The Captain looked at Chimp in amazement. 'What, Master Augustus!' he said when he had shaken hands with the Hermit and delivered Aunt Amelia's letter, 'what! have you got a pupil, then?'
'No,' replied the Hermit, 'he's not my pupil, he's your passenger'; and so saying, he introduced Chimp, and then stood aside to see what his aunt had to say; while the crew waited for the Captain's orders to move the stores from the boat to the cave.
When the Hermit had finished reading, he returned the letter to its envelope and slipped it into his pocket.
'Well, Master Augustus, are you coming back with us?' said the Captain, exactly as he had asked the question for the past forty years.
The Hermit laughed in negative reply, exactly as he had laughed once a year for the past forty years.
'Now then, my men, be quick,' said the Captain.
In the boat was a large hamper in which to convey the stores over the rocks to the cave. Two of the sailors held it at each end, and the Hermit accompanied them, while Chimp and the Captain strolled away together. Three times the hamper was borne from the boat to the cell. There then remained only a dozen or so of parcels, which the men might easily carry in their hands. This time the Hermit did not accompany them.
When the last of the stores were safely within the cave the boatswain blew his whistle as a signal that all was ready, and Chimp and the Captain of The Tattooed Quaker hurried back to the creek.
'Where is Master Augustus?' the Captain inquired. 'The young gentleman wants to say good-bye to him.'
'He must be in the cave,' said Chimp. 'I'll run and see.'