Suddenly they remembered that it was getting late, and that they ought to get home for tea at seven.
"Hallo!" said Russell, looking at his watch, "it's half-past six.

We must cut back as hard as we can.

By the bye, I hope the tide hasn't been coming in all this time." "Good God!" said Montagu, with a violent start, "I'm afraid it has, though! What asses we have been, with our waves and sunsets.

Let's set off as hard as we can pelt." Immediately they scrambled, by the aid of hands and knees, down the Stack, and made their way for the belt of rock which joined it to the mainland; but, to their horror, they at once saw that the tide had come in, and that a narrow gulf of sea already divided them from the shore.
"There's only one way for it," said Eric; "if we're plucky we can jump that; but we musn't wait till it gets worse.

A good jump will take us _nearly_ to the other side--far enough, at any rate, to let us flounder across somehow." As fast as they could they hurried along down to the place where the momentarily increasing zone of water seemed as yet to be narrowest; and where the rocks on the other side were lower than those on which they stood.