We lay as if we had been carved out of the very rock itself.
There were shouts and oaths and runnings here and there, and scuffling of feet upon the dusty footway. There was a flicker of light through the embrasures against our farther wall, and thence came an order—a roar, rather—from Captain Jonas:
"Search the whole place! Search every nook and corner! If it takes till midnight, the search must go on! They must be found!"
CHAPTER VII.
A VILLAIN MEETS HIS END AND A PRISONER ESCAPES.
We had been discovered, then! I lay close against the partition wall. My heart thumped loudly against my ribs, so that it seemed as if the strangers must hear it and find out our hiding place. I looked at the others. The Captain was crouched upon his knees, and the Bo's'n and Minion each were standing as near the partition wall as nature would permit.
What a scraping of feet was there! Lights flashed out, and there was a din of voices which threatened to conceal any specific expression which would be a guide to us. Then came a command in the musical voice of the handsome Mauresco.
"Silence!" he ordered. There was an attempt at quiet, but still the shuffling of feet and the low whispers were continued.