Allstone gave his head a jerk and the man went outside. “Look here,” said Hilary, “how long are you going to keep me here?”
“Till the skipper is tired of you, I suppose, or till Sir Henry’s gone.”
“And then you’ll let me go?”
“Oh, yes,” said the man grimly. “We shall let you go then.”
There was another hoarse chuckle, which appeared very strange, for it did not seem to come from the man, who scowled at him in the same heavy, morose way.
“Oh! come! you’re not going to frighten me into the belief that you can kill me, my man,” cried Hilary. “I’m too old for that.”
“Who’s to know if we did?” said the fellow.
“Why, you don’t suppose that one of his majesty’s officers can be detained without proper search being made. You’ll have the crew of my ship over here directly, and they’ll burn the place about your ears.”
“Thankye,” said the man. “Is that all you want to say?”
“No. Now look here; I’ll give you five guineas if you’ll let me go some time to-night. You could break through that window, and it would seem as if I had done it myself.”