About a mile distant he came to a good-sized orchard, near no human habitation, and hastily made a raid on it, with the result of discovering all the luscious eating harvest apples he could carry.
Filling his pockets he made his way back to the old rookery, and sat down upon the front step to finish his meal.
"I vonder vot's pecome of der villain I kicked mit der under jaw?" he muttered.
"I t'ink I must haff dislocated 'im or I should 'a' seed him. I vonder vere der mouth off der well is, anyhow, vot dey come up t'rough. Id must pe somevere's vere der house stands, und probably hidden."
After he finished his meal on apples, he entered the old dwelling, with a view to giving it another exploration.
Passing through the lower hall, he tried each door opening off from it, but found them all locked, as before.
What they contained he could therefore not learn, except by bursting them open or unlocking them, which he had no way of doing.
Finding no success, down-stairs, he went upstairs, remembering that he had only tried the doors of part of the upper rooms, on his previous visit, the second one being the assembly chamber containing the swinging head of ill-fated Bill Budge.
He shunned this apartment now, and passed on along the corridor.
The first and second doors he tried were locked, like those below. The third door, however, was unfastened, and opening it he entered a large unfurnished apartment, containing but one window, which looked out upon the ocean.