“I shall never ask that of you, Jacques,” Ralph said warmly.  “I consider we are quits now, though you may not.  Indeed, I can tell you that I don’t consider that two months of kindness are wiped out by just taking a jump on to the back of a snake.”

There were loud sounds of shouting, singing, and quarreling as they passed near the great fires that were blazing near the storehouse.  They reached the waterside without notice, and taking a boat rowed off to the brig.  The captain looked over the side: 

“Who is that?”

“Jacques Clery and the English lad, captain.”

“You got tired of the noise on shore, I suppose?” the captain said.

“Not exactly that, captain, for we have not been near the others at all.  We took a long walk through the woods up to the top of the hill in the middle of the island and we came back for two reasons.  The first because I have been so badly scared by a snake, who would have bit me had not this young fellow leaped on to its back just as he was about to strike me in the neck, that I would not have slept on the ground for anything; and, in the second place, we came to tell you that from the top of the hill we saw a large frigate—­English, I should say, from the cut of her sails—­five or six miles off on the other side of the island, and I thought you ought to know about her at once.”

“Thank you, Jacques; that is important.  I was going to sail in the morning, but we must not stir as long as she is in the neighborhood.  So this young fellow saved your life, did he?”

“That he did, captain; and it was the quickest thing you ever saw.  I was just lying down at full length when he caught sight of the snake.  There was no time to stop me; no time even to cry out.  He just jumped on a sudden and came down on the brute as it was on the point of striking.  Had he stopped for one quarter of a second I should have been a dead man hours ago.”

“That was a near escape indeed, Jacques.  Are they pretty quiet there on shore?  I heard them shouting several times.”

“They seem quarreling a bit, captain; but they are sure to do that with all that liquor on hand.”

“They won’t come to much harm,” the captain said.  “I gave the strictest orders that all weapons should be left behind before they landed, and that any man carrying even a knife would have his leave stopped during the rest of the cruise.  Beside, the first mate is there to look after them.  I will go ashore myself at daybreak and take a look round from the top of that hill.  If that frigate is still cruising about near the island it must be because they have got some sort of an idea of the whereabouts of our hiding place.  We must wait till she moves away.  It won’t do to risk anything.”

Upon the following morning the captain and Jacques, accompanied by Ralph, landed.  They passed close by the storehouse, and saw the men still asleep round the extinguished fires.  The captain called out the storekeeper: