“And not make a dash of it, sir?”
“No, my lad; not till it is quite dark.”
Tom May stared.
“According to what your messmates said, the enemy was in pretty strong force. How many of them were there?”
“’Bout twenty, sir,” said Lang.
“And all armed?”
“Yes, sir; they’d all got guns,” said the other.
“Then they will be lying in wait for us,” said Murray decisively. “I only said that we shall be trying to run by them as soon as it is dark.”
“Well, sir, but we could do it,” said May warmly.
“Yes, we could run by them if I risked everything, my lad,” said the middy, “but I can’t afford to lose a man. Besides, they will have been making arrangements to receive us. There is that lugger we saw lying in the mouth of the river; they have plenty of men, I am sure, and they may have brought her up to block our way, for they are bound to try and capture us if they can.”