inner and would
you like silver cups or glass?"

"Now then, old Allstones, or Allbones, or Nobones, or whatever your name
is," cried Hilary, putting his arms akimbo, and taking a step nearer to
the jailer, "you are a big and precious ugly man of about forty, and I'm
only a boy; but look here, if I had you on board my ship I'd have you
triced up and flogged."

"But you are not on board your ship, my young cockerel," said the man
mockingly.

"No," cried Hilary, "but I'm all here, and if you give me any of your
sauce when you come in, I'll show you why some fellows are made officers
and some keep common seamen to the end of their days."

"And how's that?" said the ruffian with a sneer.

"Because they know how to deal with bullies and blackguards like you.
Now then, this is my room, so walk out."

He took another step forward and gazed so fiercely in the man's eyes,
that, great as was the disparity in their ages and strength, Allstone
shrank back step by step until he reached the doorway, when, if not
afraid of Hilary, he was certainly so much taken aback by the young
man's manner that he was thoroughly cowed for the moment, and shrank
away, slipping through the door and banging it after him, leaving the
prisoner to his meditations.

"Come, I've got a bed," he said, laughing, "and a chair and a table,
and--hurrah! the very thing."

He then seized the table and turned it upside down to gaze beneath, and
then replacing it, ran to the window, pulled up the cutlass, and going
to the table once more, turned it over and inserted the point of the
weapon between the side and the top, with the result that it stuck there
firmly, and upon the table being replaced upon its legs it was quite
concealed.

"There!" he cried, "that will be handy, and I daresay safe, for they
will never think of searching that after bringing it in."

This done, he proceeded to roll up his worsted for future use, and
placed it in one pocket, the piece of cord with which he had drawn up
the milk being in another.

"Why, I might have used that instead of the worsted," he said, as he
remembered it for the first time; but he recollected directly after that
it would have been too easily seen.

Then he inspected the two trusses of straw, and made his bed close
beside the opening he hoped to make by raising the slab; and then,
having carefully examined the spot, he listened to make sure that he was
not heard, and taking out his pocket-knife, went dow