'How long are you stopping in this place?' she asked.
'I am at your service,' he replied.
'Well,' said she, speaking rapidly, 'we must be seen together for some days. You must call upon the commander and talk of anything but me. Then come when I am in the house by pre-arrangement, and the matter can be dealt with. Meanwhile I should like to know your reason for picking up sailors.'
'I have a scheme in my head,' he answered.
'So I suppose,' she replied; 'and I engage that it concerns your brig.'
'You are a witch, miss,' he exclaimed, smiling at her. 'Of course, the knowing that I am here seeking sailors did not put that into your head.'
'I knew nothing about that until just now,' she answered; 'but fancies rose in my head when you talked of the brig whilst we were together.'
They approached, and stood at the broken rail that fenced the stone.
'I hope you are not going below!' cried Miss Conway, flashing her eyes with command upon him. 'If you do, I protest I will bolt you down and leave another to release you. How many candles have you got?'
'I am not going to enter those caverns, believe me,' he answered. 'At the same time, I am wondering whether I could find an abandoned cave along this cliff with an outlet to the sea. There should be plenty. I do not want to go east; I mean to give the Downs, with the shipping and the men-of-war, a wide berth. Have you ever heard of such a cave?'