"We do--a little," said Mike.

"Aha! zat is good," said the captain, with a peculiar laugh. "Zen ve sall be _bons amis_--good friend, eh? Now eat. You like soup, fish, eh?"

"We don't like to be taken off like this, sir," said Vince, who turned away from the food, good as it was, with disgust, wondering the while how he could have eaten so hearty a meal with the captain before. "We want to know what you are going to do with us."

"Ah, truly you vant to know," said the captain, partaking of his soup the while. "But ze ship boys do not ask question of ze _capitaine_."

"But we're not ship's boys," said Mike haughtily. "We are gentlemen's sons, and we want to know by what right you drag us away from home."

"Aha! yes; you eat your soup, _mon_ brave boy, vile he is hot. Perhaps ze storms come to-morrow, and you are vere you get no soups no more, eh?"

"Look here, sir," said Mike, flushing in his excitement, "will you set us ash.o.r.e somewhere if we promise not to tell?"

"_Non_," said the captain shortly. "Ve talk about all zat before! Eat your soup."

For answer Mike dropped his spoon upon the table, and the captain glared at him viciously, but pa.s.sed his anger off with an unpleasant laugh.

"Aha," he said, "you vill not eat. I know. Ze _souris_--ze mouse, you know, valk himselfs into ze trap and spoil ze appet.i.te. Ze toast cheese is not taste good, eh?"

Vince had his own ideas, and he ate a few spoonfuls of the soup and took some bread; but it seemed to choke him, and he soon put down his spoon, and the man, who seemed to act as cook and steward, took away the tureen and brought in the fish--the soles they had seen--well cooked and appetising; but the boys could not eat, in spite of the easy banter with which the captain kept on addressing them, and the fish gave way to cutlets and vegetables.

"Ah, I see," said their captor at last: "you vill not eat, and I know ze reason. _Ma foi_, and it is too late to make ze _amende_ you call him.

You bose mean to eat ze grand krebs you 'ave catch and 'ave give him to ze men. _Helas_! it is, as you say, a pity. Now you forget him, and eat ze cotelette. To-morrow you not like ze dinner vis ze crew, and,"

he added, with a grin, "you may bose be vairy sick--_malade-de-mer_, eh?"

He helped them both liberally, but they could not eat; and soon after they followed their host on deck, to find that the hatches were off, and the bales all carefully stacked below, while the emptied boat had disappeared and another was on the way, Vince paying great heed to the manner in which she glided up to the lugger just about amidships.

By the time it was dusk five heavy loads had been brought on board, and the hatches were then replaced, the boats all but one being hoisted to the davits, the other left swinging by its painter from a ring-bolt astern; and from the number of men aboard the boys judged that no one was left at the caves. They noticed too that, contrary to custom, no light was hoisted anywhere about the vessel, and that, though there were lanthorns in the men's cabin forward, and in the captain's aft, no gleam shone forth to play upon the water.

No one seemed to pay any heed to the prisoners, who went from place to place to gaze now up at the darkening rocks, with the stars above them beginning to twinkle faintly here and there, now down at the black waters, which, as the night deepened, began to reflect the bright points of light from the heavens. But soon after, to take their attention a little from their cares, they began to notice that the dark depths below them were alive with light--little specks, that looked like myriads of stars in motion, rising from below the vessel's keel, coming rapidly towards the surface and then gliding rapidly away. Every now and then there was a flash of light, just as if a pale greenish-golden flame had darted through the water from below; and, after noticing this several times, Vince said quietly--

"Fish feeding."

"Don't," said Mike petulantly. "Who's to think about fish feeding, when we're like this? You don't seem to mind it a bit."

"Don't I?" said Vince quietly; "but I do. Every time I see one of those little jelly-fish sailing along there, it makes me think of the light in our window at home--the one mother always puts there when I'm up at your place, so that I may see it from ever so far along the road. Father always jokes about it, and says it's nonsense, but she puts it there all the same; and it's there now, Mike, for she's sure to say I may have been carried out to sea in some boat and be coming back to-night."

"Oh, don't--don't!" groaned Mike: "it seems too horrid to hear."

"Hush! what's that?" said Vince. "Only a seabird calling somewhere off the water."

"No, it isn't," whispered Vince. "One of the men wouldn't have answered a seabird like that. It's a boat coming from somewhere out yonder."

"No boat would come through such a dark night, with all these dangerous currents among the rocks."

But a minute later a boat did glide out of the darkness, a rope was thrown over the bulwarks, made fast, and as a man climbed over on to the deck the captain came out of his cabin and went forward to where the fresh comer was standing.

It was so dark that they could not make out what he was like, but in the stillness every word spoken could be heard; and they recognised the voice directly, as, in answer to a growl from the captain about being late, the man said,--"Been here long enough ago, Skipper Jarks, if it had been any good, but she don't rise to it to-night. I've been hanging about ever so long, but she don't touch what she should. There won't be enough water for you on the rocks to-night by a foot."

"_Peste_!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the captain; "and I vant to go. But after an hour, vat den?"

"Be just as she is now, skipper. Wind's been agen it since sundown, and kep' the water back: you won't get off to-night."

"Bah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the captain angrily; but he changed his manner directly: "Ah, vell, my friend Daygo, ve must vait, eh? You vill stay vis me here?"

"Nay," said the man. "I'll have to go back. I'm cruising about round the island a-looking for them two young shavers."

The captain turned his head sharply round and looked aft; but, keen as his sea-going eyes were, the presence of the boys pa.s.sed unnoticed, and, probably concluding that they were farther aft, the captain said in a lower tone, but still perfectly audible.

"Dey look for zem?"

"Look for 'em? The whole island's been at it 'bout the rocks and cliffs, and with every boat out; but do you know, Skipper Jarks, they arn't fund 'em."

The old scoundrel chuckled, and Mike heard Vince's teeth grate together; and then directly after, he drew a deep breath, like a sigh, for the captain said softly,--

"And zey vill not find zem, eh?"

"They've been all day a-looking for their corp.u.s.s.es--for they're dead now."

"Aha! so soon?"

"Ay, skipper; they say they've gone off the rocks and been drownded, and when they told me I says I wondered they hadn't been years ago, for they was the owdaciousest pair as ever I see. They'd do anything they took in their heads."

"Aha! is it so?" said the captain.

"Ay, Skipper Jarks, it's so; but I'm 'fraid I shan't find their corp.u.s.s.es to-night. What do you say?"

"Nosing, _mon ami_: I on'y sink zat ze brave pilot. Josef Daygo, who know evairy rock and courant about ze island, vill find zem if any ones do. But, my friend, vat you sink? Zey find ze vay down to ze cave?"

"Nay, not they. n.o.body can climb down they rocks."

"And you sink zere is no one who find ze leetler pa.s.sage?"

"Sure of it, skipper. If any one had found that there way down do you think he'd ha' kep' it to hisself? Nay, I should ha' been sure to ha'

heered it, and if I had I'd ha' done some'at as 'd startled him as tried to go down. On'y one man in the Crag know'd of that till they two dropped upon it somehow. I dunno how. It's been a wonder to me, though, as n.o.body never did. Well, I must be going back: I've got a rough bit to do 'fore I gets home, and then I've got to go up to the Doctor's."

"Vell, you vill eat and drink somesing," said the captain. "Come to ze cabin, and ve sall see."

As it happened, he led the way across the deck, and then along the port side aft to the cabin-hatch, from whence came soon after the call for the cook, who went to and fro carrying plates and gla.s.ses, while the two boys still stood in their former places, leaning over the bulwarks and apparently watching the phosph.o.r.escent creatures in the sea, but seeing none.

It was some time before either of them spoke, and then it was Vince who broke the silence.

"So we're both dead and swept out to sea, are we?" he said.

He waited for a few moments, and then, as Mike did not speak, he said, in a low whisper:

"I say, Mike, shouldn't you like to take a piece of rock and drop it through old Joe's boat?"

"No."