I have, perhaps I
shall be better off where I am."

"There'll be a pretty noise about this when Sir Henry comes back," cried
a voice, which Hilary recognised as that of the ill-looking fellow
Allstone. "You clumsy fool, dropping that keg!"

"It was as much you as me," cried another. "I sha'n't take all the
blame."

"The lad's burned to death through your clumsiness," continued Allstone.

"And a whole keg of the strongest brandy wasted," said another
dolefully.

"The place nearly burned down too," said another.

"Here, go in somebody," cried Allstone. "Perhaps he isn't quite dead,
and I suppose we must save him if we can. Do you hear? Go in some of
you."

"Who's going in?" said another voice. "There's smoke enough to choke
you. Why don't you go in yourself?"

"Because I tell you to go," cried Allstone savagely. "I'm master here
when the skipper's away, and I'll be obeyed. Go in, two of you, and
fetch the boy out."

"He don't want no fetching out," said one of the men, as the current of
air that set from the window drove the smoke aside and revealed the
dimly-seen figure of Hilary seated in the embrasure holding on to the
iron bars. "He don't want no help; there he sits."

Allstone, who had been seized with a fit of coughing and choking from
the effects of the blinding, pungent smoke, did not speak for a few
moments, during which the smoke went on getting thinner and thinner,
though, as the men had no lights, everything was still very obscure.

"Oh, you're up there, are you?" cried Allstone at last. "Come down,
sir; do you hear?" And he spoke as if he were addressing a disobedient
dog; but Hilary remained perfectly silent, truth to say, almost
speechless from indignation.

"What do you mean by pretending to be smothered and burned to death,
hey?" cried the fellow again, roughly. "Why don't you answer? Get
down."

"Out, bully!" cried Hilary angrily. "Why, you insolent dog, how dare
you speak to a king's officer like that? Why, you ugly,
indecent-looking outrage upon humanity, you set fire to the place
through your clumsiness, and then come and insult me for not being
burned to death."

"Haw! haw! haw!" laughed one of the men. "Well crowed, young gamecock."

"You cowardly lubbers, why didn't you come sooner to help me, instead of
leaving me to frizzle here? I might have burned to death a dozen times
for aught you cared."

"Haw! haw! haw!" laughed a couple of the men now, to Allstone's