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THE INCHCAPE ROCK . In the North Sea there is a great rock called the Inchcape Rock . It is twelve miles from any land , and is covered most of the time with water . Many boats and ships have been wrecked on that rock ; for it is so near the top of the water that no vessel can sail over it without striking it . More than a hundred years ago there lived not far away a kind - hearted man who was called the Abbot of Aberbrothock . " It is a pity , " he said , " that so many brave sailors should lose their lives on that hidden rock . " So the abbot caused a buoy to be fastened to the rock . The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water . A strong chain kept it from floating away . On the top of the buoy the abbot placed a bell ; and when the waves dashed against it , the bell would ring out loud and clear . Sailors , now , were no longer afraid to cross the sea at that place . When they heard the bell ringing , they knew just where the rock was , and they steered their vessels around it . " God bless the good Abbot of Aberbrothock ! " they all said . One calm summer day , a ship with a black flag happened to sail not far from the Inchcape Rock . The ship belonged to a sea robber called Ralph the Rover ; and she was a terror to all honest people both on sea and shore . There was but little wind that day , and the sea was as smooth as glass . The ship stood almost still ; there was hardly a breath of air to fill her sails . Ralph the Rover was walking on the deck . He looked out upon the glassy sea . He saw the buoy floating above the Inchcape Rock . It looked like a big black speck upon the water . But the bell was not ringing that day . There were no waves to set it in motion . " Boys ! " cried Ralph the Rover ; " put out the boat , and row me to the Inchcape Rock . We will play a trick on the old abbot . " The boat was lowered . Strong arms soon rowed it to the Inchcape Rock . Then the robber , with a heavy ax , broke the chain that held the buoy . He cut the fastenings of the bell . It fell into the water . There was a gurgling sound as it sank out of sight . " The next one that comes this way will not bless the abbot , " said Ralph the Rover . Soon a breeze sprang up , and the black ship sailed away . The sea robber laughed as he looked back and saw that there was nothing to mark the place of the hidden rock . For many days , Ralph the Rover scoured the seas , and many were the ships that he plundered . At last he chanced to sail back toward the place from which he had started . The wind had blown hard all day . The waves rolled high . The ship was moving swiftly . But in the evening the wind died away , and a thick fog came on . Ralph the Rover walked the deck . He could not see where the ship was going . " If the fog would only clear away ! " he said .
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