But the lapping of the water as it slowly and remorselessly rose was the only reply to his wild outburst.
[CHAPTER XXXI.]
NED'S ESCAPE.
At length the confusion and uproar in the hold of Captain Briggs' schooner died away. The work of unloading the craft was completed.
Ned glanced at his watch. It was close on midnight. He wondered if now that the schooner had been emptied of her secret cargo, his hour of release had come.
But apparently it was no part of Captain Briggs's plan to set his prisoner at liberty just then. At any rate, nobody came near Ned.
He felt strangely lonely now that the tumult had died out, to be succeeded by a death-like stillness. But after a time, during which he sought in vain for a lamp to light up the cabin, Ned was able to distinguish some sounds that broke the silence.