“Hush!” I suddenly implored; and we all became stone.
There was a little knock and paddle coming to us out of the mist. In a moment the boat forged into sight, approached us, and hung off.
“Who be ye?” said a fearful voice.
We answered all together in a babble.
“Nay, let me speak alone,” said Joshua; and he hailed the man clearly.
“We went to visit the wreck on the sands; we were abandoned there by a scoundrel, and we have been floating on this spar ever since.”
Still the man was not convinced. We could hear him distinctly spit into the water. It is so his class exorcises all demons.
“What might be your names, now?” he asked cunningly.
Here was a poser for the devil.
“First of all, Master Richard Bowen,” began Joshua.