Page:Cornelia Meigs--The island of Appledore.djvu/145

Rh “Been quite a night, hasn’t it?” the man said cheerfully as he sat down on the stool and wiped his face.

“Did he hit you?” “Did he hurt you?” the two children asked in a single breath.

“Never touched me,” was the answer. “The first bullet went over my head and the second struck the staff of the flag and knocked  it out of my hand—jarred my elbow something horrid, and nearly threw me down—but that’s all the harm it did. The real mischief is that I’m afraid the man has got away.”

“But he can’t get off the Island,” Billy objected.

“That is just what he has done,” the sailor answered. “He knew the paths too well and left us tangled up in the thickets. We gave him a hot chase, until he got over to a house  that stands on the shore beyond the woods,  helped himself to the owner’s catboat, and put  off before we could get anywhere near. We have signalled to the ship, though, and  they’ll see that he doesn’t get clear away. We have his friend Jarreth in jail, and this man  should be joining him there before very  long.”

“It was your father’s boat he got away in,