CHAPTER THIRTY.
_Phee-ew! Phee-ew_! The peculiar gull-like whistle once more, to runin a softened series of echoes right up into the farthest part of thecavern. Then there came the peculiar sucking, ploshing sound as ofwater filling up an opening. A minute later "Ship ahoy!" from outside.
"Tom! Ahoy!" yelled Aleck, wildly.
"Ahoy, my lad! Ahoy!" and something else was cut off by the softsucking splash of water again, while to make the lads' position morepainful in their efforts to reply, twice over they were conscious of thefact that when they replied with a shout their cries did not passthrough the orifice, which the water had closed.
But the tide was ebbing steadily, and the tiny arc of the rocks whichshowed the way in was growing more open, so that at the end of a fewminutes they heard plainly:
"Where'bouts are yer, my lad?"
"In here!" shouted Aleck, but only in face of a dull _plosh_.
Another minute and the question was repeated, but from whence the ladscould hardly tell, for instead of coming from the cavern mouth the wordsseemed to come from far up the cavern, to be followed by another splash.It was quite half a minute before, taught by experience, Aleck shouted:
"Shut in here! Cave!"
There was another plosh, but they had proof soon after that the wordshad been heard, for the hail now came:
"Are yer 'live, my lad?"
"Ye-es," cried Aleck. "Quite!" and then he could in his excitementhardly control a hysterical laugh at the absurdity of the question andanswer.
"Thought yer was dead and gone, my lad," came now, in company with afainter splashing.
"Tom Bodger!"
"Hullo!" came quickly.
"We're shut in by the water."
"Who's `we'?"
"The cutter's midshipman and I."
"Wha-a-at! Then there arn't nayther on yer dead and drownded, my lad?"
"No-o-o-o!"
"Then I say hooray! hooray! But can't you swim out?"
"No. We've tried."
"Ho!" came back. "Wait a bit."
"What for? Can't you get help for us, Tom?"
"Ay, ay, my lad," came back. "But jest you wait."
Then there was silence, and the prisoners joined hands, to kneel,waiting and listening.
"He has gone for help," said the middy.
"Yes, and before he gets back that little hole that let his words inwill be shut up again."
"Never mind," said the middy, sagely; "he knows we're here."
"Oh, but why didn't I think to tell him of the zigzag path? I daresaythey could get the stones out from above where they were pushed in."
"Perhaps he hasn't gone," said the middy. "Ahoy there!"
There was a peculiar sound as of the water rising up and gurgling alonga channel, while a lapping sound at their feet told that the waterinside was being put in motion.
"Why, he has dived down," cried Aleck, suddenly, "so as to try and getto us."
"Tchah! Nonsense. That squat little wooden-legged man couldn't swim."
But at the end of what seemed to be a long period they heard a loudersplash, followed by another, and the illuminated water began to danceand a curious ebullition to be faintly seen.
Then there was a panting sigh, and a familiar voice cried:
"Where'bouts are yer?"
"Here, here!" cried the lads, in a breath, and the next minute they wereconscious of something swimming towards them, which took shape more andmore till they saw that it was a man swimming on his back.
"What cheer-ho!" came now, in the midst of a lot of splashing. "Lend usa hand, my lads, for I'm all at sea here. Thanky! Steady! Let's getsoundings for my legs. Mind bringing that lanthorn a bit forrarder?That's right; now I can see where I go."
Tom Bodger had managed to find a hold for his stumps, and stood shakinghimself as well as he could for the fact that he had a lad holdingtightly on to each hand.
"Well, yer don't feel like ghostses, my lads!" cried the sailor. "Thishere's solid flesh and bone, and it's rayther disappynting like."
"Disappointing, Tom?"
"Yes, Master Aleck. Yer see, your uncle says: `You find the poor lad'sremains, Bodger,'--remains, that's what he called it--`and I'll give yera ten-pound Bank o' Hengland note,' he says."
"Oh!" cried Aleck, passionately.
"And the orficer there from the Revenoo cutter, he says: `You find thebody o' young Mr Wrighton of the man-o'-war sloop, and there'll be thesame reward for that.'"
"Humph! I should have thought I was worth more than that," said themidshipman.
"Ay, ay, sir!" cried Tom Bodger, who was squeezing his shirt andbreeches as he talked. "So says I, sir; but it's disappynting, for Iarn't found no corpses, on'y you young gents all as live-ho as fish; andwhat's to come o' my rewards?"
"Oh, bother the rewards, Tom! How did you get in?"
"Dove, sir, and swimmed on my back with my flippers going like one o'the seals I've seen come in here."
"But we tried to do that, both of us, and we couldn't do it."
"Dessay not, sir. Didn't try on the right tide."
"Nearly got drowned, both of us, my lad," said the midshipman. "Butdon't let's lose time. You show the way, and we'll follow you."
"No hurry, sir; plenty o' time. Be easier bimeby. Tide's got anotherhour o' ebb yet. But how in the name o' oakum did you two gents manageto get in here? I knowed there was a hole here where the seals dove in,and I did mean to come sploring like at some time or other; but it'son'y once in a way as you can row in."
Aleck told him in a few words, and the man whistled.
"Well, I'll be blessed!" he said. "I allus knowed that Eben Megg andhis mates must have a store hole somewhere, and p'raps if I'd ha' layout to sarch for it I might ha' found it out. But I didn't want to gospying about and get a crack o' the head for my pains. The Revenoolads'll find out for theirselves some day; and so you young gents havebeen the first?"
"Stop a minute," said Aleck. "What about Eben Megg?"
"Oh, they cotched him days ago, sir--cutter's men dropped upon him whilethey was hunting for this young gent's corpus, and he's aboard yourship, sir, I expect, along with the other pressed men."
"But haven't they been looking for me any more?" said the middy.
"No, sir; they give it up arter they'd caught Eben; and, as I telledyer, there was a reward offered for to find yer dead as they couldn'tfind yer living."
"So that's why Eben didn't come back, sailor," said Aleck, quietly.
"Yes," said the middy, "but why didn't he tell the cutter's officer thatwe were shut up here?"
"Too bitter about his capture, perhaps, or he might not have had achance to speak while he was ashore."
"I don't believe it was that," said the middy. "I believe he wouldn'ttell where their storehouse was."
"And so this here's the smugglers' cave, is it?" said Tom Bodger,looking about. "But where's t'other way out, sir?"
Aleck explained that the smuggler had closed the way up.
"Well, sir, it's a wery artful sort o' place, I will say that. Lot o'good things stored up here, I s'pose?"
"Plenty."
"Hah! Is there now? Well, it means some prize money, Mr Wrighton,sir, and enough to get a big share."
"And I deserve it, my man," said the middy, with something of his oldconsequential way; "but let's get out into the daylight. I'm afraid--I'm--that is, I shouldn't like to be shut in again."
"No fear, sir. You trust me. Lot more time yet. 'Sides, the tide'llfall lower to-morrow morning; but I'll get you out as soon as I can, foryour poor uncle's quite took to his bed, Master Aleck."
"Uncle has?"
"Yes, sir. Chuffy sharp-spoken gent as he always was, blest if hedidn't say quite soft to me, with the big tears a-standing in his eyes:`It's all over, Bodger, my man,' he says, `and you may have the poorboy's boat, for I know if he could speak now he would say, "Give it topoor old Tom."'"
"Poor old uncle!" said Ale
ck, huskily. "Then you're cheated again, Tom,and have lost your boat?"
"And hearty glad on it, too, Master Aleck, say I. A-mussy me, my lad,what would the Den ha' been without you there? The captain wouldn't ha'wanted me. I don't wonder as I couldn't rest, but come over here everymorning and stayed till dark, climbing about the rocks and cliffs, withthe birds a-shouting at me and thinking all the time that I'd come artertheir young 'uns--bubblins, as we calls 'em, 'cause they're so fat."
"And so they haven't been looking for me any more?" said the middy, in adisappointed tone.
"No, sir; not since they telled me to keep on looking for yer. You see,everybody said as you must ha' gone overboard and been washed out tosea, same as the captain felt that you'd slipped off the cliffsomewhere, Master Aleck, and been drowned. But I kep' on thinking asboth on yer might ha' been washed into some crivissy place and stuckthere, and that's why I kep' on peeking and peering about, hoping Imight come upon one of you if I didn't find both; and sure enough, hereyou are. I don't know what you gents think on it, but I call it aright-down good morning's work for such a man as me."
"But you did not walk over from Rockabie this morning, my man?" said themiddy.
"Not walk over, sir? Oh, yes, I did."
"You must be very tired?"
"Not me, sir. My legs never get tired; and yet the queerest thing aboutit is that they allus feel stiff."
"Don't talk any more, Tom," said Aleck. "I want to get to business.Now, then, don't you think we might get out now?"
"Well, yes, sir; p'raps we might. It's a good deal lighter, you see,since I come, but she's far from low water yet, and it'll come mucheasier when tide's right down. But can't I have a bit of a look round,Master Aleck?"
"Of course," was the reply, and the sailor grinned and chuckled as heran his eyes over what he looked upon as a regular treasure house foranyone whose dealings were on the sea with boats.
The cavern was lighter now than the two prisoners had ever seen it, sothat Tom was able to have a good look; and he finished off by trottingdown as near to the mouth of the great place as he could, and thenturning to Aleck.
"There," he said, "I think we might venture out now. You can swim outnow without having to dive. What do you say, Mr Wrighton, sir?"
"I think we ought to go at once."
"Come on, then, gen'lemen. You'll get a bit wet, but there's a longclimb arterwards up the hot rocks in the sunshine, and you'll be 'mostdry 'fore you get home."
"Oh, never mind the water," cried the middy. "My uniform's spoilt. I'mready to do anything to get out of here."
"Will you go first, sir?" cried Tom Bodger.
"No, you found the way in," was the reply, "so lead the way out."
"Right, sir. Ready?"
"Then come on."
The man took three or four of his queer steps, to stand for a moment onthe edge of the deep pool, and then went in sidewise to swim like a sealfor the low archway, whose weed-hung edges were only a few inches abovethe surface of the water, and as he reached it to pass under he laid hishead sidewise so that the dripping shell-covered weed wiped his cheek.
There had been no hesitation on the part of the prisoners. Aleck sprangin as soon as their guide was a few feet away, and the middy followed,both finding their task delightfully easy as they swam some fifty yardsthrough a low tunnel, whose roof was for the most part so close to thesurface that more than once, as the smooth water heaved, Aleck's facejust touched the impending smoothly-worn stone.
But there were two places, only a few yards in, where the arch wasbroken into a yawning crack, from which the water dripped in a heavyshower.
"Look up as you come along here," cried Aleck to his companion, and thenhe shuddered, for his voice raised a peculiar echo, suggesting weirdhollows and tunnels, while as he increased his strokes to get past andthe middy came under in turn, he shouted again after his leader:
"Why, Tom, that must be where the water snatched us up and nearlydrowned us."
Five minutes later all three were swimming for a rough natural pier, andTom Bodger gave his head a sidewise wag towards another low cavernousarch.
"'Nother way in there," he said. "Jynes the one we came out of. Youmust have seen how the waves dance and splash there in rough weather,Master Aleck?"
"No," was the reply. "I've only seen that it's a terribly rough bit ofcoast. I never came down here, and of course I was never out in my boatwhen it was rough."
"Course not, sir. It is a coarse bit. I had no end of a job to getdown, and I spect that it's going to be a bit worse going up agen. Whatdo you say to sitting up yonder in the sunshine on that there shelf?The birds'll soon go. You can make yourselves comf'able and get drywhile I go up and get a rope. Dessay I can be back in an hour or so."
"No," cried the lads, in a breath. "We'll climb it if you can."
Climb up the dangerous cliff they did by helping one another, and withseveral halts to look down at the still falling tide; and in one ofthese intervals Aleck exclaimed:
"But I still can't see how the smugglers could run a boat up and rowinto that cavern."
"Course they couldn't row, sir," replied Tom, "on'y shove her in. Butdon't you see what a beautiful deep cut there is? Bound to say that atthe right time they'd run a big lugger close in. Look yonder! It'sjust like the way into a dock, and sheltered lovely. Ah, they're anartful lot, smugglers! You never know what they're after."
It was about an hour later that, without passing a soul on theirsolitary way, the party reached the cliff path down into the Den garden,where no Dunning was visible, and a chill came over Aleck like a warningof something fresh in the way of disaster that he was to encounter.
It came suddenly, but it was as suddenly chased away by his hearing thevoice of Jane crooning over the words of some doleful old West Countryballad, not of a cheering nature certainly, but sufficient to prove thatsomeone was at the house.
"Wait here," he whispered to his companions. "Let me go and see myuncle first."
He crept in unheard, glanced round to see that the lower room was empty,and then went softly up the stairs, his well-soaked boots making aslittle noise as if they had been of indiarubber.
The study door yielded to a touch, and he stood gazing at the figure ofhis uncle, seated in his usual place, but with pen, ink and papersthrust aside so that he could bow his grey head down upon his claspedhands.
"Asleep, uncle?" said the lad, softly.
"Aleck, my boy!" cried the old man, springing up to catch the lost onein his arms. "Heaven be thanked! I was mourning for you as dead."