here and there upon it, and a heavy fall or a sprained ankle would be
disastrous. They had no fear of pursuit. Once or twice they fancied
that they heard shouts far above them, but they considered it likely
that the band would be too far paralyzed by the loss of their captain
to again take up the pursuit.

Three hours later, they stood by the sea shore, near a tiny fishing
village, composed of three or four houses only. They held a
consultation as to whether it would be better to rouse the villagers
and explain the circumstances, but they had become suspicious of
Spaniards, and thought it likely that there would be a close
relationship between the people here and the band in their
neighborhood. No lights were visible in the village, and it was
probable that the inhabitants were already in bed.

They sat down for another hour to avoid the chance of their being
surprised by any straggler. Then, proceeding to the shore, they
launched a small boat. Hawtry stepped the mast and hoisted the sail,
and they were soon making their way off the land. The wind was light,
and their progress slow. For a time they kept straight out to sea, and
then turned the boat's head towards Gibraltar.

The wind presently died quite away, and, lowering the sails, they got
out the oars, and set to work. Beyond trying once or twice upon the
Stour, Jack had had no experience in rowing, and his clumsiness
excited considerable indignation on the part of Hawtry. The boat was
heavy, and their progress, in consequence, very slow. They calculated
that they must have twenty-five miles to row, as the point at which
they were captured was, Hawtry had judged by the sound of the gun,
fully fifteen miles distant from it, and they had walked another ten