"I wonder what he is after," thought Will.
At that moment he saw Machado leave the house, and walk slowly round the margin of the lake as if going for an aimless stroll. All at once he sprang forward, and before the negro could get away, Machado pounced on him and hauled him to the house. They disappeared through the doorway, and though Will kept a pretty careful watch on it for the rest of the day, he did not see the boy come out again.
That night it occurred to him that, though speaking was forbidden, he might yet communicate with the Chief, whose box was next to his own. They both knew the Morse code, though neither had any expert knowledge of telegraphy, and Will experimented by tapping gently on the partition, spelling out the words, "Are you awake?" For some time he received no reply, and thought that the Chief must either be asleep or did not understand that the taps had any meaning. By and by, however, when the question was repeated for the fourth time, Will was delighted to hear answering taps, which he made out to be, "All right: I twig: be careful."
The conversation that ensued was a very laborious one. The prisoners were afraid of attracting the attention of the sentry, and sometimes tapped so gently that neither could understand the other. At the best, spelling a message by means of dots and dashes is a lengthy process. But by and by the snores of Ruggles and the incessant croaking of the bullfrogs that infested the canal and lake covered the slight sounds on the partition, and the prisoners conversed more freely. What they said to each other in this way is as follows--
"Machado has caught my boy José and lugged him into house."
"Ware hydroplane."
"I shall be sick if they find it."
"They'll make the boy tell."
"Wish I could get away."
"Wishing won't do it."