"Yes," said Billy Waters; "but suppose we do come back without him, and he do string us up--how then?"

"Ah! but he won't," said the boatswain. "Men's too scarce."

"Well, I wouldn't have gone ash.o.r.e in the boat," said one man.

"Nor I", "Nor I," chorussed half-a-dozen; and then they stopped, for the lieutenant had approached unseen, caught the words, and in a fit of fury he shouted to the boatswain:

"Here, my sword--from the cabin!" he cried. "No; stop. Pipe away the boat's crew. You, Waters, head that expedition!" And then, as if moved to repeat the boatswain's words, he continued, "And don't you men dare to come back without Mr Leigh."

The men had got their own way; but though they waited patiently for the rest of the lieutenant's order respecting the extra tot of grog, that order did not come, and they had to set off without it.

They were in capital spirits, and bent well to their oars, sending the boat surging through the water, and chattering and laughing like so many boys as soon as they were out of hearing. No wonder, for there is something exceedingly monotonous in being cooped up day after day on board ship, especially if it be a very small one; and there is no wonder at Jack's being fond of a run ash.o.r.e.

The evening was coming on very dark, and a thick bank of clouds was rising in the west, gradually blotting out the stars one by one, almost before they had had time to get well alight.

"Pull steady, my lads," said the gunner. "Save a little bit of breath for landing."

"All right, matey," said one of the men; and they rowed steadily, each stroke of an oar seeming to splash up so much pale liquid fire, while the boat's stem sent it flashing and sparkling away in an ever-diverging train.

"Now then, lads, steady," said Billy Waters, who seemed to have suddenly awakened to the fact that he ought to be more dignified, as became the officer in command. "We don't want to go for to let everybody ash.o.r.e know we're coming."

There was silence then, only broken by the splash of the water from the oars, and a dismal creaking noise of wood upon wood.

"Shove a bit o' grease agen that there thole-pin o' yours, Tom Tully.

Your oar'll rouse all the smugglers along the coast."

"Ar'n't no grease," growled Tom.

"Then why didn't you get a bit out of a lantern afore you come aboard?"

"'Cause n.o.body didn't tell me," growled Tom, who ceased rowing and splashed the s.p.a.ce between the thole-pins with a few drops of water, when the noise ceased.

"Steady, my lads, steady!" said Billy Waters, giving a pull at the rudder, so as to run the boat more west towards where the cliff rose high and black against the darkening sky.

"Yer see--" began Tom Tully, and then he stopped.

"Not werry far," said the man pulling behind him.

"Well, what do you see, old Tommy?" said Billy Waters. "Give it woice."

"Yer see," began Tom Tully, "I'm a chap as allus gets bullied as soon as he opens his mouth."

"Soon as what chap opens his mouth?" said the gunner.

"Why, ar'n't I a-telling of you?--me," growled Tom Tully.

"Well, what's the matter now?" said the gunner.

"Well, I was a-wondering what we was going for ash.o.r.e."

"Now, just hark at this here chap!" said the gunner indignantly.

"That's what I says," growled Tom Tully; "directly I opens my mouth I gets a bullying. I allus gets told I'm a-grumbling."

"Well, come now," said the gunner, "speak out will you? What's the matter?"

"Oh, I don't want to speak out unless you like," said Tom.

"Yes, come, out with it, and don't let's have no mutinous, onderhanded ways," cried the gunner importantly.

"Well, what I want to know is, what we're a-going for ash.o.r.e?"

"Now just hark at him," cried the gunner, "grumbling again. Why, ar'n't we going to look after our young orsifer?"

"Then why didn't we come in the daytime, and not wait until it was getting so pitch dark as you can't see your hand afore your eyes?"

Billy Waters scratched his head.

"Well, it is getting dark, old Tommy, sartinly," he said apologetically.

"Dark as Davy Jones's locker," growled Tom. "I wants to find Muster Leigh as much as anybody, but you can't look if you can't see."

"That's a true word anyhow," said one of the men.

"It's my belief as our skipper's pretty nigh mad," continued Tom, giving a vicious jerk at his oar, "or else he wouldn't be sending us ash.o.r.e at this time o' night."

"Well, it is late, Tommy," said the gunner; "but we must make the best on it."

"Yah! There ar'n't no best on it. All we can do is to get ash.o.r.e, sit down on the sand, and shout out, 'Muster Leigh, ahoy!'"

"There, it ar'n't no use to growl again, Tom Tully," said Billy Waters, rea.s.suming his dignified position of commanding officer. "Give way, my lads."

The men took long, steady strokes, and soon after the boat glided right in over the calm phosph.o.r.escent waves, four men leaped out as her bows touched the sand, and as the next wave lifted her, they ran her right up; the others leaped out and lent a hand, and the next minute the boat was high and dry.

"Now then, my lads," cried the gunner, "what I propose is that we try and find our landmarks, and as soon as we have hit the place where Master Leigh left us we'll all hail as loud as we can, and then wait for an answer."

Tom Tully growled out something in reply, it was impossible to say what, and leaving one man to act as boatkeeper, they all set off together along the sh.o.r.e.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

ATTACK AND DEFEAT.

Tom Tully had marked down a towering portion of the cliff as being over the spot where they had lost sight of their young officer, and, as it happened, that really was pretty close to the place, so, trudging on in silence after giving a glance in the direction where the cutter lay, now seen only as a couple of lights about a mile from the sh.o.r.e, they soon reached the rocks, where the gunner called a halt.

"Now, my lads," he said, "get all of a row, face inwards, and make ready to hail. We'll give him one good '_Kestrel_ ahoy!' and that'll wake him up, wherever he is. Hallo! stop that chap! There, he's dodged behind that big stone."

The men wanted no further inducement than the sight of some one trying to avoid them.