As soon as it suited them to do so, one of them proposed that the horses should be left in charge of his friend while he went down to the harbour with Eric.
The one who had first spoken proposed to take them under his care, while he went on this jaunt, or to deliver them to the men who were to come for them.
"It's a chance you may never get again, and it's a pity to lose it. The horses are safe enough here; Mr. Consett always puts up at The Old Bell, so you may as well go off and enjoy yourself," said this new friend.
"I'll go with you to the harbour," said the last comer; "you're a stranger, and may easily lose your way."
And as he spoke he gave the other a look which, if Eric had seen, he must have known that some mischief was intended.
But with the ale and under the urging and artful insinuations of these two, Eric thought of nothing but the getting away for a few hours, and so he soon agreed to the proposal, and the two started out.
"How far is it to the harbour?" he asked, as his guide led him down a narrow street, which he said was a short cut to the other end of the town.
"Not more than a mile. We shan't be long getting there," he added.
But they were a long time, or it seemed so to Eric, as they turned first one way and then another. But at last they did come in sight of the quay, and then his companion said,—
"There you are, my hearty! Now you can find your way, or shall I speak to one of the boatmen for you?"