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} + + div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage + { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } + + .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } +} + +@media print { + div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } + div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } + + .vfill { margin-top: 20% } + h2.title { margin-top: 20% } +} + +/* DIV */ +pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } + +</style> +<title>THE ADVENTURES OF DICK TREVANION</title> +<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> +<meta name="PG.Title" content="The Adventures of Dick Trevanion" /> +<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> +<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Herbert Strang" /> +<meta name="DC.Created" content="1911" /> +<meta name="MARCREL.ill" content="Rainey dick.rst:93: (INFO/1) Enumerated list start value not ordinal-1: "W" (ordinal 23)" /> +<meta name="PG.Id" content="39800" /> +<meta name="PG.Released" content="2013-06-01" /> +<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> +<meta name="DC.Title" content="The Adventures of Dick Trevanion A Story of Eighteen Hundred and Four" /> + +<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> +<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> +<meta content="The Adventures of Dick Trevanion A Story of Eighteen Hundred and Four" name="DCTERMS.title" /> +<meta content="dick.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> +<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> +<meta content="2013-06-16T04:58:46.333201+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> +<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> +<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> +<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39800" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> +<meta content="Herbert Strang" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> +<meta content="W. Rainey" name="MARCREL.ill" /> +<meta content="2013-06-01" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> +<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> +<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20a7 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39800 ***</div> +<div class="document" id="the-adventures-of-dick-trevanion"> +<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">THE ADVENTURES OF DICK TREVANION</span></h1> + +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> +</div> +<div class="align-None container coverpage"> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 78%" id="figure-82"> +<span id="cover"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cover" src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">Cover</span></div> +</div> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container frontispiece"> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 95%" id="figure-83"> +<span id="there-loomed-out-of-the-mist-a-three-masted-vessel"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""THERE LOOMED OUT OF THE MIST A THREE-MASTED VESSEL." (*See page* 175.)" src="images/img-front.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"THERE LOOMED OUT OF THE MIST A THREE-MASTED VESSEL." (</span><em class="italics">See page</em><span class="italics"> </span><a class="italics reference internal" href="#id1">175</a><span class="italics">.)</span></div> +</div> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container titlepage"> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">THE ADVENTURES +<br />OF +<br />DICK TREVANION</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics large">A STORY OF EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FOUR</em></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY +<br />HERBERT STRANG</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">ILLUSTRATED BY W. RAINEY, R.I.</em></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">LONDON +<br />HENRY FROWDE +<br />HODDER & STOUGHTON +<br />1911</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="align-None container verso"> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., LD., PRINTERS, +<br />LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">CONTENTS</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE FIRST</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-village-and-the-towers">THE VILLAGE AND THE TOWERS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE SECOND</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#john-trevanion-returns-home">JOHN TREVANION RETURNS HOME</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE THIRD</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-blow-falls">THE BLOW FALLS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE FOURTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-cave-of-seals">THE CAVE OF SEALS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE FIFTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#st-cuby-s-well">ST. CUBY'S WELL</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE SIXTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#penwarden-does-his-duty">PENWARDEN DOES HIS DUTY</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE SEVENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-breach-widens">THE BREACH WIDENS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE EIGHTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-light-on-the-moor">A LIGHT ON THE MOOR</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE NINTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#doubledick-s-midnight-guests">DOUBLEDICK'S MIDNIGHT GUESTS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-fire-bell-at-the-towers">THE FIRE BELL AT THE TOWERS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#sir-bevil-intervenes">SIR BEVIL INTERVENES</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWELFTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#penwarden-disappears">PENWARDEN DISAPPEARS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#cross-currents">CROSS-CURRENTS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#doubledick-on-duty">DOUBLEDICK ON DUTY</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#across-the-pit">ACROSS THE PIT</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-packet-for-rusco">A PACKET FOR RUSCO</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#petherick-makes-a-discovery">PETHERICK MAKES A DISCOVERY</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-high-dive">A HIGH DIVE</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-bargain-with-the-revenue">A BARGAIN WITH THE REVENUE</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-last-deal">THE LAST DEAL</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-attack-on-the-towers">THE ATTACK ON THE TOWERS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#john-trevanion-in-the-toils">JOHN TREVANION IN THE TOILS</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-price-of-treachery">THE PRICE OF TREACHERY</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<dl class="docutils"> +<dt class="noindent"><span>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH</span></dt> +<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#peace-and-goodwill">PEACE AND GOODWILL</a></p> +</dd> +</dl> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#there-loomed-out-of-the-mist-a-three-masted-vessel">"THERE LOOMED OUT OF THE MIST A THREE-MASTED +VESSEL"</a><span> . . . . . . </span><em class="italics">Frontispiece, see page</em><span> </span><a class="reference internal" href="#id1">175</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#halt-in-the-king-s-name-cried-mr-mildmay">"'HALT, IN THE KING'S NAME!' CRIED MR. MILDMAY"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#stand-cried-dick-dashing-forward-leave-him-or-we-ll-fire">"'STAND!' CRIED DICK, DASHING FORWARD. 'LEAVE HIM, +OR WE'LL FIRE'"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#as-the-seal-plunged-into-the-sea-sam-brought-his-hammer-down">"AS THE SEAL PLUNGED INTO THE SEA, SAM BROUGHT +HIS HAMMER DOWN"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#there-was-no-one-to-hear-the-short-dialogue-that-ensued-at-the-head-of-the-well">"THERE WAS NO ONE TO HEAR THE SHORT DIALOGUE THAT +ENSUED AT THE HEAD OF THE WELL"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#dick-rushed-like-a-whirlwind-on-the-man">"DICK RUSHED LIKE A WHIRLWIND ON THE MAN"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#petherick-s-head-appeared-through-the-hatch">"PETHERICK'S HEAD APPEARED THROUGH THE HATCH"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#delarousse-rushed-headlong-towards-the-approaching-group">"DELAROUSSE RUSHED HEADLONG TOWARDS THE APPROACHING GROUP"</a></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-village-and-the-towers"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE FIRST</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Village and the Towers</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The village of Polkerran lies snugly in a hollow +between cliffs facing the Atlantic, at the head of a +little bay that forms a natural harbour. The grey +stone cottages rise from the sea-level in tiers, as +in an amphitheatre, huddled together, with the +narrowest and most tortuous of lanes between them. +Through the midst a stream flows from the high +ground behind, in summer a mere brook, in winter +a swollen torrent that colours the sea far out with +the soil it carries down. The bay is shaped like a +horseshoe; at low tide its mouth is closed by a reef +except at the northern end, where there is always a +narrow fairway between the reef and the sharp point +of land known as the Beal. Northward of this is +another little inlet called Trevanion Bay, whence the +coast winds north-east, a line of rugged, precipitous, +and overhanging cliffs, unbroken until you come to +St. Cuby's Cove, where they reach a height of three +hundred feet, and bulge out over the sea like a +penthouse roof.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One August evening, in the year 1804, a wide +tubby boat lay in twelve feet of water, just outside +the line of breakers beneath the cliffs, about a mile +and a half from the village. The sun had been +down some two hours, but there was enough of +twilight to show to any one out at sea—the boat +being invisible from the land—that it contained two +lads, one a tall, slight, but muscular youth of +seventeen or thereabouts, the other a thicker, sturdier +boy, who looked older, but was, in fact, a year or +more younger than his companion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Maister Dick," said the younger boy, "I +reckon we'd better go home-along; it do seem as if +the water be too clear to-night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They're not on the feed, Sam, that's certain," +replied Dick Trevanion. "But I don't like going +empty-handed. I'm thinking of supper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It do be queer, sure enough. 'Tis a hot night, +and they mostly comes in close when 'tis hot, and +the biggest comes the closest. I 'spect what us do +want is a bit of a tumble, to stir up the bottom and +muddy the water."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick Trevanion had come out at sunset with his +companion Sam Pollex to fish for salmon bass, which +at this time of year were usually plentiful along the +coast. For two hours they had had no luck. Every +now and then a ripple and spirt on the smooth +surface showed that fish were sporting beneath; but +though they changed the bait, trying squid, pilchard, +spider-crab in turn; varied the length of line and +the weight of the lead; trailed the bait where they +last saw the surface disturbed—though they tried +every device known to them to lure the fish, they +had not as yet been rewarded with a single bite. It +was exasperating. Dick knew that the larder at +home was bare, and had set his heart on carrying +back two or three fish for supper and next morning's +breakfast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It will be high-water in half-an-hour," he said. +"We'll wait till then, and no longer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Baiting his hook with cuttle-fish, he got Sam to +row slowly up the shore towards a spot where the +sea broke gently over a yard or two of half-submerged +rocks. The air was very still; there was no sound +save the light rustle of the waves washing the foot +of the cliff. As the sky darkened and the last faint +radiance vanished from the west, the stars appeared +and the shade beneath the cliff became deeper. Sam +rowed up and down for some minutes, Dick hauling +in his line once or twice to see that the hook was not +fouled with sea-weed; but still there was no sign of +fish.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All at once, when he was on the point of giving +up, he felt a slight tug at the line, which began +immediately to slip through his fingers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"At last!" he whispered, jumping to his feet +so hastily as to set the boat rocking.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He held the line loosely until a dozen yards had +run out, then tightened his grasp with a jerk. +Meanwhile Sam had thrown the anchor overboard.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a whopper," said Dick, letting his line run +again. "See; there he goes!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He pointed to a slight phosphorescent glow on +the water about twenty yards away. The line was +running out fast. It was only a hundred yards long, +and he must check the rush of the fish, or he would +lose line and all. Grasping the twine with both +hands, he exerted a steady strain, at one moment +being almost jerked out of the boat by the violent +struggles of the fish. He set his feet against the +gunwale and pulled again. With a suddenness that +threw him backwards the tension relaxed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He's gone, Sam! He's torn away the hook," he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Scrounch un for a rebel!" said Sam indignantly. +"Why couldn't he bide quiet!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick wound up his line rapidly, feeling no resistance +until he had recovered about thirty yards of it. +Then once more it began to slip away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He's not gone yet, Sam, after all. I'll have +him, sure as I'm alive."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Steadily he worked the fish in. For a few +moments he would draw in the line without resistance; +then there was a jerk; it swerved to right, to +left; and he could merely hold his own in the +desperate struggle. But gradually, fight as the fish +might, it was drawn nearer and nearer to the boat. +At the broken water it spent its last energies; +phosphorescent flashes showed where it was dashing +to and fro in the vain effort to regain its liberty. +Then, its strength exhausted, it suffered itself to be +dragged slowly towards the boat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam was eagerly on the watch, bending over the +gunwale to seize the fish as soon as it came alongside. +Suddenly he flung out his hands, only to draw them +back with a cry. He had pricked them against the +fish's sharp dorsal fin. Once more he stooped, and +as Dick hauled hard on the line, Sam got his arms +beneath the fish, and with a mighty heave cast it into +the bottom, where it struggled for a moment and +then lay still.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A beauty, sure enough," said Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Worth waiting for," remarked Dick. "'Tis +getting late, and Mother will have given me up, so +we'll go now. He's big enough to give us two meals +at least."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They bent down to disengage the hook and wind +up the line. So intent had they been on the capture +of the bass that neither had noticed, until that +moment, a smack about three-quarters of a mile out +at sea, sailing rapidly across the bay towards +St. Cuby's Cove. The moon was rising, faintly +illuminating the vessel, but casting a deep shadow on the +water immediately beneath the cliff, so that the boys +were invisible from the smack. Familiar as they +were with all the small craft belonging to Polkerran, +they knew at the first glance, in spite of the dim +light, that the smack was a stranger.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She's not Cornish," said Dick, taking a long +look at her.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor even English," added Sam. "Maybe a +Frenchman from Rusco, though 'tis early for the +running to begin."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They won't run a cargo at the Cove, surely. +The path up the cliff is too steep, and Joe +Penwarden's cottage too near. I think she's a stranger +that doesn't know the coast."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They watched the smack until she rounded the +headland between them and the Cove, and then +began to row in the opposite direction. They had +just reached the end of the promontory bounding +Trevanion Bay on the north, and had swung round +landward, when, their faces now being toward the +open sea, they saw something that caused them to +pause in mid-stroke. Perhaps a mile in the offing +like a phantom barque in the quivering radiance of +the moonlight, lay a large three-masted vessel with +sails aback. Through the still air came the sound +of creaking tackle, and the boys, resting on their +oars, saw a boat lowered, and then another, which +pulled off in the same direction as the smack.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This be some jiggery, Maister Dick," said Sam. +"Do 'ee think, now, it be Boney come spying for a +place to land?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Those were the days when the imminence of a +French invasion kept the people of the southern +counties in a constant state of alarm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Boney wouldn't come to this coast," replied +Dick. "He wouldn't risk his flat boats round the +Lizard. No; he'll make some lonely quiet spot on +the south coast; Boney won't trouble us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, daze me if I can make head or tail o't," +said Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Pull in a bit, so that we can see without being +seen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>From the shadowed headland they watched in +silence. The boats had scarcely gone a third of a +mile across the bay when a shrill whistle cleft the +air. They at once put about, returned to the larger +vessel, and were hoisted in, whereupon the ship made +sail, and in the course of ten or fifteen minutes +disappeared into the darkness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There be queer things a-doing, I b'lieve," said +Sam, while the vessel was still in sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe," rejoined Dick, "but we don't know. +Don't speak a word of it till I give you leave, Sam. +'Tis a matter for Mr. Mildmay if any one."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Zackly. I can keep a still tongue with any +man; and now seems to I we'd best go home-along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He dipped the oars, and pulled, not towards the +Beal, beyond which lay the village, but towards the +head of Trevanion Bay. It was now high-water. +Below the cliff only a narrow stretch of white sand +was visible. Within ten yards of this beach Sam +shipped oars, and the boat was carried along until its +nose stuck in the sand. Both the boys then sprang +out, and dragged their craft up to the base of the +cliff beyond high-water mark.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis lucky tide be high," said Sam, wiping his +brow with the back of his hand, "for 'tis a hot night, +and old boat be desp'rate heavy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, she's both heavy and old," said Dick, as +he secured her to a post driven deep into the sand. +"She's a good deal older than you or I, Sam."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, true, and Feyther have give her more knocks +than he've give me. You can see his marks on her, +but you can't see 'em on me—hee! hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick laughed. Many a time had the planks been +repaired by old Reuben Pollex, the signs of whose +rough and ready handiwork were easily discoverable.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Carrying his tackle, Dick ordered Sam to bring +the bass, and led the way along a steep path that +zigzagged up the face of the cliff, being soon hidden +from the sea by knobs and corners of rock. It was +a toilsome climb; the cliff was two hundred feet +high, but the windings made the path three times as +long. When they reached the top, Sam found it +necessary once more to wipe his brow; then followed +his young master across a stretch of coarse bent +towards a large building, mistily lit by the +moonbeams, about a hundred yards distant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Towers, at one time a manor house of no +little importance, was now in the stage of decrepitude. +It had been for centuries in the possession of the +Trevanions, who, in the time of King Charles I., had +been a family of great wealth and influence, owning +estates, it was said, in three counties. But the squire +of that time had sold part of his property to provide +money for the King, whose cause he espoused with +unselfish loyalty, and from that time the family +fortunes had gradually declined, partly through the +recklessness of certain of the owners, partly through +sheer ill-luck. For many years wealth had been +drawn from tin and copper mines beneath the surface, +parts of whose apparatus, in the shape of ruined +sheds, scaffoldings, pipes, conduits, broken chains, +strewed the ground in desolate abandonment. In +the early manhood of the present squire, Dick's +father, the lodes had shown signs of exhaustion, and +Mr. Trevanion, wishing to keep the mines going as +much for the sake of the miners as for his own +interest, had spent large sums on opening up new +workings, which proved unprofitable. He had +mortgaged acre after acre in this fierce struggle with +misfortune, having more than his share of the +doggedness of his race; but all his efforts were +fruitless; the mines were closed and the men +dismissed; and the Squire himself at last had no +property unencumbered except the land on which the +Towers stood, and the barren cliff between the house +and the end of the promontory, almost worthless +save for the little grazing it afforded.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>To this he had clung with grim tenacity. He +was often hard put to it to pay the interest on his +mortgages as it became due; his little household, +consisting now only of himself, his wife and son, and +the two Pollexes, often had barely enough to eat; +many a time he was tempted to raise money on the +little remnant of his property; but for long years, +as often as the temptation came, he had resisted it. +Though he would not admit the fact, even to +himself, superstition had a good deal to do with his +determination. He scoffed at the country folks' +belief in omens and witches, and professed to think +nothing of an old motto which had attached to his +family for near a hundred and fifty years. In the +reign of Charles II., when the Trevanions owned +estates not only in Cornwall, but the adjoining +counties, the spendthrift whose extravagance had +been a partial cause of their ruin had, at some crisis +in his affairs, consulted a wise woman who lived +alone in a little cottage on the moor. He brought +nothing from his interview with her but the couplet:</span></p> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="line"><span>Trevanion, whate'er thy fortune be,</span></div> +<div class="line"><span>Hold fast the rock by the western sea.</span></div> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Like his forefathers, Roger Trevanion derided the +witch's counsel, but, like them, too, he had "held +fast" until, a year before the opening of our story, +he had been forced to relax his grip. Now every +rood of the land, to the uttermost extremity of the +Beal, was in the hands of mortgagees, and the +dread of foreclosure weighed on the Squire like a +nightmare.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Towers had been allowed to fall into decay. +Only one wing was now inhabited; the remainder +was ruinous, and for the most part roofless. In the +south wing lived the Squire, now past fifty years of +age, his wife, a few years younger, and Dick, their +only son. Their sole attendants were Reuben +Pollex, a widower, who had grown up from boyhood +with the Squire, and steadily refused to leave +him, and his boy Sam. These two did all the +household work, grew vegetables, bred poultry and +pigs, the sale of which, together with the small sums +obtained by letting to neighbouring farmers the +grazing rights of the cliff, was all that kept the +family from abject poverty. Dick himself was, to a +large extent, the family provider. With Sam's help +he snared rabbits, shot wild fowl, and fished along +the coast. His bronzed skin and hard flesh bespoke +an active life in the open air, and as he went about +in his jersey, rough breeches, and long boots, he +would scarcely have been distinguishable from the +fisher lads of the village but for a certain springiness +of gait and a look of refinement and thoughtfulness.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Dick and his companion hastened towards the +south wing, where an unusually bright light in one +of the lower rooms proclaimed that the Squire had +company. While Sam took the fish, which turned +out to be a fine fourteen-pounder, into the kitchen, +Dick changed his boots, washed his hands, and +entered the living-room. His father sat at the head +of the table, his mother at the foot; between them +was a man of about the Squire's age, dressed in a blue +coat with brass buttons, with "seaman" written on +every inch of him. The table was covered with a +spotless but much-darned cloth; the only viands +were a loaf of bread and half a cheese. A large +brown jug contained ale brewed in the family +brew-house by old Pollex.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Dick, how late you are!" said his +mother. "We are just going to begin supper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Better put it off for a few minutes, Mother. +I've brought home a fine bass. How d'ye do, +Mr. Mildmay?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, Dick, glad to see you, my boy! Good +fishing to-night, eh?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"One catch after two hours, sir," replied Dick. +"The weather's too fine, I suppose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Shall we wait, Mr. Mildmay?" asked his hostess.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"As you please, ma'am."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Mildmay, a naval lieutenant, now in +command of a revenue cutter, knew very well by the +expression of the lady's face that the postponement +of the meal was welcome to her. He was an old +friend of the Squire's—a messmate indeed, for +Mr. Trevanion had served for a few years in the Navy; +and his acquaintance with the penury of the household +had neither diminished his friendship nor +damped the cordiality of the Squire's welcome. In +these days there were few visitors to the Towers, and +those who came knew what they had to expect in the +way of entertainment. Such as might have looked +merely for the satisfaction of the inner man had +long since ceased to call. Mr. Mildmay could have +supped contentedly on bread and cheese. The +meagreness of the fare would have troubled +Mrs. Trevanion the most, and the look upon her face +told Dick how welcome was his addition to it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went into the kitchen to see how Sam was +getting on, and soon returned with a portion of the +fish broiled and garnished with herbs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"As fine a bit of fish as I've tasted," said +Mr. Mildmay, "and well cooked, upon my word."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am glad you like it," said Mrs. Trevanion, +giving Dick privately an approving smile.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll soon be hard at work, I suppose, sir," +said Dick to the lieutenant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, no doubt I shall have a merry winter. +But I wish the Commissioners would make better +arrangements on land. What can I do, with miles +of coast to keep an eye on? One riding-officer and +a few old excisemen here and there! I can't be +everywhere."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why don't they, sir?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because every man of muscle is snapped up by +the press-gang or the recruiters. Upon my word, I +wish Boney would come, if he is coming. When he +has had his walloping there'll be a little time to +attend to our proper concerns. As it is, with this +eternal war going on, the free-traders play ducks +and drakes with law and ordinances."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire said nothing. His attitude to +smuggling was one of neutrality. His training in +the Navy made him in general adverse to the +contraband trade; but there was a time, not very +long since, when the owners of the Towers were +actively engaged in it, or at least accessory to it, and +the landowners along the coast regarded it with +sympathy, open or secret. Indeed, it is probable +that the cask of brandy in Mr. Trevanion's own +cellar had never paid duty to the Crown, and old +Reuben Pollex, who loved his "dish of tay," would +certainly not have been able to enjoy it in that time +of high prices unless he had known a little back room +in Polkerran where it was easy to slip in and out +secretly, and without the knowledge of the exciseman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The smugglers are getting bolder and bolder, +confound 'em," Mr. Mildmay went on. "With the +land force so weak, what's the result? If I'm called +to a spot, ten to one by a trick, I must leave the rest +of the coast unguarded. As you know, the only man +permanently in this neighbourhood is old Penwarden, +who is zealous enough, but not so active as a younger +man would be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, poor man," said Mrs. Trevanion. "He +has often said to me that he fears the Government +will replace him. He will cling to his duty as long +as he can for the sake of his old sister. You know +he supports her, in Truro, Mr. Mildmay."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know it, and I'm not the man to put him out +of a job, though one of these days a Commissioner +of Customs will make his appearance, and then I'll +get a wigging."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All this while Dick had been considering whether +he ought to tell the lieutenant about the strange +vessels he had seen. He knew that smuggling was +the only matter on which there was a certain +constraint between his father and Mr. Mildmay. It +was tacitly understood between them that the Squire +would not round on the smugglers. On the other +hand, the revenue officer knew that anything he told +the Squire would be perfectly safe with him. He +therefore discussed the subject quite openly with +his old messmate, though, like a wise general, he +never spoke about any plans that he had in view.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick made up his mind to say nothing. The +lieutenant's cutter was lying in the little harbour, +and if he mentioned what he had seen, Mr. Mildmay +would certainly hurry away and sail in chase of the +stranger. What the Squire would not do, his son +could not. But he had scarcely come to this +decision when matters took an unexpected turn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By the way, Squire," said the lieutenant, "I've +just heard from Plymouth that the </span><em class="italics">Aimable +Vertu</em><span>—precious fine name for a rascally privateer—is +showing herself very active in the Channel. She made +two captures last week, and was sighted two days +ago off Falmouth, where a barque only just managed +to escape her. She's said to be a vessel of +extraordinary speed. The Government would give a +good deal to catch her and hang her captain, that +daredevil Frenchman, Delarousse; but it's with +privateers as it is with smugglers: we can't be +everywhere at once, and while we're fighting the +French on the high seas, I suppose our home waters +must be left to the enemy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This led to an exchange of reminiscences of +privateer-hunting during the American war, when +both were young in the service. Meanwhile Dick +felt uncomfortable. What if the larger vessel he +had lately seen was this very privateer, the </span><em class="italics">Aimable +Vertu</em><span>? In that case it was no question of +smuggling, but of piracy. He felt that he ought +at least to mention the matter, yet hesitated to speak +without consulting his father. By-and-by there +came an opportunity of speaking to him privately. +While Mr. Mildmay was conversing with +Mrs. Trevanion, Dick slipped to the Squire's side and +told him in a sentence or two what he had seen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mildmay," cried the Squire, "hark to this. +Dick tells me that an hour or more ago he saw a +strange three-master in the bay. She lowered a +couple of boats, but recalled 'em, and sailed away +westward. D'ye think she's the privateer?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dash my bones, Dick," cried the lieutenant, +starting up, "why on earth didn't you speak +before? Oh! I see—I see; I won't reproach you; +but I'll be as mad as a hatter if 'tis the rascal and +she gets away. Good night to you all; you'll +excuse me, Mrs. Trevanion. Oh, you young dog!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He shook his fist at Dick, and hurried from the room.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="john-trevanion-returns-home"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE SECOND</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">John Trevanion Returns Home</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>About half-an-hour before Mr. Mildmay left the +Squire's supper-table so hurriedly, a man laboured +up the last few feet of the winding path leading +from the beach of St. Cuby's Cove to the cliff-top, +which he gained at a point rather more than +half-a-mile from the spot where Dick and Sam had +previously ascended. He was a tall man, his build +and figure indicating a capacity for lithe and rapid +movement, so that the heaviness of his gait was +probably due solely to the size and weight of the +leathern trunk he carried. Like Sam Pollex, he +paused for a moment on reaching the top to recover +his breath and mop his brow; then, shouldering his +trunk, he struck into a narrow footpath that led over +the cliff. It branched into two after a few yards, the +right-hand branch going direct to the Towers, the +left-hand running away from the sea to join a rough, +ill-made road which led past the gate of the Towers +to the village.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On reaching the fork the pedestrian did not +hesitate, as a stranger might have done, but took the +left-hand path. After proceeding a few steps along +it, however, he made a sudden half-turn, and stopped, +looking across the open ground towards the Towers, +where one room on the ground floor made a patch +of light against the dark background of sky and sea. +The man stood but a moment, then resumed his +march along the path in the same direction as before. +A smile wreathed his lips, and he muttered to +himself. He went on at a smart pace over the level +ground, turned to the right when he came to the +road, passed the Towers' gates, which he observed +were broken, and walked for another quarter of a +mile before he again halted. Then he set his burden +down by the roadside, sat upon it, and wiped his +heated face, where the smile had been replaced by a +frown.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I daresay I'm a fool," he muttered in a growling +undertone. "Why did I chafe and gall myself with +carrying this plaguey trunk? However, maybe +'tis best."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While he was still resting, he heard footsteps upon +his right hand, and looked round quickly. The moon +was up, and he saw a young fisherman rolling along +a path that ran into the road a few paces distant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahoy, there!" cried the traveller in a deep and +mellow voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The fisherman, who had not as yet perceived him, +came to a sudden stop as the silence of the night +was broken thus unexpectedly and so near at hand; +then, catching sight of the figure on the trunk, he +slipped off the path on to the grass and began to +run.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahoy, there! What ails you?" cried the man. +"D'you want to earn a groat?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Reassured, apparently, at the mention of so +material a thing as a groat, the fisherman turned and +came slowly towards the speaker.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you think I was a ghost?" the stranger +went on with a laugh. "I want you to carry this +trunk to the village, and I'll give you a groat for +your pains."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll do it, maister," replied the fisher, shouldering +the trunk. "But ye give me a fright, that ye did."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, you never saw a ghost with a brown face, +and a black hat, and a blue coat, not to speak of +brown breeches and long boots, did you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't say I did, but the neighbours do say +there be ghosteses up-along by St. Cuby's Well. +Maybe yer a furriner, maister?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no; I'm good Cornish like yourself," +replied the man, who knew that to Cornishmen all +who lived beyond the borders of the duchy were +accounted foreigners.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I can see plain ye be a high person, and +jown me if I know why ye carry yer own bag and +traipse afoot, instead o' coming a-horseback, or in a +po'chay."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The traveller shot a glance at the lad. He saw a +rugged profile, a brow on which thought had carved +no furrows, a half-open mouth: the physiognomy +of a simple countryman. Then, after a scarcely +perceptible pause, he said:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I hate close folks who make a secret of +everything, so I'll tell you. I got a lift in a +travelling wagon from Newquay, but the wretch that drove +it was bound for Truro, and point-blank refused to +bring me farther than the cross-roads a couple of +miles back. So now you know, my man, and I +daresay you could tell a stranger what I've told you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure and sartin. You be come from Newquay +in a wagon, and when ye got to cross-roads driver +said he'd be jowned if he'd carr' 'ee a step furder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have it pat; and now step out; 'tis getting +latish."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They proceeded along the silent road at a good +pace toward the village, the traveller dropping a +remark now and then from which the fisherman +understood that he was not a complete stranger to +the district. Just as they reached a spot where the +road dipped somewhat steeply, there were sounds of +rapid footsteps behind them, and in a few moments +two men came up, one Mr. Mildmay, the revenue +officer, the other an old weather-beaten fellow in +seaman's clothes. He wore a black shade over his +right eye, and the unnaturally short distance between +his nose and the tip of his chin showed that he had +lost his teeth. This was Joe Penwarden, the veteran +exciseman who had been mentioned at Squire +Trevanion's supper-table. On leaving the Towers, +Mr. Mildmay had gone first to the right, and fetched +Penwarden from his little cottage on the cliff, +and then retraced his steps through the Squire's +grounds. Had he been a few minutes earlier, +he could hardly have failed to see the pedestrian +trudging with his trunk on his shoulder along +the path that ran a score of yards from Penwarden's +cottage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Halt, in the King's name!" cried Mr. Mildmay, +as he overtook the two men who had preceded him +along the road.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 93%" id="figure-84"> +<span id="halt-in-the-king-s-name-cried-mr-mildmay"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'HALT, IN THE KING'S NAME!' CRIED MR. MILDMAY"" src="images/img-026.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"'HALT, IN THE KING'S NAME!' CRIED MR. MILDMAY"</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll halt if 'ee bid me in the King's name," said +the fisher, recognising the revenue officer, whom he, +like the population of Polkerran generally, held in +detestation mingled with unwilling respect, "but I +bean't doin' nowt agen the law, I tell 'ee, carr'in' a +genel'um's traps for a groat."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A gentleman, is it?" said Mr. Mildmay, turning +to the traveller. "I must ask you to tell me your +business."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you shall have an answer. I come from +Newquay, and am going to seek a night's lodging +at the Five Pilchards, if you have no objection, +captain."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Mildmay looked suspiciously at the speaker, +whose accent was that of an educated man. He was +not the type of person to meet afoot with his trunk +on the high road. Old Penwarden's single eye also +was fixed on the stranger's swarthy, bearded face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No more objection, my dear sir, than you will +have to my taking a look at the inside of that trunk +of yours. In the King's name!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"With all the pleasure in life. Amos, or +whatever your name is, set down the trunk for the +inspection of this exceedingly zealous officer of His +Majesty's."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The trunk was opened, and Penwarden turned +over its contents, Mr. Mildmay looking on. He +found articles of apparel, a sword, some bundles of +papers, a bag of money, a large leather-bound book, +a brace of pistols, and sundry insignificant articles, +none of which was chargeable with duty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you, sir," said Mr. Mildmay, when the +inspection was concluded. "I am sorry to have +detained you, but in these times——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite so, captain," interrupted the other. "In +these times one cannot be too particular. I bid +you good-night, and better luck at your next +examination."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Mildmay hurried on with Penwarden, and +was soon lost to sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who's that popinjay?" said the traveller, when +the lieutenant was out of hearing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That be Maister Mildmay, the preventive officer, +and a dratted furriner," replied the fisher. "He've +been in these parts two years now, and a meddlesome +feller he be too. Hee! hee! He got nowt +for his pains this time, maister, and if there's one +thing I do like to see, 'tis the preventives fooled. +Hee! hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Old Penwarden looks the same as ever, except +for the shade over his eye."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee know him, maister?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I used to, years ago."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, old Joe be a decent good soul of his trade, +and we was vexed, trewly, when 'a got his eye put +out in a fight by Lunnan Cove. But there, he +shouldn' meddle with honest free-traders. +Lawk-a-massy! I be speakin' free."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you're quite safe with me. I'm a bit of a +free-trader myself, in my way."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They went on, and in a few minutes came to an +inn at the lower end of the village near the beach. +This was the Five Pilchards. The village boasted +another inn, a hundred yards away, called the Three +Jolly Mariners; but it belied its name, being +frequented mainly by farm labourers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The traveller paid and dismissed the fisher, and +rapped at the closed door. It was opened by the +innkeeper himself, a podgy, red-nosed, blear-eyed +fellow, with an underhung lip, and a chin like a +dewlap. A small candle-lamp hung above in the +doorway, showing a dim yellow ray upon the +smiling face of the visitor. The innkeeper started +back.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I startled you, eh?" said the visitor. "Yes, it +is I myself—John Trevanion come home again. +I am getting on in years, Doubledick, and I felt +I should like to die among my friends."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha, ha! Ho, ho!" laughed the innkeeper. +"'Tis Maister John, for sure, come home with his +little jokes. Come along in, maister, come in; daze +me if I bean't as pleased as pigs to see 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Take me to a room, Doubledick, and get some +clean sheets, will you? And send me up something +passable to eat and drink; I'll sup alone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sure. I'll give 'ee the best I've got in the +house. What do 'ee say, now, to collops and fried +taties, or a nice bit o' bass, or a dish o' pickled +pilchurs, and some real old—you know what, Maister +John? Hee, hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Whatever you like, Doubledick, only be quick +about it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The innkeeper led his visitor along a passage past +the open door of the bar-parlour. John Trevanion +glanced in as he went by. A number of rough +fishermen in various garments sat drinking on settles +along the wall. The most noticeable among them +was a man of vast breadth, brawny and muscular, his +strong features tanned copper-colour by years of +sea-faring, his thick hair and beard the hue of ebony. +The sleeves of his scarlet jersey were turned up, +revealing brown and hairy forearms that would +have befitted a Hercules.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tonkin is still flourishing, I see," said Trevanion +in an undertone to the innkeeper as he passed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, Zacky Tonkin be as great a man as ever he +wer, and a tarrible plague o' life to the preventives. +Mr. Curgenven—ye mind of him, Maister +John?—died two year back, and they sent a furrin feller, +Mildmay by name, to look arter us mortals—hee! hee! +He be a good feller at his job, a sight better +than Curgenven, who loved an easy life, as 'ee could +remember; but Zacky do know how to deal wi' un, +he do so. Oh, 'tis a rare deceivin' game he plays +wi' un. He's up-along and down-along, and this +Mildmay feller atraipsin' arter un, by sea and land, +'tis all one to Zacky. Here's yer room, Maister +John. Do 'ee set yerself down and I'll bring 'ee +up a supper fit for a lord in no time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at his visitor doubtfully for a moment.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd axe 'ee one thing," he said. "Be I to let +'em know down below as you be in house?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To be sure, Doubledick, there's nothing to +conceal. You might remember to say that I've come +from London—no, hang me, I am forgetting; from +Newquay directly, from London ultimately. You +understand?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I understand. No matter where 'ee come +from, if 'twere from old Nick hisself, they'll be glad +to see 'ee, that they will."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>John Trevanion kept to his room until the +morning. At nine o'clock he left the inn and made +his way through the village by back lanes, to escape +the notice of such fishermen as might remember +him, and proceeded at a quick pace along the road +to the Towers. He was dressed this morning in a +black hat turned up at one side with a rosette, a +bottle-green frock coat, white kerseymere breeches, +and long boots. "He looks summat older and +nearer graveyard, as must we all," remarked +Doubledick to a crony as he watched him depart, +"but he's a fine figure of a man still."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Arriving at the Towers, John Trevanion lifted the +latch of the door leading to the inhabited portion, +and entered with the freedom of one of the family. +The Squire was at breakfast with his wife and son.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come in," he shouted, in answer to a tap on the +door, and rose from his chair as the well-dressed +visitor entered, thinking, as might have been +gathered from his manner, that it was one of the +few friends who had the freedom of the house. +But at a second glance his demeanour altered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You have made a mistake, I think," he said +stiffly, resting both hands on the table. His fine +face was flushed, and Dick, looking on in wonderment, +noticed that the riband that bound his queue +of grey hair was quivering.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Surely, Cousin Roger, you'll let bygones be +bygones," said John Trevanion suavely. "'Tis +now—I don't know how many years ago."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"When I last saw you, sir, I bade you never +enter my door again. I do not call back my words, +and see no reason to do so. You will oblige me by +relieving me of your presence."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The words came sternly from his trembling lips. +Dick felt himself go hot and cold.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is there no word repentance in your dictionary, +Roger Trevanion?" said his cousin bitterly. +"You're a good Christian, I suppose—go to church +and say the Commandments, 'love your neighbour,' +and all that; but you'll harden your heart against +one of your own kin that had the ill-luck to offend +you——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stop!" thundered the Squire. "The offence +to me I make nothing of; you have shamed your +name and put yourself beyond the pale of honest +men. 'Ill-luck,' you call it! 'Twas no +ill-luck—though we Trevanions have enough of that, God +knows!—but the act and nature of a scoundrel. I +am ashamed you bear my name. I disown you. +Take yourself out of my sight."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His wife laid a gentle hand on his arm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A pretty welcome, on my soul, for a man who +has lived down the faults of his youth," said John +Trevanion. "I tell you, Roger Trevanion, I will +not put up with such usage—I will not! I don't +want your forgiveness; a fig for your friendship! +But I demand decent treatment from you, and——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By the Lord that made me," cried the Squire, +"if you do not instantly remove yourself from this +house I will have you thrown out. Do you hear +me, sir?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>John Trevanion's eyes glittered as he returned +his cousin's wrathful look. He half opened his +mouth, closed it with a snap; then an inscrutable +smile stole upon his face. He shrugged, turned on +his heel, and went silently from the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire sank into his chair. The flush had +vanished from his face, leaving it ashy pale. His +hands trembled with excess of indignation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear, calm yourself," said his wife soothingly. +"He is gone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He made no reply. Dick sat silent, every nerve +tingling with excitement. In a minute his father +rose, leaving his coffee half finished, and strode +heavily from the room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother, what does it mean?" asked Dick +breathlessly. "Was that cousin John?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, my dear. Do not name him to your +father. I will go to him; I fear he will be ill. +Finish your breakfast, Dick, and go to the Parsonage. +You had better stay there all day; Mr. Carlyon will +give you some dinner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>She followed her husband, leaving Dick to his +breakfast and his wondering thoughts. He faintly +remembered his cousin John Trevanion, who ten +years before had lived in the now empty Dower +House, between the Towers and the village, as his +father had done before him. John Trevanion had +then been a gay, careless, happy-go-lucky young +man of thirty, who lived on the Squire's bounty, +riding his horse among the county yeomanry, +hunting with his neighbours, roistering it with the +most rakish young blades of the adjacent manors, +joining in daredevil escapades with the smugglers. +His antics and riotings became a byword in the +country-side, and Dick remembered how, when a +young boy, he had witnessed several violent scenes +between his father and John after some particularly +outrageous exploit. Old Pollex had told him that +the Squire had threatened many times that unless +John reformed he would no longer be allowed to +occupy the Dower House, and had forgiven him +over and over again. At last a day came when John +disappeared. Dick had never learnt the true reason; +the Squire never mentioned his cousin; Pollex, +when questioned, shook his head and pursed up his +lips, and said that John Trevanion was a villain; +and Dick had formed the conclusion from stray +hints that the ne'er-do-well cousin had been driven +out of the country by some criminal act. For ten +years he had not been heard of, and he had wholly +slipped from Dick's thoughts.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having finished his breakfast, Dick took his cap +and set off for his two-mile walk to the Parsonage, +where he went daily to receive lessons in classics and +literature from Mr. Carlyon, the vicar. He had +never been to school, his father's resources being +incapable of bearing the expense. A few years +before this time the Squire had been seriously +disturbed about his son's education. He was himself +a sufficiently competent tutor in mathematics, but +what classics he ever had had wholly left him, and +he was miserable in the thought that the boy was +growing up without the elements of the education of +a gentleman. At this point the vicar stepped in +with a proposal. He was a liberal-minded, genial +man, a fellow of his college, a student of his county's +antiquities, and in his 'varsity days had been a notable +athlete. Now, though well on in years, he would +often, on a Sunday afternoon after church, lend his +countenance to wrestling bouts and games of baseball +among the village youths. He rode to hounds, and +judged at coursing matches, these and similar +avocations probably accounting for the fact that a history +of the parish, which he had commenced twenty years +before, was still unfinished. One day he suggested +to the Squire that he should give Dick lessons in +Latin and Greek, to keep himself from rusting, as the +worthy man delicately put it, but really to make good +the deficiency due to his friend's straitened means. +Mr. Trevanion gladly accepted the offer, and Dick +had now been for five years under the parson's capable +tuition.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Dick returned home in the evening he +was met by Sam Pollex in a state of considerable +excitement.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I say, Maister Dick," he said, "this be a fine +mossel o' news. Yer cousin John—a rare bad 'un +he be—have come home-along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know," replied Dick. "I've seen him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have 'ee, for sure? I hain't seed un, but I +heerd tell on un in village. Ike Pendry were goin' +along road last night when up comes my genel'um +and axed un to carr' his bundle for a groat. He +wer traipsin' along from St. Cuby's Cove way, about +an hour, it do seem, arter we come up from fishin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where had he come from?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Newquay, 'a said; but 'tis my belief he come out +o' the smack we seed, and clomb the cliff, same as we."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's nonsense. He wouldn't come in a +smack, and if he did he wouldn't land at the Cove. +He has made no secret of his return, and there's no +reason why he shouldn't land at the jetty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, well, things be as they be; but I reckon he +come in the smack, all the same."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is he doing in the village?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He bean't there no longer. This arternoon he +packed up his traps and rid off on one of Doubledick's +hosses to Trura. Feyther seed un go. 'A +called to un as he rid by. 'Hoy, Reuben!' says +he, ''tis a cold country, this!' That just 'mazed +Feyther, 'cos it was a frizzlin' day. 'Spect he've been +in furrin parts, wheer what's bilin' to we is nawthin' +but chill-off to they. So 'tis, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this piece of news Dick felt much relieved. +He hoped that Polkerran had seen the last of John +Trevanion. But it turned out that the return of the +native was only the first scene in a series of strange +happenings that were to be long remembered in the +village, and were vitally to affect the fortunes of the +family at the Towers.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-blow-falls"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE THIRD</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Blow Falls</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>For some days after the event just related, life +at Polkerran and the neighbourhood flowed on its +customary sluggish tide. The fishermen were idle, +waiting for pilchards to appear off the coast. The +harvest had been gathered in from the fields. There +was little for the village folk to do except to gossip. +Men gathered in knots on the jetty and at the +inn-doors, chatting about the return of John Trevanion, +the strange vessels that had been seen, and the +revenue cutter's failure to catch them, the +appearance of a ghost at St. Cuby's Well, the prospects +of the fishing season, the chances of making good +"runs," and besting Mr. Mildmay and the +excisemen. At the Towers there was nothing to show +that anything had happened to disturb the placid +surface of existence, except that the Squire was more +silent than usual, and went about with a pale face +and a preoccupied and troubled look.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One afternoon, after the lapse of about a week, +Dick, leaving the Parsonage after his daily lessons, +was surprised to see his father approaching across +the glebe. The Squire was on foot: his last horse +had been sold long ago.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha, Dick!" he said, as he met his son, "you +have finished with Greeks and Romans for the day, +then. I have come for a word with the parson. +Shall be home to supper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went on, and his father entered the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, Trevanion, I am glad to see you," said +Mr. Carlyon, cordially, his keen eyes not failing to +note a certain gravity in his old friend's expression.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I want your advice, Carlyon," said Mr. Trevanion +abruptly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you shall have the best I can give, as you +know well. Come into the garden and smoke a +pipe with me. Good, honest tobacco, even if 'tis +contraband—and I can't swear to that—will do no +harm to you or me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When they were seated side by side in wide +wicker chairs beneath the shade of an elm-tree, the +Squire drew from his pocket a folded paper which +had been sealed at the edges.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Read that," he said, handing it to the vicar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Carlyon carefully rubbed his spectacles, set +them on his nose with deliberation, and slowly +opened the paper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"H'm! God bless my soul! Poor old +Trevanion!" he murmured, as he read, unconscious +that his words were audible. "This is bad +news, Trevanion," he said, aloud, looking over the +rims of his spectacles with grave concern.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is. It is the very worst," said the Squire, +gloomily. "It is the end of things for me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no; don't say that. Every cloud has a +silver lining."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A musty proverb, Carlyon. You don't see the +silver lining in a thunderstorm, and it doesn't keep +your skin dry. This spells ruin, ruin irretrievable."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The parson pressed his lips together, and read the +document again. It was a brief intimation from a +Truro attorney of his client's intention to foreclose +on the mortgages he held upon certain parcels of +land, if the sums advanced on them were not repaid +within a month from that date.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is not your own man?" said the parson.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. I never heard of him before."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is the extent of the obligation?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Two thousand pounds. I can't muster as many +shillings. I am in arrear with the interest. Within +a month we shall be in the poor-house—a noble end +for Trevanion of the Towers!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tut, tut! You take too black a view of things. +'I have been young, and now am old; yet have I +not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging +bread.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But I have, and so have you, Carlyon. I see +things as they are. 'Tis no surprise to me; these +many months I have felt the blow might fall at +any moment; but the condemned man hopes to the +last for a reprieve, and I have gone from day to day, +like a weakling and simpleton, refusing to face the +facts. Not that I could have done anything; I am +bankrupt; there's no way out of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who holds the mortgages?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sir Bevil Portharvan. I have nothing to say +against him. He has been very patient. A man of +business would have foreclosed long ago, though he +would have got little by it, for the mines are worked +out, the Towers is a ruin, and the land will grow +next to nothing but thistles and burdock. 'Twas +to be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But he can't take the Towers from you. Do +you not hold fast to that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I did till a year ago, but there's a small bond on +that now—a paltry hundred pounds; I could raise +no more on it and the cliff. Sir Bevil does not hold +that, however; 'tis my own lawyer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The parson sawed the air with his hand, a trick of +his when perplexed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, old friend," he said, "I am sorry for +you, from the bottom of my heart. If I had the +money, I would gladly lend it you, but 'passing +rich on forty pound a year,' you know——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know well. 'Tis not for that I come to you. +Give me your advice. What can I do? I must +leave the Towers; what can I do for a livelihood? +Like the man in the Book, 'I cannot dig; to beg I +am ashamed.' What a miserable fool I was to throw +up the sea when I came into the property! And +yet I don't know. Look at Mildmay; a year or +two younger, 'tis true, but still a lieutenant, and +thought fit for nothing better than to chase luggers +and circumvent the trade. I've no interest with the +Admiralty; they've enough to do to provide for the +seamen invalided from the wars. What can an old +fool past fifty do to earn his salt? Years ago I had +my dreams of paying off the burdens and reviving +the Trevanion fortunes; but they have long since +vanished into thin air; the task needed a better +head than mine. And what little chance I might +have had was doomed by the misdeeds of that +scoundrel cousin of mine——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I heard that he reappeared the other day. I +hoped it was not true."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas true. He had the boldness, the effrontery, +to come to me with his 'let bygones be bygones,' +and sneering at my Christianity. You know the facts, +Carlyon. You know how, but that I impoverished +myself, he would to this day be in the hulks or +slaving in the plantations. I was too tender, I was +indeed. I ought to have let the law take its course, +and put my pride in my pocket. 'Twas a weakness, +I own it; and now 'tis time to take my payment."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, my good friend, you did right to keep your +name unstained. But I wonder, indeed I do, that +John Trevanion has dared to show his face here +again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, 'tis no wonder," said the Squire bitterly. +"No one knew of his crime but three, you and I +and John Hammond; only Hammond had proof of +it, and he is dead. My worthless cousin learnt of +his death, I warrant you; the Devil has quick +couriers for such as he; and he comes back, relying +on my weakness and your holiness. But I'll speak +no more of him; he is gone, and I hope I shall +never see him again. There's my boy Dick: what +is to become of him? He is seventeen; he ought +to be making his way in the world. I can't put him +to a profession; I keep him at home drudging for +us; and but for your kindness, Carlyon, he would +be as ignorant and raw as the meanest farm-hind. +'Tis not right; 'tis cruelty to the lad; and he will +live to curse the day he was born a Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come, this is not like you, Squire," said +Mr. Carlyon warmly. "The lad is doing very well. +He lives an open, honest life, and a useful one. +What if his hands are horny? He makes good +progress with his books, too, and will be fit in a year +or two to win a sizarship at Oxford, and he will do +well there, take orders, or maybe become secretary +to some great person. You need fear nothing for +Dick. No; 'tis for yourself and your good wife we +must think. And now let us put our heads together. +What say you to visiting Sir Bevil, and seeking +further grace? I will myself undertake the office."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never!" cried the Squire firmly. "I will +have no man supplicating and beseeching on my +behalf. No; let what must come, come; never +will I whine and grovel for mercy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are an obstinate old fool, Roger Trevanion," +said the parson, laying a friendly hand on the other's +arm. "But I own I sympathise with your feeling. +Well, then, my counsel is—and you may scorn it—do +nothing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Simply wait. The foreclosure must come, I see +that; but the other mortgagee has not moved; you +will still have a roof above you; you make no +profit of the mortgaged lands, and so will be not a +whit worse off than you are now, save in the one +point of pride. That pride of yours has been your +snare, Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well I know it!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't preach, except on Sundays, but I believe +in my heart that this trouble will turn out for your +good. Hold fast your rock, old friend; 'twas +sound advice, even though it came from a witch. +No man can give you better, and I am superstitious +enough to believe that while you follow it the +Trevanions will not come to beggary."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two friends sat talking for some time longer. +When the Squire rose to go away, he said—</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I thank you, Carlyon. You have done me +good. I see nothing but darkness ahead, but I'll +take your advice; I'll stick to the ship, and keep +my colours flying, and who knows?—perhaps I shall +weather it out after all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They shook hands and parted, and the parson +returned to his study to read over an ode of Horace +in readiness for Dick's lesson next day.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After his conversation with Mr. Carlyon the Squire +recovered his wonted serenity. So cheerful was +he when he told his wife and son what was going to +happen, that they refrained from giving utterance in +his presence to their own feelings on the matter, for +fear of bringing back his gloom. He rode over one +day in the carrier's cart to Truro to pay the interest on +the Towers mortgage with the proceeds of a fine +litter of pigs, and showed his lawyer the letter he had +received from his professional brother.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"An excellent practitioner, sharp as a needle," +said the lawyer. "He came to me a while ago +wanting to purchase the little bond I myself hold; +but I refused him point-blank, and went so far as to +express my surprise at Sir Bevil. He grinned at me, +Mr. Trevanion—yes, grinned at me in the most +unseemly way. 'Twas not Sir Bevil's doing: that +is one comfort."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who bought up the bonds, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That I cannot tell you: I do not know. No +doubt a stranger, who has more money than +judgment. I am sorry for this; I am indeed; and +if there were any chance of getting metal out of the +earth I could have transferred your mortgages with +the greatest ease. As it is—but there, I won't talk +of it. As for my own little bond on the Towers, +that may remain till Doomsday so far as I am +concerned. It would cut me to the heart to see the old +place in the hands of any one but a Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a good fellow, Trevenick," said the Squire, +"and I'm grateful to you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at all, not at all, my dear sir. I am +perfectly satisfied with my investment."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And the Squire returned home more cheerful than +ever, convinced that lawyers were not all as dry as +their parchments.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The allotted month sped away. One afternoon, +when Dick was at the parson's, Sam Pollex ran at +headlong speed up the road from the village, dashed +into the house, and forgetting his manners, burst +into the Squire's room without knocking or wiping +his boots, as he had been strictly enjoined always +to do.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If 'ee please, sir," he panted, "there be a wagon +full of females pulled up at the door o' the Dower +House yonder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed!" said the Squire. "Have you never +seen females before, Sam?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss I have, sometimes, in the village; but these +be furriners, sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, maybe they'll buy your eggs, and that'll +save you three-quarters of your walk to the village."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam went out, looking very much puzzled. What +had brought foreign females to his master's house, +he wondered? Within half an hour he was back +again, this time a little less eager, though equally +excited. He rapped on the door, and being bidden +to enter, said, less breathlessly than before:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If 'ee please, sir, I seed a man on a hoss ride up +to Dower House, and he went inside, sir, and 'twas +Maister John."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who? John who?" The questions came +like pistol-shots.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"His other name be Trevanion, it do seem," said +the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire got up in great agitation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you sure, boy?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir, I bean't sure, 'cos I never seed un +afore; but I axed Tom Penny, who was standing +by, who 'twas, and he said, 'Why, ninny-watch, +doan't 'ee know yer own maister's born cousin? +'Tis the same fine genel'um that give Ike Pendry a +groat for carr'n his portmantel.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then something happened that scared Sam out of +his wits and sent him scampering to the kitchen for +his father.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Feyther, Feyther," he cried, "come quick! +Squire's took bad. 'A went all gashly white and +wambled about, sighin' and groanin' that terrible! +He's dyin', I b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Old Reuben was lame, but he caught up a jug of +water and hobbled with it as fast as he could to the +Squire's room, sending Sam to fetch the mistress. +He found the Squire seated in his chair, with a stony +look upon his ashen face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What ails thee, maister?" cried the terrified +servant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing, nothing, Reuben," replied Mr. Trevanion. +"Don't be afraid, and don't alarm your +mistress."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here Mrs. Trevanion came hastily in, Sam +hanging behind as if afraid to approach too near.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sorry they called you, my dear," said the +Squire. "There is nothing wrong. Leave us, +Reuben."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The old man hobbled away. Mrs. Trevanion +stood by her husband's chair.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I was overcome for a moment, but it has passed," +said the Squire. "John Trevanion is the master of +my lands."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It cannot be, Roger!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is, it is. Sam saw a party of servants drive +to the Dower House, and John himself ride up a +while after."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Roger, I do not understand."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis very simple. He has bought up the +mortgages from Sir Bevil's attorney—'twas hard to +believe that the foreclosure was Sir Bevil's +doing—and has come to mock me and flout me at my own +doors; ay, and to drive me away, if he can!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A penniless man, Roger! You told me he left +here a beggar."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, a beggar, and worse—a thousand times +worse. But that was ten years ago, and in ten +years beggars may become rich, and scoundrels may +tread down many an honest man. But he shall not +tread me down. He may own my land, and fence +me in, and do what he will; but the Towers is +mine, and by heaven I will hold it!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Discretion was one of Mrs. Trevanion's qualities. +Being relieved to find that Sam's alarming report of +the Squire's illness was exaggerated, if not wholly +imaginary, she sought with her wonted tact to divert +her husband's thoughts into a calmer channel, and +soon had him interested in purely domestic matters.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The re-opening of the Dower House was already +the all-engrossing topic of conversation among the +old wives and young wives, fishers, farmers, tradesmen, +loafers and small fry of Polkerran and the +neighbourhood. The "wagon-full of females" of +Sam's kindling eye turned out to be one plump +woman of forty and one slim maid of half that age, +the cook and housemaid whom John Trevanion had +engaged, as afterwards appeared, in a Devonshire +village. On the same day two heavy wagons, each +drawn by four enormous horses, arrived from Truro +with furniture, kitchen utensils, and other things +needed in setting up house, and on the next appeared +a couple of riding-horses in charge of a lively young +groom.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>These important events were retailed and freely +commented on in the tap-room of the Five +Pilchards.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We shall see brave doings up at the old house, +neighbours," said Doubledick, the innkeeper, to the +group of fishermen idling there. "Maister John +is a fine feller, that he be. He were allers the chap +for a randy, and 'twill be a rare change for we to +have some one as will have feastings and merry-makings +arter the miserable cold time we've had wi' +Squire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'A must have a heap o' gold and silver in his +purse to pay for all they fine-lookin' things we seed +goin' in," said one of the men. "Wheer 'd he +get it all from, can 'ee tell us that, neighbour +Doubledick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I might if I put my mind to it," said Doubledick +sententiously. "But it don't matter a mossel +wheer it do come from; there 'tis, and we shall +have the good o't. The lord-lieutenant 'll make un +a magistrate, if I know the ways o' providence, and +I do know summat about 'em, neighbours all; and +if any of 'ee are brought up afore un for a innocent +bit o' free-tradin', he'll not be the man to stretch the +law against 'ee, not he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a terrible affliction for Squire, to be sure," +said another. "There be no loving-kindness 'twixt +'em, if all's true as folks tell, and a dog can't abide +seein' another run off with his bone, that bein' my +simple way of speech."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Squire be goin' down, that's the truth o't," said +Doubledick. "Well, some goes up and some goes +down, and all gets level in churchyard."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam Pollex lost no time in making acquaintance +with the new household. On the day after their +arrival he carried a basket of eggs to the back-door +of the Dower House, and blushed to the roots of his +hair when it was opened by a pretty Devonshire lass, +who smiled sweetly on him, asked him the price, +and said she would speak to Cook.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She will take them," said the girl on her return, +"and bids me say you must come to-morrow and +she'll let 'ee know if any is addled. What be the +name of 'ee, boy?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sam Pollex, ma'am," said Sam sheepishly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where do 'ee live?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Up at Towers, yonder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well I never! Bean't that where Maister's +cousin the Squire lives?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, him and me lives there, and the mistress, +and Feyther, and Maister Dick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Only think of it, now! Squire selling eggs +like a common dairyman!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Squire don't sell 'em; 'tis me, and I take +Mistress the money. Sometimes it come to two or +three shilling a week, but the hens don't lay in +winter, and then I sell sides o' pork and chitterlings."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, run away now, boy—Sam Pollex, did you +say? What a funny name! And mind you don't +lose the money."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam went away all aglow with admiration of the +sweet looks of the maid-servant, and told +Mrs. Trevanion how kindly she had spoken to him. +He was seized with a terrible depression of spirits +when he left his mistress's presence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never go there again to sell eggs, or anything +else, Sam," she said firmly. "Your master will be +very angry with you if he hears of it. Here is the +money. Take it to your father, and mind you never +do such a thing again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam, with a rueful face, told Dick what had +happened.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I should think not, indeed," said Dick indignantly. +"If I catch you going inside the gates of the Dower +House grounds again I'll break your head, young +Sam; you remember it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For several days the Squire scarcely left the house. +Then he happened to meet John Trevanion riding +along the road. The supplanter swept off his hat +with a mocking salutation, but the Squire passed him +without a sign of recognition.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A day or two later Sir Bevil Portharvan, owner of +an estate some miles distant, rode over to the +Towers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, Trevanion," he said to the Squire, "how +d'ye do? 'Tis only yesterday I heard that your +cousin was the purchaser of the bonds I held. It +must be a great comfort to you that the property has +not gone out of the family."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me tell you, once for all, Sir Bevil," cried +the Squire, his cheeks red with anger, "that the +owner of the Dower House is a stranger to me. I will +not speak to him, nor look at him, and I don't care +who knows it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear me, I am sorry," said the astonished visitor. +"I had no idea of it, or, believe me, Trevanion, I +would never——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Enough, Sir Bevil. I have no grudge against +you. You have been very long-suffering; I thank +you for it; but I would have given you my property +rather than it should fall into the hands of its present +owner. I say no more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And Sir Bevil told his friends that old Trevanion +was growing very crusty, and it was a pity to see +such paltry envy in a man of his years.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-cave-of-seals"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE FOURTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Cave of Seals</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Some few days afterwards, Mr. Mildmay, visiting +the Towers once more, chanced to mention that as +he passed St. Cuby's Cove in his cutter he had seen +a couple of seals disporting themselves in the shallow +water under the cliff. The conversation passed at +once to other matters, but next morning Dick told +Sam what the lieutenant had said, and suggested +that they should go seal-hunting. Sam was nothing +loth, and promised to accompany his young master +as soon as he had fed the poultry and cleaned out +the sties.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Seals were not often seen on the coast; indeed, +Dick had only once before heard of their appearance, +so that the proposed expedition had all the charm of +novelty. While waiting for Sam, he went to the +kitchen, where Reuben Pollex was washing the +dishes, and asked him if he could tell him how to +tackle a seal.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's more than I can do, Maister Dick," said +the old man. "I never caught nawthin' but fish and +rabbits, and maybe a stoat now and again; never +seed a seal in my life."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They're valuable, Reuben," said Dick. "The +skins are worth a good deal. They are made into +coats and tippets and such things for ladies, you +know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The mistress wants a new coat, so 'twould come +handy, and I wish 'ee luck. I've heerd tell that the +critters sometimes hide in the cave yonder, though +as no man, 's far 's I know, ever did see 'em there, it +may be only guesswork."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The cave mentioned was at the head of St. Cuby's +Cove. Its entrance was exposed only at low tide, +and Dick had more than once visited it at such +times, exploring its recesses by the light of a torch +or one of the house lanterns. He had never made +any interesting discovery there, and had for some +years ceased to visit it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't you tell me once that there is an entrance +to the cave from the land side, Reuben?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, folks used to say so when I was a boy, but +I don't know as there be any truth in it. Once +upon a time, long afore my day, there was a mine +thereabouts, and maybe one of the adits ran down +to the cave; but 'tis sixty year or more since the +mine give out—in yer grandfer's time—and not a +soul have been down in the workings ever since, 's +far 's I know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here Sam appeared and announced that he was +ready. The two lads, provided with a gun, a cutlass, +a lantern, and a few candle-ends, proceeded to the +spot on the beach of Trevanion Bay where their boat +was moored, launched her, and rowed round the +promontory to St. Cuby's Cove. The tide was +running out, and as the interval during which the +cave was free from water was very short, Dick and +his companion worked the boat through the entrance +with their hands as soon as there was room for them +to pass between the roof and the surface of the sea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The opening was at first a narrow tunnel in the +cliff, but after some yards it began to widen gradually, +and at length enlarged itself into a spacious vault, in +which there was a continuous murmur, such as is +heard on putting a shell to one's ear. By the time +the boys reached it the tide had completely left the +cave, and the boat stranded on a sandy beach, littered +with rocks of all shapes and sizes, which had apparently +fallen at various times from the roof. They lit +their lantern, whose yellow rays fell on jagged +granite walls, glistening shells, and slimy seaweed +covering the rocks on the floor. Here and there +were small pools which the tide never left dry, and +where the light of the lantern revealed innumerable +little marine creatures darting this way and that with +extraordinary rapidity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boys made the boat fast by looping the +painter round a jagged boulder. They moved +warily, for the seal was a beast unknown to either of +them, though Dick, in his total ignorance of these +creatures of the deep, hardly expected to find them +in the cave now that the sea had receded. Presently, +however, they heard above the hollow murmur +another sound, like the feeble bleat of a very young +lamb. They peered about, moving the lantern to +and fro, and at length discovered, lying on a rocky +ledge at the inmost end of the cave, two small +cream-coloured objects, scarcely more than a foot +long, whose soft eyes blinked in the light, and from +whose mouths issued plaintive cries of alarm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bean't they proper little mites!" said Sam, +putting out his hand to touch them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't do that!" cried Dick hastily; "the old +ones may be about, and if they're like other beasts, +they'll attack us if they think we'll hurt their +young."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Shan't we take 'em, then?" asked Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course not; they're too young."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And shan't we look for the old uns?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; the young ones would die if we killed the +parents. We must come again later on, when they're +old enough to take care of themselves. But our +day shan't be wasted. We'll see if we can find the +other entrance to the cave."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What other entrance?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your father says 'tis thought that at one time +there was a way in from an adit above."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't believe it. The free-traders would have +found it long afore this if so 'twere."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know. The adit wouldn't be an easy +passage for them with their bales and kegs. But +don't let us waste time; the tide will be running +back soon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They followed the irregular circuit of the cave, +thrusting the lantern into every recess and hollow, +holding it high and low, but discovering nothing +except the same rugged and apparently impenetrable +wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There bean't no opening," said Sam at length. +"'Twas fiddle-faddle to say there be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps it is high above us, out of reach," +suggested Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where's the sense o' that?" replied Sam, +disappointed of the anticipated sport. "What mortal +good would it be to any soul alive to make an +opening where 'ee'd break yer neck if you come +to it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick did not answer, craning his neck to scan the +heights above him. The light of the lantern failed +to penetrate the overarching gloom. The roof of +the cave was invisible, and the walls appeared to rise +perpendicularly, with projections here and there that +looked, in the spectral glimmer, like the grotesque +gargoyles on a church-tower.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd like to climb up there," said Dick at length.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lawk-a-massy, you'd break yer neck for sure. +'Tis a 'mazing hard job to climb the cliff arter gulls' +eggs, but this be death and burial."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We could do it with a ladder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Our ladder bean't long enough by half; the +only ladders long enough be they in church-tower, +and they be too heavy to lug here, and sexton +wouldn't let us take 'em. Scrounch it all, Maister +Dick, I do think 'ee be muddled in yer head to think +o' sech daring doings. See now, tide's comin' in, and +we don't want to be drownded."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the most sensible thing you've said for a +while, Sam. We'll go now, but I won't give it up. +We'll get a ladder, or make one, and come back +another day. I'm determined to find out if there +really is an opening."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Feyther says most heads do have a magget +in 'em, like turmits, and this be yours; 'tis +indeed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They loosed the boat, and paddled out as they +had come, Dick resolving, in spite of his follower's +damping attitude, to return before long, and make a +thorough exploration of the place.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Later in the day, as he walked home from the +Parsonage, he was struck with an idea of a +contrivance for serving his purpose. He consulted old +Reuben about it when he got home, and Sam, on +returning from an errand in the village, found his +father and Dick hard at work in an outhouse, +splicing short lengths of rope, and fixing them at +regular intervals between two thin but strong poles +about six feet long.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What be doin', Feyther?" asked Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Use yer eyes, sonny, and put a name to 't +yerself," replied Reuben.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if I was to speak my thought, I'd say 'ee +was makin' a ladder that 'ud let a man down as soon +as he put a foot on it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then 'tis for you to make it stronger, my son, +babe and sucklin' as 'ee be. T'ud be a sin to let so +much cleverness run to seed. Strip off yer coat and +lay into it, and keep yer tongue quiet, for if 'ee set +all the organs of yer body goin' at once, you'll die +young."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This implied rebuke had the effect of making Sam +enter zealously into the work, and before supper +two light ladders were finished, each six feet long, +which, together with a short ladder of the ordinary +kind that Reuben used in his duties about the +premises, provided Dick with a total length of +eighteen or twenty feet. His notion was to carry +these separate pieces down to the cave, and then +lash them together to form one continuous whole.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He fixed on the following afternoon for his second +visit to the cave. The morning turned out very +wet, the rain pouring down in quite unusual +volume; but the sky cleared after dinner, and the +two boys set off, timing themselves as before to +reach the cave when the ebbing tide left the entrance +free. Again the baby seals were alone, and much as +Dick would have liked a tussle with their parents, +his sporting bent was for the time subordinate to his +wish to find the supposed landward entrance to the +cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The ladder perfectly answered its purpose, but it +was disappointing to find that it was by no means +long enough. Even when Dick, the taller of the +two, stood on the topmost rung, Sam holding the +ladder steady at the bottom, he saw that the walls +still stretched for several feet above him. But the +roof was now in sight, an irregular arch, consisting +of knobs, wedges, and inverted pyramids of rock, +and Dick felt the tantalising certainty that the +opening, if opening there was, could not be far away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They went all round the cave, setting the ladder +up at frequent intervals, Dick exploring every foot +of the jagged wall with the aid of his lantern. There +were plenty of recesses and depressions, ranging +from a finger's breadth to the length of his arm; +but he did not find one where he was unable to +touch the back of it with his outstretched hand. +It was clear that the opening, if it existed, must be +above his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We shall have to make another length of ladder, +and come back again," he said to Sam. "I won't +give it up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was standing high on the ladder as he spoke, +dangling the lantern by a ring at the top. The +words were scarcely out of his mouth when there +was a tremendous crash, which shook the place, and +so much startled him that, in an instinctive +movement to cling on to something, he let the lantern +fall. It lighted fairly on the top of Sam's head, +bounced off, and dropped with a thud to the sandy +floor, where the candle was instantly extinguished.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you hurt, Sam?" cried Dick, anxiously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Rabbit it all!" roared Sam, in high indignation. +"Do 'ee think my head be wood then? Bean't +I got feelings like any other common man? My +skull have got a furrow in it a yard long, and I may +rub it till I'm dead, I'll never straighten it out +again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it, Sam. Light +the candle again, will you, so that we can see what +has happened."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam growled and grunted as he struck a light +from his tinder-box. The rekindled candle revealed +a strange catastrophe. A huge mass of the wall and +roof of the cavern had collapsed, owing perhaps to the +heavy rains in the morning, and the débris was lying +in a heap against the opening of the tunnel leading +to the exterior.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If this bean't a pretty kettle of fish, never call me +Sam again," said the boy in consternation. "'Tis +closed up; we be shet in."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick climbed down the ladder, and crossed the +floor of the cave to see the extent of the mischief. +It was as Sam had said. Their exit was barred by a +mass of rock and loose soil that must weigh several +tons.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quick, Sam!" cried Dick, "we must work +hard to clear it away. The tide will be on the turn, +and we don't want to be imprisoned here all night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They began to work with all haste, but soon +found that the task would be a long one. The +smaller pieces of rock were easily cast aside; but +there were many large masses which, besides being +heavy and cumbersome themselves, were very +difficult to move by reason of the earth in which +they were imbedded. The boys had made but little +progress when the sea began to creep in.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll be drownded alive!" said Sam, now in a +state of terror.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Work, then. Shove your hardest, Sam; we'll +do it yet."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They tugged and hauled and pushed with fierce +energy, and by employing their united strength upon +the largest masses, they succeeded in clearing a path +wide enough to allow room for the boat. By this +time the water was almost up to their knees, and +they heard the boat graze the rocks as it floated on +the incoming tide. Loosing the painter, they pushed +the craft through the tunnel, only to find, when they +approached the seaward opening, that but a small +segment of the sky was visible, the gap being too +shallow to afford a passage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We are trapped, Sam; there's no denying it," +said Dick quietly. "But don't be alarmed. I +don't suppose the water reaches the roof of the cave +even at high tide, so that we can float in the boat +quite safely. It only means a few hours' imprisonment."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If I've got to be jailed, I'd rather be in village +lock-up; 'tis dry at any rate. Can't we swim out, +Maister Dick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course we can, but I doubt whether we had +better do it. There's a dozen yards or more under +water first, and then a good half-mile outside before +we can land. We should get pretty well knocked +about on the rocks if there's any swell on the sea. +We had much better stay here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam gloomily assented to this course. They got +into the boat, and sat there for some time watching +it rise gradually as the tide grew higher.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang me for a jackass!" cried Dick suddenly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What have 'ee been and done?" asked Sam +with concern.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, we haven't got gun, cutlass, or any other +weapon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'A b'lieve not," said Sam, "but we couldn't +keep out the tide with un if we had forty guns and +fifty cutlasses."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The seals! They'll come back with the tide, +and be in a terrible rage with us, thinking we're +after their babies."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be-jowned if I thought of it! 'Twas a true +word; you do be a great jackass, sure enough."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mind what you say, Sam, or I'll throw you out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas your word, not mine. I wouldn't go so +far as that. Ninnyhammer is the worst I'd call 'ee. +But I told 'ee how 'twould be, with yer head +itchin' with this magget of openin's and ladders and +all that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be ready to use the boat-hook, or the anchor, if +the seals attack us. I'll use one of the oars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't believe we'll have to fight at all," cried +Sam. "Look 'ee! There be they two young +seals swimmin' out to find the old uns. They +bean't so young as you thought if they can swim +like that, and we med as well have took 'em +yesterday as not."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, 'tis too late now. They're gone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To get their supper, I reckon. I be mortal +hungry, Maister Dick, arter all that work. Have +'ee got a morsel of bread in yer pocket?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a bit."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a apple or codling?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not one."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I could eat a turmit or a raw tater. But don't +name 'em to me, or I shall feel very bad for thinkin' +of 'em. Best thing is to go to sleep when yer +hungry, 'cos you don't feel it then."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boy curled himself up in the bottom of the +boat, and soon filled the cavern with his snores.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="st-cuby-s-well"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE FIFTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">St. Cuby's Well</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>To see another eat when oneself is hungry, or +sleep when oneself is wakeful, is surely very trying +to the temper, except to those happily-constituted +individuals who are incapable of envy. Dick +Trevanion was as generous-hearted a boy as you +could wish; but as the time went by, unmarked by +anything but the slow rise of the boat and the quick +dwindling of the candle in the lantern, he looked +at Sam's open mouth with impatience, listened to his +untuneful solo with dislike, and felt a deplorable +desire to kick him. He had no watch, and bethought +himself that it might be as well, when he got home, +to test the duration of a candle, so that if he were +ever in such a predicament again he might at least +have a clock of King Alfred's sort. Every now and +then he snuffed the coarse wick, and when the tallow +had sunk almost to the socket, he substituted another +candle-end that he happened to have in his pocket. +Beyond this he had nothing to employ him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But by-and-by, as the roof of the vault came +nearer to him with the gradual lifting of the boat, +an idea struck him. Why not use the boat as a +raised platform for the ladder, and so contrive to +examine an additional ten or twelve feet of the +walls? The ladder!—it was floating on the surface +of the water, heaving simultaneously with the boat +as the tide gently rippled in.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wake up, Sam!" he called.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam snored on.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wake up!" cried Dick again, leaning over and +pinching the sleeper's nose.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam struck out with his fist, as any honest English +boy would have done, without opening his eyes. +But at a third call he roused himself, sat up, and +rubbing those heavy organs vigorously, sighed like a +furnace, and then said sleepily:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, where be I?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In dreamland, I should think," replied Dick, +laughing. "Wake up! I want you to hold the +ladder against the wall while I climb again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In twelve feet o' water! Not me; I bean't +growed enough for that. 'Tis work for a giant."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not on the ground, of course; in the boat, I +mean."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam looked dubious.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't it wamble? And if you tumble you'll +sink us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we can try. Take hold of the end of the +ladder floating by you, and I'll paddle close to the +wall."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On lifting the ladder, they found that its top +came within a few feet of the roof. But when Dick +began to climb, he descended in a hurry, for the +ladder being of necessity set up at an angle, every +upward step drove the boat from the wall towards +the middle of the cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be-jowned if we can do it!" cried Sam. "That +there openin' will be the death o' me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was at a loss. There was no way of keeping +the boat in a fixed position. Even if he dropped +the anchor and it held in the sandy bottom, the boat +would still have a range of movement that altogether +prohibited the success of his plan. He looked +gloomily at Sam; it was vexatious to be baulked +when achievement was so near. Sam, with his +hands on the sides of the ladder, was gazing up its +length, his eyes gradually converging as they +travelled higher, until they seemed almost to be +looking at each other. All at once they reverted to +their natural position, and he cried:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I've got a noble thought, I do b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, 'tis as easy as anything. See that place, +Maister Dick, up aloft there, where the wall goes in +summat?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, what then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll show 'ee. You'd never ha' thought of it, +'cos you was lookin' down instead o' lookin' up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drew down the ladder until its whole length +lay along one side of the boat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look 'ee here," he said. "We'll take the +anchor, and fix it upright in middle of the ladder, +lash it to the top rung, do 'ee see?" He suited the +action to the word. "There! Now 'tis a hook, or +a clutch, or whatever name you like to gie un. +We'll lift un again till it hooks on that ledge; then +it will hang free, and you can climb as easy as +climbing trees."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A capital notion, Sam," cried Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I said it was, purticler for a poor mazy stunpoll +of a feller like me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a genius if it works out. The thing is +to try it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Raising the ladder to its former position, they +moved it along the face of the wall until one fluke +of the anchor held firmly to the ledge of rock, as +they proved by exerting a considerable downward +strain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is splendid," said Dick. "Now to go up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, don't 'ee take the lantern with 'ee this time. +I don't want no more cracks on the nob, and if it +fell again, 't 'ud get soused in the water, and then +we'd be in darkness."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're right. I'll take the candle out and stick +it in my hat as the miners do. I must have a light, +of course."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I reckon you must, if you be goin' to find that +openin'," said Sam, sceptical to the last.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick stuck the lighted candle into the band of his +hat, stepped out of the boat, and began to climb, +Sam watching his progress and offering bits of +cautionary counsel. In a few seconds, when Dick's +head projected above the anchor, he saw that the +ledge of rock, extending for some distance on both +sides, was the floor of a roughly rectangular fissure, +which penetrated the earth much as the tunnel below +penetrated the cliff. It ran upwards. The smoky +light from the candle did not reach far, but Dick, +peering over the ledge, was unable to see any solid +background to the fissure.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I've found the opening!" he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do 'ee say?" called Sam. "Yer voice +sounds all a mumble and a rumble."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Clinging firmly to the ledge with both hands, +Dick lowered his head and repeated the words.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now yer satisfied, then," said Sam. "Better +come down afore the candle goes out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. I'm going on."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But chok' it all, you won't leave me all alone! +I'm not afeard, not I; but if there be three or +four seals a-comin' home by-and-by, I can't fight +'em all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You must come up too when I've looked a +little farther."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But you can't climb on to the ledge without +summat to hold to. Maister Dick, think of yer +feyther and mother, and what I'm to say if 'ee falls +and breaks yer neck, and I take 'ee home a gashly +corp."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't talk rubbish. I shan't fall if you don't +worry me. I'm not going to sit for hours longer in +the boat till the tide goes down, so hold your tongue +till I am safe aloft."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Leaning well forward, he carefully lifted his foot +to the next rung, then to the next, watching the +anchor to see that it was not displaced by his +movements. Then he got one knee on the rocky shelf, +stretched his arms in front of him, and with a sudden +movement heaved his body on to the ledge and fell +flat, his feet projecting into space. He crawled +along on hands and knees until his boots disappeared +from Sam's view, and stood up within the dark +entrance of the fissure.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm up, Sam," he called, his voice reverberating +hollowly in the vault.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I be comin' too," cried the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not yet. You must wait a little until I see +where the opening leads to. I'll come back for you +presently."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He turned his face to the opening and went in. +Dim as the light was, he recognised almost at once +that he was at the end of a mine adit. Within a few +paces the fissure narrowed to a dwarf tunnel, through +which a tiny stream trickled, disappearing, not over +the ledge into the cave, but into a fissure in the +wall of rock. There was space for only two persons +to pass abreast, and as Dick proceeded, he had +to bend his head to avoid striking the roof. He +was about to explore further, when he remembered +that the candle in his hat could not last more than +a few minutes, and to advance in the dark would be +foolhardy. He had no more candles, and supposed +that Sam had none, so that it seemed as if he must +postpone further exploration. But returning to the +ledge, he saw a light in the cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You've got some more candle-ends, then?" he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"One, that I've just fished up out of my pocket +along with a bit of string, some bait, a bit o' pudden +that I'd forgot—can't eat it now, hungry as I be, 'cos +'tis all tallowed—and a green penny."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I want the candle, Sam; mine's going out. Can +you pitch it up?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can, but it 'ud only fall back into the water +and go to the bottom."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait. I've a bit of string in my pocket. I'll +let it down; tie the candle on."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I must do it, I suppose. Iss, you shall have it, +and I'll be left in the dark, but I'm not +afeard—not very."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a minute Dick had the fresh candle in his +hat-band, and once more entered the tunnel.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was very damp, and Dick guessed from the +trickling stream at his feet that the adit had been +designed, when the mine was in operation, to drain +the upper workings. How long ago this was he +had no idea. It must have been long before old +Reuben's time, or the man would have had more +definite knowledge than he actually possessed, and +the existence of the opening would have been known +as a fact instead of being a mere fragment of village +tradition.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went on. In some parts the tunnel was +almost impassable with earth and rocks that had +fallen in. Step as cautiously as he might, every +now and then the rattle of loose earth displaced +by his movements caused a cold shiver to run +down his back. What if there should be a fall +behind him which would cut off his retreat to +the cave? The tunnel ought to lead to an opening +to the air above, but the way might be blocked, +and the possibility of being entombed was daunting. +But having come so far Dick was unwilling to give +in. The peril might be purely imaginary. Plucking +up his courage, he hastened his steps, and after +a few minutes came to an enlargement of the tunnel. +To his left a second gallery ran downward at a +sharp angle with that in which he was; no doubt +this also led to some point of the shore. Still +advancing, he saw, with some surprise, that the passage +was strutted in places, and much freer from +obstructions than the portion he had already traversed. +About a hundred yards beyond the transverse gallery, +however, his progress was suddenly checked: the +whole width of the tunnel was filled with a mass of +rocks, stones, and loose earth. A few seconds' +examination sufficed to show the impossibility of +proceeding farther in this direction; accordingly +he retraced his steps and, a few yards away, came +to another passage, to find, however, after twenty +or thirty paces, that he was again brought to a +stop.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This time the obstruction was of a different nature. +It was a rough door made of stout wooden beams, +closed with a heavy bar resting in sockets. He +lifted the bar and pulled the creaking door, which +came towards him for an inch or two, and then +stuck. To open it fully he had to remove from the +floor a number of planks and beams, which appeared +to be the parts of a broken windlass. Having got +the door open and passed through, he found himself +in a square chamber that smelt very damp and close, +though, on looking upwards, he could see no roof. +He concluded that he was at the bottom of a deep +shaft. But it had not the look of a mine shaft, +which, so far as Dick's experience went, was always +timbered. The walls here were cased with stone, +moss-grown and damp.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Near the doorway he caught sight of a staple of +rusty iron let into the wall; a little above this, a +second of the same kind; and at the same interval +above the second, a third. Looking up the wall, he +perceived that similar staples projected from the +stonework as far up as the flickering light of his +candle revealed. Their shape, and the intervals +between them, indicated that they were steps by +which the wall could be climbed. And then it +flashed upon him suddenly that he was in an ancient +well, known as St. Cuby's Well, though who +St. Cuby was nobody knew except, perhaps, +Mr. Carlyon, deeply learned in the antiquities of his +county. The upper end of the well-shaft opened +on the cliff, about a quarter-mile from the cottage of +old Joe Penwarden, the exciseman. It was covered by +the ivy-grown ruins of a small oratory, whither in +times long past the faithful had come to have their +children baptised in the water of the holy well, to +drink of it for the cure of their diseases, and to offer +up vows and repeat prayers before the sacred cross.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Strange as it may seem, Dick's first impulse, when +the identity of his whereabouts flashed upon him, +was to dash through the doorway and scamper with +all imaginable speed back to the cave. He was not +more superstitious than other boys of his age; but +in those days, before old beliefs and fancies had +undergone the cold douche of science, people were +credulous of omens and spells, blessings and curses, +beneficent influences and the evil eye. From +St. Cuby's Well the aroma of sanctity had long since +departed; according to village tradition, a murder of +peculiar horror had once been committed there; and +now it was shunned as a plague spot. No pilgrims +came to kneel beneath the sacred roof; no children +ever played hide and seek among its picturesque +ruins; everybody, from the Squire downwards, +avoided it, and at night not a man would have +ventured within a hundred yards of its unhallowed +precincts. Stories were rife of apparitions seen +there; it was these ghosts of which Ike Pendry had +spoken to John Trevanion on the night when he +had overtaken the trudging pedestrian on the high +road.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, of course, had no belief in ghosts, and +regarded the stories with as much intellectual +contempt as his father gave to the witch's couplet. +But his imagination was subject to impressions which +his reason scorned; and in the gloom of the +well-shaft, which the yellow rays of his candle rendered +more awful than complete darkness could have been, +these vague conceptions of murder, sacrilege, and +midnight hauntings possessed his mind so completely +as at first to overwhelm his common-sense. But he +resolutely crushed down these figments of his +imagination, told himself that such evil traditions +might probably be traced to no more real origin than +the failure of the spring of water, and decided to go +back for his companion and put an end to their +captivity by climbing up the iron steps to the surface +of the cliff.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I am glad to see 'ee," cried Sam, as his +young master's head appeared at the brink of the +ledge. "I bean't afeard, not I, but 'twas 'nation +dark, and I felt a queer wamblin' in the inside o' +me, 'cos I'm tarrible hungry, I reckon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, come along. I've found the way out. +The opening leads to St. Cuby's Well, and we can +climb to the top in no time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"St. Cuby's Well! Dash my bones if I go +within a mile o't. Dead men's bones, and sperits +o' darkness—no, never will I do it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stuff and nonsense!" cried Dick, as stoutly as +if he had never felt the least tremor on his own +account. "I've seen no bones, and the spirits +haven't laid a hand on me. Those silly tales only +frighten children."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And females. Ah, 'tis a pity the mistress won't +let me take eggs and things to the Dower House. +What I could tell to that nice young female wi' the +hole in her rosy cheeks! How they'd go yaller +and white when she heerd my tale of blood, and +ghosteses in night-gowns, and all the other things o' +darkness! Ah, 'twas to be, I s'pose: she'll hear it +from some one else, and I shan't get the credit +of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; she'll hear that you were too much of a +baby to face 'em, and she'll despise you, instead of +thinking well of you as she does now."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't say it, Maister Dick," cried the boy. +"Scrounch me if I lose my fame in that miserable +way. I'll come, if you'll stand by me, and hold my +hand if we hears a noise, and use your finest +language to the sperits if they meddle wi' us. I've +heerd tell that the Lord's prayer said back'ards will +tarrify 'em out of their wits, but I reckon yer head's +full of ancient heathen words that go straightfor'ard, +and won't put 'ee to such a tarrible tax as turnin' +religion topsy-turvy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was said as Sam climbed with deliberate care +up the ladder. He gained the ledge more easily +than Dick had done, having the help of Dick's hand.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Can we get there afore candle's out?" he said +anxiously, when they stood side by side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If we make haste," replied Dick, taking off his +hat and looking at the inch-and-a-half of candle left, +and the mass of tallow that lay on the brim like a +small lake of lava. "We can fetch the boat at +low-tide to-morrow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They hurried on, and, Dick knowing the way, +reached the shaft in much quicker time than when he +had come alone. Sam got behind him at the doorway, +peering under his armpits with wide eyes, and +taking much comfort when he saw nothing but mossy +walls.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm downright shamed o' folks that believe in +such gammut," he said, valiantly following Dick +into the chamber.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now we'll climb up. It must be after +sunset, or we should see a glimmer of light at the +top. I'll go first."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I'd better go first," said Sam hastily, +looking round with something of his former air of +timorous expectation. "You see, if you go first, the +brim of yer hat will shet out all the light, and I'll miss +my footing and be nawthin' but scattered members. +But if I go first, do 'ee see, and you come close +behind me—but not close enough to set my stockings +afire—the light will be ekal betwixt us two. Do 'ee +see my manin', Maister Dick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite plain. I don't mind. We'll try one or +two of the staples first, to make sure they are firm in +the stonework, and then you can mount, and as +your hind foot leaves one step, my fore hand will +clutch it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The staples stood the test of pulling, first by Dick, +then by Sam, who also tried them, on the plea that +he had more muscle. Then Sam began to climb, +followed closely by Dick. After an ascent of perhaps +a hundred feet, the former declared that he felt a +whiff of fresh air, and immediately afterwards the +candle flame was blown out. Looking up past +Sam's fore-shortened body, Dick saw one star in the +clear dark vault of the sky, and in a few seconds +they were both standing on the ground beside the +well-head, cooled by the breeze that blew through +the ruined walls of the chapel from the sea. The +roof had gone long ago; grass grew on the floor, +and ivy twined itself in and out of the mullioned +windows.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There!" said Dick. "We are safe, you see. +All that talk of ghosts is pure balderdash."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The darkness and the weird associations of the +spot combined to make him set his tone of voice to +a murmur. At that moment there fell upon the +ears of the boys, as they stood side by side to +recover breath after their climb, a low sound from +somewhere beyond the walls, but not far away. It +was like that of a person speaking in hollow, +mournful accents. Sam caught Dick by the arm; Dick +heard his teeth chatter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis he!" whispered the trembling boy. "'Tis +the ghost! Oh! let me hide myself afore he see I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick did not reply. He was, it must be confessed, +sufficiently startled. The sound ceased; but in a +moment or two it recommenced, now being somewhat +louder. Dick was in two minds, now thinking +that he would run, now wondering whether he had +not better stay. The slow droning still approached, +and at last he caught articulate words:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A-deary me! A-deary me! The world's +a-cold, a bitter place for——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The next words were indistinguishable.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hark to him!" whispered Sam. "He be in +mortal pain, and I do feel that leery all down the +small o' my back."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick sniffed, and sniffed again. Then he said:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ghosts don't smoke, Sam—at any rate, not +tobacco. I'm going to see."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How do 'ee know?" whispered Sam, still +holding him by the arm. "I won't be so much +afeard of him if he do be smoking bacca, but it +may be summat else. It do smell rayther strong for +a livin' man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He followed Dick as he groped his way over +fragments of masonry and through close-woven +masses of ivy and weeds, until they came into the +open. The night was very dark. The first thing +they saw, at a distance of about twelve yards, was a +small red glow, which brightened and faded at +intervals. Drawing nearer to it cautiously, they +perceived at the moments of greatest brightness that +it lit up for an instant a grizzled chin, a sunken +mouth, a quite ordinary nose, a ruddy face with +a black patch over one eye, and a black hat over all.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis old Joe Penwarden," said Dick, in a tone +that expressed surprise, relief, and a shame-faced +consciousness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So 'tis, I do believe," cried Sam. "Be-jowned +if 'a didn't ought to be locked up for playing such +gashly tricks on poor souls."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Avast there! Stand, in the King's name!" +cried the old man, hearing their voices.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So we will, so we will," said Sam. "Don't 'ee +be afeard, maister; we bean't ghosteses, but just +common mortals like yerself."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! 'tis you, Maister Dick," said Penwarden, +as the boys came up to him. "'Pon my life, I +was skeered for about a second and a half, never +expectin' to see mortal men in this old haunt. What +be 'ee doin' at this time o' night, in such a place, +too?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What time is it, Joe?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Time all young things like lambs and birds and +boys were abed and asleep. 'Tis past ten."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lawk-a-massy, if I didn't think it by the terrible +emptiness in my inside," cried Sam, feelingly. +"Come home-along, Maister Dick; I be mortal +afeard as Feyther will send me to bed wi'out any +supper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait a bit," replied Dick. "Where do you +think we've been, Joe?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not night-fishing, for ye've got no tackle. Nor +rabbitin', for ye've got no snares. Ah, well! Ye +med as well tell me first as last, for I be no good at +guessin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We've come up St. Cuby's Well."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come up, you say; but you must go down +afore ye come up. I wouldn't like to say I don't +believe 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That would be very unfriendly. The truth is, +Joe, we were down in the cave and got shut in by +the tide, and to pass the time away we climbed up +over a ledge and found ourselves in an old adit, and +went along it till we came to the well-shaft. There +are iron steps in the wall, and up we came."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if that bean't the queerest thing I've heerd +for many a day. Who would ever ha' thowt it!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't you know there were steps down the well side?</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never heerd tell o' sech a thing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But haven't you seen it for yourself? I was +thinking that, perhaps, you being here now, you +knew all about it, and the idea did cross me that you +might be the ghost people talk about, though to be +sure you don't look like one."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless 'ee, I've never set foot inside they walls. +Sometimes of a night I come ramblin' round to +smoke a peaceful pipe and meditate on the days o' +my youth afore I turn in, but as for goin' +inside—no, I've never thowt o't."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Was 'ee afeard you med see the ghost, maister?" +asked Sam, rejoicing to think that he had a fellow in +timorousness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, no. A ghost is a sperit, they say, and I +reckon I've got enough muscle in my aged arm to +fend off a thing as has got no body."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Still, you was talkin' to yerself as if ye was in +great pain and sorrer. 'A-deary me,' 'ee said; I +heard 'ee twice; and then 'the world's a-cold,'—and +I s'pose 'ee felt the need o' takin' a comfortin' +pull at yer pipe, for I heerd no more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It do show how young small chickerels like 'ee +may be mistaken. Whenever I talk like that I be +feelin' warmish and contented; remember that, +young Sam, and don't traipse about spreadin' false +reports about me. Moreover, don't 'ee tell nothing +of yer climbing up the well, for 'a don't want the +village rampin' round, spoilin' my peacefulness. +St. Cuby's ghost hev his uses, and long may he walk."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well, Joe," said Dick, "we'll say nothing +about it. There have been no runs yet, I suppose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; 'tis early days for that. 'Tis true as +Mr. Mildmay was called off Morvah way to-day. +Maybe they'll try a run there to-night. But it +won't be long afore we have trouble here, I reckon, +for the pilchurs are late this year, and when they're +late, smugglin' is early, 'cos the men get tired o' +doin' nothing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we had better be going. I usually tell +Mother when I expect to be late, fishing or what not, +and she'll wonder what has become of me. Are you +coming our way, Joe?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not yet, sir. I've a bit more meditation to get +through first."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you meditate about?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"About my days o' youth, when I was a nimble +young feller and served the King afloat. Ah! they +were days, they were. Lord Admiral Nelson be a fine +little chap, but nothing to the admiral I served with."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who was that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lord Admiral Rodney. Never shall I forget +the time he spoke to me: yes, lord as he was, he +did so. It do warm me of a cold night to think of +it. Not every simple mariner could say he'd been +spoke to ashore by sech a high person as a admiral."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What did the lord high admiral say to 'ee?" +asked Sam, much impressed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, 'twas on Plymouth Hoe, and the admiral +was walking with two handsome females, showing +'em Drake's Island; Drake was another mariner, +you must know, as lived about a thousand year ago, +seemingly. Well, I turned round to look at the great +man, and that moment he changed his course, put +up his helm, ye may say, and ran across my bows. +'Get out o' the way, you cross-eyed son of a +sea-cook!' says he to me. Ah! never shall I forget it, +nor the tinkly laugh o' they fine females. 'Twas +a great honour to be spoke to special by Lord +Admiral Rodney, a fine feller of a man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't wonder it keeps you warm," said Dick, +laughing. "Good-night, Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good-night to you, sir. And young Sam, mind +'ee o' what I said."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Make yourself easy, maister," returned Sam. +"Oh, dear, what a thing it 'ud be to tell the maidy at +the Dower House if on'y Squire warn't so cruel!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What are you mumblin' about?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nawthin', Maister Penwarden. I were on'y +thinkin' to myself what a lot o' folk 'ud be mazed if +they knowed what sorrerful things ye do say when +yer happy."</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="penwarden-does-his-duty"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE SIXTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Penwarden does his Duty</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Late as it was, neither Dick nor Sam was fated to +get any sleep for hours. They walked rapidly +without speaking across the cliff towards the Towers, +being in fact so tired and hungry that the thoughts +of both were fixed on supper and bed. There was +no path on this part of the cliff, except a faint track +which daylight would have revealed, where the +grass had been slightly worn by Joe Penwarden +in his marchings to and fro. Ordinary pedestrians +always avoided the windings of the shore, taking the +high road farther inland.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boys had come within a hundred yards of +Penwarden's cottage, when Sam all at once took Dick +by the sleeve, saying:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look, Maister Dick, there be some one at old +Joe's door."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was too dark to see clearly, but Dick could +just distinguish, now that it was pointed out to him, +a dark form close against the whitewashed cottage +on the side facing the sea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It's very odd at this time of night," he said. +"We had better go and tell the man, whoever he is, +where he can find Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They hurried on, but had not gone more than +half-way to the cottage when the figure moved +from the door, and walked quickly in the direction +of the Towers. There was a footpath at the back +of the garden, over which the villagers had an +immemorial right of way, though it was really the +Squire's private property.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was on the point of calling out when Sam +checked him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That be Jake Tonkin," he said, quietly: "I +know un by his bow legs. What med he want wi' +old Joe, now?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake was the son of Isaac Tonkin, the expertest +fisher, the boldest seaman, and the most cunning and +resourceful smuggler in the village. Isaac was a +rough, quick-tempered fellow, violent when roused, +but honest according to his lights; and Dick had a +certain admiration for him, as every boy must have +for a strong man who excels in bold and daring +deeds. Once or twice he had gone fishing in +Tonkin's smack, and had learnt a good deal from +the man's blunt speech and craftsmanlike actions.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was perfectly well known in the neighbourhood +that Tonkin was the ringleader of the smugglers, +but owing to his wariness and craft, and to the +supineness of the revenue officer who had preceded +Mr. Mildmay, nothing had ever been openly proved +against him, and he had never been caught in the +act. In the previous winter he had narrowly escaped +a conflict with Mr. Mildmay, then in his first year +of duty at this part of the coast; and it was common +talk in the village that he resented the intrusion, as +he regarded it, of so zealous an officer, and had +promised to give the revenue men a very hot time +if they interfered with him. It was he whose +presence John Trevanion had remarked as he passed +the open door of the tap-room in Doubledick's inn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was as much surprised as Sam to find that +Penwarden's visitor was Tonkin's son. There was +naturally no love lost between the exciseman and the +free-traders, who had, however, looked upon him +with a sort of contemptuous tolerance until +Mr. Mildmay came. The old man had been harmless +enough in the days of Mr. Curgenven; not that he +was remiss in his duty, but that his efforts had been +rendered nugatory by his superior's apathy. The +advent of Mr. Mildmay acted as a stimulus; +Penwarden was in truth fearful of being thought too old +for his work, and seemed to set himself deliberately +to prove the contrary to the officer. More than +once in the previous winter he had prevented a run +by his timely warnings; and though the checks were +only temporary, the smugglers were annoyed with +him for the difficulties he threw in their way. It +was therefore strange that young Tonkin should +have gone to visit, so late at night, a man from +whom the smugglers in general held severely aloof. +Suddenly Dick remembered what Penwarden had +said about Mr. Mildmay having been summoned to +Morvah, twenty-five miles or more down the coast. +It was a favourite device of the smugglers, by aid +of confederates, to decoy the officers to distant parts +when they were intending to make a run, and +Dick could not help wondering whether they were +putting it in practice on the present occasion. But +it did not explain Jake Tonkin's visit, and Dick was +now sufficiently interested to think no more of his +fatigue and hunger in his desire to ascertain what +was afoot. He knew that it was no business of his; +the Squire had carefully abstained from taking sides +in the perennial quarrel between the smugglers and +the revenue men, and had indeed resigned his +magistracy, partly because of his reduced +circumstances, but quite as much in order to avoid any +official action as a county justice. Dick did not +intend to break this neutrality; he was simply +curious and athirst for excitement.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But he reflected that he could hardly satisfy his +curiosity without spying on Jake Tonkin, and this +was out of the question. He would have ruefully +done nothing more had he not seen that the lad, +instead of keeping to the path that ran directly to +the village, struck off to the left along a track that +led nowhere but to the Dower House. This raised +his curiosity to a still higher pitch. What had +Tonkin to do with John Trevanion? Knowing that +his father and John were on bad terms, and having +seen many little indications that the latter was bent on +annoying his cousin, it was natural that he should +wonder whether the interests of the Squire were in +any way affected by the apparent connection between +John and the smugglers. After a little hesitation, +he sent Sam into the Towers, to reassure his +parents and then go to bed, and went on himself +after the waddling figure of Jake Tonkin, now +almost out of sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Walking quickly, he was in time to see Jake +enter an outhouse at the rear of the mansion. The +door closed behind him, and Dick, taking a look +round, and seeing no one, ran swiftly to the building +and peeped through the window. The room was +lighted by a single candle, whose rays fell on the +forms of a dozen men seated on chairs, stools, pails, +and the table. All had their faces blackened, and +he failed to discover among them the large and +massive form, almost impossible to disguise, of +Jake's father.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He be fast asleep," he heard Jake say, evidently +in answer to a question. "I knocked once, a little +un; then twice, rayther louder; then I tried the +door: 'twas locked. I didn't hear un snore, but +maybe he sleeps quiet."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee! 'a will sleep quieter in the grave," +said a voice, which Dick had no difficulty in +recognising as that of Doubledick, the innkeeper, +whose conversation was always partial to death and +the churchyard and similar cheerful subjects.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mildmay would fly in a passion if he knew old +Joe were asleep," said a man whose voice Dick could +not identify.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, and so would riding-officer," added a third. +He referred to the official so denominated, whose +duty it was to work on shore hand in hand with +Mr. Mildmay on the sea, and who was in effect in charge +of the coast for ten or fifteen miles, acting under the +Custom House officer at St. Ives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, 't'ud only be a little small passion," said +Doubledick, "'cos the summer bean't over, and not +a man of 'em will look for us to begin afore pilchur +fishin' be past."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Body o' me, hain't we 'ticed Mildmay away to +stop a run?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nay, sonny, 'twas tidings of a French privateer +that baited him. 'Tis a proper dark night, and if +the wind holds, Zacky will be here a little arter +midnight. And the manin' o' that is twenty pound in our +pockets, a noble fust lesson to say 'magnify' arter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick sighed inwardly; what a boon twenty pounds +would be to his father's impoverished treasury! +Like all the gentlemen of the county, the Squire was +willing to purchase smuggled goods; it seemed to +Dick that there was not a great distinction between +the purchaser and the smuggler; and yet he knew +that his father would be horrified at the idea of +enriching himself in that way. From what he had +overheard it was clear that a run, the first of the +season, was to be attempted that night, and since this +did not concern the Squire, he was about to return +home, when he heard the click of a lock, followed by +footsteps from the house, and slipped round the +angle of the building just in time to escape the eyes +of John Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The owner of the Dower House joined the +smugglers, and Dick heard his loud and hearty +greeting.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, my friends, is all clear? No scent for +the hounds, eh?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so much as would cover a penny-piece," +cried Doubledick. "Hee! hee! Old Joe's abed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad of it. Mind you, you must not bring +the tubs here if there's any interruption. It would +never do for the county to know that I'm a +freighter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Trust we for that, yer honour; we know you +must keep up yer high place, and 'tis generous of +'ee to lend us yer cellars."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Doubledick, here's the key. I shall be +abed, of course; I know nothing about your doings, +and I can trust you to work quietly and not wake +the servants."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, yer honour," said a man: "ye can +trust Billy Doubledick, to be sure. He be a very +clever feller: I say it to his face."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good night, then. I wish you well."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick heard his cousin return to the house and +lock the door. So John Trevanion was a freighter: +one who bought contraband goods in a foreign +port, paid the expenses of shipment and carrying, +and received the profits. This was food for +reflection. A word to Mr. Mildmay or Mr. Polwhele, +the riding-officer, would lead to John Trevanion's +arrest. The fate of smugglers caught in the act was +five years' service in a man-of-war, or a long term of +imprisonment; aiders and abettors also were subject +to heavy penalties; and Dick would have liked to +rid the neighbourhood of the man who had caused +his father such distress. But he could not play the +shabby part of informer, and for the first time in his +life he wished heartily that the smugglers might be +caught, and their connection with Trevanion +discovered; hitherto his sympathies had been entirely +on their side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Since there was nothing to be gained by remaining +longer at the outhouse, he went quietly away and +walked back towards the Towers. But he was so +much interested in his strange discovery that he +felt it would be impossible to sleep until he knew +whether the run proved successful. On reaching +home, therefore, he went first to his mother's room +to bid her good-night, then to the dining-room to +get some supper, and shortly after eleven o'clock +stole out again. He had never seen a smuggling +run, and the likelihood that this one would be +entirely undisturbed promised a peaceful view, +without any risk of running into danger, of which he +knew that his parents would disapprove.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had not learnt where the run was to be, but +guessed, if the tubs were to be carried to the cellars +of the Dower House, that the head of Trevanion +Bay would be the chosen spot. It was the most +convenient place near to the Dower House, except +the little harbour itself, which was not likely to be +selected. He made his way, therefore, along the +narrow headland known as the Beal, which formed +the southern boundary of the bay. Near the end +of the headland, overlooking the narrow passage +between it and the reef, by which vessels could enter +the harbour at low tide, was the favourite playground +of his early boyhood. It was a hollow in the cliff, +screened from observation seaward by a huge boulder +somewhat insecurely poised. Only a few years had +passed since Sam and he used to play there at +fighting the French. There they had their toy citadel, +from which they bombarded Boney's squadrons +attempting an invasion. From it, too, they could +see on to the decks of vessels passing in and out +of the harbour at low tide, and hugging the cliff to +avoid the reef. They played also at smuggling, +and it is noteworthy that they were always the +successful smugglers, and never the baulked and +discomfited preventive men. It was a lonely spot, +and they had it quite to themselves except for the +gulls.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When, as they grew older, they no longer took +the same childish delight in playing French and +English, they turned the place into a storehouse for +fishing gear. In a remote corner of the nook, they +scooped out the earth to form a deep recess, lined +this with wood, and kept there a reserve supply of +hooks, tackle, rope, a spare anchor and sculls, two +fowling-pieces, and other articles, by this means +often saving themselves a journey back to the +Towers. Lonely as the spot was, they often +quaked with apprehension lest their secret should +be discovered, especially during the pilchard season. +At that time the huer, whose duty it was to keep +watch, and indicate by flourishing a bush, for the +benefit of the fishers below, the direction in which +the shoals of fish were swimming, was accustomed +to take his stand on the headland. But he naturally +chose the highest point, and had no reason to seek +the lower level of the cave, where he could neither +see nor be seen so well. The boys were always +careful to avoid the neighbourhood of their +storehouse when the huer was about, and there being +nothing to draw any one else to the spot, the secret +had remained undiscovered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was towards this place that Dick proceeded on +leaving the Towers. But when he arrived there, he +found at once that if the smugglers' cargo was to be +run in the bay it would be impossible to see +anything of it. The night was particularly dark; only +such moonless nights were chosen by the smugglers +for their operations; and even the grey cliffs were +almost invisible from where he stood. He determined, +therefore, to return along the headland, and +make his way down the face of the cliff by the path +whereby he had ascended with Sam on the night of +their bass fishing. There were recesses at the foot, +in one of which he could easily conceal himself and +watch all that went on. And as there was no time +to lose, if he was to be in hiding before the smugglers +arrived, he walked rapidly, and climbed down the +steep path at a pace that would have been dangerous +to any one who was not well acquainted with it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was unaware that a figure was following him. +There was no sound of footsteps to attract his +attention: he did not look back, and if he had done so +he could hardly have seen the form that steadily +kept pace with him at the distance of sixty or seventy +yards. The second figure descended the path with +the same surefooted ease, paused at the foot till +Dick was out of sight, and then stole after him and +ensconced himself in a hollow of the cliff only about +three yards from that in which Dick had stationed +himself. These hiding-places were some twenty +yards from the bottom of the path.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Neither of the two silent watchers suspected that, +on the cliff above them, a third figure was approaching +the path by which they had descended, but from +the opposite direction. Old Penwarden, so far from +being snugly asleep, as Jake Tonkin rashly concluded, +had never been more wide-awake in his life. The +summoning of Mr. Mildmay to a distance, the +lateness of the pilchard season, and the darkness of +the night, combined to make him suspicious, and he +had resolved to patrol the cliff from St. Cuby's Well +to the Beal, to satisfy himself that the smugglers +were not already at their tricks. Having smoked +through his pipe at the Well, he returned to his +cottage, took the telescope, the brace of pistols, the +ammunition, the cutlass, and the blue light for +giving an alarm which were his regular equipment, +and began to march slowly and quietly up and down.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About ten minutes after the lads had taken up +their positions, they heard a stone come rattling +down the path twenty yards to the left. A few +seconds after, they were just able to discern a dark +figure emerge on to the beach. This was followed +by another, and a third, and soon the whole beach +was alive with dusky shapes. The tide was ebbing, +but a stiff breeze sent long rollers dashing over the +sand, their roar and rustle smothering the low voices +of the men as they talked fitfully together.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The watchers saw one of the men drive an iron +post firmly into the sand and attach to it the end of +a rope. The other end was fastened to a similar +post in the earth at the top of the cliff. By this +means a rail was formed, to give assistance to the +carriers as they climbed up with their burdens.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A little later there came from seaward a faint +creak, scarcely distinguishable among the other +sounds. The watchers pricked up their ears. Even +at low tide there was enough water beneath the +cliffs to enable a vessel to run in very close, and the +hidden spectators guessed that a lugger was drawing +in: at present they could not see it. The shore +men were all low down on the beach. In a few +minutes the men could be heard splashing in the +water as they waded out to the vessel. Then the +lugger itself appeared, a dark shape on the surface.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Soon the men could be seen returning in a long +line, each one apparently twice as big as before. +Each bore two tubs, one in front, one behind, slung +over his shoulders by ropes which had been fitted +before they left the lugger.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Several of the men had deposited their burdens +on the beach, and were going back for more, when +there was a noise of scrambling on the path. Work +ceased instantly. A figure ran a few yards towards +the sea, and spoke to a large man who appeared to +be directing the operations. His words were just +audible to the watchers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Old Joe be comin' along cliff-top, Feyther."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But they told me you said 'a was asleep."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So 'a was, but 'a must ha' waked up. He be +comin', sure enough."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You must be a cussed stunpoll, then, to come +slitherin' down cliff like that, makin' a rattle to wake +the dead. Well, no matter. We can deal wi' old +Joe, if so be as he's alone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, he be alone. I pulled up the post and +brought the rope down-along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You've some sense in yer skull, then. Now you, +Pendred, and you, Simon Mail, go up cliff and keep +a watch. Stand yerselves in that narrow part +three-quarters of the way up, and if the old meddler comes, +seize un, and choke un, but don't do un a hurt +unless he shows fight. We don't want no crowner's quest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two men selected to waylay the exciseman set +off to climb the cliff, and the work of running the +cargo was resumed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was in a quandary. He had no interest in +doing preventive work, and there were many reasons +why he should refrain from interfering. But old +Penwarden was a friend of his, and a mettlesome +old fellow, who would certainly not allow himself to +be seized without a struggle. Moreover, being +armed, as he doubtless was, he would have a +temporary advantage over the smugglers, who, +expecting no opposition, would probably have no +weapons with them but their knives. But it might +well be that in the struggle the smugglers, driven to +desperation, would make short work of rushing upon +him and flinging him over the cliff; or if the +struggle were prolonged, they could summon help +from below, overpower him, and truss him up. In +either case the old man would be in considerable +danger, for the smugglers, when their passions were +aroused, would not be over-scrupulous.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>These considerations flashed through Dick's mind +in a second. He could not let Penwarden run into +danger unwarned; yet how was the warning to be +given? There was but one way. A few yards to +the right of the spot where he stood it was possible +to scale the cliff. The ascent was much longer and +more arduous than the regular path, and there was +the risk that he would not be in time. Unless he +gained the cliff-top before Penwarden had passed, +he would be too late. There was not a moment to spare.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dropping down on hands and knees behind a +boulder that intercepted the view seaward, he +crawled as fast as he could towards a slight indentation +of the cliff beyond which he would be invisible +to the smugglers, and where the ascent began. He +was followed within a few moments by the second +watcher. Just as he was beginning to climb he +heard a low whisper behind him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I be comin' too, Maister Dick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You here, Sam? What do you mean by this?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee talk, now. I'll tell 'ee when we get +to top."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They scrambled up the face of the cliff as actively +as goats, clutching at stunted bushes and tufts of +coarse grass, dodging awkward corners, fearful lest +the stones and loose earth they disturbed should +strike upon the boulders below and reveal their +presence to the smugglers. Both were active lads +with good wind, and their progress was no doubt +more rapid, foot for foot, than that of the smugglers +on the path a hundred yards to the right, encumbered +as they were with their heavy sea-boots. But this +advantage in speed was counterbalanced by the +greater length of their course, though this in its turn +was compensated by the fact that, unless Penwarden +had already passed, they would be a hundred yards +nearer to him when they reached the top.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In six minutes from the start, panting with their +exertions, they heaved themselves over the brink of +the cliff and stood erect. Twenty yards to their +right, Penwarden was in the act of raising his +telescope to spy over the waters of the bay. With +trembling limbs they ran towards him, Dick giving +him warning of their presence by a low clear whisper. +The old exciseman shut up his telescope with a snap, +and turned.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis you, Maister Dick!" he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. Some one saw you. Two men are waiting +for you on the path. I can't tell you their +names. You'll be knocked over if you try to go down."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the way o't, is it? We'll see about that. +Thank'ee for the warning. You didn't tell me they +be running a cargo, but I know it. I'll dash their +tricks."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Joe—"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't stop me," said Penwarden, shaking off +Dick's detaining arm. "'Tis my duty to stop this +run, Mr. Mildmay being haled off on a wild-goose +chase, and do it I will. But get 'ee home-along, sir, +you are best out o' this, though if 'ee were a bit +older, dash my bones if I wouldn't call on 'ee to help +in the King's name."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Without more ado, he took from his pocket the +blue light, struck a spark from his tinder-box, and in +a moment the cliff-top for many yards around was +illuminated by the brilliant sputtering flame. It was +intended to warn the lieutenant of the revenue cutter, +if he were within sight, and to draw from their +cottages in the village the tidesmen, as they were +called, whose duty it was, on the alarm being given, +to hasten to the exciseman's assistance. These men +were cobblers, tinkers, and other small tradesmen, +for the most part Methodists, who were ready to +brave the hostility of the smugglers for the sake of +good pay and a bounty for every hogshead seized.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was aghast. Things were turning out even +worse than he expected. The light would enrage +the smugglers, and they would be in no mood to +handle the old man gently. Penwarden was already +hurrying towards the path. It seemed to Dick sheer +madness for one man, and a man no longer young, +to attempt to deal with a score of rough and +determined smugglers. He was rushing headlong upon +destruction. All care for what might be the +consequences to himself vanished from Dick's mind; he +could not leave the exciseman to his fate. But what +could he do to help him, without weapon of any +kind? He suddenly bethought him of the fowling-pieces +laid up in the little nook on the Beal.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, Sam," he said, and started to run at full +speed to fetch them. They passed Penwarden like +a flash; there might just be time to return before he +encountered the ambushed men. The blue light +was now extinguished, and sea and land were covered +with the former darkness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Much fleeter of foot than Sam, Dick outstripped +him in a few seconds, and ran on alone to the little +cave. He seized the fowling-pieces, and discovered +that there was no ammunition; nevertheless, he +raced back with them; they might serve to over-awe +the smugglers, or in the last resort be used +as clubs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had only just rejoined Sam when they heard +a rough voice call out a command to halt, and +Penwarden's answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stand aside, in the King's name."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Clearly the dauntless old man had arrived at the +spot where the smugglers were in wait for him. +The boys dashed forward, came to the head of the +path, and ran recklessly down, Dick hoping that +they might still be in time to prevent mischief. But +before they reached the scene of the scuffle, they +heard the noise of some heavy body crashing down +the cliff, and then the roar of a pistol. Immediately +afterwards they caught sight of two figures hurrying +down the path.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They've killed un dead!" muttered Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With his heart in his mouth, Dick ran down the +path, slipping, recovering himself, and running +again. Sam was close behind. About half-way +down a body lay huddled on a projecting ledge, +which had broken its fall and prevented it from +crashing to the base of the cliff. Dick stooped over +it, expecting to see Penwarden shot to the heart. +To his intense relief he heard a groan, and turning +the man over, he was just able to perceive that his +face was blackened. Joe, then, had escaped, and +was one of the two who had gone down the path +and were now out of sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two boys hurried on. There was a great +hubbub below them; having been discovered, the +smugglers no longer troubled to preserve silence; +and Dick, hearing their angry shouts and curses, +feared that Penwarden's quixotic action in +attempting to tackle them single-handed would prove his +destruction. He took the rest of the path in +reckless leaps, and, when he reached the beach, saw that +the old exciseman had posted himself beside a row +of tubs which he had seized in the King's name.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the confusion Dick's arrival was unobserved. +The smugglers were thronging up the beach with +threatening cries. Penwarden's pistol flashed, but +next moment a heavy missile, hurled by one of the +men, struck him on the head, and he fell.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Throw un into the sea," shouted a rough voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Half-a-dozen men rushed towards the prostrate +man and began to drag him towards the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stand!" cried Dick, dashing forward. "Loose +him, or we'll fire."</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 93%" id="figure-85"> +<span id="stand-cried-dick-dashing-forward-leave-him-or-we-ll-fire"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""'STAND!' CRIED DICK, DASHING FORWARD. 'LEAVE HIM, OR WE'LL FIRE.'"" src="images/img-094.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"'STAND!' CRIED DICK, DASHING FORWARD. 'LEAVE HIM, OR WE'LL FIRE.'"</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>A sudden silence fell upon the scene. The men +who held Penwarden's arms stood aside; the others +edged away, taken aback by this unexpected +intervention; there had not been time for the tidesmen +to arrive from the village. Dick and Sam stood +over the exciseman, pointing their useless muskets at +the crowd. For a moment there was absolute +stillness; then one of the men murmured:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis young Maister Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes," cried Dick, "and I warn you that if any +of you lays a hand on the old man again I will +report you all to Sir Bevil. I know you, for all +your black faces. There's Doubledick, and Tonkin, +and——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, 'tis I, and I don't care who knows it," +interrupted Tonkin, pushing forward. "What +'nation call ha' you got to meddle, cuss you!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't meddle with your trade; it's nothing to +me; but I won't see an old fellow killed by a pack +of ruffians."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin cursed again, but some one drew him +back and spoke to him in low tones. The fact that +the interruption had come from the Squire's son was +more daunting than the lads' muskets, which had no +terror for armed men accustomed to contend with +equal numbers. But the name of Trevanion, in spite +of the fallen fortunes of the house, was still a moral +power in the country-side, and, further, if any harm +befell the Squire's heir, they could not escape a +heavy retribution.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After a few moments' colloquy, a man came +forward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hark 'ee, sir," he said, and Dick recognised his +voice as Doubledick's, in spite of an attempt to +disguise it. "We take it hard as you've meddled +wi' honest free-traders as never did 'ee no harm. +As for old Joe, 'twas only a bit of fun—hee! hee!—he +bean't for drownin'. What I says I says for all, +and that is, we'll let 'ee take un away if you do give +us yer sacred word not to gie our names to Sir Bevil +or Mr. Mildmay,—them as you knows."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't want to play informer," replied Dick. +"I agree to that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word to a soul?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. I've said so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's fair spoke," said the man, turning to +the rest.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A murmur of approval broke from them. Dick +at once lifted Penwarden, with Sam's help, from the +pool of water in which he was lying. It was difficult +to keep him on his feet, for he was as yet only +partially conscious. Without either assistance or +interference from the smugglers they led him slowly +to the foot of the path, and, one on each side of him, +began to carry, rather than walk, him up the cliff. +One of the smugglers dogged them throughout the +toilsome ascent. When they came to the place +where the man had fallen, after a shrewd thrust from +Penwarden's cutlass, they found that he had +disappeared, having no doubt made his way homeward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank 'ee for this, Maister Dick," murmured +Penwarden when they paused to rest at the cliff-top. +"I'll have the law of those tidesmen for not comin' +when they was called."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No doubt they didn't see your light. And look +here, Joe, I promised not to split on the men, so I +want you to promise too."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze me if I could split if I tried. I didn't see +one of 'em plain, nor hear their voices, and I got +this crack on the head afore I could tell one from +t'other."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do it hurt much, maister?" asked Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"More'n you'd care about, young Sam. But 'tis +nawthin' at all to the cracks and wounds we got when +we served wi' Lord Admiral Rodney. Have I telled +'ee what 'a said to me purticler one day on Plymouth +Hoe?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, yes," said Dick, quickly. "The sooner +you are in bed the better."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They took him slowly to his cottage, where +Dick put him to bed, gave him some brandy, and +bathed his wounded head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll stop with him to-night, Sam," he said. +"Don't leave him until Gammer Oliver comes in +the morning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What'll 'ee say to Feyther, Maister Dick? I'm +afeard he'll be in a terrible rage wi' poor me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll make that right. Now, lock the door when +I've gone, and give Mr. Penwarden anything he +wants during the night. I'll come over in the +morning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was nearly two o'clock before Dick got to bed, +and day was breaking before he slept. Meanwhile +the smugglers finished their work unmolested, and +before morning eighty tubs of good French spirits +lay in the capacious cellars beneath the Dower House.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-breach-widens"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE SEVENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Breach Widens</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Next morning John Trevanion, fresh and ruddy, +dressed in white breeches and a blue coat with +shining buttons, rode gaily down to the Five +Pilchards and summoned Doubledick to the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you did the business, I see," he said +jovially. "A small beginning: I wish my cellars +held more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, a little small haul, to be sure; little +and good. Hee! hee! But, Maister Trevanion, +I've summat plaguey awk'ard to tell 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that?" said Trevanion, with an uneasy +look.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, drown me if old Joe didn' come upon us, +and, worse than that, when we'd cracked him on the +head, who should come bouncing down-along but +Squire's boy and young Sam Pollex, vowin' and +swearin' they'd shoot us through the gizzard if we +laid a finger on the old man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The deuce they did! and you knocked them on +the head, of course?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The look of uneasiness passed from Trevanion's face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, no, not 'zackly. 'Twas Squire's son, you +see."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What of that? You should have cracked their +numskulls together and sent 'em home howling. +Afraid of two boys! What did you do, may I ask?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Crackin' skulls is all very fine, but we didn' +want a crowner's 'quest on young Squire. No, no, +we don't want hangman's necklace chokin' the +breath out of us. We let 'em take old Joe home-along, +arter they'd give their Bible word to be mum +as gravestones."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you were a pack of fools. Don't you see +the monkeys were spying on you? 'Twas they +brought Joe, without a doubt, though I'd like to +know how they got wind of the business."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if I didn' think it! ... Here's Zacky +Tonkin. Maister Trevanion was sayin' as they two +brats spied on us, Zacky."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not they, 'a b'lieve," said Tonkin, who had +come up. "Young Squire said he'd no mind to +meddle wi' the business, but was only a bit tender +over old Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you believe that!" said Trevanion, angrily +flicking his riding-whip. "Make no mistake, the +Squire has turned on you. I happen to know that +Mildmay has been twice to the Towers of late; the +Squire's as poor as a church mouse, and informer's +pay will be riches to him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Squire turn informer!" cried Tonkin. "I +can't believe it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can, though," said Doubledick. "When a +man's as low down in the world as Squire, he'll do a +deal o' dirtiness to fill his purse, 'a b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course he will," said Trevanion. "You +don't know the world, Tonkin. Depend upon it, a +good many golden guineas will find their way to the +Towers before a week's out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin was an honest fellow, save in so far as the +King's revenue was concerned, and had that simplicity +of soul which is incredulous of trickery in others. +He was not proof against the cunning suggestions of +Trevanion. Naturally short-tempered and violent, +he smote the flank of Trevanion's horse a blow that +set it prancing, and cried with a savage oath:—</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I'll make 'em pay for 't, as sure as my +name be Zack Tonkin. I will so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee! That 'a will," said Doubledick, +rubbing his hands. "They golden guineas 'll be a +bad egg, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion smiled. He had laid the train; he +could trust his minions to fire it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we'll speak no more of that," he said. +"I'm riding to Truro: can you tell what for?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not for more furnichy?" said Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Goin' a-courtin', hee! hee!" smirked Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no; I shan't trouble the parson yet awhile. +I'm going to open the mines again, my men."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I'm sorry for 'ee," said Tonkin bluntly. +"Mines were worked out long ago."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to try. I shall +begin in quite a small way. I shan't fling my money +into the earth as my cousin did. But I mean to try +my luck, and within a week or two I shall have a +few men at work."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twill be good for the parish," said Doubledick. +"The miners are drouthy souls, and have a proper +taste for good sperits. Ay, sure, 'twill do us all +good."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You won't give up the trade, sir?" enquired +Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not I. The Polkerran men will do more than +ever before. A fig for your Mildmays and +Polwheles—Polwhele is still riding-officer, isn't he? My +wits against them any day. We'll double our trade +with Roscoff this winter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If Delarousse bean't nabbed," said Tonkin. +"His game of privateerin' will souse him in hot +water one o' these days."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! we can do without Delarousse. There's a +man in Roscoff, no friend of his, who will deal with +us better than he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It do maze me, Maister Trevanion," said Doubledick, +"that arter bein' away all these years ye know +so much about the trade."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I keep my eyes open, that's all," replied +Trevanion, with a laugh. "Well, I must be off. +You can tell the neighbours about the mines. I'm +glad to do something for the old village."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He rode away, giving smiling greetings to the +people, men and women, whom he passed on the +road.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A fine feller!" said Doubledick, enthusiastically. +"'Twill be heyday in village, Zacky; stirring life, +and not so much of a tomb as 'tis since Squire +became a pauper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But I'm sorry he do want us to break with +Delarousse. He be a good trader, for a Frenchman. +Howsomever, if there be a better, all the better for +we, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men parted, to retail to their friends and +neighbours the pleasing news of the great things +John Trevanion was about to do for the village.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Roscoff, the place mentioned in the course of +their conversation, was a little port in Brittany which +had become the chief seat of the contraband trade +with the south-west of England since a restrictive +Act of Parliament had put a stop to it in the Channel +Islands. The French Government had made it a +free port to smugglers, and in a few years it had +grown from a tiny fishing village to a thriving town. +There were three classes of people engaged in the +contraband trade. The freighters consigned or +received the goods, and paid the expenses of their +shipment. The boatmen conveyed them from +port to port, always on moonless nights, and usually +when a strong wind was blowing. The tub-carriers +bore them to their destination. The boatmen +received a fixed sum for each trip, the tub-carriers +for each cargo run, and frequently in addition a +portion of the goods, or a small share in the +proceeds.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Until John Trevanion reappeared in Polkerran, +Isaac Tonkin had been the principal freighter of the +village, and was the owner and master of the lugger +which plied between it and Roscoff. His dealings +were chiefly with a certain Jean Delarousse, a +ship-owner of Roscoff, who was notorious also as a daring +seaman, and in his privateer vessel preyed on English +shipping in the Channel between Poole and the +Lizard. Delarousse had never come to Polkerran, +but he was well known to Tonkin and the crew of +his lugger, the Isaac and Jacob. Tonkin having +little capital, the cargoes run at Polkerran were +usually small, and were disposed of solely among +the innkeepers, farmers, and gentry of the +neighbourhood. Now that Trevanion had come home, the +Polkerran folk expected great developments in +the trade, and looked forward to an exciting and +profitable winter. Apart from the monetary gain, +the risks of smuggling exercised a fascination upon +those engaged in it, providing the only excitement in +their otherwise dull and monotonous lives. The +fraud on the revenue weighed very lightly on their +consciences. In their view they were entitled to the +full value of the goods for which they had honestly +paid, and the Government officials were thieves and +tyrants. To best the Customs and Excise was both +a business and a sport.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was not long before the consequences of Dick's +intervention on behalf of Joe Penwarden made +themselves felt. Hitherto the smugglers had recognised +the Trevanions of the Towers as rather for them +than against them, but now, actuated by John +Trevanion's malicious suggestion, they looked on +them in a different light. For the first time a +Trevanion had ranged himself on the side of the +representatives of the law, and Tonkin, resenting +what he regarded as defection, soon began to show +that in threatening vengeance he meant to be as good +as his word.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One morning Dick, going down with Sam to +inspect the night lines he had set in the waters of +Trevanion Bay, discovered with surprise and +annoyance that they had been cut. A day or two +afterwards they found their boat, which they had +drawn up as usual above high-water mark, bumping +among the rocks half a mile up the coast. They did +not report these occurrences, hoping that they were +nothing but a mark of temporary ill-feeling and would +soon cease. But when for the third time their lines +were tampered with, Dick became seriously concerned. +The fish they caught were a very important part of +the provisions for the household. What was not +required at once was salted and dried for +consumption when fishing was over for the season. Without +these constant supplies they would have to draw +more largely on their pigs and poultry, which they +were accustomed to sell. Dick was unwilling to +impart his troubles to any one, and for several nights +he and Sam kept watch, hoping that if the culprits +were caught in the act, the fear of exposure would +put a stop to their mischief. On three nights +nothing happened: and yet, on the first night when +they left the lines unguarded, the same fate befell +them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is more than I can bear," cried Dick, in the +morning. "I shall tell Petherick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Petherick was the village constable, who filled also +the offices of sexton, bell-ringer, and beadle in the +parish church.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless 'ee, you'll waste yer breath," said Sam. +"Old Petherick be a crony o' Tonkin, and wouldn' +lift a finger against him, without it were murder or +arson: and then he'd have to get the sojers to help +him. Why, 'tis said he've let 'em keep the tubs in +church-tower sometimes when the preventives have +been smellin' too close."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we must put a stop to it somehow. I'll +tell Joe, and see what he has to say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Later in the day he went into the village to buy +some new fishing tackle at a general-shop, where the +folk could buy tea, sugar, cheese, needles, thread, +letter-paper, bootlaces—in short, every small article +they needed. On his return, he heard a hubbub +proceeding from the village green, where wrestling-bouts, +games of quoits, dog-fights, and other sports +took place. In the midst was a duck-pond. Bending +his steps thither to see what was going on, he +beheld Sam with his back against a tree, sturdily +defending himself with fists and feet against a crowd +of the village lads, among whom the hulking form +of Jake Tonkin was conspicuous.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Heave un in duck-pond," he heard Jake cry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better!" he shouted, rushing forward to +assist his companion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The crowd fell back as he forced his way through +it, bowling one fellow over like a ninepin, and +driving another out of his path with a shove that +nearly sent him into the pond. It is probable that +his energy, and the prestige attached to him as the +Squire's son, would have put an end to the affair; +but it chanced that John Trevanion rode by at this +moment, and reining up his horse, contrived in +some subtle manner to indicate that his sympathy +was with the larger party. Only this could explain +the sudden change in their attitude. They closed +round Dick and Sam with derisive yells.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Gie un both a duckin'," shouted one, and they +made a sudden concerted rush, trying to seize the +two boys.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, never having been to school, had never had +occasion or opportunity to learn the noble art; but +his muscles were in good condition, and the obvious +necessity was to make full use of them. Standing +beside Sam against the tree, he hit out against any +head, trunk, or shoulder that came within reach, +Sam making good play as before with feet as well as +arms. One young fisher retired with a crimson +nose, another with a bump over one eye, a third +shouting that his leg was broken. All the time +John Trevanion sat his horse, smiling, and flinging +out now and then an encouraging word, which might +have been intended for either side, but was +appropriated by Tonkin's crew.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Courage and the best will in the world cannot +prevail over a triple excess of numbers. The fisher-lads +were still six when their wounded comrades had +retired to the rear. Led by Jake Tonkin they +hurled themselves upon the two defenders. For a +few minutes there was a brisk scrimmage; many +good blows were given and exchanged; then Dick +and Sam fell, to be immediately pounced on by the +victors, who caught them by legs and arms and +began to drag them down to the pond.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They were within a yard of the brink when a +loud voice thundered a command to halt, and a +riding-whip cracked and curled its thong round the +legs and backs of the aggressors. With howls of +pain they released their victims and fled across the +green. Rising, bruised and muddy, from the ground, +the two boys saw Mr. Polwhele, the riding-officer, +close by on horseback, his face flushed and stern-set +with anger.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You look on and do nothing!" he said indignantly +to John Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear sir, why should I interfere? Boys +must fight, let them fight it out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Three to one—is that your idea of fair play?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion shrugged.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hadn't you better reserve your whip for +stimulating your tidesmen, Mr. Polwhele? They +need a little spiriting, if what I hear is true."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And with that as a parting shot Trevanion rode away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What was the origin of this?" asked Mr. Polwhele. +"I'm sorry to see it, Master Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas like this, sir," said Sam, rubbing his head +and legs alternately. "I comed upon they chaps, +and Jake Tonkin says to me, 'Catched any fish +lately, young Sam?' Says I, ''Tis easier to cut +lines, to be sure,' says I, and then they set on me, +and they'd ha' melled and mashed me if Maister +Dick hadn't come up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have they been cutting your lines, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick saw no help for it but to acquaint the +riding-officer with the petty persecution he had lately +suffered, and the cause of it, which hitherto +Mr. Polwhele had not known.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis rascally, 'pon my soul it is," said the +officer, "and I'm sorry Penwarden has brought it +on ye. Not but 'twas your own doing, Master +Dick; you'd better have kept out of it, though I +own 'twas a good deed to old Joe. I'm on my +way to see Sir Bevil, and I'll tell him as a +magistrate, and he'll engage to commit any ruffian that +molests ye."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not on my account, if you please, Mr. Polwhele," +said Dick earnestly. "There's bad blood between +the Towers and the village as it is, and 'twill be ten +times worse if Sir Bevil comes into it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe you're in the right. Well, I'll see you +safe home, and if I may advise ye, keep out of the +way o' the village folk. You're not friends with +Mr. Trevanion seemingly. Is he backing the +smugglers, d'ye know?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't say anything about that. My father has +nothing to do with him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, well, these family quarrels are common +enough. Come along beside me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Nothing could have been more unfortunate than +the intervention of the riding-officer. Purely +accidental as it was, the villagers regarded it as another +proof of the new alliance between the Towers and +the enemy. John Trevanion did not fail to +describe to the elder Tonkin, the next time he met +him, how savagely Mr. Polwhele had laid his whip +upon Jake, and the irate smuggler swore that if he +encountered the riding-officer he would make him +pay for it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That evening Dick consulted Joe Penwarden on +the situation, as he had intended. Joe was much +distressed to think that he was the cause of the +bitterness with which the village folk now regarded +the family at the Towers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know what you can do," said he. "But +let things bide; maybe they'll see by long and late +they've misread 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But we can't have our fishing spoilt time after +time, Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a pretty stoor, be dazed to it!" said Joe, +angrily. "And all for a wambling old carcase like +me! Ah! I warn't allus like as I be now. When +Lord Admiral Rodney spoke to me on Plymouth +Hoe I was as limber a young feller as you'd see in +Devon or Cornwall. He was goin' along with two +handsome females——but there, I think I've telled +'ee. What I say is, why did Maister John come +home, cuss him? There was none o' this afore."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think that's fair, Joe. They'd have run +a cargo all the same, if he were at the ends of the +earth; and I couldn't have done differently."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye may say so, but I hold to it, whatever ye say. +He's ill-wished 'ee, that's the truth, and a pity it +is he ever showed his face here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two evenings later, when Dick was struggling +with a piece of Latin prose for Mr. Carlyon, there +was a knock at the outer door, and Reuben admitted +Penwarden, with Jake Tonkin firmly in his clutch.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Axe Squire if I can have speech with him, +Reuby," he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Trevanion came out into the hall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, what's this, Joe?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I catched this young reptile a-meddlin' wi' +Maister Dick's lines, Squire," said Penwarden, "so +I brought him up to be dealt with according to law."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Meddling with his lines, indeed!" cried the +Squire in surprise. "Why should he do that? +What have you to say for yourself, rascal?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake had nothing to say for himself, but stood +with a sullen glower upon his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis not the first time either, Squire, and I be +mazed as you didn' know it," Penwarden continued.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I knew nothing about it. Dick," he called into +the room, "come here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick obeyed reluctantly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Penwarden tells me," said his father, "that your +lines have been tampered with. Is that true?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How often?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Three or four times within a week or so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why did you not tell me?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't want to bother you, sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But this is new; it shows a hostile spirit——. +Well, I'll say no more now. As for you, you +young scoundrel, I'm not a justice, or I'd commit +you. You shall take your choice; a sound flogging, +or haled before Sir Bevil: that will mean three +months in Truro jail. Which is it to be?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't want to see Sir Bevil," said Jake, +sullenly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Strip off your coat, then. Reuben, bring my whip."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went away: he could not remain to see the +lad thrashed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Reuben, half a dozen lashes," said the +Squire when his man returned. "No; I'll do it +myself. Stoop!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick pressed his fingers into his ears when at the +third or fourth stroke Jake began to howl. The +Squire gave him full measure; then bade him +begone, and take care not to offend again, declaring +that he should not get off so easily next time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Dick," he said, returning to the room, +"what is the meaning of all this?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thereupon Dick made a clean breast of it, telling +all that had happened since the rescue of Penwarden. +The Squire's face clouded as he listened to the +story.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"John Trevanion is at the bottom of this," he +cried, thumping the table. "They would never +believe I was against them unless their minds had +been poisoned. I will see Tonkin to-morrow and +get at the truth." Then, with one of the swift +changes of mood characteristic of him, he added: +"No, I won't do it. I won't gratify that cur; he +shall never think I care a snap for him. Tell me +if anything of the kind happens again, and I will +myself go over to see Sir Bevil. On my life, the +toad shall smart if he is proved to be stirring folk +against me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Every succeeding incident in this series did but +confirm the village folk in their conviction that the +Squire was now their declared enemy, and in staunch +alliance with the revenue officers.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="a-light-on-the-moor"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE EIGHTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">A Light on the Moor</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Next day everybody in Polkerran knew of Jake +Tonkin's thrashing. It was discussed by the men in +tap-rooms, on the jetty, in barns and piggeries, in +mills and cobblers' work-rooms. Fishwives chattered +about it on their doorsteps and at their windows. +Boys meeting their playmates asked if they had heard +that Jake Tonkin had been walloped by Squire, and +Jake, as the victim of two assaults of this nature in +succession, was looked upon as something of a hero. +Public opinion was dead against the Squire, and was +perhaps only the stronger because it was in the +wrong.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was clear that John Trevanion intended to +make himself as unpleasant as possible to his relative. +In the afternoon a number of men were seen mounting +the steep road from the village to the cliff, +drawing trolleys laden with short narrow planks of +wood. On reaching the green level they proceeded +to erect fences on the ground that had formerly been +the Squire's, and was now John Trevanion's. By the +end of the next day a large portion of the land was +enclosed, the effect of these operations being that the +inmates of the Towers were cramped in their movements +out of doors, being restricted to the high road +and the various rights of way, which even the landlord +could not close against them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam Pollex hoped that the Squire would retaliate. +The Beal, from which the huer was accustomed to +show his signals to the pilchard fishers, was still +Mr. Trevanion's property, and he could, if he chose, fence +it round in the same way. But there was nothing +petty in the Squire's nature. He was not the man +to take a mean revenge on his neighbours, so that +when a fisher reported one evening that he had seen +sharks and grampuses some distance out at sea, a sure +sign that the pilchards were coming, the villagers +went to bed without any fear that access would be +forbidden to the usual haunt.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Just before dawn next morning, Nathan Pendry, +father of John Trevanion's portmanteau carrier, the +most experienced fisher in the village, took his stand +at the extremity of the Beal, carrying his bush. +Seaward, the sky was gloomy; in the east a pale orange +and pink glow on the horizon announced the rising +sun. The air was very still, only the slow ripples +washing the sand at the foot of the cliff breaking the +silence. In the fairway lay three boats, the largest +of them a smack of eight tons burden, manned by +six oarsmen, together with Tonkin and a fisher +nearly as large as he. These men and the occupants +of the other boats sat without speaking, their eyes +fixed on the huer above. He stood motionless, +gazing intently on the surface of the sea. Beyond +the promontory the village was as yet asleep; one +man stood solitary at the end of the jetty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the huer bent forward, in an attitude of +intense expectancy. A few minutes passed; then +lifting himself he waved his bush aloft. His +experienced eyes had detected a shadow in the water, +moving across the bay in a direction parallel with the +shore. Instantly the men in the first boat fell to +their oars, and Tonkin, standing up in the stern, +and making a trumpet of his hands, shouted, +"Havar! havar!" towards the single figure on the +jetty. This man repeated the cry; it was taken up +in the village; and soon from every street and lane +a crowd of men, women, and children poured up +towards the cliffs, dressing themselves as they ran, +and shouting, "Havar! havar! Yo-hoy, hoy, hoy!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the rowers were tugging at their oars +with all their might, Ike Pendry, who was rowing +bow, having his eyes fixed on his father, and +directing the steersman in accordance with the movements +of the bush. The ground behind the huer was now +thronged with spectators, no longer shouting, but +watching Pendry and the boatmen in tense silence. +All at once the huer dropped his bush; the rowers +shipped oars; and Tonkin and his mate grasped a +long net, which had lain folded ready to their hands, +and with a few deft movements shot it overboard.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yo-hoy, yo-hoy!" broke from every throat. +Then the crowd relapsed into silence, watching the +further proceedings in the bay.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The "seine net," as it was called, was a quarter of +a mile long and sixteen fathoms broad at the middle. +It was fastened on each side to two stout double +ropes, and at each corner to four strong warps about +fifty fathoms long. Corks were fixed to the upper +edge, and leaden weights to the lower. When it +was "shot," the corks buoyed up one end to the +surface of the water, the leads sank the other +perpendicularly to the bottom. The boat +meanwhile was rowed round the shoal, following the +directions of the huer, until, the two extremities +being made fast, the fish were imprisoned in an +oblong barrier of network. As Tonkin straightened +his back after completing his part of the work, +another shout rent the air, and the huer, his task +also accomplished, broke through the dignified calm +which had hitherto distinguished him, and waved his +cap triumphantly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now came the turn of the "tuck-boat," one of +those that had remained as yet in the fairway. It +was rowed within the area enclosed by the seine, +and laid close to the seine-boat, to the bows of which +one end of a smaller net, called the "tuck," was +fastened by a rope. The boat then slowly made +the inner circuit of the seine, the tuck being paid +out and deftly hooked at intervals to the larger net. +Meanwhile the men in the third boat beat the water +with their oars, so as to scare the fish into the middle +of the enclosure.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now came the most exciting moment of the day. +The cliff-top all round the bay was dark with +spectators. Small boys, eager to get in front, dodged +and shoved among the legs and skirts of their +elders. The village blacksmith was there; cobblers +with bent backs and leather aprons; tinkers, tailors, +wheelwrights, carpenters, ploughmen, dairymaids, +old men with sticks and crutches, old women who +could scarcely totter, mothers with babies in their +arms: all were agog with excitement to see the final +act. Sam Pollex was there, and when he caught +sight of the parlourmaid of the Dower House he +sidled up to her elbow, listened with delight to her +exclamations of "My gracious!" "Look 'ee see, +now!" "Lawk-a-massy me!" and by-and-by +ventured to instruct her ignorance of the movements +passing below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With the shouts of the boys were now mingled the +deeper tones of the seiners as, ranged in a row in +their boat, they began to haul on the tuck, calling +"Yo, heave ho!" in time with their rhythmic +movements. "Pull away, boys!" shouts the huer; +"Yo-hoy!" scream the boys. "Up she comes! +Look at 'em! Look at 'em!" The water eddies +like a mill-race; in the midst is seen a heaving mass +of gleaming scales; and from round the point come +boats of all sizes, which range themselves in a circle +about the shoal. Men lean over the sides, dip their +baskets, lift them full of shining fish, empty them +into the boats, and dip them again for more. Soon +they stand ankle deep in pilchards, and when the +boats sink to the gunwales, they are rowed away to +the jetty, where men are waiting with shovels and +barrows, ready to carry the fish to the salting-house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick Trevanion was among the spectators. He +never missed the first haul of the season. But to-day +he was acutely conscious of a change. Last year the +villagers had greeted him with smiles and cheery +words; to-day they lowered their eyes, passed him +in silence, and edged away from him as he moved +from place to place. He could not but feel bitterly +his isolation. Why did they so misjudge him? He +had not changed: he knew well that, in any ordinary +contest between the smugglers and the revenue +officers, his sympathy would have been with the +former; friendly as he was with Mr. Mildmay, he +would enjoy nothing better than that gentleman's +discomfiture, if it were due to fair means and the +villagers' wits. Yet, because he had intervened to +prevent harm to an old man, he was now regarded +by the villagers as their enemy, one who would +descend to play the mean part of spy and informer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With gloomy face he turned away and walked +back along the promontory. At the end he met +Mr. Carlyon, who had just ridden up on his cob. +The parson's ruddy face was suffused with cheerfulness; +he knew by the jubilant shouts of the crowd +that the catch was a good one, and rejoiced that his +parishioners were winning from the deep their +means of subsistence for the winter. He marked +Dick's clouded face, and, guessing the occasion of +it, he tried to cheer him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, Dick," he said genially, "cheer up, my +lad; this haul will put the folk in a good temper, +and they will forget their grudge against you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope they will, sir," replied Dick, "but there's +one man who'll try to keep them in mind of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean your cousin?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But surely he'll not be such a cur. He's a +scoundrel—there now, what am I saying? I'll +tackle him, my boy. Why, bless my soul, he was +in church on Sunday, and my text was 'Love your +neighbour as yourself.' I'll ride there now, and +get him to give me some breakfast—though I detest +the fellow," he added in one of his unconscious asides.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He is away from home, I believe," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, I'll put it off till another day, but +tackle him I will. I've a bit of news, Dick. The +carrier brought me some books last night; that's not +the news, though. No. You have heard, maybe, of +a Frenchman named Delarousse?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He looked slyly at Dick; everyone in Polkerran +knew the name of the Frenchman with whom the +smugglers had such close dealings.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"As a natural enemy of our country I don't pity +him," pursued the parson, "but as a—h'm—an +honest free-trader I own I feel for him. His privateer +was badly knocked about in the Channel by a revenue +cruiser a week or two ago, and while she was being +repaired, it appears that he tried to run a cargo at +Polperro. As ill-luck would have it—dear me! I +wonder if I ought to have said that," he added under +his breath—"he ran into the arms of the revenue +people; they seized his lugger and carried him to +Plymouth, where he'll cool his heels for a time +until they put him among the other French prisoners +on Dartmoor."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do they know it in the village yet, sir?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Probably not; the carrier was going straight on +to Newquay; he had nothing for us except my +books. But you may be sure the folk will soon +know all about it. The carrier had a glass of brandy +with Petherick, and Petherick, as you know, is the +biggest gossip in the parish. His brandy is better +than mine, the dog! I must ask him where he +gets it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick could not help smiling at the parson's +unconscious self-revelation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's right; you're feeling better, I see," said +Mr. Carlyon cheerily. "Now I'll go on and bespeak +my basket. Pilchards of the first catch are the +daintiest dish I know. 'Tis a holiday to-day, but I +shall see you to-morrow. Good-bye."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He rode on. Dick turned to watch him, and saw +Sam Pollex walking beside the maid-servant of the +Dower House. When Sam observed his young +master he left the girl and came sheepishly towards +him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I've been tellin' to she the hows and whys of +it, Maister Dick," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Indeed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I have. Bein' a furriner, she be 'mazin +simple for such a well-growed female. She axed me +why I never brought no more eggs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And what did you say?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, not likin' to hurt her feelings, I telled her +our hens be uncommon idle lately, and she said she +knows they do have fits that way sometimes. +Maister John's gone to Lunnon, to buy things for +his mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish he'd stay there."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Her name be Susan."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite a common name."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She's as nice a female as ever I've seed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The pilchard fishing was for several days so +engrossing an occupation that the villagers had no +time for fostering their grievance against the Towers. +Dick and Sam, who had formerly been in the thick +of it, sometimes as spectators merely, occasionally as +participators, kept away, and spent the greater part of +their time in fishing quietly some few miles up the +coast. One day Dick reverted to the project of +hunting seals, which he had temporarily abandoned, partly +through the diversion afforded by the discovery of +the well, partly because he did not care to kill the +parent seals while their offspring were so young. +Now, however, the prospect of sport, and the +practical wish to obtain a sealskin for his mother, made +him resolve to try his luck in the cave, and he +laid his plans in consultation with the ever-ready +Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He guessed that the seals left the cave at low +tide to find food in the deep, and returned when the +sea flowed in. Since the cave was at such times +inaccessible from the sea, he decided that it must be +approached from the well, of which neither he nor +Sam had now any remaining dread. One evening +they sallied towards it, carrying a well-made +rope-ladder, a musket apiece, a large hammer, and several +torches, which would give more light than the ancient +candle-lantern they had formerly carried. To one +end of the rope-ladder they had attached a series of +stout meat-hooks borrowed from old Reuben: they +could more confidently trust their safety to a number +of teeth gripping the rock than to the single fluke of +their small boat anchor. They had timed their start +so that they would reach the cave just as the tide +turned.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was a dull, murky evening, with a touch of +autumn rawness in the air. Twilight had not quite +merged into darkness when they arrived at the +ruined chapel at the well-head. They looked +warily around to make sure that their presence was +not observed, then prepared to descend.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis rayther fearsome," murmured Sam, as he +looked into the black shaft. Now that he was on the +spot, the tradition of ghostliness in which he had been +brought up revived something of his former fears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nonsense," said Dick, "we have laid the ghost +for ever, Sam. I will go down first. Don't follow +until I come to the door. I will whistle for you. +When you hear me, fling down the ladder and the +hammer. At a second whistle, come yourself."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sticking a lighted candle-end into his hatband, +and slinging the musket over his shoulder, he +stepped backward into the well, and began the +descent. He found the successive staples entirely +by the sense of touch, the candle throwing a deep +shadow below him. At first he felt a little nervous, +but gathered confidence after a few steps, and made +the latter part of the descent very quickly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam, waiting above, heard a whistle, curiously +prolonged by its reverberations from the walls. He +threw down the hammer, and gave an involuntary +start when he heard it thud upon the bottom. The +ladder followed, and the unkindled torches; then, +without lighting a candle for his own hat, he stepped +over the brink, muttering to himself:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"S'pose I fall! But I won't. S'pose I do though. +But Maister Dick didn't. S'pose </span><em class="italics">I</em><span> do. Well, if 'tis +to be, 'tis, so I med as well go cheerful."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In reality he descended more quickly than Dick +had done. They gathered up their burdens, and +made their way by the light of Dick's candle along +the passage until they came to the ledge overlooking +the cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here they stopped and peered over. The tide +was rather lower than they had expected. Their +eyes ranged the cave for a time without discovering +any sign of the seals. Then Dick lit a torch, and +holding it over the dark space beneath, he suddenly +saw two orbs of light, like the eyes of a monstrous +cat, in a far corner to the right of him. Moving +along the ledge in that direction, he descried two +seals, greyish in colour, and much larger than he +had supposed them to be, lying on a rock, with the +two young ones between them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We will only kill one, Sam," he whispered, +"and I hope 'twill be the father."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The seals were apparently fascinated by the glare +of the torch, for they made no movement, their eight +eyes glowing like balls of fire. In order to obtain +more light upon his task, Dick kindled two more +torches, and stuck all three into crevices of rock in +such a way that they illuminated the whole corner of +the cave where the seals lay. But now the animals +had caught sight of him, and as if instinctively +realising that the intruder was an enemy, they +scrambled with clumsy movements off the rocks +into the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They be goin' out to sea, scrounch 'em!" +whispered Sam, whose attitude to all prospective +victims was an indignant surprise that they did not +wait meekly for their doom.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But the seals, after swimming a yard or two, took +up their position behind a larger boulder, above +which the tops of their sleek, massive heads could +just be seen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We shall have to go down to them, Sam," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They be great big creatures," said Sam dubiously. +"Wi' those terrible big flappers they could smite us +flat as flounders."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You had better take the hammer in case I miss +and they attack us. We must at any rate prevent +one of them from getting away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They retreated to the further end of the ledge, to +which the light of their torches scarcely reached, and +carefully hooked the ladder to the jagged rock. +Then in perfect silence they descended. The water +only came to their knees. Wading through it with +scarcely more noise than an otter might have made, +they drew gradually nearer to the rock behind which +the seals had sheltered. Here they found themselves +baulked. The rock was close to the wall, and +it was impossible to get a shot at the animals without +circumventing it, which appeared to Dick a +dangerous movement. The surprising quickness with +which the seals had shuffled off their former perch +showed that, if a shot failed, they might fling their +heavy bodies upon the assailants before they could +escape. He was considering what to do, when a +movement among the seals forced him to act on the +instant. The largest of the creatures heaved itself +to the top of the rock, and lay there as if on the +watch for the enemy, presenting the side of its head +to Dick. He raised his musket, a firelock of ancient +type, and fired. The reverberations in the hollow +vault were broken in upon by a hoarse roar, and +through the cloud of smoke the seal slid over the +rock into the water, and came swimming towards the +two boys. Dick seized Sam's musket, preparing to +fire again; his first shot had only enraged the +animal. But before he could raise the weapon, the +seal threw itself out of the water, and he had just +time to spring aside and evade its onset. As it +passed, its flipper struck the musket from his grasp, +and it fell with a splash into the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam, for all his fear of ghosts, was brave enough +before a real enemy. He was standing a yard or +two in Dick's rear. As the seal plunged heavily +into the sea, Sam brought the hammer down with +all his force upon the creature's head. There was +one tremendous convulsion of the water, then the +seal's movements ceased and it sank to the bottom.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 92%" id="figure-86"> +<span id="as-the-seal-plunged-into-the-sea-sam-brought-his-hammer-down"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""AS THE SEAL PLUNGED INTO THE SEA, SAM BROUGHT HIS HAMMER DOWN."" src="images/img-123.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"AS THE SEAL PLUNGED INTO THE SEA, SAM BROUGHT HIS HAMMER DOWN."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile, the other animals, scared by the noise, +had flung themselves into the water, and were +swimming towards the mouth of the tunnel.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well done, young Sam!" said Dick. "You +did that famously."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So I did, to be sure," replied Sam, "but I +couldn' help it. You shot un, Maister Dick; see +his blood."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was a red tinge upon the water.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How are we to get him up?" said Dick. "He's +a monstrous big fellow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll wait till tide is down and skin him here. +Be his body good to eat?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That I don't know; we can try. But the skin +is the valuable part of him, and having that we may +leave the rest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In two hours the receding tide had left the dead +seal on the sand. The boys took out their knives, +and, expert in such work, in another half-hour had +removed the skin. Their torches were by this time +burning low, so they clambered up to the ledge, and +carried their implements and booty as quickly as +possible through the adit to the foot of the well, and +then up to the surface.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Vastly pleased with the success of their expedition +they set off towards home. The night was very +dark, and a thin rain was falling, which increased as +they proceeded, until it became a steady downpour. +They were tired; their burdens, light enough when +they started from home, now seemed to be pounds +heavier; the rain beat full in their faces, finding out +every crevice between their clothes and their skin; +and the ground was rough, covered here with +tussocks of grass that squelched under their tread, +there with fragments of mining gear which threatened +to trip them up. They trudged on in silence, feeling +the loneliness and the inclemency of the weather +the more keenly because it ensued upon the high +excitement of their adventure.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As they struck into the path leading by Penwarden's +cottage, Sam suddenly declared that he saw +a flicker of light to their left, some distance across +the moor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't see it," said Dick, scarcely looking in the +direction indicated, "and it doesn't matter to us. +I'm tired; this skin is heavy; I want to get home."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis moving," said Sam a moment later. +"Maybe 'tis Maister John comin' back from Lunnon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He wouldn't come that way. I see it now; 'tis +some belated traveller, no doubt."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But the light bean't on the road; 'tis too far away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never mind about the light," Dick replied, +testily. "Come along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They soon came to one of John Trevanion's new +fences, which compelled them to leave the path and +seek the high road. In his moody frame of mind +Dick resented this bitterly. They now perceived +that the light, spread starwise by the rain, was much +nearer to them, and presently heard the creaking of +wheels and the dull thud of horses' hoofs on the +turf. A minute after they had struck the road a +closed travelling carriage, drawn by two horses, +turned into it from a byway, scarcely more than a +bridle path. On the right of the driver there was a +single lamp. Catching sight of the two figures on +the road, bending forward under their loads, the +driver hailed them and pulled up his horses beside +them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi! can 'ee tell me if this be the right road for +Polkerran?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, right for'ard," answered Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where be the Five Pilchards?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Down-along through village. Better mind the +hill, if you be a furriner, 'cos 'tis 'nation steep and +twisty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So be they all, od rake it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Here another voice interposed, and a head showed +itself dimly at the carriage window.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Vill you—ah! how say it!—vill you embark on +ze—ze coach, and, if you please, show ze road?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Drat it all, why will 'ee talk?" cried the driver. +"Put yer head inside, for gospel sake. Come up +beside me, friends, if you'll do a kindness, and say +the word when I do come to the hill. I don't want +to break hosses' knees nor my own neck."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boys, glad enough to get a lift, mounted +beside the driver, with a tingling curiosity about the +passenger inside who spoke in so strange an accent. +It was not far to the Towers, and when they came +to it Dick asked the driver to stop, and bade Sam get +down and carry the sealskin and his share of the +other burdens to the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You bean't a fisher?" said the driver to Dick as +Sam was descending. There was a note of anxiety +in his voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I fish, but I'm not what you would call a fisher."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I knowed it by your speech. Well, then, I +won't trouble 'ee, sir, this mizzly night," said the man, +with some eagerness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No trouble at all. 'Tis not very far."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, 'twas to be," muttered the coachman. +Dick thought it was an odd thing to say. Still more +surprised was he when the driver leant over and +extinguished the candle-flame with his fingers. +"You see," he explained, "the gentleman inside is +terrible bad, met with an accident, as 'a med say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bring him to our house, then," said Dick +instantly; "my mother will be pleased to do +something for him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not for gold and di'monds," replied the man +quickly. "No, we go to Five Pilchards; 'tis a +good enough inn, I've heerd tell."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick said no more. He wondered who the +stranger was, and what brought him to Polkerran, +where visitors were rare. The carriage rumbled on +slowly; every now and then the driver made the +horses walk, though the road here was level. It +seemed to Dick that his attitude and manner were +those of a man intently listening.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They came to the spot where a short drive led +from the road to the Dower House, which could +just be discerned, a black mass in the rain. "That +villain has not returned, then," thought Dick, seeing +no light in the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment there came upon their ears the +clattering sound of several horses from the foot of +the hill which they had nearly reached. The driver +jerked his horses to a standstill, looked from side to +side, and seeing the carriage-drive, to which there +was no gate, wheeled the horses round and drove in, +not on the hard road, but on the bordering grass.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a private road," said Dick, wondering.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas my thought. These be ticklish times for +travellers, and 'tis best not to meet strange riders in +the dark. I'll bide till they be past, and then go on +again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drew up under the trees about forty yards +along the drive, within a few yards of the house. +Dick heard him breathing heavily. The clattering of +hoofs drew nearer: the driver seemed to hold his +breath; then, when the horsemen had passed the +end of the drive at a fast trot, he heaved a sigh of +relief. He waited until the sounds had died away +in the distance, and wheeled the horses round. There +was not room on the grass for the carriage to turn +completely, and the wheels made a crunching sound +on the pebbly road. The side of the carriage was +still turned to the house when the door opened, and +John Trevanion appeared on the threshold, holding +a candle above his head, and peering into the dark.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="doubledick-s-midnight-guests"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE NINTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Doubledick's Midnight Guests</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Who's that?" cried Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, being on the offside, was concealed by the +driver's burly form, but he shrank back against the +front of the carriage. He did not wish to meet his +cousin's eyes at that moment, and began to wonder +why he was on the box in the rain when he might +have ridden inside.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Axin' yer pardon, sir," replied the coachman, +"I be afeard I've took the wrong road. 'Tis 'nation +dark, and my lamp has gone out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What was that clattering of horses I heard?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, I can't tell 'ee that. I didn't see no one. +Maybe 'twas riding-officer. I axe yer pardon for +disturbin' ye, sir, this terrible bad night and all, and +I'll drive on to village."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a stranger, aren't you? Have you got +anybody in your carriage?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never a soul, sir. The truth is, I've lost my +way, and shan't be sorry to get out o' this pesty +rain."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis heavier now. Well, good-night. You'll +find a warm room in the inn at the foot of the hill, +if the innkeeper hasn't raked out the fire and gone +to bed. Good-night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He retreated with his guttering candle into the +house and shut the door, the coachman driving back +to the high road. Dick was mystified. Why had +the man denied having a passenger? Why had he +extinguished his light and turned out of the road on +hearing horsemen? The driver said nothing, except +to grumble under his breath at the weather, and Dick +refrained from questioning him, thinking that some +light might be thrown on the mystery when they +reached the inn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The carriage had just wheeled into the road when +Dick felt a touch on his right arm. He looked +round: the passenger was leaning forward out of the +window.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How is ze name of zat man—him zat hold ze +light?" asked the stranger eagerly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick hesitated; then, seeing no reason for not +answering, said: "That is Mr. John Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tre—vat say you, if you please?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Trevanion!" repeated the questioner, giving a +strange intonation to the name. "Ah! Shank you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He withdrew his head into the carriage. Dick +heard the driver mutter:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why can't he clap a stopper on his tongue, the +stunpoll!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drove slowly down the steep winding hill.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There's the inn," said Dick presently. +"Doubledick isn't abed, late as it is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A light shone through the red blind of the inn +parlour. The door was open, and Doubledick stood +in the doorway, illuminated by the light behind. +In spite of the heavy rain several men, among whom +Dick distinguished the elder Tonkin, were grouped +about the door. They had heard the wheels of the +oncoming carriage, and there were signs of +excitement among them. As the vehicle drew up, Tonkin +stepped forward, thrust his head in, uttered a +smothered exclamation, then opened the door hastily. +The eyes of all the men were fixed on the figure that +emerged, so that Dick on the box was not noticed. +A short, broad man, clad in a long overcoat, his +cocked hat pulled low over his brow, descended +from the carriage and went quickly into the inn, the +men following him. The door was shut. Feeling +that he was in a somewhat false position, Dick +seized the opportunity to slip down from his seat +and withdraw round the angle of the wall, where a +flight of steps ascended between it and the wall of +the opposite house. He heard Tonkin speaking to +the driver; the carriage rumbled over the cobbles, +not returning up the hill, but going through the +village in the opposite direction. Immediately +afterwards the inn door was reopened, the heavy boots +of the fishers clumped along the street, and in a few +moments nothing was to be heard except the +pattering of the rain.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick felt a little sore at having to trudge back +afoot, without a word of thanks. He was drenched +to the skin. Glancing behind as he began to climb +the hill, he saw that the light had now disappeared +from the inn-room. The whole village was in +darkness. More than ever dispirited and mystified, he +plodded along. Apparently the carriage had been +expected. He could not help connecting it with the +horsemen whom the driver had been so anxious to +avoid, and, remembering the strange accent of the +passenger, it suddenly flashed upon him that the +man might be one of Boney's spies, whom he had +unwittingly helped to escape pursuers. But on +reflection this idea seemed untenable, because a spy +was hardly likely to appear at this remote part of +the coast, and he could not believe that the smugglers +of Polkerran, like those of the south-eastern counties, +had any treasonable communications with the French +ogre.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was still pondering on the baffling occurrence +when the sound of horses trotting again fell on his +ear. In a few moments he had to stand aside to +avoid being knocked down by the first of half-a-dozen +horsemen, whom, dark as it was, he recognised +by their headdress to be soldiers. Their uniforms +were covered by their riding cloaks. He was seen +as he shrank back: a rough voice called "Halt!" +and the horsemen reined up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stand forth, in the King's name, and answer for +your life," said the same voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went towards the foremost horseman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who are you?" he was asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My name is Trevanion," he replied.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! Same as the gentleman up the hill," cried +the soldier. "Now, tell us quick; have you seen +a coach, wagon, or other four-wheeled piece of +machinery hereabouts?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes; a two-horsed carriage drove down to the +inn yonder about twenty minutes ago."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What road did she come?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This very road that you're on."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confusion on it! Then how did we miss the +thing? But there, no matter; we'll after it and +catch the villain."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Without more delay the sergeant and his men +clattered off down the hill, relieving Dick of the +necessity of giving explanations, which he felt might +be somewhat awkward. Being now thoroughly +excited, he forgot his fatigue and wetness, and ran +after the dragoons to see what happened when they +reached the inn. He was but a minute or two +behind them. The village was still in complete +darkness; the rain had ceased, and the moon showed +her rim through a rift in the scudding clouds.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The troopers were at the door of the inn, five +still on horseback; the sixth had dismounted and +was rapping on the door with the hilt of his sword.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang me, will he never open?" cried the man, +when repeated blows drew no response.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Must be a rare sleeper, to be sure," said another.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll bust the lock with a shot from my carbine if +he don't open soon," cried the angry sergeant. +"This is some jiggery-pokery, sure as I'm alive."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He thundered again on the door, calling upon the +innkeeper with many imprecations to open in the +King's name. At last there was the sound of a +casement opening above. Looking up, the troopers +saw first a blunderbuss, then an arm, and finally a +head in a white nightcap.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who be that a-bangin' and smitin' at an honest +man's door, when he be abed and asleep?" demanded +Doubledick's voice angrily.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis for you to answer questions, not to axe +'em," said the sergeant. "Now, speak like a true +man, and hide nothing, or the King will have your +miserable head. Did a carriage come down the hill +a while ago?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, if ye be King's men I bean't afeard o' ye. +A carriage? Why, to be sure 'a did, a half-hour ago, +or maybe more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where is it now?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There's a question to axe a poor simple soul +wi' only two eyes. How be I to know that, captain, +on a dark night like this?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be hanged to you! You know whether it stayed +or went on, and you'd best speak up without any +shilly-shally."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True. I do know that. The carriage went on, +to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Which way? Speak up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I can't 'zackly say, but 'twarn't up the hill, +so I reckon 'twas through village towards Redruth. +Iss, I reckon 'twas that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And the man inside?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze me if ever I knowed of any man inside. +Driver had lost his way, seemingly; 'a was like a +squashed turmit in the rain: and when he'd took +summat to comfort his innards, off-along he drove. +Warn't here five minutes, no, nor yet four."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis treason-felony and hangman's job if you're +not speaking the truth," said the sergeant. +"Confusion take him, we'll have to ride on. Look here, +Tom; you stay here with Matthew and keep your +eye on the door. The rest of us will ride on after the +carriage, and come back to you if we catch our man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What rascal of a deserter be you a-chasin' by +night, captain?" cried Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No deserter, but a prisoner that escaped from +Plymouth. We've been after him all day and all +night, and smite me if it don't seem he has given us +the slip. Come on, men."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant rode off with three of his men, the +other two dismounting and taking up their stand at +the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I reckon I can go back to my warm bed now, +eh, sojers?" said Doubledick. "But ye're sappy +wet, poor fellers, and tired too, to be sure, hikin' +arter a runaway prisoner all day and all night. Bide +a minute till I've pulled a few garments on my cold +limbs, and I'll come down and give 'ee summat to +warm yerselves."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The nightcap disappeared, a candle was lighted, +and in a few minutes Doubledick came to the door +with two steaming beakers of hot brandy and water, +which the troopers accepted gratefully.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, from the shadow of an alley, had seen and +heard all that went on. The soldiers chatted with +the innkeeper for a while; then he retired into the +inn, shut the door, and put out the light.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A minute or two afterwards Dick saw a figure +stealing down the steps at the side of the inn, peep +round the corner, and then retreat hastily. He +supposed it was one of the men whom he had seen +at the door previously, but was unable to distinguish +his features, owing to the deep shadows thrown on +the alley-steps by the moon. To avoid discovery +himself, he shrank back against the blind wall. It +must now, he thought, be nearly midnight; but, +wet though he was, he determined not to leave +the spot until he had seen how the matter ended. +Having been behind the wall when the carriage +drove away, he was not sure whether the passenger +had re-entered it or not. The hurried manner in +which the man had gone into the inn was not that +of one who intended coming forth again. Doubledick +had lied when he said that he knew nothing +of the occupant of the carriage; yet why should +he harbour an escaped prisoner, who was almost +certainly a Frenchman? The mystery was deeper +than ever.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was perhaps an hour later, and Dick was on the +point of going home, when the silence of the night +was again broken by the sharp ringing clatter of +hoofs. The sergeant and his three men returned, a +white mist rising from their horses' backs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We caught the carriage," said the sergeant, as +he rode up, "but 'twas empty as a sucked egg. The +driver said he'd lost his way on the moor coming +from Truro, and was going on home to Redruth. +Have you seen anything?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a thing," replied one of the troopers at the +door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we must search the inn. What a miserable +fool I was not to ask that young feller if there was +any one in the carriage when he saw it!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick hesitated for a moment. Should he tell +what he knew? A French prisoner was an enemy +of his country; might it not be his duty to help the +dragoons to capture him? But reflecting that the +man might be nothing worse than a smuggler, in +which case to inform against him would only embitter +the inimical feeling of the villagers against him, +besides being an ungracious act in itself, he decided +to say nothing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After a long-continued knocking and the expenditure +of much abusive language, Doubledick once +more opened the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye'll gie me the rheumatiz and send me to my +grave," he said with a whine. "What be ye rampin' +men o' war wantin' now?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We're going to search your inn for that there +mounseer, my fine feller, and you'd best take it +quiet, or you'll find yourself strapped to one of our +hosses and carried with all your bones a-rattling +afore the Colonel."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Search, if ye must. Name it all, why should I +hinder 'ee! Turn the inn topsy-versy, ye'll find +nothing but maybe a rat or a cockroach."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The sergeant and two of the troopers entered. +They searched the tap-room, the inn-parlour, kitchen, +cellars, bedrooms, lofts; rummaged cupboards, empty +barrels, a clock-case, the copper in the scullery, an +overturned water butt in the backyard; all to no +purpose.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He's not here, that's certain," said the sergeant +at last, dashing the perspiration from his brow. +"We must have overshot the villain somehow. +Plague on it! We shall have to ride back to Truro +and try to get on his tracks, or the Colonel will be +in a rare passion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't ask 'ee to stay, brave men," said Doubledick, +"knowing what terrible rages noble officers do +fly into. But a nibleykin o' real old stingo won't +do 'ee no harm, and ye can drink confusion to +Boney. Hee! hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All the soldiers accepted the liquor with alacrity, +and the two who had already tasted its quality winked +at each other, not acquainting their comrades with +their previous pleasurable experience. Smacking +their lips and declaring that the innkeeper was a real +good-hearted fellow, they remounted and rode up +the hill. Doubledick watched them until they were +out of sight, a leer of triumph on his face. Dick +heard him chuckle as he shut the door and shuffled +up the stairs. The light was extinguished, and +Dick, vexed with himself for remaining so long and +so unprofitably, set off homeward in the track of +the dragoons.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A few minutes after he had left, a heavily-cloaked +figure—the same that Dick had seen a while before—stole +down the steps at the side of the inn, and, +looking round cautiously, approached the door and +rapped six times upon it, pausing a brief while after +every second tap. Immediately after the sixth, the +casement above opened, and Doubledick, looking +out, said in a hoarse whisper:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be that you, Zacky?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, 'tis I, John Trevanion. Come down and +let me in, Doubledick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good sakes, I didn' know 'ee was to home, +Maister John. Thought 'ee was still in Lunnon +town. A pretty stoor there's been to-night. Bide +a minute, sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He lit his candle, descended, let Trevanion in, +and barred the door behind him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I never thought you were such a fool," said +Trevanion, angrily eyeing the nightcapped and +nightgowned innkeeper. "What on earth possessed +you to harbour Delarousse?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Chok' it all, why shouldn't I?" replied Doubledick +truculently. "Bean't he a good friend of ourn? +Who better?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound you, he's a Frenchman, and a runaway +prisoner. The soldiers will get on his track +again, and your ridiculous folly will be the ruin of +us all. You have no business to run such risks."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In his anger Trevanion raised his voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Risks, do 'ee say? Jown me if you hain't run +risks yerself, Maister John, and a deal bigger; +hee! hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Silence!" shouted Trevanion. "Don't provoke +me, or upon my soul and body I'll——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The threat died on his lips, for at this moment a +door opened at the further end of the passage in +which they stood, and there appeared the short, +rotund form of the passenger who had descended +from the carriage some hours before. The overcoat +and the cocked hat were gone; the Frenchman wore +the rough fustian, marked with a broad arrow, in +which the authorities arrayed prisoners. His eyes +gleamed with the fire of hatred as he looked full at +Trevanion, who on his part returned glare for glare, +but whose countenance wore a strange expression, +which Doubledick, watching him, could not fathom.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is you," said the Frenchman, in his own +tongue. "You, Robinson—or Trevanion, is it +not so?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You be known to each other, then?" said +Doubledick. "Hee! hee! Why don't 'ee shake +hands, like friends?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Silence!" cried the Frenchman sternly. "You +go," he added, addressing Doubledick in English. +"I haf somezink to say to zis monsieur—Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He took the candle from the astonished inn-keeper's +hand, and motioned to Trevanion to enter +the parlour. Following him, he shut and bolted the +door, leaving Doubledick in the dark passage. The +innkeeper promptly knelt down and put his ear to +the keyhole, but since he knew almost nothing of +French, he understood little of the ensuing dialogue, +which was conducted in that tongue.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You see I have found you, +monsieur—Trevanion," said Delarousse. "You thought, no +doubt, that you had escaped me when you landed +that dark night. But you should not have come to +Polkerran; that was a foolish step for one so clever +to take. You would have been caught, but for a +sudden alarm from the shore; yet it mattered little +that I had to sail away then, for, as you see, I have +found you—cheat, thief, scoundrel!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion did not flinch as the Frenchman hissed +these words at him. He thrust his hand into the +breast pocket of his cloak.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha!" laughed Delarousse. "You have a pistol? +I have not. You would like to shoot me, but you +dare not. I should like to shoot you, but I have +no weapon, and, equally, if I had, I dare not. I will +not hang for you: so you deal in this country with +men that kill others, is it not so? But I tell you, +Trevanion—that is a name I do not forget—I tell you +that you shall not escape. It is not the time now, +but there will come a day when you shall repent of +having deceived and robbed the man who trusted +you. Once more I tell you what you are: cheat, +thief, scoundrel!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Pretty words, monsieur," said Trevanion with a +sneer. "You had better take warning. This +country is not safe for Frenchmen. You have +escaped from prison, by some piece of imbecile +folly——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so," interposed Delarousse. "It was by +the skill of good friends, who are loyal to one that +has done business loyally with them. They would +have taken me to Roscoff in their lugger, and tried +to dissuade me when I said that I should come here. +But they helped me. One of them risked his neck +to drive me here, and my true friends have guarded +me. I came to assure myself that the man who +called himself Robinson lives here in this village. I +saw you from the carriage when you stood at your +door; I learnt your real name, and now, once more +I say it, I will wait my time, and you shall pay for +your knavery."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I care nothing for your threats. You have been +lucky to escape once; you will not escape a second +time. Set foot on this shore again and the whole +country will rise at you. Expect no mercy from me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mercy! From you! Mon Dieu, is it you +that talk of mercy?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He broke off, and let out a gust of harsh, +sardonic laughter. Then, thrusting himself forward, +he cried:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bah! I spit at you! When all men know +you as I know you there will be no talk of mercy. +Are you fool as well as villain? Go! Return to +your fine house. Flourish on my money. It shall +be for a season, and then!——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion bit his lip. His expression told of a +struggle for self-control. He glared at the +Frenchman for a few moments; then, with a hollow laugh, +he moved towards the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do your worst," he said, turning with his hand +on the bolt. "I am in England; I defy you; and, +by heaven! I promise you ten feet of English rope +as a spy 'if you dare to show yourself here again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drew back the bolt, causing Doubledick to +scuttle like a rat along the passage. A mocking +laugh followed Trevanion as he strode from the inn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Before there was the least hint of dawn in the +sky, a man, unrecognisable in oilskins and +sou'-wester, stole from the house next to the inn, where +he had been concealed when the dragoons made +their search, and walked rapidly to the jetty. +Tonkin's lugger, the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span>, lay alongside. +Delarousse stepped on board; the vessel cast off; +and by the time that the mass of the villagers were +awake, the guest, whose presence few had known, +was several leagues nearer to the French shore.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But the departure of the lugger had not been +wholly unobserved. In the little white cottage on +the cliff, Joe Penwarden had enjoyed a full night's +sleep, as he usually did when the moon was up. +The sound of horses on the high road did not reach +him, and he was ignorant of the strange happenings +in the village. But the moon was in its last quarter; +the "darks" would soon return, and with them the +activity of the smugglers might be expected to be +resumed. The cargoes were sometimes brought +from Roscoff in French luggers, sometimes in the +</span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span>, and Penwarden was accustomed to +watch the sailings of Tonkin's vessel. On this +particular morning he woke early, and after he had +kindled a fire, he rested his telescope on the +window-sill to take a look round while the kettle was +boiling. He soon spied the well-known lugger scudding +along under full sail.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So you be at it again, Zacky," he murmured +with a chuckle, as he shut the telescope. "Well, +please God, I'll be ready for 'ee."</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-fire-bell-at-the-towers"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Fire Bell at the Towers</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Next day the escape of Jean Delarousse, smuggler +and privateer, was the talk of the countryside. The +dragoons had called at the Towers and roused the +Squire from bed, supposing that he was a magistrate +and would assist them. Then they rode for several +miles across the moor until they came to Sir Bevil +Portharvan's house. That gentleman promised to +raise the hue and cry next day, and called up his +servants to ask if any of them had seen a carriage +cross the moor that evening. The groom declared +that as he rode back from an errand in Truro he had +seen a moving light some distance to the left, +concluding that it probably proceeded from a belated +carrier's cart on the way to Polkerran. On this the +troopers galloped back, and seeing a light in the +Dower House they called there and acquainted John +Trevanion with their errand. He guessed at once +that the fugitive had been in the carriage which had +turned into his drive, and inwardly cursed his +ill-luck in missing the opportunity of laying by the +heels a man whose recapture would have rejoiced +him; but having reasons of his own for not +disclosing his knowledge of the man, he forbore to +mention the earlier incident, and contented himself +with wishing the pursuers success. When they had +gone he cloaked himself and followed them down +the hill, being but a few hundred yards behind Dick, +whom he did not see in the darkness and the twists +and turns of the road.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was not a man in the village but suspected +that the Frenchman had got away on Tonkin's +lugger; but not one of them would have said a +word to betray him. Delarousse was not an enemy, +but a friend with whom they had profitable dealings. +When Sir Bevil rode down and questioned +Doubledick and others, it was clear to him from their +manner that they would give no information; and +guessing, when he heard that Tonkin had sailed +early that morning, that the Frenchman had gone +with him, he was rather relieved than otherwise, for, +like all the gentry around, he bought his liquor +cheap, and was never depressed when the revenue +officers were outwitted.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two days passed. Sam Pollex reported that there +was a subdued air of excitement in the village. +Mr. Polwhele, the riding-officer, was seen speaking to +Penwarden, and the revenue cutter, which had been +absent for some time, once more anchored in the +little harbour. Mr. Mildmay did not come ashore: +he seldom did so during the smuggling season; but +one of his men trudged up the hill to Penwarden's +cottage, and did not return. These facts made Dick +tingle with excitement: but the Squire had +forbidden him to go near the smugglers again, so that +he was unable to keep watch for the run which he, +like everyone else in Polkerran, expected to take +place.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the third morning, when Dick was tramping +over the cliff with his gun towards a cleft where he +had heard that a pair of choughs had nested, he saw +Penwarden smoking on the bench beside his cottage +door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Morning to 'ee, Maister Dick," he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good morning, Joe. You look very spry," +replied Dick genially.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, and I feel spry, to be sure. Haven't 'ee +heard?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Heard what?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, how we brought up the smugglers wi' a +round turn last night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you? Tell me about it, Joe. I wish I +had seen it, but Father won't let me out of the house +at night now."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why for, maister?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because I got home very late the other night, +and he's afraid I shall get my head broken, I think, +now that the folks are so set against us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a very wise commandment of the Squire. +Well, I'll tell 'ee. Never was they so flambustered +afore. When I seed </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> goin' off so +merry t'other morning, I guessed she wouldn't come +back empty, the wind favourin' and all. So what +do I do but put on my considerin' cap——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That means a pipe and a bowl of rum, doesn't +it?" said Dick with a laugh.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't say but it do. Thinks I, now where +will they try to run their cargo? Tonkin went off +in a 'nation hurry, and the reason o't you know as +well as I, but we won't speak o' that. There warn't +time for him to fix up with the shoremen, leastways +with many of 'em, afore he went, so thinks I, Zacky +won't try to carry his kegs inland. What then? +Why, she'd sink 'em somewheres off the coast, and +let 'em lay till he gets a chance o' liftin' 'em. I've +knowed a crop o' goods lay for a month afore they +could be lifted."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Doesn't it spoil the spirits?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It do, if the tubs lay too long. Then the spirits +be stinkibus and fit for nothing. Howsomever, +they'll sink 'em, thinks I, and what's to be the +place? Well, I mind that ten year or more ago +they dropped a big crop just beyond St. Cuby's +Cove, and got 'em clean away in two nights, while +Mr. Curgenven was playin' cat and mouse miles down +the coast. Says I to myself, that's the very place."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But how did you know it ten years ago?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By one or two things I noticed when I went +a-rambling at foot of cliffs; trifles I could hardly tell +'ee of. That's the very place, says I, so I has a little +talk with Mr. Polwhele, and he made it known to +Mr. Mildmay, and betwixt us we hitched up a pretty +scheme to circumvent 'em. And I was right, and +wrong too, as you'll see.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we sent over to Plymouth for a half-troop +of dragoons, and put them in Penruddock's empty +farmhouse on the moor yonder. They came quiet +last night, and not a soul knowed about 'em. You +see, 'twas only my calcerlation as Tonkin wouldn't +try a run, and 'twas best to be on the safe tack, +as you may say. Wi' the dragoons on shore, +and Mr. Mildmay at sea, we reckoned we'd spoil +their game, whether 'twas sinkin' or runnin'. When +'twas dark, we brought the sojers down to shore, +and put 'em among the rocks on each side of where +I thought 'twould happen. I had a sort o' suspicion +that the smugglers had a hiding-place somewhere +along shore thereabouts, though I'd never been able +to find it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What made you suspect that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because we grappled for the sunk crop two days +arter 'twas sunk, but 'twas gone; yet 'twas more +than a week arterwards afore the stuff was carr'd +into the country, so it must ha' been hid somewhere. +Well, we had waited some hours, and the cutter had +sailed away down the coast to put 'em off the scent, +when just afore six bells we heard the creakin' o' the +lugger's gear, and I knowed I was right. At the +same time the fellers come creepin' round the cliff +from the village. 'Twas to be a run arter all. Our plan +was to let 'em get warm to work, and not pounce on +'em till we'd seed where their hiding-place was. +Mr. Mildmay meant to fetch about and come on 'em from +seaward, while the sojers took 'em from landwards.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Drown it all, 'twas ruined—ruined, I say; but +'twas not so bad as that neither—'twas almost ruined, +by a sappy landlubber of a sojer. The unloadin' +was goin' on as merry as you please when this soft +stunpoll of a chap let out a sneeze fit to blow yer +gaff off. 'Twas all up then; no good waiting for +Mr. Mildmay; the smugglers' look-outs heard the +tishum and gave the alarm. Mr. Polwhele blew his +whistle for the attack, and we pounced out from our +lairs, sojers and tidesmen, and dashed upon 'em from +two sides at once.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Some of 'em dropped their tubs like hot taters, +and slipped off in the darkness. But the rest stood +their ground like men, and there was a tidy little +tumble, pistols cracking, cutlasses flashing——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How could they flash in the dark?" said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You could hear 'em if you couldn't see 'em, and +I don't care who the man is, I call that flashin'. +There was some pretty wounds dinted on both sides, +but as 'ee med think, the sojers' swordplay was a +trifle more learned than the free-traders', and arter +some time we King's men got the better o't, and +they couldn't stand against us no longer. But that +sneeze: why couldn't the feller clap it under for five +minutes more? We catched nine of the smugglers, +and laid them tied hand and foot on the beach. But +the rest got away, and drown it all, Tonkin was one +of 'em. I knowed un by his size, and a sojer and I +and some more had him betwixt us, but he let out +with those sledge-hammer fists of his, spun a sojer +this way and a tidesman that, and by long and short +broke his moorings and swam out to the lugger. If +that sneeze hadn't come so soon Mr. Mildmay would +have been there with the cutter, and we should ha +catched the whole crew. But 'twas not to be. By +the time the cutter fetched up, the lugger was well +out to sea, and we lost her. But we've got the nine +men, who'll have to choose betwixt gaol and the +King's service, and I've chalked the broad arrow on +twenty-four tubs, which be now half-way to the +King's store at St. Ives."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And did you discover the hiding-place?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Chok' it all, we did not. Maybe there's no +such thing. But 'twas a proper tit-for-tat for the +knock they give me, and I reckon 'twill be some +time afore they fly their colours again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis the biggest haul you've ever made, isn't +it?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got more tubs afore, but never so many +men. I'm a deal more cheerful in my mind than I +used to be. We are doing the King's work better +in these parts than 'twas done in Mr. Curgenven's +time, and I hope them above will remember it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went on. He was pleased for the old man's +sake that he was so well succeeding in his duty; but +at the same time was full of misgiving as to the +hatred his energy would breed among the village folk.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When he returned later in the day from a vain +quest for the choughs, Sam Pollex told him that the +village was seething with rage, and everybody was +asking what had become of Doubledick. He was +not among the nine men who had been carted to +Plymouth; search had been made for his dead body +on the shore; it was known that he had been among +the tub-carriers, but nobody had seen him since the +fight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The mystery was solved at nightfall. The inn-keeper, +dressed as a peaceable fisherman, trudged +into the village with a fat goose on his back, and +declared with a wink that he had been on a short visit +to his friend Farmer Nancarrow, five miles distant. +His cronies knew that Doubledick had adopted this +course as a blind to the revenue officers if they made +an inquisitive visit to his inn. However strong their +suspicions, they could not proceed against him with +any chance of success. They were in the same +difficulty in regard to Tonkin, whom none could +swear to, his face having been blackened. Nor +could it be proved even that it was his lugger which +had brought the cargo. When the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> +came into the harbour next day and was boarded by +the revenue officers, it contained nothing but a few +hundredweight of fish; and though grappling +operations were conducted in St. Cuby's Cove, and +for some distance on each side of it, no discovery of +sunken tubs was made.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was a fact, often remarked on in after days by +the Polkerran folk, that the only spectator on the +jetty when Tonkin's lugger put in—exclusive of the +revenue officers, a toothless old fisher, Ike Pendry's +sweetheart, and a handful of children—was Mr. John +Trevanion. He seemed to be in the top of good +humour; joked with Mr. Mildmay, gave the old +fisher a plug of tobacco, favoured Marty Bream with +an admiring glance, and chucked the children under +the chin. When the lieutenant's examination was +concluded, and Tonkin came ashore, a free man, but +under suspicion, Mr. Trevanion had a word for him +too, asked to see his catch, and bought some of the +finest of the fish. Then with a nod to Mr. Mildmay +he strolled with easy gait up the hill.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That Tonkin himself, an hour or two later, should +carry his fish to the Dower House was natural +enough, but it was not perhaps quite so natural that, +having delivered them to Susan for transmission to +the cook, he should have been asked to step into the +house and taken to the master's own room. Nor +was it likely, when he was let out at the front door +by Mr. Trevanion an hour later, that the conversation +which had passed between them in the interim +had for its subject nothing but fish. Nobody in +Polkerran knew of this visit, or some intelligent +person might have suspected that it had a connection +with a remarkable change that came about in the +villagers' manner of regarding Monsieur Jean +Delarousse. Hitherto they had looked upon him as +a keen man of business, with whom it was as safe as +it was honourable to have dealings of a free-trade +nature. But from that day they cherished a sour +distrust of him; they resolved to do business with +him no longer, and to transfer their custom to +another merchant of Roscoff, whose name is of no +importance in this history. In this transference +they followed the lead of Tonkin, blindly—all but +Doubledick, who swam with the current, indeed, so +far as outward appearances went; but in the privacy +of his own cunning mind, buzzing still with the +recollection of what he had heard through the +keyhole of his parlour door, indulged in speculations of +a very tantalising nature, and wondered what +Maister John's little game was.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Whether the relation of cause and effect existed +between this meeting of Trevanion and Tonkin, and +an event that took place a few hours later at the +Towers, is a matter on which the reader may presently +form his own conclusion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick had gone to bed a little earlier than usual, tired +out after a long tramp over the moor in search of wild +fowl. His room faced the sea, and he had left his +window open, as his practice was except in stormy +weather. In the dead of night he suddenly found +himself awake, and wondered why, for he had not +been dreaming, nor was he conscious of having heard +a sound. But in a few seconds he was aware of an +unusual smell, that appeared to be wafted through +the window on the sea breeze. It was the smell of +burning wood. He leapt out of bed, ran to the +casement, and looked out over a row of outhouses +that extended for some yards from the dwelling +towards the cliff. One glance was sufficient. The +tool-house at the furthermost end was on fire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Quickly pulling on his breeches, he ran to the +adjoining room, occupied by Sam, hauled the snoring +boy from his bed, shook him vigorously, and cried—</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The tool-house is on fire! Run to the turret +and pull the bell. Quick! The breeze is off the +sea, and we shall have the whole place in a blaze."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Then he rushed to Reuben's room on the lower +floor, wakened the old man, and told him to fill every +bucket he could find with water from the well. Lastly, +he ran to his parents, breaking the news gently so as +not to terrify his mother. By this time the alarm +bell was clanging its quick strokes out into the night.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick ran out of the house to the well-head near +the dismantled stables, where Reuben already had +two buckets filled and was still pumping vigorously. +He caught up the buckets, hurried to the +conflagration, and flung the water on the flames. But +it was clear that they had got such a hold upon the +shed that to extinguish them with water laboriously +pumped from the well would be impossible. The +wind was steadily carrying the fire toward the main +building, and unless the blaze could be checked +within a few minutes, the old place was doomed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>To fetch more water would, Dick saw, be a waste +of time. What could be done? Between the burning +tool-shed and the dwelling-house was a long wooden +structure that contained the brew-house and a shed +in which Reuben kept vegetables, grain for the pigs, +and other materials. Dick remembered that the +brew-house, though substantially built, was worm-eaten, +and, like the rest of the Towers, had not been +repaired within memory. Acting on an idea which +had suddenly struck him, he ran at full speed to the +scullery, brought thence a rope and, returning, made +his way with it through the smoke into the +brew-house, and attached it firmly to one of the stout +timbers supporting the roof.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire had now come upon the scene.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must pull down the brew-house, Father," +cried Dick. "'Tis the only chance to prevent the +flames from spreading."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Together they hauled upon the rope. The +timber did not give an inch. They summoned +Reuben to assist them, but the oak, worm-eaten +though it was, resisted their united efforts.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Once more! Pull all together," cried Dick in +despair. The post did not move.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha, Squire!" shouted a voice behind, "I see +what you are about. 'Tis a good notion. Give me +a hold."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Polwhele, 'tis you. We'll be glad of your arm."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you ride, sir?" cried Dick eagerly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I did," replied the riding-officer. "Egad! I +see your meaning. My horse is hitched to the +fence. I'll bring him in a second."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He ran off, returning soon with his horse, which +pranced and snorted when it came within the smoke +and heat. Mr. Polwhele and Dick knotted the rope +to the animal's collar, while the Squire covered its +eyes with his coat. They turned its head away from +the flames, and smote its flanks. It started forward, +almost escaping from the grasp of Mr. Polwhele, who +held it by the bridle. The post, already weakened +by the previous straining, gave at last, and a portion +of the roof fell in with a crash. The same operation +was performed on a similar post in the opposite +corner. This was brought down at the first pull, +and all that remained of the brew-house was a heap +of laths, beams, tiles, and broken utensils.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They proceeded then to smother the ruins with +water and earth, paying no heed to the blazing +tool-house. After some twenty minutes the flames began +to subside; they poured more water, as quickly as +it could be drawn, on the glowing ruins, and had the +satisfaction of seeing that the demolition of the +brew-house had been effective. The fire spread no +further; the Towers was saved.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Panting and perspiring with their exertions, the +four men stood for a while in silence, watching the +gradual dwindling of the flames.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That bell may stop," cried Mr. Polwhele +suddenly. "'Tis well pulled, whoever is doing it, +but to little good, it seems. 'Pon my soul, I'm the +only man that has come to its call."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! You see how things are with me," said +the Squire bitterly. "Not a soul cares whether the +Towers burns to the ground, and I and mine in it. +I remember, forty years ago, when the place took +fire, the bell brought the whole village to our help. +Now they'll lie abed and laugh to think I'm homeless."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a disgrace and a scandal," cried the +riding-officer, "and I'll tell them so. The idiots, to +suppose you would inform on them! I'll set that +right, Squire; I blame myself for not doing it +before, but I believed they would come to their +senses."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will waste your breath, Polwhele. Don't +attempt it for me. I could tell you one way to +dash their enmity, but that's impossible."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Send John Trevanion where he came from. +'Tis he that is poisoning folks' minds against us; +yes, 'tis he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this point Dick returned from the house, +whither he had been to stop the ringing of the bell. +Sam came with him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, young Sam," said his father wrathfully, +"'twas you that started this blaze, I'll be bound, wi' +yer mischief and jiggery. I'll leather 'ee, that I +will."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be choked if I did!" was Sam's indignant cry. +"Why do 'ee say it, Feyther? You think because +I break a dish now and again that I do all the +mischief, but I don't care who the man is, I hain't +been nigh tool-house or brew-house this mortal day."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then who did it? Tell me that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't tell what I don't know, but if I med put +a meanin' to it, I'd say 'twas done by the same hands +as cut our lines and set our boat adrift, be drowned +to 'em."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By heaven, I see it!" cried the Squire, smiting +one fist with the other. "'Tis part of the scheme, +Polwhele. They will stick at nothing. Penwarden +caught young Tonkin cutting Dick's lines, as you +know, and I thrashed him. They avenge him by +firing my house. I'll clap them in jail; unpopular +as I am, the justices can't refuse to punish such a +crime."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You've no proof, Squire," said Mr. Polwhele. +"You can't arrest the whole village on suspicion. +And now I think of it, if it is as you say, there is no +need to suppose your cousin is at the bottom of +it. You have no proof."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire was silent. Mr. Polwhele's view was +no doubt that which would be taken by the majority +of people. Mr. Trevanion was conscious of the +weakness of his position, and regretted that in his +impulsiveness and resentment he had spoken so +freely. The only facts upon which his conviction of +his cousin's venomous treachery depended were the +purchase of the mortgages and the subsequent +fencing-in of the acquired property, and neither +singly nor in combination were these strong enough +to justify his accusation before reasonable people.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, well," said the Squire at last, "I may be +wrong. I say no more about it. But this +persecution has gone far enough, and 'tis time it was +stopped, though how to stop it I know no more +than the dead."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll see what I can do, Squire. The Towers is +saved, and glad I am of it. 'Tis to be hoped the +wretches will try their tricks no more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He mounted and rode away, the Squire having +warmly thanked him for his assistance. The four +inmates of the Towers then returned to their beds.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You did well, Dick," said the Squire as they +parted. "'Twas a good thought of yours to pull +down the posts; without it we might have been +burnt out. We'll hold fast to the old place a while +longer, my lad."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>To his wife he related all that had happened, and +mentioned what Mr. Polwhele had said about his +suspicion of John Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I've no proof, that's true; but in my heart I +know it; time will show whether I'm right or +wrong."</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="sir-bevil-intervenes"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Sir Bevil Intervenes</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Soon after breakfast next morning Dick and Sam +went down to the shore to launch their boat for a +day's fishing. The post to which it was moored +being close under the cliffs, they did not come in +sight of it until they reached the foot of the winding +path. Then Sam, who was walking ahead, uttered a cry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it?" asked Dick, hurrying on.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Scrounch it all, look 'ee, Maister Dick!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boat lay on the white sand, but it was a +navigable vessel no longer. It had been sawn across +in three places. The old craft, which had withstood +for forty years the battering of innumerable waves +and the more insidious attacks of time, and in which +three generations of Trevanions had sailed upon the +deep, would be launched no more. It would henceforth +serve no useful end except as firewood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick felt first a pang of grief, then a surge of +bitter rage. His enemies could not have chosen a +more galling or vindictive means of wreaking their +ill-will. They had dealt with the boat as the +smugglers' craft were dealt with when captured by +the revenue officers. Dick saw in their act a subtle +indication of the thoroughness with which they +identified him with the Government men. It said: +"You have joined the revenue officers; very well, +we treat you as they treat us." He had no doubt +that the destruction of the boat and the firing of the +tool-house were parts of one scheme.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The cowards!" he exclaimed, "to do behind +our backs what they durst not do to our face."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a miserable, dirty deed," agreed Sam. "We +must tell of it to the high powers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Much good that will be!" cried Dick bitterly. +"We can't tell who did it; Sir Bevil will only +instruct Petherick, and he is too much of a fool ever +to find out, if he wanted to, which is unlikely. We +can do nothing, Sam."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How can we go fishing now?" said Sam +gloomily. "'Tis takin' the bread out of our mouth, +that's what it is. They mean us to starve, the +wretches."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The loss of the boat was indeed a serious blow to +the family at the Towers. The principal source of +their food supply was cut off. In the present state +of war between them and the villagers it would be +impossible to borrow a boat, and the only place from +which the boys could now fish the sea was the head +of the jetty, where they would come into awkward +contact with the hostile fishermen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick examined the segments, with a lingering hope +that even now old Reuben, who had so often +patched and caulked the boat, might be able to repair +it. But the destroyers had done their work only too +well; he turned away without a word, and gloomily +wended his way homeward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he walked towards the house, he saw a horseman +riding down the road towards the village. At +a second glance he recognised him as Sir Bevil +Portharvan. When he reached home his father +told him that Mr. Polwhele had ridden over to +Portharvan House very early, and informed Sir +Bevil of the night's occurrence. That gentleman +had never been on more than speaking terms with +Squire Trevanion; it is not easy for a wealthy man +to be cordial with one who has gone down in the +world and yet retains his pride. Sir Bevil +disapproved of the Squire's attitude to his cousin, which +seemed to him the outcome of sheer envy. But he +was sufficiently loyal to his class to be greatly +incensed at the criminal action of which the riding +officer told him, and he promised to exert his +influence as a magistrate to prevent any further +proceedings of the same kind.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He rode to the Towers, learnt the particulars +from the Squire's lips, and, having coldly expressed +his sympathy, went on. As he came to the Dower +House it occurred to him to see John Trevanion, +whom he had met often of late, and ask him to use +his efforts to put down the persecution. Trevanion's +attitude was admirably correct. He acknowledged +that he was on bad terms with the Squire; deplored +the breach, which was not of his making; and +promised to let it be known in the village that he +disapproved of such violent measures as the people +had recently taken. That was as much as he could +do. Sir Bevil went away feeling that John Trevanion +was an excellent fellow, and regarding his own errand +even more in the light of a troublesome duty than +he had done before.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>From the Dower House he went straight to the +inn, which was the focus of the village life, and the +place from which his views would radiate with every +man who left it after drinking his ale, cider, or +brandy. Reining up at the door, he called +Doubledick forth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good mornin', yer honour," said the innkeeper, +rubbing his hands deferentially as he obeyed the +great man's command.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Doubledick," said Sir Bevil bluntly, +"I've heard of what went on at the Towers last +night. That sort of thing won't do, you know; it +must be stopped, and you can tell your customers I +say so. Free-trading is all very well, but arson is +an ugly word and a hanging matter; and, egad! if +any man is caught playing such low tricks, and +brought before me, he'll get no mercy, I promise +you. Make that clear, will you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss sure, Sir Bevil," replied the innkeeper. +"'Twas a cruel deed, the Squire bein' so cast down +and all. I'll tell the folks yer very words, sir, that +I will."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's right. I saw Mr. John Trevanion on +the way down, and he agreed with me, so there will +be an eye on the village nearer than mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, if you seed Maister John, Sir Bevil, 'tis as +good as seein' the Lord High Constable o' the county, +I warrant 'ee. Folks think a deal o' Maister John, +they do."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A keener observer than Sir Bevil might have +detected a spice of irony in Doubledick's remark. +But the baronet was satisfied, and after yielding to +the innkeeper's invitation to take a glass to help him +on his homeward journey, he rode off with the +comfortable sense of having done his duty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Dick went to the Parsonage that afternoon +for his usual lesson, he told Mr. Carlyon all that +had happened. On the next Sunday the vicar +preached an excellent sermon from the text, "Cursed +be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark," +which the women listened to without understanding, +the men going to sleep as usual.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The loss of the boat caused something like +consternation among the inmates of the Towers. +The Squire could not afford to buy a new one; how +was the necessary fishing to be carried on? This +problem taxed the wits of Dick, who lay awake for +two nights pondering and puzzling. Then the +thought came to him, why not build a boat? He +had never attempted such a ticklish piece of work, +but he was pretty handy with tools, and the idea of +setting his wits against the machinations of the +enemy fixed his resolution.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He remembered sorrowfully that with the burnt +tool-house had perished his tools and the carpenter's +bench at which he had been accustomed to work. +But he could borrow the necessary implements from +Petherick, the sexton, who did all the repairs required +at the church and the Parsonage. There was no +lack of timber in the planking of the ruined portion +of the Towers. The most formidable obstacle was +his absolute ignorance of the art of boat-building, +but a means of overcoming that soon suggested +itself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Polkerran fishers obtained their boats from +St. Ives, fifteen or sixteen miles away. A tramp of +that distance was nothing to a healthy lad, so, early +one morning, taking some bread and cheese in a +wallet, and telling no one of his intention, Dick set +off. It was a raw November day; the road was +wet and muddy, and as Dick passed under the trees +along the route his face and neck were bespattered +by the drippings from their bare boughs. But he +made light of such ordinary discomforts of winter; +the swinging pace at which he walked set his blood +coursing, and by the time he arrived at St. Ives his +whole body was in a healthy glow. He entered an +inn and moistened his dry fare with a glass of ale, +then found his way to the principal boat-builder's +yard, and stood looking on as the workmen sawed +and planed and hammered. The builder had no +secret to guard; his yard was open to any one who +cared to visit it. He gave Dick a friendly greeting; +the men threw a glance at him, and went on with +their work and their gossip as unconcernedly as +though he were not there.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having spent several hours thus, strolling through +the town to warm himself while the men were at +dinner, he set off in the afternoon on his long +tramp homeward, going over in his head the details +of the operations he had witnessed. Next day he +appeared in the yard at the same time. The +master-builder himself was absent, and there was a shade +of surprise in the men's expression of face as they +saw him enter; but, as before, they paid no attention +to him, and showed neither interest nor curiosity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the third day, however, when he again made +his appearance, their rustic stolidity was penetrated +at last.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mornin' to 'ee, sonny," said the foreman builder, +a cheerful-looking veteran of sixty; "you be as +regular as church-clock, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick smiled and returned the man's greeting.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You will know a boat from keel to gunwale," +continued the foreman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I've come for," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now, think o' that!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't I tell 'ee so, gaffer?" remarked one of +the men.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, you did, and a clever seein' eye you have +got, Ben."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And </span><em class="italics">I</em><span> said 'a was not a common poor man," +said another. "That's what </span><em class="italics">I</em><span> said, bean't it, Ben?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, they was yer very words."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, sir," said the foreman, "seein' that these +clever fellers have seed so far into ye, maybe +you'll tell what's your hidden purpose in lookin' +at we."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm learning how to build a boat," replied Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good now! You never thought o' that, Ben, +clever as ye be, I warrant 'ee. Well, sonny—sir, +I mean—I've been nigh fifty year larnin' to build a +boat, and I bean't done larnin' yet."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's bad news, because I want to build one in +a week or two."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I won't say but you can make some sort +of a tub in the time, but 'twill be a wambly figure o' +fun, and be very useful for givin' ye a sea-bath. +Ha! ha!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no harm in trying, though," said Dick, +good-humouredly. "Perhaps if you'd let me try +my hand I might pick up a notion or two."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't mind if I do. Just set they thwarts in +the splines; that's a little small job, and we'll see +how 'ee do set about it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick stripped off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, +and proceeded to perform the task given him, the +foreman watching him critically the while.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so bad," he said when the job was finished. +"I won't say but Maister will cuss when he do see +it, but 'tis not so bad for a young feller; what do +'ee say, my sonnies?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men left their work and inspected Dick's, +twisting their necks, pressing their lips together, and +showing other marks of solemn consideration. They +pronounced the work pretty good, and declared they +wouldn't have believed it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The foreman gave Dick other little jobs to do, +and being more pleased with the lad's handiness +than he had admitted, he took pains to instruct him. +Dick learnt about ribs and splines; how to steam +the ribs and give the necessary "flare"; the +difficulty of getting the planking to "fly" to a true +curve without "shramming"; and many other +technical details which dashed his hope of being able +to build a boat in a week.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee go and set up for a boat-builder, +though," said the foreman pleasantly. "Maister +will werrit if he do think the bread 'll be took out +of his mouth."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No fear of that," replied Dick laughing. "I +only want to build a boat for myself, to replace an +old one I lost."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I will say 'tis a right good notion to build +one yerself instead o' buyin' one, though 'twouldn't +do for we if everybody was so handy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick's journeys to and fro between Polkerran and +St. Ives extended over ten days. His absences +greatly puzzled Sam, but Dick gave no explanation +until he felt that he had learned enough to make a +start, and decided to visit the boat-builder's no more. +He was not so foolish as to suppose that he had +mastered the trade, but believed he knew enough to +enable him to construct a boat that would serve his +simple purpose. Then one morning he set Sam to +collect a number of sound planks from the floors and +wainscoting in the unused rooms at the Towers, and +having borrowed from Petherick the tools necessary to +supplement those that Reuben had, he began his task.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Day by day for a fortnight the lads worked steadily, +using the dilapidated stables for their workshop. +Occasionally the Squire and Reuben stood by and +criticised; old Penwarden, too, looked in and offered +a more or less impracticable suggestion. Once when +Dick was at a loss how to proceed, he trudged to +St. Ives to consult the foreman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What, Maister, has she sunk a'ready?" said the +man with twinkling eyes, as Dick entered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He obtained the information he desired, and +within a few days afterwards the boat was finished. +Nobody at the Towers, except her makers, believed +that she would float. How to get her down to the +water was at first a baffling problem. She was too +heavy and cumbersome to be carried down the cliff-path +by the boys, and they would not seek assistance +from the villagers. It was Mr. Carlyon that solved +the difficulty. He suggested that the boat should +be conveyed on a farmer's wagon to a dell about +four miles northward, where a stream flowed into +the sea. This was done early one morning, the +farmer, a friend of the Vicar's, being bound to +secrecy. They launched the boat on the stream, +and Sam gave a whoop of delight on seeing that she +rode fairly upright. With a couple of spare sculls +from their nook on the Beal, they pulled her out to +sea, and Dick was pardonably proud of his handiwork +when she proved quite seaworthy, if somewhat +lumbering.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She's not very pretty, but she's strong," he said +to Sam, "and that is all we need trouble about."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>During the weeks in which Dick had been thus +occupied, no further annoyance was suffered from +the villagers. Sir Bevil's warning had apparently +taken effect. Penwarden reported that two more +serious checks had been given to the smugglers. +Once they had been interrupted in the act of +running a cargo at Lunnan Cove, some miles to the +south, and a hundred tubs had been seized by +Mr. Mildmay. A few days later, the cutter had gone in +chase of a lugger in a stiff gale, and the seamanship +of the smugglers being at least equal to that of the +King's men, the quarry had escaped. But her crew, +not daring to run the cargo while the revenue +officers were on the alert, had sunk the tubs, which +were always carried ready slung to meet such an +emergency, in five fathoms of water beyond +St. Cuby's Cove. In their hurry, however, the work +was not done so carefully as usual, with the result +that one of the tubs was chafed off the sinking rope, +drifted about, and next morning was descried by +Penwarden from the cliff. He informed Mr. Mildmay. +The shallow water along the shore was +systematically searched, and the whole cargo was +hooked up by means of "creeps," as the grapnels +were called. Rumour, reaching the Towers by way +of the Parsonage, said that on both these occasions +Tonkin was the freighter, so that his loss by the +successive failures was probably not far short of +£300.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tidings came, also, by the local carrier, of renewed +activity on the part of the </span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span> in the +Channel. A revenue cruiser had fought an action +with her off the Lizard, and was worsted, her +commander being wounded, and the vessel only escaping +by running in shore to shallow water, where the +privateer could not follow. The authorities, already +deeply incensed by the escape of Delarousse from +Plymouth, were furious at this recurrence of his +depredations, and had offered a high price for +information of his movements, and a still higher reward to +any officer who should capture him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For a few days Dick laid up his new boat, when +fishing was done, in the mouth of the little stream +on which he had launched it, tramping back with +Sam over the four miles to the Towers. But this +became irksome, and he tried to think of some means +of keeping the craft nearer home without running +the risk of its destruction by the smugglers. After +a good deal of anxious consideration he hit upon the +idea of building a shed for it on the beach at the foot +of the cliff.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Jown me if I see the good o' 't," said Sam, +when Dick explained his plan. "They'll break into +the shed, or fire it, if they want to, and we'll lose our +boat and our labour too."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But I've thought of a way of preventing that, +Sam. They won't interfere with it in daylight: 'tis +only the night we need fear. Well, we'll make 'em +give us warning of any trick they play."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see how, unless they be born fools."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They're not fools: far from it: but they might +be a trifle sharper in the wits, perhaps. If it comes +to scheming, I think we can beat 'em, Sam. We'll +build the shed close under the house. Now listen. +We'll make the door to open outwards, and tie a +strand of sewing thread to the bottom, running it +through hooks along the wall and out at the back of +the shed. There we'll tie it to a fishing-line, and +round a pulley up to the cliff-top, taking care to keep +it off the rock by making it run through notches in +sticks of wood. At the top we'll have another +pulley, and at the foot of the house wall another, +and so carry it into my bedroom. There we'll fasten +it to a weight—a poker will do; which we'll sling up +beside the window. We'll put a tea-tray underneath +it, d' you see? so that if the shed door is pulled +open the thread will break, the poker will fall, and +make such a clatter that we are bound to hear it all +over the house."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam broke into laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha! ha! it do mind me of the old 'ooman +and little crooked sixpence," he cried. "Do 'ee mind, +Maister Dick? 'Cat began to kill the rat, rat began +to gnaw the rope,' and so on till th' old 'ooman got +home at last. My life, 'tis a noble notion! What +a headpiece you have got, to be sure! But, +scrounch it all, won't they see the line?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think so. 'Tis so much the colour of +the rock that it will escape notice."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True. But s'pose we do hear a clatter-bang. +That won't stop 'em from hauling out the boat, +and we couldn' get down the cliff in time to +save her."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd thought of that. We'll fix up a booby-trap +over the door."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never heerd o't. What be a booby-trap?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a thing that Mr. Carlyon told me of, a trick +he used to play when he was a young fellow at +college. You fix above the doorway something that +will tumble down when the door is opened, and +come plump on the head of any one entering. That +will stagger them, and while they are recovering +their wits we shall have time to run down. You +may be sure they'll run away before we get to +them, for if we recognize them they'll have Sir Bevil +to reckon with."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha! ha!" laughed Sam. "That 'ud be a +funny sight to see. We'll do it, Maister Dick, and +'tis my wish I bean't too sleepy to tumble up when +they tries their tricks."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was a full day's work, from daybreak to long +past sunset, to erect the shed from materials carefully +prepared beforehand. Dick felt the necessity of +completing the apparatus before another day dawned, +lest their proceedings should be spied from a passing +boat and reported in the village before they were +ready. He obtained permission from his father to +remain out, telling him frankly what his purpose +was, but without giving details, and toiled on, by the +light of a screened lantern, until the whole +contrivance wis finished. The booby-trap consisted of +a pail nicely balanced on a bar running across the +shed, and filled with water deeply coloured with +indigo. It was connected by a thread with a loose +board in the floor beneath, so that a trespasser +stepping across the threshold would snap the thread, +cause the pail to turn on its axis, and receive its +contents on his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The parson used flour, he told me," said Dick, +"but 'tis too good to waste on those rascals."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, and a dousin' will make 'em cuss more," +said Sam. "Oh, 'twill grieve me tarrible if I be +asleep!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Three days passed. Apparently the shed had not +been discovered by the villagers. The boys tested +their invention and found it successful. They took +the boat out each morning, and restored it to its +place when the day's fishing was done, fastening the +door from the inside, connecting it with the booby-trap, +and leaving the shed by a small door, just large +enough to crawl through, at the back.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the third evening Mr. Carlyon came to the +Towers to join the Trevanions in a game of whist, +as he did frequently during the winter months. It +was a still, clear night, with a touch of frost in the +air; but the cold did not penetrate to the Squire's +room, where a blazing wood fire threw a rosy radiance +on the panelled walls, and woke smiling reflections +in the glasses and decanters that stood on a table +near that at which the party of four were absorbed +in their game. The house was quiet; Reuben and +Sam had retired to rest, for the Vicar would need no +attendance when he mounted his cob to ride home.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire was in the act of shuffling the pack, +when suddenly the silence of the house was shattered +by a tremendous crash in one of the rooms above. +Mrs. Trevanion pressed her hand to her side; the +Squire missed his cast, and let the cards fall to the +floor; Mr. Carlyon put down the glass which he had +just raised to his lips, so hastily that the fluid spilled +on the baize. Dick sprang up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis the alarm!" he cried. "They are at my shed!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He dashed out of the room, to meet Sam in shirt +and breeches tumbling down the stairs. Dick seized +a cutlass hanging on the wall, Sam the parson's +riding-whip, and throwing open the door they sallied +out into the night.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It dinged me out of a lovely dream," said Sam. +"Dash my buttons, 'twas a noble noise."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They scampered along the cliff to the zigzag path. +Meanwhile the Squire hurriedly explained the matter +to the astonished Vicar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless my life, I must go too," cried Mr. Carlyon. +"The impudence of the scoundrels! Is this the +result of Sir Bevil's intervention? Come along, +Squire; bring your pistols. Man of peace as I am, +I will give you absolution if you wing one of those +fellows!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two hastened forth less than a minute after +the boys. Both were active men, in spite of their +years, and they scrambled down the path with no +more stumbles than were excusable in elderly gentlemen +a little short in the wind. Before they got to +the bottom they saw a boat just pulling off from the +shore, and the boys knee-deep in water, trying to +give a parting salutation with their weapons to the +disturbers of the peace. Sam had the satisfaction of +hearing a bellow from the man in the stern of the +boat as the whip-thong slashed his face; but Dick's +cutlass was not long enough for effective use, and in +a few seconds the marauders were out of reach.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The four met on the beach and hastened up +towards the shed. To their surprise the door was +only half open.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They must have heard the noise," said Dick. +"My window is open. I daresay they waited to see +what it meant, and then heard us coming down, for +when we got to the foot of the path they were +beginning to shove the boat off."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The neatest contrivance I ever heard of. I +congratulate you on your ingenuity," said the Vicar +heartily. "But we may as well see that the villains +have done no mischief."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he spoke he pulled the door fully open, and +before Dick could check him, set his foot on the +threshold. Instantly there was a splash; the +worthy man gasped and spluttered, and came out +with a spring, shaking his head like a dog emerging +from a bath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"God bless my soul!" cried the Squire, looking +with amazement at the dark shower pouring from his +friend on to the sand. "What on earth is this?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho! ho!" laughed Sam, prancing with delight, +his veneration for the Church quite eclipsed by his +joy at a fellow mortal's misadventure. "I ha' seed +it arter all. Ho! ho!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, overwhelmed with dismay, shook Sam by the +arm and bade him be silent. What excuse, what +reparation could he make to the venerable gentleman +who had suffered so untoward an accident?</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn't think—I tried to—I'm dreadfully sorry, +sir," he stammered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha! ha!" came the parson's rolling laugh. +"'Pon my life, he's an apt pupil, Squire. The young +dog! Ha! ha!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Explain this—this—" began the Squire angrily.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This booby-trap, Squire," cried Mr. Carlyon. +"'Tis I am the booby. I taught Dick, in a reckless +burst of confidence, how we young rantipoles at +Oxford used to deal with each other—and our tutors +too, I'm bound to say. I wish I hadn't. But, you +young rascal, I told you that we used flour: what +is this horrible stuff?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Only a solution of indigo, sir; it won't do you +any harm," replied poor Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Won't do me any harm? Only make me black +and blue, eh? Ha! ha! I'm glad 'tis no worse. +But 'tis a thousand pities those ruffians escaped +the shower. Well, well, the rain falls on the just +and the unjust, we're told, and——bless me, Squire, +it takes me back forty years, when we had rigged up +a trap for a freshman, and it toppled on the reverend +head of the dean himself. Ha! ha!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha! ha!" laughed the Squire, his vexation +giving way to his sense of humour.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ho! ho!" roared Sam. "Drown me if it +bean't the——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Shut up!" growled Dick. "Why must you +laugh at the Vicar in that idiotic way?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Cos he laughs at hisself," said Sam, highly +aggrieved. "I wouldn' laugh at him with his +nightgown on in church, not I; but when he be +just like a simple common man, daze me if I can +keep it in."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two elders were now climbing the path. +Dick stayed to retie the thread, though he did not +expect that the marauders, after the alarm they had +had, would make a second attempt that night. +Having closed the door, he accompanied Sam up the +cliff, greatly relieved when he heard, far above, the +Vicar's hearty laugh, as he related to the Squire +sundry other pranks and escapades of his younger days.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="penwarden-disappears"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWELFTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Penwarden Disappears</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>As Dick hoped, the scare given to the enemy by +his prompt sally from the Towers proved effectual; +no further attempt was made to interfere with the +boat. Rumours of the contrivance for giving an +alarm spread among the villagers, and Mr. Carlyon, +without revealing his own misadventure, took care +to explain to Petherick, sexton, beadle, and constable, +that the intruders would have suffered material +damage if they had had the courage to enter the +shed. Petherick duly reported this, as the parson +intended, adding on his own account that the +young monkeys had invented an instrument of +torture for all who dared to molest them. The +parson's housekeeper discussed with Petherick a +strange stain upon her master's stock, and Petherick +himself, despatched one day to the Truro perruquier +with a parcel carefully tied, was amazed when the +tradesman, opening it in his presence, revealed a +wig, not iron grey, but mottled blue in colour. +These matters were a topic of conversation in +Polkerran for many a day, and there were some who +offered explanations, and some who shook their +heads and looked profoundly wise, but discreetly +held their tongues. The truth was never known +outside the Towers, Dick threatening Sam with +excommunication if he breathed a word of it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One Wednesday, early in December, the boys set +out a little before dawn to fish. The air was cold +and misty; trickles of condensed moisture ran down +their faces and necks, and little pools formed on the +rims of their hats. The exercise of rowing warmed +them, and the discomfort, always less to their +seasoned skins than it would have been to a townsman +and a landlubber, was forgotten altogether when +the fish rose freely to their bait. They made a +good catch after two hours' work, and turned to row +back in order to carry the fish home in time for early +breakfast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext" id="id1"><span>They had come nearly a mile from shore, and +were pulling hard, the wind blowing off the land +against them, when all at once, some distance astern, +there loomed out of the mist a three-masted vessel +of considerable size.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look, Sam," said Dick, "isn't that the same +craft we saw following the smack that night?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis so," replied Sam; "the night Maister +John come home-along. I said he landed from +the smack, you mind; you said 'a didn't; and I +don't care who the man is, but I know I be right."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Pull away, Sam. We don't want to be seen. +It may be the French privateer we've heard about, +and we ought to tell Mr. Mildmay or Penwarden."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, and there's money if she's catched. Would +they gie us a bit o't, think 'ee?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I daresay. There! She has vanished into the +mist again. Do you know if the cutter is in the +harbour, Sam?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She warn't yesterday. Maister Mildmay is busy +down coast. I'd liever old Joe got the money +than he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They saw no more of the vessel, even from the +top of the cliff. Mr. Trevanion was interested in +their news, and agreed that it should certainly be +imparted to Penwarden or Mr. Polwhele, +Mr. Mildmay being absent.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick remembered that the old exciseman had +probably been up all night. He sympathised with +him in his arduous duty of watching all through +the long hours of darkness, in fair or foul weather, +frost or rain. At dawn of day Penwarden was +accustomed to take a "watch below," as he called +it, until noon, priding himself on requiring no more +than four or five hours' sleep. At noon an old +woman from the village came to get his dinner and +tidy up, leaving when her work was done, his other +meals being prepared by himself. Dick decided not +to awaken Penwarden until he had had his sleep out, +but to seek Mr. Polwhele, whose house stood on the +cliff half-a-mile on the further side of the village. +Dick went there by a roundabout way, to avoid +meeting the fisher-people and their sour looks. +The riding-officer was much surprised at the news +he brought.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a risky thing on the part of Delarousse, if +'tis indeed he," said Mr. Polwhele; "and why he +should come here I can't tell, for Polkerran is not +worth powder and shot."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe to arrange for running a cargo," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think that, for 'tis whispered that the +folks here do not deal with him any longer. I can't +think 'tis he, but I will run up my signal to warn +Mr. Mildmay, if he can see it through the mist. +Thank 'ee for the news. Perhaps you will tell +Penwarden, and ask him to keep an eye lifting."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick promised to do so, and returned home.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Shortly before twelve, the time when Penwarden +was usually moving about again, Dick walked up to +the cottage to inform him of the strange vessel. He +knocked at the door, but there was no answer. +Thinking that the old man was lying later than usual +after a tiring night's duty, Dick felt loth to rouse +him, and resolved to wait a while, walking up and +down before the cottage, beating himself for warmth's +sake. Now and then he stopped to listen at the +door, but there was no sound from within, nor +indeed without, except the booming of the surf, +the whistle of the wind impinging on the cliff +edge, and the screams of gulls which had not yet +flown inland to seek their winter sustenance in the +neighbourhood of farms. The mist cleared off, and +not a sign of the vessel was to be seen on the +horizon.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Old Gammer Oliver is late, too," thought Dick. +"Perhaps Joe told her not to come at her usual time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He took a book from his pocket, and read it, still +walking up and down. But he soon tired of this; +the hour for the midday meal at the Towers was +drawing on; and he would have returned but for +his promise to Mr. Polwhele.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I ought to have hammered hard on the door at +once," he said to himself. "Tired as he must be, +he would not mind being disturbed in this case."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He shut up his book, slipped it into his pocket, +and strode briskly towards the cottage, about thirty +paces distant. No smoke was rising from the +chimney; nothing was audible but the wind rustling +the leaves of a laurel bush, and causing the bare +tendrils of last year's creeper to scratch against the +wall. The sudden scream of a gull wheeling its +flight above the roof made Dick start and look +round uneasily. There was nothing living, on four +feet or on two, in sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He came to the door, and, hesitating no longer, +rapped smartly upon it. Neither voice nor +movement answered him. Again he knocked, with +greater energy, calling the old man by name. The +perfect silence when his knuckles ceased their tattoo +alarmed him. Joe always locked the door when he +left the cottage by day, and locked and bolted it +when he retired at night. Still, it was a natural act +to turn the handle, and Dick, when he did so, +almost laughed, for the door opened, revealing the +dark little passage, on one side of which was the +bedroom, on the other the kitchen and sitting-room +in one. Of course, the old fellow had gone out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But as Dick stood on the threshold and his eyes +became accustomed to the dimness within, this +comforting reflection gave way to surprise and +apprehension. Half-way down the passage Penwarden's +hat lay on the floor. Near it was a bundle +of bulrushes which he had brought back from a +voyage in his sea-going days; it usually stood +against the wall beneath a portrait of Rodney. +Beyond, the glass of a case enclosing a stuffed +John-Dory was broken to splinters, which glinted from +the stone floor. The passage presented a strange +contrast to its usual neat and tidy appearance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Joe!" Dick called.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His voice reverberated; there was no other sound. +He entered the passage and opened the door of the +kitchen. It was empty; nothing was in disorder; +a kettle stood on the hob; on the table lay a +mug, a knife, and a plate holding a few crumbs of +bread, witnesses to the old man's supper. Dick +turned about, crossed the passage, and halted for a +moment at the bedroom door, seized by the shaking +thought that Joe had been taken ill in the night—was +perhaps dead. He called, rapped, and, with +quivering nerves, entered. The blind was down, so +that he could scarcely see; but there was the bed, +empty, the bedclothes disturbed. He pulled up +the blind. The cold light of the winter sky flooded +the room, and he saw things that filled him with +alarm. A chair was overturned; fragments of a +pipe and a tinder-box lay beside the bed; a thin +hair rug was creased into the shape of billows; on +one of the white deals was a dark red stain. The +appearance of both room and passage pointed to a +struggle. The stain was the fresh mark of blood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>What had become of the old man? Dick felt the +answer to his unspoken question. Excisemen had +many enemies; sometimes they lost their lives, not +merely in open fight with the smugglers, but by +insidious attack. Mr. Mildmay had told of +ambushes, midnight assaults, torture, brutal murders. +Such incidents were almost unknown in the west +country; the fair fame of Cornishmen had not been +sullied as that of the men of Kent and Sussex had +been. But what more likely than that the bitter +ill-feeling rife in the village, which had lately vented +itself against the inmates of the Towers, should now +have sought a new victim in Penwarden? If the +smugglers were prepared to go such lengths against +the Trevanions, towards whom their hereditary +loyalty had for generations been akin to the Scottish +clansman's devotion to his chief, they would scarcely +be disposed to spare a humble old seaman, to whom +they attributed the heavy losses they had recently +suffered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>These thoughts ran through Dick's mind in a +moment. That Penwarden had suffered violent +handling he could not doubt. He must at once +report the disappearance. He hurried from the +room, closing the door, and in the passage met +Gammer Oliver, as she was called, the old woman +who came daily from the village.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Maister Trevanion!" she exclaimed, "you +did give me a turn."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Penwarden is not here; something has +happened to him. You don't know anything about him?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee say it? Lawk-a-deary, and me so late +and all! My darter was took bad this morning, +or——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you know anything about him?" repeated Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a mossel, sir. I hain't seed the gaffer since +I gied un his dinner yesterday. Save us all! What +a moil and muddle things be in!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I don't know what has happened. Tidy +up, and bring the door-key to the Towers. I am +going now."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He hastened home, and told the Squire what he +had discovered, and what his suspicions were. +Mr. Trevanion, often supine and sluggish in matters +concerning himself, was energetic enough when he +heard of wrong or injustice suffered by others.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is scandalous!" he exclaimed. "Do you +go at once and find Mr. Polwhele, Dick. I will +hurry to the parson. Stay, I'll give Sam a note for +Sir Bevil; we must raise a hue and cry after the +old man. Where is Mildmay, I wonder?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Polwhele was going to signal to him, sir," +said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's right. He must watch the coast. I've +heard of the wretches shipping off to France +preventive men who make themselves troublesome. +'Tis ten to one they will serve Penwarden so; that +vessel you saw may have come for that purpose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Within a few minutes the three active members +of the household had gone their several ways. Dick +hastened for the second time to see the riding-officer. +As he went he came to a resolution. The smugglers, +it was clear, were determined on pursuing their +policy of persecution. All who opposed them, or +whom they supposed to be their opponents, would +have to reckon with their remorseless animosity, +which might express itself in open violence or deeds +of stealth as necessity demanded. It was to be war, +and, as events were shaping themselves, war between +the village and the Towers. Well, the war should +be fought out. The quarrel had been forced on the +Trevanions; they had not willingly departed from +their neutrality; but matters had now gone so far +that to remain neutral was impossible, and Dick +resolved to take once for all the side of the law. +He anticipated some difficulty in bringing his father +to adopt the same attitude; but at the present +moment the Squire was so indignant with the +smugglers that, even if he was not ready to throw +himself into active opposition to them, he might not +forbid Dick to do so. Feeling that at such a crisis +all quiet work at his books was impossible, Dick +determined to beg Mr. Carlyon to release him, and to +devote himself heart and soul to the contest, whether +of wits or weapons. The first object must be the +rescue of Joe Penwarden.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele was still at home.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is a new thing, 'pon my life," he said, +when Dick had told him his tidings. "Till now +the villains have been only on the defensive; to +take the offensive means there's a new spirit working +in 'em. D'you think, now, that your father is +right, and John Trevanion is the man behind?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't want to say what I think, Mr. Polwhele," +replied Dick. "Whether he is or not, +we must put a stop to it. I can't do much, but +what I can do I will."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad to hear it. The curious thing is that +John Trevanion has but lately been here. One of +the fishers had told him of the strange vessel, and +he came for the same purpose as you, to ask me to +signal to Mr. Mildmay. He said it was scandalous +that the Frenchman should be allowed to cruise +at large."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do you think she came to ship Penwarden +away, sir? That is my father's idea."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a notion, now, but not likely, unless John +Trevanion came here to throw me off the scent. +You saw no small boat pulling to the ship, did you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, sir."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I think the Squire is wrong. Now, +seemingly, Mr. Mildmay has not seen my signal, +but he must be somewhere off the coast. As soon +as 'tis dark I will show a light with my telescope +lantern; that will fetch him; and if you are ready +to join hands with us, I will bring him to the +Towers and we'll hold a council of war. Will the +Squire agree to it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know. I'll ask him, and if you'll meet +me at six o'clock on the bridge yonder, I will tell +you what he says."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the Squire returned from his visit to the +Parsonage, Dick opened his mind to him. At first +Mr. Trevanion shrank from definitely committing +himself to the cause of the revenue officers, but when +Dick pointed out that his position could scarcely be +worse than it was, and that the Trevanion influence +might still have some weight with the better-disposed +among the village folk, he consented to the +riding-officer's proposal.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The vicar is coming over this evening," he +said. "We shall at any rate have all the wisdom of +the parish."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At half-past six there met in the Squire's room, +Mr. Mildmay, the riding-officer, Mr. Carlyon, and +Dick. They drew their chairs to the fire; the elder +men lit their churchwarden pipes, and, with glasses +of steaming toddy at their elbows, proceeded to +discuss the situation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I have a note from Sir Bevil," said the Squire. +"He is sending to Truro for assistance. What shape +that may take I don't know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The shape of a constable or two, probably," said +Mr. Polwhele, "and if they are no better than +Petherick, they won't help us much."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Petherick shall cry the village to-morrow," said +the Vicar. "Being a justice as well as parson, I have +written out a proclamation, summoning all good and +true men to give information that will lead to the +discovery of Penwarden, dead or alive."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't believe they'd murder him," said +Mr. Mildmay, "or they wouldn't take the trouble to +spirit him away. A crack on the head would be a +much simpler matter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you suppose is their object in +kidnapping him?" asked the Vicar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Either to hold him while they run a specially +valuable cargo, or to ship him to France and keep +him permanently out of their way. A fool's trick; +for he's bound to be replaced, though we'd find it +hard to get a better man, old as he is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And foolish in another way," added the +riding-officer. "They ought to know that a deed of that +kind will only stir up the rest of us. I wouldn't +give much for their chances of running a cargo yet +awhile."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor for shipping him," said Mr. Mildmay. "I'll +swear they haven't done it yet. My boats were up +and down the coast all last night. One of them spied +that rascally privateer putting in towards St. Cuby's +Cove in the mist this morning, but she sailed away, +and though I gave chase, she got off. To-night +we'll have the boats patrolling for miles; I defy 'em +to slip through us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"When did they seize him, d'you suppose?" +asked the Squire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In the early morning, I think, Father," said Dick, +"before it was light. The blood stain was quite +fresh. They must have hidden him somewhere; +they wouldn't carry him away in the daylight, in case +some one saw them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That wouldn't trouble them, bless you," said +Mr. Mildmay. "All Polkerran and most of the +folk around are hand-in-glove with them. They +could count on the silence of everybody but a few +ranters and psalm-singers, who would either be abed +and asleep, or going about their business."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't agree with you, Mildmay," said the +Squire. "They would have to pass this house on +the way to the village, and they know very well +that Dick and young Sam are early birds; they +wouldn't risk meeting them. No; 'twas done in +the dark, depend on it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That might be if they took him to the village, +but we don't know that," retorted Mr. Mildmay. +"No doubt there are any number of underground +cellars and secret passages in the village: 'twas in +some such place that fellow Delarousse was hidden +while the dragoons were searching the inn, you may +be sure. But those are not the only possible +hiding-places. What with nooks, caves, and adits +in the abandoned mines, we might search for a +month of Sundays and not find the poor fellow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But they won't hold him long, surely," said Dick. +"What a trouble it would be to guard him and feed +him!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True; they would expect to be able to ship him +soon. If they are planning a run, and find we're +too watchful for them, I'll be bound they'll let him +loose before long, and we'll find him one fine +morning back again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dick speaks of guarding and feeding," said +Mr. Carlyon. "May not that give us a clue? It +seems probable, as Mr. Mildmay suggests, that he is +not in the village. If he is elsewhere, somebody +must leave the village to carry food to him, and a +vigilant watch would detect the fellow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless my life, parson," said Mr. Polwhele, "you +don't know these rascals. They're as wary as otters +and as slippery as eels. I'll warrant they'd slip us +in broad daylight, and as to the darkness of night, +why, a regiment of soldiers wouldn't be large +enough to net 'em."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, to be practical," said the Squire. "You, +Vicar, as a justice, can give Mr. Polwhele a warrant +of search. You may unearth him in the village, and +I should begin with the inn; Doubledick's name +suits him. With the coast closely watched by +Mr. Mildmay's men, the kidnappers cannot ship +him. Sir Bevil will raise the hue and cry in the +neighbourhood inland, and 'tis such a serious matter +that I doubt whether any of the yeomen would +connive at it. The name of </span><em class="italics">habeas corpus</em><span> would +scare them out of their wits. I'm inclined to think +with Mr. Mildmay that the rascals will let him loose +in a day or two when they see what a stir they have +made; but of course we must not rely on that, but +do our best to ferret him out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well summed up, Squire," said the Vicar. +"We cannot do more to-night; and, as 'tis not late, +perhaps you and these gentlemen would favour me +with a rubber. Polwhele trumped my trick last +time," he added, under his breath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"With all my heart," cried the Squire. "Dick, +bring the cards, and ask Reuben to fry some pilchards. +All work and no play, Mr. Mildmay, you know——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The gentlemen were nothing loth to spend an +hour or two in this way. They had supper at eight; +the officers then left to attend to their nocturnal +duties; and as Mr. Carlyon remained to play piquet +with the Squire, Dick went to bed early, resolving +to take some independent steps in the morning.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="cross-currents"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Cross-Currents</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Polkerran next day was the stage upon which a +series of dramatic incidents were enacted, pure +comedy to the spectators, but with a possible tragedy +behind the scenes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At an early hour a mob of boys and girls, with a +sprinkling of aged folk verging on second childhood, +followed at the heels of Petherick, the constable, as +he shambled through the streets, stopping at the +corners to ring his bell, shout "Oyez! Oyez!" +and mumble the formal words of Mr. Carlyon's +proclamation. He pretended to read them from the +sheet of double foolscap that he held at arm's length +before him, but being perfectly illiterate, he in reality +recited them by heart, the Vicar having devoted two +solid hours since dawn in drumming them into the +man's head. His duty thus religiously performed, +Petherick repaired to the tap-room of the Five +Pilchards, where he discoursed for a time on </span><em class="italics">habeas +corpus, felo de se</em><span>, and other magical prescriptions, +relieving his dryness so frequently with rum-hot +that he was at length overcome with emotion, and +mingled his liquor with his tears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two hours later, Sir Bevil Portharvan rode down +with Mr. John Trevanion, a brother magistrate, and +a sheriff's officer from Truro, intending to harangue +the populace and impress them with the majesty and +terror of the law. But finding that no audience +gathered about him except the young and old +children aforesaid, a few pallid indoor workmen, and +a number of women accompanied by squalling infants +in arms—the able-bodied men being, curiously +enough, otherwise engaged—he abandoned that +part of the programme, and contented himself with +solemnly superintending the affixing to the inn-door +of a bill, headed with the royal arms, which he +had ordered overnight to be printed in Truro.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At noon came Mr. Mildmay, Mr. Polwhele, a +posse of excisemen, and a soldier on furlough, who, +with the authority of a warrant signed by the Vicar, +proceeded to make a thorough search of the houses, +beginning with the inn itself. They descended to +the cellars, ascended to the lofts; rummaged in +clothes presses; turned down beds; rapped at walls +for hollow sounds indicating secret passages or +receptacles; peeped into horse-troughs, cow-byres, +and pigsties; poked in coppers and washtubs; in +short, worked themselves into a fine perspiring heat +and the village folk into an itching frenzy by the +conscientious thoroughness of their inquisition. +Some of the men who had been undiscoverable by +Sir Bevil were now energetically employed, in +advance of the search party, in removing bales, kegs, +packets, and canisters, so that when Mr. Mildmay +appeared at one end of a street, these interesting +objects were collected at the other; and when this +end in turn was visited, the barefooted carriers of +the articles in question slipped back and replaced +them in their former hiding-places.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While Mr. Mildmay and his assistants, after three +hours' unremitting toil, stood mopping their brows +and venting their honest opinion of the Polkerran +folk, John Trevanion rode down the hill. He +reined up when he reached the group, and greeted +the discomfited representatives of the law.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How d'ye do, gentlemen?" he cried. "Have +you had any success?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confusion seize 'em, Mr. Trevanion!" replied +the lieutenant. "We've not seen a sign of the old +man, nor discovered a single cask or bundle of +contraband. You'd think 'twas the most innocent, +duty-paying village in the three kingdoms."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's most unfortunate. As to the contraband—well, +you know, we all like to get our goods as +cheap as we may, I don't disguise it; but old +Penwarden is another story. Have you no notion +where he is?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No more than you, Mr. Trevanion," said +the riding-officer, throwing a keen glance on the +horseman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you must be blank indeed," said Trevanion +with an easy laugh. "'Tis my belief there's a great +deal too much fuss made about old Joe's disappearance. +Surely nobody in Polkerran would wish to +injure so ancient an institution. 'Tis a prank, +depend upon it, and when the prankers have achieved +their object—you and I can guess what that +is—they'll let him loose as sound as a bell."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion's debonair frankness disarmed Mr. Mildmay, +to whom he was a comparative stranger. +It seemed ridiculous that the Squire should harbour +such unworthy suspicions of his cousin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By the way," continued Trevanion, "I am glad +I met you. I am having a few friends in on +Saturday night—a bit of a randy; that's our name for it +here—and I shall be delighted if you will join us. +I haven't seen so much of you as I should like; +this mine I'm starting has kept me busy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm much obliged to you," said Mr. Mildmay, +"but I fear——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I know what you would say. But your +cutter can spare you for an hour or two. Not for +the world would I hinder your duties; to catch that +villain Delarousse in particular would be worth a +good deal to you; but 'tis dark early; the hour +fixed is six; and I won't say a word if you must +leave us before we are ripe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I will come. Thank you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And you too, Mr. Polwhele? The service of +your country can spare you for a little while?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To be sure. I'll come too, Mr. Trevanion; +'twill be like old times, indeed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The riding-officer's assent was much more hearty +than Mr. Mildmay's, which was perhaps a little +surprising in view of the suspicions he had confessed +to on the previous day in speaking to Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's right," said Trevanion. "I shall be +glad to welcome you. The hour is six—did I name +it? I hope Penwarden will be found by that time; +you'll feel easier, I dare say. Good-bye, then."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When he had ridden away, Mr. Mildmay dismissed +the underlings and went off to have a meal +with the riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That fellow's too free-and-easy to be the villain +the Squire thinks him," said Mr. Mildmay, as they +walked southward out of the village.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele smiled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm beginning to think he's the cleverest +free-trader the duchy ever bred," he remarked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear fellow!" expostulated the lieutenant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I had my suspicions; this invitation has +convinced me," replied Mr. Polwhele. "Bless my life, +to think you are so simple, Mildmay! Don't you +see the game? They've put Penwarden out of the +way. What does that mean? A big run, as sure +as I'm alive. But we two are obstacles; they blink +at kidnapping us, but they do better. They invite +us to a randy, and while we are making merry they +slip inshore, run their cargo, liberate Penwarden, and +laugh at us for a pair of jackasses."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's nonsense, Polwhele. The cutter will be +out, though I'm not on it. Besides, didn't he say +we can leave when we like?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, with the belief that when he has us there, +warmth, good liquor, and pleasant company will +prove more attractive than hunting rascals in the +cold."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why did you accept, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"First, to look after you, Mildmay. Second, to +keep my eyes open. Third, to make Trevanion +think I don't suspect him, so that the smugglers +may go forward with their plans. He is playing a +deep game, I'm sure of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's detestably unjust, Polwhele," said Mr. +Mildmay, with some heat. "Give a dog a bad +name, and——I tell you what. We will both leave +at nine; not a minute later. That's several hours +before any run took place that ever I heard of. +Nine it shall be, and call me jackass if the shore's +not as quiet all night as the churchyard."</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Meanwhile, what had Dick been doing?</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the hour when Mr. Carlyon was driving the +terms of his proclamation into Petherick's reluctant +skull, Dick rose from bed, and taking the key of +Penwarden's cottage, brought to the Towers by +Gammer Oliver, went up the cliff to make a more +thorough examination of the premises than he had +made on the previous day. He wished that he had +thought of doing so before, for there had not only +been rain in the night which would help to obliterate +any traces that the kidnappers might have left on the +ground, but the neighbourhood had been visited +by inquisitive boys, dairymaids, farm-hands, and +idle folk from the village, who tramped round the +cottage, gazed at the door, and peered in at the +windows, leaving innumerable footprints on the soil.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was puzzled to think how Joe's captors +had obtained entrance to the cottage. It was not +by the front door, unless Penwarden had carelessly +left it open; its timbers were sound and the lock +unbroken; not by the chimney, which was too +narrow to admit anything larger than a pigeon. +They might have gone through the garden and +forced the back door; though they would surely +have tried to effect an entrance quietly, while the +old man lay asleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Arriving at the cottage, Dick unlocked the door, +entered, and went through the passage to the back +door, which opened on a tiny garden. The lock had +not been tampered with. Penwarden was very +proud of his garden, devoting many hours a day in +the summer, when his duties were light, to the +cultivation of peonies, fuchsias, nasturtiums, and +other flowering plants, together with onions, +artichokes, and vegetable marrows. The flowers were +on one side of a narrow path, the vegetables on the +other. There was a small gate in the rear fence. +At this time of year the ground was bare, Penwarden +finding nothing to do but a little rake and spade +work.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A glance at the path apprised Dick that the captive +had been carried out this way. The pebbles were +disturbed; parts of the boxwood borders were +trampled down, and over the edge there were prints +of heavy boots on the brown earth. Dick examined +the kitchen window. The explanation was at once +clear to him. There were deep scratches on the sill +and the woodwork; the conclusion was irresistible; +the kidnappers had climbed into the kitchen and +gained the bedroom before Penwarden was aware of +their presence. That they had carried their victim +out by the back door seemed to show that at any +rate they had taken him inland, and not down to the +shore. How the front door came to be unlocked +was a puzzling circumstance, since they had clearly +neither entered nor come out that way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went again to the back, and sought to trace +the footsteps beyond the gate; but the grass there +was so beaten down by the rain and the feet of the +curious idlers, that the most careful investigation +must prove fruitless. He returned into the cottage, +to make a thorough search of the bedroom. Gammer +Oliver had made the bed, straightened the rug, set +the chair on its legs, and washed over the stained +plank. It seemed probable that his instruction to +her to tidy up had robbed him of any chance of +making a discovery. But Dick resolved not to err +again through over-haste, and, the small window +admitting little light, he found a candle, lit it, and +began to prowl methodically round the room. For +some time his search met with no reward, but all at +once, catching a glint of light reflected from some +object on the floor in the angle between a +grandfather's clock and the fireplace, he stooped, and +picked up a large steel button, to which hung by the +broken threads a torn scrap of blue cloth.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick felt a thrill of excitement. Penwarden had +not been carried away unresisting. He knew that +already by the signs of struggle formerly observed. +The severed button was an additional proof. No +doubt it had been wrenched off in the fight—from +whose coat? Not from Joe's; his buttons were the +regulation brass buttons of the Government service. +Many of the fishers had steel buttons on their winter +coats, and one button was like another. But it +occurred to Dick that the particular garment which +had lost this button might not yet have been repaired, +and he wondered whether the Vicar's search-warrant +would justify Mr. Mildmay in demanding that all +the blue coats in the village should be spread out on +the beach for examination. The absurdity of the +idea struck him at once. Of course the very +garment that was wanted would not appear. But he +thought of a better way—one that would arouse no +suspicion, though it might prove impossible of +execution. He would go down into the village and +scrutinise the clothes of all the men he met. The +owner of the lost button was probably one of the +most active of the smugglers, and not an indoor +man, so that there was some chance of meeting him +in the street, on the beach, or on the jetty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He set off at once. On the way he met Sir Bevil +and other horsemen riding from the Dower House, +where John Trevanion had entertained them after +the futile ceremony in the village. The fishers, +who were not to be seen when Sir Bevil was burning +to address them, now stood smoking at the corners, +in front of the inn, on the jetty, and elsewhere. +They appeared to be very much amused. Some of +them scowled at Dick as he passed; others laughed +and spat; one asked him with an oath what he +was staring at. Dick was seldom in the village +now, and the hostility of the folk's attitude might +have made his heart sore had he not been hardened +to it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He walked along as unconcernedly as he could, +standing for a few moments to watch some fishers +mending nets on the beach, and lingering until their +movements brought the front of their coats into +view. Some coats were brown, some blue; some +had steel buttons, others bone. Not one was lacking. +Presently he came to the jetty, where Isaac Tonkin, +sitting on an upturned tub, was superintending some +repairs to the seine-net in his lugger. He wore a +blue coat, but his arms were folded, one hand +holding his pipe to his mouth. He threw one +glance at Dick, but made no movement, and +thenceforth ignored him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick strolled up and down. Excitement utterly +possessed him; to his fancy Tonkin was deliberately +concealing two out of his four buttons. The two +visible were of steel. What could he do to make +the man unclasp? But it was not necessary to +practise any wile. The simplest causes effected +what he desired.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Feyther," called Jake Tonkin from the lugger, +"fling us a quid o' yer bacca."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis bad for young stummicks," said the father. +"Howsomever, here 'ee be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His right arm fell as he sought his pocket: the +front of his coat was revealed; one button was +missing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is probable that Dick, but for his long waiting +and his excitement, would not have yielded to +impulse. But as Tonkin threw the tobacco into the +lugger, Dick stepped up to him, and, holding out +the incriminating button, said:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is yours, I believe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin stared at him for an instant, blew a cloud +from his lips, and held out his hand for the button +as if to examine it. In anticipatory triumph Dick +handed it to him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did I hear 'ee say as this button do belong to +me?" asked the man in a curiously quiet voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I did say so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, drown me if I want it," and with a flick +between his forefinger and thumb he sent it skimming +through the air. It fell into the sea a dozen +yards away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick's cheeks flamed with rage at his stupidity in +allowing himself to be outwitted. He had had +in his possession the sole piece of evidence against +the kidnappers, and now it was lost on the sandy +bottom of the harbour. Shaken out of his +self-control, he said hotly:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas you that kidnapped Penwarden. Don't +think you will escape. There'll be an end to this +villainy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Go and inform, then, you cussed young slip of +a rotted old tree. 'Tis not the first time, neither, +you dirty young whelp."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A burst of laughter from the lugger brought Dick +to his sober senses. Disdaining to contradict the +aspersion, he turned abruptly on his heel, tingling +with fury at his own indiscretion. Jibes and jeers +pursued him as he walked towards the homeward +road; these stung him less than the knowledge that +by his own folly he had thrown away a chance of +helping Penwarden.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Gloomy thoughts kept him company as he toiled +up the hill. Nor was he cheered by the air of +malignant triumph manifest on Doubledick's fat +face, when, half-way up the hill, he met the +inn-keeper waddling down. In imagination he heard +the gleeful chuckles with which Doubledick would +learn of his discomfiture. After the heroic resolution +he had lately come to, it was a sorry thing to have +been worsted in the first encounter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Walking more rapidly on the level road past the +Dower House, at a cursory glance to the left he +saw a short, thickset form scramble over the fence +that bounded the premises, and hasten furtively in +the direction of the Towers. The sight struck him +with surprise and wrath at once, for the slinking +figure was undoubtedly that of Sam Pollex. Being +himself partially concealed by the hedge, he thought +it probable that Sam had not seen him, so, hurrying +along, he turned as soon as possible into the grounds +of the Towers, and came face to face with Sam as the +boy arrived at a little wicket-gate.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you mean by it?" he demanded +angrily, holding the gate so that Sam could not pass +through.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam blushed and dropped his eyes, looking +flustered and perturbed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Were you not bidden never to go there again?" +Dick continued. "Didn't I say I'd break your +head for you if you disobeyed?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, you did so," said Sam ruefully. "Ah, well, +you'm better do it and get it over."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What were you doing there?" said Dick, still +holding the gate.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam looked sidelong, shuffled his feet, then, as +with a great effort, replied:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn' go to sell eggs, nor nawthin' o' that sort. +If you must haul it out of a poor feller, I rambled +there to——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To see maidy Susan; now I've said it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you're a silly ass. She's years older than +you. What does a maid of twenty want with a boy +of sixteen?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Twenty she is, and sixteen be I, but I've a deal +more wisdom in my noddle than she, arter all. She's +a simple soul about pilchurs, and night-lines, and +buildin' boats, and all sorts o' famous things I've +knowed since I wer table-high, and she do have a +tarrible thirst for high knowledge. She've a clever +little head-piece, too, for when I wer tellin' to she how +pretty 'tis to see a otter divin' for fish, who should +come up-along but Doubledick——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did he see you?" interrupted Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wer just agoin' to tell 'ee. No, 'a didn't see +me, 'cos I slipped behind Maidy, she being well +growed, and says I, 'That feller is my 'nation enemy,' +says I, and afore I knowed wheer I wer, she whisked +me into a little small cupboard place wi' coats and +boots hangin' on the wall, and commanded me, in a +feelin' whisper, to bide theer till she toled me out. +Drown me if I didn' hear Doubledick go shailin' +past wi' Maister John, and then there comed a +rumblin' through the wall, and I knowed they two +was a-talkin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you hear what they said?" asked Dick eagerly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I did. I hadn' nawthin' better to do, so I +put my ear to the wall. Iss, I heerd a thing or two."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, what did you hear? Anything about +Penwarden?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam had gradually pushed open the gate, and was +now walking beside Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word. I wer so flambustered in bein' +poked in that hencoop of a place, and thinkin' what +they'd do to me if so be they catched me, that 'twas +all mixed up, and I couldn' tell A from B."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But think: you must have heard something +clearly. You didn't lose all your wits, did you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I did hear Maister John say wind was +steady, and 'a hoped 't 'ud hold fair for business."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes: what then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee bustle me; then maybe I'll mind o' +more. Iss, I mind Doubledick said, 'Hee! hee!' +says he; 'if it do hold for another forty-eight hours,' +says he;—and be-jowned if I could hear any more +o' that piece of reckonin', my poor heart was +a-strummin' so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound your poor heart!" cried Dick. "Do +pull yourself together. It may mean salvation to Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam scratched his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If you'd only been theer instead o' me!" he +muttered. "Ah! 'Twas carriers. Iss: Maister +John axed if 'twas settled about carriers. 'A round +score,' says Doubledick, if 't wasn't two; 'good +fellers all; no wamblin', slack-twisted cripple-toes +for this job,' says he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What job?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That I can't say. But Zacky Tonkin was in it; +iss; gie me a minute for rec'lection; iss. Doubledick +says, 'Zacky be sour as a green apple.' 'Ha! ha!' +laughs Maister John, ''a don't like playin' +second fiddle,' says he, which is a passel o' nonsense, +'cos Zacky never played on fiddle, fust, second, nor +last either, all his born days, that I do know. ''Tis +for 'ee to keep un quiet!' says Maister John. +'He hev his uses, but hain't got a mossel of brains. +You've got enough for two, Doubledick,' says he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was becoming impatient. The conversation +as reported was not very enlightening, and surely +Doubledick had not visited the Dower House to +discuss such trivialities. But Dick had learnt his +lesson; he would not err again by being over-hasty; +so he schooled himself to endure the slow trickle +of information as it oozed from Sam's reluctant +memory.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn't they name Penwarden at all?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never heerd un. The only other names I +heerd wer Tom Pennycomequick and Jimmy +Nancarrow."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! what about them?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam reflected.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tom Pennycomequick and Jimmy Nancarrow," +he repeated, as if the repetition would recall the +connection. "Iss; I mind o't. Says Maister John, +'Who be on guard to-day?'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'On guard!' Not 'on the watch'?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what 'a meant, seemingly, but 'a said 'on +guard.' 'Tom Pennycomequick and Jimmy +Nancarrow,' says Doubledick. There was summat +about 'bogeys,' if I could only mind. Iss, fay; I've +got un. 'Two,' says Maister John, 'what for?' +'Hee! hee!' goes Doubledick; ''cos they was +afeard to go alone,' says he. 'Afeard o' their own +bogeys,' says Maister John, and then they both +laughed so hearty that daze me if I didn't bust out +too, and had to clap the tail of a coat in my jaws so +they shouldn' hear. 'T'ud ha' been gashly if +they found me, and drawed out o' me how maidy +Susan had put me theer, and—well, you bean't +a-hearkenin', so I'll say no more."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In truth, Dick's ears were closed; his mind was +rapidly piecing together the fragmentary items of +information Sam had given him. They had now +reached the Towers; Dick went straight to his +bedroom, and sat with his elbow on the window-sill, +looking out over the grey sullen sea, and striving to +bind together these separate strands. The outcome +of his meditation was as follows:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Something important was to happen within forty-eight +hours, and it depended on the weather. It +was now midday on Friday; what was to be done +would be done before midday on Sunday. There +had been mention of carriers—that implied a +smuggling run. Penwarden's name had not been +mentioned, but two men had been said to be on +guard. Over whom or what? Not over smuggled +goods, for the run had not yet taken place. Not +over the revenue officers, for the phrase would then +have been "on the watch" or something similar. +The word "guard" would naturally be used in +connection with a prisoner; that prisoner must be +Penwarden: where was he? The men on guard +were afraid; no doubt the place chosen for his +imprisonment was a lonely spot, not in the village, +but somewhere remote from the scene of the +impending operations, unless, indeed, it was intended +to ship him to France in the lugger that brought the +cargo. In that case he would probably be in some +secure nook near the shore.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Perplexed, Dick wondered whether he had at last +discovered a clue. It was at least worth while to +follow it up. The men whose names had been +mentioned were well known to him. Pennycomequick +was a cobbler, Nancarrow a farmer, whose +holding was situated about three miles away on the +moor. To make direct inquiries might awaken +suspicion: how could he discover where they +were? An idea struck him. No doubt their guard +would be relieved. Trevanion had been surprised +to learn that two were on duty; the task, then, was +usually undertaken by one. Was it possible to find +out if any one left the village secretly during the +day?</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly a simple stratagem occurred to him. +He took up an old, worn pair of boots, ran +downstairs, and called Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Take these down to Pennycomequick's, and +tell him to sole them, and to put a good iron tip on +the heels. If he is not there, ask when he will be +back. Be sure not to forget that, and be as quick as +you can."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I woll," said Sam, "for I do have a +hankerin' arter dinner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He hurried away, and returned when Dick was +half through his midday meal. Dick heard the boy +clumping into the house, but did not go to him at +once, being disinclined to enter into explanations +with his parents at this stage. He left the table as +soon as he could, and found Sam busy with +dumpling and gravy in the kitchen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Sam?" he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mistress commands me not to speak wi' my +mouth full," mumbled the boy. "Now I can tell +'ee," he went on after a few moments. "Pennycomequick +bean't to home. He be gone to Trura +to buy leather."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"When will he be back?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Them above alone knows,' says the woman +when I axed her. 'He said four, but what +Pennycomequick says, and what he do, be as far +apart as from here to nowhere.' If that be all you +want to know, Maister Dick, I'll continny work on +this noble pudden."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was satisfied. He returned to his room, +and, about three o'clock, mounted to the roof of one +of the towers from which the house took its name. +With him he carried an excellent spy-glass which +remained to the Squire from his seafaring days. +From this lofty eyrie a view could be obtained for +miles around. If the cobbler and the farmer were +on guard together, it was likely that they would be +relieved together, and they could hardly return, the +one to the village, the other to his farm on the +moor, without coming at some part of their journey +within range of vision. Dick felt a momentary +damping of the spirits when it occurred to him that +Penwarden's place of concealment might be some +nook below the cliffs. In that case the sentries +would be changed by boat from the harbour, and he +would see nothing of them. But even in that case +the farmer must ascend the hill and cross the moor, +and though he might be concealed at some portions +of his road by trees and bushes, he must at length +cross open country. Behind the parapet Dick could +watch unseen, and he settled himself to wait in +patience.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="doubledick-on-duty"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Doubledick on Duty</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a chill, dreary afternoon. The sky weighed +upon earth and sea like a canopy of lead. The +wind moaned and sighed about the roof; the trees +seemed to shiver in their nakedness. From over +the cliff came the hollow murmur of the breakers. +Northward Penwarden's cottage stood lonely and +forlorn; eastward stretched the dark gloomy waste +of moorland; southward the village huddled in its +cleft as if for warmth, a few thin streamers of smoke +flying inland on the wind. Nearer the Dower House +a score of men were engaged in erecting sheds and +machinery for Trevanion's miners, and the sound of +their voices came in mournful cadence to Dick's ears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For some time there was scarcely a movement on +the face of the country. Presently a carrier's cart +rumbled down the road, stopping at the Dower +House. Through his spy-glass Dick saw Susan's +bright face smiling as she spoke to the carrier, who +conveyed into the house boxes, baskets, and packets +of various shapes and sizes. Dick remembered that +on the morrow Trevanion was entertaining a party +of friends to celebrate the reopening of the mines. +He was miserably conscious of the contrast between +his cousin's lot and his own. Why, he asked himself, +had Fate dealt so hardly with the Trevanions of +the Towers? The cart moved on, no doubt to the +Five Pilchards, where the carrier would refresh +himself before starting on his return journey to +Truro. The workmen shouldered their tools and +tramped after it, and when they had disappeared the +land was left in its former immobility.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At length, as the gloom was deepening with the +dusk, Dick descried, some distance to his left, two +figures moving slowly along, one towards him on +the high road, the other away from him, crossing a +ploughed field towards a footpath that led from the +road, some distance behind, across the moor. The +sky was so lowering that Dick could not at first, +even through his glass, identify the men. The +receding figure dwindled, and was by-and-by lost to +sight; the advancing one increased, and became +recognisable by its crookedness as that of +Pennycomequick, the cobbler. But he bore no bundle of +leather. He passed the Towers in the direction of +the village, and soon he too had vanished.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick could not doubt that the other man was the +farmer, Jimmy Nancarrow. The path into which +he had struck led to his farm. Where had they +come from? Not far along the high road, otherwise +the farmer would have left it when he reached the +path, and have gone the easiest and shortest way +home; unless, indeed, he had remained with the +cobbler for company's sake. Dick smiled at this +thought. Pennycomequick was the most crabbed +and crossgrained man in the village; whereas +Nancarrow was a hearty, jovial fellow, not the kind of +man to walk an extra half-mile and tramp over a +ploughed field for the pleasure of the cobbler's +society. It seemed more probable that the men had +come to the road together from some adjacent spot, +and that the farmer had left it at once.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Cold and hungry after his hour of watching, +Dick was about to descend into the house when he +caught sight of Tonkin's lugger beating up from +northward against the south-west wind, and +evidently making for the harbour. He gazed at her +through his glass. Tonkin and three other men +were aboard her. A large fishing-net was heaped on +the deck. It was a strange coincidence that these +movements on sea and land should have been +contemporaneous. Dick went down the stairs to the +living-room, then vacant, lay down in front of the +fire, and ruminated on what he had seen, until the +warmth sent him to sleep.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When he awoke, his father was in the room. +Dick considered whether he should speak about the +clues which he believed he had discovered, and +decided that, since nothing was as yet certain, he +would keep silence until he had carried his investigation +further. To search for the tracks of the two +men, or to follow them up if found, would be +impossible that evening; but this was to be his task +as soon as there was clear daylight on the morrow.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Mildmay is going to the randy at the +Dower House to-morrow, I hear," said the Squire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is he, sir?" replied Dick, surprised.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes; I heard it from Mr. Polwhele, who is +going too."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Mildmay is almost a stranger, and 'tis +rather a dull life for him between whiles; but +Mr. Polwhele knew John Trevanion years ago, did he +not, sir?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! he is going as watch-dog. He suspects +that the invitation may be a trick to get them out of +the way while the smugglers run a cargo, and got +Mr. Mildmay to promise to leave promptly at nine. +He accompanies him to see that he is not detained."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing has been heard of old Joe, Father?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nothing at all. I incline to think that we +shall soon see him again. With Mr. Polwhele on +the alert, and Mr. Mildmay also, let us hope, there +can be neither run nor shipment, and the rascals will +tire of keeping guard on the old man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Again Dick was on the point of disclosing what +he knew, but was restrained by the same feeling +that suspicion must become certainty before any +steps were taken.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning, waking before it was light, he +rose and dressed, roused Sam, and set off with him +to investigate the neighbourhood of the spot where +he had first seen Nancarrow and Pennycomequick. +The air was crisp and clear, with the first nip of +frost, giving promise of a fine morning. There had +been rain in the night, but a thin film of ice covered +the ruts and pools, and the boys might have been +tracked in the darkness by the slight crackling under +their feet as the icy layer gave way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The night was yielding by the time they reached +the high-road near the point where Nancarrow had +left it. The farmer's tracks were easily discoverable +in the ploughed field, for, having been filled up by +rain, the prints of his large boots formed a series of +white and regular patches in the frost-besprinkled +ground. A covey of snipe rose into the air from +the sedgy border of a pool at the side of the field, and +Sam pointed out a fox with lowered brush slinking +along after them beside a hedge of brambles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have other foxes to run to earth—two-legged +foxes," said Dick, who had told Sam on the +way the occasion and the object of their expedition. +Sam had a quick eye for the tracks of birds and +beasts, but when they had traced the farmer's +footprints back to the road, even he was at a loss. +The rain had washed the hard surface of the +highway, and obliterated the tracks of footfarers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Finding their examination of the road likely to +prove fruitless, they scrambled through the hedge on +the left, and crossed into the rugged and uneven +ground that lay between the road and Penwarden's +cottage. There were no footprints on the path that +ran past the cottage, nor on the coarse grass with +which the earth was covered. Returning to the +road, they walked for a quarter of a mile further, +until they reached the footpath which, in the +ordinary course of things, the farmer would have +taken. They failed to light upon any more traces.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll work backwards along the other side under +the hedge," said Dick. "Nancarrow must have +crossed the road. You go back to where we saw +his footprints, and I'll keep pace with you. No; +we'll change parts; I can easily find the prints; +your eyes are quicker than mine to discover new +ones."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's true," said Sam, gratified by this testimony +to his powers. "Wend along, then, Maister +Dick, and holla when you come to 'em."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes Dick called to Sam to halt. +The latter bent towards the road, and scrutinised its +hard surface minutely, for several yards in each +direction beyond the point opposite to that where +Dick stood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Neither heel nor toe mark do I see," he said at +length. "The road be washed clean."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He stood erect and gazed about him in a puzzled +way. All at once his eyes became fixed on one +portion of the hedge. Stepping towards it, he stooped +and peered among the stiff rime-encrusted leaves.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hoy!" he called.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hush!" said Dick, hastening towards him. +"Speak low; there may be some one about. What +have you found?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look' ee see," replied Sam in a mysterious +whisper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick stooped; there was a patch of foliage less +thick than the hedge around it; some of the leaves +had apparently been shaken off, and here and there +twigs were broken.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Some man, fox, or other creeping thing hev +squeezed hisself through theer," said Sam. "We'll +do the same."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He thrust his body against the hedge, which +yielded to his pressure, and without much effort he +passed through to the other side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear life!" he whispered, "here be the line o' +fortune. Come through, Maister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick followed him. The softer earth on the +seaward side of the hedge, more receptive than the +highway, showed distinct traces of the passage of +clumping boots. Some were recent; some appeared +to be of slightly older date. Looking along the +ground towards the sea, they saw that the grass was +crushed over a width of two or three feet, though +many more goings and comings were needed to +make it a beaten path.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This was a discovery indeed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We will follow it up," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They set off side by side. Dick was surprised to +find how frequently, and to all appearance erratically, +the track wound to right and left. But after a few +moments it became clear that the deviations were +not accidental, but purposeful. The general surface +of the ground was very uneven, here a bump, there +a hollow; now a patch of gorse, then a stretch bare +of all but grass. Of these features advantage had +been taken by those whose passing had made the +track. They had chosen, not the easiest route, but +that on which they would be least visible from the +direction of the village. Dick noticed that nowhere +along the path were the towers of his home in sight, +although a few yards to right or left they were +completely in view. This explained how it was that +Pennycomequick and Nancarrow, if they had come +this way from the cliff to the road, had escaped his +observation from the parapet.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They had followed the track for perhaps half a +mile when the ivy-clad ruins of the chapel above +St. Cuby's Well came into view. Instantly recollections, +suspicions, deductions linked themselves in Dick's +mind. Penwarden had mentioned a hiding-place +which the smugglers were believed to have on the +shore, but which was seldom used, and had never +been discovered. The old mine, with its abandoned +workings, would form an ideal temporary store for +contraband goods. But how was access to it +obtained from the sea? Not by the entrance to the +seal cave, for this was unsuitable in itself for a +storehouse, and the work of hoisting the tubs up the +wall and over the ledge would be very laborious. +Dick remembered the transverse gallery which he +had passed on his way through the adit to the well; +probably the hiding-place would be found at the +shoreward end of that, though it was strange that +the pertinacity of the revenue officers had never +discovered it. Another surprising circumstance was +the choice of the well as the channel for the +conveyance of goods between the shore and the country. +The horror and dread in which it was held by the +villagers had seemed genuine; yet, if his reasoning +was correct, the fear of ghosts had not been so potent +as to prevent the smugglers from entering it. +Possibly there was another shaft connecting the +hiding-place with the upper ground; but remembering +the strutted adit he had traversed, Dick felt +sure that the goods were brought to the surface by +way of the well. The explanation of this puzzling +fact did not occur to him till later.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As they approached the well the boys proceeded +with great caution.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe they have got Penwarden down there," +said Dick. "Somebody is guarding him; somebody +may be watching in the chapel. If we are seen it +will be awkward for us, and perhaps still more for +old Joe."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze it all, we could run to the Towers and tell +of all their wicked doings. But do 'ee think they +bean't afeard o' the ghosteses?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They don't appear to be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dash my simple soul, I see their manin', I do +b'lieve. 'Afeard o' their own bogeys,' says Maister +John. They do be the ghosteses their own selves. +To think o' their deceivin' ways, tarrifyin' poor +simple folks like you and me wi' their feignin'!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They spoke in whispers, peering ahead, listening +for sounds. But there was nothing to alarm eyes or +ears, and they came at length beneath the shade of +the masonry, and stood on the brink of the well. +Here there were clear traces of recent movements—traces +which might have escaped them had they come +unsuspectingly, but which were evident to their +prepared perception. The herbage was slightly +trodden; the topmost staple was not so thickly +cased with rust as it had been at their last visit; and +the mossy coating of the stonework at the edge was +darkened at two places, about two feet apart, where +the hands of men ascending would have rested for +support.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must go down and explore the adits," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But we couldn't see a hand's length ahead of +us," replied Sam, fumbling in his pocket. "No; +there's no candle; have you got one?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. 'Tis a pity. We had better go back for +breakfast and come again by-and-by. Just take a +look round and see that nobody is about."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam left the slight hollow in which the ruins were +situated, and mounted to a spot whence the ground +sloping up to Penwarden's cottage, and the whole +expanse southward to the Towers, could be scanned. +No one was in sight, but the boys considered it +prudent to return by the road, as they had come, +and made the best of their way back. The hour +was still early; there were neither vehicles nor +pedestrians visible; and they arrived at the Towers +considerably excited by their discovery, and with a +healthy appetite for breakfast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While they were still engaged in that meal, John +Trevanion issued from the front door of the Dower +House. He wore an old shooting-coat and leggings, +and carried a fowling-piece slung over his shoulder. +Leaving his own grounds, he skirted those of the +Towers, gained the road, walked along it for some +distance, then struck into the path leading past +Penwarden's cottage in the direction of St. Cuby's +Well. He sauntered easily along, and although he +had apparently come out to shoot, he was not +accompanied by a dog, nor did he proceed with +that intent watchfulness which a sportsman usually +displays.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When he arrived on the crest of rising ground +beyond which lay the well at the distance of a +quarter-mile, he paused, and looked round in all directions, +as a man might look who is either seeking game or +admiring a landscape. Then he resumed his walk, +but at a much brisker pace than before. On coming +within a hundred yards of the ruins, he began with +apparent carelessness to whistle a tune. In a few +moments the mass of ivy hanging before a doorway +parted, and a man appeared. Trevanion threw a +swift glance behind him, then advanced, joined the +man who was awaiting him, and vanished with him +behind the ivy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All well, Doubledick?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, well enough, though I shall say 'praise be' +with a feelin' heart when 'tis all over."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">You</em><span>'re not afraid of bogeys, Doubledick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not I. But 'tis lonesome, and never a soul to +change a word with."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Jake Tonkin did not stay with you, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. 'A would hev if so be I'd axed un; but +when his feyther landed me I seed they two chuckleheads +afeard o' their own bogeys—hee! hee! 'tis +your sayin', Maister John. I wouldn't lose my +fame wi' the likes o' they, so when Jake axed should +he bide, I answered un bold as brass, I assure 'ee. +Not that I wouldn' ha' been glad o' company, for +'tis a 'nation long time from four o'clock yesterday +till midnight to-day."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It is, but 'twas right not to change guard too +often. The less coming and going the better, +even by sea. Pennycomequick and Nancarrow +returned on the lugger, of course?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, no. The sea was choppy, and the wind +stiff agen 'em, so they come this way to save time +and squeamishness."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Chuckleheads, as you say. I hope they were +careful not to be seen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Trust 'em for that. Nanky 'ud go straight to +farm, and Penny's crooked frame 'ud make nobody +mispicious."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, twelve hours will see the end of it. All +is planned, and will go like clockwork. The officers +are coming at six; they talk of leaving at nine, and +I shall not hinder them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee!" laughed Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tonkin and his crew will do their part. They +won't be back in time to lend a hand here, but we +have enough without them. The wind holds; the +cutter will not trouble us; and we can go to church +to-morrow and sing 'Te Deum' with some satisfaction."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, true, 'twill be summat noble to talk about +to-morrer in churchyard among the tombs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'll go and bag a brace of woodcock on +the moor. I'll look in on Nancarrow, too; 'tis just +as well to be sure he met nobody."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion moved to the ancient doorway and +pulled aside the screen of ivy. But he let it fall +quickly and stepped back.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look here, Doubledick," he said in a whisper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick went to his side, and peered out +through the foliage. Two figures were approaching +the spot, not by the track from the road, but across +the higher ground. Each carried a fowling-piece.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come out shooting, like me," whispered Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They didn' see 'ee?" said Doubledick anxiously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not they. If they had seen me they wouldn't +have followed. The last person young Dick would +wish to meet would be his cousin."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Themselves concealed behind the ivy, the two +men could watch the new-comers without the risk of +being seen. They expected the boys to pass by, as +nine villagers out of ten would have done, and the +expression on their faces changed when Dick and +Sam came directly towards the ruins, and, what was +still more surprising, straight towards the well. +Anger was written on Trevanion's countenance, and +alarm on Doubledick's. The boys stood for a +moment at the brink of the well. Then Dick, +telling Sam to follow him immediately, kindled the +candle in his hatband, lowered himself over the +edge, and began to descend.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A muffled curse broke from Doubledick's lips. +He reached for Trevanion's gun, but Trevanion, +now smiling, withdrew it, and signed to the +inn-keeper to be silent. They remained where they +stood for a minute or two after Sam had disappeared, +then went forward to the well and peered down into +the depths. The shaft was in darkness. It was clear +that the boys had entered the adit.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was no one to hear the short dialogue that +ensued between the two men standing close together +at the head of the well. Apparently it was of +agreeable tenor, for both smiled, though hardly with +amusement. Doubledick took from his pocket a +strip of something soft and black, removed his hat, +and tied to his face a mask of crape. Then, with +no light to guide his footsteps, he made his way +downward into the shaft as the boys had done. +When he had entirely disappeared, Trevanion +shouldered his gun, and sauntered towards the road. +Crossing this, he tramped over the moor towards +Nancarrow's farm. Rather more than an hour later +he was overtaken on the Truro road by Mr. Carlyon, +who was riding his cob towards the village.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 94%" id="figure-87"> +<span id="there-was-no-one-to-hear-the-short-dialogue-that-ensued-at-the-head-of-the-well"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""THERE WAS NO ONE TO HEAR THE SHORT DIALOGUE THAT ENSUED AT THE HEAD OF THE WELL."" src="images/img-217.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"THERE WAS NO ONE TO HEAR THE SHORT DIALOGUE THAT ENSUED AT THE HEAD OF THE WELL."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine birds, vicar," said Trevanion, holding up +a brace of woodcock and a moor-hen. "They'll +look smaller on my table a few hours hence."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good morning, Mr. Trevanion," said the parson, +and rode by.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="across-the-pit"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Across the Pit</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>All unconscious of what was happening behind +them, the boys, on reaching the foot of the well, +passed through the open doorway into the narrow +passage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"These be rare doings," began Sam; but Dick +silenced him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't speak, Sam," he whispered. "We don't +know who is here, or how near."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They passed on their left the passage where Dick +had been checked by the landfall on his first +approach from the cave. Moving slowly and with +great caution, stopping every now and then to listen, +they uttered never a word until they arrived at the +point where the transverse gallery struck off to the +right. Here they halted. It was necessary to +decide whether to go straight on, and come by-and-by +to the seal cave, or to turn into the passage, which +they had never as yet traversed. A moment sufficed +for coming to a decision. The light from Dick's +candle showed that this passage was strutted, like +that along which they had already come.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This must be the way," whispered Dick, and +low as was his tone, the words echoed and re-echoed +strangely in the narrow gallery.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They advanced, picking their way still more +carefully than before, peering into the darkness ahead, +occasionally turning to look behind them. The floor +of the adit at first sloped slightly downwards, but at +length appeared to become level. The air was close +and stuffy. Sam, following his young master, and +seeing the weird shadows cast on the walls by the +smoking flame, was soon in a cold sweat, not so +much of fear as of nervous anticipation. His dread +of ghosts had disappeared with knowledge; but it +was knowledge of a negative kind. He knew there +were no ghosts, but his imagination conjured up +nameless terrors. More than once he was tempted +to retreat, but he was too apprehensive even to halt +long enough to strike a light and kindle his own +candle, and the sight of Dick's tall form moving +steadily on in front of him helped him to pluck up +courage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When they had been walking for a few minutes, +Sam suddenly hurried forward and caught Dick by +the arm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I heerd summat!" he whispered hoarsely.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick stopped. Far from comfortable himself, the +touch of Sam's hand made him jump, and the +thumping of his heart was almost audible. They +listened intently; no sound struck upon their ears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It must have been a falling stone," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Suppose the roof fell on us, same as it did in the +cave!" murmured Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis not likely. Don't get jumpy, Sam. Let +us go on."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Again they advanced; a few steps brought them +to another adit branching to the right; but a glance +at this revealing no struts, Dick decided not to +change his course until he had thoroughly explored +the passage in which he was. In a few minutes he +came to another adit, this time on the left, and this +also he passed by for the same reason, and because it +was narrower than any of those he had hitherto seen. +Now the floor seemed to ascend gradually, and +shortly afterwards became much more uneven. At +length he stopped short, and waited until Sam came up +with him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at this," he whispered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam looked, and saw a narrow plank bridge, +about seventeen feet long, spanning a black, yawning +chasm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis an old mine shaft," said Dick. "We must +cross the bridge."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Will it bear us, think 'ee?" said Sam timorously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It will, if it bears smugglers carrying tubs. We +must try."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick leant forward and probed the planks with +the muzzle of his fowling-piece.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis firm and steady," he said. "I will go +first. Don't start until I get across. The candle +will give you more light than it gives me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't like to see 'ee do it," said Sam, almost +whimpering. "If ye fall, 'twill be yer grave."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But Dick had already set his foot on the bridge. +He trod warily, moving almost by inches until he +reached the middle. Then he quickened his pace, +and covered the second half in three swift strides.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis quite safe," he whispered, turning at the end.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Didn' it wamble?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a little teeny bit?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come, I am heavier than you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I woll."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He moistened his lips, pressed his hat firmly on +his head, then started forward and crossed the whole +bridge at a run.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Here I be!" he panted. "Name it all! I'll +never do it again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then I shall leave you behind. My word! 'tis +close and stuffy here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They went on. In a minute or two the passage +widened, and looking round, they discovered that +they were in what appeared to be the entrance to a +huge cavern. Still advancing, they were brought up +within a few yards by a rough and irregular wall, not +wholly of granite, like the wall of the seal cave, but +partly of rock, partly of earth. There were small +heaps of soil and stones of different sizes on the +uneven floor, and the wall was not perpendicular, +but inclined like the eaves of a house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick gazed about him in search of a further +opening. There was none. The way was blocked, +just as it had been in the offshoot of the passage +from the seal cave to the well. The general appearance +of the place indicated that at some time or other +the upper earth had fallen in. To make sure that +there was not even the smallest orifice in the wall, +Dick moved close along it, carefully examining it by +the light of his candle. When about half-way +round, he stopped, and placed his hand on something +that protruded from the wall, which was here earthen. +But this projecting object was neither earth nor rock. +In shape it was convex and regular. He passed his +hand over it, brushing off some adhering particles of +soil.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Sam," he said wonderingly, "'tis part of a tub."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee tell o't?" said Sam, moving his palm +over the surface. "So 'tis, and be-dazed if there +bean't a rope on it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He tugged at the rope, and fell backwards, +almost upsetting Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Rot it all!" he exclaimed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis rotted already," said Dick smiling. "It +must have been there a long time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Cansta pull un out, Maister?" said Sam. +"Maybe there's summat inside, and I do be most +tarrible dry."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll see; but you shan't drink neat spirit, +Sam, so you needn't think it. Lend a hand here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Between them the boys soon succeeded in working +the tub from the loose earth in which it was +imbedded. It was a small barrel about fourteen +inches in diameter, bound with wooden hoops, +exactly similar to those which the smugglers were +wont to use. The broken rope, or "sling stuff," as +it was called, attached to it proved that it had once +formed part of a run cargo. Sam shook it; there +was no "glug" of liquor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis spiled, sure enough," he said, "but the +hoops bean't broke."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Here's another, Sam," said Dick, who had been +looking into the hole left by the removal of the tub. +"I can't help thinking we have come to an old +haunt of the smugglers; yes, I understand it now. +You know there was a landslip hundreds of years +ago, just beyond the cove. The earth must have +fallen in on a cargo before it could be removed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But why didn' they dig 'em out arterwards? +And why be the tub as empty as a drum?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, 'tis strange they did not dig them out, but +the emptiness is easy to understand. The spirit has +run away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Run away! How could it with the tub sound, +not a hole in it? Besides, there bean't no smell, +and I don't care who the man is, but if sperits run +out, you can smell 'em anywhere."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose——" began Dick, but his answer was +suddenly cut short. From the direction of the passage +through which they had come there fell upon their +ears a dull rumbling sound, which reverberated for a +few seconds, then died away into silence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boys stood for a moment in silent bewilderment; +then, with a foreboding of evil, Dick hastened +back from the cavern along the gallery. In a +minute the astounding cause of the noise was +explained. The bridge by which they had crossed +the shaft was gone. Only the jagged end of it +jutted out from the further brink of the chasm. By +the flickering light of the candle Dick thought he +saw a figure moving backwards through the gallery +on the opposite side. He shouted, his voice coming +back to him in a hundred echoes. The figure +disappeared, if indeed it were not an hallucination: +Dick's state of horrified amazement might well +predispose him to see visions. He stood on the +brink, bathed in chill and clammy perspiration. He +realised to the full the situation of himself and his +companion. They were trapped in the gallery. +Before them was a shaft perhaps hundreds of feet +deep; behind, an impenetrable wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I said I'd never do it again, and I never will," +sobbed Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hoy! hoy!" shouted Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yo-hoy, hoy!" Sam repeated in his rougher tones.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But there was no reply; only the mocking, +receding echoes.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick leant against the wall in dull stupefaction. +He had said nothing to his parents about the +expedition; he had expressly charged Sam not to +speak of it to Reuben. His very caution had +proved his undoing. So common was it for him to +be all day away from home with Sam that their +absence would scarcely be remarked until night, and +then, even if it caused alarm, no one would dream +of looking for them at the well, still less in one of +the passages below. But if Dick's suspicions and +inferences were well founded, at some time during +the day or night there would be smugglers in one +or other of the galleries, and they would surely +come within sound of his voice, and not be so base +as to refuse to help him. Then it struck him that +perhaps such a cry might merely terrify them; that +they might believe it to be the utterance of the +disembodied spirits that were said to haunt the place. +But no; as his first terrors subsided, and he regained +his thinking power, a sudden light dawned upon +him. The ghosts were the invention of the +smugglers themselves! They had taken advantage +of ancient tradition and floating rumour for their +own purposes, encouraged the credulity of the many +in order that the few might preserve the secret of +their hiding-place. And then it flashed upon him +that his presence near their jealously-guarded lair +had been discovered, and that his return had been +deliberately cut off, so that they might carry out +undisturbed the important operation of which +Trevanion and Doubledick had spoken. In that +case his incarceration would be temporary, like +Penwarden's. As soon as the run had been +accomplished, he, like the old exciseman, would be +liberated, and the smugglers would gloat over their +triumphant strategy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How many candles have you got?" he asked suddenly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam rummaged in his pocket, and produced five +stumps varying in length.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They will last about twelve hours," said Dick. +"There is no wind here to make them gutter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But they won't make us a bridge," groaned Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Listen to me," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Speaking calmly, he told Sam the conclusions to +which he had come.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Sam, you see what we have to do. It +was about nine o'clock when we came down the +well. It will be twelve hours or more before they +attempt the run. We have twelve hours before us; +we must get across the shaft and dish them—I don't +know how, but we must do it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How can we? Rake it all, we shall have no dinner!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't talk like that," said Dick sternly. "We +want all our wits and determination. 'Tis mere +folly to think about dinner, or groan and moan +because we are hungry. I tell you, young Sam, you +must do your best to help, and be cheerful, or you +and I will split."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'll keep my solemn thoughts to myself +and spake out nothing but merry ones, if I can +think 'em."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick considered for a few moments; then he took +from his pocket a knife and a long piece of string, +knotted the latter about the haft, and stuck the blade +into a lighted candle. This he lowered into the +chasm, lying at full length to make the most of the +string. But the flame revealed no bottom to the shaft. +Even had they seen a floor it seemed impossible to +get there, or, getting there, to be in any way profited. +At one time, no doubt, there had been a means of +ascending and descending the shaft; but the very +existence of the bridge showed that the machinery +had long since disappeared, and the passage-way by +which they had made their entrance was the only exit.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We had better blow out the candle," said Dick. +"We don't know how long we may be here, and +you may be glad to eat it before we get out of this."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That I never could; but 'tis wisdom to save it, +when we can't see anything nice to look at, and you +can allers meditate better in the dark."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They reclined against the wall of the gallery. +For a time they were silent except for sighs that now +and then escaped Sam's heaving breast. After one +prolonged expiration Dick asked sharply what he +was grunting about.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee laugh, now, if I tell o't," said Sam +pleadingly. "My simple thought was, what would +Maidy Susan say if she knowed o' this horrible +place o' torment? 'There shall be weepin' and +gnashin' o' teeth,' says pa'son; 'twill come to that +afore long wi' me. There now, 'nation take it! I +said I'd spake merry thoughts. Maybe you could +put one into my mizzy-mazy head, Maister Dick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll break it for you if you can't talk +sense—— There! Did you hear that?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas like the whisk of a rabbit's scut among +the furze. Hoy! Yo-hoy! Come and help two +poor boys in misery."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hoy! hoy!" shouted Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The echoes crossed and clashed, but there was no +answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Another period of silence. It seemed to last for +hours. At length Dick relit the candle and once +more scanned the shaft. Could he jump it? He +measured it with his eye. He had never been to +school; jumping as a sport was unknown to him. +In the ordinary course of his outdoor adventures he +had sometimes leapt across a stream or from rock to +rock, but never a space so wide as this. Realising +the impossibility of the feat, he blew out the candle +and returned to his place beside Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I seed yer thought," said the boy, "but Sir +Bevil fox-hunting never took a gap like that. A +hoss med do it, but not a two-legged body."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Again there was silence. Presently Sam fell +asleep, snoring vigorously. Dick pondered and +puzzled; to him sleep was impossible. All at once +he remembered the barrel he had found in the wall +of the cave. A faint hope stirred within him. He +wakened Sam, relit the candle, and hurried back +through the passage.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What be goin' to do?" asked Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To see how many tubs there are," he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If there be a million they bean't no good wi' all +the sperits gone a-lost," said Sam. "Howsomever, +'twill be summat to do to count 'em, and keep us +from the squitchems."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They regained the cave. Dick, bending so that +the light of the candle shone full into the hole in +the wall, began to scrape away with his knife the +earth that partially concealed the second barrel. Not +to be backward, Sam set to work in the same way +a little to the right. The second tub was soon +unearthed, then a third.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must be careful not to disturb the earth +above," said Dick, "or we shall have the rest +covered up again. I believe there are a good +number here."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All leery," said Sam with a sigh. "But I +don't care who the man is, they bean't leerier nor I.... +There's my tongue runnin' to vittals again; I +reckon 'tis because I hain't done growin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After resting a while, they resumed their work. +In course of time, they had a row of ten or twelve +barrels standing against the wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish there was something else," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What yer manin' be 'tis not for me to say," said +Sam, "but my feelings be just the same. Why, +dash my bones, here </span><em class="italics">be</em><span> summat else; a box, +Maister; look at un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He drew forth a long flat box, which he shook as +he had shaken the barrels.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! 'tis full o' nothing, seemingly. If 'twas +only tay, now, or bacca that we med chaw; but 'tis +a'most as light as a feather."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He prised up the lid of the box with his knife. +The wood was thin, and crumbled away at the touch +of the steel. There was something pink beneath, +and the removal of the lid disclosed a quantity of +silk, which, when it was unfolded, proved to be +many yards in length.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Only think o't!" said Sam. "Don't it feel +plum! Oh! what a noble garment 't'ud make for +Maidy Susan!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis much too good for her," said Dick. "It +would suit Mother better."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, 'tis fit for queens and other high females, +but the Mistress be gettin' a old ancient person, and +'t'ud look more fitty on a nesh young frame. Ah +me! it bean't no good for high or low, this side o' +that dark fearsome hole in the ground."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us see if there are any more boxes," said +Dick. "And let me tell you, Mother is only +forty-five, so mind what you say, Sam."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, forty-five is more 'n double twenty, can +'ee deny it? When I be forty-five, I shall be a old +aged feller with a beard and a shiny sconce like +Feyther, and he don't care a cuss what raiment he +do wear."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Further search brought to light several boxes like +the first, containing silks of various hue, and laces +which even to Dick's inexperience appeared valuable. +The materials seemed to be in as good a condition +as when they left Lyons or Nice, and without doubt +represented a considerable sum of money. But to +Dick, as he contemplated them, they suggested a +more immediate and urgent use than the turning +into money. The wood of the barrels appeared to +be sound; it had been preserved from rotting by +their spirituous contents. By breaking them up +into their separate staves, he would have at his +disposal enough timber to make a bridge. The +staves were two feet long and about five inches +broad; ten or twelve lengths would be required to +span the gap, and allow sufficient grip. The +"sling-stuff" round the barrels, as he had already proved, +was too friable to be of any value for lashing, but +the silk, torn into strips, might answer this purpose.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Take hold of the end of this," he said to Sam, +handing him a length of the material, "and pull as +hard as you can."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The test proved that the silk was capable of +enduring a heavy direct strain, and if this were so in +the piece, it would be still stronger when wound +many times about the wood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick explained his plan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Drown it all!" cried Sam. "What a tarrible +deed o' wickedness! Can 'ee abear to think o' this +noble shinin' stuff tore to strents and lippets?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a pity, of course, but 'tis more important +that we should get over the gap than that any +woman, matron or maid, should flaunt it in fine +array. We'll set to work at once. Time must be +getting on. The candle has nearly gone: that +means three hours or so. Light another, Sam."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick tore the silk carefully into even strips, while +Sam knocked the ends off the tubs, and broke the +staves apart. Every now and then the boy paused, +heaving a deep sigh.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis like a knife goin' through my soul every +time I hear the hoosh ye do make," he said. "There, +I says to myself, there goes the sleeve, and that's the +petticoat, and there's this part and that I don't know +the true name of. Ah well, Maidy Susan will never +know from me, that's one comfort. She'd be cryin' +her pretty eyes out, that 'a would, if she did see the +deed o' destruction."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When nine or ten barrels had been broken up, +and the floor was strewn with strips of silk, pink, +blue, green, and other colours, Dick began to +arrange the materials for constructing the bridge. +It was to be about twenty feet long, to allow for a +sufficient overlapping at each end of the gap. When +he came to consider the actual details of construction +he saw that his first idea, a bridge to cross on foot, +was not feasible. The staves were too narrow to +afford a secure foothold, and if placed side by side, +the risk of their breaking apart was very great. He +resolved, therefore, to concentrate his energies on a +single pole, formed by binding three layers of staves +together, and by means of this, work his way across +the gap hand over hand, his legs dangling in the +shaft. It would be a ticklish feat; indeed, he was +by no means confident of its possibility; but he had +the strongest motives for making the attempt, as +well as a native doggedness that forbade him to sit +idle in the face of difficulty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The short staves had little curvature. He laid +a number of them end to end to form a length of +twenty-two feet, placing them alternately so that one +had its convex, the other its concave, side to the +ground, and with overlapping ends. These he +bound very firmly together. Then he laid a second +set on the first, in such a way that their joins +occurred at different spots. Then he wound the +strips of silk as tightly as possible round this double +pole, carrying the windings several inches on each +side of the joints. When four or five feet of the +double pole were finished, he tested its rigidity by +endeavouring to snap it across his knee; but +though the thin wood bent slightly, the lashings +held firmly, and he was well satisfied.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis very good so far, Sam," he said; "now +we must put on a third layer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Nation take it, we shall never be done," cried +Sam, stretching his aching body. "I be mortal +tired, and hungry!—there now, Maister Dick, +spake yer mind like a simple honest feller, wi'out +any tongue-twistin', and fine deceivin' language. +Bean't 'ee most achin' hungry? Now, tell me true."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I own I am, but 'tis no good thinking of it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No more do I want. You've said it. I reckon +you be just as famished as I, if not more, only too +proud to own it. Be-jowned if there be any sech +lofty pride in me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They proceeded with the work, lashing the third +layer firmly to the other two, and employing, for +greater security, the flexible wooden hoops which +had held the barrels together. At last the bridge +was complete. It had been a long and laborious +task: neither of the boys had any idea how many +hours it had occupied; they had lighted successive +candle-ends mechanically, without taking count of +them. The close air of the cave was now impregnated +with smoke and tallow fumes, and both longed +for a breath of fresh air.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All this time they had neither seen nor heard any +person or thing. Indeed, they had been so fully +occupied, as scarcely to bestow a thought on what +might be going on beyond the gap. It did cross +Dick's mind that the noise made by Sam in breaking +the barrels might have been heard; but it was a +considerable distance from the cave to the gap, and +the passage between them was not straight. Nobody +could have seen them at work; the sound, if it +travelled beyond the gap, could only be a faint, +indistinguishable murmur then; and the absence of +a bridge was an effectual preventive of interference. +It now remained to throw the suspension bridge +across the gap. They carried it through the passage, +stood it on one end, and lowered it over the opening, +Sam holding the bottom end steady while Dick let +the structure down by means of a silken rope.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis too crazy a thing to bear a cat's weight," said +Sam gloomily, when it rested in place.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't believe you. At any rate we can't make +anything better. I'll go first, being the heavier. If +I get safe across you can come after. Hold your +end firmly as I go."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't want me to look at 'ee?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because—because—drown it all!" said the boy, +dashing tears from his eyes. "Do 'ee think I could +bear it if I seed 'ee drop into this everlastin' pit?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a good fellow, young Sam; but I shan't +drop, please God!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He took his boots off, so that he could get a +firmer grip if he had to scramble up the opposite +side. Then, while Sam lay flat on the ground +across the end of the pole, Dick swung himself over +the shaft, gripping the bridge with both hands +extended above his head. He remained motionless +for a few moments, testing the strength of his +support; then, realising that the quicker he moved the +better, since the strain both upon the pole and his own +endurance would be less than if he went slowly, he +began to advance hand over hand, but as smoothly +as possible, towards the other side. As he approached +the middle, he saw by the light of the candle in his +hatband that the pole was sagging alarmingly, and +he felt it sway with his every movement. The +further end of it was no longer flat on the floor of +the passage, but tilted up at an angle of 30 degrees. +Dick shivered as he felt his support apparently slipping +downwards into the shaft. But he did not pause, +and in a moment he was relieved to find that the +downward movement ceased.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Arriving within a foot or two of the wall, he saw +that he was some little distance below the level of +the passage, and the free end of the pole, now almost +perpendicular, was swaying terribly. How was he +to get up? There was no projection from the side of +the shaft which he could grasp, and it seemed that +at any moment the pole might slip off into the gulf, +carrying him with it. His arms were aching with +the unaccustomed strain; not much longer could they +sustain the weight of his body. Groping with his +toes on the sheer face of the shaft, he managed to +get a slight purchase with one foot. In another +moment he obtained a little better grip with the +other, though in so doing he had to spread-eagle +himself. Now, with his double purchase on the +wall, he was able to relieve the weight on his hands, +and take breath for the final effort.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The lessening of the strain on the pole reduced +the angle of inclination of its free portion to the +floor. Dick worked his way inch by inch along; +then, drawing his body upwards, he swung his leg +over the pole, gripping it firmly with his hands, and +in a few moments was able to reach out and grasp +the free portion above the brink and haul himself on +to the floor.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He flung himself face downward to rest, gasping +a murmur of thankfulness. Sam at the other end, +though he had at first closed his eyes, opened them +almost immediately, unable to resist the fascination +of that perilous crossing. He shuddered when he +saw the pole bend and sway under Dick's weight, +and pressed his lips hard together so that he should +not cry out as the further end rose higher and higher +from the level. When Dick had safely landed, Sam +was too much overcome with emotion to utter a +sound. He rubbed the chill moisture from his face +and waited.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Presently Dick got up, rekindled the candle, which +had been extinguished when he threw himself down, +and called across.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now 'tis your turn, Sam. You will have an +easier passage than I. Drive a couple of staves into +the ground and lash the pole to them. I'll hold it +firm on this side, so that it will not sway so much as +when I crossed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; I can't do it; I'm all of a sweat," said Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come! you'll not give in, surely."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I woll, cheerful. Never could I sink my +legs into that gashly hole. It do put me in mind of +poor fellers dangling on the drop in Bodmin jail. +No; there bean't meat enough in my inside to give +me sperit for it, and here I'll bide—I don't care +who the man is—till you finds a gangway."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But you'll be left in the dark. This is the last +candle."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You won't make me afeard if you try. Here I +be safe; not a soul can get to me across this hole; +and dark or light, I bean't the man for sech a deed. +I be truly sorry to leave 'ee, Maister Dick, but +you'd rayther see me sound in all my members than +here a bit, there a bit."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Very well. You've lost your nerve, that's clear. +Shy over my boots, will you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam lifted one and cast it; but he was apparently +too much shaken to take good aim. The boot fell +into the shaft.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"See now! 'Tis plain!" he said forlornly. +"My poor wambling arm! Even as yer boot fell, +so——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hush!" cried Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There had been no sound of the boot striking on +the bottom. After what seemed a long time—it was +in fact no more than two or three seconds—from the +depths came rumbling reverberations of a splash. +The water must have been nearly two hundred +feet below. Both the boys were silent as they +thought of the terrible fate Dick would have met +with if he had fallen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, good-bye, Sam!" said Dick at last, +rousing himself. "One boot is no good without the +other, so you can keep it. I'll come back for you +as soon as I can."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish 'ee well, Maister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He stood near the brink, with a piteous expression +upon his rugged face, watching Dick's gradually +receding form. When a bend in the passage hid +his master and comrade from view, he leant against +the wall, and buried his face in his hands.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="a-packet-for-rusco"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">A Packet for Rusco</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>During many hours Dick had been solely +preoccupied with the problem how to recross the +chasm. Penwarden, the smugglers, even the +destroyer of the bridge, were all forgotten. But now +all the circumstances of his recent misadventure +returned with full force to his mind. A run was to +be attempted. The smugglers' hiding-place, which +the revenue officers had sought in vain, must be +somewhere near at hand, and the person, whosoever +it was, that had flung the bridge down the shaft—for +its fall could not have been accidental—had done +so with the intention of forestalling interference.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick considered what he had better do. Should +he make his way back to the well, in the hope of +being able to climb it secretly and give warning to +the officers? He reflected that it might be too late +for that. Besides, his presence in these underground +passages had been observed by some one early in +the morning; that same person might still be lying +in wait for him. As this idea occurred to him, he +remembered that he had left his gun behind in the +cave, and for an instant thought of returning for it; +but a slight sound from the other direction made +him hastily extinguish the candle, and advance +cautiously along the passage; perhaps the +bridge-destroyer was coming towards him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In pitch darkness he stole along, scarcely conscious +of the sharp edges and rough projections of the stone +floor on which he trod. In a few minutes he saw a +faint glimmer of reflected light ahead, the source +of which was hidden from him by a bend in the +passage. On reaching the bend, he descried, moving +across the end of the gallery along a transverse +one, a procession of men with candles in their hats, +hurrying, at short intervals apart, from the direction +of the well. Clinging to the wall, confident that in +the black darkness he was wholly invisible, he +crept forward. By the time he came within a few +yards of the transverse passage, this, too, was in +darkness, the last of the line having passed by.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He hastened to the corner, and peeped round to +the right. The last man was entering the narrow +tunnel, which he had noticed casually as he came by +with Sam. The dimness of the flickering light, and +the fact that the man's back was towards him, +prevented him from forming any conclusion as to the +identity of the individual. The light gradually +dwindled, until the opening of the tunnel was quite +indistinguishable.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Waiting for a moment or two, to listen and look +along the passage leading to the well, Dick ventured +to creep stealthily in the same direction as the men, +and to penetrate into the tunnel. He had advanced +in this but a few yards, when he was made to beat a +hasty retreat by a faint but growing light at the +further end, and the sound of heavy footsteps +approaching. As quickly as possible he tiptoed +back in the darkness, and regained his former station +in the side gallery, where he stood eagerly watching. +In a few moments a man crossed from right to left. +His face was blackened; before and behind him hung +a tub, exactly similar to those which Sam had lately +broken up. A second man followed at a short +interval, loaded in the same way; then a third, and +so on, until twenty-two had passed. They seemed +by their dress to be for the most part farm-hands, +but the light from their candles was too dim to +reveal them clearly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The light diminished, the sound of footsteps died +away, and Dick, emerging once more into the +passage, saw the end of the procession on the way to +the well. From the other direction there was no +sound. Dick felt an overmastering curiosity to +discover how the run was being worked, and whence +the tubs were brought. He hastened to the tunnel, +paused for a little at the entrance, straining his ears +for the slightest sound of men returning, then +went on.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After a few steps he heard a slight creaking from +some point ahead. A glance behind assuring him +that there was no present danger in this direction, +he was emboldened to proceed. There was a sudden +bend in the tunnel; at the far end he saw a light; +and, hugging the wall as closely as possible, he crept +forward until the scene beyond was clearly in view.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He found himself near the entrance to a small +oblong chamber, perhaps twenty feet by sixteen, and +scarcely eight feet high. The walls were shored up +by thick balks of wood: the roof was supported +by rough beams. The place was dimly illuminated +by two lanterns standing on the top of a pile of +barrels that reached within two feet of the roof. At +the far end a man was working a windlass over a +hole in the floor. Two barrels, slung on ropes, +emerged from the depths, were unhooked by the +man, and rolled against the wall on the other side of +the chamber. A whiff of cold salt air struck +gratefully on Dick's senses; the smugglers' mysterious +hiding-place was clearly very near the sea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was watching the man lower the hooks +into the space beneath when he was startled by the +sound of footsteps at no great distance behind him. +Looking back, he saw a glimmer of light. Regress +was barred; in a few moments he would be +discovered unless he could find a new place of +concealment. There was no time for hesitation. The +back of the man at the windlass was towards him; +the tackle creaked as more tubs ascended. In the +corner of the chamber to the right was the stack +of barrels on which the lanterns stood. There +appeared to be just squeezing space between them +and the wall. With his heart in his mouth Dick +stole across to them on tiptoe, and had barely gained +their shelter when the man released the tubs which +had just ascended, and added them to those that +were arranged along the opposite wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As Dick was creeping between the barrels and the +wall, his foot touched an obstacle, over which he +almost stumbled. Fortunately, having no boots on, +he made no sound. He stood still, panting, in +desperate anxiety. In the urgency of the moment +he had made for the first hiding-place that offered +itself, without reflecting that the carriers were no doubt +returning for these very barrels, and their removal +must reveal him without a possibility of escape. A +thrill shot through him as he felt a slight movement +in the object at his feet, and he edged instinctively +away from it, wondering what it could be. The +light from the lanterns did not reach the floor; +indeed, scarcely illuminated the space behind, they +being closed in that direction.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He heard the footsteps drawing nearer, and, +peeping through a chink between two barrels, saw, +not one, but the whole twenty-two carriers file into +the chamber, which they nearly filled. He suspected +that they had deposited their burdens at the foot of +St. Cuby's Well, whence, in all probability, these +were being hoisted to the surface by means of the +windlass, which he remembered having seen near the +door when he first approached it from the seal cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man at the windlass had raised only a few +barrels during their absence, and these having been +slung on the shoulders of the men who had first +entered, they returned to the entrance of the tunnel, +waiting for their comrades in turn to receive their +loads.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bean't this lot to go, Maister?" said one of the +latter, jerking his head towards the stack behind +which Dick was concealed. Dick shivered, and +prepared to dash forth and force his way through +the men grouped at the tunnel, in the hope that +their surprise and alarm, and their being encumbered, +would give him time at least to escape instant +seizure. To his relief the man at the windlass +replied sharply:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, they bean't. They be for the higher powers; +let 'em alone. And you come and hoist; I be tired."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The voice was Doubledick's.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While the tubs were being hoisted, and the waiting +men talked quietly among themselves, Dick had +leisure to turn his thoughts towards the object at his +feet. It could hardly be an animal; otherwise it +would long since have betrayed him. He gently +moved a foot towards it, and touched it. Again he +detected a slight movement. Passing his stockinged +toes over a few inches of the obstruction, Dick +gave a start as he recognised by the touch a man's +boot. It did not move when he pressed it: clearly +it was attached to a leg, the leg to a body—and the +conviction flashed upon him that, bound and gagged +at his feet, lay the lost Joe Penwarden. To assure +himself he bent down quickly, and felt his way upward +to the face. His hand encountered the shade over +the old man's sightless eye: it was Joe indeed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Penwarden was lying on his back, and Dick very +soon discovered that he was bound hand and foot to +a plank, so tightly that only the slightest movement +was possible. His mouth was heavily gagged, but +there was no bandage over his single sound eye. +Dick could not see him, and durst not speak even in +the lowest whisper, so near was he to the smugglers. +But if Penwarden was to be liberated he must be +definitely assured in some way that a friend was at +work who was himself in danger; otherwise, on being +freed, he might make some sound or movement that +would betray them both. Then it occurred to Dick +that, while he was unable to see Penwarden's features, +Penwarden had probably seen his, for the lanterns +shed a faint illumination on the upper part of the +space behind the barrels, to which his head almost +reached. This suggested a means of giving the old +man a warning. Raising himself to his full height +he looked downwards and pressed his forefinger +to his lips. The sign, if observed, would, he knew, +be effectual.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Once more he stooped. He drew his knife from +his pocket, opened it without clicking, and silently +cut the rope binding the prisoner's feet. Then, +working upward, always with the same slow care, he +severed in turn the ropes that strapped his knees and +elbows to the plank, those binding his wrists, and +finally the gag over his mouth. This last probably +gave the old man the most discomfort, and might +have been removed first, but the use of his limbs +was of more urgent importance just now than his voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By the time that this was done the last of the +carriers had received his load, and the creaking or +the windlass had ceased.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's all," said Doubledick. "Now get 'ee +up-along to well, and lend a hand in the hoisting."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be we to wait for 'ee, Maister, when the tubs be +all up?" asked a man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no. You'll do best to carr' the tubs off as +quick as may be. I'll go straight home-along. +To-morrer mornin', after church, if ye like ye can +come down-along to inn, where there'll be a +nibleykin of rum-hot ready for every man of 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The carriers tramped into the tunnel, and the +sound of their footsteps died away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A voice came up into the chamber from below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss," said Doubledick in reply. "Stand by +while I let down the passel. Belike ye know +enough English to understand that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick fancied that he heard a low chuckle from +below, and a foreign voice say, "All right."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick had already begun to clear away the +barrels at the end of the stack nearest to the +windlass. It was plain that what he had got to do was +a secret between himself and the men below; the +tub-carriers were ignorant of it. Dick moved +silently to the other end of the stack, the place +where he had entered, and gazed round to watch the +innkeeper's proceedings. Even now, though there +appeared to be no danger of detection, the upper +part of his face remained covered with a mask. He +had removed the lanterns, and placed them on the +floor; several of the top row of barrels had been +lifted down. His object, without doubt, was to +drag Penwarden forth, and lower him by means of +the windlass to the men waiting beneath. Dick felt +sure that these were the French crew of the lugger +that had brought the cargo, and that the "parcel" +they were expecting was the old exciseman, whom +they were to carry to France.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The innkeeper's pre-occupation was Dick's opportunity. +In another second or two the cutting of the +prisoner's bonds must be discovered. As +Doubledick was rolling a barrel towards the wall, Dick, +moving silently on his almost bare feet, rushed like +a whirlwind on the man. Doubledick at that +moment made a half-turn, as if some instinct warned +him of danger, but he was too late to prevent Dick +from getting a suffocating grip round his neck. +He gasped, groaned, struggled frantically to free +himself. Both fell to the floor, knocking over one +of the lanterns, and rolling perilously near the open +trapdoor. Dick never let go his grip on the +inn-keeper's throat, for it was necessary to prevent the +men below from suspecting that anything was amiss.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 95%" id="figure-88"> +<span id="dick-rushed-like-a-whirlwind-on-the-man"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""DICK RUSHED LIKE A WHIRLWIND ON THE MAN."" src="images/img-244.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"DICK RUSHED LIKE A WHIRLWIND ON THE MAN."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile Penwarden had scrambled painfully +to his feet, and limped towards the scene of the +struggle. His limbs, cramped and numbed by his +bonds, were as yet almost powerless. But seeing +Doubledick's legs for an instant disentangled from +those of his assailant, the old man suddenly threw +himself across them, pinning Doubledick to the +floor, and so putting an end to his struggles. Dick +raised himself, keeping his hands on the man's +throat. The heaving and writhing ceased.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While Dick still held him down, Penwarden +hobbled behind the barrels, carrying a lantern, found +the gag that had been used on himself, and brought +it back to turn it to account with Doubledick. His +own hands were still too much numbed to tie an +effective knot, but he held the gag between +Doubledick's teeth while Dick made it fast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All this time there had come through the hole in +the floor the murmur of voices. Without relaxing +his grip, Dick leant over and peered down. He +was just able to see that a boat lay beneath; the +hole was vertically above the sea.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, mon Dieu!" cried one of the boat's crew, +perceiving Dick's head, "ven come ze—ze packet?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick withdrew.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Answer," he said to Penwarden.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The old man tried to speak, but could give +utterance only to a hoarse whisper. Whereupon +Dick, in a voice intended to be an imitation of +Doubledick's, replied:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In a minute."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His imitation was so entirely unsuccessful that he +durst not say more.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Frenchman's question had suggested a means +of dealing with Doubledick. In attacking him, Dick +had no definite plan in his mind for subsequent +action. He was concerned only to prevent +Penwarden from being lowered through the trapdoor. +But now that Doubledick was in his power, it struck +him that it would be simple justice to serve him as +he had intended to serve Penwarden. He whispered +the suggestion to the old man, who received it with +a low chuckle.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But they fellers down below will know un," he +murmured.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Will they? They are French; Doubledick has +never been to France. They won't remove the gag, +probably, until they are well out to sea, and if I +know them, they won't put back and run the risk of +meeting the cutter, even if they do discover their +mistake."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ze packet, ze packet!" came the impatient cry +from below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>No more time was lost. The cords that had +bound Penwarden were useless, but there was plenty +of sling-stuff on the tubs, and in a few seconds +enough was slipped off for the purpose. Both Dick +and the exciseman were used to handling rope, and +though the latter's fingers were still somewhat +numb, he was able to lend some feeble assistance to +Dick in securing Doubledick to the plank. At the +end of this there was a hook. They attached this +to the rope over the windlass, and prepared to lower +the innkeeper to the hands waiting below.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At the last moment Penwarden slipped off the +crepe mask that still covered Doubledick's face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look 'ee, Maister Dick," he said hoarsely. +"You can swear to the feller, so can I. You be +goin' to Rusco, you miserable sinner, and if so be you +ever come back, I'll swear an information against 'ee +for unlawful detainin' of one o' the King's lieges, +and Maister Dick will kiss the Book and bear +testimony. Good-bye to 'ee, and may the Lord ha' +mercy on yer soul."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They let the frenzied man down through the +trapdoor, and heard guffaws of laughter from the +Frenchmen as they received their expected packet. +The boat pulled off towards a lugger that lay a +few cables' lengths from the cliff. The prisoner was +hauled up the side; the men climbed on board +and hoisted the boat in; and in a few minutes the +lugger disappeared into the darkness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was not the time to enter upon explanations on +either side. Penwarden was eager to follow up the +tub-carriers, Dick to release Sam. When the +exciseman heard of the boy's situation, he yielded +with a sigh, and considered with Dick a means of +bringing Sam across the shaft. They were not +long in deciding that the best plan would be to make +use of the quantities of rope at hand, and form a +running tackle by which the boy might be drawn +over. This was soon done, and taking one of the +lanterns, they hastened back to the scene.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hoy, Maister, be that thee?" cried Sam out of +the darkness when he saw the approaching light.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, and Mr. Penwarden is with me. We are +coming to bring you away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Praise and glory be! I did think I'd never see +daylight again. Have 'ee got a true and proper +bridge?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll see. Run back to the cave and bring two +staves and our guns."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They waited at the brink of the shaft until Sam +reappeared.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now drive the staves into the floor," cried Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't. It be hard stone."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well then, go back to the cave again and bring +some of those big pieces of rock on the floor."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam went obediently. Instructed by Dick, he +arranged a number of the rocks, four or five feet +deep, to form a sort of platform.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now knot this rope to the staves," said Dick, +flinging it across. "Put it behind the rocks, and +pile more rocks on top to hold it down."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While this was being done, he made the other +end of the double rope fast to a large boulder near +the head of the shaft.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Sam, all you have to do is to clasp the +rope and let yourself down. We will do the rest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be it firm and steady?" asked the boy anxiously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick hauled on the rope; it was held firm by +the rocks.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There, you see 'tis quite safe. All you want is +a little courage; it will not take half a minute to +get you across."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll send summat fust to prove it," said Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He withdrew a few paces into the passage, and +returned, carrying a long, flat box. This he hitched +to the rope.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Haul away, Maister Dick, and let me see wi' +my own eyes."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The box was drawn to the further side in a few +moments.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now are you satisfied?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay; and I've some more boxes that had +better go fust."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Four boxes and the two guns were hauled across +before Sam consented to venture himself, and then +only because he feared he could carry no more when +he got to the other side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'T'ud be a sin," he said, "to leave all these +silks and satins behind."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How do you know the boxes contain silks and satins?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Cos I opened 'em and felt 'em in the dark. +'Twas like strokin' a cat's back, wi'out no fear o' +scratches. You'll be sure and not let me drop +into the pit, Maister?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. Come along; I want my supper."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be-jowned, and so do I. Here I come."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He grasped the rope, let himself gently down, +and was hauled to the other side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Maister Penwarden," he cried as he landed, +"I be 'nation glad to see 'ee safe and sound. Wheer +have 'ee been all this time? You have gied us all +a terrible deal o' trouble."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Penwarden growled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never mind about that, Sam," said Dick. "Our +trouble is well repaid, and we had better get home +as soon as we can."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True. If you go first and turn the lantern so's +it do gie me a light, I'll be able to carr' these boxes +wi'out tumblin' and breakin' my head. So for +home-along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the homeward way Dick related his adventure. +The old man said nothing until he heard of the +discovery of lace and silks.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah!" said he, "and these boxes that young Sam +be carr'in' on his head are filled with silks and laces, +I s'pose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay," cried Sam exultantly, "and noble +gowns and pinnies they will make, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Penwarden, "then I seize 'em in +the King's name."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Rake it all!" exclaimed Sam. "Did the King +buy 'em? Did he bury 'em? Did he find 'em? +No, the King be a good man, but 'a never did no +free-tradin' in his life, I reckon, and we won't part +with 'em, will we, Maister Dick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I know my duty," said Penwarden, "and seized +they be. Resist at yer peril."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze me if I don't wish ye'd been carr'd to +France," cried Sam. "Arter what we've been +through for 'ee, too!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A wordy war ensued that lasted until they +reached the door of the Towers, where the boxes +were deposited for the night. It required a +peremptory command from Mr. Polwhele next day +to induce Penwarden to relinquish his claim on +them, the old man then being more than ever +convinced that the world was a strange mix-up.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="petherick-makes-a-discovery"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Petherick makes a Discovery</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>About an hour before Doubledick was embarked +for Roscoff, a group of men employed by Mr. Polwhele +as his assistants stood on the bridge spanning +the stream that flowed through the village. It was +freezing, and they stamped and swung their arms to +keep themselves warm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'A said he would jine us by half-past nine +o'clock," said one.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, church-clock has tolled the half-hour, and +'tis gashly cold. What shall us do, neighbours?" +asked a second.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Go home-along, say I," a third answered. "He +be a true man of his word. Half-past nine, 'a said; +half-past nine 'a meant, and if he bean't here 'tis a +plain token he bean't a-comin'!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I tell 'ee what, neighbours," said the man who +had first spoken. "We'll gie un five minutes' law, +as near as we can guess it by trampin' forth and +back; then we'll wend up-along to Dower House +and axe un for orders. I'll be sworn he be fillin' up +his inside wi' high meat and noble drink."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, and maybe figgy pudden or squab-pie," +said another, licking his lips. "Do 'ee think, now, +we bein' pore men all, they'd gie us a croust and a +nibleykin, like the rich gaffer and Lazarus?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Jown me if we don't go straight as a line and +see. Hey! step out, souls all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They hurried into the village and up the hill, +arriving at the Dower House about ten minutes to +ten. The house was brightly lit, and from within +came sounds of laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sech merry doings bean't for we poor souls," +remarked one of the men despondently.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, neighbour Pollard, we bean't all portigal +sons," said another.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You be a bufflehead, sure enough. The portigal +son in the Book comed home-along a beggar in +rags, arter swallerin' pigs' wash."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah well, I must ha' been thinkin' o' some other +holy man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True; Lazarus was the man. Rap at the door, +neighbours, and make a goodish noise, or ye won't +be heerd through this yer racket."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Susan came to the door in answer to the knock.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please, ma'am, we be come," began Pollard, and +then found it necessary to swallow.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well I never! What be come for?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"For Maister Polwhele, wishin' 'ee no harm. 'A +said he'd jine us when clock said half-past nine, and +we'll be obleeged to 'ee if you'll say as we be come +for orders."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, bless me, Mr. Polwhele went away when +clock strook nine, and as sober as a jedge."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, souls, 'tis 'nation hard to traipse up that +hill for nothing at all. We med as well go home-along +and get to our beds. We be sorry to bring 'ee +out, ma'am, such a bitter cold night, but 'twas +to be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish 'ee well, poor souls," said Susan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A nesh young female," remarked one of the +men, as they departed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She'd as lief as not ha' gied us some grog if I +warn't sech a humble feller of my inches. Hey! theer's +a deal lost in this world by modest men like we."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They shambled dolefully down the hill. Half-way +down they were met by the boatswain and six +seamen from the cutter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahoy! mates," cried the boatswain, "have ye +seen or heard anything of Mr. Mildmay?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Neither heerd a cuss nor seed the tip o's nose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah well, then. I thought you might have, +coming along by Mr. Trevanion's house."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha' ye seed or heerd anything o' Maister Polwhele, +now?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Neither bowsprit nor whistle. No doubt he's +with our officer, dancing a hornpipe, or whatever they +do at fine gentlemen's parties."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, he bean't at Dower House. We've been +to call for un. 'A told us he'd jine us on bridge +when church-clock strook half-past nine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's curious, because Mr. Mildmay told us +the same thing, putting the cutter instead of the +bridge. Isn't Mr. Mildmay up there, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That we don't know. It didn't come into our +heads to axe for he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we'd better go up and put the question. +Step out, messmates."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele's men returned with them, in the +hope that the bold sailors would ask for the grog, +which their modesty had missed. The door was +again opened by Susan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, my dear," said the boatswain, "we won't +keep you in the cold. Just answer a little question. +Is Mr. Mildmay aboard?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear life! First Mr. Polwhele, now Mr. Mildmay. +No, sailorman, they both wented out +together, a minute arter clock strook nine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless your pretty face! Well, messmates, +we've had our cruise for nothing, unless this lovely +lass will give us something to drink her health in."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Here's Maister!" cried Susan, stepping aside +hastily as John Trevanion came to the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, my men, what's this?" he asked genially.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please yer honour," began Pollard.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Avast there!" cried the boatswain. "Mr. Mildmay +was to come aboard by three bells, sir, +and seeing he was late, we made bold to come up +here for orders."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please yer honour," said Pollard, "Maister +Polwhele telled we the same, only 'twas nine and +a half bells wi' him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, my men, you're too late. They both left +here at nine. But come in: 'tis a cold night, and +you won't be the worse of something warm. Susan, +bring a full jug and tumblers. No one shall leave +the Dower House to-night without drinking success +to the mines."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men tramped in, voluble with thanks. Susan +served them each with a tumbler hot, and they left +a few minutes later, with a high opinion of +Mr. Trevanion's hospitality, and the comfortable feeling +that they had not made their journey for nothing.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sunday morning broke bright, frosty, and clear, +the sun shining with a brilliance that belied the +cold. About half an hour before church time, as +Mr. Carlyon was conning over his sermon for the +day, there entered to him the pluralist of the parish, +Timothy Petherick, constable, sexton, beadle, and +bell-ringer. There was a scowl of annoyance upon +his face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Petherick, what is it?" said the Vicar, +looking up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yer reverence," said the man, "hain't I telled +'ee times wi'out number that the bats and owls do +make a roostin' place o' holy church-tower?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I believe you have."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, yer reverence, it didn' oughter be," said +Petherick, smiting his fist. "They heathen animals +didn' oughter take up their habitation in sech a +Christian place. 'Like owl in desert,' says the Book, +not 'like owl in church-tower.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Clear 'em out, and be hanged to 'em," said the +parson. "Yet, after all, they don't do any harm."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No harm! Dash my bones, yer reverence—God +forgi'e me for usin' Saturday words of a +Sunday—they do do harm. Do 'ee think I can +strike a true Christian note out o' the bell? No, +not I; 'tis all clodgy, like the spache of a man +that's rum-ripe, and all because some owl or +airy-mouse hev made his nest on the clapper, scrounch +un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, go up the ladder and brush it off."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Theer 'tis, now. What's happened o' the ladder, +I'd like to know? Theer bean't no ladder. 'Twas +theer yester morn, but not a mossel o' ladder be +theer to-day. 'Tis bewitched, sure enough; some +pixy or nuggy, or little old man, hev sperited un +away in the night, for I squinnied up-along and +down-along, and never got a sight o't."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, time is getting on. Do your best, +Petherick. Someone has borrowed the ladder, no +doubt, and will bring it back to-morrow. You +should lock the tower door, and then this sort of +thing couldn't happen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Petherick retired, a man with a grievance. +Entering the tower, he pulled at the bell-rope with +a scornful air, and, indeed, the sound given out was +little like the clear note that ordinarily summoned +the Polkerran folk to worship.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They were on the whole good church-goers. At +least half the population were regular attendants, +some of the other half being Methodists, who +preferred going to "meeting." The principal +smugglers were sound churchmen to a man, and +repeated the responses after the Commandments +with great fervour, especially after the eighth, when +they glared reproachfully at Mr. Polwhele in his +pew by the chancel steps.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In spite of the strangely muffled bell, there was +an unusually large congregation on this Sunday +morning. The villagers, as their custom was, +assembled in the churchyard, waiting until the +Squire and his family had passed into the church +before they should follow to their seats. Much +animation was observable among them this morning, +and when Dick walked up the centre path with his +parents, he guessed that many of them were +discussing the successful run of the previous night, and a +smaller number the supposed deportation of Joe +Penwarden. There was no sign of perturbation +among them, whence he inferred that the disappearance +of Doubledick was not yet known. It was not +uncommon for the innkeeper, after a run, to absent +himself for a day or two, so that, even if it were +known that he had not yet returned to the inn, they +would feel neither surprise nor alarm. Nor was the +failure of their plot against Penwarden suspected. +He had not spent the night in his cottage. Dick +had insisted that the old man should sleep at the +Towers, in order that he might have a good supper, +and that Mrs. Trevanion might bathe and anoint his +chafed wrists and ankles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire's large curtained pew was on the north +side of the chancel, Mr. Polwhele's next. Opposite, +and facing it, was John Trevanion's. The master of +the Dower House looked particularly fresh and +cheerful when he strode up the aisle to his place. +He smiled a greeting to one or two families with +whom he was acquainted, carefully avoiding his +relatives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The village folk clattered in; the band in the +gallery above the door tuned up their instruments; +the toneless bell ceased to ring, and Mr. Carlyon +having made his solemn entry, the service began.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Vicar had just come to the end of the second +lesson when, through a postern leading from the +tower, came Petherick with a face full of news. He +hastened to the reading desk, touched Mr. Carlyon +on the sleeve, and said in a church whisper:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please, yer reverence——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not now, Petherick," the Vicar whispered back. +"Go to your seat."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I bean't in fault, and say it I woll," said the +man. Then in a low tone, which, in the breathless +silence of the congregation, penetrated to the remotest +corner of the gallery, he added:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maister Mildmay and riding-officer was in +belfry, tied round the middle to bell."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"God bless my soul!" murmured the astonished +Vicar unconsciously. "This is unseemly," he said +sternly: "'tis brawling. Go to your place, Petherick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The beadle marched to his seat under the pulpit +with the air of one who had spoken his mind and +scorned rebuke. Those of the congregation who +had been in the secret tittered when he made his +announcement; the larger number, who were vaguely +aware that something had happened to the officers, +but did not know its nature, gazed at one another +with startled looks, which speedily changed to smiles. +The occupants of the Squire's pew alone preserved +their composure. Mr. Carlyon's stern look silenced +the giggles and whispers of the frivolous, and the +service proceeded.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The hymn had been sung, the Vicar was in the +midst of the prayer for the King's Majesty, and had +just recited the words "our most gracious sovereign +Lord King George," when a man quietly entered +from the outer porch, and stood within the church +beneath the gallery. The heads of the congregation +were bent forward, so that his presence was +unnoticed. The prayer came to an end; everybody +said "Amen," but one voice rose above all the rest. +It was that of the new-comer. Tonkin, in his pew a +few paces down the aisle, started and turned his head +like one thunderstruck. A bruise was noticeable +on his right cheek. All held their breath as Joe +Penwarden marched steadily down the aisle to his +seat near the riding-officer's. As he passed the Vicar, +he raised his hand to the salute, then knelt quietly +at his place, where the coloured sunbeam, streaming +in through the south window, lit up his +weather-beaten face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That dramatic scene in the church was talked of +in Polkerran for many a long year. A deep hush +had fallen upon the whole congregation; even the +most fractious and fidgety children felt awed, by +they scarcely knew what. Consternation held the +smugglers rigid in their seats. John Trevanion's +face turned sea-green, and the smile by which he +tried to conceal from the congregation the mingled +emotions—surprise, rage, even fear—that possessed +him, did but reveal them the more clearly to two +pair of eyes in the Squire's pew.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the Vicar had turned over a few leaves +of his prayer-book. Now, in a peculiarly solemn +tone, he began to read the thanksgiving "For peace +and deliverance from our enemies." The words +rolled through the church: "We yield Thee praise +and thanksgiving for our deliverance from these +great and apparent dangers wherewith we were +compassed"; and at the close Penwarden's voice +was again uplifted in a loud and prolonged "Amen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Carlyon was a man of tact. He knew very +well that his people would be on tenter-hooks until +they could discuss these strange incidents. It was +no time to preach to them. A sermon was not an +essential part of the service. Accordingly he finished +the order for morning prayer and gave the Blessing +without ascending into the pulpit. The congregation +streamed forth. Tonkin and his friends in a knot +hurried down to the inn, followed closely by the +tub-carriers of the previous night, whom Doubledick +had invited to meet him there. John Trevanion +came out alone, and walked rapidly homeward, +without a word or a look to anyone. The rest went +their several ways, except the Squire and his family, +and Penwarden, whom Mr. Carlyon invited to the +Parsonage. There they found Mr. Mildmay and +the riding-officer sitting in the sunlight at an open +window, sipping toddy and taking snuff, thoughtfully +brought to them by the housekeeper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Upon my word," said the Vicar, on beholding +their wrathful countenances, "if I had not so lately +taken off my surplice I fear I should laugh. What +is the meaning of it, gentlemen?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It is regrettable, but the truth must be told. +The two officers, Mrs. Trevanion not having entered +the room, let forth a flood of language such as +certainly had never before been heard within those +walls.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, come," said the Vicar, "remember my +cloth. I will change my coat, and then ask you +to tell me calmly, as befits the day, all that has +happened."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your cousin, Squire——" began Mr. Mildmay, +on the Vicar's departure, but he choked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Is a consummate scoundrel, sir," said +Mr. Polwhele for him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He hoodwinked us," said the lieutenant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He trapped us," cried the riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Calmly, gentlemen," said the Vicar, re-entering. +"Now, Mildmay."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He invited us to his house——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And laughed and joked," put in Mr. Polwhele.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And made himself deuced pleasant," said Mr. Mildmay.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"One would think they were parson and clerk," +said the Vicar under his breath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The hint was taken, and Mr. Mildmay was able +to speak a few sentences without interruption.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, we left together, Polwhele and I, at nine +o'clock, as we intended. 'Twas pitch dark. We +had quitted the grounds but half a minute, and were +walking along by that stone hedge near the +mine-shaft, when we fell headlong over a rope stretched +across the road. Before we could get to our feet, +hang me if a crowd of ruffians didn't fling themselves +upon us and well-nigh choke the breath out of our +bodies. I hit out——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So did I," said Mr. Polwhele, his feelings +overcoming him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So did Polwhele. I barked my knuckles."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So did I," said Mr. Polwhele.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So did Polwhele; but we might have been +fighting air for all the good we did. The rascals +held us down while they gagged and roped us——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And never a word said," put in the riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, confound it all! 'Twas too dark to tell +black from white. All the scoundrels were masked, +and didn't breathe a word we could identify 'em by. +They roped us so that we couldn't move hand or +foot, and carried us we didn't know where——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Except that it was over plaguey rough ground. +I was jarred and jolted till I felt as if all my joints +were loose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So was I," said Mr. Mildmay. "I knew no +more till I found myself being hauled up a ladder, +and then, confusion seize them! they lashed me to +the bell——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mildmay on one side, I on t'other, the same +rope going all round."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And there they left us all night. I didn't get a +wink of sleep——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nor I——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Till the morning, and as soon as I dropped oft, +that dunderhead Petherick must pull the bell-rope, +and I felt a great thwack in the small of my back, +and woke in a desperate fright. There was a second +thump, and then it stopped, and we had peace for a +few minutes."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That was when Petherick was telling me that I +really must clear the tower of owls and bats," said +the Vicar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bats!" cried Mr. Polwhele. "They were +whisking me in the face all night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And the owls were tu-whooing like fog-horns," +said Mr. Mildmay. "Then the thumping began +again, and I was jarred till I thought I should die. +Then there came a horrible noise of fiddles and +serpents and clarinets from below, and yowling +and growling, and soon after Petherick's head +appeared through the hatch, and he had the +impudence to laugh in our faces. When he had +done cackling, he loosed us, and we crawled down +the ladder more dead than alive, and here we are."</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 94%" id="figure-89"> +<span id="petherick-s-head-appeared-through-the-hatch"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""PETHERICK'S HEAD APPEARED THROUGH THE HATCH."" src="images/img-262.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"PETHERICK'S HEAD APPEARED THROUGH THE HATCH."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And I lay my life 'twas John Trevanion's plot," +cried Mr. Polwhele hotly. "Never has such a +scandalous outrage been known in Cornwall before. +The Judas came to the door and bade us good-night, +and said he was sorry we must go, but duty must be +done—the detestable hypocrite."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There was certainly more art in it than the +village folks are capable of," said the Vicar. +"By——dear me! I am forgetting myself, but it brings +back to me the pranks we played at Oxford. I +remember——but there, that's best told on a week-day. +You'll find it hard to prove anything against +John Trevanion, my friends."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the cunning of the villain," said +Mr. Mildmay. "But I'll keep a lynx-eye on him for +the future, and my gentleman will overreach +himself one of these days. No doubt he made a fine +haul last night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He did so," said Penwarden, who had remained +in the background. "The carriers made five trips +betwixt the cave and the well, and though I couldn' +see 'em, I reckon they ran summat nigh two-hundred +tubs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless my soul, where do you spring from, +Joe?" cried the riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, sir, there be no spring left in my aged +frame. I bean't what I was in my young days, +when I served wi' Lord Admiral Rodney. But I'm +not dead yet, thanks to Maister Dick, and I'll be on +duty to-morrer, sir, same as ever."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, Joe," said the Vicar, "we must hear all +about it. I own I almost forgot where I was when +I saw you tramp up the aisle just now."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The Squire's lady did say I wasn't to get up, +Pa'son, but when I woked and found 'em all gone-along +to church, I couldn't bide wi'out goin' up to +the House of the Lord like holy David, and givin' +my humble and hearty thanks to the Almighty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He related how, at dead of night, he had been +hauled from his bed by half-a-dozen masked figures, +carried to the well, let down in a basket, and taken +to the place where Dick had found him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas that 'nation rascal Doubledick at the +bottom of it," he said. "When I laid there flat on +a plank, wi' a blanket atween my teeth, and a gashly +ache in every inch o' my body, I could ha' borne it +all like a holy martyr, but for the villain's tormentin' +mouth-speech. 'A tried his best to change his +tone o' voice, but I knowed un through it all. +'You be agoin' on yer travels,' says he. ''Tis +uncommon spry in 'ee at yer time o' life, wonderful +brave in a old aged feller. And ye'll lay yer bones +in a furrin grave, wheer ye'll bide till Judgment Day, +and when the trump wakes 'ee and they axe 'ee what +be doin' in a strange heathen land, ye'll have to tell, +'twas because ye couldn't keep yer tongue from evil +speakin', nor yer hands from pickin' and stealin'. +Ah! 'tis a sorrerful sight to see a old ancient like +'ee goin' the way to everlastin' bonfire for sech +ungodly deeds.' So 'a went on a-rantin' and ravin' +till I come nigh bustin' wi' the rage inside me. But +I reckon he sings another tune now. 'Tis he hev +gone on his travels, and he dussn't show his face +here no more, for 'twill be transportation if he do."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It was Dick's turn to recount the steps of his +discovery, and he learnt from Penwarden the +explanation of the only point that still puzzled him: +why he had found the front door of the cottage +unlocked. Penwarden said that one of the +kidnappers had opened the door to keep a look-out. +The presumption was that, after locking the back +door behind his comrades when the deed was done, +he had merely closed the front door, probably +because he was in haste to rejoin them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While Dick told his story, the Vicar was turning +over the yellow leaves of an old leather-bound +manuscript book.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! I have it," he exclaimed at length. "This +is the diary of William Hammond, vicar of this +parish eighty years ago—material for my poor +starveling history, Trevanion. You have seen his +name on the tablet in church. Listen. 'To-day I +read the burial service for seven men of this parish, +to wit, Anthony Hallah, Francis Hocking, John +Tregurtha, John Maddein, Richard Kelynack, Paul +Tonkin, Thomas Rowe, who 'tis supposed were +overwhelmed in the late landslip beyond St. Cuby's +Cove. Their bodies have not been recovered, but I +yielded to the entreaties of their families that I +would recite the solemn office of the Church, that +their souls might rest in peace.' Do you see the +story in this? The poor fellows were smothered +while running a cargo into the cave which Dick +found blocked up. Naturally the place was shunned +by the smugglers, and I daresay it was years before +a new generation made for themselves the hiding-place +Dick has discovered. No doubt it is in the +part of the cliff that bulges over the sea. They +must have hollowed out the chamber, and pierced a +hole in its floor, and you might have searched for +ever, Mr. Mildmay, without perceiving from below +the trapdoor with which it was concealed. No +doubt, as Dick suggests, they have traded on the +superstitions of the people in regard to the ghost at +the well, and the fact that they seldom needed to +use the hiding-place has helped them to preserve +their secret. This will be a terrible blow to the +smuggling hereabouts, and 'tis an extraordinary thing +that it should be due to Dick, whose intervention +has been brought about so strangely."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound it, Dick, you ought to be in my +place," said Mr. Mildmay with a rueful look. +"Here have I been dashing about in the cutter, and +Polwhele riding up and down, and all the fuss and +fury not half so effective as your quiet use of your +wits. 'Tis a dash to one's proper pride."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There was a great deal of luck about it, sir," +said Dick. "If Sam hadn't overheard the conversation +between John Trevanion and Doubledick, we +might have puzzled our wits for years without +getting at the truth."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah!" said Mr. Carlyon with a chuckle, "and +there's a lady in the case as usual. I understand +that Sam takes a brotherly interest in Mr. Trevanion's +maidservant—a very good girl, behaves well in +church, and seems most attentive to my sermons. +Upon my word, Squire, we owe something to John +Trevanion after all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Humph!" grunted the Squire. "What does +the Book say, Vicar? 'The wicked diggeth a pit, +and falleth into it himself.' That is true in the case +of Doubledick, at any rate."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And he's no loss to us," said Mr. Polwhele. +"Without a doubt he hid that ruffian Delarousse. I +suppose they'll now be hob-a-nob together in +Roscoff. What's that at the window?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He sprang up and put his head out.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee feel better now, sir?" asked Petherick, +sympathetically.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What are you doing there, Petherick?" asked +the Vicar, recognising his voice.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wer just a-comin' along to tell 'ee wheer I +found ladder, yer reverence. 'Twas in the ditch +over beyond the linney, and be-jowned if I wouldn' +give a silver sixpence, poor as I be, to know who +'twas carr'd un theer. We must clear out these +owls and airy-mouses, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, set about it to-morrow," said the Vicar, +closing the window.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll be bound the fellow has heard all that we've +said," cried Mr. Polwhele.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you may be sure it will be all over the +parish to-morrow," said Mr. Carlyon.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="a-high-dive"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">A High Dive</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The failure of their carefully-laid plan afflicted +the smugglers with a numbness of dismay and +stupefaction, and robbed them of all power to +appreciate the success of the trick played on the +revenue officers. Tonkin bitterly reproached +himself for leaving the shipment of Penwarden to +Doubledick and undertaking the seizure of John +Trevanion's guests. Moreover, honest and +simple-minded as he was, a tiny seed of suspicion was +beginning to germinate in his mind. Before John +Trevanion came home, the freighting had been done +by Tonkin on a modest scale in co-operation with +Delarousse. Now, however, John Trevanion had +taken the lead. For some reason, which none knew, +and only Doubledick suspected, he had thrown over +Delarousse, and did business with a rival and enemy +of his in Roscoff. Having more capital than Tonkin, +whose recent losses had indeed been crippling, he +could buy more largely and employ more men, so +that Tonkin found himself in a position of galling +subordination. As Trevanion had said to Doubledick, +the big man did not care to play second fiddle. +He was beginning to wonder whether the jovial +master of the Dower House was quite so good a +friend as he seemed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The escape of Penwarden was a blow, the more +crushing because so mysterious. After church on +Sunday, Tonkin and his fellows foregathered with +the tub-carriers in the Five Pilchards, where +Mrs. Doubledick attended to them in her husband's +absence. The young farm labourers had been in +complete ignorance of the presence of Penwarden +behind the stacked barrels. His projected deportation +was the secret of Tonkin and a few trusty +friends, who knew better than to run the risk of +being betrayed by an informer. They were still +anxious to guard their secret, and being unable to +discuss the matter freely in the presence of the +carriers, they made themselves so unpleasant that the +latter presently betook themselves in dudgeon to the +Three Jolly Mariners. But even when the important +people had the taproom of the Five Pilchards +to themselves, they were at a loss. In Doubledick's +absence no light could be thrown on the mystery.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee know wheer yer man be, Mistress?" +asked Tonkin of the gaunt woman behind the bar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I do not," she replied, "but 'a will come +home-along in a day or two, to be sure. He loves his +home, does Doubledick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you ought to know, if anybody."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hey, my sonnies," said a voice at the door, and +Petherick entered. "I be come to jine ye in yer +laughter and merrymakin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you be come the wrong road," said Tonkin +gloomily. "We be downcast and dismal."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, mumchanced and mumblechopped," added +Nathan Pendry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You do surprise me! Never did I see anything +that tickled my ribs so much as they two King's +servants lashed to the holy bell. I don't care who +the man is, 'twas a merry notion. But good now! +I know what yer dark thoughts be. 'T'ud make +angels weep and wail, so 'twould. To think that +Cuby's ghost will walk never more!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cuby's ghost be jowned! If ye do know +anything, tell it out without hawkin' and spettin', +constable," said Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, neighbour Doubledick be a lost soul this +day, that's sartin," said Petherick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My Billy be dead!" shrieked Mrs. Doubledick, +sinking into a chair and rocking herself to and fro.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no, Mistress," said Petherick. "It bean't +gone so far as that. Dry yer eyes, woman. He +bean't a corp, 's far 's I do know, but never will ye +see un again, no, never."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Name it all, constable, don't spin it out so +long," said Nathan Pendry. "Put the 'ooman out +of her misery."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I will. Neighbour Doubledick be this +day in Rusco."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear life!" exclaimed Mrs. Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How do 'ee know that, constable?" asked Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I heerd it all wi' my own ears. Seems as if Joe +Penwarden was to go, but the voyage wer too much +for his old aged stummick, so he and young +Trevanion sent neighbour Doubledick instead."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He then repeated what he had overheard at the +window of the Parsonage, his audience listening in +wrath and amazement.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So ye see," he concluded, "he dussn't show his +face hereabouts again, for they two will swear to him +afore Sir Bevil, and neither might nor power can +save un. Seems to me as ye've met your match in +young Squire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This opened the floodgates of rage, and the room +rang with execrations and threats of vengeance. At +last Tonkin declared that he would sail to Roscoff +next day, hear Doubledick's version of the matter, +and learn whether the innkeeper himself admitted +the impossibility of returning from his exile. +Meanwhile he bound all those present not to disclose +their knowledge of what had happened. He felt +that the ignominious failure of the scheme would +make them all a laughing-stock, which was especially +to be avoided now that a score of miners had +been imported into the village by John Trevanion. +The men loyally kept the secret, even Petherick +restraining his gossiping tongue, for he had a +wholesome fear of Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning, therefore, Tonkin sailed away in +his own lugger, beating out against a stiff breeze. +An hour or two later, Mr. Mildmay paid a visit in +the cutter to the scene of the night's events, seized +the tubs still left in the smugglers' den, broke up +the windlass, and blocked up the tunnel leading to +the well.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Next afternoon Dick and Sam launched their boat, +and sailed out to fish at some distance from the point +of the Beal. Meeting them on the cliff, Penwarden +advised them to keep their eye on the weather. +The sky was threatening, and the boat, while safe +enough on a calm sea, had not proved her capacity +to ride out a storm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam appeared to be in low spirits. Usually +talkative, he had scarcely spoken to Dick on the +way from the house, and had indeed not been visible +since breakfast time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's the matter, Sam?" said Dick, as he sat +at the tiller, noticing the boy's gloomy face as he +rowed to assist the sail.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nawthin'," replied Sam curtly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But there is. Your face is as long as a fiddle. +Something must have upset you. What is it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if I must tell, I will. My poor heart be +broke."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's bad. What broke it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The Mistress."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"My mother! What has she done?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis not what she does, but what she says. Oh! 'tis +terrible hard for poor folks in this world."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I agree with you. We are all pretty poor at +the Towers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's why I feel it. Some poor folks can have +noble raiment, others can't, and drown me if I can +see the why and wherefore."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't talk rubbish."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis not rubbish. Hevn't Mistress got a fine +new sealskin coat? Didn't she wear it to church +yesterday? Didn't she look like a queen, and make +all the women's eyes open as wide as saucers? And +there was Maidy Susan, poor young thing, lookin' as +plain as a sparrer beside her."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you wouldn't expect to see a servant-maid +as fine as the Squire's wife."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I would so, when her might be. I showed +they silks and satins to Mistress, and telled her I +had broughted 'em for Maidy Susan. 'No, indeed,' +says she; 'quite unsuitable for a girl in her station +o' life.' 'Why for, please 'm?' says I. 'Because +I say so,' says she; 'I never heerd o' sech a +thing.' Be-jowned if I can see why. Pretty things be fitty +for pretty females, and I don't care who the man is, +Maidy Susan would look as fine in 'em as Mistress +do in her noble sealskin."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fine feathers don't make fine birds, they say," +remarked Dick with a smile.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, nor fine coats don't make old women young +and pretty. They only make 'em look fatter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sam, don't be impudent."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bean't impedence, leastways, not meant for sech, +as you know well. It be truth," insisted Sam. +"Can 'ee deny it? I axe 'ee, bean't Susan a pretty +maid?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She is, I own."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, there you are."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>This appeared to Sam a clinching argument. Dick +laughed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll speak to Mother," he said. "Perhaps she +will let Susan have a little silk for high days and +holidays. But you know the story of the jackdaw that +dressed up as a peacock and was pecked to death by +the peacocks it went amongst?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never heerd o't, and I don't believe it. Peacocks +be sech silly mortals. Howsomever, if ye'll +speak to Mistress I'll say no more, for she'll do +whatever you tell her."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By this time they were far out in the bay. They +cast their lines overboard, and caught one or two flat +fish; but sport being very slow, and the wind +increasing in force, after about an hour they decided +to return.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Another boat, meanwhile, had put out for the +same purpose. It contained Jake Tonkin and Ike +Pendry. The two boats passed within a few yards +of each other.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Afeard of a capful o' wind," said Jake with a +sneer to his companion, loud enough to be heard on +the other boat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, they'll 'eave up afore they get ashore," +rejoined Pendry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick paid no attention to them. Running in +behind the Beal, which sheltered him from the +wind, he found the sea in Trevanion Bay so calm +that he began to wonder whether he had not been +over-hasty in putting back. They landed, moored +the boat, and carried their meagre catch to the +Towers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They may jeer," said Dick, as he steadied himself +against the wind, which on the cliff-top blew +with the force of half a gale, "but they'll run in +themselves pretty soon, you'll see."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Having handed the fish to Reuben, they left the +house again, and made their way along the Beal, +somewhat curious to see how the two fisher-lads +were faring. Jake's boat, an old tub, as crazy as +that of Dick's which had been destroyed, was tossing +and rolling in a way that must have rendered fishing +a very uncomfortable occupation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They're a couple of jackasses," said Dick. "The +wind is getting up every minute. Look at that! +That gust nearly capsized them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I reckon they be showing off," said Sam. "Ah! they're +putting back arter all, and 'twas time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The boat's head was turned for home. Dick and +Sam walked to the end of the promontory, whence +the sea on both sides was in full view.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twill be a noble sight to see 'em cross the +reef," said Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, they won't try that," said Dick. "The +tide is too low. You can see the rocks every now +and again through the breakers. They will make +for the fairway."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The wind was now blowing with terrific force, the +gusts smiting the boys, exposed as they were, like +the fists of some unseen gigantic boxer. They kept +their feet with difficulty. Sam's hat was whirled +away, and rolled and bounded along the Beal at the +speed of a hare. The surface of the sea was broken +by innumerable little white ridges, and at intervals +one of these was seen to be the crest of a huge +wave, which reared itself, and before it fell was torn +into shreds of spindrift.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake Tonkin's boat ran clear of the headland +towards the harbour, and, having got what he +apparently considered to be sufficient sea-room, he +hoisted his lug-sail, and steered direct for the +fairway. It seemed to the two watchers on the Beal +that the wind had been maliciously awaiting this +opportunity of mischief. A more than usually fierce +gust ripped the sail loose; the boat staggered, spun +round, and drifted broadside to the sea. The two +lads in her seized their oars, and after great exertion +brought her head once more towards the shore. +But in a few moments one of them started baling, +then resumed the oars, only to ship them almost +instantly afterwards and bale out again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the sail was carried away, the boat was +about a third of a mile from the spot on which Dick +and Sam stood. Her progress towards the harbour +had been extraordinarily slow, though the wind was +behind her. Dick guessed that she had sprung a +leak, and when the baling became continuous, he +realised the extreme peril of her occupants. Every +moment she was in danger of being swamped. He +watched with excitement, not unmixed with anxiety. +She drew gradually nearer, but with a sluggish +heaviness of movement that bespoke her water-logged +condition. Another twenty or thirty yards +would bring her within the shelter of the reef, in +which case the danger of being swamped would be +over, unless the leak gained upon the lad energetically +baling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A shout from the left drew Dick's attention +towards the jetty. The lads' plight had been +perceived, and a large boat, manned by a crew of four, +was pulling off to their assistance. If they could +hold their own for five more minutes they would be +taken off. But just as Dick, thus calculating the +chances, turned from this momentary glance shorewards +to watch the labouring boat again, a great wave +broke over her, she disappeared, and the lads with her.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A quick look round, then Dick dropped to the +ground, unlaced his boots, drew them off, and flung +off his coat.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Go to our den, Sam," he cried, "and fling over +the two barrels we use for chairs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You be never going to——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But Sam's protest was unheeded and almost +unheard. Dick was clambering down the steep face +of the cliff. The fisher-lads could not swim; +scarcely a man in Polkerran was more skilled than +they; and it was plain that unless assistance came to +them at once they must be drowned, for the boat, +pulling out against wind and wave, could not reach +them in time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thirty feet above the sea, and almost exactly over +the spot where the boat had capsized, there was a +narrow ledge. As a swimmer Dick was self-taught. +He usually plunged into the sea from a rock a few +feet above the surface; the dive he now prepared to +take was at least five times as great as he had ever +attempted before. Fortunately the fairway was clear +of rocks, although the waves beat roughly against +the almost perpendicular cliff. A momentary hesitation, +then Dick dived off. He took the water cleanly, +but, somewhat dazed by the violence of the shock, he +went far deeper than a practised diver would have +done. To himself, as to Sam, gazing at him +horror-stricken from above, it seemed a terribly long time +before he shot up to the surface.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But he emerged at last. Shaking the water from +his eyes, he looked round for signs of the +fisher-lads. Within twelve yards of him he saw the boat, +bottom upwards, and a boy clinging to the rudder. +A gust of wind whipped the spindrift into Dick's +eyes; for some moments he could see nothing more. +But then, five or six yards away, between the boat +and the cliff, he caught sight of an arm rising from the +sea, only to disappear instantly. He struck out for +the spot. In a few seconds a dark mass surged up +almost beside him. Another stroke or two enabled +him to get a grip upon it before it could sink again. +Fortunately both for the drowning lad and his +rescuer, the former was by this time unconscious. +In the rough sea that tumbled about him Dick could +scarcely have fought against the struggles of a frantic +man. In a trice he turned the lad face upward, +and, firmly grasping his collar with one hand, swam +on his back with his legs and one free arm. Surely +he could hold out until the boat came up! He +heard the shouts of the men and the splash of the +oars; it could not be far away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was a danger that he might be swept by the +waves against the frowning cliff, and knocked senseless. +To avoid this, he struck out furiously towards +the middle of the fairway, where the empty barrels +thrown down by Sam were floating. In a calm sea +his strength might easily have endured the fatigue of +supporting a dead weight, but he knew that he was +being conquered by the tumbling waves, and the +blinding, choking spray that swept over him, it +seemed without intermission. Again and again he +felt that he could never regain his breath. The +struggle to do so weakened him far more than the +muscular exertion. The dreadful conviction seized +him that he, too, was drowning. But his grip never +relaxed; even when a dazed and helpless feeling +came over him, he kept the lad's collar firmly in his +clutch. Then he was dimly conscious of a quiet +restfulness and content; and Sam, in frantic terror +above, saw his movements cease, and felt an agonising +certainty that his young master was lost.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When Dick came to himself, he found himself +lying in the bottom of Nathan Pendry's boat, +within a few yards of the jetty. The rescuers had +come up in the nick of time. Dick and the lad he +had saved were hauled into the boat together, and +the fingers of the former were so tightly clenched +that for some time it was impossible to separate the +two. The overturned craft had drifted within a few +yards of the cliff, and the other boy still clung to it. +He was taken aboard, and meanwhile two of the +men used all the means they knew to restore the +others to consciousness. Without waiting to secure +the capsized boat, they pulled with all speed for the +jetty, which was thronged with village folk, whom the +news of the accident had brought in hot haste from +their houses.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The dripping lads were taken out and carried to +the inn, where Mrs. Doubledick had made up a +roaring fire, and had blankets and hot brandy +awaiting them. Sam, pale as a sheet, forced his way +through the crowd at the door towards his master.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, 'tis good to see 'ee safe!" he cried, almost +hugging Dick. "Hev 'ee swallered much?" he +asked anxiously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was too weak to reply. He began to laugh +childishly, for within a few feet of him, swathed in +a steaming blanket, sat his old enemy, Jake Tonkin, +even more feeble than himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas him ye did it for!" cried Sam indignantly. +"No one could ha' blamed 'ee if ye'd let the villain +drown."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick shook his head.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, young Sam Pollex," cried Mrs. Doubledick, +"you be off! Maister Trevanion don't want +'ee kiddlin' and quaddlin' about when he do feel +bad. Just pick up his clothes out o' that plosh o' +water and spread 'em on this chair-back. Then go. +We'll send him home-along in a cart or a wheelbarrow +when he's better."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze me if I go, Mistress!" cried Sam. "Here I +bide till Maister be able to shail along, so I tell 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let the chiel bide," said Nathan Pendry. "They +be like two twains in everything, mischief and all, +and they 'm best not parted."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, my brother Ben was twain to me," said +Simon Mail, "and 'a quenched away when they took +un from me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, dear life now, neighbour Mail," cried +Mrs. Doubledick, "bean't it true, then, that yer brother +Ben was shot in the nuddick at some great battle in +Egypt, or other furrin land?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, he was; but he couldn't ha' been if he +hadn't been parted from I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A-course not, ye chucklehead!" said +Mrs. Doubledick. "If ye hadn't been parted he would +ha' been talkin' foolishness along with 'ee now. Off +ye go now, neighbours all. The lads will do better +wi'out ye, and there bean't no need to send over to +Redruth for a doctor."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wish 'ee well, Maister Trevanion," said Pendry +as he went out. "Us do hate 'ee like p'ison, that's +true; but I don't care who the man is, 'twas a brave +deed, and that I'll stand by, so theer!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The village folk were somewhat divided in their +opinion as to their future attitude towards the +inmates of the Towers. The better sort, of whom +Nathan Pendry may be taken as a representative, +were so much struck by Dick's rescue of Jake, that +their feelings underwent a change. They were not +at first very ready to show their altered sentiments +openly, but the leaven was beginning to work. If +Dick, who had been so much persecuted, they +argued, had the generosity to risk his life on behalf +of one of those who had most injured him, it was +hardly credible that he should really be the spy and +informer he was suspected of being. Others, however, +would not agree that the family was less open +to suspicion, so far as smuggling was concerned, +because of a single plucky act. Their view was +supported by John Trevanion, who, having heard of +the incident, took care to drop seeds of depreciation +in the ears of such of the fishers as he encountered +here and there.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The former party received a notable accession on +the evening of the rescue. Isaac Tonkin returned +home. The first person he met when he set foot on +the jetty was Nathan Pendry, who told him what had +happened in his absence. Tonkin was so much +surprised at the news that he did not wait to give an +account of his discoveries in Roscoff, but hurried at +once to his house, where, as Pendry had told him, +Jake had been put to bed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be ye feelin' bad, my sonny?" he said with +rough tenderness, leaning over the boy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not so bad as I did in the water, Feyther," Jake +replied.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis good to hear, my son. You be safe as +a trippet, right enough. And 'twas young Squire +saved 'ee! Well, there's norra man in the whole +parish could ha' done it. I reckon ye gied un a +proper word o' thanks?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jack did not reply.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Did 'ee hear what I axed 'ee? A-course ye +gied young Squire a good word for 's kindness? +Did 'ee, or did 'ee not?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I didn'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye didn'! And why not?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never did it come into my head."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it better come into yer head now, and +quick, or I'll have to ding it in. Pull on your +clothes, and go up-along this minute to the Towers, +and say as you be tarrible ashamed o' yerself for +forgettin' to say thank 'ee. Get on with 'ee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake had to get up there and then, and set off on +his errand. He had not been gone five minutes +before his father, who had been walking restlessly +about, suddenly went down into his cellar and +brought up a keg of brandy and a large canister +filled with tobacco. Then he rapped on the wall, +and hearing a faint "Hallo!" in answer, he +shouted:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be that you, Ike Pendry?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, 'tis I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come-along in; I want 'ee,"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the lad entered, Tonkin handed the keg +and canister to him, saying:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Carr' them things up to Towers for me, my son. +Axe for Squire, and tell un they be a present from +Zacky Tonkin, go along now."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Ten minutes after Ike started with his load, +Tonkin, as restless as ever, banged the table with his +great fist, startling his meek little wife, and cried:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Drown me if I don't do it!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What, Zacky, my dear?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Go up-along myself and thank young Squire. +Name it all, hain't he saved our only boy, Betty? +A man can't do less than say thank 'ee, I don't care +who he is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He thrust on his hat, and set off in haste. At the +top of the hill he overtook Ike, who, laden as he +was, had walked slowly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stir your shanks, Ike," said he. "Here now, +I'll take keg; you keep canister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They went on together. At the Dower House +they came up with Jake, who was shambling along, +feeling anything but comfortable at the thought of +the impending interview.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What, slug-a-stump!" cried his father angrily. +"Bean't theer yet?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Seeming not," said Jake. "I be tired."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, my son, ye'll just step out a bit quicker, +or I'll have to take a loan of the Squire's whip."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All three now proceeded until they came to the +Towers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be Squire to home, neighbour Pollex?" asked +Tonkin of Reuben, who opened the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss sure; but I reckon he don't want to see 'ee, +Zacky Tonkin," replied the old man.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe, but I want to see he, and ye can tell un so."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Reuben departed. In a minute he returned.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Squire says ye're to step in," he said, sourly. +"For me, I'd shet the door in yer face, and well you +know why."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin and his companions were led to the living +room, where sat the Squire and his wife.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Tonkin, what can I do for you?" said +the Squire pleasantly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nawthin' as I know on, Squire, thank 'ee kindly. +My respects, my lady." He turned his hat +awkwardly between his hands. "The truth is, +Squire," he went on, "I b'lieve I'm the feyther or +an ungrateful young feller. I be real vexed to think +he didn' say a word o' thanks to Maister Dick for +what he done for un, and he hev got to say it now, +or I'll leather un. Med I see young Maister?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not to-night, Tonkin. I sent him to bed, and +there he'll stay."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then maybe ye'll carr' it for me, sir. Now +Jake, make yer bob and say yer say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake touched his forelock, but stood in lubberly +silence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What, can't 'ee find yer tongue? Now, hearken +to me, and say what I say. If you please, +Squire——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'If you please, Squire——'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I be truly thankful——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'I be truly thankful——'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"As Maister Dick saved me from being +drownded."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'As Maister Dick saved me from being drownded.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Purticler as I didn' deserve it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Purticler as I didn' deserve it.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good now! I mean it, sir, and so do he. +And I've brought 'ee a keg of cognac and a tin o' +bacca—bought with honest money, Squire; and I +axe 'ee to take 'em as a little small offering from a +man who's a feyther like as you be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank you, my man," said the Squire, his face +kindling with pleasure. "I appreciate your thanks, +and so will Dick: and I shall appreciate your gift, I +assure you. Jake isn't much the worse for his +ducking, I can see."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And I hope Maister Dick bean't either," said +Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a bit. He'll be as well as ever after a +night's rest. Jake should learn to swim, you know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And I woll, if Maister Dick'll larn me," said +Jake suddenly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't know about that," said the Squire, +with a slight reserve in his manner. "You see, +there has been some feeling lately——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"See now, Squire," interrupted Tonkin bluntly, +"answer me a plain question, man to man. Did +you, or anybody belongin' to 'ee, ever spy or inform +on we honest free-traders?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's a question you ought to be ashamed to +put to me," said the Squire warmly. "Do you +think a Trevanion would ever do such a thing?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, no, I didn' think so till—— Howsomever, +I'll say no more o' that. I axe yer pardon, and I +hope ye'll let bygones be bygones, and that's said +honest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"With all my heart." The Squire extended his +hand to the smuggler, whose grip made him wince.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's brave and comf'able," said Tonkin. +"And now I wish 'ee well, sir, and you, ma'am, and +if so be as Maister Dick 'll larn Jake to swim, I'll +be proud, and so will he."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire showed the three men out, and they +returned home well satisfied with their interview. +Tonkin was soon the centre of a group of his +particular friends in the parlour of the Five +Pilchards, to whom, after announcing that he would +believe no more "'nation gammut," as he put it, +about the Squire and his son, proceeded to relate the +issue of his visit to Roscoff.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I hain't brought Doubledick back wi' me," he +said. "For why? 'Cos he warn't theer!"</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="a-bargain-with-the-revenue"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">A Bargain with the Revenue</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>About eight o'clock that same evening, while +Tonkin was still conversing with his intimates in the +parlour of the Five Pilchards, a horseman rode +up to the house occupied by Mr. Polwhele on the +south cliff. His seat was not that of an accomplished +equestrian, and his manner of dismounting would +have given some anxiety to anyone who had a +regard for him. The long cloak he wore, with the +collar turned up almost to the eyes, incommoded his +legs, and only by clutching at his patient steed's +mane did he avoid a fall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The house stood alone, and its solitary situation +was a source of satisfaction to the traveller. A +light within, and a full moon without, gave him a +reasonable assurance that the riding-officer was at +home. Accordingly he hitched the bridle to a hook +placed for that purpose in the wall beside the door, +and knocked. Mr. Polwhele was a bachelor, and it +happened that the woman who was housekeeper, +cook, and housemaid in one, had gone into the +village, so that he opened the door himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well?" he said, peering at the close-wrapped +figure that stood on the threshold.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis I, Maister Polwhele," said the man, at the +same time turning down his collar.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Doubledick!" exclaimed the astonished officer. +"Well, of all the——! You'd be safer in France, +my man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, maybe; but I be come home, and I'd like +a word with 'ee, Maister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, there's no warrant out for your arrest, so +I suppose you——; yes, come in. I don't +understand this at all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick followed the riding-officer into the +room where he had been reading. He carefully +shut the door behind him, offered Mr. Polwhele a +pinch of snuff, and took one himself, then sat down +rather stiffly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Half an hour later he emerged from the house, +remounted his horse, and rode away, not northward +in the direction of his home, but eastward along a +bridle path across the moor. In a quarter of an +hour, however, he turned to the left, skirted the +village, passing about midway between it and the +church, and continued for some time in the same +direction. Then once more he struck to the left +and came by-and-by to the high-road, at a point +between the Towers and the Dower House. He +turned into the drive leading to the latter, but +instead of reining up at the front entrance, he passed +round the house to the back, and having again +awkwardly dismounted, he rapped on the kitchen door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, 'tis you, Maister Doubledick," said Susan, +when she opened to him. "Folks said you'd gone away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So I had, my dear; but I be back-along, as you +can see wi' yer pretty eyes. Now tell me, be the +Maister to home?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, he be in his room, rayther poorly."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And be he alone?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, but 'tis not for long, folks say. We'll +have a mistress afore long, and i hope she be likeable, +that I do."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, now, that's new news, to be sure. And +who be the woman?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She bean't 'zackly a woman. 'Tis Sir Bevil's +darter, seemingly, and she be a maid younger nor I, +they say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So she be, to be sure. Dear life! And I never +heerd o't. Here's a shillin' for your news, to buy +'ee a fairin'."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank 'ee, Maister Doubledick, but I shan't +need un for a fairin'. I'm to have a fine gown o' +silk, only think o't!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A present from Maister John, I s'pose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; 'tis to be from Sam Pollex, that young boy +as lives up at Towers. Didn't 'ee know what a +treasure he found?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What was it, my dear?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, he and young Squire were rummagin' in +some cave yonder—I don't know 'zackly wheer—and +they come upon boxes full o' silks and satins, +all the colours o' the rainbow. Young Sam be goin' +to gie me enough for a gown—a kind young feller, +that he is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, if ye don't mind, my dear, I'll take +back that shillin', seein' as ye're so well purvided, and +gie 'ee a groat instead. Bean't no good to waste +money, be it? And now, will 'ee tell yer maister I be +come for a word wi' un?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Susan went away with a cloud upon her face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maister will see 'ee," she said when she returned. +"Take yer groat, Maister Doubledick; some day ye +may need it more nor I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick pocketed the coin with a chuckle, and +followed her along the passage to her master's room.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is amazing, Doubledick," cried Trevanion, +when the door was shut. "I never expected to see +you again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee! Rusco bean't fitty for everyone, +Maister John," replied the innkeeper, with a +meaning look. "Ye be took bad, the maidy says."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, 'tis nothing but a fit of the dismals. How +in the world did you get away?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It do seem a miracle to 'ee, I s'pose. Why, fust +man I seed when they put me on quay was a old +friend o' yourn—leastways, 'a used to be sech. He +be a good friend o' mine, too, 'cos I did un a good +turn a while ago. He don't speak our Christian +tongue very well, poor soul, but I made un understand +a mistake had been made wi' me, and he +showed his true friendship by bringing me over to +Megavissey. I rid over from there, and plaguey +stiff I be in the jints."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But you're in great danger; don't you know +that? You made a terrible bungle of the job, my man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, but them above had a finger in it. I +bean't sorry as I've seed Rusco, not I. And as to +danger, well, Maister John, I'll speak to 'ee as a +friend. The feller I named—no, to be sure, I didn' +name un, but 'tis all one—the Frenchy do seem to be +mizzy-mazy in his head. He telled to I of a feller +called Robinson, and seemed to have got it in his +furrin noddle that 'twas the same name as Trevanion, +or fust cousin to 't. He axed a tarrible lot of +questions about un, wheer he lived, and what he did +wi's days and nights, and seemed to I as if he'd got +a rod in pickle for un. Jown me if I didn' think +'a wanted to make a call on this Robinson feller, and +'ud be tarrible wisht if 'a didn' find un to home."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick kept his eyes fixed upon Trevanion's +face, but if he had expected to see any sign of +uneasiness, he was disappointed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I take no interest in your friend or what he +wants," said Trevanion. "I am more concerned +about you, Doubledick. You're not safe here, you +know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I've come to see 'ee about," returned +the innkeeper. "But truly I be a bufflehead; I +ought to ha' named un to 'ee, in course I ought. +His name is Delarousse, Maister. And to tell 'ee the +truth, thinkin' he was a bit over coorious in the +questions he axed, I telled un a thing or two as wer +a trifle crooked, I did. I telled un how this Maister +Trevanion as he thought was Robinson was often +away from home, and how 'a dwelt in a big house +on the cliff called the Towers. He axed I if the +Towers was near the top of a hill, and I telled un +'twas a goodish bit away, Maister Robinson—Trevanion, +I mean—havin' come into the property. +Thinks I to myself, if he comes to Polkerran one +fine day a-caprousin' and makin' a stoor, 't'ud be just +as well he went up-along to Towers and showed his +tantrums to the cussed folk theer. What do 'ee say +to that, Maister John?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You are talking a deal of nonsense, Doubledick," +was the answer. "Don't you understand that as +soon as 'tis known you are back in the village you'll +be arrested for kidnapping Penwarden?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ay, that's what they say, is it? But don't +'ee think, now, we could persuade the officers o' the +law to leave me bide?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Quite impossible. Penwarden and my young +cousin will swear to you, and there has been such a +stir about the matter that Sir Bevil or the Vicar will +sign the warrant the moment they hear of your +arrival."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe. But money do make the mare to go, +Maister, and seems to I, if so be you'd help, we +med put a clapper on evil-speakin' tongues. A-course +'t 'ud need a pretty big sum to do it proper, +but theer, what's that to 'ee, rollin' in money as you +be? And I know well ye'll put yer hand in pocket +to help a poor feller in a quag, purticler as he've +done summat for 'ee, in Polkerran and Rusco both."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll be hanged if I do," cried Trevanion, at last +shaken out of his composure. "You made a +wretched bungle of a simple job, and you'll have to +take the consequences."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good now! I like to hear a man speak fine and +brave, but I hev a brave mouth-speech o' my +own." Doubledick's tone was as smooth and deferential as +it had been throughout the conversation, but an +onlooker might now have observed that he was +beginning to show his teeth. "Zacky Tonkin, +now," he proceeded: "I reckon he'd be fain to +know why Delarousse warn't no longer the feller to +do trade with: that bit o' knowledge med be worth +payin' for. And Sir Bevil: iss sure, his darter be a +nesh young female——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confound you! What do you mean by that?" +cried Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! little small birds do carr' little small seeds, +they do. High persons like Sir Bevil be mighty +purticler when 'tis question o' lawful matrimony."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion, red with anger, rose from his chair and +came towards Doubledick threateningly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! dear life!" continued the innkeeper, +unflinchingly, "and there be Mounseer Delarousse, +too, thankful for what I done for him. It did vex +me tarrible to mizzle un; but a word can put that +right, and let un know the true dwellin' o' that +coorious feller Robinson. In course his grudge +agen Robinson bean't nothing to I, but he do seem +tarrible sour and rampageous. Howsomever, let +every man fight his own battles. Now I'll go +home-along, and I wish 'ee well, Maister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He rose, took his hat, and moved towards the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion looked after him for a moment irresolutely, +then stretched his hand towards the bell-rope.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Stay, Doubledick," he said, "you must take a +thimbleful before you go."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not for me, Maister," replied the innkeeper, +with a virtuous expression of countenance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nonsense, man. It won't poison you. You +have read me quite wrongly, my friend. Did ever a +man take offence so easily! You've come badly out +of my little test, but I'll overlook it. I've a deal +more patience than you.... Susan, bring the decanter +and glasses. Hot, Doubledick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't mind if it be, this chilly night. +But 'tis gettin' latish; it must be only a nibleykin, +Maister."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Doubledick," said Trevanion, as they +sipped their liquor, "I'm not the man to refuse to +help a friend, even if he shows himself only a +fair-weather friend after all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I knowed it," cried Doubledick heartily. "A +little small voice inside telled me ye were only +a-tryin' me, and 'ud show yerself in yer natural true +colour at last. Well, Maister, ten pound won't do +it; no, King's servants do hev high notions, +be-jowned to 'em. Twenty? I be afeard it wouldn' +go far. 'Tis well to do a thing handsome when 'tis +to be done. Fifty? Iss, a man can do summat wi' +fifty. Fifty pound 'll keep a many tongues quiet, and +I'll be dazed if I don't snap my fingers at justices, +sheriffs, hangmen, and constables, if I do hev fifty +pound to my hand."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion rose and went to a cabinet in a corner +of the room. Unlocking it, he opened a drawer, +standing with his back to Doubledick. There was +a sound of rustling paper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a monstrous sum," he said, half turning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, 'tis, to be sure," said Doubledick feelingly, +"but King's officers do hev' a tarrible big swaller."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, here you are," said Trevanion, recrossing +the room. "I'm not the man to refuse a friend."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So ye said afore. Thank 'ee. 'Tis atween us +two, in course; my mouth is shet. But there's +another thing, Maister. Did 'ee know as old Joe +and young Dick brought a heap o' silks and satins +out o' the old mine?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The deuce they did!" cried Trevanion in +astonishment. "Where did they get them from?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That I can't say. But old mine do belong to +'ee, surely."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It does. Whatever they have found is my +property. How do you know this, Doubledick?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The little small birds, Maister. Well, I've +telled 'ee for yer good."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll not forget it. Egad, they shall hear from me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Doubledick left the house a few minutes +later, he carried the bundle of crisp white notes snug +in his breast-pocket. He said good-bye very cordially +to his host, and, mounting his horse, rode boldly +along the highway and down the hill to the inn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Most of the smugglers had returned to their +homes, but Tonkin, Nathan Pendry, and one or two +more still remained in the inn-parlour, with their +legs stretched out towards a genial fire, their long +churchwarden pipes filling the room with clouds of +smoke. Mrs. Doubledick had gone to bed. No +other visitors were to be expected at this hour, and +the company would let themselves out at their own +time. The woman was torn between hope and fear. +Tonkin had learnt in Roscoff that Doubledick had +left with Delarousse; and Mrs. Doubledick was +relieved to know that her husband had escaped the +miseries of confinement in a French prison; but she +was troubled lest he should fall into equally rigorous +hands at home.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick entered the room quietly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, neighbours all," he said behind their backs, +"a man's home be the fittiest place for un, I +b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men sprang up in amazement, grasped his +hand, smote him on the back.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What did I tell 'ee!" said Tonkin. "Didn' I +say neighbour Doubledick was a clever feller, and +'t 'ud take a deal o' cleverness to get over he?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye did, there's no denyin' it," said Simon Mail. +"Ah, neighbour Doubledick, you was born wi' +noble intellects."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But you be a terrible bold feller," said Pendry. +"There'll be a warrant out for 'ee, and ye'll be +carr'd to Trura jail, as sure as I be alive."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If 'tis to be, 'tis; and rayther would I be jailed +in Cornwall than in France," replied Doubledick. +"But I won't be jailed nowheer, I b'lieve, and I'll +tell 'ee why. Theer was only two as seed me—Joe +Penwarden and the young tom-holla at the Towers. +Well, they dussn't swear to me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not, neighbour?" said Pendry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Because they been up to jiggery theirselves, +hee, hee!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Speak yer meanin' plain, for the sake o' poor +simple I," said Mail.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee, hee! I mind I telled old Joe he'd hev to +answer for pickin' and stealin', and so 'a woll. Do +'ee know, neighbours, they brought out o' well a +noble store o' raiment, purple and fine linen, as +pa'son says?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never!" ejaculated Pendry and Mail together, +Tonkin smoking in silence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, 'tis true as Gospel. They brought out +silks and satins and who knows what all, and look +'ee, friends, that be thievin'!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know about that," said Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But I do know," said Doubledick positively. +"We hain't used the well for ten year, we all do +know that. Last time 'twas only 'bacca and brandy—not +a bale o' silk or passel o' lace. Well, then, +this stuff bein' buried in the earth, or we'd ha' found +it, I reckon it had been theer ever since the landfall, +hunderds o' years ago, in yer grandfer's days, +Zacky. See then, the true owner o't, arter all this +time, be the owner o' the land, and that's Maister +John—would ha' been Squire till three months +ago. Hee, hee! They ha' stole Maister John's +proputty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I've heerd tell o' what clever folks call treasure +trove," said Mail, "and that belongs to King Jarge."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"King Jarge ha' got quite as much as he can do +with up-along to Lunnon," said Doubledick, "and +I don't care who the man is, they silks and satins +do belong now to Maister John. Well, do 'ee think +they wicked robbers will hev the impedence to swear +agen a honest free-trader like me? They'll never +do it. Maister John will claim the goods and +threaten 'em wi' the law, and that'll be enough to +keep their mouths shet, trust me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"How did this wonderful bit o' knowledge come +to 'ee neighbour, you bein' away and all?" asked +Mail.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! little birds, Simon, little small birds," +replied Doubledick with a knowing look.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Then maybe you do know another 'mazin' bit +o' news," said Pendry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe I do. Tell to me, and then I'll tell 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, young Squire this very day did save +young Jake from bein' drownded, didn' he, Zacky?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay," said Tonkin, "and I went up-along +to-night to say thank 'ee, as a true Cornishman +oughted. And I tell 'ee what, friend, we been all +wrong about Squire informin' and all that. I axed +un plain, man to man, and he telled me I oughter +be ashamed to think sech a thing, and I believe un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But did he deny it?" asked the innkeeper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, no, I couldn' go so far as to say that."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, Zacky, you be a simple plum-baked feller, +to be sure. Ye don't know the windin's and +twistin's o' these high gentry. Plain simple souls +like 'ee don't know what eddication do for a man. +That young whelp of Squire's do go to pa'son and +larn all the wisdom and cleverness of ancient men of +old; 'a can twist 'ee round his finger, I b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin looked troubled. Doubledick had such +a reputation for knowingness that his opinion carried +weight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, time will show," said Tonkin. "I tell +'ee one thing, that I won't hev a hand no more in +anything agen Squire, not till I do know sartin-sure. +What do 'ee say, Nathan?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I say the same. Let's be sartin-sure, that's +what I say," replied Pendry.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick puffed his scorn of such simple-mindedness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I be tired, neighbours," he said. "Riding +a-hoss-back from Megavissey hev well-nigh scat me +in jowds" (by which he meant, broken him in +pieces), "and I yearn for my bed. We'll see what +we will see, I b'lieve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The company broke up. The fishers went their +way; Doubledick closed the door behind them, and +raked out the fire. Before he ascended to his +bedroom he locked his bundle of banknotes in a strong +box which he kept under the stairs, and might have +been heard chuckling gleefully.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning the inn was early besieged by a +crowd of fishers who had heard of Doubledick's +return, and were agog to learn all the circumstances +from his own lips. A little later the newly-imported +miners arrived, and, later still, as the news travelled +farther, farmers, millers, and dairymen flocked into +the village. Doubledick rubbed his hands with glee +at the trade he was doing. Except to his intimates, he +explained very little. To the questions of the others +he replied only by nods and winks, and they at last +ceased to interrogate him, remarking one to another +that he was a real knowing one; nobody could get +round him; "a wonderful feller, truly, for see how +soon he hev slipped away from France, wheer many +a good man hev rotted in prison since these 'nation +wars began."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There were many who expected that before the +day was out Doubledick would be arrested and +carried before Sir Bevil, and a throng of idlers hung +about the inn in anticipation of this exciting event. +But no constable, soldier, or sheriff's officer appeared, +and at nightfall the innkeeper's reputation was higher +than ever.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two men believed that they knew the reason of +the authorities' forbearance. John Trevanion fondly +supposed that the banknotes with which he had +parted had found their way into the pockets of +Mr. Mildmay, Mr. Polwhele, and Joe Penwarden. In +those days the bribery of revenue officers was not +infrequent. Tonkin, on the other hand, suspected +that the Squire had persuaded Penwarden not to +prosecute, in order to consolidate the better feeling +between the village and the Towers to which Dick's +rescue of Jake had given birth. The actual reason +was known to four men alone: the revenue officers, +Penwarden, and Doubledick himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About midday Sam Pollex came rushing up to the +Towers from the village with the news of Doubledick's +return.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nonsense," said Dick; "he wouldn't dare show +his face again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Name it all, Maister, didn' I see un with my +own eyes?" cried Sam. "There he be, down-along +at his kiddly-wink, more bustious nor ever, or may +I never speak again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick hastened instantly to the little white cottage +on the cliff, where Penwarden had again taken up +his abode.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Joe," he cried, bursting in like a whirlwind, +"Doubledick is back! Come with me to the +Parsonage; we'll get a warrant for his arrest."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Penwarden was eating his dinner. He conveyed +a piece of fish to his mouth without showing any +sign of surprise.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Back, is he?" he said. "Ah, well! Rusco +warn't good for his health, seemingly."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It would suit him better than Truro jail. Come +along; there's just time to get to the Parsonage and +back before my dinner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not for a old ancient feller like me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'll go alone then; but they'll want two +witnesses, I believe, before any justice will commit +him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They will, I believe, but I won't be one. No, +I couldn' bring myself to 't."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What on earth do you mean?" cried Dick in +amazement. "'Tis your duty to bring the villain +to justice."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Villain he is, and I'd crack his skull as soon as +look at him. But as to duty—I knows my duty, +Maister Dick, and my duty is to let un bide. +Besides, never could I face the stoor of appearin' in +a court o' justice. Theer'd be lawyer fellers in wigs +and gowns, axin' me this, that, and t'other till I +wouldn' know whether I pitched on my head or my +heels. But I'd fain fetch un a crack on the nuddick, +so as 'a couldn' stir for a fortnight."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well, of course 'tis your business," said +Dick, somewhat offended. "If you don't prosecute +him, I suppose he'll go free. 'Tis no concern of mine."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And he returned to the Towers, and told his father +that old Joe hadn't so much spirit as he thought.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Two hours before, Penwarden had received a visit +from Mr. Mildmay and Mr. Polwhele. When they +informed him that Doubledick had returned, he +started up, seized his hat, and declared with great +vehemence that he would go straight along to the +Parsonage and get Mr. Carlyon's warrant for the +villain's arrest. The revenue officers had much ado +to appease him, and only when Mr. Mildmay made +a strong appeal to his sense of duty as an old Navy +man did he agree to the inactive course proposed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If 'tis a matter of duty to the King, as ye say, +sir," he remarked, "I reckon I do know my duty as +well as any man. Hain't I served with Lord Admiral +Rodney? Not a man of us but did what he bid +at once, or he'd ha' knowed what for. Did I ever +tell 'ee how the Lord Admiral spoke to me special +one day?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well now, let me see," said Mr. Mildmay, who +had heard the story a score of times. "Did you +ever hear it, Polwhele?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In Jamaica, wasn't it, Joe?" said the riding-officer, +who having been on the coast ten times as +long as Mr. Mildmay, had probably heard the story +ten times as often.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, 'twas on Plymouth Hoe, sir. I was cruisin' +theer one day when who should I see beatin' up +but Lord Admiral Rodney, convoyin' two handsome +females—ah! as clippin' craft as ever I seed. While +I was standin' by, all of a sudden he put up his helm +and steered right across my bows. 'Get out of the +way, you cross-eyed son of a sea-cook!' says he, +and the two females laughed like a brook in June. +Ah! 'tidn' every common mariner as could say he'd +been spoke to special by sech a fine man-o'-war as +Lord Admiral Rodney."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're right, Joe," said Mr. Mildmay. "No +admiral at all, let alone a great man like Rodney, +ever spoke to me, worse luck. Well then, you'll let +matters rest, old fellow, and you won't be sorry +for it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But I may crack un over the skull if he gets in +my way, I s'pose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, yes, but not too hard; dead men tell no +tales, you know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll mind o' that, and not gie un a whole broadside. +Dear life! What a mix-up of a world it is, +to be sure?"</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-last-deal"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Last Deal</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>For a week or two there was a lull in events. +One day the Squire received a letter from John +Trevanion's attorney, demanding that he should give +up the property of his client which had been +feloniously abstracted from the abandoned mine. The +Squire swore, a rare occurrence with him, and sent +Dick with the letter to his own lawyer in Truro. +Dick returned with a piece of news that staggered his +father. The attorney had died suddenly a few days +before. He was the holder of the mortgage on the +Towers and the Beal; it was almost certain that his +executors would demand payment of the advance. +For the first time the Squire was faced with the +absolute loss of his ancestral home. He waited +some days in torturing suspense: then the dread +letter came. The amount of a hundred pounds +must be paid within a month.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire had not even a hundred shillings to +spare. In deep distress of mind he walked to Truro +to consult another lawyer, and see whether the bond +could not be renewed or transferred. He applied to +a young solicitor who had recently set up business +in the town, and who undertook to do what he could. +The Squire placed in his hands also the letter he had +received from John Trevanion's attorney.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A correspondence ensued between the two men of +law, with great ingenuity of argument and ample +quotation of authorities on both sides. It did not +terminate until the precise question in dispute was +no longer of importance. Meanwhile the Squire +retained the silks and satins.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With the approach of Christmas the vigilance +of Penwarden and his superiors became incessant. +At that season there was a great demand all through +the countryside for the wares of the free-traders, and +unless precedent was to fail, many a bale and keg +would be landed on the coast without paying dues +to the King's Government.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>One dark night, Tonkin arrived in his lugger at +Lunnan Cove, a few miles south of the village, with +a fine cargo freighted jointly by John Trevanion and +himself. Contrary winds having delayed him, he +arrived several hours later than had been arranged, and +found that the tub-carriers, evidently tired of waiting, +had gone away. He dropped the tubs overboard in +the usual manner, taking their bearings carefully, +and returned for them on the following night. +To his surprise and bitter rage, when he explored +the bottom with his creeps, a strong force of +tub-carriers waiting on the shore, he failed to find a +single tub of the cargo so carefully laid. All had +vanished. If he had been on the spot a few hours +earlier, he would have seen them hoisted one by +one into the revenue-boats, and conveyed to official +sanctuary at St. Ives.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The smugglers were furious. Some one must +have betrayed them. Occasionally there were traitors +among them, but rarely, for the fate of an informer, +if discovered, was of such a nature as to deter others. +When they returned to the inn to drown their +disappointment and talk over the occurrence, +Doubledick shrugged.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What about yer fine friends at the Towers now, +Zacky?" he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good sakes! How could 'em know?" cried +the exasperated fisher.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you simple soul! Didn' I see yer Jake +a-fishin' along wi' young Squire only yesterday?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Rabbit it all! Do 'ee mean to say 'tis Jake +that split? Why, daze me, the boy didn' know +about it hisself, Doubledick; we kept it so close."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I only tell 'ee what I seed. 'T 'ud be +hard to b'lieve sech a miserable dirty thing o' Jake, +I own it. In course he never done it, bein' a Tonkin; +'twas only my little bit o' fun. But I don't care +who the man is, they folks up at Towers hev turned +preventives; norra one of 'ee woll make me b'lieve +different."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear life! Won't Maister John be in a gashly +passion!" said Simon Mail. "He had more nor +you in it, Zacky, I b'lieve!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, he did. Neighbour Doubledick loses +least; 'tis a mercy for 'ee, neighbour."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So 'tis, Zacky," said Doubledick. "Ah! I was +right to bide quiet a while arter that journey to +France. But name it all, I bean't goin' to bide +quiet for ever; I'll take a share in the next, +be-jowned if I don't, and I hope them above will +gie us better luck."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, Maister John will be in a rare passion," +repeated Simon Mail. "He be spendin' money so +free that 'twill be a blow to him, to be sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True," said Pendry, "and spendin' for the +country, too. Do 'ee think, now, as Boney will +come to these parts, neighbour Tonkin?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I wouldn' think so myself, but you never can +tell," replied Tonkin. "'Tis a little small place, +wi' no great riches to tempt un; but that may be a +reason for 't. We've no forts nor cannons nor +sojers to defend us, and Boney may choose the place +according; 't 'ud be easier to land here than at +Weymouth, where the King and all his high generals +sometimes be."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What I say is, Maister John be a fine feller," +said Mail. "'Tidn' every gentleman as 'ud do what +he be doin'. Why, he've had a dozen men from +Trura riggin' up iron shetters to his winders, and a +cart come t'other day wi' firelocks and pikes, and I +seed him only yesterday marchin' his miners up and +down in front o' the house, every man of 'em wi' a +terrible weapon o' some sort; and when he shouted, +up went firelock or pike, and seein' the guns all +pointin' at me, I run off as hard as my poor legs 'ud +move, for I didn' want to be hurted, not I."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, and I seed Petherick goin' up to Dower +House wi' a noble bell under his arm," said Pendry, +"and when I axed un about it, 'a telled me 'twas to +rig up in the roof, to gie the word o' warnin' to the +whole village if Boney was spied wi' all his horses +and men."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And what's more," added Mail, "he hev took +three men-servants into house, purgy fellers they be +too, so's to hev a army to lead agen the enemy. +They'll eat a deal o' meat, they will, and sartin sure +he'll be in a passion at losin' money over this crop."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee!" laughed Doubledick. "It do +make me laugh, neighbours, to think o' Maister +John leadin' a army agen Boney. I'll go up-along +to-morrer and see this practisin' wi' pikes and +firelocks; 'twill do me good, hee! hee! They miners +had better turn sojers out and out, for they'll never +get tin or copper enough out o' the earth to pay for +their keep."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick strolled up the hill next day, and +stood with a look of keen enjoyment on his face as +a score of miners drilled under Trevanion's direction. +At the close of the exercise he accosted Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis a noble sperit, to be sure, Maister John," +he said, "but daze me if I think yer new sojers +and yer iron shetters will keep out Boney and his +thousands and millions. He's a tarrible feller, by +all accounts."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis every man's duty to defend his country so +far as he is able," said Trevanion coldly, beginning +to move away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sure," said Doubledick, keeping pace with +him; "and it must cost 'ee a tidy bit o' money. +But I be afeard it bean't much good. Why now, +s'pose 'twas not Boney, but one of his simple +generals, or no sojer at all, but a plain feller like +me—or like Delarousse, say. I say, s'pose Delarousse +took it into his head to hev his revenge for the +trade he've a-lost, to wipe off old scores, as ye may +say—jown me if he'd be flustered by a passel o' +miners or a shetter or two. Howsomever, 'tis not for +me to say. Ye do know more about the arts o' +warfare nor I, I reckon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your tongue runs on, Doubledick," said +Trevanion with a hollow laugh. His annoyance +was plain to see: the fellow was presuming on the +secret between them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I be forgettin' what I come to say," said +Doubledick. "The folks at the Towers be at their +tricks again, seemingly."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If I knew it!" cried Trevanion furiously. "If +you catch young Dick, or that wretched follower +of his, spying, I hope you'll take care they don't +do it again. You squared the officers on your own +matter; can't we keep them quiet on the trade?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! that's different. To jail me wouldn' +put money in their pockets, like seizin' a cargo. +I'm afeard 't 'ud take more nor the crop's worth +to put 'em quiet on that, Maister. But there now! we +allers do hev ups and downs; maybe the ups will +beat the downs in the end."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>That Doubledick's philosophy was well founded +was signally demonstrated a few days later. Though +the loss in case of failure was severe, the profit of a +successful run was so high that success once in three +times was accounted satisfactory. To recoup the +recent loss another cargo was freighted in Roscoff, +Trevanion, Tonkin, and Doubledick taking equal +shares. The spot selected was the mouth of the +little creek four miles north of the Towers, where +Dick had launched his home-made boat. Only a +few men, on whom the confederates placed absolute +reliance, were admitted to the secret. The goods +were run ashore in complete safety, and each of the +three freighters pocketed a considerable profit.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Elated by this success, another run was arranged +a few days subsequently. In this Trevanion had +the largest share, Tonkin ranking next, Doubledick, +Pendry, and Mail being involved to the extent of a +few pounds each. The place was changed, a small +cove a little nearer the village on the south side +being chosen. Mr. Mildmay had been called to a +spot ten miles distant, and everything promised +success. Tonkin's lugger anchored off the +rendezvous, the goods were "rafted" ashore, and the +carriers had all shouldered their burdens, when a +dash was made on them by preventive men aided by +a troop of dragoons, and, after a sharp fight, only +one man got away with his tubs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>John Trevanion never appeared on the scene of +operations. He was always kept well informed as +to the time and place of the runs, but it was his +constant policy to remain in the background. On +this occasion, when he learnt of the second failure +within a week, he was exasperated beyond endurance. +He rode down to the inn, stormed at the smugglers, +and having learnt that Mr. Mildmay had been +summoned away by his own arrangement, merely as +a blind, he declared that either Jake Tonkin or Ike +Pendry had betrayed him to Dick, with whom they +now occasionally fished. This accusation enraged +the elder Tonkin, and the two men would have +proceeded from recriminations to blows, if +Doubledick had not stepped in between them.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A week passed. It was the Wednesday before +Christmas Day. There had been some hesitation +among the smugglers, after the last failure, whether +to venture on what was usually the most important +run of the season. At this time they found +customers for their wares much further afield than +usual. But the prospect of large profits, and the +perpetual fascination of the trade, overcame their +doubts and fears, and early on this Wednesday +morning, before it was light, Tonkin sailed off in +the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> for Roscoff. Once more he +had equal shares with Trevanion, no others being +concerned in the run except as helpers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On Wednesday evening, Doubledick left the inn, +and walked along the southward bank of the stream +in the direction of the church. He had left word +that he was going to see Petherick about a Christmas +dinner which the Vicar was accustomed to give to +the children and young people of the parish, in a +barn upon his glebe. He spent an hour or two with +Petherick in his cottage near the church, received +from him the Vicar's orders for squab-pie (a +hotch-potch of mutton, apples, onions and raisins, with +sugar and seasoning), "figgy pudden" (which is +Cornish for plum-pudding), and other delectables of +the season, and having arranged with the sexton the +commission to be paid him for passing on an order +which he could have placed with no one else, he +drank a parting glass and started ostensibly for home. +It was a fine night, moonless but clear, with +that crisp coldness in the air that exhilarates. Instead +of walking along the road by which he had come, +Doubledick struck off to the left into a lane that +would bring him, after a long round, to the south +cliff. There were no houses hereabouts, the church +being at least half a mile from the nearest dwelling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the innkeeper came to the spot where the +ground began to rise, he did not turn to the right, +along the path that led to the bridge over the stream, +and was the nearest way home, but trudged directly +onward, puffing a little as he went higher. It was +very dark, or he might perhaps have seen a figure +silently stalking him. Every now and again he +stopped to take breath and to glance in the direction +of the village. At these times the shadowy figure +dropped down behind a furze bush, and there waited +until Doubledick, with a grunt and sigh, again went +on his way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Presently he came to Mr. Polwhele's house on +the cliff. He did not pass it by, nor approach the +front door, but stole to the window, where a light +shone through the blind, and gently tapped at it. +In a few moments the door opened. Mr. Polwhele's +figure was for an instant silhouetted against the +light from a hanging-lamp in the passage. Doubledick +entered quickly, and the door was shut again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The silent form of the second man was motionless +and invisible in the darkness. But when the door +was closed, it tip-toed swiftly across the grass, and if +a third person had been in the neighbourhood he might +have seen the head and shoulders of a fisher in strong +relief against the illuminated blind. But there was +no spectator. The fisher placed his ear against the +glass, and remained in that posture for several +minutes. Then he withdrew, muttering his +disappointment, and posted himself behind a clump of +gorse a few yards away, where he could keep his eye +on the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, Doubledick," said the riding-officer, when +he had given his visitor a chair, "'tis to be, then?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sir, and a big thing too. Maister Trevanion +hev £200 ventured, and Tonkin the same."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And where is it to be this time?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"At the creek, sir, same as time afore last. They +did so well then that they couldn' think of a better +place, the den bein' broke up."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And when?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thursday night, or ye med say Friday mornin', +accordin' to the wind."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They mean to run, and not to sink, I suppose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sure, sir. Next day bein' Christmas, ye see, +they must hev the stuff carried off at once. I'd axe +'ee, sir, not to lay hands on the men; seize the tubs, +in course, but I don't want 'ee to do any hurt to the +fellers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'll do what I can; but you know what +soldiers are. They've been itching for months to +fight Boney, and they want to keep their hand in, +you know."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True, sir. Ah well! the carriers will run fast +enough; 'tis only Zacky Tonkin and the rest I be +afeard for; they'll fight, 'tis sartin-sure."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a thorough-paced scoundrel, you know, +Doubledick," said the riding-officer. "'Pon my word, +if it weren't my duty to stop smuggling by hook or +by crook, 'twould give me the greatest pleasure in +life to see you tarred and feathered. I warned you, +you remember. You'll be caught one of these days, +mark my words, and the money you're heaping up +won't save you then, my man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hee! hee!" laughed Doubledick uneasily. +"Name it all, was there any other way to save +myself from jail? 'Tis a risk, I own it; it do gie +me the creeps in the night sometimes when I think +o't. And be-jowned, sir, when you gie me the £50 +for this job, I'll pack up my traps and go into other +parts wi' my wife, and spend my old age in peace and +quietness, if she'll let me. Ye won't stop me, sir?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not I. 'Tis dirty work, and I'd rather fight the +trade fair and square, 'pon my word I would."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis the last time, then, for me. And now I +must be traipsin' home-along."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele accompanied him to the door. On +the step Doubledick turned and said in low tones, +his words, however, being distinct in the clear night +air:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ye'll mind and not take Zacky, sir? I hain't +no fancy for blood-money."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll do what I can. Good-night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He stood for a moment or two watching the innkeeper's +receding form, then turned to re-enter the +house. But it happened that, in the very act of +turning, he caught sight of a dark figure slinking +away from a furze bush in Doubledick's wake. He +slipped into the house, turned out the lamps in the +passage and the room, and in a quarter of a minute +came out again, the darkness completely veiling his +movements. With swift steps he followed the two +figures down the slope, drawing near to the second +of them under cover of the bushes. Having assured +himself that Doubledick was being deliberately +shadowed, he bent low, rapidly made a circuit, and +concealed himself behind a clump which the stealthy +pursuer must pass. As the man came abreast of him, +wholly engrossed in keeping the innkeeper in view, +Polwhele suddenly sprang out, caught his victim by +the throat so that he could utter no more than the +faintest gurgle, and bore him to the ground. Then, +whipping out his pistol, he whispered:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If you make a sound I will shoot you. Get up +and come with me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Keeping a firm hand on the fallen man's collar, he +lugged him to his feet, marched him back to the +house, and thrust him through the still open door, +which he bolted behind him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So 'tis you, Jake Tonkin," he said, as he relit +the lamp.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, 'tis I. Let me go, Maister. Doubledick +said 'twas I that split, the villain! Let me go. +Scrounch me if the two-faced wretch don't suffer for +this!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid I can't let you go yet, my son," said +the riding-officer. "Now 'tis no good kicking or +shouting. Remain quiet, and in a day or two you +shall go, safe and sound. If you give trouble I +shall have to deal with you as your folk dealt with +Penwarden."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake sullenly submitted. Mr. Polwhele gave +him supper, then locked him into a room where the +window was heavily barred.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I am sick of this," he thought, as he returned +to his own room. "'Tis well Doubledick is going, +or, by George, there would be murder."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Next morning Sam Pollex, going down to the +village to buy some raisins for a plum-pudding, +overtook Susan Berry, John Trevanion's housemaid. +"Aw, Ma'am, ye do look wisht, sure enough," +said Sam, remarking the gloomy aspect of Maidy +Susan's usually merry face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And so I be, Sam," she replied, "I wish I were +to-home, I do."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now that be cruel to we, daze me if it bean't. +Why do 'ee wish sech a cruel thing, Ma'am?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, to-morrer be Christmas Eve, and there'll +be no ashton fagot, and no egg-hot, like us have +to-home."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What be they, Maidy?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee know that? Why, the fagot be made +of ash-sticks tied about wi' nine twigs, and on +Christmas Eve 'tis dragged to the Squire's hearth +and set ablaze; and then we do dance and jump for +cakes, and dive for apples in a tub o' water. Oh, +'tis sech fun, you can't think! And then we drink +egg-hot——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that, if it be so pleasin'?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, silly chiel, 'tis cider and eggs and spice, +made as hot as 'ee can drink it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Aw, I know what that is. Mess is what we do +name it, and as for fagot, we do call that mock, only +it bean't sticks, but a mighty block o' wood. Squire +don't hev it now, since he hev been so poor. But +why don't 'ee axe yer maister if ye can do as ye do +to-home?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know what be come to Maister. He be +all hippety-like—looks as grave as a church owl, and +him goin' to be married, too. Pa'son be goin' to +pray for un fust time o' Sunday."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, marriage be a fearsome thing, I s'pose. +I seed a weddin' up-along at church once, and theer +was a little Noah's flood o' tears. I don't think I'll +ever be married."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You be only a chiel yet. But there now, 'tis +ever since Maister brought they great lubbers into +house, and gied 'em guns and swords and I don't +know what all. Seems he be afeard o' summat. +Do 'ee think that monster Boney will come and eat +the poor childer here, Sam?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not he. He dussn't do it. Don't 'ee be afeard, +now, Maidy dear. I'll look out for un, and if I do +see un I'll ring our bell so powerful loud that all +the brave men in the country will run to defend 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We've got a bell, too."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not sech a banger as ours, I warrant 'ee. I do +wish Squire were rich; then we'd hev the mock, and +a great big figgy pudden, not a little small one wi' +half a pound o' figs in it; and Squire would axe +'ee and all the country to come and join us, and +ye'd come in yer fine new gown that I'm goin' to gie +ye. But theer, 'tis not to be, and 'twill only make +us wisht to think o't."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Look 'ee see, Sam: what a throng o' folk! +Whatever is the matter?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They had come within sight of the village green, +where a crowd of men, women, and children were +talking excitedly.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What be all this stoor, Ike?" asked Sam of +the young fisher.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Jake Tonkin can't be found nowhere. +He wented up-along yestere'en to wood to get +some mistletoe, and never come back."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never come back?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No. His mother be in a tarrible state, Zacky +bein' away and all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure 'a didn' go wi' Zacky to Rusco?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now that's foolish. Didn' I say 'a wented +for mistletoe yestere'en, and Zacky sailed off in +mornin'.'</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"So 'a did, to be sure. Here's riding-officer; +let us tell him."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele rode up into the midst of the crowd.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, neighbours, what's to do?" he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Jake Tonkin be gone a-lost, Maister," shouted +a score of voices in answer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lost, is he? He's big enough to take care of +himself, surely. Isn't he with his father?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, Maister," piped a small boy. "Zacky +Tonkin be——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wisht yer clatter!" cried the child's mother, +catching him by the arm and shaking him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who saw him last?" asked the riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who seed un last?" repeated several voices. +"Here be Un Tonkin; she'll tell to we."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'A wented last night to get mistletoe, sir," said +Mrs. Tonkin, with a pale, anxious face. "Never +hev he stayed out all night afore, and I be afeard +something bad hev come to un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, dear no! I can't imagine anything of the +kind," said the officer, cheerily. "Don't be +down-hearted. He'll come home-along by-and-by as +large as life. I'll ride to the wood and look about, +and tell my men to search too. The young rascal! +Up to some mischief, you may be sure. Go home, +my good woman, and don't distress yourself, and +you folks, instead of standing gossiping here, go and +hunt. Christmas Day is coming, you know, and +we must have Jake back in time for the parson's +dinner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But the day closed without the discovery of any +trace of the missing lad, and some of Mrs. Tonkin's +kind neighbours were already condoling with her on +the loss of her only son, and assuring her that +Zacky would be in a terrible way when he came home.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Mildmay and the riding-officer supped +together before setting out, the one by sea, the other +by land, for the scene of the expected run.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Would to heaven we had never come to terms +with Doubledick!" said Mr. Polwhele. "Never +again for me, Mildmay. Set a thief to catch a thief, +they say, but I don't know how you feel: I feel +myself a mean rascal, old stager as I am at the game."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Honestly, I agree with you, and having Jake +Tonkin mewed up here complicates things desperately. +The moment he is let loose he'll tell his father, and +if I know the man, Doubledick's life won't be worth +a snap of the finger."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I warned him. I couldn't foresee that +Jake would come upon him in that accidental way. +Scheme as we will, Mildmay, there's a Power that +overrules us all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The best thing we can do now is to warn +Doubledick. We've gone into partnership with the +fellow, and we can't in honour keep silence. Give +him a chance to escape."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're right. I'll call at the inn as I ride down, +and tell him we have Jake locked up here. That +will give him about twelve hours' grace—time to +clear away bag and baggage."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the lieutenant went aboard his cutter, +Mr. Polwhele entered the inn.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where's Doubledick?" he asked of the inn-keeper's +wife.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He be gone along to Trura, Maister," she +replied, in her usual vinegary manner.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What for?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't know as it be any business o' +yourn, but 'tis to buy some figs for the pa'son's +dinner."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, well, if he comes back, tell him I want to +see him first thing in the morning, will you?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"He hain't done nawthin' agen the law."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad of that. Don't forget my message."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele left, firmly convinced that Doubledick +had become suspicious and already beat a retreat.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-attack-on-the-towers"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Attack on the Towers</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>That night the Towers was heavy with an +atmosphere of gloom. The Squire had remained +the whole evening sunk in his chair, not reading, or +smoking, speechless, his head bent upon his breast. +He had heard from his lawyer that all efforts to +transfer the mortgage had as yet proved fruitless: +nobody wanted a bond on barren land. The next +day but one was Christmas, and the Squire brooded +on the melancholy thought that it would be the +last Christmas he would spend in his old home. +Occasionally he glanced at the motto inscribed above +the lintel of the door:</span></p> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="line"><span>Trevanion, whate'er thy Fortune be,</span></div> +<div class="line"><span>Hold fast the Rock by the Western Sea.</span></div> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<p class="pfirst"><span>What a mockery the old legend seemed! He had +held fast; now he felt as though some inexorable +power were unclenching his nerveless fingers. And +the bitterness of his mood was intensified by the +foreboding that the old house, and his last rood of +land, would go, as all the rest had gone, into the +hands of the man who had disgraced his name, and +who bore him implacable enmity.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick went to bed early, sick at heart, unable to +endure the mute misery upon his parents' faces. +He meant to rise before it was light, for a purpose +which, he sadly felt, he might never accomplish +again. It had been his custom for several years to +carry to the Parsonage on Christmas Eve a basket of +fish of his own catching, as a present to his good +friend the Vicar. It was a poor gift, but he had not +the means to offer anything better, and Mr. Carlyon +was always pleased with it, regarding the spirit in +which the simple offering was made.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About an hour before dawn he wakened Sam, and +after nibbling a crust, the two boys set off. +Experience had taught them that this was the best time to +fish at so late a season of the year. The air was +damp and raw, with scarcely any wind, and as they +issued from the house they shivered, and buttoned +their coats high about their necks.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We must go to the Beal for some tackle, Sam," +said Dick. "That will warm us before we go down +to the boat."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss. I wish it were to-morrer. Pa'son's dinner +will be summat to cheer a poor feller up, these wisht +and dismal times. Do 'a think, now, Maister Dick, +as we'll ever hev a real Christmas randy up at +Towers, same as they do hev at Portharvan?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid not, Sam. I'm afraid we shan't spend +another Christmas at the Towers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, you and I had better go for sojers or +sailors. I'm afeard I bean't high enough for a sojer. +But sailors get prize-money, old Joe says, and I'd +like that, 'cos then I could buy a thing or two for +Maidy Susan—and Mistress, too: I wouldn' forget +she. Maybe I'd get killed, fightin' the French, but +dear life! it wouldn' matter much: we hain't got +many friends. I don't s'pose Maidy Susan 'ud fall +more 'n two tears, or maybe three."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"None at all, I should think," said Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I don't think so bad o' she as that. When +I seed her yesterday she said she wished I could go +to Dower House to-night. Maister John be goin' +to a randy at Portharvan; he'll kiss his young +'ooman under the mistletoe, I reckon."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And Susan wants you to go to the Dower House +and kiss her, I suppose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now that's too bad, Maister. We bean't +neither of us so forward as that. Maidy said she'd +like me to go up-along and gie un some o' my +merry talk, but jown me if my tongue 'ud run merry +wi' things so bad up to home."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You couldn't go: Father would never allow it. +You'll have to be satisfied with the Vicar's nuts and +candy, Sam."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They came to their den at the end of the Beal, and +remained there for some little time arranging their +tackle in the wan glimmer preceding the dawn. Then +they emerged, and climbed up beside the big boulder +to take a look at the sea, over which a thin mist hung.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Isn't that the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span>?" said Dick, +pointing to a vessel tacking to make the fairway +between the cliff and the reef.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sure. Tonkin be come home wi'out a cargo, +seemin'ly, unless he hev run it a'ready."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They watched the lugger creeping slowly toward +the harbour. The tide was on the ebb, and there +was not enough depth of water upon the reef to +allow the vessel to head straight for the jetty. As +she crept into the fairway Dick was struck with the +unusual appearance of her deck. Amidships it was +almost clear except for two or three men; but, herded +under the low bulwarks on the weather side, out of +sight from the harbour, were a score or more of +men whom he recognised by slight indications in +their dress to be foreigners. Almost instinctively +Dick slipped behind the boulder, pulling Sam with him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That's very curious," he whispered, standing so +that he could see without being seen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On the lee side of the vessel, he noticed arms, legs, +and here and there a red-capped head protruding +from beneath tarpaulins, thrown with apparent +carelessness on the deck. Two or three heads also +appeared in the hatchway, suggesting that other men +were on the companion below. But what struck +Dick most of all was the fact that although Nathan +Pendry held the tiller, there lolled against the +bulwarks near him a stranger whose hat and coat +were manifestly Cornish, but whose lower garments +were as unmistakably of foreign cut. He was a +short, stout man, and he held a pistol, which was +pointed at the helmsman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was so much fascinated and wonderstruck +by this extraordinary spectacle that for a few moments +he neither spoke nor stirred.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be it Boney at last?" whispered Sam, his eyes +wide with alarm.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no: Boney would bring thousands. But +I can't make it out. We'll run home, Sam, and +tell Father."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Creeping round the boulder, and dipping their +heads as long as there was any chance of being +observed from the lugger, they set off at a +breakneck run for the Towers. Dick dashed up to the +Squire's room, and knocked at the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come in," said the Squire. He was +awake—had indeed lain sleepless almost all night, thinking +miserably of his affairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Father," said Dick, entering, "Tonkin's lugger +has just put in with a gang of Frenchmen on +board. Pendry is at the helm; there's a fellow +standing over him with a pistol. I didn't see +Tonkin."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What on earth does that mean?" cried the +Squire, starting up. "Get me my boots, Dick; I'll +pull on some clothes, and go up on the roof to take +a look at them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes the Squire, Dick, and Sam were +behind the parapet of the principal tower, the Squire +with his telescope in his hand. Lofty as their perch +was, the jetty and the lower part of the village were +not in sight, being concealed by the contour of the +hill. But they could see the upper houses and the +cliffs beyond; the church tower and the red roof of +the Parsonage away to the left; and almost every +yard of ground between the hilltop and the Towers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Shall I ring bell, Maister?" asked Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; wait a little. We don't want to make +ourselves a laughing-stock. There's nothing in +Polkerran to make it worth any Frenchman's while +to—Ha! I see it all. 'Tis a trick of Mildmay's, +the sly dog. Do you see, Dick? He has disguised +himself and his men as Frenchmen, and pounced on +Tonkin's lugger with a fine crop aboard. Ha! ha! +The neatest feat I ever heard of."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm rather doubtful about that, sir," said Dick. +"The faces I saw weren't Cornish."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"It would be a poor disguise if they were. You +may be sure I'm right, and we shall have Mildmay +coming up to breakfast by-and-by with a fine tale of +tubs. I slept badly, Dick; I'll return to my bed +for an hour or two."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick remained with Sam on the roof. He was +not at all convinced that his father was right. It +was difficult to conceive what object a band of +Frenchmen could have in attacking so small a village, +yet he felt sure that they were Frenchmen, and that +their visit was not an ordinary smuggling affair. +After a long look through his spy-glass he said to +Sam:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"There's no smoke, no sound of firing—-no +noise at all. We can't see anything here, Sam; let +us take a run to the Beal again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But at that moment he saw a man rise over the +crest of the hill; immediately behind him came +others. They were armed with muskets and +cutlasses, and advanced rapidly and in a manner +that suggested a definite goal.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Off to the turret and pull the bell, Sam!" cried +Dick. He rushed downstairs to his father's room +again.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thirty or forty armed men are marching from +the village, sir," he said. "I think they're coming +to attack us."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless my soul, what fools they must be!" said +the Squire with a mirthless laugh. "There's nothing +here worth firing a shot for. Ah! there's the bell. +We'll see if 'tis more effective than last time we rang +it. And we'll give them a warm reception, my boy, +by George we will! Go and bring Reuben to me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>So crowded was the next hour, and so conflicting +were the accounts given subsequently, in all honesty, +by actors in the drama, that the writing of a clear +and coherent narrative is a matter of some difficulty. +Mr. Carlyon diligently questioned everyone who +could throw a light on the separate incidents, and out +of this material compiled a long chapter for his +history of the parish. But the prolixity of his style, +and his habit of interrupting his narrative with +classical parallels and references to abstruse authors, +render his book quite unsuitable to the present age, +and make it necessary to treat his manuscript as the +modern historian treats his sources.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> was moored alongside +the jetty, the tarpaulins that covered the deck were +thrown aside, the men whom they had concealed +sprang to their feet, and, joined by others who +swarmed up the companion way, rushed ashore +behind their leader, Jean Delarousse of Roscoff. +There were but two or three of the Polkerran folk +visible. A large number of the fishers were five or +six miles away, having affairs of their own to attend +to. The majority of the population were still abed. +A dozen miners, due for the day shift in an hour's +time, were breakfasting. Only the smoke rising into +the air from the chimneys of their cottages gave sign +of life.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The few men who were out and about fled incontinently +to their homes at sight of the fifty determined +Frenchmen, armed with muskets, cutlasses, +and pistols, advancing across the few yards of open +space that separated the jetty from the nearest houses. +It was evident that the invaders had prearranged +their operations. Twelve of their number separated +from the main body and went off hastily in couples, +three to the right, three to the left, until they reached +the last dwelling in either direction. Then doubling +up the hills to right and left, they posted themselves +around the village in a half circle, at intervals of +about a hundred yards. Their object manifestly was +to prevent any villager from breaking through, and +carrying news of the raid into the country beyond. +The Dower House and the Towers were naturally +not included in the cordon.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While this movement was being carried out, +Delarousse led the rest of his force straight to +the Five Pilchards. The door was already open; +the miners usually paid an early visit to the inn +before they started for their work. Delarousse on +entering was confronted by an elderly woman of +shrewish aspect, who stood like a dragon behind the +shining taps.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ze Towers, vere Trevanion live—it is zat big +house on ze cliff?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Doubledick nodded. Fright bereft her of +speech.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Vere is Doubledick?" asked the Frenchman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The answer was a shake of the head; whereupon +Delarousse, ejaculating "Ah, bah!" returned to +his followers, who were collected about the entrance, +and led all but six of them up the hill. Like a +prudent general, he took care to secure his +communications.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Though he presumed that Mrs. Doubledick's +shake of the head signified ignorance of her husband's +whereabouts, in this he was in error. Doubledick +had returned home late at night, unaware of the +impending crisis in his affairs. His wife gave him +Mr. Polwhele's message, and he anticipated a very +pleasant interview with the riding-officer on his +return from circumventing the smugglers. Rising +early, he happened to see from his bedroom window +the crowd of Frenchmen swarming from the lugger, +and without waiting to finish dressing, he ran down +to the taproom, pulled up a trap-door behind the +bar, and descended into the capacious cellar beneath, +having strictly charged his wife not to reveal his +whereabouts. He was shaking with fear, rather of +possible consequences which his imagination foresaw +than of immediate bodily harm. Delarousse could +scarcely fail to discover before long that Doubledick +had given him misleading information, and he was +a man whose wrath it was not wise to face.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Between thirty and forty Frenchmen, strong, +hardy fellows, marched rapidly up the hill behind +their leader, whose agility was remarkable in one so +corpulent. They had just risen upon the crest +when the clang of a bell struck upon their ears.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"En avant, mes gars!" cried Delarousse. "Courez, +à toutes jambes!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>And being on fairly level ground, they broke into +a double.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The Squire, being now convinced that the Towers, +as the most conspicuous dwelling-house in the +neighbourhood, was the object of the Frenchmen's +raid, displayed none of that indecision and vacillation +which so often beset him in the matters of every-day +life. He was now keen, alert, and ready, as became +a man who had served in the King's navy. He +smiled grimly as he saw the Frenchmen hasting +towards him, as yet half a mile away. "A pack of +fools!" he thought; "but 'tis hard that I should +be molested when on the brink of ruin."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few sharp, decisive words he bade Dick and +Reuben close and bolt the doors and shutters, and +haul against the former such heavy articles of +furniture as they could move in the few minutes +at their disposal. Meanwhile he himself collected +several old muskets that were at hand, with powder +and slugs, in some cases relics of ancient trophies of +arms treasured by the family. If he could hold the +enemy at bay even for a short time, their project +would be ruined, for the alarm bell and the sound of +shots would arouse the whole countryside, and unless +the invaders were supported by other vessels, they +must soon retire to the lugger. At the first glance +he had seen that they were not French regular +soldiers, and concluded that their landing was not +the foretaste of a general invasion, but merely a +chance filibustering raid.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the turret Sam was pulling the bell-rope with +short, quick jerks. His brain was in a whirl. The +advance of the Frenchmen was hidden from him, +but looking out of the narrow window in the +opposite direction, he spied, less than a minute +after the first clang, Joe Penwarden hurrying along +towards the Towers as fast as his old legs would +carry him. Running to the opposite side of the +chamber, where a door admitted to the house, he +yelled down the stairs:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maister, here be old Joe a-comin'. Let un in +by the back door."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Run, Dick," said the Squire, "you're quickest. +An addition to the garrison is welcome."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick flew to the back door, whither Sam had +summoned Penwarden through the turret window. +During these few seconds the strokes of the bell +were very irregular, but they did not cease.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it, Maister Dick?" said the old man, +as Dick closed and barricaded the door behind him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A gang of Frenchmen are running to attack +us. They landed from Tonkin's lugger about ten +minutes ago. Go to Father, Joe; he's in the front +room over the porch. I'm going to the roof to see +what they are doing."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He leapt up the stairs three at a time, and +emerged on the leads of the tower, whence, sheltered +by the parapet, he could observe the enemy in safety. +They were now within two or three hundred yards +of the house. Dick was surprised that there was no +sign of pursuers from the village. Now that the +feeling between his family and the people was less +acute, he had expected that the bell would already +have summoned a concourse of fishers, miners, and +men of all occupations. He was surprised, too, +that the alarm was not echoed by the new bell +which had recently been rigged up in the Dower +House. Surely at such a moment personal feuds +might well be forgotten, and private enemies unite +to beat off a public foe. But between the Towers +and the hill not a man was to be seen except the +advancing Frenchmen. At the Dower House there +was no sign of life or movement, a strange +circumstance that set him wondering. Why was not John +Trevanion alarmed at a French raid? Was it +possible that he knew of it beforehand, approved it, +had even arranged it? Having failed in some of +his schemes hitherto, had he now joined hands with +alien filibusters to deal his cousin a crowning stroke?</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As his eyes ranged round, Dick suddenly caught +sight of a large vessel looming in the mist in a +straight line with the head of the Beal. Its shape +was very indistinct and blurred, but there was a +certain familiarity in its aspect, and a sudden +conviction flashed upon Dick that it was the same +vessel as he had seen twice before in unusual and +mysterious circumstances. Surely it must be the +notorious privateer, the </span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span>, owned by +Jean Delarousse. Why it should have come to an +insignificant place like Polkerran, when it might +have gained rich prizes on the high seas, was a +question that puzzled him greatly, unless Trevanion +had made an alliance with the Frenchman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire's dispositions to meet the threatening +attack were as good as could be devised, having +regard to the short breathing-space allowed him, and +to the nature of his situation. A large rambling +building like the Towers could not be held for any +length of time by a slender garrison of five. There +were half-a-dozen points at which it could be assaulted +simultaneously—the front door facing the village, +the back door facing the sea, the stable-yard, the +offices, the rooms and passages in the ruined portion. +But the principal tower, flanking the porch, was in +passable repair, and it was there that the Squire had +determined to make a final stand. It contained two +or three rooms approached by a stone staircase +springing from near the front door. Mrs. Trevanion +was sent by her husband to the topmost room. He +posted himself, with Reuben and Penwarden, in the +room over the porch, where the window-shutters +had been loopholed, no doubt by some former owner +of the Towers, though the Squire had never given +the matter a thought. Dick he sent to the back of +the house, instructing him to call Sam to his help if +he saw fit.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Neither for fire nor battle does the bell summon +aid," he said bitterly. "Sam may as well save his +energies."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His final instruction was that if the Frenchmen +broke in, as seemed only too probable, they should +all retreat to the tower, the entrance to which from +the staircase was protected by a heavy, iron-studded +oaken door. Believing that the invaders' object was +loot and not slaughter, he scarcely anticipated +personal damage, but supposed that the garrison would +be allowed to remain in the tower unmolested while +the rest of the house was sacked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Delarousse, panting a little from his exertions, was +as much alive to the risks and perils of his +enterprise as the Squire could be. Success or failure +hung upon minutes. But he had not earned his +reputation as a daring and resourceful privateer +undeservedly. His object was a very simple one. +It was not bloodshed or rapine, but merely the +seizure of the man who had grievously wronged +him—John Trevanion, or, as he had known him in +Roscoff, Robinson. Doubledick, to feed his private +malice, had declared that John Trevanion lived in +the Towers—the largest house upon the cliff. The +Frenchman's little knowledge of the country had +been gained solely by observation from the sea, and +by the faint glimpses he had obtained on that dark +and rainy night when he evaded the pursuit of the +dragoons. He remembered that the house at whose +door he had seen his enemy was nearer the top of +the hill than the Towers; but he had no reason to +doubt Doubledick's statement that the latter was +now the residence of John Trevanion, and no one +had told him that there were other Trevanions who +had no dealings with John. It was therefore his +whole-hearted belief that the Towers sheltered his +bitterest foe which inspired his attack upon a man +who had never injured him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Utterly possessed by his purpose, he wasted no +time in a vain summons to surrender. The bell +was still clanging overhead. He had taken +precautions to prevent interference from the village, +where the absence of so many men on the scene of +the expected run favoured his design. But he was +not to know but that the summons might draw +armed men from every corner of the neighbourhood +beyond the village, and his blow must be struck at +once. Accordingly he made straight for the porch, +and finding, as he had expected, that the door was +fast closed, he put his pistol to the lock, and with +one shot shattered it to splinters. But the door was +held also by bolts and crossbars resting in staples, +and further secured by a sideboard placed against it +by Dick and Reuben, so that the breaking of the +lock availed him nothing. Brought thus to a check, +he stood for a few moments within the porch among +his men to consider his next step.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the Squire at the last moment had +hurried to the top of the tower, with a double object: +to observe the movements of the enemy more +clearly than was possible through the loophole of a +shuttered window, and to scan the surrounding +country for any sign of assistance. No one was at +present in sight. The air was heavy; the wind +was off shore; and in all probability the sound +of the bell had not even reached Nancarrow's farm, +the nearest house except the Parsonage, much less +Sir Bevil Portharvan's place, two miles farther away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had given instructions before leaving Penwarden +that the French were not to be fired on until +they opened hostilities. With his wife in the +building, he was determined not to draw upon himself by +any premature act the reprisals of so formidable a +gang of desperadoes. Now that the Frenchmen +were within the porch, they were immune from +musket fire, and he began to wonder whether his +prohibition was not a mistake. As soon, however, +as he heard the report of Delarousse's pistol, with a +rapidity that might have surprised those who had +only known him of late years, the Squire seized a +large block of loose stone that formed part of the +half-ruined parapet, and toppled it over on to the +roof of the porch below. It fell upon the tiles with +a tremendous crash, scattering fragments in all +directions, and bounded off on to the gravel path. +Though none of the Frenchmen was struck by the +stone itself, or even by the splinters of the tiles, it +was sufficiently alarming to drive them from the +porch, and they scurried instantly into the open. +Two muskets flashed upon them from the loopholes +above; one man was hit by a slug, and hopped +away on one leg, assisted by his comrades. At the +same moment the bell ceased to clang. Hearing the +shots, Sam rushed down the stairs to take his part in +the fray. The whole body of Frenchmen had now +withdrawn out of range, and the Squire saw the little +stout man, their leader, carefully scanning the +building, with the object, no doubt, of finding a weak +spot to attack. Only two minutes had elapsed since +the enemy made the first move.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Alarmed at the sudden silence of the bell, from +which he concluded that its clanging had achieved +its object, Delarousse despatched one of his men +to the high ground northward to report the approach +of any armed force. Meanwhile he himself made a +rapid circuit of the Towers, keeping, if not out of +range, at least beyond easy-hitting distance. The +back entrance seemed to him a vulnerable point, and +the more promising, because it was not commanded +by the tower, but only by the small window at +which Dick was stationed. His ill-success at the +front door made him resolute to go the shortest way +to work at the back. He sent half-a-dozen men +across the open stable-yard into the half-ruined +stable to haul down one of the stout balks of wood that +supported the roof, for use as a battering-ram. This +movement was concealed from Dick by the angle of +the building.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>While his men were gone about this errand, Delarousse, +impatient of the loss of time, took it into his +head to summon the garrison to surrender. He trotted +back to the front of the building, set his legs apart, and, +lifting his eyes to the top of the tower, shouted a +loud "Hola!" The Squire showed his head above +the parapet, but did not reply.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hola!" repeated the Frenchman. "Trevanion! +Render Trevanion; zen I go."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A trick!" thought the Squire. "He thinks +I'm worth a ransom!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Trevanion!" cried Delarousse again. "Ze +ozers I not touch."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll see what they say," shouted the Squire. +"Anything to gain time," he thought.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Going to the door opening on the staircase he +called for Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This fellow wants me, Dick," he said. "Goodness +knows why! I suppose he imagines some rich +imbecile will buy me back. If I surrender myself, +he promises to spare the rest. Just run and see +what your mother says: my old bones don't take +kindly to those stairs."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Before Dick returned Delarousse lost patience and +shouted for an answer. The Squire kept out of +sight.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mother says you must not think of it for a +moment," said Dick, running up again. "I knew +she would."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"To tell the truth, so did I," replied his father. +"But we have gained two or three minutes. Now +to decline as civilly as possible—though he might at +least Mounseer me, I think."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As soon as his head reappeared above the parapet, +Delarousse shouted:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Eh bien! You render Jean Trevanion?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Father and son looked at each other. Dick's face +expressed surprise mingled with relief; a strange +smile sat upon the Squire's countenance.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We give up nobody," he called down firmly. +"Do your worst."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick thrilled with filial pride. It was a lesson in +chivalry that he never forgot. A word from his +father, he could not doubt, would have sent the +Frenchmen in hot haste to the Dower House; but +that word the Squire could not speak, even though +John Trevanion was his worst enemy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Delarousse spat out an oath, shook his fist at the +impassive gentleman above him, and toddled off to +the back, disappearing behind the outhouses.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll see what the rascal is after now," said the +Squire quickly, and followed Dick down the stairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For a minute or two the further proceedings of +the assailants were hidden from view. Then the +watchers saw, coming round the corner from the +stables, four men bearing a stout twelve-foot post. +Delarousse, immediately behind, urged them on with +voluble utterance and vigorous play of hands.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A battering-ram!" said the Squire. "I think, +Dick, 'tis time to give them a warning."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick lifted his musket and fired through a +loophole upon the men rushing forward. There was a cry +from below; the effect of the shot could not be seen +through the smoke; it was answered by a score of +bullets pattering on the shutters. The Squire placed +his musket to a second loophole. It was impossible +to take aim; he fired at random; and another sharp +cry seemed to tell that his slug had gone home. A +babel of shouts arose. Peeping through the loopholes +they saw that one of the four men bearing the +post lay on the ground; he had let fall his end +of the battering-ram. At the same moment there +came the distant crackle of a fusillade. The sound +goaded Delarousse to fury. He rushed forward to +lift the dropped end of the post. But just as he was +stooping, there was a loud shout from his left. He +turned his head, without rising from the ground, and +what he saw, in common with the spectators above, +was three men half pushing, half dragging a fourth +towards the leader of the party. Delarousse remained +in his stooping posture, as though transfixed with +amazement, while a man might count four. Then, +springing to his feet, he rushed headlong towards +the approaching group, drawing a pistol as he ran.</span></p> +<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 93%" id="figure-90"> +<span id="delarousse-rushed-headlong-towards-the-approaching-group"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=""DELAROUSSE RUSHED HEADLONG TOWARDS THE APPROACHING GROUP."" src="images/img-335.jpg" /> +<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> +<span class="italics">"DELAROUSSE RUSHED HEADLONG TOWARDS THE APPROACHING GROUP."</span></div> +</div> +<p class="pnext"><span>Up to that moment the fourth man had been +passive in the hands of the three; but as soon as +he caught sight of Delarousse leaping towards +him, he jerked himself violently from the grasp of +his captors, felled first one, then a second, with +sledgehammer blows from right and left, and, slipping +from the hands of the third, dashed with +extraordinary speed along by the stable wall in the +direction of the village. In ten seconds he was out +of sight, and the whole band of Frenchmen, yelling +fiercely, some discharging their pistols, turned their +backs upon the Towers and doubled after the +fugitive.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick darted from the room, and up the stairs to +the roof, Sam hard upon his heels, the Squire +following at a pace that belied his melancholy +allusion to his old bones. Penwarden also, hearing +Sam's jubilant shout at the raising of the siege, left +his post at the front, and clambered up after the +others, muttering "Dear life! what a mix-up the +world is!" Leaning over the parapet, the four +watched the strangest chase that ever was seen. The +fugitive came to the wicket-gate leading out of the +grounds, and took it with a flying leap, with the +crowd of Frenchmen in full cry behind him. Some, +like Delarousse himself, bore a burden of flesh and +forty years; others were younger and slimmer, and +these, impelled by the furious cries of their leader, +leapt the gate in turn, the last of them catching his +foot in the top and coming sprawling to the ground.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Their quarry, crossing a strip of land that still +belonged to the Squire, came to the fence recently +erected around the grounds of the Dower House. +It was six feet high, a formidable obstacle to a man +of his bulk and years. He clutched the top of it, +heaved himself up, rolled across it sideways, and +disappeared on the other side, wrenching the tail of +his coat from the hands of the foremost Frenchman. +In a trice the pursuer scrambled up after him, threw +himself over, and also disappeared. Of the other +members of his party, some scaled the obstacle with +more or less facility; others, baulked by it, ran to +right and left to find a path. Delarousse, whose +stature and build forbade any athletic feat, yet +disdained to leave the direct course, and called to +two of his men to hoist him up. For an instant he +sat swaying on the top of the fence; then he too +dropped like a falling sack. Of all the thirty odd +Frenchmen there were now only two or three to be seen.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But in a minute or two the hunt again came fully +into view from the lofty tower. The fugitive sped +along with amazing swiftness, making a straight line +for the Dower House. Behind him, strung at +intervals over two fields, poured the impetuous +Frenchmen. One or two were close at his heels; +the rest followed, each according to his ability.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They've catched un!" cried Sam, his eyes dilated +with excitement. "No, be-jowned if they have. +Got away! Yoick! Yo-hoy! Now then, Frenchy! +Ah, I thought ye'd do it, now you've smashed yerself. +No, he's up again! Halloo!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The side door of the Dower House stood half-open. +The fugitive drew nearer and nearer to it; +the pursuers seemed to make still more violent +exertions to overtake him before he reached it. A few +yards more! Ah! he was inside: the door was +closing. But before it was quite shut, the first +pursuer flung himself forward and thrust his musket +within. To close the door was now impossible. +For a few seconds the Frenchman appeared to be +engaged in a fierce trial of strength with the persons +inside. Two or three of his companions joined him; +they threw themselves together upon the door; it +yielded; and they dashed into the house.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="john-trevanion-in-the-toils"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">John Trevanion in the Toils</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>With the aid of imagination's magic boots we +skip now from the Towers to the village, and see +what was happening there.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> lay alongside the jetty, in +charge of half-a-dozen Frenchmen who lolled lazily +about the deck. Nathan Pendry, who had steered +the vessel into harbour, reclined, the picture of +scowling discontent, against the bulwarks. Below, +in the dark, reeking hold, trussed like fowls, lay Isaac +Tonkin, Simon Mail, and two more of the most +respected smugglers of Polkerran.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>It appeared from Tonkin's story, told many a +time in after years to the breathless company in +the parlour of the Three Jolly Mariners, that +on arriving in Roscoff to purchase his Christmas +cargo, he had been sought out by Jean Delarousse, +whose customer he had formerly been. The +Frenchman did not complain of Tonkin's desertion, +nor did he seek a renewal of their trade relations; +his sole object was to persuade the Cornishman, by +means of a heavy bribe, to deliver John Trevanion +into his hands. Tonkin had his grievance against +Trevanion. He felt sore at having had to play +second fiddle to the younger man in recent smuggling +transactions. But being an honest fellow, and loyal +in grain, he rejected Delarousse's offer with indignant +scorn, and refused to believe what he understood of +the tale poured into his ears in broken English, of a +long course of deceit and fraud by which, as +Delarousse alleged, Trevanion had enriched himself at +his partner's expense. The Frenchman had appeared +to take his refusal in good part, and Tonkin, having +freighted his lugger, put to sea on his return voyage, +intending to run his cargo at the creek in the small +hours of Friday morning as arranged.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span>, Delarousse's privateering craft, +lay in Roscoff harbour. Tonkin was only a mile or +two at sea, when he noticed that the privateer was +coming up astern. This circumstance at first gave +him no concern; Delarousse was doubtless setting +forth on one of his forays. But soon he began to +suspect, from the course held by the larger vessel, +that he was being chased, or at least dogged. The +</span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> was a very swift vessel, and, laden +though she was, her master hoped to be able to +maintain his lead until nightfall, and then to escape +under cover of the darkness. But he was not long +in discovering that his lugger was no match in speed +for the privateer. The short dusk of the December +evening was closing down upon the sea when the +</span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span> came within range. The lugger's +armament consisted of one small carronade; the +Frenchman had a broadside, which at a single +discharge would have shattered the lesser craft to +splinters. When, therefore, Tonkin was hailed and +bidden to heave-to, he chose the sensible, indeed the +only practicable, course, and obeyed. Delarousse +and a boarding party took possession of the lugger; +in spite of vigorous protests, Tonkin and his crew +were bound and laid by the board, and, room having +been made for them in the hold by the removal of +several tubs, they were carried below. The two +vessels then in company continued on their course +for the English coast.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Favoured by the light mist that hung over the +Channel during the night, the privateer escaped +discovery by any English cruisers or revenue-cutters +that might have been in the neighbourhood. When, +however, she approached the rugged Cornish coast, +the mist became a danger, and Delarousse had +Tonkin fetched from below, and ordered him to +pilot the vessels into Polkerran harbour. This the +humiliated mariner flatly refused to do, persisting in +his refusal in spite of the entreaties, curses, and +menaces of his captor. He was carried back by +ungentle hands to his noisome lair, and Pendry, a +man of less backbone, proved to be more amenable +to the Frenchman's commands. Under his skilful +pilotage, the lugger safely made the harbour, the +privateer standing some distance out at sea, to watch +events.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Now Tonkin, as has already been said, was a man +of enormous strength, and as the pages of this +history have shown, of great courage and resolution +also. Nor was he lacking in prudence or common-sense; +witness his ready surrender of the lugger +when refusal would have meant his being blown out +of the water. The same common-sense restrained +him from struggling against impossible odds, both +when he was trussed up, and afterwards when the +vessel was manned by fifty or sixty well-armed +Frenchmen. But so soon as he felt the lugger +lightly graze the jetty, and knew by the rush of +hurrying feet on deck that the great majority of his +captors had gone ashore, he began to strain at his +bonds. The Frenchmen had done their work of +trussing capably enough, and, in the case of +ninety-nine men out of a hundred, no doubt there would +have been no danger of its being undone. But +Tonkin's muscles were hard as iron; he had the +strength of a horse. After a few minutes' straining, +the rope about his wrists gave way; to release his +legs was then easy. Delarousse having gone through +his pockets before trussing him, he was without a +knife, and had to loosen with his hands the ropes +wherewith his comrades were tied. As soon as the +first man was liberated, he set to work on the bonds +of another, and within a few minutes after Tonkin +had released himself, all the men were free.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Until the lugger reached the harbour, a number +of the Frenchmen had clustered on the companion, +and at its foot. When the time came for them to +dash ashore, they scrambled in hot haste through the +hatchway on to the deck, not thinking to batten down +the hatch. As soon, therefore, as Tonkin was free, +he rapidly planned how to escape from the hold with +his men, when they had recovered the full use of +their partially numbed limbs. He first felt about in +the darkness for articles that would serve as effective +weapons, and discovered a marlinspike, the hammer +he used for driving spigots into the tubs, and several +balks of timber that were employed for preventing +the tubs from rolling. Each man armed himself. +Long experience of smuggling had taught them to +move quickly without noise, and, led by Tonkin, +whose agility seemed in no wise lessened by his bulk, +they swarmed swiftly through the hatchway.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men left in charge of the vessel were leaning +over the bulwarks, smoking, and envying their +comrades at the inn, who, finding that the villagers +showed no disposition to interfere with them, had +seized the opportunity to refresh themselves at +the expense of the innkeeper. Before the idle +spectators on the deck could turn and form up +to meet the rush, Tonkin and his men were upon +them. A few swift, sharp strokes of the fishers' +nondescript weapons, and the Frenchmen were lying +senseless on the deck.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Without the loss of a moment the Cornishmen +leapt the bulwarks and scampered along the jetty. +They were half-way to the inn before the careless +sentinels in the parlour heard their footsteps and ran +out to see what was happening. Forming in front +of the door, they brought their muskets to the +shoulder and delivered a scattered volley; but +surprise, haste, and strong liquor combined to spoil +their aim, and none of the fishers was hit except +Simon Mail, who dropped his spike with a yell +and sat down on the cobbles, </span><em class="italics">hors de combat</em><span>. The +Frenchmen had no time either to reload or to retreat. +The fishers, burly men all, charged straight at them +and struck four to the ground, the other two taking +to their heels and starting to run up the hill towards +their leader. But as if by magic the neighbourhood +of the inn was suddenly alive with figures. The +fishermen and miners, who had remained hitherto +cowering in their cottages, rushed out the moment +they could do so safely. The fugitives were +caught and held; a fierce crowd surrounded the +others; and in a few minutes all six, bruised and +battered, lay in a row against the inn wall.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile Tonkin had dashed into the inn, +pulled up the trap-door leading to the cellar, and +descended into the depths. Doubledick, whom the +sound of shots had caused to shake like a jelly, +heard the heavy clump of the fisher's boots, and +shrank behind a large tun in a corner of the cellar. +Unaware of his presence, Tonkin hastened to the +opposite corner, where, in a cunningly contrived +recess, lay a store of firearms and ammunition, kept +there for use against the King's officers when +required. It was now to be turned to a more +legitimate purpose. Tonkin seized as many muskets +as he could carry, and hurried with them up the +ladder, sending down for more those of his men +who were not occupied with the Frenchmen. By +the time these latter were secured, arms had been +served out to the fishers who had escaped from the +lugger, and to the most likely of the others. Then +a compact body of thirty well-armed men followed +Tonkin up the hill.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>In order to trace clearly the course of events in +that crowded hour of Polkerran's history, it becomes +necessary to glance at what had happened at the +Dower House.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>John Trevanion had become so accustomed to the +smuggling operations, and it was so much a part of +his policy to keep himself in the background in +these matters, that it did not occur to him to rise +early in order to learn what luck had attended the +run which he had expected to take place at the creek, +during the night or in the small hours of that +morning. Having a perfectly easy conscience, and +the comfortable expectation that he would be richer +by two hundred pounds when he awoke, he slept as +placidly as a child, and did not become aware that +anything unusual was occurring until a repeated +rapping at the door by Susan Berry, startled out +of her wits, at length penetrated his slumbering +intelligence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All right," he called drowsily. "What's the time?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know, sir," cried poor Susan through +the door. "Please, sir, there be a passel o' men +firing shots at the Towers."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Nonsense!" said Trevanion.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis gospel truth, sir. There be hundreds o' +men shoutin' and hollerin', and Cook be fainted dead +away in kitchen."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fling cold water on her, Susan. There's +nothing to be afraid of. They're shooting rabbits, +I've no doubt."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion's thought was that the smugglers had +been checkmated at the creek, and then, in their +fury, had attacked the Towers, believing that their +discomfiture was due to an alliance between the +Squire and the revenue officers. His chagrin at the +loss of his expected profits was not so profound as +his delight in the thought that the enmity he had so +carefully fostered was bearing such rich fruit. Far +be it from him to interfere. But being now effectually +awakened, he bade Susan to return to the kitchen, +dressed quickly, and went to an upper window +whence he could see something of what was going +on. The Towers was, however, too far away, and +the air too misty, for him to observe the operations +so closely as he would have liked, and, curiosity +and malicious pleasure overcoming his prudence, he +determined to set forth and watch from a more +convenient standpoint the mischief which he hoped +was afoot. But wishing not to attract attention, he +forbade his household to leave the premises, issued +by the back door, and slunk round the inside of one +of his high fences.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He had advanced about half-way to the Towers +when he was startled to hear shots behind him, from +the direction of the village. The sound brought +him to a sudden halt, and a sickening misgiving +seized him. Had the firing begun in the village, +there is little doubt that he would have at once +suspected the attack of which he had long been +secretly in dread. But the fact that the Towers was +being assaulted, so soon after the run was to have +taken place, had thrown him off his guard. Now, +in a flash, he remembered what Doubledick had said +about his interview with Delarousse, and the +misleading information given to the Frenchman. At +the time, and since, he had been somewhat sceptical +of the innkeeper's veracity, but he began to think +that his statement had, after all, been true. At any +rate, it was the Towers that was in danger; the +Dower House was at present safe; and after a brief +pause of hesitation, he turned about and hurried back +in the direction of his own house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But he had scarcely taken half-a-dozen steps when, +from behind a bush close by, there rose a red-capped +figure, and Trevanion looked straight at the muzzle +of a firelock. He stopped, and before he could +collect his wits, two other figures joined the first. +"C'est lui!" cried one of the Frenchmen. They +were three of the sentries whom Delarousse had +placed around the village, and were hastening to +rejoin their leader in advance of the band now +dashing up the hill. Trevanion was so much taken +aback as to be incapable of resistance. All that he +did when the men roughly seized him was to protest +that a mistake had been made. "Ah! ah!" said +one of his captors. "On ne s'en trompe pas; pas +de tout." The other two each took one of +Trevanion's arms, and marched him at a great pace +through a gate in the fence towards the Towers, the +third man bringing up the rear. What happened +when Trevanion and Delarousse came face to face +has already been related.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Maidy Susan, when Trevanion had left the +house, showed herself strangely callous to the sad +plight of Cook. Convinced that the Corsican Ogre +had at last effected his long-threatened landing, she +wondered in her simple soul why her master had not +ordered the alarm bell to be rung, and the men +servants to seize their arms and sally forth to defend +their country. She peeped in at the kitchen, saw +that Cook had recovered sufficiently to fan herself +and scream, and then ran upstairs to watch what +was going on. Only a minute or two afterwards, +Trevanion broke from his captors and fled, the +yelling Frenchmen in full cry behind.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis he! 'Tis Boney!" cried Susan.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>She clutched at the casement frame for support, +then suddenly flew downstairs like a young deer. It +was she who held the door open, she who was +forced back by the onrush of the infuriated Frenchmen. +She crouched behind the door until the last +of them, Delarousse himself, passed, then sped to +the top of the house and began frantically to pull +the bell-rope. Meanwhile the men whom Trevanion +had been at such pains to drill had fled towards the +village, and fallen into the hands of Delarousse's +sentries.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Trevanion darted along the passage and up the +stairs like a fox seeking cover from the hounds. He +flung himself into his room, slammed and bolted the +door, caught up a pistol, and stood, panting from +haste and terror, in the middle of the floor. He +heard the loud and rapid tramp of his pursuers +drawing near.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Keep out, or I'll shoot you!" he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Frenchmen laughed him to scorn. He was +one; they were many. They set their shoulders to +the door; the timbers cracked, gave way; a bullet +whizzed harmlessly over their heads; and bursting +into the room, they seized their victim and dragged +him out and down the stairs again. Delarousse met +them at the foot. Gasping for breath, he ordered +some of his men to bind Trevanion's arms behind +his back and take him down to the lugger, others to +set fire to the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! scélérat!" he bellowed. "Tu es à moi!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Scarcely had the words left his lips when one of +his band, who had been wounded by a shot from the +Towers, hurried in with the news that a party of +men were in pursuit of them. Confiding Trevanion +to the charge of four of his most trusty followers, +Delarousse collected the rest, and led them to the +front of the house, which the newcomers were said to +be approaching. At the end of the drive, where +it branched from the road, was Tonkin with his +company of fishermen and miners.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin had led his men up the hill with more +haste than discretion. When they reached the top +they were blown, and for some minutes had to +moderate their pace. They could not see from the +road what was happening behind the fences, and had +come midway between the Dower House and the +Towers, at the same time as Trevanion arrived +abreast of them in the opposite direction. But the +spectators on the tower had seen them. The moment +Trevanion entered his door, the Squire, with Dick, +Sam, and Penwarden, hurried down the stairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hang it, Dick, they're Frenchmen!" cried the +Squire, his fighting blood roused. "We must clear +the rascals out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On reaching the ground he dispatched Sam to tell +Tonkin that the Frenchmen were now going in the +other direction, and hurried on with the others, +intending to join the fishers at the Dower House. +He arrived in time to see Tonkin's men fire a volley +at the Frenchmen at the windows. Little damage +was done; Delarousse did not return the fire. He +had achieved the object of his raid, and had no +desire to enter into useless hostilities. Having taken +stock of the enemy, he withdrew his men into the +house, which was already filling with pungent smoke.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin halted his men for a moment in order to +recover breath. It looked as if he would have to +take the house by storm, a difficult task in the face +of odds. But he was a man of bulldog courage, +if no tactician. Smarting with the indignity he +had suffered, and without stopping to think that +Delarousse might have no designs except against +Trevanion, he ordered his men to reload, and +prepared to lead them to the attack.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Delarousse, however, had taken advantage of the +momentary lull to withdraw his men through a long +window in the wall of the house facing the village. +The result was that when Tonkin, after so much +delay as was necessary for his men to regain their +breath and prime their muskets, led them at the +charge up to the house and broke through the door, +he found the house deserted, and the enemy in full +retreat down the hill. He rushed after them, eager +to overtake them before they reached the village. +Some of his men had noticed that the house was on +fire, but in their excitement none stayed to extinguish +the flames, nor even to warn or assist the person +who was still ringing the bell.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By this time the Squire, with Dick and Penwarden, +skirting the grounds of the house, had joined +Tonkin's party, and was hurrying with them down +the hill. The Frenchmen had more than a hundred +yards start, and on the descent proved to be as fleet +of foot as their pursuers. On reaching the first of +the houses, Delarousse was met by the rest of his +cordon, who, now that the matter had come to a +fight, saw that they could employ themselves more +usefully than in keeping guard. Now the Frenchmen +turned at bay, and checked the pursuit with a +scattered volley.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Empty your muskets, then charge the ruffians!" +shouted the Squire, taking command as of right.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Cornishmen responded with a cheer. A +shower of slugs flew through the air, but the +Frenchmen having scattered, and many of them being +protected by the angles of houses on the winding +road, only one or two were hit. There was no time +for either party to reload. The pursuers dashed +forward, wielding cutlasses, and their muskets as +clubs. The pursued stood to meet the charge; +there were a few moments of hand-to-hand conflict; +Tonkin's burly figure was conspicuous in the thickest +of the fray, wielding his musket like a flail; but +the numbers of the Frenchmen prevailed, and the +Squire recalled the men, to re-form them and charge +again. From this point there was a straggling +fight down the hill to the neighbourhood of the inn. +The Squire, with Dick, Penwarden, and Tonkin +close about him, led a series of rushes against +the retreating enemy, whose numbers were always +sufficient to give them check.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On coming to the inn, which was within a short +distance of the jetty, Delarousse saw with alarm that +his escape had been cut off. This was not due to +any prevision on Tonkin's part. He had been too +eager to follow up the Frenchmen to consider +ultimate contingencies. But his defect as a tactician +was supplied by a man whom no one had hitherto +suspected of any capacity in that direction, and who +enjoyed henceforth, to the day of his death, a very +exalted reputation in Polkerran on the strength of +this one achievement.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Pennycomequick, the cobbler, perceiving that the +Frenchmen on the lugger were apparently stunned, +hastily got together a little party of men and boys, +boarded the vessel, clapped the Frenchmen under +hatches, and then punted out some distance from the +jetty, towing the boats that had lain drawn up on the +little beach. No one as yet knew that the Frenchmen +had not sailed all the way from Roscoff in the lugger; +the </span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span> in the offing was concealed by the +mist that still shrouded the sea. Finding himself +thus cut off from communication with his vessel, +Delarousse, who had released the men trussed up +by Tonkin, with ready resource flung himself into +the inn, and ordered his company to reload and +occupy the windows. The Squire, now as keen as +when he had been a young lieutenant, saw instantly +that, the superiority in force being with the +Frenchmen, the possession of the inn gave them an +additional advantage which would render an attack +hazardous to the last degree. He called a halt, to +consider the next move.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment the clatter of a horse's hoofs was +heard from round the corner leading to the hill, and +Mr. Carlyon rode down.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What's all this, Trevanion?" he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A pack of rascally Frenchmen have raided the +place, Vicar," answered the Squire, "and are now +holding the inn."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless my life! What impudent scoundrels!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He dismounted, nimbly for a man of his years.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Give me a gun," he cried. "Here, you—I +forget your name—get on my horse and ride to +Truro as fast as you can and bring all the able-bodied +men and any old soldiers you can find there. You, +Benjamin Pound, go round to Doubledick's stables, +take a horse, ride to Portharvan, and ask Sir Bevil +from me to call out the yeomanry."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please, yer reverence, I can't ride a hoss," said +the young fisher addressed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't ride! You must, or find someone who can. +Off with you, or you shan't come to my dinner +to-morrow. Bless my soul! Raiding on the day before +Christmas! Can't we turn 'em out, Trevanion?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Impossible, Vicar, unless we're prepared to lose +half our men. And then we'd fail. One man +behind a wall is equal to four outside."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What did Doubledick mean by letting the +villains into the inn? How did they come here? +I don't see any vessel."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin was explaining the circumstances when, +down the stairs beside the inn wall, came Doubledick, +pale, dishevelled, and covered with dust. Becoming +alarmed for his safety when the inn was invaded by +the Frenchmen, he had made his way out by a secret +passage leading up the slope into a house abutting +on the stairway. He came up to the group silently +and unobserved, and listened to Tonkin's explanations +and the further account given by the Squire of the +attack on the Towers and the subsequent pursuit and +capture of John Trevanion. Then he pressed +forward to the Vicar's side.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! yer reverence," he said with unction, +"'tis a judgment, 'tis indeed. It do cut me to the +heart to say so, but Maister John be the wicked +cause of this affliction."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you mean, Doubledick?" asked the +Vicar, with a sidelong glance at the Squire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Do 'ee mind, sir, that night a while ago when +the sojers wer ridin' about country arter a runaway +prisoner? Well, I own 'a was for a little small time +in my inn; I'd never seed un afore, and didn' know +he wer a runaway till 'twas too late to gie un +up." (Doubledick, it will be observed, was not +over-scrupulous as to his facts.) "While he was here, +Maister John came down from Dower House and +seed un, and they hollered at each other in the +French lingo till my ears wer drummin'. Ah! 'twas +then I first had my mispicions o' Maister John."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Cut your story short, man," said Mr. Carlyon +impatiently.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, yer reverence, when I went over to +France, the Frenchy telled me as how Maister John, +Robinson by name, wer his partner for ten year, and +robbed him right and left. Ah! he was a clever +rogue, too, keepin' in the background so as our +Polkerran men shouldn' see un when they wented +over to—to sell fish. And Delarousse swore to me, +'a did, that he'd take vengeance on him, and now he +be come to do it, sure enough. If I may make so +bold, I'd say let the Frenchy take Maister John and +leave us in peace. I don't want to see my inn +riddled wi' shots and crumbled about my ears."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, and so say I," cried Tonkin. "Delarousse +telled me the self-same story, but I didn' believe +un; no, I couldn' believe as Maister John were +sech a 'nation rogue. I must believe it, now +Doubledick hev telled us all. Let un go, sir, and +be-jowned to un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Fierce cries of approval broke from the crowd, +but the Squire held up his hand for silence.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let me have a word, neighbours," he said. +"We're Cornishmen, every man of us, and good +subjects of King George. We can't allow a French +raiding party to arrest a man on English soil, +whatever his character may be. 'Tis flat treason; what +do you say, Vicar?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I agree with you. As a magistrate, neighbours, +I say we must do our duty."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't go agen Squire and pa'son," cried +Tonkin. "I stand up for King Jarge."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"King Jarge for ever!" shouted the crowd.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then," said the Vicar, "we'll hold our +ground here until the yeomanry come up, and then +we'll storm the inn. God save the King!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment Dick pushed his way through the +crowd.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The privateer is under weigh, sir," he cried, +"and standing in for the harbour."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All eyes were turned towards the sea. The +</span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span>, which had been lying off the +headland, almost concealed by the mist, was steering for +the fairway, evidently with the intention of coming +to the assistance of the landing-party.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where's Mr. Mildmay?" cried the Squire. +"'Tis for him to capture that rascally privateer."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick looked conscious; Tonkin and his +fishers exchanged glances, and thought of the cargo +in the hold of the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We can do it, sir," cried Dick suddenly. "She +must pass beneath that big rock at the head of the +Beal. It doesn't stand steady, and a good push +would hurl it over into the fairway. Let the vessel +come in, and then block up the channel; she'd be +caught then."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A capital notion," said the Vicar. "Off with you, +Dick; take two or three men with you. Have a +care not to throw yourself over too."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick hurried off with a few of the younger men. +When they arrived at the landward end of the Beal, +the privateer was slowly threading her course through +the fairway towards the jetty, a man in the chains +sounding busily. She crept in, and had come within +a hundred yards of the jetty when Dick and his +companions reached the boulder. They heard the +rattle of her anchor; she swung broadside to the +village, and the spectators on shore saw a formidable +row of guns grinning from her portholes. Dick and +his companions set their shoulders to the rock.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The door of the inn meanwhile had opened, +and Delarousse appeared, holding aloft a musket, +to which a white cloth was attached as a flag of +truce.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I vill speak viz you," he said, pointing to the +Squire, whom he recognised.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Shall I parley with the rascal?" asked the Squire +of Mr. Carlyon.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes. We wish to avoid bloodshed, but it must +be unconditional surrender, Trevanion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire stepped towards the inn, meeting +Delarousse half-way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You speak French, monsieur?" said the latter +courteously.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a word, sir," replied the Squire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! C'est dommage! I speak English, bad, +monsieur. I make a meestake: I demand pardon. +I not know ze house vas to you; pardon ze meestake, +monsieur."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll say no more about that, sir," said the +Squire. "I am willing to believe you had no wish +to attack me. But this is an act of war, sir. You +must at once set your prisoner free, and surrender, +every one of you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah, no, monsieur," returned the Frenchman with +a smile. "I haf to say your demand is ridicule. I +make vun sign: bah! ze shot from my vessel zey +strike ze village all to pieces. Voyez! Ze boats +come now for me. You stop me? No."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire turned and looked in the direction of +Delarousse's outstretched hand. Two boats had been +lowered from the deck of the privateer, and, filled +with men armed to the teeth, were now pulling for +the jetty. It was clear that under the vessel's +broadside no attempt to check this fresh invasion could +be successful.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You see?" continued the Frenchman, who had +watched the expression on the Squire's face. "I not +quarrel viz ze people here; mon Dieu, no! Zey are +my friends; viz zem I haf excellent affairs, zey +profit us both. Ze man zat injure me, I haf him. +Vat avantage of resistance? None. Zen I depart: +all is finish vizout—vizout combat sanguinaire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Your proposal——" began the Squire, but at this +moment a dull splash was heard from the direction +of the Beal. Dick and his assistants had displaced +the rock, which rolled over the edge, bounded +on to the ledge whence Dick had made his dive, and +then plunged almost into the middle of the fairway. +Even at that distance a few feet of it could be seen +projecting above the surface.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Sacré nom d'un chien!" cried Delarousse, +startled out of his equanimity. "Vat is zis?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Some of my men have blocked up the fairway +with a large rock," replied the Squire. "It is +now impossible for your vessel to clear the harbour."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But zis is perfidy, monsieur!" cried the furious +Frenchman. "Ve speak as parlementaires; zere is +arrest of hostilities; ma foi! zis is ze perfidy of +English."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not at all, sir. The men had already gone to +do their work; I could not stop them. You see +your position, sir. I advise you to consult with your +men and surrender at discretion."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They parted. Delarousse, livid with anger, +returned to the inn; the Squire rejoined his party.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We have the rascals," said Mr. Carlyon gleefully.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I axe yer pardon, sir," said Tonkin, "but don't +'ee think we'd better let the Frenchies go in peace +arter all? They guns 'ud knock the village to dust, +and there's the women and childer to think of."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! that's true," said the Vicar, and taking +Mr. Trevanion aside, he began to discuss the matter with +him. While they were still earnestly talking, there +was a shout. They broke apart, and turning, saw +that Delarousse had solved the problem in his own way.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The inn fronted the jetty, but on its southward +side a narrow lane ran between the blind walls of the +pilchard fishers' salting-houses. The further end of +this was nearer by a few yards to the sea. Rendered +desperate, the Frenchman saw in the conversation +between the two gentlemen an opportunity for +making a dash. He ordered four of his men to +throw open a low window giving on the lane, and to +rush John Trevanion as quickly as possible down to +the jetty, while he maintained his position with the +rest at the front windows. Then, as soon as he was +informed that the four men had arrived at the end of +the lane, he gave the word for all to follow. Before +the besiegers were aware of this sudden movement, +the Frenchmen had gained a start of more than fifty +yards.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"After them, my men!" cried the Squire, when +he saw them rushing from behind the wall of the +salting-house towards the jetty.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The whole party poured in pursuit. But by the +time they reached the shoreward end of the jetty, +John Trevanion had been lowered into the first of +the privateer's boats. The second had towed back a +number of the craft which Pennycomequick had +removed from the shore, the lugger itself, however, +with the cobbler and his helpers aboard, still lying in +the harbour on the inner side of the reef. Into these +boats Delarousse and his men leapt, and pulled off +swiftly to the privateer. They had no sooner left +the jetty than a puff of smoke issued from one of +the vessel's portholes; there was a roar, and a round +shot crashed into the planking, smashing several +yards of it, and sending up splinters almost into the +eyes of the Squire.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis no good, Trevanion," cried the Vicar. +"We shall all be slaughtered if we line up and fire at +them. They've got your cousin, and we can't +help it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"But they can't get out of the fairway, and there's +no water on the reef," said the Squire. "If only +Mildmay were here!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He was soon to see that he had not reckoned +with the seamanship of Jean Delarousse. The +first of the boats pulled at full speed towards the +fairway, receiving from the deck of the privateer +a sounding-line as she passed. From the second +boat Delarousse climbed to the deck of his vessel. +The pilot crew, having sounded and measured the +width of the channel between the fairway and the +cliff, signed to their captain that he might proceed. +It seemed to Dick impossible that the vessel should +win through, and he watched with unstinted admiration +the Frenchman's skilful seamanship. Delarousse +ordered the anchor to be tripped, and the vessel +moved slowly towards the fairway, close-hauled on +the starboard tack. When she reached the rock, she +seemed to graze the cliff as she passed into the narrow +channel; but with Delarousse himself at the helm +she passed safely through. Then, there being a fair +wind on her starboard quarter, Delarousse hauled up +his courses, mainsail and foresail, and threw his +foreyard aback. The check on the ship's way gave him +time to take aboard the boat, which had been moored +to the rock, the rest of his crew having already +clambered up the side from the other boats. These +were then cast adrift; the foreyard filled, and the +</span><em class="italics">Aimable Vertu</em><span> stood out to sea.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="the-price-of-treachery"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">The Price of Treachery</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>One stride of our magic boots takes us from +Polkerran to the creek, five miles away, where +another little drama was being enacted.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick's information to Mr. Polwhele was +that the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> might be expected to arrive +at the creek from Roscoff about five o'clock in the +morning. Some little time before that hour, +therefore, the riding-officer took up his position in a +hollow a hundred yards beyond the stream. In +order that no suspicion might be engendered in the +village, he had not brought his usual assistants, but +was accompanied by a posse of excisemen from +Newquay, and a half-troop of dragoons from +Plymouth. At the same time Mr. Mildmay's cutter +anchored in a sheltered cove northwards, having +sailed in precisely the opposite direction on the +previous night, in order to deceive the smugglers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele had not long posted himself when +some thirty strapping fellows, fishers and farm-hands +for the most part, marched down the sloping ground +south of the creek, and congregated at a spot where +the bank was a foot or two above the water, a +convenient place for the debarkation of the lugger's +cargo. The murmur of their voices could be heard +by the hidden preventive men across the stream, and +Mr. Polwhele chuckled at the thought of the fine +haul he was about to make. The excisemen with +him were old hands, and knew how to keep silence, +and the dragoons, although they hated this revenue +work, were too well disciplined to hazard the failure +of the ambuscade. Their horses had been left +tethered half a mile away.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The minutes passed; five o'clock came, and both +parties were on the alert for any sound from seaward. +The wind blew from the north-east, so that it was +not at all surprising that the lugger should be late. +But when six o'clock came they began to be restless. +It was tiring and comfortless, waiting in the misty +gloom of a raw December morning. The sky was +pitch dark. Neither party could see the other. +The murmurs of the tub-carriers became louder, and +the dragoons muttered and grumbled under their +breath.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The night was yielding, the outlines of the +country were becoming distinguishable, and yet the +lugger did not come. Mr. Polwhele began to +wonder whether he had been fooled, and inwardly +promised Doubledick a bad quarter of an hour if this +long vigil in cold and darkness proved vain. Jimmy +Nancarrow, in charge of the tub-carriers, had +misgivings of a chase and capture on the sea. Now that +dawn was breaking, he went to the top of the cliff +and looked out into the mist, but never a sign of the +lugger did he see. As he descended to rejoin his +men, something caught his eye among the bare trees +in a hollow on the opposite bank. He crouched +behind a gorse bush, and watched for some minutes; +then, instead of continuing on his direct course +downward, he crept away at an angle, taking advantage +of every depression and furze-patch that afforded +cover, and so came to his company again. He told +them what he had seen. Consternation seized them; +they became suddenly silent, then whispered anxiously +among themselves.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There could be little doubt that they had been +spied by the preventives. What was to be done? +On the one hand they could not depart, leaving +Tonkin unwarned, to fall into the hands of the +revenue officers. On the other hand, they were in no +mood or condition to relish a brush with dragoons, +and it was certainly a dragoon's forage-cap that +Nancarrow had descried. The best course seemed +to be to wait; perhaps the revenue officers would +grow weary first.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Another hour passed. Then the tub-carriers saw +the nose of the revenue cutter appear round the +corner of the cliff. The game was up. No run +could be made: the lugger would not put in while +the cutter was in sight; and Nancarrow and his men +in sullen rage left their posts and set off to trudge +homeward.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a moment Mr. Polwhele was hailed by the +lieutenant from the cutter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ahoy there, Mr. Polwhele!" he shouted.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The riding-officer left his place of concealment, +and moved to the edge of the cliff, within speaking +distance of Mr. Mildmay.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tricked again!" he said, angrily. "My word! +Doubledick shall suffer for this."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At that moment an unusual sound made them both +start. It was like the distant thud of some object +falling on the ground.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A gun! Bless my life, Polwhele, what's +this?" cried the lieutenant.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Goodness knows! A ship in distress, maybe. +'Tis no use waiting here any longer, so I'll ride back +and see."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll come round in the cutter as quickly as I +can. She must have run on the rocks in the mist. +The wind wouldn't cast her ashore—I'll come round +in the cutter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele hastened back to his men. They, +too, had heard the shot.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Come, my men, that's a big gun," said the +riding-officer. "Smugglers be hanged! Maybe +there's rescue work to do. Soldiers, get your horses; +we'll dash to the village and do our duty. You +others, march after us; there may be work for you, yet."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The men were thankful for the opportunity of +movement, and the prospect of breakfast. The +dragoons raced to their steeds, mounted, and were +soon galloping with Mr. Polwhele towards the +village. In a few minutes they overtook the +disconsolate tub-carriers.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha, you black-faced rascals!" cried Mr. Polwhele +as he galloped by, adding jocularly: "Stir +your stumps and come and fight Boney."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Not if I knows it," muttered Nancarrow, and +forthwith struck inland, followed by the farm-hands. +The fishers, being of sterner stuff, and taking +Mr. Polwhele seriously, hastened their step, thinking of +their wives and children in the village, perhaps at the +mercy of the Corsican Ogre.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele and the dragoons had got half-way +to Polkerran when they were met by the Vicar's +messenger to Sir Bevil, and reined up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Pa'son sent me to fetch Sir Bevil and yeomanry, +sir," said the man. "The French hev landed."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good heavens! Is it Boney himself?" cried the +riding-officer.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, it be Maister Delarousse from Rusco: he've +come and catched Maister John, and hev shet hisself +in the inn."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Delarousse, begad! Well, my men, there's a +thousand pounds offered for the capture of that +rascally Frenchman. Ride on, then; we'll have the +villain!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They galloped on, sparks flying from beneath the +horses' hoofs. When they came to the crest of the +high ground overlooking the Towers, they saw +smoke and flame rising from the Dower House, and +spurred the faster. In another minute they spied +three figures making their way towards the Towers. +The middle one of the three was a plump, red-faced +woman in a print dress, her bonnet askew, her +ribbons flying. On the left she was supported by a +sturdy, thick-set lad, on the right by a slim and +comely maid. Each clasped the woman about the +waist, their arms crossing, and thus assisted her +slowly over the ground. The dragoons kissed +their hands gallantly to the maid as they flashed by.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"All safe at the Towers, Sam?" shouted Mr. Polwhele.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But Sam at that moment was too self-conscious +and abashed to reply.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the whole population of Polkerran +was gathered on the shore of the harbour, watching +the privateer fade away into the distance, and +discussing the extraordinary events of the past hour. +Doubledick and Tonkin were the centre of an +excited throng, to whom they had to relate over +again the tale of John Trevanion's iniquities. The +Squire and Mr. Carlyon had withdrawn to the +inn-parlour, where they sat conversing over their pipes +and glasses of rum shrub. Some of the children had +climbed the hill to witness the Dower House +blazing. Nobody thought of making an attempt to +save the place, which indeed would have been +impossible.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," said Petherick, in the midst of the +crowd, "'tis the Lord's doin', and marvellous in our +eyes. But now I axe 'ee, Zacky, where be yer boy +Jake?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What d'ye mean, constable?" asked the fisher.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! the neighbours hev been too stirred up in +their minds to tell 'ee. No one hain't seed Jake +since Wednesday night, and 'tis the question we all +do axe, whether he be in the land o' the livin' or +not."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear name! Do 'ee tell me?" cried Tonkin. +"Bean't he with the carriers?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Seemingly not," said one of the women. "I +seed yer missis cryin' her eyes out yesterday, +neighbour Zacky."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe he's took away for a sojer or sailor," +suggested Doubledick. "He wented up-along to +pluck mistletoe, so 'tis said, and maybe was pounced +on by some rovin' sergeant on dark lonesome moor."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment a cheer was heard from the +direction of the hill, and then the ringing clatter of +horses' hoofs. A boy ran up.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Riding-officer and sojers be comin' down hill," +he cried.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin darted a glance around. The horsemen +were approaching at a walking pace down the +steepest part of the descent. It suddenly flashed +upon him that his lugger had a cargo of contraband +on board, which it behoved him to secure before the +riding-officer could lay hands on it. For the +moment his anxiety for Jake was eclipsed.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Lunnan Cove an hour after sundown," he +whispered to Doubledick, then slipped away, and +ran at headlong speed along the jetty. Four of +the fishermen at the same moment set off with him, +but instead of going on the jetty, they hastened at +the double along the beach, following its curve +towards the southern end of the reef.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>All this time the lugger had lain within the reef. +Pennycomequick, proud of his achievement, was +waiting until, the excitement on shore having +subsided, he could run her in and draw all eyes to +himself.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On reaching the end of the jetty, Tonkin, one of +the very few fishermen who could swim, dived into +the water and swam towards his vessel. Pennycomequick +flung him a rope. He heaved himself on board, +secured one of the smaller boats which the Frenchmen +had set adrift, and made it fast by the painter to +the stern of the lugger. Then he hauled up the +anchor, and hoisted sail, apparently with the intention +of running in to the jetty. All his movements were +deliberate.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment Mr. Polwhele reached the inn. +A hundred voices shouted that the Frenchman had +got away; then catching sight of the lugger, with a +sudden inspiration he galloped across to the jetty, +calling on the dragoons to follow him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi, Tonkin!" he shouted, "I want to have a +look at your cargo, my man."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But Tonkin, as if he had not heard the riding-officer's +voice, suddenly put up the helm and stood +away towards the reef. It was ebb tide: the rugged +line of rocks was exposed; and as the lugger came +within a few feet of it, a number of men could be +seen jumping from rock to rock, sometimes wading +in the pools between them, in the direction of the +vessel. They were too far away for their features or +their gait to be distinguished, but any one counting +them would have found that they were not four, but +five. Tonkin sprang into the boat, rowed to the reef +and took the men off, then returned to the lugger. All +the men clambered on board, the boat was made fast, +and the vessel sailed across the bay, but in a few +minutes suddenly brought up again. Once more +Tonkin entered the small boat, this time accompanied +by another man. He landed him on the reef, rowed +back to the lugger, and while this threaded the +fairway between the fallen rock and the cliff, the man +returned to the shore and disappeared.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele bit his lips with chagrin, observing +a snigger on the faces of the crowd. Then he rode +back to the inn, dismounted, and entered, to learn +the details of the recent events from the Squire, and +to give in his turn particulars of his futile errand at +the creek.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A few minutes later Sir Bevil Portharvan rode +down at the head of a troop of yeomanry. He, too, +entered the inn, and Doubledick enjoyed a brief +moment of importance when, at Mr. Carlyon's +request, he explained the relations between +Delarousse and John Trevanion. Sir Bevil's ruddy +cheeks turned pale with rage and mortification.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank God!" he murmured.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis indeed a mercy," said the Vicar. "I +sympathise with you with all my heart, Sir Bevil."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The scoundrel!" cried the baronet. "Trevanion, +I beg your pardon. I have listened to that villain, +and had hard thoughts of you. Good heavens! he +was to have married my daughter."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor girl!" said the Squire. "I knew my +cousin, Sir Bevil. I should have warned you, +only——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Only I was a fool, Trevanion. Your warning +would have fallen on deaf ears; my mind was +poisoned against you. Forgive me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The two men shook hands, and soon afterwards +left the inn with Mr. Carlyon, the riding-officer +remaining behind.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Doubledick," he said, when alone with the +inn-keeper, "you had better get away. I've got Jake +Tonkin locked up in my house—caught him spying +on you the other night. I can't keep him much +longer, and as soon as he is free your life won't be +worth a snap, if I know his father."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The innkeeper shivered.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"For mercy sake, sir, hold him until to-morrer +mornin'! I'll go away this very night. Hold him, +sir, and I'll tell 'ee wheer Zacky do mean to run the +cargo."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A traitor to the last!" cried Mr. Polwhele. +"'Tis my duty to the King to listen to you. Well?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis at Lunnan Cove, sir, an hour after sun-down."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ha! That fellow who ran along the reef is +making the arrangements, no doubt. Well, I'll +hold the boy till daylight to-morrow, but not an +instant longer. 'Tis illegal, and they may </span><em class="italics">habeas +corpus</em><span> me. So take my warning. What about your +wife?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She must bide here a little until I hev found a +home for her. Zacky won't hurt a woman. 'Tis +a terrible thing to leave the place I've dwelt in for +thirty year."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You've only yourself to blame. I wish you no +harm, but take my advice: live straight for the rest +of your days. I shan't see you again."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He left the inn, and rode up the hill to look for +the arrival of the cutter. The Dower House was +still blazing, watched by an immense crowd of +villagers, dragoons, yeomanry, and folk from the +neighbouring farms, who had flocked in when they +saw the glare. There was at present no sign of the +cutter, and Mr. Polwhele, tired out by his night's +vigil, rode back to his own house, to hoist on his +flagstaff a signal to Mr. Mildmay, and then to have +a meal and rest.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Unlocking the door of the room in which Jake +Tonkin had been confined, he was amazed and +alarmed to see that it was no longer occupied. One +of the iron bars across the window had been +wrenched away after patient work in loosening the +sockets, and the prisoner had dropped sixteen feet to +the ground. Mr. Polwhele called up his housekeeper, +whom he had forbidden to disclose Jake's +whereabouts on pain of dismissal.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You knew nothing of this, Mary?" he asked.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, indeed, sir. I neither heard un nor seed un."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, say nothing about it. I want you to take +a note for me at once to Doubledick at the inn. +Put on your bonnet."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>By the time the woman was ready, Mr. Polwhele +had scribbled a brief note. "J. has escaped: don't +wait."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be sure and give it to Doubledick himself," he said.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I woll, sir," said the woman.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>An hour afterwards Mr. Mildmay came up to the house.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is the worst slap in the face we have ever +had, Polwhele," he said. "Why on earth didn't +you collar Tonkin?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why didn't you?" retorted the riding-officer +angrily. "The cutter is for chasing luggers, not +my horse."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't fly out at me. We are both in the same +hole. The only pleasant feature in the whole +miserable business is that Trevanion will never +freight another cargo."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you suppose Delarousse will do with him?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Skin him, I should think. What a pair of +numskulls we have been about that plausible +scoundrel!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A good riddance to the Squire, too," said the +riding-officer. "But the property is still his, I +suppose."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Without doubt. The Dower House will be a +heap of ashes, but the land and the mine are still +John Trevanion's, for all they were bought with +money villainously come by. However, the miners +haven't brought up enough metal to buy their +candles, and as there is no one to pay their wages, +they'll close down again, certainly. By the way, +you still have young Jake, I suppose?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, confound it all! He escaped this morning. +I fancy he must have been among those fellows who +got along the reef to the lugger."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Whew! Doubledick had better make himself +scarce, then."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes; I have sent Mary down with a note for +him. I had promised him to keep Jake till +to-morrow morning, in return for a piece of +information."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What! a run after all?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Tonkin intends to run at Lunnan Cove +to-night. We'll not let him slip this time."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"By George, no! I shall enjoy my Christmas +better if we've dished that bold fellow. I'll go back +to the cutter and turn in for a spell. You'll arrange +with the dragoons?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I will. They're not in the sweetest of tempers, +I assure you, and no wonder. But I told them to +go and get a sleep at the inn, and made 'em swear to +keep sober. Mrs. Doubledick won't give them +too much to drink, however; I threatened her with +pains and penalties if she did."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Have a thimbleful before you go, Mildmay. +We'll drink to success at Lunnan Cove."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Polwhele's housekeeper set out with the firm +intention of carrying the note straight to Doubledick. +But the sight of the blazing mansion was too much +for her resolution; so magnificent a spectacle had +never been seen at Polkerran before. When she +reached the bridge, instead of turning to the left +towards the inn, she went straight along the road, +intending to watch the fire at close quarters for a +little while, and call on Doubledick on the way back. +She had put the note into her pocket.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>On arriving near the Dower House, she met +several acquaintances among the crowd, and walked +with them round to the north side of the blaze, +to avoid the smoke and sparks blown by the north-east +wind. The wind had been increasing in force +since the early morning, and blew the women's +skirts about as they stood with their backs to it.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mind yer bonnet, my dear," said one of them +to the housekeeper. "Ye wouldn't like to see it +blowed into the bonfire, that I'm sure of."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bonnet-strings be poor useless things in a wind +like this," said another. "I'll tie my handkercher +over my head, and I reckon ye'd better do the same, +my dear."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, I think," said the housekeeper, drawing her +handkerchief from her pocket.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>With it came a fluttering scrap of paper. She +clutched at it, but a gust of wind caught it, and +swept it along into the midst of the glowing +building.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Drat it all!" she cried with vexation.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis to be hoped 'twas not vallyble, my dear," +said one of her friends.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"If 'tis a love-letter," said another, "and ye can't +hold the man to his promise, 'twill be a gashly +misfortune, to be sure, though maybe he's a poor +slack-twisted feller as ye'll be glad to be rid of."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No, 'tis not that," said the housekeeper.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, ye needn't werrit, if 'tis a bill for yer +maister's goods. Bills come over again, 'nation +take 'em."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>But the housekeeper gave nothing to the probings +of neighbourly curiosity. Afraid to meet her +master lest he should question her, she remained for +several hours in the village, taking care not to return +home until she learnt from a small boy that +Mr. Polwhele had been seen riding inland towards +Redruth among the dragoons.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick was on tenter-hooks all that day. His +customers noticed how pale he was, and commiserated +him on being "took bad" the day before Christmas. +He jumped at the entrance of every new-comer. A +great part of the day he spent in the seclusion of his +cellar, gathering together a few valuables, which he +placed along with his hoarded money in two stout +bags. As evening drew on he became more and +more restless and irritable, and gave short answers to +his customers, wishing with all his heart that he could +close his door. He dared not leave the village in +daylight, for so many people were about, discussing +the incidents of the morning, that he could hardly +have escaped without being seen by some one. Never +in all his smuggling ventures did he long for +darkness as he longed for it to-day.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About six o'clock a lad ran into the inn with the +news that a flare had been seen towards Lunnan +Cove. It was the time when Tonkin had arranged +to make the run, and Doubledick took the flare as a +signal from the riding-officer to Mr. Mildmay on +the cutter. The customers poured out of the inn, in +anticipation of more excitement before they retired +to rest.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>Meanwhile there had been interesting doings at +the Towers. When the Squire, with Tonkin's party, +pursued the Frenchmen down the hill, Sam Pollex +slipped away and ran with all his might to the Dower +House, where the alarm bell was clanging, while +smoke poured from the lower windows. He dashed +into the house, found the cook in hysterics in the +kitchen, and receiving no answer from her when he +demanded where Maidy Susan was, hunted through +all the floors until at last he discovered her in an +attic, tugging frantically at the bell-rope.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, maidy," he said, "come wi' me, or you'll be +smothered in the burnin' fiery furnace. Yer maister +be took; come, maidy, please."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He removed the rope from the girl's hands, put +his arm about her, and led her quickly down the +stairs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Where be Cook?" she cried, gasping, half +suffocated by the rolling smoke.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"In kitchen, hollerin' and screamin'," replied Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh! poor thing, we can't leave her. Come, +Sam, quick."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They ran into the kitchen, and while Susan tried +to calm the frenzied woman, Sam took down her +bonnet from its peg, and set it, hind part before, on +her head. Then they lifted her, and led her out +into the open air.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Wherever shall we go?" said Susan. "I +declare, I've left all my things behind; I must go +back for them."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never in life!" said Sam. "I can't hold this +great big female up wi'out 'ee. You must come +home-along wi' me. Mistress will take 'ee in: she +do hev a kind heart."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thus it happened that when Dick reached +home in company with the Vicar, Sam met him +at the door with a face like the rising sun, and +whispered:</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"She've come, Maister Dick!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Who has come?" asked Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maidy Susan, to be sure. Mistress hev right-down +took to her, I do believe. Cook be here, too, +and Feyther do look tarrible low in the sperits, 'cos +she told un he'd no more idee than a chiel o' three +how to stir up a figgy pudden."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Dick joined his parents, he found them +discussing the future of the two women with +Mr. Carlyon.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We can't afford to keep them, you know, +Vicar," said Mrs. Trevanion. "The girl seems a +pleasant, handy young thing, and I should like her +about the house much better than young Sam; +but——"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Exactly," said the Vicar. "Well now, 'tis +Christmas Eve. Shall we forget all our troubles, +and get our souls in tune for to-morrow? One +thing makes for peace, and that is the disappearance +of John Trevanion, to whom I trace all the +unneighbourly feeling between the village and you."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Thus the matter was left. After the Vicar had +drunk a dish of tea, he walked back in Dick's +company to the Parsonage, his horse having not yet +been returned to him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When Mr. Polwhele and the dragoons were seen +riding in the direction of Redruth, they were really +proceeding to a sheltered spot on the coast whence +they could watch for the flare which was to signal the +approach of the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span> to Lunnan Cove. +Mr. Mildmay's cutter was lurking behind a headland +not far away. As soon as the blue light was seen, +the riding-officer galloped to the spot, and saw, a +little distance out at sea, a dark shape, which from its +size he knew to be the lugger. Igniting another blue +light, he was surprised to find that the vessel was +making no effort to escape, nor was there the bustle +on board that might have been expected. There +were no tub-carriers in sight; no doubt, thought he, +they had scattered on seeing the flare. He reined +up on the beach, and waited for the cutter to appear.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In a few minutes he heard Mr. Mildmay hail the +lugger, and by the aid of another light he saw the +cutter run alongside, and a rummaging crew spring +aboard the </span><em class="italics">Isaac and Jacob</em><span>, without opposition. +Lamps were lit on deck, and the figures of the +lieutenant's men could be seen descending into the +hold. Immediately afterwards there was a burst of +rough laughter, mingled with a volley of curses; the +sailors emerged from the hatchway one by one, and +Mr. Mildmay's quarter-deck voice was heard abusing +something or somebody. Then he and his men +returned to the cutter, which headed for the shore, +while the lugger set her sails and stood out towards +the harbour.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Fooled again, Polwhele!" cried the lieutenant, +when he came within hailing distance. "The hold +is empty, and Jake Tonkin, young Pendry, +Pennycomequick, and half a dozen more are grinning +their heads off."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Confusion seize 'em!" exclaimed Mr. Polwhele. +"I see it! That rascal has betrayed us, in +the hope of redeeming himself with Tonkin. Well, +we deserve it for joining in with such a scoundrel. +Depend upon it, they've made their run somewhere +else, and are laughing in their sleeves."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The crestfallen officer dismissed the dragoons, +who were chuckling at his discomfiture, and rode +home.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>When Jake Tonkin escaped from Mr. Polwhele's +house, he took the shortest cut over the cliffs to the +harbour, and reached the shore just as the four men +were running to gain the lugger by way of the reef. +He joined them, and on meeting his father told him +in a few words about Doubledick's treachery. +Tonkin immediately sent a man back to countermand +the order to await him at Lunnan Cove, and to +arrange secretly with the tub-carriers to assemble at +the spot previously chosen, the creek five miles to +the north. He had then run out to sea, and, taking +advantage of the mist, made a circuit that brought +him astern of the cutter, which was then returning +to the harbour. He sunk his cargo near the mouth +of the creek, stepped with one man into the small +boat he had taken in tow, and sent the rest out to +sea again in the lugger, instructing them to make +for Lunnan Cove at the appointed time.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Consequently, at the moment when the officers +were condoling with each other, Tonkin and his +man were rowing into the creek, towards a large body +of tub-carriers gathered on the shore. The boat +moved very slowly, and a light thrown on the scene +would have revealed, attached to its stern, a rope on +which the first of a line of tubs was bobbing up and +down. When it came within a few yards of the +waiting men, half a dozen of them waded out and +drew it high on the beach. The rope was then +hauled in, scarcely a word being spoken, and in less +than ten minutes thirty men, each carrying two tubs +slung across his shoulders, were trudging to their +appointed destinations.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin was alone. As soon as the men had +disappeared, he removed a plug from the bottom of the +boat, and pushed it towards the middle of the stream, +where it sank in eight feet of water. Then he +set off with long strides towards the village. His +business was accomplished: now he could deal with +Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A few minutes after the flare had been announced +in the inn, Doubledick, left alone for a moment, let +himself down into the cellar. Not even his wife +knew of his design. He slipped on a pair of +goloshes, took up two heavy and cumbersome sacks, +slung them over his shoulders, and hurried through +the secret passage, which opened half-way up the +narrow-stepped lane. The night was very dark; +there was a blind wall on each side of the lane; and +no one saw the laden man as he crept stealthily up +the steps. Soon he came to a similar passage at right +angles to the other, leading down to the bank of the +stream. He turned into this, went more quickly to +the bottom, and then trudged along among the +rushes in the direction of the bridge.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Coming to that point, he did not ascend by the +steps that led to the road, but passed under the +arches and continued his way along the stream. +When he had walked about a quarter of a mile, he +paused for a minute or two to take breath, then +laboriously climbed up the steep bank with the +assistance of bushes and saplings, and came panting +to the top. He was now within a few yards of +the path that led past the Parsonage across the moor, +and joined the Truro road after a winding course of +nearly a mile. At this hour of the evening he had +no doubt that the Vicar would be in his study, and +his small household engaged in preparations for the +morrow.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick had gone only a short distance, however, +along the path, when he caught sight of a figure +coming in the other direction. Instantly he stepped +on to the grass on the left, and picked his way as +carefully as he could in the darkness over the rough +ground and among the furze bushes. He dared not +turn his head. The merest glimpse of a pedestrian +was enough to set him quaking; nor had he the +courage now to make his way back to the path. +Having met one person he might meet another. In +his state of panic-fear he saw in every dark bush a +man lying in wait for him, and the thought of +tramping for miles over this desolate moor filled him +with terror. There was another way to Truro, by +the high-road running past the Towers to the +cross-road from Newquay. In a few minutes, therefore, +he turned again to the left, and struck across the +uneven ground towards a point about midway +between the Dower House and the Towers. Dark +as the night was, he would at least see the road and +fare more easily upon it. Passers were rare at this +hour, and he hoped, if he should chance to meet +any one, to catch sight of him in time to slip aside +on to the dark moorland.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>As he came to the road, he threw a glance to the +left, where the ruins of the Dower House were +smouldering, sparks now and then flying southward +on the wind. The sight awoke no reflections, +regrets, remorse, in his soul. He was obsessed by +anxiety for his own safety.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick, having accompanied Mr. Carlyon to the +Parsonage, remained there for an hour or two, talking +over the strange events of the day, and then started +homeward along the path that would bring him to +the bridge. He noticed a man, bowed beneath a +load, turn aside on to the moor, and chuckled at the +thought that perhaps the smugglers had made their +run after all, and this was one of the tub-carriers +conveying his precious load to an expectant farmer. +Well, it was no business of his. He went on until +he came to the road, turned to the right, sniffing as +the wind brought pungent smoke to his nostrils, and +when he came opposite to the Dower House, which +the spectators had now deserted, halted for a few +moments to contemplate the empty shell, momentarily +lit up as a gust stirred the embers. It was little +more than three months since John Trevanion +entered into possession. How swiftly retribution +had overtaken him for the ill that he had done! In +the short space of an hour his prosperity had vanished +like the smoke from his burning house, and he was +gone to pay the penalty, Dick could not doubt, for +the fraud and trickery of years.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Turning away from the smoking ruins, Dick +pursued his homeward way. A few minutes later +he was surprised to see, stepping into the road from +the unfenced moorland, the same figure as he had +seen twenty minutes before going in the contrary +direction. The man had come from the village; +why then had he chosen so roundabout a route? +His curiosity thoroughly aroused, Dick hurried on +after the lumbering figure, expecting to overtake it +before it reached the Towers. He was struck by the +strange fact that while his own footsteps rang on the +hard surface of the road, he heard nothing of the +movements of the man in front, though the wind +was blowing towards him. Fast as he walked, the +distance between them did not appear to lessen. He +was convinced now that the man was a smuggler, +hurrying to avoid observation. He slackened his +pace; it was not worth while chasing the man, even +to discover his identity. To-morrow was Christmas; +he was going to sell his burden, so that he might +have the wherewithal to make merry on the festive day.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The man had just passed the gate leading to the +Towers. In less than a minute Dick would turn +into the drive and lose sight of him. But suddenly +there was a dull thud behind, and a glare momentarily +lit up the sky. A portion of the masonry of the +Dower House had fallen into the smouldering mass +below, and stirred a fitful flame. Immediately +afterwards he heard a hoarse cry in front, then a sound +of scrambling, of snapping twigs, of heavy footsteps +in the field on the other side of the hedge in the +direction of St. Cuby's Well. Dick knew that there +was a gap a few yards beyond the gate; he raced +on, forced his way through, and sprinted after the +retreating footsteps. Coming on to higher ground, +he was able to see, in the dim diffused light thrown +by the flickering flames behind, two figures, separated +by a short interval, rushing towards the well. One +minute they were visible; the next, where the ground +dipped, they disappeared into pitchy darkness.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick saw that the second figure was steadily +gaining on the first. Leaving the zigzag course that +had been traced by the smugglers, and was now +followed by the fugitive, the pursuer ran in a more +direct line for the well. The former, perceiving +with the instinct of a hunted animal that he was +being headed off, and could not reach the haven of +the ruined chapel, towards which he was hurrying, +without encountering the other, suddenly swerved to +the left in the direction of the cliff. He was followed +instantly by the second man, who now seemed to +leap after him like a wild animal after its prey. In +a few moments, just as they came to the brink of +the cliff, the two men closed. Running towards +them at headlong speed, Dick heard a furious cry, a +scream of terror, and saw one of the men lifted from +his feet above the head of the other. But before the +captor could summon his strength for the effort of +hurling the captive over the edge of the cliff, Dick +flung himself forward, caught the victim's feet, and +tugged him violently back. A savage oath broke +from the other man's lips. He staggered backward, +and attempting to recover his footing, let his burden +drop with a dull thud and a jingling crash to the +ground.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tonkin!" cried Dick, "what are you doing?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Out of my way!" shouted the man, throwing +himself upon the prostrate figure, from which there +came a piteous squeal for mercy.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick tried to drag the smuggler from his victim, +but he might as readily have moved an oak.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Tonkin, I say!" he cried in agitation, "for +God's sake get up. Would you commit murder, +like the murderer at the well? Think! Calm +yourself! 'Tis Christmas Eve."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A terrible scream rent the air. Dick caught Tonkin +by the collar and exerted all his strength to pull him +from the fallen body. Finding this useless, he flung +himself on the ground beside him, and tried to loosen +his grip on the man's throat. He was in despair, +when he heard a shout near at hand, and the next +moment Penwarden rushed to the spot, carrying a +lantern.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis you, Zacky Tonkin!" he cried. "Get on +your feet, or I don't care who the man is, I'll arrest +'ee in the King's name."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The light of the lantern fell on the distorted face +beneath him, and for the first time Dick saw that the +victim was Doubledick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Think of yer wife and boy," said Penwarden. +"Shall they lose 'ee for such as he?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Tonkin's first frenzy of rage had spent itself. He +slowly rose to his feet, leaving the innkeeper gasping, +half-throttled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>There was silence for a space. Dick and +Penwarden were held spellbound by the expression +upon Tonkin's strong, rugged face. He stood like +a statue, gazing down upon the huddled figure of +Doubledick. Then he turned.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You see that man!" he said, in a voice +surcharged with emotion. "He was my friend. I +trusted him. He and I hev worked together this +many year, fair and foul, winter and summer. And +now I know him for what he is, a spy, an informer, +that takes money for betrayin' his true mates. Ay, +and when things came to nought, he said 'twas my +own son that split on us. Look 'ee see! He +carr's his wages wi' un, afeard o' the face of an +honest man. Worm that he is, let him crawl his +way to everlastin' bonfire; but no price o' blood +shall he take along, nor no one else shall touch it +for evermore."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He stooped, wrenched the bags from the rope, +which snapped in his mighty hands like thread, and, +lifting each high above his head, hurled it far out +into the sea. Then, turning on his heel, he strode +away, and was swallowed up in the black night.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst" id="peace-and-goodwill"><span class="large">CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">Peace and Goodwill</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"A merry Christmas!" cried Dick, going into +his parents' bedroom early in the morning.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Thank'ee, my boy," said the Squire. "'Twill be +the last Christmas we shall spend within these walls, +so we will be as merry as we can.... Bless my +life! Who is that singing?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Through the open door came the sound of a clear +young voice:</span></p> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="line"><span>"I saw three ships come sailin' in</span></div> +<div class="inner line-block"> +<div class="line"><span>On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day;</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line"><span>I saw three ships come sailin' in</span></div> +<div class="inner line-block"> +<div class="line"><span>On Christmas Day in the mornin'."</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"'Tis Susan, sir, no doubt," replied Dick.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear me, I had forgotten the maid. Well, +'tis a sweet voice. She is merry enough, poor soul."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A very nice girl," said Mrs. Trevanion. "Listen!"</span></p> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="line"><span>"And what was in those ships all three,</span></div> +<div class="inner line-block"> +<div class="line"><span>On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?</span></div> +</div> +<div class="line"><span>And what was in those ships——"</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The singing was interrupted by a rippling peal +of laughter.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Sam, you'll be the death o' me!" said +Maidy Susan. "If you could only see the face +of 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What be purticler about the face o' me?" asked +Sam.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I can't tell 'ee, only it do make me smile. +What was ye thinkin' of?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, I was wishin' one o' they ships was +Maister's—his ship come home, as folks do say."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Silly boy! 'Twas thousands o' years ago:</span></p> +<blockquote> +<div> +<div class="line-block outermost"> +<div class="line"><span>"And what was in those ships all three,</span></div> +<div class="inner line-block"> +<div class="line"><span>On Christmas Day in the mornin'?"</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</blockquote> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"Well, I never heerd that psalm afore. Troll it +over to Pendry afore church; he've got a wonderful +ear, and if ye sing it twice he'll play it on his fiddle +bang through wi'out stoppin'. Maybe Pa'son will +command us to sing it instead of 'Aaron's Beard' +or 'Now Isr'el say.'"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't go to church, Sam. I must stay and +help Cook."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"No; be-jowned if 'ee do. Old Feyther be man +enough to help Cook, wi' sech a little small pudden +and all. If we'd only knowed ye were comin' we'd +ha' made it bigger, cost what it might. But you +shall have my share, Maidy, so don't be cast down +in yer soul."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bless the boy! Do 'ee think I can't live wi'out +pudden?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, if that be yer mind, I'll eat the +pudden, and you hev two servings o' pig—but not +too much apple sauce, Maidy."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Good now! You do talk and talk, and there's +the boots to clean and the cloth to lay. We'll never +be done. Be off with 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The voices ceased.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A very nice girl," repeated Mrs. Trevanion +with a sigh. "I wish we could keep her. She would +have a good influence on Sam, who is inclined to be +idle."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick smiled.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"When my ship comes home, my dear," said the +Squire. "Upon my word, 'tis cheering to hear a +song in the morning, and the sun shining, too. I +think the fire yesterday has burnt some of my +melancholy away."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After breakfast they walked over to the church. +The people assembled in the churchyard bobbed and +curtsied as the party from the Towers passed up the +path, and wished them a merry Christmas, a sign of +renewed friendliness which made the Squire glow +with pleasure. There was a large congregation, and +everybody expected that the Vicar would preach a +sermon bearing on the events of the previous day. +He had indeed looked out two old discourses, one on +the text, "The wages of sin is death," the other on +"The ways of transgressors are hard"; but he +replaced them in his drawer, and selected a third, +on the verse, "Peace on earth, goodwill towards men."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't spoil the day for them," he said to +himself; "but they shall not get off; they shall have +something warming next Sunday." The worthy +man did not foresee that next Sunday the church +would be half empty, the people having concluded +that he had found the iniquities of John Trevanion +an unprofitable theme.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>After church the young folks trooped into the +barn, where a Christmas dinner had been spread for +them, and the men flocked down to the village, to +spend an hour while their wives prepared the meal. +For the first time in the history of the parish they +passed by the open door of the Five Pilchards +and made their way to the Three Jolly Mariners, +to the delight of the innkeeper and the amazement +of its few </span><em class="italics">habitués</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>In the afternoon someone suggested that they +should row out to the fairway to see the rock which +Dick had thrown down. The oldsters, after their +Christmas dinner, were disinclined to move; but Jake +Tonkin, Ike Pendry, and others of the younger +generation hailed the opportunity of stretching their +legs, and a procession of boats rowed out to the spot. +The sun, by this time creeping to the west, lit up the +face of the cliff with a ruddy gleam, and a young +miner, perched on the top of the rock, called the +attention of the others to the appearance of curious +streaks on the rugged surface of the promontory, +where the falling rock had struck off fragments as it +bounded down.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"They look uncommon like silver," said he.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis the deceivin' sun," said Jake Tonkin. +"Theer bean't neither silver nor tin worth delvin' +for hereabouts."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Maybe, but I be goin' to see," said the miner. +"Gie me that boat-hook, my sonny."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>He got into a boat, and was rowed to the base of +the cliff, whence he climbed with careful step. The +others watched him with more interest in his feat +than in the object of it. On reaching one of the +longest of the streaks he hacked at the rock with the +hook, then suddenly looked round, and cried—</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Daze me, my sonnies, if it bean't as good silver +tin ore as ever I seed. There's riches here, take my +word for't."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Be-jowned if I bean't fust to tell Squire," cried +Jake Tonkin, instantly pulling his boat round and +making for the shore. The others followed him, +deaf to the entreaties of the miner to come back and +take him off. Half-a-dozen boats raced madly to +the beach; a score of youths sprang out, dashed +through the village, up the hill, and along the high +road. One, thinking to gain an advantage over the +rest, tried to leap one of John Trevanion's fences, and +fell headlong to the ground, his competitors shouting +with laughter, none attempting to emulate him.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jabez Mail, the son of Simon, arrived first at the +Towers, but Ike Pendry, only a yard behind, caught +him by the tail of his Sunday coat, and while the two +were wrestling, Jake Tonkin slipped past them and +rushed into the house without knocking. Remembering +the situation of the Squire's room from his +last visit, he ran straight to it, followed by a dozen +others, some entering with him, others crowding at +the door.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Within the room sat the Squire and Dick, with the +Vicar, Mr. Mildmay, and Mr. Polwhele, smoking +before a huge log fire. They had started up at the +sound of heavy boots clattering along the passage, +and stood in amazement as the young fishers, red and +blown with running, clumped in.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you mean by this?" exclaimed the +Squire testily. "D'you think this is an inn?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Jake, the foremost, was at once overcome by his +habitual sheepishness, and stood as though glued to +the floor, twisting his hat between his hands, and +grinning vacantly. Ike Pendry thrust him aside.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please, sir, I be come——" he began.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Scrounch 'ee, I was fust!" cried Jake, suddenly +recovering his speech, and sticking his elbow into +Ike's ribs.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, now," said Mr. Carlyon severely, "this is +very unmannerly behaviour. What do you mean +by it?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Please, yer reverence," said Ike, "theer be great +and noble riches down-along at Beal. We be come +with all our legs to tell Squire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I was fust," added Jake.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a liard," said young Mail, thrusting his +way to the front. "I was fust, only Ike Pendry +catched me by the tail o' my coat, which he couldn' +ha' done if 'twere a common day."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, then, Jabez," said the Vicar, "as you +seem to have best command of your breath, +perhaps you will tell us the meaning of these antics."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, fay, that I woll," said the lad. "We pulled +out to the Beal, to see wi' our own eyes the rock as +Maister Dick tumbled down, and Tim Solly, the +miner, says, says he, 'Be-jowned, my sonnies, if it +bean't the noblest silver tin as ever I seed.' 'Twas +the rock, yer reverence, and genelum all, had strook +away the ground as covered it, and theer 'tis, bidin' +to be dug out."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The Squire's face, as he listened to this, flushed +and paled by turns.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"This is most extraordinary," said the Vicar. "I +think we had better all go down to the Beal and see +for ourselves."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We will," said Mr. Polwhele. "Come along, Squire."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis pure fancy," murmured the Squire. "The +ore would have been discovered long ago if it +existed. My old mine comes within a few yards of +the Beal."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"We can but see," said Mr. Mildmay. "Let us +go at once, before the sun is down."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They hurried forth, the messengers following, +Sam being now among them. As they went, the +crowd was increased by many more of the villagers, +who had poured out of their houses when they +heard of the stampede. In a few minutes they +reached the Beal, at the spot where the fallen rock +had stood.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi!" shouted a voice from below; "up or +down, I don't care which it be, but I can't bide here +all the cold night."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't 'ee werrit, my son," said Tonkin, who +had joined the throng. "Fling up a mossel o' that +shinin' rock they tell about."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mind yer head, then, my dear, or 'twill hurt 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Up came a jagged knob of rock, which Tonkin +deftly caught and handed to the Squire. A breathless +silence fell on the crowd as he turned it over in +his trembling hands. He passed it to Mr. Polwhele, +and he in turn to the foreman of Trevanion's mine, +who stood by.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Tis tin ore, gentlemen, without doubt," he said, +"and, I think, very rich in metal. You will do well, +sir, to bring an assayer to test it."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>His words were received with a joyous shout. +Caps were flung into the air; a hundred lusty +throats roared cheers for the Squire. Mr. Carlyon +grasped his old friend's hand.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Hold fast the rock by the western sea!'" he +said. "Wonderful! Wonderful!"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Let us keep our heads," said the Squire. "It +may be a false hope."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Hi!" shouted the miner. "When be I a-comin' +up-along?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never, my son," cried Tonkin. "We can't heave +'ee up wi'out doin' a deal o' damage to yer mortal +frame. Bide quiet, and we'll fetch 'ee in a boat."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll never disbelieve in witches again," said the +Vicar. "Dick! Where is the boy? 'Twas an +inspiration—upon my word it was."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Dick was not to be found. He was running like +a deer to tell his mother the great news. Sam +followed, hopelessly outstripped, eager to pour the +story into the ears of Maidy Susan. The Squire +and his friends returned more slowly to the house, +and the people, giving him a parting cheer, hurried +to the village.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When a mixed crowd of fishers, farmers, and +miners entered the taproom of the Three Jolly +Mariners, they found Joe Penwarden comfortably +settled in the place nearest the fire. As an +excise-man, he had never frequented the smugglers' haunt +at the Five Pilchards, but occasionally dropped +in for a glass at the other inn. Observing Tonkin, +Pendry, and a dozen more free-traders among the +newcomers, he shook the ashes out of his church-warden, +gulped down his grog, and rose to go. It +was against the rules of the service to consort with +smugglers, known or suspected.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Bide where ye be, Maister," said Tonkin, +heartily. "'Tis peace and goodwill to-day, and +though some may hate 'ee like a toad o' common +days, we'll treat 'ee like a true Christian to-day; +what do 'ee say, neighbours all?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ay, Maister," said Pendry, "set 'ee down and +hark to the noble history we've got to tell 'ee. 'Tis +rum-hot all round—eh, souls?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>They pressed Penwarden into his chair, and, all +speaking together, poured into his ears the story of +the great discovery.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well," he said presently, "'tis the noblest +Christmas box as ever man got in this weary world."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Iss, sure," said Petherick, adding in his +ecclesiastical manner, "'Tis 'My soul doth magnify' for +Squire and parish too, I don't care who the man is."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"True," said Penwarden, "and little small fellers +like we must gie them above the credit o't. Theer +be doin's in high parts as we cannot make head or +tail of. Squire's cousin comes here, a right-down +villain, a-deceivin' high and low from Sir Bevil +himself down to small fry like 'ee."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"That no man can deny," said Tonkin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"And yet," pursued Penwarden, enjoying his +unaccustomed </span><em class="italics">rôle</em><span> as oracle,—"and yet, if he hadn' +a-come, theer'd 'a been no Frenchy poking his nose +in Polkerran, and no call for Maister Dick to shift a +stone that has held to the same moorings maybe since +the beginnin' o' the world. Ay, the Almighty do say +a word sometimes to us miserable worms."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The old man's solemnity caused a hush to fall on the +assembly. For some moments no one spoke. The +room filled with clouds of smoke. Then Penwarden +took his pipe from his mouth, and, in a different +tone, said: "It minds me o' Lord Admiral Rodney."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"What do mind 'ee of him, Maister?" asked +Simon Mail, whose arm was in a sling.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, a high person speakin' to a low. Did 'ee +never hear how the Lord Admiral once upon a time +spoke special to me?"</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Never in life, Maister," said Mail. "Spet out +the story for the good of us all."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, 'twas on Plymouth Hoe. Theer was I, +takin' a spell ashore, and cruisin' about: ah! I had +a good figurehead in them gay young days. Daze +me if Lord Admiral Rodney didn' run athwart my +course, convoying two spankin' fine craft in the shape +of females. The sight took the wind out o' my +sails, I assure 'ee, and I fell becalmed full in the +fairway, as ye med say. 'Get out o' my way, you +cross-eyed son of a sea-cook,' says the Lord Admiral, +and the two handsome females laughed like waves +dancin' in the sun. 'Twas a wonderful honour for +a great man-o'-war like Lord Admiral Rodney to +speak to a humble and lowly feller like me."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"'Twas a gashly scornful name to call 'ee, I +b'lieve," said Pennycomequick, the village wet-blanket.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Ah! but you should ha' heerd what he called +the swabbers aboard," replied Penwarden, lighting +another pipe.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>The result of the assayer's tests was more satisfactory +than the most sanguine had dared to anticipate. +The ore was particularly rich in metal, and the +lode appeared to extend through the lower part of +the Beal seaward. A careful examination of the +ground explained the reason why the discovery had +not been made earlier. Between the old mine and +the new lode extended several yards of granite, by +what is known in geology as a "fault."</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>When the assayer declared that in all probability +the tin-bearing stratum stretched for thousands of +yards under the sea, the question to be debated +was whether the Squire should sell the land, or +attempt to work it himself. There was little doubt +as to what his decision would be. His long-vanished +ideas of restoring the fortunes of his +family returned with double force, and it scarcely +needed the persuasiveness of Mr. Carlyon and Dick +to fix his determination. The ground having been +thoroughly surveyed, his new lawyer in Truro had +no difficulty in negotiating a loan which furnished +him with enough capital to start working. Plant +was soon on the spot, miners were engaged, and +within a few months the yield was sufficient to pay +the interest on the loan, a portion of the capital sum, +and a contribution towards the increased expenditure +at the Towers. Now that the tide had turned towards +prosperity, the Squire put in hand the repairs long +needed there, and Mrs. Trevanion decided to retain +Cook and Maidy Susan in her employment.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>The question of Dick's future came up. Mr. Carlyon +urged that he should continue his studies +and go to Oxford; but Dick's inclination was for a +more strenuously active life. He worked for a time +as a common miner in order to learn the details of +the trade, visited other mines to widen his +knowledge, and ultimately became his father's manager, +in which capacity he showed a genius for organisation +and the control of men.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Sam Pollex, basking in the continual sunshine of +Maidy Susan's smile, became the Squire's gardener, +and was very proud of the results of his handiwork. +He grew a few inches, and by the time he was twenty +stood a little higher than Susan's shoulder. Convinced +that he would grow no more, he asked her to marry +him, pointing out that though she was older in years, +he was older in knowledge: that she looked younger +than she was, and he older. They made a match of +it, Susan's wedding dress being fashioned out of a +blue silk recovered from the cave.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>A month or two after the day of the great +discovery, the Collector at Plymouth paid a visit to +Polkerran, and decided that Penwarden was too old +for his post. This gave deep offence to the old +man. "Too old, be I?" said he; "we'll see about +that." The Squire offered him the post of overseer +at his new mine, which he accepted. His indignation +at the slight put upon him in the King's name +scarcely diminished with the lapse of time, and a +village tradition asserts that, during the next ten +years, the smuggler who caused the most trouble and +annoyance to the revenue officers was Joe Penwarden, +once exciseman. But no one who knew the old +man's strong sense of duty, and had heard him speak +of his service under Admiral Rodney, could ever +believe that the actions of his later life so far belied +his principles.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>About six months after John Trevanion's disappearance, +a billposter came from Truro and posted +notices on the fences of the desolate grounds of the +Dower House, and Petherick, as village crier, rang +his bell and proclaimed the approaching sale of "all +that messuage and tenement," et cetera. It was +already known, through the resumption of business +relations between Tonkin and Delarousse, that the +latter had thrown Trevanion into prison, and lodged +a claim against him for the restitution of large sums +of money which he had obtained by a systematic +course of fraud. When the day of the sale came, it +was remarked that none of the neighbouring land-owners +put in an appearance except Squire Trevanion. +Sir Bevil Portharvan had, in fact, personally persuaded +his friends to absent themselves, and leave the bidding +to the Squire. As is generally the case with forced +sales, the bids were low, and the estate was knocked +down to Mr. Trevanion of the Towers, at a ridiculously +small figure. The proceeds of the sale did not +suffice to clear John Trevanion, who remained in +prison until his death of fever a year later. The +Squire told Mr. Carlyon that as soon as Dick set +about seeking a wife, he would rebuild the Dower +House. But Dick did not marry until after +his father's death, sixteen years later, and the +site of the Dower House was then a picturesque ruin.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Doubledick was never again seen in Polkerran, +nor was anything directly heard of him by his +former associates. The inn lost all its customers, +who transferred their favours to the Three Jolly +Mariners. In three months, Mrs. Doubledick was +on the brink of ruin, and one day she mounted the +carrier's cart, with a few bundles, and departed, no +one knew whither.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>Some few years afterwards, the landlord of a low +public-house in the precinct of Whitefriars, +London—a haunt of thieves, coiners, and other bad +characters—was discovered in an alley behind the house, +dead, with a bullet-wound in his temple. He went +by the name of Brown, and was believed to be a +West-countryman. It was rumoured that his murderer +was one of a gang whom he had betrayed to the police. +No one came forward to claim relationship with him, +and he was buried by the parish.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>For many years rare visitors to the village wondered +at a dilapidated building that stood near the jetty, its +windows broken, its door blistered by the sun, the +fragment of a signboard creaking on a rusty pole +whenever the wind blew in from the sea—a mournful +symbol of neglect and decay. If any stranger was +curious enough to inquire into the history of this +unpicturesque ruin, he would always find a small boy +ready to conduct him to the house of one of the +Tonkins, who related, with the exactitude of personal +knowledge, the lamentable story of Doubledick the +informer.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS, LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * * * * *</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="large">STORIES BY HERBERT STRANG</span></p> +<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>"The best of living writers for boys."—</span><em class="italics">Manchester +Guardian</em><span>.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"The majority of writers of boys' books are content to +provide their young friends with mere reading. Herbert +Strang offers them literature."—</span><em class="italics">Glasgow Herald</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>HUMPHREY BOLD: His Chances and Mischances +by Land and Sea. A Story of the Time of Benbow</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Strang's work is astonishingly vivid and alive, and he +imparts his varied and wide knowledge with the easy mastery +of an artist."—</span><em class="italics">Publishers' Circular</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>ROB THE RANGER: a Story of the Fight for Canada.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"A stirring story of the Fight for Canada, bringing into +relief the romantic side of the great struggle, and showing the +author's keen observation, rapid and lucid narration, and +clever construction at their best."—</span><em class="italics">Educational Times</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>ONE OF CLIVE'S HEROES: a Story of the Fight for India.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"An absorbing story ... The narrative not only thrills, +but also weaves skilfully out of fact and fiction a clear +impression of our fierce struggle for India."—</span><em class="italics">Athenæum</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><span>PALM TREE ISLAND: a Story of the South Seas.</span></p> +<p class="pnext"><span>"For desperate daring and resourceful ingenuity Harry +Brent and Billy Bobbin will be hard to beat, and many will +be the boy who finds this story of their trip to the South Seas +full of fascination and interest."—</span><em class="italics">Army and Navy Gazette</em><span>.</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> +</div> +<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold medium">PRICE SIX SHILLINGS EACH</span></p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> +</div> +<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> +<div class="backmatter"> +</div> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39800 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |