Presently night came on, and I felt faint and weak. Then I remembered that I had eaten nothing for many hours, and so I turned with great gladness of heart to the food which I believe Naomi had brought with her own hands to the rocks which stood at the foot of the cliff under the mouth of my hiding-place. When I had eaten I went into the inner cave, and lay a-thinking again and again of what I must do. I recalled to mind the words that had passed between Naomi and me, of the joy I had felt when she was by my side, and especially of the time when I held her hands in mine; and then I thought of what I had heard spoken between Tresidder and his son, and not being, as I have said, quick at thinking, my mind presently became a blank, and I fell asleep.
How long I slept I know not, but I was awoke by the sound of voices, and of footsteps near me, but the first thing of which I have a clear recollection was a kick on the shin, and a voice saying, "Bless my soul 'n body, what es this?"
I jumped to my feet and saw two men before me in rough seamen's clothes, and with high jack-boots. I did not know them at all, and so I concluded that they were strangers to our part of the county. They were not altogether ill-favoured men, although I could not help feeling that there was a kind of reckless expression on their faces which was not common among Cornish fisherfolk.
"And who might you be?" asked one presently, after staring at me for some time as if in blank astonishment.
By this time I had mastered the amazement which for the moment had overcome me, and had surmised who they were. Undoubtedly they were the smugglers who infested the coast, and who knew the secret of Granfer Fraddam's Cave. Probably they belonged to Jack Truscott's famous gang, and had brought a cargo of goods that very night. I heard the swish of the waves rushing up the cave, so I knew the tide was high.
I measured the men, too, from a wrestler's standpoint, and calculated their strength from the size of their bare arms, and the breadth of their chests. All the fear that had come into my heart left me. Living men did not frighten me.
"I might as well ask who you are," I replied coolly.
"Oh, tha's yer soarts, es et? Well, I think we may, so we'll tell 'ee, es you'll never go out of this 'ere place a livin' man."
"Never go out a living man. Why, pray?"
"Well, 'cos you do knaw too much, tha's why. This caave es wot you call convainient. See, matey? Well, ef other people wos to knaw 'bout et, twudden be convainient."