n to
bathe his painful eye, having told one of the men to bring him some warm
water from the galley.

The man he told happened to be Tom Tully, and as he stood by, ready to
fetch more if it should be wanted, the bathing seemed to allay the
irritation, so that the commander grew less angry, and condescended to
ask a few questions. Then he began to think of the _Kestrel_ having
been ashore, the state of her deck about the fore-hatchway, and the late
encounter, all of which he would have to minutely describe to the
admiral if he ran into harbour to report Hilary Leigh's evasion.

Then, as he grew more comfortable, he began to think that perhaps, after
all, the young man had not run off. Furthermore, as he owned that he
was an indefatigable young officer, he came to the conclusion that
perhaps Leigh might have discovered further traces of the smugglers,
and, if so, it would be wrong to leave him in the lurch, especially as a
good capture might be made, and with it a heap of prize-money.

"And besides, I'll give fifty pounds to run up against that scoundrel
who led me into that trap."

A little more bathing made the lieutenant see so much more clearly,
mentally as well as optically, that he went on deck and repeated his
former orders of "'Bout ship," with the result that the _Kestrel_ was
once more gently gliding along off the cliff-bound stretch of land where
Hilary Leigh had fallen into strange hands.

CHAPTER TEN.

IN THE DARK.

Hilary's burst of merriment was of very short duration. There is, no
doubt, something very amusing to a young naval officer in the fact of
his being made a prisoner, and carried off in a donkey-cart; but the
pleasure is not of a lasting kind.

At the end of a few moments Hilary's mirth ceased, and he grew very
wrathful. He was exceedingly hot and in no little pain, and in addition
his sensations were such that he began to wonder whether he should live
to reach his destination, where ever that might be, without being
stifled.

For the folds of the cloak were very tight about his head, and the straw
on which he lay let him settle down into a hole, while that above shook
down more closely and kept out the air.

For a few minutes a horrible sensation of dread troubled him, and he
uttered a hoarse cry; but, making a struggle to master his fear, he grew
more calm, and though he was exceedingly hot and the effort was painful,
he found he could breathe, and after a final effort to rel