"It is the master who is not afraid of anything," said the elder of the two men, under his breath.
"Indeed you may say that," rejoined Calum, as he, too, put his pipe in his pocket. "I think he would face old Donas[#] himself, and not ask for any allowance."
[#] Donas—the Devil.
Young Ross came down the beach.
"Lend a hand here, lads," he sung out, "and we'll take the other boat with us. Maybe we'll be able to do it in one trip; and I'm sure it's a good long sleep both of you will be wanting this night."
They speedily had the second boat launched and shoved along to the slip; then they attached the painter to the one in which they had come ashore; and presently they were pulling both boats quietly out to the Sirène. The gangway was open. Ross and the elder of the two men stepped on board; and proceeded to remove the skylight of the chief cabin—Calum securing the boats by the side of the yacht. And then began the final business of the expedition—the hoisting up on deck and the transferring to the boats alongside of a considerable number of kegs that were small enough to be handled with comparative ease. Young Ross, who was down in the cabin, worked just like the others: slim as his figure seemed, there was plenty of strength about his arms and shoulders. There was no lamp in the cabin, nor yet on deck; nor was there need of any; the black figures labouring away there did very well with the faint illumination shed by those thousands of tremulous stars. And in course of time the operation was complete; the casks that had been skilfully stowed in the main cabin of the Sirène were now ranged as tightly as might be in the boats alongside; then the men stepped in and took to the oars; while the young master went to the tiller. Calum had been told to put a couple of candles in his pocket; and he was not likely to forget that—for they were going to the Cave of the Crowing Cock.
It was a long and laborious pull—the boat astern acting as a heavy drag; moreover, even with this clear starlight, they dared not go anywhere near that saw-toothed reef that guarded the next small bay whither they were bound. They could hear each successive thud of the surge, and the long receding roar; and they could even descry in a kind of way the line of white foam that boiled and churned incessantly along the almost invisible rocks. But once they were round this dangerous point—giving it a significantly wide berth—they found themselves in smooth water again. Not a word was spoken. The two men toiled away at the oars—most likely thinking of the welcome sleep awaiting them when all was done. The land ahead seemed to grow darker as they approached, even as the black precipitous cliffs appeared to soar higher and higher into the clear starlit skies. Then there was a whispering of water: the beach was near. Young Ross bade them pull more gently now: he was trying to make out the most suitable landing-place—in amongst those mysterious shadows.
Eventually the two boats were grounded, and dragged up to be secure from the tide; while the work of getting the kegs out began.
"Calum," said the young master, "take the candles now and get them lighted; and mind you do not light them until you are well inside the cave."
Calum appeared to receive this commission very unwillingly; at all events he hesitated.