Growing more and more anxious concerning the recapture of his escaped prisoner, Snags at length left the apartment of Roake, and made his way through the rocky passages to the beach again.
Here he listened for the sound of returning boats. For some moments he waited, and at last his heart rose in glee as he heard the splashing of oars.
“They would not return so soon unless they had succeeded,” he reasoned.
And he was right.
The boats soon came ashore, and Leonard Lester was in the hands of the ruffians.
“Ha!” exclaimed Snags. “Here you are. You see we know our business. You might as well give in first as last.”
“I always give in when I am obliged to,” replied Leonard; “never otherwise. And now I’d like to know among what sort of a crew I have fallen, and what the whole thing means?”
“Oh, it won’t be long before you’ll have all the informationyou want, and more too. Now come with me. Step along.”
Leonard hesitated, and looked around him—the light of the lantern held by Snags enabling him to take a dim view of his surroundings.
“One, two, three, four, five,” he counted. “If there were not more than three of you, I think I could see what my muscle is good for. But five are too many. Yes, I’ll go. Be on your guard, though, for I warn you I’ll not be a tractable prisoner.”