chasing water-rats and fishing for
carp and pike. 'Pon my word I'm about ashamed of myself. What a
beautiful magpie, though!" he continued, staring out of the window; "I
never saw one with so large a tail. Why, there are jays, too calling in
the wood. Yes, there they go--char, char, char! One might keep 'em
aboard ship to make fog-signals in thick weather. My word, how this
does bring back all the old times! I feel as boyish and as bright and--
Oh! I say, are you going to starve a fellow to death? I can't stand
this. Ahoy! Is there any one here? Ahoy! Pipe all hands to
breakfast, will you? Ahoy!"

He placed one hand to the side of his face and shouted with all his
might, and as he ceased--

"Haw-w! hee-haw! hee-haw! hee-haw! hee-haw! haw-haw! haw-haw-wk!" came
from a short distance, as if in answer to his hail, followed directly by
half a dozen lively kicks.

"Sweet, intelligent beast!" cried Hilary. "What, are you hungry too?
Surely they have not left us to starve, my gentle friend in misfortune."

Growing too hungry and impatient to be interested any longer by the
beauty of the scene, Hilary shouted again several times, but without
obtaining an answer. He startled some pigeons, though, from somewhere
upon the roof, and they circled round a few times before settling down
again, and beginning to sing, "Koo-coo-coo-cooo! koo-coo-coo-cooo!" over
and over again.

He leaped down, went to the door, and hammered and kicked and shouted
till his toes were tender and his throat hoarse; but in answer to his
kicks came hollow echoes, and to his shouts the donkey's brays, and at
last he threw himself sulkily down upon the straw.

"I'm not going to stop here and be starved to death," he exclaimed
angrily; "there's no one in the place, that's my opinion, and they've
stuffed me in here while they get out of the country."

He jumped up in a fury and went and kicked at the door again, but the
mocking echoes were the only response, and, tired of that, he shouted
through the keyhole, ran, jumped, and clambered to the window, as he
took out his knife, opened it, and began to dig at the stonework to
loosen the bars, when the donkey brayed once more.

"Be quiet, will you," roared Hilary, "or I'll kill you, and eat you
afterwards."

As he said this he burst out laughing at the ludicrous situation, and
this did him good, for he felt that it would be best to be patient.

So there he sat, listening for some sound to