it, was moved, I
thought, at heart; and we chafed in our cave prison, and those eight days
went wearily enough. Yet 'twas not time lost, for every day my leg grew
stronger; and like a wolf which I saw once in a cage at Dorchester Fair,
I spent hours in marching round the cave to kill the time and put more
vigour in my steps. Ratsey did not visit us again, but in spite of what
he said, met Elzevir more than once, and got money for him from
Dorchester and many other things he needed. It was after meeting Ratsey
that Elzevir came back one night, bringing a long whip in one hand, and
in the other a bundle which held clothes to mask us in the next scene.
There was a carter's smock for him, white and quilted over with
needlework, such as carters wear on the Down farms, and for me a smaller
one, and hats and leather leggings all to match. We tried them on, and
were for all the world carter and carter's boy; and I laughed long to see
Elzevir stand there and practise how to crack his whip and cry 'Who-ho'
as carters do to horses. And for all he was so grave, there was a smile
on his face too, and he showed me how to twist a wisp of straw out of the
bed to bind above my ankles at the bottom of the leggings. He had cut off
his beard, and yet lost nothing of his looks; for his jaw and deep chin
showed firm and powerful. And as for me, we made a broth of young walnut
leaves and twigs, and tanned my hands and face with it a ruddy brown, so
that I looked a different lad.

CHAPTER 13

AN INTERVIEW

No human creature stirred to go or come,
No face looked forth from shut or open casement,
No chimney smoked, there was no sign of home
From parapet to basement--_Hood_

And so the days went on, until there came to be but two nights more
before we were to leave our cave. Now I have said that the delay chafed
us, because we were impatient to get at the treasure; but there was
something else that vexed me and made me more unquiet with every day that
passed. And this was that I had resolved to see Grace before I left these
parts, and yet knew not how to tell it to Elzevir. But on this evening,
seeing the time was grown so short, I knew that I must speak or drop my
purpose, and so spoke.

We were sitting like the sea-birds on the ledge outside our cave, looking
towards St. Alban's Head and watching the last glow of sunset. The
evening vapours began to sweep down Channel, and Elzevir shrugged his
shoulders. 'The night turns chil