ohn--and little Jenny
wouldn't have many sweethearts if it got about that her father--and I
suppose you are her father--"

Before the words were well out of his mouth John had him by the
throat. There was a short, fierce struggle, an oath, a gleam of
light--and then, with a screech of mortal pain and a wild clutch at
the air, my companion fell backwards over the cliff.

It was all the work of a moment--a shriek, a splash, and then
silence. How long the silence lasted I cannot tell. What happened
next--whether I cried or fainted, looked or shut my eyes--is to me an
absolute blank. Only I remember gradually waking up to the fact that
the Captain was standing over me, wiping his knife on a piece of weed
he had picked up on the rock, and regarding me with a steady stare.

I now suppose that during those few moments my life hung in the
balance: but at the time I was too dazed and stunned to comprehend
anything. The Captain slowly replaced his knife, hesitated, went to
the ledge and peered over, and then finally came back to me.

"Are you the kind of boy that's talkative?" His voice was as sweet as
ever, but his eyes were scorching me like live coals.

I suppose I must have signified my denial, for he went on--

"You heard what he called me? He called me a devil; a devil, mark
you; and that's what I am."

In my state of mind I could believe anything; so I easily believed
this.

"Being a devil, naturally I can hear what little boys say, no matter
where I am; and when little boys are talkative I can reach them, no
matter how they hide. I come on them in bed sometimes, and sometimes
from behind when they are not looking; there's no escaping me.
You've heard of Apollyon perhaps? Well, that's who I am."

I had heard of Apollyon in Bunyan; and I had no doubt he was speaking
the truth.

"I catch little boys when they are not looking, and carry them off,
and then their fathers and mothers don't see any more of them.
But they die very slowly, very slowly indeed--you will find out how
if ever I catch you talking."

But I did not at all want to know; I was quite satisfied, and
apparently he was also; for, after staring at me a little longer, he
told me to get up and go down the rock in front of him.

The agonies I suffered during that descent no pen can describe.
Every moment I expected to feel my shoulder gripped from behind, or
to feel the hands of some mysterious and infernal power around my
neck. Close beh