“What did you want the hook for, boy?” said the master, shifting his rudder a little, and leaning forward with his face full in the moonlight, and looking deeply interested.
“What did I want the hook for?” said Esau, with a little laugh. “I’ll tell you directly.”
The master nodded, and the others drew a little nearer.
“What I wanted was to hold that end of the great rag in my teeth, and see if I couldn’t fix it on the hook; and after a lot of tries I did, and then began to hang back from it gently, to see if I couldn’t draw the stuff out of my mouth.”
“And could you?” I said eagerly.
“Yes; it began to come slowly more and more, till it was about half out, and then the sick feeling that had come over me again got worse and worse, and the hook and the great dark warehouse place swam round, and I didn’t know any more till I opened my eyes as I lay on the leaves, staring at a great wet dirty rag hanging on that hook, and I was able to breathe freely now.
“I felt so much better that I could think more easily; but I was very miserable, for I got thinking about you two, and I knew I must have been there a very long time, and that the schooner was to sail at twelve o’clock, so I felt sure that you would go without me, and think I’d been frightened and wouldn’t come.”
“That’s what I did think,” said Gunson; “but Mayne Gordon here stuck up for you all through.”
“Thankye, Mr Gordon,” said Esau, who was gently chafing his wrists. “That’s being a good mate. No, I wouldn’t back out. I meant coming when I’d said I would. Well, next thing was to get my hands clear, and that done, of course I could easily do my legs. So I began to get up again, with my feet feeling nowhere; and as I tried, to wonder what I was going to do next, for I couldn’t see no way of getting out of a place with no windows in, not even a skylight at the top. But anyhow I meant to have that rope off my hands, and I was thinking then that if the hook could help me get rid of the rag, it might help me to get rid of the tie round my wrists.”
“O’ course,” said the master. “See, lads,” he said, turning round to his two companions; “he gets the hook in threw the last knot and hitches the end out. That’s easy enough;” and the two men uttered a low growl.