day--that one-eyed chap we took in so
with the lugger--and his chaps brought him up to the rocks, and then, my
wig! how he did give it 'em for bringing them a fool's errand, as he
called it! It was a fine game, I can tell you."

"Must have been," said the other, as Hilary drank in this information
too, and made mental vows about how he would pay the scoundrels out for
all this when once he got free.

Then there was a cessation of the feet coming down the stairs, broken by
one step that Hilary seemed to recognise.

"How are you getting on?"

Hilary was right; it was Allstone.

"Waiting for more," was the reply.

"They'll bring up another cart directly," said Allstone in his sulky
tone of voice.

"Sooner the better. I'm 'bout tired out. Fine lot o' rats here," said
the man.

"Ah, yes! There's a few," said Allstone.

"Heard 'em scuffling about like fun over the other side," said the man.

Hilary felt the cold perspiration ooze out of him as he lay there, dimly
seeing through the meshes of the net that he was in a low arched vault
of considerable extent, the curved roof being of time-blackened stone,
and that here and there were rough pillars from which the arches sprang.

He hardly dared to move, but, softly turning his head, he saw to his
horror that the square opening whence he had taken the stone was full in
view, the light that left him in darkness striking straight up through
the hole.

If they looked up there, he felt that they must see that the stone had
been moved, and he shivered as he felt that his efforts to escape had
been in vain.

"They're a plaguey long time coming," said the man who had been talking
so much. "Here, just come round here, my lad, and I'll show you what I
mean about the nets."

"It's all over," said Hilary as he took a firm grip of the hilt of his
cutlass, meaning as soon as he was discovered to strike out right and
left, and try to escape during the surprise his appearance would cause.

As he lay there, ready to spring up at the smallest indication of his
discovery, he saw the shadows move as the men came round by the heap of
packages, and enter the narrow passage where he was. The first, bearing
a candle stuck between some nails in a piece of wood, was a fair,
fresh-coloured young fellow, and he was closely followed by a burly
middle-aged man bearing another candle, Allstone coming last.

"There," said the younger man, "there's about as nice a mess for a set
o' net