They had got some distance from the tower, and no cottage was near, when Jack stopped.
“I’ve been thinking that we might get on board one of the fishing-boats, which have just come in, and go off in her,” he whispered.
“I could not do it,” said Bill. “I have said before—what would the poor fishermen think in the morning when they found their boat gone, the only means they may have of supporting their wives and families?”
Jack did not agree with Bill in this, but it was not a time to argue the point, so they set off again, and continued running till they reached a gap in the cliff, down which the road led. They then made their way to the left, under the cliffs, in the direction of the village where they had so long resided.
The tide was out, and they wisely kept close down to the water, so that the returning sea might obliterate their footsteps.
Jack proposed returning to Captain Turgot’s, but Bill observed that that would not be fair to their friends, who would, of course, be exposed to great danger by again harbouring them, and who yet would not like to deliver them up.
“No, no, we must not do that,” he said. “The sooner we can find a place to hide in the better. The cliff hereabouts appears to be broken, and full of hollows, and perhaps, if we search for it, we shall discover some spot fit for our purpose.”
While they were talking the moon rose; and, though on the decrease, afforded a good deal of light, and greatly assisted them in their search.
The sea where they were would, they saw, at high tide, completely cover the whole beach, so they must take care to find a place beyond its reach.
They anxiously searched about. The night was drawing on, and they must find concealment before daylight, which would expose them to the view of any boats passing near the beach, or to people looking for them from the cliffs above.