The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-09-23
PengelIey's Peril.


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Penge1Iey's Peril.
It was a bright July day in thoss
old, happy clothes-destroyiBg, lesson
shirking times, that one Fred Pen.
gelly and lay upon the summit d
one o. the large cliffs that frown Ia
places upon the Cornish cOast-vasi
granite piles, like castles placed there
to project the far western shores oil
England
Around US in the creviees grew the
blue harebell and many a miniature
fern ; bright-colored Iichens covered
the rocky masses which forced their
way through the thin coating of earth,
while, for our couch, we had the soft,
short herbage which fed the active
sheep OF the district.
We were in lazy mOod, for we had
about exhausted our stock OF amuse-
ments. We had been down upon the
shore, and hunted ia the rOck-poOls
for crabs, fish and sea-anemones bat
the heat OF the SUD had induced q
langHOr which incited me To call upon
Fred 70 join me in bathe, which lie
would not, though after the long ram
lie which followed Fred had proposed
the very same thing. when, OF eourse,
with bOyish obstlnaey, must refuse
So, in sulky humor, We made our
way up by gap, climbing from gram
ite block to granite block until we
were upon tbs summit of the cliff,
where, after the indoient picturesque
fashion OF boys, We lOlIed about and
took our ease.
"LOok 1T the old gulls :" cried Fred
ut last, a., far beneath US, l4zily sail
ing along, We could see the soft gray
wings hardly moving as they bore
the birds round some ragged peak, or
far off over the shimmering sea.
s'Weil, what's the good Of looking
at them ?'' was my ill-humored an :
sEer.
"Iook at that ones nest on the BIT
OF ledge there" said Fred, pointing
to where q huge mass of rock formed
promOntory running ont for some
distance into the sea, its sides being
the breeding-plaees of hundreds OF
gnlIs.
''Tuere are no eggs there" I NUT
tured, lazily turning my head in the
required direction.
Ny companion, however, began to
think otherwise, and began misehiev-
ously to amuse himself by throwing
little scraps Of granite In the pointed
out dlrection-one and all, however,
falling far short of their aim.
The new interest awakened in my
schooi-fellOw seemed to have chased
away his languo- and, as I lay with
my eyes half closed, and the sun
shaded from them with my cap, I saw
him slowly and laborionsly elan Der
out on to the summit of the granite
pile, built up, ss it were, OF layer upon
layer of vast time-smoothed blocks !;
and then making a signal, which i
was too lazy to answer, by waving his
cap, saw him peeping down, first on
one side, then on the other, as n in
search for gulls' eggs, all of which,
however, knew to be far out OF bis
reach.
Half wstchsuI, hall doing, I lay
lazily following his motions until he
shouted to me, the cry being almost
lost in the great solitude-even the
roar OF the breaking waves far below
reaching my ear with q sOftened, Iull-
ing soun5, as In glittering fountains
Of spray they leaped over the spar
veined rocks, to fall back in silver
cascades to the restless sea.
] gave one hand an idle wave ia an
swer 10 his cry, snd then iistlessiy
watched him tugging and toiliug, for
some purpose or another, at q large
piece OF rock.
Now he would heave it along for a
few feet, then be would stop TO rest,
and 4 was only when saw what ne
intended to do that 1 grew Interested;
then, crawling to the edge of the
cliff, / eagerly looked across the gap
between US at the great wall of rock,
ledge upon ledge of which was gray
or black with sea birds.
"Look out 20 I fancied heard him
shout. And then once more he began
heaving and toiliug at the block OF
granite, like Sisyphus Of old, until he
had moved it TO the extreme verge,
where he stopped, resting half con-
cealed from ne by rugged projee-
ton.
But only for few minutes, when
he arose, climbed fully into sight,
and then kneeled down TO drag up the
stone.
/ could not help feeling interested
! In his proceedings, from the danger
Gus position to which he had climbed;
but, have succeeded in planting there
his block of granite, he seemed to be
content, and lowered himself down, SO
that could only see his head and
arms.
He remained motionless so long, that
had again listlessIy half closed my
eyes, when once more came his faint
ly heard shout, and rising upon my
elbow, / saw the stone suddenly leave
its resting place, roll forward a few
feet, and then began to leap and
bound from rock point to ledge, rest
ing now for moment on q shelf, bat
only to dart the next instant out on
some stony step; and so on, down and
down, with the noise like thunder,
reverbersting from the face OF the
cliffs.
But the stone was not alone in
breaking the silence of the place, for
the gulIs and shaRs that could hardly,
as q rule, be pelted from their lodges,
and then only to rail round snd utter
q few screams before settling again,
were now making the air to darken
with their wings, as a very bird cloud;
they rose and fell, and circled round
and round till was bali bevIldered,
and only aroused BY the thought oi
the stone, and where had been the
disturbance caused in its descent-too
insignificant of size to make much
commotion where it plunged into the
sea ana already a mass of foam from
the Atlantic, every ninth wave heav-
up against the face OF the rock, to fall
back q chaos OF foam.
At length the birds began to cease
uttering the wild, defiant cries, and to
settle down upon the ledges aud green
matches of herbsge about the rocks.
when, not seeing Fred, 1 lazily watched
the gulls dropping back To their rest
ing places, but, IS II unable to forget
the insulting Intrusion upon their do
main, every now and then bursting
forth again into wild. petnlent, inhRr-
moniOus cries that echoed from rock
to rock.
From time to time looked in the
\ direction Fred would take In his re-
turn, but troubled myself very little
respecting his nOn-appearsnce, sup.
posing that he was peering into some
crack or chasm as he passed over the
rugged path he would have to clam
Der.
But at last, as he did come, set of
to join him, my curiosity bsing ex.
cited by the supposition that he bad