He half expected to find the door fastened, but it yielded to a touch; and, after listening at the cabin for a few moments to try and find whether the captain was asleep, he crept up on deck in the cool grey of the coming morning, and, looking back, saw the man at the helm, and forward two more at the look-out.
He had not many steps to go, and there was the pannikin standing ready, and the cover of the cask had only to be moved for him to dip out a tinful of the cool, fresh water, which tasted delicious; and, being refreshed by the draught, he was about to descend, when the beauty of the sea took his attention. The moon was sinking in the west and the dawn was brightening in the east, so that the waves were lit up in a peculiar way. On the side of the moon they glistened as though formed of liquid copper, while on the side facing the east they were of a lovely, pearly, silvery, ever-changing grey. So beautiful were the tints and lights and shades that Vince remained watching the surface of the sea for some minutes, and then the chill wind suggested that he should go down; when, making a sweep round, he felt as if his breath had been taken away, for there, away to the south, and looming up of huge height and size in the morning mist, was unmistakably the Crag, and they were once more close to home.
Here, then, was the answer to the question they had asked one another—Where are we sailing to now?
Yes: there was the Crag, with its familiar outline; and his heart beat fast as he felt that if Mike’s father were on the look-out with his glass he would be able to see the lugger’s sails.
“No, he must be in bed and asleep,” thought Vince. “But I’ll fetch Mike up to see. Why, old Jacques must be taking us home. No; he is going to fetch another load!”
“Yais, zat is ze Crag,” said a voice behind him, and there stood the captain with a glass under his arm. “Now you vill go down and stop vis ze ozaire boy till I tell you to come up. But zis time you can stay in ze cabin. Mind,” he said impressively, “you vill stay. You comprenez?”
“Oh yes,” said Vince; “but you will let us go as soon as you’ve got the cargo all on board.”
“Aha, you sink so?”
“Yes.”
“But you are not so stupede as to sink I can take all avay at von trip. Non, mon ami, it vill take four or five time more. Now go down, and tell ze ozaire to obey, and not make feel zat I can shoot.”