Part 69 (1/2)

”Ay, ay, sir, and I'm a-trying as hard as nails, sir,” said the man, rousing himself up to speak more sharply; ”but somehow my head don't seem as if it would go.”

”Think, man--think!” cried the middy appealingly.

”That's what I'm a-doing of, sir, but nothing comes.”

”He must be somewhere, Tom.”

”Yes, to be sure, sir; that's it,” cried the man excitedly. ”You've hit it now. I couldn't have thought that myself.”

”Oh-h-h-h!” groaned Murray. ”Was ever poor wretch so tormented! What shall I do?”

”Lookye here, sir, I want to help you.”

”Oh, I feel as if I could knock your silly old head off!” cried the middy, with a stamp upon the floor.

”Well, sir, do. You just do it if you think it will help you. I won't mind.”

”Oh, Tom, Tom!” groaned Murray. ”This is the worst day's work I ever did.”

”Think it's any good to sarch the place again, sir?”

”But there's nothing to search, Tom.”

”Well, there arn't much, sir, sartainly, but it'll be more satisfactory to go over it once more.”

”Come along, then,” said the middy. ”Anything's better than standing still here.”

”Ay, sir, so it is,” said the big sailor; and together the pair went from room to room, Tom May insisting upon looking under the couch in the study, under the table, and then lifting up the square of Turkey carpet that half covered the well-made parqueterie floor, which glistened with the polis.h.i.+ng given to it by busy slave labour.

But there was no sign of him whom they sought, and a careful examination of the garden and plantation was only followed by the discovery which they had made before, that the place was thoroughly closed in by a dense natural growth of hedge, ablaze with flowers in spite of the fact that it had been closely clipped and had grown dense in an impa.s.sable way.

”Let's get the boat here,” said Murray, at last; and going to the platform, Tom May hailed the cutter where it swung from its grapnel.

”Now then, you two,” cried the middy angrily, ”you have been asleep!”

”Nay, sir,” cried the men, in a breath.

”What, you deny it?”

”Yes, sir,” said one. ”It was so hot that I did get precious drowsy once.”

”There, I knew I was right!”

”Beg pardon, sir; just as I was going off my mate here shoves a pin into me and rouses me up with a yell. I was never asleep.”

”And you are ready to say the same?” cried the middy.

”Jes' the same sir,” said the other man, ”only not quite. It was the same pin, sir, but he jobbed it into me further. We was both awake all the time, sir.”

”Then you must have seen that Mr Allen come out of the cottage and be rowed away.”