"Am I? I wish I was; but it's a fact."

"But where are you going to?" said Alice, her eyes filling with tears.

"I don't know."

"Corrie!"

"I tell you, I don't know; and if I did know, I couldn't tell. Listen, Alice, I will tell you as much as I am permitted to let out."

The boy became extremely solemn at this point, took the little girl's hand, and gazed into her face as he spoke.

"You must know," he began, "that Henry and his mother and I go away to-night--"

"To-night?" cried Alice, quickly.

"To-night," repeated the boy. "b.u.mpus and Jakolu go with us. I have said that I don't know where we are going to, but I am pretty safe in a.s.suring you that we are going somewhere. Why we are going, I am forbidden to tell--divulge, I think Henry called it, but what that means I don't know. I can only guess it's another word for tell, and yet it can't be that either, for you can speak of _telling_ lies, but you can't speak of _divulging_ them. However, that don't matter. But I'm not forbidden to tell you why _I_ am going away. In the first place, then, I'm going to seek my fortune! Where I'm to find it remains to be seen.

The only thing I know is, that I mean to find it somewhere or other, and then," (here Corrie became very impressive,) "come back and live beside you and your father, not to speak of p.o.o.py and Toozle."

Alice smiled sadly at this. Corrie looked graver than ever, and went on--

"Meanwhile, during my absence, I will write letters to you, and you'll write ditto to me. I am going away because I ought to go and be doing something for myself. You know quite well that I would rather stop beside you than go anywhere in this wide world, Alice; but that would be stupid. I'm getting to be a man now, and mustn't go on shewin' the weaknesses of a boy. In the second, or third, place--I forget which, but no matter--I am going with Henry because I could not go with a better man; and in the fourth--if it's not the fifth--place, I'm going because Uncle Ole Thorwald has long wished me to go to sea, and, to tell you the truth, I would have gone long ago had it not been for you, Alice. There's only one thing that bothers me." Here Corrie looked at his fair companion with a perplexed air.

"What is that?" asked Alice, sympathetically.

"It is that I must go without saying good-bye to Uncle Ole. I'm _very_ sorry about it. It will look so ungrateful to him; but it _can't_ be helped."

"Why not?" inquired Alice. "If he has often said he wished you to go to sea, would he not be delighted to hear that you are going?"

"Yes; but he must not know that I am going to-night, and with Henry Stuart."

"Why not?"

"Ah! that's the point. Mystery! Alice--mystery! What a world of mystery this is!" observed the precocious Corrie, shaking his head with profound solemnity. "I've been involved, (I think that's the word,) rolled up, drowned, and buried in mystery for more than three weeks, and I'm beginning to fear that I'll never again git into the unmysteriously happy state in which I lived before this abominable man-of-war came to the island. No Alice, I dare not say anything more on that point even to you _just now_. But _won't_ I give it you all in my first letter?

and _won't_ you open your eyes just until they look like two blue saucers?"

Further conversation between the friends was interrupted at this point by the inrushing of Toozle, followed up by p.o.o.py, and, a short time after, by Mr Mason, who took Alice away with him, and left poor Corrie disconsolate.

While this was going on, John b.u.mpus was fulfilling his mission to Ole Thorwald.

He found that obstinate individual in his own parlour, deep in the investigation of the state of his books of business, which had been allowed to fall into arrear during his absence.

"Come in, b.u.mpus. So I hear you were half-hanged when we were away."

Ole wheeled round on his stool and hooked his thumbs into the arm-holes of his vest as he said this, leaned his back against his desk, and regarded the seaman with a facetious look.

"Half-hanged, indeed," said b.u.mpus, indignantly. "I was more than half--three-quarters at least. Why, the worst of it's over w'en the rope's round your neck."

"That is a matter which you can't speak to, John b.u.mpus, seeing that you've never gone beyond the putting of the rope round your neck."

"Well, I'm content with wot I does happen to know about it," remarked Jo, making a wry face; "an' I hope that I'll never git the chance of knowin' more. But I comed here on business, Mr Thorwald," (here John became mysterious and put his finger to his lips.) "I've comed here, Mr Thorwald, to--_split_."

As Ole did not quite understand the meaning of this word, and did not believe that the seaman actually meant to rend himself from head to foot, he said--"Why, b.u.mpus, what d'ye mean?"

"I mean as how that I've comed to split on my comrades--w'ich means, I'm goin' to tell upon 'em."

"Oh!" exclaimed Ole, eyeing the man with a look of distrust.

"Yes," pursued b.u.mpus, "I'm willin' to tell ye all about it, and prevent his escape, if you'll only promise, on yer word as a gin'lmun, that ye won't tell n.o.body else, but six n.i.g.g.e.rs, who are more than enough to sarve your turn."

"Prevent whose escape?" said Thorwald with an excited look.

"Gascoyne's."

Ole jumped off his stool and hit his left palm a sounding blow with his right fist.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, staring into the face of the seaman. "I was sure of it! I said it! But how d'ye know, my man?"

"Ah! I'll not say another word if ye don't promise to let me go free, and only take six n.i.g.g.e.rs with ye."

"Well, b.u.mpus, I do promise, on the word of a true Norseman, which is much better than that of a gentleman, that no harm shall come to you if you tell me all you know of this matter. But I will promise nothing more; because if you won't tell me, you have told me enough to enable me to take such measures as will prevent Gascoyne from escaping."

"No, ye can't prevent it," said b.u.mpus, with an air of indifference.

"If ye don't choose to come to my way o' thinkin', ye can take yer own coorse. But, let me tell you, there's more people on the island that will take Gascoyne's part than ye think of. There's the whole crew of the _Talisman_, whose cap'n he saved, and a lot besides; an' if ye do come to a fight about it, ye'll have a pretty tough scrimmage. Ther'll be blood spilt, Mr Thorwald, an' it was partly to prevent that as I comed here for. But you know best. You better take yer own way, an I'll take mine."

The cool impudence, of manner with which John b.u.mpus said this had its effect on Ole, who, although fond enough of fighting against enemies, had no sort of desire to fight against friends, especially for the sake of a pirate.

"Come, b.u.mpus," said he, "you and I understand each other. Let us talk the thing over calmly. I've quite as much objection to see unnecessary bloodshed as you have. We have had enough of that lately. Tell me what you know, and I promise to do what you recommend as far as I can in reason."

"Do you promise to let no one else know wot I tell ye?"

"I do."

"An' d'ye promise to take no more than six n.i.g.g.e.rs to prewent this escape?"

"Will six be enough?"

"Plenty; but, if that bothers ye, say twelve; I'm not partic'lar--say twelve. That's more than enough, for they'll only have four to fight with."

"Well, I promise that too."

"Good. Now I'll tell ye all about it," said b.u.mpus. "You see, although I'm splittin', I don't want to get my friends into trouble, and so I got you to promise; an' I trust to yer word, Mr Thorwald--you bein' a gen'lmun. This is how it is. Young Henry Stuart thinks that although Gascoyne is a pirate, or, rather, _was_ a pirate, he don't deserve to be hanged. 'Cause why? Firstly, he never committed no murder; secondly, he saved the lives o' some of your people--Alice Mason among the rest; and, thirdly, he's an old friend o' the family as has done 'em good sarvice long ago. So Henry's made up his mind that, as Gascoyne's sure to be hanged if he's tried, it's his duty to prewent that there from happenin' of. Now, ye see, Gascoyne is quite willin' to escape--"

"Hah! the villain!" exclaimed Ole; "I was sure of that. I knew well enough that all his smooth-tongued humility was hypocrisy. I'm sorry for Henry, and don't wish to thwart him; but it's clearly my duty to prevent this escape if I can."

"So I think, sir," said b.u.mpus; "so I think. That's just w'at I said to myself w'en I made up my mind for to split. Gascoyne bein' willin'

then, Henry has bribed the jailer, and he intends to open the jail door for him at twelve o'clock this night, and he'll know w'at to do with his legs w'en he's got 'em free."

"But how am I to prevent his escape if I do not set a strong guard over the prison?" exclaimed Ole, in an excited manner. "If he once gets into the mountains I might as well try to catch a hare."