I feel an irresistible
impulse to pray. These voices of the sea and
the winds, this death which advances on the
foaming waves, all seem to command me to
fall down upon my knees.' Rechteren then
knelt down upon the rock. 'It would be very
difiicult just now,' he said, 'to remember all
the prayers which they taught me in days
gone by; but the one I shall make will
be as good as any.' After a few
moments, he arose again. 'Louis, do you in
turn follow my example. I assure you that
it will do you no harm.'

"'No;' muttered Louis.

"'You seem to me to be rather in a stupor;
I will not arouse you from your insensibility.
It is one way, among others, of meeting death,
and is perhaps the best thing that could happen
to you. Only, if I have offended you
in any respect, I now entreat your pardon
for it.'

"Louis fixed his glittering eyes full upon
the countenance of his friend.

"'I confess to have injured you with
regard to Hortense. But I am dying with cold.
I should wish during the few minutes that
I still have to live, to feel as little suffering
as possible. Ah, yes! I have it now.' And
he emptied the spirits which remained in
his flask into a little hollow on the top of the
rock: then, taking from his pocket the flint
and steel which he always carried about him,
he set fire to it, and a blue flame soon
quivered over its surface. 'What a capital