But in the faces of man and wife no sign of treachery was to be seen.
He could trust them.
"There is no danger," Brown mentally said. "They will not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs—they are too avaricious for that."
He judged them rightly.
Brown descended into the sort of half-cellar beneath the house, of so little depth that it was necessary to bend the head to move about.
"Careful, sor," said McGinnis, who was ahead. "Bad cess to it——"
Splash!
"There ye go!" McGinnis went on; "I forgot that the tide is up, and that the hole was filled with water."
"Deuce take it!" growled Brown. "I'm wet up to my knees. Does the water rise in here with the tide?"
"It do, sir. In the spring tides the water comes up close to the flure of the rooms above."