"A very good arrangement, if it can be carried out," remarked the professor. "But I fear your friend Smunko is not to be depended upon."
Stump was indignant.
"The fact is," went on the professor, "I don't want to discourage the lad, but I have no wish that he should do anything rash, and involve us in a mess. The captain might doom us to solitary confinement. At present we are treated liberally, if we are prisoners."
"All right, sir," replied Stump, "I'll turn it up as far as you are concerned. If Master Mont likes to come with me, all well and good; if not he can let it alone. I know my game, and I mean to stick to it."
"Don't show your nasty temper, Stump," said our hero.
"Aint being cooped up here like a turkey in a pen, fatting for Christmas, enough to rile a bishop?" asked the boy. "But I shan't say no more. When all's ready I'll give you one more chance, and if you aint with me, I'm off alone."
It was impossible to check Stump's will. The only one who had any influence over him was Mont.
He was a boy rudely brought up, unaccustomed to control his passions, and having a decided character, but to our hero he was deeply attached.
The next day the ship floated near an island, which the professor declared to be the Isle of Cyprus.
In the evening Stump whispered to Mont: