"It's a jolly shame. Why don't you kill us off at once, and be done with it?"
"Because you are worth more to us alive than dead."
"We won't live long if you keep us here," put in Sam. "It's enough to give a fellow the ague."
"We will start a fire without delay," said the captain, and then, turning to Arnold Baxter, he continued: "Can you find the way back to the ship?"
"I think I can," returned the other. "Years ago I was used to tramping the gold regions of the West."
"Then you had better go and tell the mate to bring along that stuff I mentioned before I left. You can easily carry the stuff between you. I'll build the fire and, with the aid of your son, watch the two prisoners."
So it was arranged, although Arnold Baxter did not fancy the task of carrying stuff to be used for the Rovers' comfort. He left his pistol with Dan, who kept it in his hand, ready to shoot should Sam or Tom make the slightest movement toward getting away.
As Captain Langless had said, the fire made the cave far more comfortable, taking away the feeling of dampness and lighting up all the nooks and corners. From a distance the boys heard a faint
