e no answer save to grunt savagely.

"Let us row back to St. Mary's again," I said, "this place is given over
to Satan."

"Then you'll go by yourself, Jasper Pennington!" snarled Eli. "I ded'n
come 'ere to go away without gittin' what I wanted. Besides, 'tes nearly
dark. I be'ant goin' to go 'way from here till daylight. Ef we tried we
should both be drowned."

I saw that he spoke the truth. None but a madman would put out to sea
off Annette in the dark, and I saw by the gathering darkness that in a
few minutes night would be upon us.

"Cheer up," continued Eli, "Pennington es 'ere, so es the purty maid.
Eli do love Jasper, Eli do," and the dwarf caught my hands and fondled
them.

In spite of myself I was cheered by his words, and throwing off my
superstitious fears, I made my way southward to the spot where the great
rock was supposed to lie.

When we had walked a few minutes we saw that the island tapered down to
a narrow point; we saw, too, that the strip of land was about three
quarters of a mile long, perhaps a quarter of a mile broad, and lay
pretty well north and south. Arriving at the southern extremity, we
looked eagerly around. As I said, day was fast departing, but there was
sufficient light to see the general features of the coast.

I gave a start. Yes, there was the rock mentioned in the paper which I
have described.

"Wurrah!" cried Eli excitedly, "we be rich as Jews, Maaster Jasper."

"Come, Eli," I said, as excited as he, "give me the tools. I'll get
there at once."

"We cannot do et yet," replied Eli. "In five minutes more 't'll be
dark."

"What fools we were not to come before!" I said, angrily.

"No," grunted Eli; "ef people was to zee us diggin' they'd begin to
'spect summin. We mus' do et in the dark."

"How, Eli? You must be mad."

The dwarf looked anxiously at the sky.

"'T'll clear up dreckly," he replied complacently, "and the moon'll rise
earlier to-night than he did last night. Ef 'tes clear moonlight we c'n
zee. Ef tes'n, we must be up as zoon as ther's any light and find et
afore anybody can be about."

"Spend the night here?" I cried.

"We sh'll 'ave to do that anyhow," he said. "We mus'n stay 'ere now,"
continued the dwarf, "we must git away. Tell 'ee, I b'leeve we be
watched as et es."

"What makes you think so?"

"Never mind," and he looked anxiously toward St. Agnes. "Tell 'ee,
Jasper, 't'll be a rough night's work."

I, too, looked toward St. Agnes, but coul