"Quick back to the seal hole!" whispered Vince; and the boys darted to
the dark passage leading to the outer cave, and then stopped short, for
the way was blocked by a man with a drawn cutlass, and two others were
running up, while another was in the act of sliding down a rope from the
fissure.
Directly after, _thud, thud, thud_ came the sound of men dropping down
into the inner cave, and in another moment there was a rude thrust from
behind which drove Mike against Vince, and the two boys were forced
onward through the opening to the outer cave, the man with the cutlass
giving way sufficiently to let them enter, but presenting the point at
Vince's chest, while one of his comrades performed the same menacing act
for Mike, the other two taking up a position to right and left, and
effectually cutting off escape.
The next instant the figure of the big, broad-chested leader came out
into the light, and upon the boys facing round to him his features were
pretty well fixed upon their brains as they noted his smooth,
deeply-lined brown face, black curly hair streaked with grey, dark,
piercing eyes and the pair of large gold earrings in his well-formed
ears. "Aha!" he cried, showing his white teeth, "_bonjour_, _mes amis_.
Good-a-morning, my young friends. I hope you sal have sleep vairy vell
in my hotel. Come along vis me: ze brearkfas is all vaiting."
This address, in a merry, bantering tone, so different from the fierce
burst of abuse which he anticipated, rather took Vince aback; and he was
the more staggered when the man held out his hand naturally enough,
which Vince gripped, Mike doing precisely the same.
"Dat is good, vairy good," said the man, while his followers looked on.
"You vill boze introduce yourself. You are--?"
He looked hard at Mike.
"Michael Ladelle," said the owner of the name.
"And you sall be--?"
"Vincent Burnet."
"Aha, yaas. I introduce myself--Capitaine Jacques Lebrun, at your
sairvice, and ze brearkfas vait. You are vairy moshe ready?"
"Yes," said Vince boldly; "I want my breakfast very badly."
"Aha, yaas; and _votre ami_, he vill vant his. You do not runs avay?"
"Not till after breakfast," said Vince, smiling.
"No? Dat is good. You are von brave. Zen ve vill put avay ze carving
knife and not have out ze pistol. _En avant_! You know ze vay to ze
_salle-a-manger_. You talk ze Francais, bose of you. Aha?"
"I can understand that," said Vince. "So can he. _N'est-ce pas_,
Mike?"
A short nod was given in response, and the French captain clapped them
both on the shoulders, gripping them firmly and urging them along.
"It is good," he said. "I am so _bien aise_ to see my younger friend.
Up vis you!"
"Come along, Mike," said Vince, in a low voice; "it's all right."
Mike did not seem to think so, but he followed Vince up the rope into
the fissure, after one of the armed men; the captain came next, and he
kept on talking in his bantering tone as they crept along the awkward
rift.
"Vairy clever; vairy good!" he cried. "I see you know ze vay. It is
_magnifique_. You see, I find I have visitor, and zey do not know ven
ze _dejeuner_ is _pret_, so I am oblige to make one leetle--vat you call
it--trap-springe, and catch ze leetle bird."
A rope was ready at the other end of the fissure, and as Vince dropped
down it was into the presence of half a dozen more men, while in the
rapid glance that he cast round, the boy saw that a boat was drawn up on
the sand and a fire of wood was burning close down to the water's edge.
Vince noticed, too, that one of the men who followed stopped back by the
rope, with his drawn cutlass carried military fashion; and his action
gave a pretty good proof that everything had been carefully planned
beforehand in connection with the "trap-springe," as the Frenchman
called it.
Preparations had already been made for breakfast, one of the men acting
as cook; and in a short time kegs were stood on end round a beautifully
clean white tablecloth spread upon the soft sand; excellent coffee, good
bread-and-butter, and fried mackerel were placed before them, and the
French captain presided.
The boys felt exceedingly nervous and uncomfortable, for they could see
plainly enough that their captor was playing with them, and acting a
part. They knew, too, that they were prisoners, and shivers of remorse
ran through them as the thought of the anxious ones at home kept
troubling them; but there was a masterfulness about their fierce young
appetites, sharpened to a maddening desire by long fasting, which, after
the first choking mouthful or two, would not be gainsaid; and they soon
set to work voraciously, while the captain ate as heartily, and his men,
all but the sentry, gathered together by themselves to make their
breakfast alone.
"Brava!" cried the captain, helping them liberally to the capital
breakfast before them: "I can you not tell how vairy glad I am to see my
young _amis_. My table has not been so honour before."
At last the meal was at end, and the captain clapped his hands for the
things to be cleared away, a couple of the men leaping up and performing
this task with quite military alacrity.
The boys exchanged glances, and, without communicating one with the
other, rose together; while the captain raised his eyebrows.
"Aha!" he said: "you vant somesings else?"
"Only to say thank you for our good breakfast, and to tell you that we
are now going home."
"Going home?" said the captain grimly. "Aha, you sink so. Yaas,
perhaps you are right. You _Anglais_ call it going home--_a la mort_--
to die."
"No, we don't," said Vince sharply. "We mean going home. We have been
out all night."
"Aha, yaas; and the _bon_ papa and mamma know vere you have come?"
"No," replied Vince quickly; "no one knows of this but us."
"_Vraiment_?" said the captain, and he looked searchingly at Mike. "No
one knows but my young friend?"
"No," said Mike. "We found the cave by accident; we fell into the way
that leads down, and kept it a secret."
"Good boy; but you can keep secret?"
"Yes," said Mike; "of course."
"Aha! so can I," said the captain, laughing boisterously. "Suppose I
send you home my vay, eh? No one know ze vay to ze cavern."
"I don't understand you," said Mike sturdily.
"_Ma foi_! vy should you understand? I send you home, and nobody know
nosings. _Les gens_--ze peoples--look for you; they do not find you,
and zey say--Aha, _pauvres garcons_, zey go and make a falls off ze
cliff, and ve nevaire see them any more!"
Mike turned pale; Vince laughed.
"He does not mean it, Mike," said the boy. "We know better than that,
Captain Jacques."
"Aha, you are so clever a boy. You vill explain how you know all ze
better zan me, le Capitaine Lebrun."
"There's nothing to explain," said Vince sturdily. "You don't suppose
we believe you would kill us because we came down here,--here, where we
have business to come, but you have not?"
"_Aha! c'est comme ca_--it is like zat, my friend? You may come here,
and I must not?"
"Of course," said Vince. "This land belongs to his father, and you have
no right to put smuggled things here."
"Aha! you sink it ees like zat, eh, _mon ami_? Ve sall see. You vill
put yourselves down to sit."
"No, thank you," said Vince. "We must go now."
"To fetch ze peoples to come and fight and be killed?"
"No," said Vince; "we will not say a word about where we have been."
"But we must, Vince," said Mike. "They will ask us; and what are we to
say?"
"To be certain, my friend--of course," said the captain, showing his
teeth. "You see it is so. Zey vill ask vere you go all night, and you
vill say to see le Capitaine Lebrun and his cargo of silk and lace and
glove and scent bottaile and ze spice; and vat zen?"
Vince had no answer ready.
"You do not speak, my friend. Zen I vill. I cannot spare you to go and
speak like zat. Nobodies must know that I have my leetle place to hide
here. No, I cannot spare you. You will not go back _chez vous_--to
your place vere you live. You understand?"
Vince looked at the man very hard, and he nodded, and went on:
"I am glad to see you bose. I make myself very glad of vat you call you
compagnie. But I do not ask you to come; and so I say you go back
nevaire more."
"You don't mean that!" said Vince, with a laugh that was very
artificial.
"Aha! I do not mean? You vill see I mean. I sall see you vill sit
down."
"No," said Vince firmly. "I am not frightened, and I insist upon going
now."
"It is so? How you go?"
"Out by the passage yonder."
"Faith of a good man, no. I say to myselfs, `People have come down
zere, and it muss not be,' so ze place is stop up vis big stone--so big
you nevaire move zem. But zere's ze ozaire vay."
"Well, we will go the other way," said Vince firmly. "Ready, Mike?"
"Yes, I'm ready," said Mike, pressing to his side.
"You know ze ozaire vay, my young friend?" said the captain.
"No: how do you go?"
"You take a boat, and a good pilot. You have ze good boat and pilot?"
"No," said Vince, who had hard work to be calm, with a great fear coming
over him like a cloud; "but you will set us ashore, please."
The captain laughed in a peculiar way, and he was about to speak, when
one of his men came up and said something.
"Aha!" he cried, "but it is good. You go, my young friends, and stay
behind my cargo zere. You vill not come till I say you sall."
He pointed to the upper part of the cavern, but Vince said firmly:
"We cannot stay any longer, sir. We must go now."
The captain turned upon him savagely, and the next moment a couple of
the men had seized the boys and run them up behind the pile of bales,
and then stood on either side, with drawn cutlasses, to act as guards.
"What are we to do, Vince?" said Mike.
"I don't know. It seems like nonsense, and playing with us; but we are
prisoners, and--Who's that?"
They both listened in wonder, for they heard their names mentioned
angrily by the captain, who was speaking threateningly to some one who
replied in a tone that they recognised directly.
"Aha! you lie to me. Ve sall see. Here, you two boy, come here,
_vite_--_vite_!"
The guards made way for them, and followed just behind, as they marched
back to where the captain was seated, with old Daygo standing before
him.
The old man gave each of them a peculiar look, and then turned to the
captain again.
"Now zen," cried that individual, "you 'ave seen zis man. Him you
know?"
"Yes," said Vince; "of course we do."
"Aha! ze old friend. And he tell you of ze cavern and ze smuggling, and
how you find ze vay here?"
"No, not a word," said Vince stoutly. "But I can see now why you
wouldn't bring us round by the Black Scraw, Joe."
"Aha! ze vairy old friend. It is Joe!" said the captain fiercely.
"Well, why not?" said Vince quickly. "Old Joe has taken us in his boat
scores of times fishing and sailing."
"And told you of ze goods here in my cavern?"
"Not a word," said Vince.
"I do not believe," said the captain.
"'Course I never told 'em," growled Daygo. "I dunno how they come here.
I watched 'em times enough, and when I couldn't watch I set a boy to
see wheer they went. I couldn't do no more, Capen."
The Frenchman looked at them all in turn fiercely, and then he fixed his
eyes on old Daygo again.
"And ze peoples up above, zey are look for zem--ze boy?"
"I dunno," said Daygo. "I didn't know they were here, and I dunno how
they come. Dropt down with a rope, young gen'lemen?"
"No, zay come anozaire vay, my friend. It is good luck for you I do not
find zey know how of you. But sink no one on ze island know?"
"I dunno," said Daygo. "They don't know from me."
"You can go," said the captain sharply, and the old fisherman thrust his
hands very deeply down in the pockets of his huge trousers and was
turning slowly away when Mike cried:
"Stop!"
Daygo turned slowly back, and the captain watched the boy with his dark
eyes glittering as he sat facing the light.
"Are you going back home?" cried Mike.
"Ay, m'lad, when the skipper's done with me."
"Then never mind what he says: you go straight to the Mount and tell my
father everything, and that we are kept here like prisoners."
"Nay, young gen'leman," said Daygo, rolling his head slowly from side to
side, "I warnt you both agen it over and over agen, when you 'most
downed on your knees, a-beggin' and a-prayin' of me to bring you round
by the Scraw; but I never would, now would I, Master Vince?"
"No, you old scoundrel!" cried Vince hotly. "I can see now: because
you're a smuggler too."
Old Daygo chuckled.
"Didn't I tell you both never to think about it, because there was awful
currents and things as dragged boats under, and that it was as dangerous
as it could be? Now speak up like a man, Master Vince, and let Capen
Jarks hear the truth."
"Truth!" said Vince scornfully; "do you call that truth, telling us both
a pack of lies, when you must have been coming here often yourself?"
"Eh? Well, s'pose I did, young gen'leman: it was on my lorful business,
and you fun out fer yourselves as it's no place for boys like you."
"Look here," said Vince fiercely: "you've got to do what Michael Ladelle
says, and to tell my father too."
"Nay, my lad; that arn't no lorful business of mine."
"Do you mean to say that you will not tell?"
"Ay, my lad: I'm sorry for you both, proper lads as you are; but you
would come, and it's no fault o' mine."
"You Joe," cried Vince angrily: "if you do not warn them above where we
are, you'll never be able to live on the island again, and you'll be
severely punished."
"Who's to tell agen me?" said the old man sharply.
"Why, I shall, and Mike here, of course."
"When?" said Daygo, in a peculiar tone of voice.
"As soon as ever we get back; and you'll be punished. I suppose Captain
Jacques here will have sailed away."
"Soon as you get back, eh, young gen'lemen? Did Capen Jarks say as he
was going to send you home?"
"No," said Vince; "but he will have to soon."
"I'm sorry for you, my lads--sorry for you," growled Daygo; and a chill
ran through both the boys, as they saw the Frenchman looking at them in
a very peculiar way. "Sorry--yes, lads, but I did my best fer you, and
so good-bye."
"No, no," cried Mike excitedly; "don't go and leave us, Joe. Tell the
captain here that if we say we'll promise not to speak to any one about
the place we'll keep our words."
Daygo shook his head.
"It's o' no use for me to say nothin', Master Mike: he's master here,
and does what he likes. You hadn't no business to come a-shovin'
yourself into his place."
"It is not his place," cried Mike indignantly; "it is my father's
property."
"I arn't got no time to argufy about that, my lad. He says it's his,
and all this here stuff as you sees is his too. Here, I must be off, or
I shall lose this high tide and be shut-in."
"No, no, Joe--stop!" cried Mike. "I'll--"
"Hold your tongue, Ladle," whispered Vince. "Don't do that; they'll
think we're regular cowards. Here you, Joe Daygo, if you go away and
don't give notice to Sir Francis or my father about our being kept here
by this man--"
"Say the Capen or the skipper, my lad," growled Daygo. "Makes him
orkard if he hears people speak dis-speckful of him."
"Pooh!" exclaimed Vince hotly. "I say, you know what the consequences
will be."
"Yes, my lad; they won't never know what become of you."
Vince winced, in spite of his determination to be firm, on hearing the
cold-blooded way in which the old fisherman talked, but he spoke out
boldly.
"Do you mean to say he will dare to keep us here?"
"Yes, my lad, or take you away with him, or get rid of you somehow. You
see he's capen and got his crew, and can do just what he likes."
"No, he can't," said Vince; "the law will not let him."
"Bless your 'art, Master Vince, he don't take no notice o' no law. But
I hope he won't drownd you both, 'cause you see we've been friendly
like. P'r'aps he'll on'y ship you off to Bottonny Bay, or one o' they
tother-end-o'-the-world places, where you can't never come back to tell
no tales."
"I don't believe it: he dare not. Don't take any notice, Mike; he's
only saying this to scare us, and we're not going to be scared."
"Now, _mon ami_," cried the captain, "you vill not get out if you do not
depart zis minute. I cannot spare to have you drowned. I sall sail
to-night, and you vill be here ready?"
"Ay, ay, I'll be here," growled Daygo.
"Then you are coming back?" said Vince quickly.
"That's so, Master Vince. How's he going to get the _Belle-Marie_ out
without me to pilot him? Yes, I'm comin' back to-night, my lad; and I
hope I shall see you agen."
He said these last words in a whisper, which sent a chill through the
lads, for that he was serious there could be no doubt.
By this time two men were down by the boat, that was now half in the
water, which had risen till she was rocking sidewise to and fro; and
smartly enough the old fisherman turned and trotted over the sand to
join in thrusting the boat out, and then sprang in.
This was too much for Mike, who made a sudden dash after him.
"Come on, Vince," he cried; and the boy followed, but only to catch hold
of his companion as he clung to the bows of the boat.
"Don't I don't do that, Mike," cried Vince; "you couldn't get away."
Three men who had rushed after them, and were about to seize the
prisoners, refrained as soon as they saw Vince's action; and the boat
with old Daygo on board glided out among the rocks, and then passed off
out of sight, round the left buttress of the cavern mouth.
This was enough: Mike turned furiously upon Vince and struck him,
sending him staggering backward over the thick sand; and, unable to keep
his balance, the lad came down in a sitting position.
"You coward!" cried Mike: "if it hadn't been for you we might have got
away."
"Coward, am I?" cried Vince, as he sprang up and dashed at his
assailant, with fists clenched and everything forgotten now but the
blow. He did not strike out, though, in return, for an arm was thrown
across his chest and a gruff voice growled out,--
"Are we to let 'em have it out, Capen Jarks?"
"No; _mais_ I sink zey might have von leetle rights. _Non, non, non_!
You do not vant to fight now, _mes enfans_; you have somesings else to
sink. You feel like a big coward?"
"No, I don't," said Vince, to whom the words were addressed: "I'll let
him see if you'll make this man let go."
"_Non, non, non_!" said the captain, raising his hand to tug at one of
the rings in his ears. "You do not vant to fight. Let me see."
He began to feel the muscles of Vince's arms, and nodded as if with
satisfaction.
"It seem a pity to finish off a boy like you. I sink you vould make a
good sailor and a fine smugglaire on my sheep. Perhaps I sall not kill
you."
"Bah!" cried Vince, looking him full in the face. "Do you think I'm
such a little child as to be frightened by what you say?"
"Leetle schile? _Non, non. Vous etes un brave garcon_--a big, brave
boy. Zere, you sall not fight like you _Anglais_ bouledogues, and vat
you call ze game coq. You _comprends, mon enfant_."
"Then you'd better take him away," cried Vince, who was effervescing
with wrath against his companion.
"Aha, yaas," said the Frenchman, grinning. "You sink I better tie you
up like ze dogue. But, faith of a man, you fly at von and anozaire I
sall--"
He drew a small pistol out of his breast, and, giving both lads a
significant look,--
"Zere," he continued, "I sall not chain you bose up. You can run about
and help vis ze crew. I only say to you ze passage is block up vis big
stone, ze hole vere ze seal live is no good--ze rock hang over ze wrong
vay. You try to climb, and you are not ze leetler _mouche_--fly. You
fall and die; and if you essay to svim, ze sharp tide take you avay to
drown. Go and svim if you like: I sall not have ze pain to drown you.
But, my faith! vy do I tell you all zis? You bose know zat you cannot
get avay now ze passage is stop up vis stone, and I stop him vis a man
who has sword and pistol as vell. Go and help ze men."
He walked away, leaving the boys together, carefully avoiding each
other's eyes, as they felt that they were prisoners indeed, and wondered
what was to be their fate.
Vince took a few turns up and down upon the sand with his hands deep in
his pockets. Mike seated himself upon the keg he had occupied over his
breakfast, for in their frame of mind they both resented being ordered
to go and help the men; but at that time the worst pang of all seemed to
be caused by the fact that, just at the moment when they wanted each
other's help and counsel, with the strength of mind given by the feeling
that they were together, they were separated by the unfortunate conduct
of one.