The boatswain demurred, but Striker, Vincent, and the others were with Larry, and so they began to mount the rocks,—a difficult undertaking, as they realized long before the top of the elevation was gained. One had to push the other, holding on to the vines in the mean time, and Hobson suffered a slip and a tumble which for several minutes deprived him of his breath. His clothing was much torn, especially his trousers, and at this the Englishman grumbled not a little.
"It's just my luck!" he said. "If I had a wife to sew 'em' up, it would not be so bad, but when we get back to the Columbia, it will be myself who can set down with the wearisome needle, and nobody else."
"Never mind, Hobson," laughed Larry. "I won half of those trousers at the swimming match, and I'll give you my leg if Striker will give you his."
"Since one leg will do me small good, seeing I'm not stumping on a cork yet, he can have the leg," answered the Yankee. "It's a heap sight better nor cuttin' 'em in half with the shears, as Captain Ponsberry suggested, when the parson wanted to know who was to get the prize."
At the remembrance of this bit of pleasantry on
