“Of course it is,” said the boy, haughtily.
“I’ll believe yer,” growled the man. “There,” he continued, dropping the boy to his feet. “Then you won’t look for where the stuff’s stowed?”
Aleck burst into a hoarse laugh.
“Then there is some stowed?”
The man gave himself a wrench, and his face puckered up again with anger.
“Lookye here,” he said, more quietly, “I don’t say there is, and I don’t say there arn’t; but suppose there is, you’re going to swear as you won’t take no notice.”
“No, I’m not,” said Aleck, boldly.
“Then you do want me to chuck you down yonder?”
“You’ve got to catch me first,” cried the boy, making a backward bound which took him ten feet downward before he landed and kept his feet, following up his leap by running along the ledge of stony slate he had reached and then beginning to climb rapidly.
The man had followed him at once, leaping boldly, but without Aleck’s success, for he slipped, through the stones giving way, and went down quite five-and-twenty feet in a rough scramble before he checked himself and took up the pursuit, which he soon found would be useless, for his young adversary was lighter and far more active, and soon showed that he was leaving him behind.