“Stupid ass that I am!” cried he. “Poor Ayrton! and yet he has as good a right to speak as any of us. I would rather have bitten off my tongue than have given him pain! But, to go back to the subject, I think these wretches have no claim to mercy, and that we should rid the island of them.” “And before we hunt them down, Pencroff, shall we not wait for some fresh act of hostility?” “Haven’t they done enough already?” said the sailor, who could not understand these refinements. “They may repent,” said Smith. “They repent!” cried the sailor, shrugging his shoulders. “Think of Ayrton, Pencroff!” said Herbert, taking his hand. “He has become an honest man.” Pencroff looked at his companions In stupefaction. He could not admit the possibility of making terms with the accomplices of Harvey, the murderers of the Speedy’s crew. “Be it so!” he said. “You want to be magnanimous to these rascals. May we never repent of it!” “What danger do we run if we are on our guard?” said Herbert. “H’m!” said the reporter, doubtfully. “There are six of them, well armed. If each of them sighted one of us from behind a tree—” “Why haven’t they tried it already?” said Herbert. “Evidently it was not their cue.” “Very well, then,” said the sailor, who was stubborn in his opinion, “we will let these worthy fellows attend to their innocent occupations without troubling our heads about them.” “Pencroff,” said the engineer, “you have often shown respect for my opinions. Will you trust me once again?” “I will do whatever you say, Mr. Smith,” said the sailor, nowise convinced. “Well, let us wait, and not be the first to attack.” This was the final decision, with Pencroff in the minority. They would give the pirates a chance, which their own interest might induce them to seize upon, to come to terms. So much, humanity required of them. But they would have to be constantly on their guard, and the situation was a very serious one. They had silenced Pencroff, but, perhaps, after all, his advice would prove sound. CHAPTER XLVIII. THE PROJECTED EXPEDITION—AYRTON AT THE CORRAL—VISIT TO PORT BALLOON—PENCROFF’S REMARKS—DESPATCH SENT TO THE CORRAL—NO ANSWER FROM AYRTON—SETTING OUT NEXT DAY—WHY THE WIRE DID NOT ACT—A DETONATION. Meanwhile the thing uppermost in the colonists’ thought was to achieve the complete exploration of the island which had been decided upon, an exploration which now would have two objects: —First, to discover the mysterious being whose existence was no longer a matter of doubt; and, at the same time to find out what had become of the pirates, what hiding place they had chosen, what sort of life they were leading, and what was to be feared from them.