“I sha’n’t care much about that; we can but go to sleep and amuse ourselves the best way we can think of while the tide is in,” said Jack.
“If we had some hooks and lines we might fish,” said Bill.
“We should only catch rock fish, and they are not fit to eat,” replied Jack.
The boys carried out their plan. It was an easy matter to get through the sleeping-time, but they became somewhat weary from having nothing to do during the period that the tide was in. They could do little more, indeed, than sit looking at the sea, and watching the few vessels which appeared in the offing. Now and then they got up and walked about to stretch their legs. They were afraid of bathing, lest while swimming about they might be seen from any part of the cliff above.
Whether the soldiers had come to look for them they could not tell; one thing was certain, they had not been discovered, and there were no signs of any persons having approached the mouth of the cavern.
They husbanded their food, but it was rapidly diminishing. At night they therefore, when the tide had gone out, crept down on the sands, and managed to cut off some limpets and other shell-fish with their knives from the rocks. These would have sustained them for some days had they been able to cook them, but they had no means of lighting a fire. Though limpets may help to keep body and soul together for a short time, they are not wholesome food, especially when raw. Their bread was all gone, but as long as they had some figs and cheese they got down the limpets very well; but both figs and cheese came to an end, and they both felt that they were getting very weak.
“If we don’t take care we shall starve,” said Bill.
“We must do something or other. I don’t see anything but trying to get on board a lugger, as we talked of; but then in searching for her we should run the chance of being made prisoners again.”
“You must come round to my plan, and run off with a boat of some sort,” said Jack.
“That’s just what I cannot do,” said Bill.