“I suppose, then, you want to deliver it?” asked Henry.
“Your discernment does you great credit,” said the man.
“Why! Wh-o-o-a! Say not so,” said Henry, with impressive gravity. “In a hurry, eh?”
“I am, and it’ll be the worse for you if you delay me any longer.”
“Now hark at that man!” cried Henry, as his little eyes glittered. “Delay him! Here I am a-goin’ right along about my business, an’ here this chap comes up sayin’ I delay him. I’ll see the gove’nor about this. Come along, bullies,” and he sprang ashore, ordering us to follow.
“It’s the governor who will see you, you fellow,” said the man.
“An’ him a-callin’ me names,” cried Henry. Then in a lower tone, as we drew away: “Hi reckon ’is ’ighness’ll get along without us. We’ll want to hustle that crew aboard ’fore there’s trouble.”
This seemed harder to me than it did to the third mate, and I smiled as I thought of Jones, Martin, and the fighting Doctor. We quickly left the vicinity of the landing, and hurried through the darkening streets in the direction of the den kept by the truculent Thunderbore.
They were not there, and we hurried on in the direction the big conch told us they had taken, Henry apparently confident that we would have them in hand shortly.
As the darkness fell, and objects could not be distinguished, the desire to desert the barque took strong hold of me. Her mission was apparent now, and I determined to make a dash for liberty at the first opportunity. Tim’s peculiar behaviour troubled me, and I was somewhat backward in taking him into my confidence. However, when we struck into an extremely dark street, I thought his knowledge of the town would be of use, and I whispered my intention of clearing. The next instant we were plunging into the darkness, while Henry’s voice bawled forth, dying away in the distance: