such a wicked job. They submitted to be
bound, and cast down into their boat, imploring only that it might be
there--that they might not be taken to the other boat and laid near the
corpse of Carroway.

"Let the white-livered cowards have their way," the old sailor said,
contemptuously. "Put their captain on the top of them. Now which is
Robin Lyth?"

The lights were burned out, and the cave was dark again, except when a
slant of moonlight came through a fissure upon the southern side. The
smugglers muttered something, but they were not heeded.

"Never mind, make her fast, fetch her out, you lubbers. We shall see him
well enough when we get outside."

But in spite of all their certainty, they failed of this. They had only
six prisoners, and not one of them was Lyth.

CHAPTER XXXV

LITTLE CARROWAYS

Mrs. Carroway was always glad to be up quite early in the morning. But
some few mornings seemed to slip in between whiles when, in accordance
with human nature, and its operations in the baby stage, even Lauta
Carroway failed to be about the world before the sun himself. Whenever
this happened she was slightly cross, from the combat of conscience and
self-assertion, which fly at one another worse than any dog and cat.
Geraldine knew that her mother was put out if any one of the household
durst go down the stairs before her. And yet if Geraldine herself held
back, and followed the example of late minutes, she was sure "to catch
it worse," as the poor child expressed it.

If any active youth with a very small income (such as an active youth is
pretty sure to have) wants a good wife, and has the courage to set
out with one, his proper course is to choose the eldest daughter of
a numerous family. When the others come thickly, this daughter of the
house gets worked down into a wonderful perfection of looking after
others, while she overlooks herself. Such a course is even better
for her than to have a step-mother--which also is a goodly thing, but
sometimes leads to sourness. Whereas no girl of any decent staple can
revolt against her duty to her own good mother, and the proud sense of
fostering and working for the little ones. Now Geraldine was wise in all
these ways, and pleased to be called the little woman of the house.

The baby had been troublous in the night, and scant of reason, as the
rising race can be, even while so immature; and after being up with
it, and herself producing a long series of noises--wh