In about half an hour we heard a bell ring, somebody called out, “Any more for the shore?” and not long afterwards, with a suddenness which made us jump, there came, just under our heads apparently, a chug—chug—chug! and a splashing of water which notified us plainly enough that we had started. Presently, from the slight motion of the vessel, we guessed that we were clear of the docks and were steaming down between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. This motion continued for a long time, and then the boat suddenly heeled over and rolled back with a creaking of timbers and a slamming of doors which proclaimed the fact that we had rounded the Needles and were out in the English Channel.
“Percy,” I whispered, “I wonder what they are doing at home now. They’ve found your sheets hanging out of the window long before this.”
“Yes. And, Tom, I wonder if Bates has ventured to climb down the chimney yet.”
“Not he,” I replied. “The keepers might, but Bates won’t.”
We lay silent again, and presently, worn out by our long night’s tramp, and by the exertions and excitement of the day before, we fell asleep. It was towards evening when the ringing of the dinner-bell woke us up. Thinking it was the calling-bell at school, Percy started up and was at once brought to a sense of his present situation by cracking the back of his head sharply against the bottom of the berth. Seeing that I was moving he whispered across to me:
“Tom, shall we go out now? We must be nearly across. How long does it take to get over to France? Do you know?”
We had both crawled from our hiding-places, and were enjoying a hearty stretch; I had opened my mouth to reply to Percy’s question, when we heard footsteps in the passage, and a voice saying, “Number four. Lower berth.”
“This is number four, Percy,” I whispered, hastily. “Shall we hide?”
“No,” said he, stoutly, and “All right,” said I; and standing side by side we looked expectantly and with something of a tremor at the door.
The door opened, and a large man in a gold-laced hat put one foot inside the cabin and stopped, regarding us with wide-opened eyes. Behind him we saw a steward carrying an armful of bedding.