“Take it. It is in my hand.”
“Liberty chained to you, sir! No. There, place me under no further obligations, sir. I will not fight against you; but pray understand that what you ask can never be.”
“I can wait,” said the buccaneer again, quietly, as he let his eyes rest for a few moments upon his prisoner’s face, and then left the room.
Humphrey sprang up impatiently, and was about to pace the chamber like a wild beast in a cage when he heard voices in the corridor, and directly after Dinny entered. The man looked troubled and stood listening, then he stole to the curtain and went down the corridor, to stay away for quite a quarter of an hour before he returned.
“He’s gone, sor, safe enough. Faix, captain, dear, I fale as if I ought to be hung.”
“Hung, Dinny?”
“Yis, sor, for threachery to as good a friend as I iver had.”
“What do you mean, Dinny?” cried Humphrey, eagerly.
“Mane, sor! Why, that all the grate min in the world, from Caesar down to Pater Donovan, have had their wake side. I’ve got mine, and I’m a fallen man.”
“Speak out plainly,” cried Humphrey, flushing.