eck. "What about Eben Megg?"

"Oh, they cotched him days ago, sir--cutter's men dropped upon him while
they was hunting for this young gent's corpus, and he's aboard your
ship, sir, I expect, along with the other pressed men."

"But haven't they been looking for me any more?" said the middy.

"No, sir; they give it up arter they'd caught Eben; and, as I telled
yer, there was a reward offered for to find yer dead as they couldn't
find yer living."

"So that's why Eben didn't come back, sailor," said Aleck, quietly.

"Yes," said the middy, "but why didn't he tell the cutter's officer that
we were shut up here?"

"Too bitter about his capture, perhaps, or he might not have had a
chance to speak while he was ashore."

"I don't believe it was that," said the middy. "I believe he wouldn't
tell where their storehouse was."

"And so this here's the smugglers' cave, is it?" said Tom Bodger,
looking about. "But where's t'other way out, sir?"

Aleck explained that the smuggler had closed the way up.

"Well, sir, it's a wery artful sort o' place, I will say that. Lot o'
good things stored up here, I s'pose?"

"Plenty."

"Hah! Is there now? Well, it means some prize money, Mr Wrighton,
sir, and enough to get a big share."

"And I deserve it, my man," said the middy, with something of his old
consequential way; "but let's get out into the daylight. I'm afraid--
I'm--that is, I shouldn't like to be shut in again."

"No fear, sir. You trust me. Lot more time yet. 'Sides, the tide'll
fall lower to-morrow morning; but I'll get you out as soon as I can, for
your poor uncle's quite took to his bed, Master Aleck."

"Uncle has?"

"Yes, sir. Chuffy sharp-spoken gent as he always was, blest if he
didn't say quite soft to me, with the big tears a-standing in his eyes:
`It's all over, Bodger, my man,' he says, `and you may have the poor
boy's boat, for I know if he could speak now he would say, "Give it to
poor old Tom."'"

"Poor old uncle!" said Aleck, huskily. "Then you're cheated again, Tom,
and have lost your boat?"

"And hearty glad on it, too, Master Aleck, say I. A-mussy me, my lad,
what would the Den ha' been without you there? The captain wouldn't ha'
wanted me. I don't wonder as I couldn't rest, but come over here every
morning and stayed till dark, climbing about the rocks and cliffs, with
the birds a-shouting at me and thinking all the time that I'd come arter
their young 'uns--bubblins, as we ca