When they stood upon the shelf on the other side, and Ralph, having
rubbed himself down with the captain's jacket, put on his clothes,
Captain Horn rather sternly inquired of him how he came to do such a
foolish and wicked thing as to run the risk of drowning himself in the
lake at a time when his sister and his friends had already trouble enough
on their minds.

Ralph was sorry, of course, that the captain had to come after him, and
get himself wet, but he explained that he wanted to do something for the
good of the party, and it had struck him that it would be a very sensible
thing to investigate the opening on the other side of the lake. If he
could get out of that great gap, he might find some way of climbing out
over the top of the rocks and get to the place where his flag was, and
then, if he saw Mr. Rynders coming, he could wave it. It would be a great
thing if the people in the vessel which they all expected should see that
flag the moment they came in sight of the coast. They might get to shore
an hour or two sooner than if they had not seen it.

"If the cramp in this leg had kept off five minutes longer," he said, "I
would have reached that big hole, and then, if I could have climbed over
the top of the rocks, I could have come down on the other side to the
front door, and asked Maka to get me my clothes, so I would not have had
to swim back at all."

"That will do," said the captain. "And now that you are dressed, you can
go inside and get me that woollen shirt and trousers that I use for a
pillow, for I must take off these wet things."

When the boy came back with the clothes, the captain told him that he
need not say anything to his sister or Mrs. Cliff about the great danger