When it grew dark they returned to their camp, lighted the fire, and made themselves comfortable.
It was difficult to keep to their resolution of eating only a very little food, and Bill had to stop Jack before he thought he had had half enough.
“I don’t want to stint you,” he said, “but recollect you will be crying out when our stock comes to an end, and wishing you had not eaten it.”
As they had had so long a sleep, neither of them was inclined to turn in; and Bill proposed that they should examine the smugglers’ store.
They had several pieces of wood which they thought would burn as the first had done, and each taking three, with a candle to be used in case of emergency, they set out.
They found their way easily enough; but Jack, as before, did not feel quite comfortable as he saw the strange figures, which seemed to be flitting about the sides of the cavern; sometimes, too, he fancied that he detected faces grinning down upon him from the roof, and more than once he declared positively that he had caught sight of a figure robed in white stealing along in front of them.
Bill each time answered with a laugh.
“Never mind. We shall catch it up if it’s a ghost, and we’ll make it carry a torch and go ahead to light us.”
As they moved on more rapidly than before, they were able to reach the inner cavern before either of their torches was much more than half burned through. They thought it wiser to keep both alight at a time, in case one should accidentally go out, and they should be unable to light it again with a match.
With feelings of intense curiosity they approached the smugglers’ store. Both agreed, as they examined it, that the goods must have been there for some time; but the place being very dry (probably it was chosen on that account), they did not appear to be much damaged. The goods, as far as they could judge, were English.