d. What will they say! what will they say!"

These words touched Vince home, and for a few minutes a peculiar feeling
overcame him; but the boy had too much good British stuff in him to give
way to despair, and he turned angrily upon his companion:

"Look here, Ladle," he said: "if you go on like this I'll punch your
head. No nonsense--I will. I don't believe that French skipper dare
hurt us, but we won't give him the chance to. We can't see a way out of
the hobble yet, but that's nothing. It's a problem, as Mr Deane would
say, and we've got to solve it."

"Who can solve problems standing in cold water? My legs are swelling
already, same as Jemmy Carnach's did when he was swept out in his boat
and nearly swamped, and didn't get back for three days."

"You're right," said Vince. "I can't think with my feet so cold. Let's
get into a dry place."

"What, go out?"

"No," said Vince; "we'll go in."

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

A STRANGE NIGHT'S LODGING.

Mike shrank from attempting to penetrate farther into the narrow hole;
but Vince's determination was contagious, and, in obedience to a jog of
the elbow, he followed his companion, as, with the lanthorn held high
enough for him to look under, the cudgel in his right-hand, he began to
wade on, finding that the passage twisted about a little, very much as
the tunnel formed by the stream did--of course following the vein of
mineral which had once existed, and had gradually decayed away.

To their great delight, the water, at the end of fifty yards or so, was
decidedly shallower; the walls, which had been almost covered with sea
anemones, dotted like lumps of reddish green and drab jelly, only showed
here, in company with live shells, a few inches above the water, which
now, as they waded on, kept for a little distance of the same depth, and
then suddenly widened out.

Vince stopped there, and held up the lanthorn, to see the darkness
spread all around and the light gleaming from the water, which had
spread into a good-sized pool.

"Mind!" cried Mike excitedly: "there's something coming."

He turned to hurry back, but Vince stood firm, with his cudgel raised;
and the force of example acted upon Mike, who turned towards him,
grasping the conger bat firmly, as the light showed some large creature
swimming, attracted by the light.

But the boys did not read it in that way. Their interpretation was that
the creature was coming to attack them; and, waiting til