how he
had been captured just as he was quitting the village. His great fear
had been lest he should be compelled to betray them; and he declared to
Rayner, who believed him, that he would have undergone any torture
rather than have done so.

Le Duc whispered that the two other prisoners had been condemned for
murder.

"Pleasant sort of companions," observed Oliver. "We may as well let
them have their side of the prison to themselves."

The men in the meantime had scraped the seat as clean as they could with
their knives.

Tom, as usual, began to grumble.

"We must take the rough and the smooth together," observed Jack. "I am
hungry enough myself, and I hope the mounseers don't intend to starve
us, though maybe we shan't get roast beef and plum pudding."

"Don't talk of it," cried Brown; "I could eat half an ox if I had the
chance."

While they were talking the door opened, and a man appeared, carrying a
lantern and a pitcher in one hand, and a basket in the other, which he
placed on the bench near them.

The pitcher contained water, and the basket some very brown,
heavy-looking bread, with a couple of tin mugs. Having allowed the
other prisoners to drink, and given each of them a piece of bread, he
handed the basket with its contents to the Englishmen.

"You Anglais like ros' beef. Here you eat this. Good enough for you,"
he said, in a surly tone.

They were all too hungry to refuse the bread or the water, which, in
spite of its brackish taste, quenched the thirst from which they had
long been suffering.

Their gaoler left them the lantern, in order that they might see how to
divide the bread. It assisted them also to select places on which to
stretch themselves round the room, and, in spite of the hardness of
their couches, in a short time were all asleep.

Some more bread and water was brought them in the morning, and a similar
unpalatable meal was provided in the afternoon. This was evidently to
be their only food during their imprisonment. They had no one to
complain to, no means of obtaining redress; so, like wise men, they made
up their minds to bear it, though Tom grumbled and growled all day long
at the way in which he was treated.

Rayner supposed that the commandant was waiting for a reply to the
report he had sent to Leogane. Until that could arrive, no change
either for the better or worse was likely to be made in their treatment.

Le Duc was still allowed to live; but, in spit