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Updated: June 10, 2025
"That fellow has just laid a powder-bag by the door. But, Sep, you can't see any Englishmen there, can you?" "No," I said hastily; "but I'm sure that's the French skipper Gualtiere standing to the left of the French captain." "So it is," whispered Bigley. "I thought I knew the face. Look out!" "What are they going to do?"
Fortunately, however, she did not, for all her attention was taken up by Bigley, and we soon after parted, Bigley going with Mother Bonnet towards old Jonas's cottage, and we boys following our fathers to reach the cliff path and get home. "You will not come along here on the pony," said my father as the doctor mounted his sturdy little Exmoor-bred animal.
The hooks were all ready with the weights and spreaders, and Bigley began calmly enough to hook and twist on a couple of the wet and messy raw mussels for Bob, and then did the same for mine, when we two began to fish on opposite sides of the boat, letting the leads go rapidly down what appeared to be a tremendous distance before they touched the ooze.
Binnacle Bill did not go away any more, for he was at once installed boatman, and bound to have boat, tackle, and baits ready every time Bigley and I felt disposed to have an hour or two's fishing in the evening. If Bob Chowne came down his work grew harder, for Bob was as fond of fishing as ever.
"Did it sting?" "No. You wouldn't find jelly-fishes in a hole like that. It felt like a tremendously great polly-squiggle with a big parrot's beak, and my hand nearly went in." "Get out!" said Bob, "there are no big ones." "How do you know?" retorted Bigley. "That felt just like a large one." "Did he take hold of you with his suckers?" I said. "No, I didn't give him time."
I noticed that he still did not say anything to Bigley, and that my old school-fellow was very silent, in fact we were none of us in a conversational frame of mind, but every now and then the idea kept creeping in that old Jonas must know about that cave, and the purpose for which it was used; and then I seemed to understand my father's thoughtful manner, for it was as though this discovery was likely to widen the breach between them.
At first my father had been averse to Bigley drilling with us, but he raised no obstacle, for he said to me, "We can let him learn how to use the weapons, Sep, but it does not follow that he need fight for us." "And I'm sure he would not fight against us, father," I said laughing. So Bigley grew to be as handy with the cutlass as any of the men, and no mean shot with the pistol.
But when we parted from Bigley half a mile further on, I said to him: "Why wouldn't your father shake hands with me?" "Hush! Don't take any notice," said Bigley in low voice; "he's very angry still about Captain Duncan buying the Gap and finding the silver mine. That's all!" "That's all!" Bigley said. But it was not.
They would have come off to us, but there was no boat to be had nearer than Ripplemouth; so they watched us while Bigley went down again and again till ten boxes had been recovered, when my father refused to let him go down any more, in spite of his prayers and declarations that he was all right and could go down as often as we liked.
"Where's the weir?" cried Bigley. "Why, this is it." "This?" said Bob, "why it's only a lot of hurdles." So it appeared at first sight, but it was ingeniously contrived all the same for its purpose; and in accordance with the habits of the salmon and other fish that are fond of coming up with the tide to get into fresh-water, and run up the different rivers and streams.
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