“I didn’t know, but my father has done just the same.”
“Oh!”
“Did yours come back?”
“No,” said Tom; “and I daren’t start for ever so long. But I’ve come now, so let’s start off quick.”
“Which way did your father go?”
“I don’t know, but we’re wasting time.”
“Did he take the boat?”
“How should I know? I didn’t see him go. I only heard. Come, are you ready?”
“No,” said Dick hoarsely, and not prepared to tell his companion that he had repented. “How can we go now with them both somewhere about? They would be sure to catch us and bring us back.”
It was a subterfuge, and Dick’s face turned scarlet, as he knew by the burning sensation. The next instant he had felt so ashamed of his paltry excuse that he blurted out: