The tone in which this question was put showed that the poor child did not feel quite so certain of the arrival of succor as her words implied.  Corrie perceived this at once, and, with the heroism of a true lover, he crushed back the feelings of anxiety and alarm which were creeping over his own stout little heart in spite of his brave words, and gave utterance to encouraging expressions and even to slightly jovial sentiments, which tended very much to comfort Alice, and Poopy too.

“Sure?” he exclaimed, rolling on his other side to obtain a view of the child (for, owing to his position and his fettered condition, he had to turn on his right side when he wished to look at Poopy, and on his left when he addressed himself to Alice).  “Sure? why, of course I’m sure.  D’ye think your father would leave you lying out in the cold all night?”

“No, that I am certain he would not,” cried Alice, enthusiastically; “but, then, he does not know we are here, and will never think of looking for us in such an unlikely place.”

“Humph! that only shows your ignorance,” said Corrie.

“Well, I dare say I am very ignorant,” replied Alice, meekly.

“No, no!  I don’t mean that,” cried Corrie, with a feeling of self-reproach.  “I don’t mean to say that you’re ignorant in a general way, you know, but only about what men are likely to do, d’ye see, when they’re hard put to it, you understand. Our feelings are so different from yours, you know, and—­and—­”

Here Corrie broke down, and in order to change the subject abruptly he rolled round towards Poopy, and cried, with considerable asperity: 

“What on earth d’ye mean, Kickup, by wriggling about your black body in that fashion?  If you don’t stop it you’ll fetch way down the hill, and go slap over the precipice, carrying Alice and me along with you.  Give it up now; d’ye hear?”

“No, me won’t,” cried Poopy, with great passion, while tears sprang from her large eyes, and coursed over her sable cheeks.  “Me will bu’st dem ropes.”

“More likely to do that to yourself if you go on like that,” returned Corrie.  “But, I say, Alice, cheer up” (here he rolled round on his other side); “I’ve been pondering a plan all this time to set us free, and now I’m going to try it.  The only bother about it is that these rascally savages have dropped me beside a pool of half soft mud that I can’t help sticking my head into if I try to move.”

“Oh! then, don’t move, dear Corrie,” said Alice, in an imploring tone of voice; “we can lie here quite comfortably till papa comes.”

“Ah! yes,” said Corrie, “that reminds me that I was saying we men feel and act so differently from you women.  Now it strikes me that your father will go to all the most unlikely parts of the island first; knowin’ very well that niggers don’t hide in likely places.  But as it may be a long time before he finds us” (he sighed deeply here, not feeling much confidence in the success of the missionary’s search), “I shall tell you my plan, and then try to carry it out.” (Here he sighed again, more deeply than before; not feeling by any means confident of the success of his own efforts.)