INTO AN UNKNOWN PLACE

Having lodged his eggs in a ledge under the big slab, Gard stole away to
learn, if he could, if he had the rock all to himself.

He wanted water, and he wanted his bottle of cognac and the tin dipper;
for puffins' eggs, while not unpalatable beaten up with cognac, are of a
flavour calculated to exercise the strongest stomach when eaten raw.

He feared the men would have made away with all his small possessions,
but he could only try. So he stole like a shadow round the crown of the
ridge and along towards the shelter, standing at times motionless for
whole minutes till the rush of the waves below should pass and give him
chance of hearing.

But on L'Etat the sound of many waters never ceases night or day, and
the night wind hummed among the stones of the shelter, and, as it
happened, John Drillot had just lurched over in avoidance of a lump of
rock which was intruding on his comfort, and in so doing had lodged his
heavy boot in Peter Vaudin's ribs, and so their sonorous duet was
stilled, and neither of them was very sound asleep, when Gard, after
listening anxiously and hearing nothing, dropped on his hands and knees
and felt cautiously inside.

Peter felt the blind hand groping in the dark, and was wide awake in an
instant. He hurled himself at the intruder, as well as a man could who
had been lying back against the wall half asleep a moment before; and
Gard turned and sped away along the side of the ridge, with Peter at his
heels and John Drillot thundering ponderously in the rear.

"What is't, Peter boy?" shouted John.

"It's him. This way!" yelled Peter, out of the dimness in front, as he
stumbled and staggered along the ragged inadequacies of the ridge.

If Gard had had time for consideration, he would have led them a chase
elsewhere first, but, in the sudden upsetting of lighting on what he had
persuaded himself was not there, he lost his head and made straight for
cover.

Peter Vaudin was at the base of the rock wall as he wriggled silently
under the big slab, and it was only by a violent jerk that he got his
foot clear of Peter's grip. And Peter, strung to the occasion, kept his
hand on the spot where the foot had disappeared, and waited a moment for
John Drillot to come up before he followed it.

"Gone in here," he jerked, as he climbed cautiously up.

"Can't have gone far, then," panted John. "Sure it was him?"

"Had him by the foot, but he got loose. Here we are," as he