Alban's Head, and it stands up eighty fathoms
or more above the water. The seaward side is a great sheer of chalk, but
falls not straight into the sea, for three parts down there is a lower
ledge or terrace, called the under-cliff.
'Twas to this ledge that we were bound; and though we were now straight
above, I knew we had a mile or more to go before we could get down to
it. So on we went again, and found the bridle-path that slopes down
through a deep dip in the cliff line; and when we reached this
under-ledge, I looked up at the sky, the night being clear, and guessed
by the stars that 'twas past midnight. I knew the place from having once
been there for blackberries; for the brambles on the under-cliff being
sheltered every way but south, and open to the sun, grow the finest in
all those parts.
We were not alone, for I could make out a score of men, some standing in
groups, some resting on the ground, and the dark shapes of the
pack-horses showing larger in the dimness. There were a few words of
greeting muttered in deep voices, and then all was still, so that one
heard the browsing horses trying to crop something off the turf. It was
not the first cargo I had helped to run, and I knew most of the men, but
did not speak with them, being tired, and wishing to rest till I was
wanted.
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