They were the only ones who had been left ungagged, and were free to discuss the matter, but without being able to elicit a single answer.
“It isn’t hard to fancy how the whole thing has occurred,” Gil said to Nelse; “but the question is, what do they propose to do with us?”
“We shall find out mighty soon, I reckon, and the part which has the most interest for us is whether they will cut our throats or content themselves with simply making us walk a plank, after the fashion of oldtime pirates. I counted on finding the buccaneers’ treasure when we started, but I didn’t suppose we should find the buccaneers themselves.”
While the boys indulged in this rather mournful style of conversation, the other prisoners writhed to and fro in the vain effort to slip their bonds, and at each useless attempt Gil would look around, wondering if it were not possible to aid them in some way.
“Because we can speak, it seems as if we should be able to do something,” he said, after his father had literally exhausted his strength trying to get his hands free. “I’ve read in stories of fellows who could chew ropes apart, but I don’t know how to set about it.”
“That’s because such a thing isn’t possible,” Nelse replied, very decidedly. “We can’t so much as move, and, as for getting our heads where it would be possible to bite at the bonds, it is simply out of the question. After this I shall never believe in those yarns.”
“It might be done, if I could raise myself sufficiently to get at the ropes.”
“That is a great, big ‘if’ under these circumstances, and I shall put all those stories down as foolish lies after this night.”
It was as if the desire to aid tired the boys, for before this conversation had been continued half-an-hour both were perspiring profusely, while they felt weary, although having remained inactive.
It was a relief for all hands when the golden shafts of light which came over the water proclaimed the rising of the sun, and the revelers emerged from the cabin to complete their act of piracy.