All in vain: Mike did not move, and Vince began to grow impatient.

"Here, I say," he cried, "I know I'm a bit of a beast sometimes, but you can't say I'm sulky. I did nothing; and if it was I, you know I'd have owned I was in the wrong and held out my fist--open; not like you did, to knock a fellow down."

Another pause, and Vince exclaimed,--

"Well, I _am_--"

He did not say what, but stood with extended arm.

"I say, Mikey," he said softly, "I know you haven't got any eyes in the back of your head, so I may as well tell you. I'm holding out my hand for a shake, and my arm's beginning to ache."

"Don't--don't!" said Mike now, in a low voice, full of the misery the lad felt. "I feel as if you were jumping on me for what I did."

"Do you? Well, I'm not going to jump on you. Come, I have got you to speak at last, and there's an end of it. I say, Ladle, it's too stupid for us two to be out now, when we want to talk about how we're stuck here."

"I feel as if I can't speak to you," said Mike huskily.

"More stupid you. Didn't I tell you it's all over now? You were in a pa.s.sion, and so was I. Now you're not in a pa.s.sion, no more am I; so that's all over. You heard what the pirate captain said about us?"

"Yes," said Mike dolefully.

"Well, he and old Joe--Here, Ladle: I'm going to kick old Joe. I don't care about his being old and grey. A wicked old sneak!--I'll kick him, first chance I get, for leaving us in the lurch; but that isn't what I was going to say. Here, why don't you turn round and sit up? Don't let those beggars think we're afraid of them. I won't be,--see if I am."

Mike slowly changed his position, turning round and sitting up.

"Now, then, that's better," said Vince. "What was I going to say? Oh!

I know. The pirate captain and old Joe wanted to make us believe that we were to be taken out to sea, to walk the plank or be hung or shot or something."

"Joe said something about Botany Bay and sending us there."

"No, he didn't; he said Bottonny, and there is no such place. He couldn't do it, and he couldn't keep us prisoners here."

"He might kill us."

"No, he mightn't. Bah! what a silly old Ladle you are! He couldn't.

People don't do such things now, only in stories. I tell you what I believe."

"What?" said Mike, for Vince paused as if to think.

"Well, I believe he feels that his old smuggler's cave is done for now we've found out the way down to it, so he's going to clear it out and start another somewhere else. He means to keep us prisoners till the last keg's on board, and as soon as this is done he'll go to his boat and take his hat off to us and tell us we may have the caverns all to ourselves."

"Think so?" said Mike, looking up at his companion for the first time.

"Yes, I believe that's it, Ladle; and if it wasn't for knowing how miserable they must be over yonder I should rather like all this--that is, if you're going to play fair and not get hitting out when we ought to be the best of friends."

"Don't--don't, Cinder: I can't bear it," groaned Mike, letting his head drop in his hands. "I hurt myself a hundred times more than I hurt you."

"Oh, did you! Ha! ha!" cried Vince. "Come, I like that: why, I shall have a bruise as big as the top of my hat! Oh, I say, Ladle, old chap, don't--don't talk like that! It's all right. You thought I was fighting against you. Sit up. Some of the beggars will see."

Mike sat up with his face twitching, and kept his back to the upper part of the cavern.

"That's better. Well, I say I should really like it if it wasn't for them at home. I call it a really good, jolly adventure, such as you read of in books. Now, what we've got to do is to wait till they're asleep, cut off all their heads with their own cutla.s.ses, seize the boat, row off to the lugger, wait till old Joe comes back, and then spike him with the points of cutla.s.ses till he pilots us out safely.

Then we've got to sail home as prize crew of the lugger, which would be ours. Stop! there's something we haven't done."

Mike stared.

"Old Joe. As soon as we're out of the dangerous pa.s.sages we've got to batten him down in the hold, and that's the end of the adventure."

"How can you go on like that?" said Mike piteously. "Making fun of it all, when we're so miserable."

"That's why: just to cheer us up a bit, and set us thinking about what's next to do."

"I can't think," said Mike. "It's a pity we didn't stop in the seal hole."

"Stop there? We should have felt nice by now. Why, our legs would be all swollen, and we should be so hungry that--Here, I say, Ladle, you wouldn't have been safe. I wonder how you'd taste?"

"I say, do be serious, Cinder. It's too horrible to laugh at it."

"Well, so it is, old chap, but I am thinking hard all the time, yet I can't see any way out of it. I know we could swim almost like seals; but look at the water out there,--we couldn't do anything in it."

"No, we should be sucked down in five minutes."

"Yes. The old pirate knows it, too, and that's why he leaves us alone.

I say, he does look like a pirate, though, doesn't he? with that pistol, and the rings in his ears."

"Oh! I never saw a pirate, only on those pictures we tried to paint.

But what about the cliffs?"

"No good. They're either straight up and down or overhanging. We couldn't do it."

"We might get over the other side and make signals."

"Yes; there is something in that. But don't you think we might get away by the pa.s.sage? The sentry may go to sleep."

"No good," said Mike bitterly. "Those fellows daren't."

"S'pose not," said Vince thoughtfully. "Old Jarks is the sort of chap to wake 'em up with his pistol. It's of no use yet, Ladle; the idea hasn't come. Yes, it has! Why can't we wait our chance and seize the boat and get it off? We could manage."

"Hush!" whispered Mike.

The warning was needed, for the captain came from the back of the stack of packages, and marched down towards where they were.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

WHAT WILL HE DO WITH US?