“That would do for him nicely, Reddy.  We’ll let him push the boat well out, and, when he has her clear, pull away and give him plenty of line.  That’s a capital idea, Reddy, and we’ll use it.”

They bound my arms to my sides, and put the end of the rope round Petrak’s waist, so that I was about five feet behind him when it was taut.  In this way we set out for the beach, with Petrak in the lead and Thirkle, carrying his bundle and smoking a cigar, treading on my heels, to make me keep close up.

The sun was not quite down, but the jungle was filling with shadows, and, once the sun got below the horizon, night would close down on us with the tropical swiftness that knows no twilight, and the day would go out like a candle under a snuffer.

Thirkle had been drinking of the brandy, and was in a jolly mood, and he had given Petrak a good swig of it to lighten the little rascal’s feet, but I refused the bottle when it was offered to me, for, low as my spirits were, and racked as my body was, I could not come to accept their ghastly hospitality.

If I let the rope tighten between me and Petrak, Thirkle prodded me with the point of a knife, and, as I was faint with hunger and thirst, and utterly worn out, I frequently stumbled and fell, when they both set upon me and beat me to my feet.  Petrak pulling me up with the rope, while Thirkle scourged me with a leather thong.

We had been on the road about half an hour when I recognized the spot where Captain Riggs had crawled into the brush to rest, and I began to complain loudly and made as much noise as possible, hoping that the captain and Rajah might still be concealed near by.

“Keep close!” yelled Petrak, as I let the rope tighten and hung back.

“Get along or I’ll flay ye alive!” thundered Thirkle, which was what I wanted him to do.

“Then don’t let those low limbs fly back on me,” I cried as loudly as I dared without exciting their suspicion of my purpose.  “They knock me off my feet, and that’s why I can’t keep close up.”

“Shut yer jaw,” said Thirkle, and I stumbled along again, wondering what had become of Captain Riggs, and wondering if he had been lured into the jungle by the shots I had exchanged with Long Jim, and was lost.

I kept straining at the cords about me, but although I hurt the wounds on my wrists until I was weak from pain, I could not free myself.  If nothing better offered, I was determined to make a dash at Thirkle if he freed my hands to work at the boat.  If I could not surprise him in the dark and get hold of a knife or pistol, I could at least give him a fight even if I died in a last attempt to save myself.  I much preferred to die fighting than at the end of a rope in the water, as Petrak had suggested.

I knew they would have to find the oars before they could get a boat away, and the missing plugs might cause them a deal of trouble if they launched the boats without noticing their loss.  I hoped that I might find a chance of escape in the darkness if the boat filled with them after they got it into the water.