I'd as soon speak to th' devil.

Iss, aw'd." Charles had thought nothing of this chatter at the time, but he wondered now if they were talking of Thalassa.

Did the local fisherfolk believe that he had something to do with the murder, and shunned him like Ishmael in consequence?
He looked like Ishmael at that moment, crossing that wild place, earnestly scanning every nook of those seamed and riven walls, sometimes glancing stealthily behind him.

His preoccupation in this search--if it was a search--was so great that he never once glanced ahead, and he did not see Charles until the young man leaped down the last few paces of his slippery descent and stood plainly forth before him.

Thalassa's brown face did not move a muscle as he looked at him.
"Thalassa," said Charles sternly, "I have been looking for you." Thalassa went on, still scanning the secret places of the towering cliffs as he walked forward with Charles beside him.