"There was nothing to interfere about, skipper, and I thought it best for her to be frightened. Keep her from going again." "Did she go up higher?" "Not a step." "Nor Mother Goodhugh?" "Not half a step." "Why did she bring her there?" "Hocus pocus. To scare her, to make her mutter charms or something. It was the out-of-the-way-est, ugliest place the old woman knew, so she took her there." "Do you think that's the case?" "To be sure. Mind you, I shouldn't be surprised if Mother Goodhugh did get to know about it, either hunting herself or through that long, lanky, lizardly fellow, Abel Churr." "If Abel Churr did find out, and tell tales, I'd hang him to the yard-arm of our ship." "And bless the world by so doing," said Wat, grimly. "Twenty-one," he added, softly. "What's twenty-one?" said Gil, sharply. "One-and-twenty trout," replied Wat, who had finished his counting. "Hang your trout!" cried Gil, impatiently. "No; hang Abel Churr," said Wat; "for he's a lazy, sneaking, mischief-loving reptile. I'd like to put the rope around his neck." "Now go," said Gil, sharply. "See the lads and get them together. We'll have those stores up to-night." "The flour and all?" "Everything. The sooner it is under cover the better. You can land all by the beeches at once, and to-night we'll get it up." "What time shall we begin?" "Leave the river at twelve. It will be two before we get all to the store, and we can be back soon after three." Wat nodded, and turned upon his heel; while Gil sat down beneath a shady tree, where he dreamily went over his position with respect to Mace, till evening was giving place to night, when he made his way back towards the foundry. As he rose and left the stone where he had been sitting thinking so long, there was a slight rustle close at hand, such as might have been made by a snake or a lizard; but it was caused by no reptile, for a human head rose slowly from out a clump of bracken, and, after waiting patiently and listening with all the caution of some wild animal, the head was lowered again. A low rustling noise followed, the grass and ferns quivering as something passed beneath them, and the track by which the owner of the head was slowly creeping away could be traced along the side of the ravine in the dim light, as if some hare or fox were cautiously working its way. Quite half-a-mile was passed over in this wild-animal fashion before the bushes were parted, and Abel Churr rose up with a grim satisfied smile upon his face, to walk slowly away, rubbing his hands together, and evidently in high glee with something upon his mind. Meanwhile, after waiting till the lights in the Pool-house began to go out one by one, Gil betook himself to his old tactics with the signal-sparks, for he argued that, after the serious result of Master Cobbe's last hindrance to his coming, the founder would try traps no more.