"I was puzzled to find nothing was said," added Shuffles.
"No one knows anything. The Chain is as perfect as ever. Give me your orders, and I will carry them out."
"The fellows have backed out now."
"Then, of course, we must do the same. I doubt whether we could have carried the thing out."
"No matter whether we could or not; we must drop it for the present. The fellows all suppose they are caught now, and expect every moment to be hauled up to the mast for an investigation."
"They are all safe; at least we can purchase their safety for ten shillings apiece," laughed Pelham.
"Purchase it!" exclaimed Shuffles, mystified by the language of his companion.
"Just so—purchase it," added Pelham; and he proceeded to inform his late rival of the trick he had invented in retaliation for the one Shuffles had put upon him.
"It was tit for tat," said Shuffles.
"I told nothing which would harm either of us, for I am just as deep in the mud as you are in the mire."