When last we saw him he was stealing across the island with one finger to his lips and his dagger at the ready . He had seen the crocodile pass by without noticing anything peculiar about it , but by and by he remembered that it had not been ticking . At first he thought this eerie , but soon concluded rightly that the clock had run down . Without giving a thought to what might be the feelings of a fellow-creature thus abruptly deprived of its closest companion , Peter began to consider how he could turn the catastrophe to his own use ; and he decided to tick , so that wild beasts should believe he was the crocodile and let him pass unmolested . He ticked superbly , but with one unforeseen result . The crocodile was among those who heard the sound , and it followed him , though whether with the purpose of regaining what it had lost , or merely as a friend under the belief that it was again ticking itself , will never be certainly known , for , like slaves to a fixed idea , it was a stupid beast . Peter reached the shore without mishap , and went straight on , his legs encountering the water as if quite unaware that they had entered a new element . Thus many animals pass from land to water , but no other human of whom I know . As he swam he had but one thought : `` Hook or me this time . '' He had ticked so long that he now went on ticking without knowing that he was doing it . Had he known he would have stopped , for to board the brig by help of the tick , though an ingenious idea , had not occurred to him . On the contrary , he thought he had scaled her side as noiseless as a mouse ; and he was amazed to see the pirates cowering from him , with Hook in their midst as abject as if he had heard the crocodile . The crocodile ! No sooner did Peter remember it than he heard the ticking . At first he thought the sound did come from the crocodile , and he looked behind him swiftly . Then he realised that he was doing it himself , and in a flash he understood the situation . `` How clever of me ! '' he thought at once , and signed to the boys not to burst into applause . It was at this moment that Ed Teynte the quartermaster emerged from the forecastle and came along the deck . Now , reader , time what happened by your watch .
XXXXX struck true and deep .
Peter Teynte crocodile dagger first forecastle lips pirates result stealing