Later， as I stood above the tide near the entrance to the pool， the promise of that rosy light was sustained. From the base of the steep wall of rock on which I stood， a moss-covered ledge jutted seaward into deep water. In the surge at the rim of the ledge the dark fronds of oarweeds swayed smooth and gleaming as leather. The projecting ledge was the path to the small hidden cave and its pool. Occasionally a swell， stronger than the rest， rolled smoothly over the rim and broke in foam against the cliff. But the intervals between such swells were long enough to admit me to the ledge and long enough for a glimpse of that fairy pool， so seldom and so brief？ly exposed.