"From the spring at the end of the island," cried the man, "to this house since yesterday afternoon! I have always supposed that no one could get here from the spring by land. I call that way impassable. You are safe here, sir, I am sure. Pirates would not follow very far through those forests and morasses; they would be afraid they would never get back to their ship. But I will find out for certain if you have reason, sir, to fear pursuit by boat or otherwise."
And then, stepping around to the other end of the house, he called, "Lucilla!"
"You are hungry, sir," said the woman; "presently you shall share our meal, which is almost cooked."
Now the man returned.
"This is not a time for questions, sir," he said, "either from you or from us. You must eat and you must rest, then we can talk. We shall not any of us apologize for our appearance, and you will not expect it when you have heard our story. But I can assure you, sir, that we do not look nearly so strange to you as you appear to us. Never before, sir, did I see in this climate, and on shore, a man attired in such fashion."
Dickory smiled. "I will tell you the tale of it," he said, "when we have eaten; I admit that I am famished."
The man was now called away, and when he returned he said to Dickory: "Fear nothing, sir; your ship is no longer at the anchorage by the spring. She has sailed away, wisely concluding, I suppose, that pursuit of you would be folly, and even madness."
The dinner was an exceedingly plain one, spread upon a rude table under a tree. The little girl, who had overcome her fear of "the soldier" as she considered him, made one of the party.
During the meal Dickory briefly told his story, confining it to a mere statement of his escape from the pirates.
"Blackbeard!" exclaimed the man. "Truly you did well to get away from him, no matter into what forests you plunged or upon what desert island you lost yourself. At any moment he might have turned upon you and cut you to pieces to amuse himself. I have heard the most horrible stories of Blackbeard."