Mr. Chirk noticed that there was a sparkle in his eyes, and a queer little upward tilt to the corners of his mouth, but since his acquaintanceship with the Captain was of the slightest he set no particular store by signs which would have sunk any of John’s cronies into the deepest foreboding. He merely said in a disparaging tone: “Well, I don’t know why you should, Soldier. What would anyone want with a cave, except maybe to hide in, and they ain’t doing that?”
The sparkle became more pronounced; the eyes were smiling now. “I don’t know. If it weren’t for Miss Nell and the Squire, I should call this a capital go! Something must be hidden in that cavern: all I have to do is to discover what!”
“I don’t see that neither,” objected Chirk. “If they’ve slummed some ken, and prigged the lurries out of it—diamonds and pearls, and silver feeders and such—they wouldn’t go putting it into a cavern, not unless they was addle-brained, they wouldn’t! They’d take it to a fence, and mighty quick, too! Much good would it do ’em, shoved in a cavern! What’s more, Soldier, I’ll allow this Henry looks like he’s a ramshackle sort of a cove, but it ain’t likely as he’d go slumming kens, nor any such lay! That’s pitching it too rum!”
“I wonder!” John said. “No, I should say it wasn’t that. Lord, I wish I knew what took him there last night, and what happened to scare him out of his wits! I’ll ride over there at first light, and see what I can find. There are at least two deep gorges in the hills, for I saw them this morning.”
“Yes, I suspicioned you would,” said Chirk, with a sigh. “So did Rose, and what must she do but make me take my dying oath I’d go along with you, in case you was to tumble down, and break your leg! Which I’d take it kind in you if you wasn’t to do, Soldier, because I’ve got no fancy for hauling a man of your size out of any plaguey cavern!”
“No, I won’t do that,” promised John. “But come, by all means! We may see some sport!”
“We may see a cavern or two,” said Chirk. “I don’t say as we won’t; but as for seeing anything else, I’ll wager you an even coach-wheel we don’t!”
“Done!” said John promptly. “You’d better sleep here tonight. There’s some spare bedding in the room Ben’s in. I’ll fetch it.”
“Don’t you go waking him up! He’s a good lad, but there’s no sense in letting him know more than is good for him—or me!”
“Wake him up! You don’t know him! I might be able to do it if I banged his head against the wall.”