“No, my lad,” said the officer gravely. “I hold to Mr Murray’s idea—that the second cutter chased the scoundrels till they dodged into one of their lairs, and they have by this time penetrated far up the country, perhaps been able to get round by some back way through some forest labyrinth to where the plantation house is.”
“Well, sir, we know our way better now,” said Murray, “and we must go again. Better luck next time.”
“Thank you, Mr Murray. Better luck next time. Now to hear what the captain has to say!”
Chapter Thirty One.
Mr Allen’s Visit.
The captain had too much to say when the first cutter’s crew went on board and learned that matters had taken place just as had been anticipated, the lugger having suddenly glided out of what had seemed to those on board the sloop to be a patch of dense tropical forest, and then sailed away as if to reach the open sea, paying not the slightest heed to the repeated summonses which she received from the Seafowl.
More stringent commands in the shape of shot would have followed, but for the fact that the second cutter, which had been despatched up the river in search of Mr Anderson’s expedition, suddenly, to the surprise of all on board, glided out of the same patch of forest as the lugger had appeared from some little time before, and upon catching sight of the sails of the craft they had followed, had continued the pursuit as rapidly as the crew could force their boat along.
“The place is a regular maze, Mr Anderson,” said the captain, as he described all that had taken place, “and the scoundrel who commands the lugger—I’ll hang him to the yard-arm, Mr Anderson, whether he’s a Yankee or English born, and the bigwigs of the United States and in Parliament at home may settle among themselves whether I’ve done right or not, for he has got the wrong man to deal with if he thinks he is going to play with me. He played with me, Mr Anderson, and tricked me into the belief that he had surrendered, so that I should not fire upon him, and manoeuvred his lugger so as to keep Mr Munday with the second cutter between us. Bah! I’ll never forgive Mr Munday for letting himself be so out-manoeuvred. He has been as bad as you have, sir.”