her three white
sails flashing back the sunset. The lieutenant steered, and he had four
men with him, of whom Cadman was not one, that worthy being left at
home to nurse his bruises and his dudgeon. These four men now were quite
marvellously civil, having heard of their comrade's plight, and being
pleased alike with that and with their commander's prowess. For Cadman
was by no means popular among them, because, though his pay was the same
as theirs, he always tried to be looked up to; the while his manners
were not distinguished, and scarcely could be called polite, when a
supper required to be paid for. In derision of this, and of his desire
for mastery, they had taken to call him "Boatswain Jack," or "John
Boatswain," and provoked him by a subscription to present him with a
pig-whistle. For these were men who liked well enough to receive hard
words from their betters who were masters of their business, but saw
neither virtue nor value in submitting to superior airs from their
equals.

The Royal George, as this boat was called, passed through the fleet of
quiet vessels, some of which trembled for a second visitation; but not
deigning to molest them, she stood on, and rounding Flamborough Head,
passed by the pillar rocks called King and Queen, and bore up for the
North Landing cove. Here sail was taken in, and oars were manned; and
Carroway ordered his men to pull in to the entrance of each of the
well-known caves.

To enter these, when any swell is running, requires great care and
experience; and the Royal George had too much beam to do it comfortably,
even in the best of weather. And now what the sailors call a "chopping
sea" had set in with the turn of the tide, although the wind was still
off-shore; so that even to lie to at the mouth made rather a ticklish
job of it. The men looked at one another, and did not like it, for
a badly handled oar would have cast them on the rocks, which are
villainously hard and jagged, and would stave in the toughest boat, like
biscuit china. However, they durst not say that they feared it; and by
skill and steadiness they examined all three caves quite enough to be
certain that no boat was in them.

The largest of the three, and perhaps the finest, was the one they first
came to, which already was beginning to be called the cave of Robin
Lyth. The dome is very high, and sheds down light when the gleam of the
sea strikes inward. From the gloomy mouth of it, as far as they could
ve