They had all had troubled dreams, and several of them declared that they had heard that terrible groan during the night repeated if possible, in a more horrible manner than before. To others the ghosts of the men they had lately murdered, appeared menacing them with fearful retribution. As the day advanced, and they had to some extent recovered their spirits by the aid of their favorite stimulants, they attempted to laugh the matter off as a mere bugbear created by an imagination over heated by too great an indulgence in strong drink. Although this opinion was not shared by Captain Flint, who had carefully abstained from over-indulgence, for reasons of his own, he encouraged it in his men. But even they, while considering it necessary to remain quiet for a few days, to see whether or not, any harm should result to them, in consequence of their late attack on the merchant ship, none of them showed a disposition to pass another night in the cave. Captain Flint made no objection to his men remaining outside on the following night, as it would give him the opportunity to investigate the matter, which he desired. On the next night, when there was no one in the cavern but himself and the two who usually occupied it, he called Lightfoot to him, and asked her if she had ever heard any strange noises in the place before. "Sometime heard de voices of the Indian braves dat gone to the spirit land," said the woman. "Did you ever hear anything like the groan we heard last night?" "Neber," said Lightfoot. "What do you think it was?" asked the captain. "Tink him de voice ob the great bad spirit," was the reply. Captain Flint, finding that he was not likely to learn anything in this quarter that would unravel the mystery, now called the negro. "Bill," he said, "did you ever hear that noise before?" "Ony once, massa." "When was that, Bill?" "When you trow my--" "Hold your tongue, you black scoundrel, or I'll break every bone in your body!" roared his master, cutting off the boy's sentence in the middle. The boy was going to say: "When you trow'd my fadder into the sea." The captain now examined every portion of the cavern, to see if he could discover anything that could account for the production of the strange sound. In every part he tried his voice, to see if he could produce those remarkable echoes, which had so startled him, on the previous night, but without success. The walls, in various parts of the cavern, gave back echoes, but nothing like those of the previous night. There were two recesses in opposite sides of the cave. The larger one of these was occupied by Lightfoot as a sleeping apartment. The other, which was much smaller, Black Bill made use of for the same purpose. From these two recesses, the captain had everything removed, in order that he might subject them to a careful examination. But with no better success than before.