A murmur of acquiescence followed, and they began to tramp very close to where the midshipman lay, expecting every moment to be seen.
He crouched down as low as he could, not daring to raise even his head, and wondering whether the bright hilt of his dirk would show, and he thrust it farther into his breast. Then he wondered whether he could back softly away; but that was impossible, for the light came from behind him, through the grated window, while escape forward was impossible, as he was close to a door through which shadowy forms were passing in.
There was nothing for it but to lie still, and trust to his not being seen, when the next minutes were made agreeable by a host of recollections regarding the treatment received by those who betrayed smugglers, of the desperate fights there had been, how many had been killed, and a shudder ran through the lad as he recalled the story of a man who had played the spy, somewhere about the south coast, being thrown from a cliff, and literally smashed.
“They’ll see me, I know they’ll see me,” thought Archy; “but I’m a king’s officer, young as I am, and I’ll show them that I can fight for my life like a man.”
As this thought struck him, his hand went involuntarily to his side to get a good grip of and draw his dirk.
The movement betrayed him, for, before he could quite realise that his dirk was hidden in his breast, he was seized by two great muscular hands, dragged into a standing position, and he could dimly see a face peering into his, as a voice, which he recognised as the farmer’s, growled savagely—
“Who’s this?”
Before he could struggle or answer, the man went on fiercely—
“Why, you lazy, shuffling, young villain! Sit there and skulk, while the others do the work, would you? Come on!”
Before the midshipman could recover from his surprise, he felt himself run forward by the two hands which had been dropped on his shoulders, thrust through the door, the farmer whispering savagely, “Work, or I’ll break your neck;” and giving him a fierce push and a kick, which drove him along a passage, where on his left was the open doorway into the dimly lit cellar.