"I have a good mind to stay with you," he finally said. "The idea that I have been where silver could be had for the labor of carrying it away, and didn't get any, makes me angry with myself. Now that Mr. Walters has concluded to try his hand at it I believe I'll do the same thing."
Poyor looked up quickly, shook his head very decidedly, and Cummings said emphatically:
"Then it will be necessary for you to go alone; I've been there once with you, and it was only by the rarest good fortune that we succeeded in coming away alive, therefore I'm not disposed to try the same dangerous experiment again."
"I suppose you think I would make a fool of myself once more?"
"I am positive of it. When your opinion chanced to be at variance with ours you would go straight on without giving the slightest heed to the consequences. It is best for you to stay with the boys."
Jake had nothing more to say; but later in the day he told Neal and Teddy privately that he believed he would venture into the swamp alone.
"I could do it as well as Poyor can. They want to make out that it is a very dangerous venture."
"You thought the same on the night when that beautiful scar was presented, and also when you wandered away from the cave, unable to find your way back," Neal replied with a laugh.
Then Jake had a desperate fit of the sulks from which he did not recover until the schooner was standing up the coast under the influence of the strong night breeze.
The voyage to Progresso from this time on occupied but a few hours. The clumsy looking vessel proved to be a good sailor, and on the following afternoon she had dropped anchor in the harbor, twenty-four hours before the next steamer was advertised to leave.