Then, with all a boy’s generous abandon, I pulled out my purse and showed him my money. Even little Roderigo—Jill afterwards declared—paused in the act of washing his ears and gazed at the glittering coins.
“This is all we have,” I said.
“You unwise boy! I might take all. I will not refuse de offer of kindness. See, I take two. No more. This has save my life.”
He dipped a finger and thumb into the coins in my palm and took two sovereigns, and I put away the rest. He sat a long time silent after this. Then he got up, and going out, soon returned with an armful of ferns, which he placed in a corner.
“I sleep now,” he said. “To-morrow day we talk.”
Strange that now we felt no fear of this strange being. We slept soundly and well, and daylight was streaming into the cave when we were aroused. The convict had lightly touched me on the shoulder.
He was smiling, and looked now neither so haggard nor so terrible as on the evening before.
“No warm breakfus,” he said, smiling. “Soldiers have pass ’long de highway. Think you they seek for de convict to put in preeson, or de pirate boys to hang? Eh?”
We both trembled. But the keen air of the hill gave us an appetite and we did not miss the tea.
“Now we talk,” said the convict. “I have been think.”