“I say!” he cried, in a suppressed, hot, excited tone of voice.
“Say it yourself,” was the answer which came faintly to his ears. “I knew you would never desert me, old fellow. I am glad to see you.”
Chase had not yet seen his friend, but he did see him a few minutes afterward, for Wilson no sooner heard his voice coming from the cellar than he dropped into the room as lightly as a cat, and began throwing Coulte’s furniture about in the most reckless manner. He broke a leg off the table, smashed a chair or two, upset the bureau, scattering its contents over the floor, and having cleared the trap-door, he slammed it back against the wall, and went down the rickety stairs in two jumps.
“Speak up, Chase,” said he. “It’s as dark as a stack of black cats down here.”
“This way,” replied the prisoner. “Take it easy, and don’t knock your brains out against the beams overhead. We’ve plenty of time, for Coulte and Pierre won’t be back for two hours. They’ve gone down to the bayou to launch the pirogue, and get it ready to take me to Lost Island to-night.”
“Eh!” exclaimed Wilson, in great amazement. “Were they going to carry you to sea in a dugout?”
“Certainly. It was their intention to run me off to the island and leave me there until they could have time to pack up and move to some other country. That isn’t the most surprising thing I have to tell you, either. What did you come here for?”
It was no wonder that Chase expressed a little curiosity on this point, for Wilson’s actions did not indicate that he had come there for any purpose in particular. He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down through the darkness in the direction from which Chase’s voice came, but he did not make any move to release him. He was thinking of the proposed voyage in the pirogue, and wondering if the old Frenchman and his son were really reckless enough to attempt it. The question propounded by his friend brought him to his senses, however, and in a few seconds more the prisoner was standing erect, and Wilson was shaking his hand as though he had not met him for years.
“We’ll not stay here another instant,” said Chase, hurriedly. “This is the second time that my liberty has been restored to me to-day, and now I intend to make use of it. Do you know anything about my horse?”
“I left him in the canebrakes with mine, not a quarter of a mile from here. We’ll be in the saddle, and on our way home in less than fifteen minutes. Is there anything to eat in this house?”