eir fierce young
appetites, sharpened to a maddening desire by long fasting, which, after
the first choking mouthful or two, would not be gainsaid; and they soon
set to work voraciously, while the captain ate as heartily, and his men,
all but the sentry, gathered together by themselves to make their
breakfast alone.

"Brava!" cried the captain, helping them liberally to the capital
breakfast before them: "I can you not tell how vairy glad I am to see my
young _amis_. My table has not been so honour before."

At last the meal was at end, and the captain clapped his hands for the
things to be cleared away, a couple of the men leaping up and performing
this task with quite military alacrity.

The boys exchanged glances, and, without communicating one with the
other, rose together; while the captain raised his eyebrows.

"Aha!" he said: "you vant somesings else?"

"Only to say thank you for our good breakfast, and to tell you that we
are now going home."

"Going home?" said the captain grimly. "Aha, you sink so. Yaas,
perhaps you are right. You _Anglais_ call it going home--_a la mort_--
to die."

"No, we don't," said Vince sharply. "We mean going home. We have been
out all night."

"Aha, yaas; and the _bon_ papa and mamma know vere you have come?"

"No," replied Vince quickly; "no one knows of this but us."

"_Vraiment_?" said the captain, and he looked searchingly at Mike. "No
one knows but my young friend?"

"No," said Mike. "We found the cave by accident; we fell into the way
that leads down, and kept it a secret."

"Good boy; but you can keep secret?"

"Yes," said Mike; "of course."

"Aha! so can I," said the captain, laughing boisterously. "Suppose I
send you home my vay, eh? No one know ze vay to ze cavern."

"I don't understand you," said Mike sturdily.

"_Ma foi_! vy should you understand? I send you home, and nobody know
nosings. _Les gens_--ze peoples--look for you; they do not find you,
and zey say--Aha, _pauvres garcons_, zey go and make a falls off ze
cliff, and ve nevaire see them any more!"

Mike turned pale; Vince laughed.

"He does not mean it, Mike," said the boy. "We know better than that,
Captain Jacques."

"Aha, you are so clever a boy. You vill explain how you know all ze
better zan me, le Capitaine Lebrun."

"There's nothing to explain," said Vince sturdily. "You don't suppose
we believe you would kill us because we came down here,--here, where we
have busine