To this last opinion she seemed most inclined, and was fully confirmed in the opinion that the cavern was haunted.
Although Hellena was satisfied in her own mind that the figure that had appeared so strangely was a disembodied spirit, yet she had a vague impression that she had somewhere seen that form before. But when, or where, she could not recollect.
When in the morning she related the occurrences of the night to Lightfoot, the Indian expressed no surprise, and exhibited no alarm. Nor did she attempt to offer any explanation seeming to treat it as a matter of course.
Although this might be unsatisfactory to Hellena in some respects, it was perhaps after all, quite as well for her that Lightfoot did not exhibit any alarm at what had occurred, as by doing so she imparted some of her own confidence to her more timid companion.
All this while Black Bill had not been thought of but after a while he crawled out from his bunk, his eyes twice their usual size, and coming up to Hellena, he said:
"Misses, misses, I seed do debble last night wid a great fire-brand in his hand, and he went all round de cabe, lookin' for massa Flint, to burn him up, but he couldn't fine him so he went away agin. Now I know he's comin' after massa Flint, cause he didn't touch nobody else."
"Did he frighten you?" asked Hellena.
"No; but I kept mighty still, and shut my eyes when he come to look at me, but he didn't say noffen, so I know'd it wasn't dis darkey he was after."
This statement of the negro's satisfied Hellena that she had not been dreaming when she witnessed the apparition of the Indian.
On further questioning Bill, she found he had not witnessed any of the horrid phantoms that had visited her in her dreams.