'Nothing at all,' he replied. 'The Heroic is quite quiet yet, as you see.'
They looked at the dark hull which was lying motionless upon the water.
'Duncan rode over to the caves last night to tell Neil to keep out of sight while the Heroic is here,' said Allan. 'The only fear is if the men should try exploring with torches. There are openings from the caves on to the moors, but if the island is swarming with men it wouldn't be much good trying to escape by them.'
'Oh,' cried Marjorie, looking at the Heroic, 'if only they would go away. Couldn't we invent some excuse for getting them out of the way while we get Neil into safety.'
'No good, I'm afraid,' said Allan. 'They have their orders from the Admiralty, and they wouldn't attend to anything else.'
Marjorie looked hopeless.
'I shall have to go home now,' she said; 'there's some one moving about in your garden, so it must be nearly breakfast-time. Let me know if there's any news.'
'Don't go yet,' said Allan decidedly. 'You must stay and have breakfast with us. I bet you didn't have anything before you left?'
'I had a crust of bread,' said Marjorie reluctantly. 'Elspeth keeps everything locked up at night, and I couldn't wait.'
'Come along,' said Allan. 'You'll be in the best place for seeing what the Heroic is about.'