"I'll make a fight for it," he said sharply, "for I don't mean to be taken back."

Just then he caught sight of a hollow that had evidently been tunnelled out of the rocks by centuries of floods. There was a perfect curtain of thin stranded holly, ivy, and bramble hanging before it, and creeping cautiously forward he parted the hanging strands, pa.s.sed in, and they fell back in place, almost shutting out the light of day.

The hollow did not even approach the dimensions of a cave, but was the merest hollowing out of the soft sand rock; still, it was sufficient to conceal him from his pursuers, and, cutla.s.s in hand, he crouched down, holding open one little place in the green curtain and listening for the next hint of the coming of his pursuers. A dead silence ensued, during which he could feel the heavy throb, throb of his heart and the hard labouring of his breath, for his exertions had been tremendous. But still no sound reached his ears; not a shout was heard, and he began to grow hopeful.

Five minutes must have pa.s.sed, and he had recovered his breath. From out of the tiny opening he had left he saw a robin flit down and perch upon a twig. Then came a blackbird to investigate the state of the commissariat department in the gully, turning busily over the leaves; and so calmly did the bird work that Hilary felt still more hopeful, for he knew that no one could be near.

Vain hope! All at once the bird uttered its sharp alarm note and flew like a streak of black velvet up into the dense growth above, but still there was not a sound to be heard.

Hilary's heart began to beat again, for the excitement was intense.

Then there came a faint rustle, and another. Then silence again, and he felt that the men must have given up the chase.

Just then there was another faint rustle, and through the screen of leaves Hilary saw the head and then the shoulders of a strongly-built man appear, whose eyes were diligently searching every inch of ground till he came nearer, and then, as his gaze lighted on the screen of leaves Hilary saw a look of intelligence come upon his stolid features, and stepping forward, he was about to drag the leaf.a.ge aside, when there came a loud shout from below--

"Ahoy! this way. Here he is!"

The man made a rush down the ravine, and the young officer's heart felt as if released from some tremendous pressure, for he had nerved himself for a tremendous struggle, and the danger had pa.s.sed.

A minute later there was a sudden outburst of voices and a roar of laughter, after which Hilary fancied he could hear Allstone shouting and angrily abusing the men. Then once more came silence, and he lay there and waited.

He half expected to see the men come back, but an hour pa.s.sed and there was not a sound save that of the birds in the distance; and at last, after fighting down the intense desire to be up and doing till he could master himself no longer, Hilary parted the leaves and stepped out into the gully to continue his course downwards.

He stopped in a stooping position to listen, for he fancied he had heard a rustle.

"Rabbit," he muttered, directly after; and as he did so a tremendous weight fell upon his back, throwing him forward upon his face, where, as he struggled round and tried to get up, it was to find that the great st.u.r.dy fellow he had before seen was sitting upon his chest.

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

BACK IN BONDS.

"That's the way I do with the rabbuds, shipmet," said the man laughing.

"You dog! you scoundrel!" panted Hilary, continuing his ineffectual struggle.

"Better be still, boy," said the man coolly. "You'll only hurt yourself."

As he spoke he wrested the cutla.s.s from the young man's hand, after which he coolly took out a tobacco-bag and helped himself to a quid.

Hilary felt his helplessness, and after another furious effort, during which he partly raised his captor from his position of 'vantage, he lay still and looked in the man's face.

"Look here!" he said; "what'll you take to let me go?"

The man looked at him in an amused fashion, and then laughed.

"Do you hear?" cried Hilary. "Come, get off me; you hurt my chest."

"Yes. I hear," said the man coolly.

"Then why don't you answer? Quick, before the others come! What will you take to let me go?"

"What'll you take, youngster, to join us?"

"What do you take me for?" cried Hilary. "How dare you ask me such a question?"

"Just by the same law that you ask me," said the man coolly. "Do you think everybody is to be bought and sold?"

"But look here," cried Hilary. "I have been shut up there, and I want to get away; I must get away."

"To bring the crew of the cutter to rout us up yonder, eh!" said the man, laughing. "Now, come, I suppose you would call yourself a young gentleman; so speak the truth. If I let you go, will you lead the cutter off on a false scent, or will you show the captain the way to our place?"

Hilary remained silent.

"Why don't you speak, youngster? Which would you do?"

"My duty," said Hilary st.u.r.dily.

"And that is, of course, to point us out," said the man, smiling. "Well youngster, I don't like you a bit the worse for speaking out like a man.

I've got my duty to do as well, and here goes."

He blew a shrill chirruping whistle twice over, and it was answered from a distance; while before many minutes had elapsed there was the sound of breaking twigs, voices talking hurriedly, and directly after, looking black and angry, Allstone came up with half-a-dozen men.

Allstone's countenance changed into a look of malignant pleasure as soon as he saw Hilary lying amidst the bushes.

"You've got him, then?" he cried.

"Oh, yes," said Hilary's captor coolly. "It only wanted time."

"I thought we should get him again!" shouted Allstone, grinning in the captive's face. "Here's that cutla.s.s, too. He's a liar, this fellow.

He said he had thrown it out of the window."

"So I did, idiot!" cried Hilary indignantly. "But I tied a string to it to pull it back when I wanted it."

The men burst out into a hearty laugh at the idea, as much as at someone calling Allstone, who had bullied them a good deal, an idiot.

The man glanced at him savagely, and Hilary read in his eye so much promise of a hard time that he determined to make one more effort for his liberty, and this he did.

"Who's got a bit o' cord?" said Allstone. "Oh, here, I have. Now then, up with him, and hold his hands behind his back."

Hilary's captor rose, and a couple of men caught him by the arms, jerked him up and held him, dragging back his arms, which Allstone came forward to bind; but seeing the young man helpless before him, he could not resist the temptation offered to him.

"I'm an idiot, am I?" he shouted. "How do you like that for an idiot's touch?"

He struck Hilary a brutal back-handed blow across the face as he spoke, and then went backwards into the gully with a crash. For, his hands being secured, the young officer felt no compunction, under the circ.u.mstances, in making use of his foot, and with it he gave the bully so tremendous a kick in the chest that he went down breathless; and, wrenching his arms free, Hilary made a dash for liberty, but his former captor seized him as he pa.s.sed.

"No, my lad, it won't do," he exclaimed. "It was too much trouble to catch you, so we'll keep you now."