ween
Tresidder and his son, and not being, as I have said, quick at thinking,
my mind presently became a blank, and I fell asleep.

How long I slept I know not, but I was awoke by the sound of voices, and
of footsteps near me, but the first thing of which I have a clear
recollection was a kick on the shin, and a voice saying, "Bless my soul
'n body, what es this?"

I jumped to my feet and saw two men before me in rough seamen's clothes,
and with high jack-boots. I did not know them at all, and so I concluded
that they were strangers to our part of the county. They were not
altogether ill-favoured men, although I could not help feeling that
there was a kind of reckless expression on their faces which was not
common among Cornish fisherfolk.

"And who might you be?" asked one presently, after staring at me for
some time as if in blank astonishment.

By this time I had mastered the amazement which for the moment had
overcome me, and had surmised who they were. Undoubtedly they were the
smugglers who infested the coast, and who knew the secret of Granfer
Fraddam's Cave. Probably they belonged to Jack Truscott's famous gang,
and had brought a cargo of goods that very night. I heard the swish of
the waves rushing up the cave, so I knew the tide was high.

I measured the men, too, from a wrestler's standpoint, and calculated
their strength from the size of their bare arms, and the breadth of
their chests. All the fear that had come into my heart left me. Living
men did not frighten me.

"I might as well ask who you are," I replied coolly.

"Oh, tha's yer soarts, es et? Well, I think we may, so we'll tell 'ee,
es you'll never go out of this 'ere place a livin' man."

"Never go out a living man. Why, pray?"

"Well, 'cos you do knaw too much, tha's why. This caave es wot you call
convainient. See, matey? Well, ef other people wos to knaw 'bout et,
twudden be convainient."

"I quite understand. You are smugglers, and wreckers most likely.
Perhaps even worse than that. Perhaps you belong to Jack Truscott's
gang. Ah, I see you do. Well, your idea is to kill me because I have
found your hiding-place."

"That's ev et. Generally we be'ant cruel men, we be'ant. But some things
must be done. You zee, dead men kip their saicrets well; livin' ones
do'ant. You be a curyus-looking cove, ragged 'nough for a vuss cutter,
but you be'ant owr soart."

"No," I said, coolly, "I'm not your sort."

"And you'd splet on us the fust fai