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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7369-h.zip b/7369-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..19718c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/7369-h.zip diff --git a/7369-h/7369-h.htm b/7369-h/7369-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b87a21b --- /dev/null +++ b/7369-h/7369-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7017 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=us-ascii"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times;} + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 14pt; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + --> + </style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Jim Davis + +Author: John Masefield + +Posting Date: February 12, 2013 [EBook #7369] +Release Date: January, 2005 +First Posted: April 22, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric +Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h1> + Jim Davis + </h1> + <center> + <b><i>By</i><br> + John Masefield<br> + <br> + <br> + For Judith<br></b> + </center> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <h3> + MY FIRST JOURNEY + </h3> + <p> + I was born in the year 1800, in the town of + Newnham-on-Severn, in Gloucestershire. I am sure of the year, + because my father always told me that I was born at the end + of the century, in the year that they began to build the + great house. The house has been finished now these many + years. The red-brick wall, which shuts its garden from the + road (and the Severn), is all covered with valerian and + creeping plants. One of my earliest memories is of the masons + at work, shaping the two great bows. I remember how my nurse + used to stop to watch them, at the corner of the road, on the + green strip by the river-bank, where the gipsies camped on + the way to Gloucester horse-fair. One of the masons was her + sweetheart (Tom Farrell his name was), but he got into bad + ways, I remember, and was hanged or transported, though that + was years afterwards, when I had left that countryside. + </p> + <p> + My father and mother died when I was still a boy—my + mother on the day of Trafalgar battle, in 1805, my father + four years later. It was very sad at home after mother died; + my father shut himself up in his study, never seeing anybody. + When my father died, my uncle came to Newnham from his home + in Devonshire; my old home was sold then, and I was taken + away. I remember the day so very clearly. It was one sunny + morning in early April. My uncle and I caught the coach at + the top of the hill, at the door of the old inn opposite the + church. The coachman had a hot drink handed up to him, and + the ostlers hitched up the new team. Then the guard (he had a + red coat, like a soldier) blew his horn, and the coach + started off down the hill, going so very fast that I was + afraid, for I had never ridden on a coach before, though I + had seen them every day. The last that I saw of Newnham was + the great house at the corner. It was finished by that time, + of course, and as we drove past I saw the beautiful woman who + lived there walking up and down the lawn with her husband, + Captain Rylands, a very tall, handsome man, who used to give + me apples. I was always afraid to eat the apples, because my + nurse said that the Captain had killed a man. That was in the + wars in Spain, fighting against the French. + </p> + <p> + I remember a great deal about my first coach-ride. We slept + that night at Bristol in one of the famous coaching inns, + where, as a great treat, I had bacon and eggs for supper, + instead of bread-and-milk. In the morning, my uncle took me + with him to the docks, where he had some business to do. That + was the first time I ever really saw big ships, and that was + the first time I spoke with the sailors. There was a capstan + on one of the wharves, and men were at work, heaving round + it, hoisting casks out of a West Indiaman. One of the men + said, "Come on, young master; give us a hand on the bar + here." So I put my hands on to the bar and pushed my best, + walking beside him till my uncle called me away. There were + many ships there at the time, all a West Indian convoy, and + it was fine to see their great figureheads, and the brass + cannon at the ports, and to hear the men singing out aloft as + they shifted spars and bent and unbent sails. They were all + very lofty ships, built for speed; all were beautifully kept, + like men-of-war, and all of them had their house-flags and + red ensigns flying, so that in the sun they looked splendid. + I shall never forget them. + </p> + <p> + After that, we went back to the inn, and climbed into another + coach, and drove for a long, long time, often very slowly, + till we reached a place near Newton Abbot, where there was a + kind woman who put me to bed (I was too tired to notice + more). Then, the next morning, I remember a strange man who + was very cross at breakfast, so that the kind woman cried + till my uncle sent me out of the room. It is funny how these + things came back to me; it might have been only yesterday. + </p> + <p> + Late that afternoon we reached the south coast of Devon, so + that we had the sea close beside us until the sun set. I + heard the sea, as I thought, when we reached my uncle's + house, at the end of the twilight; but they told me that it + was a trout-stream, brawling over its boulders, and that the + sea was a full mile away. My aunt helped to put me to bed, + but I was too much excited to sleep well. I lay awake for a + long, long time, listening to the noise of the brook, and to + the wind among the trees outside, and to the cuckoo clock on + the landing calling out the hours and half-hours. When I fell + asleep I seemed to hear the sea and the crying out of the + sailors. Voices seemed to be talking close beside me in the + room; I seemed to hear all sorts of things, strange things, + which afterwards really happened. There was a night-light + burning on the wash-handstand. Whenever I woke up in the + night the light would show me the shadow of the water jug + upon the ceiling. It looked like an old, old man, with a + humped back, walking the road, bowed over his cudgel. + </p> + <p> + I am not going to say very much about my life during the next + few years. My aunt and uncle had no children of their own, + and no great fondness for the children of others. Sometimes I + was very lonely there; but after my tenth birthday I was at + school most of my time, at Newton Abbot. I used to spend my + Easter holidays (never more than a week) with the kind woman + who put me to bed that night of my journey. My summer and + winter holidays I spent with my uncle and aunt in their + little house above the trout-stream. + </p> + <p> + The trout-stream rose about three miles from my uncle's + house, in a boggy wood full of springs. It was a very rapid + brook, nowhere more than three or four feet deep, and never + more than twenty feet across, even near its mouth. Below my + uncle's house it was full of little falls, with great mossy + boulders which checked its flow, and pools where the bubbles + spun. Further down, its course was gentler, for the last mile + to the sea was a flat valley, with combes on each side + covered with gorse and bramble. The sea had once come right + up that valley to just below my uncle's house; but that was + many years before—long before anybody could remember. + Just after I went to live there, one of the farmers dug a + drain, or "rhine," in the valley, to clear a boggy patch. He + dug up the wreck of a large fishing-boat, with her anchor and + a few rusty hoops lying beside her under the ooze about a + foot below the surface. She must have sailed right up from + the sea hundreds of years ago, before the brook's mouth got + blocked with shingle (as I suppose it was) during some summer + gale when the stream was nearly dry. Often, when I was a boy, + I used to imagine the ships coming up from the sea, along + that valley, firing their cannon. In the winter, when the + snow melted, the valley would be flooded, till it looked just + like a sea, and then I would imagine sea-fights there, with + pirates in red caps boarding Spanish treasure galleons. + </p> + <p> + The seacoast is mostly very bold in that part of Devon. Even + where there are no cliffs, the land rises steeply from the + sea, in grassy hills, with boulders and broken rock, instead + of a beach, below them. There are small sandy beaches + wherever the brooks run into the sea. Everywhere else the + shore is "steep-to"—so much so that in many places it + is very difficult to reach the sea. I mention this because, + later on, that steep coast gave me some queer adventures. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <h3> + NIGHT-RIDERS + </h3> + <p> + When I was twelve years old, something very terrible + happened, with good results for myself. The woman near Newton + Abbot (I have spoken of her several times) was a Mrs Cottier, + the wife of a schoolmaster. Her husband used to drink very + hard, and in this particular year he was turned out of the + school, and lost his living. His wife left him then (or + rather he left her; for a long time no one knew what became + of him) and came to live with us, bringing with her little + Hugh Cottier, her son, a boy of about my own age. After that, + life in my uncle's house was a different thing to me. Mrs + Cottier was very beautiful and kind; she was like my mother, + strangely like, always sweet and gentle, always helpful and + wise. I think she was the dearest woman who ever lived. I was + always proud when she asked me to do something for her. Once, + I remember (in the winter after Mrs Cottier came to us), she + drove to Salcombe to do her Christmas shopping. It came on to + snow during the afternoon; and at night-time the storm grew + worse. We put back supper, expecting her to come in at any + minute, but she did not come. The hours went by, and still + she did not come, and still the storm worsened. The wind was + not very high, but the air was full of a fine, powdery, + drifting snow; the night seemed full of snow; snow fell down + the chimney and drifted in under the door. My uncle was too + lame with sciatica to leave his bed; and my aunt, always a + woman of poor spirit, was afraid of the night. At eight + o'clock I could stand it no longer, so I said that I would + saddle the pony, and ride out along the Salcombe road to find + her. Hugh was for going in my place; but Hugh was not so + strongly built as I, and I felt that Hugh would faint after + an hour in the cold, I put on double clothes, with an oilskin + jacket over all, and then lit the lantern, and beat out of + the house to the stable. I put one or two extra candles in my + pockets, with a flint and steel, and some bread and meat + Something prompted me to take a hank of cord, and a heavy old + boat-rug; and with all these things upon him old Greylegs, + the pony, was heavy-laden. + </p> + <p> + When we got into the road together, I could not see a yard in + front of me. There was nothing but darkness and drifting snow + and the gleam of the drifts where the light of the lantern + fell. There was no question of losing the road; for the road + was a Devon lane, narrow and deep, built by the ancient + Britons, so everybody says, to give them protection as they + went down to the brooks for water. If it had been an open + road, I could never have found my way for fifty yards. I was + strongly built for a boy; even at sea I never suffered much + from the cold, and this night was not intensely + cold—snowy weather seldom is. What made the ride so + exhausting was the beating of the snow into my eyes and + mouth. It fell upon me in a continual dry feathery pelting, + till I was confused and tired out with the effort of trying + to see ahead. For a little while, I had the roar of the + trout-stream in my ears to comfort me; but when I topped the + next combe that died away; and there I was in the night, + beating on against the storm, with the strange moaning sound + of the wind from Dartmoor, and the snow rustling to keep me + company. I was not exactly afraid, for the snow in my face + bothered me too much, but often the night would seem full of + people—laughing, horrible people—and often I + would think that I saw Mrs Cottier lying half-buried in a + drift. + </p> + <p> + I rode three miles or more without seeing anybody. Then, just + before I reached the moor cross-roads, in a lull when the + snow was not so bad, I heard a horse whinny, and old Greylegs + baulked. Then I heard voices and a noise as of people riding; + and before I could start old Greylegs I saw a party of + horsemen crossing my road by the road from the sea to + Dartmoor. They were riding at a quick trot, and though there + were many horses (some thirty or forty), I could see, even in + that light, that most of them were led. There were not more + than a dozen men; and only one of all that dozen carried a + lantern. Something told me that they were out for no good, + and the same instinct made me cover my lantern with my coat, + so that they passed me without seeing me. At first I thought + that they were the fairy troop, and that gave me an awful + fear; but a moment later, in the wind, I felt a whiff of + tobacco, and of a strong, warm, sweet smell of spirits, and I + knew then that they were the night-riders or smugglers. After + they had gone, I forced old Greylegs forward, and trotted on, + against the snow, for another half-mile, with my heart going + thump upon my ribs. I had an awful fear that they would turn, + and catch me; and I knew that the night-riders wanted no + witnesses of their adventures in the dark. + </p> + <p> + About four miles from home, I came to an open part of the + road, where the snow came down in its full fury, there being + no hedge to give a little shelter. It was so thick that I + could not get Greylegs to go on. He stood stock-still, and + cowered, though I beat him with my hank of cord, and kicked + his ribs. It was cruel of me; but I thought of Mrs Cottier, + with her beautiful kind face, lying in a drift of snow, and + the thought was dreadful to me. I got down from the saddle, + and put my lantern on the ground, and tried to drag him + forward, but it was useless. He would not have stirred if I + had lighted a fire under him. When he had the instinct to + stand still, nothing would make him budge a yard. A very + fierce gust came upon me then. The snow seemed to whirl upon + me from all sides, so that I got giddy and sick. And then, + just at the moment, there were horses and voices all about + me, coming from Salcombe way. Somebody called out, "Hullo," + and somebody called out "Look out, behind"; and then a lot of + horses pulled up suddenly, and some men spoke, and a led + horse shied at my lantern. I had no time to think or to run, + I felt myself backing into old Greylegs in sheer fright; and + then some one thrust a lantern into my face, and asked me who + I was. By the light of the lantern I saw that he wore a + woman's skirt over his trousers; and his face was covered by + one of those great straw bee-skeps, pierced with holes for + his eyes and mouth. He was one of the most terrible things I + have ever seen. + </p> + <p> + "Why, it's a boy," said the terrible man. "What are you doing + here, boy?" + </p> + <p> + Another man, who seemed to be a leader, called out from his + horse, "Who are you?" but I was too scared to answer; my + teeth were rattling in my head. + </p> + <p> + "It's a trick," said another voice. "We had best go for the + moor." + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," said the leader, sharply. "The boy's scared." + </p> + <p> + He got down from his horse, and peered at me by the lantern + light. He, too, wore a bee-skep; in fact, they all did, for + there is no better disguise in the world, while nothing makes + a man look more horrible. I was not quite so terrified by + this time, because he had spoken kindly. + </p> + <p> + "Who are you?" he asked. "We shan't eat you. What are you + doing here?" + </p> + <p> + As well as I could I told him. The leader strode off a few + paces, and spoke with one or two other men; but I could only + catch the words, "Yes; yes, Captain," spoken in a low, quick + voice, which seemed somehow familiar. Then he came back to + me, and took me by the throat, and swayed me to and fro, very + gently, but in a way which made me feel that I was going to + be killed. + </p> + <p> + "Tell me," he said, "I shall know whether you're lying, so + tell the truth, now. What have you seen to-night?" + </p> + <p> + I told him that I had seen a troop of horsemen going through + the snow towards the moor. + </p> + <p> + "That settles it, Captain," said another voice. "You can't + trust a young chap like that." + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," said the man they called Captain; "I'm master, not + you." + </p> + <p> + He strode off again, to speak to another man. I heard some + one laugh a little, and then the Captain came back to me. He + took me by the throat as before, and again shook me. "You + listen to me," he said, grimly. "If you breathe so much as + one word of what you've seen to-night—well—I + shall know. D'ye hear? I shall know. And when I + know—well—your little neck'll go. There's poetry. + That will help you remember— + </p> + <p> + <br> + 'When I know,<br> + Your neck'll go<br> + Like so'" + </p> + <p> + He gave a sharp little twist of his hand upon my Adam's + apple. + </p> + <p> + I was terrified. I don't know what I said; my tongue seemed + to wither on its stalk. The Captain walked to his horse, and + remounted. "Come along, boys," he said. The line of horses + started off again. A hand fell upon my shoulder, and a voice + spoke kindly to me. "See here," it said, "you go on another + half-mile, you'll find a barn by the side of the road. + There's no door on the barn, and you'll see a fire inside. + You'll find your lady there. She is safe all right. You keep + your tongue shut now." + </p> + <p> + The speaker climbed into his saddle, and trotted off into the + night. "Half a mile. Straight ahead!" he called; then the + dull trampling died away, and I was left alone again with + Greylegs. Some minutes passed before I could mount; for I was + stiff with fright. I was too frightened after that to mind + the snow; I was almost too frightened to ride. Luckily for me + the coming of the night-riders had startled old Greylegs + also; he trotted on gallantly, though sometimes he floundered + into a drift, and had to be helped out. + </p> + <p> + Before I came to the barn the snow stopped falling, except + for a few aimless flakes, which drifted from all sides in the + air. It was very dark still; the sky was like ink; but there + was a feel of freshness (I cannot describe it) which told me + that the wind had changed. Presently I saw the barn ahead of + me, to the right of the road, spreading a red glow of fire + across the way. Old Greylegs seemed glad of the sight; he + gave a whinny and snorted. As well as he could he broke into + a canter, and carried me up to the door in style. + </p> + <p> + "Are you safe, Mrs Cottier?" I called out. + </p> + <p> + "What! Jim!" she answered. "How good of you to come for me!" + </p> + <p> + The barn, unlike most barns in that country, was of only one + story. It may have been a farmhouse in the long ago, for it + had larger windows than most barns. These had been stuffed + with sacks and straw, to keep out the weather. The door had + been torn from its place by some one in need of firewood; the + roof was fairly sound; the floor was of trampled earth. Well + away from the doorway, in the centre of the barn, some one + had lighted a fire, using (as fuel) one of the faggots + stacked against the wall. The smoke had long since blown out + of doors. The air in the barn was clear and fresh. The fire + had died down to a ruddy heap of embers, which glowed and + grew grey again, as the draughts fanned them from the + doorway. By the light of the fire I could see Mrs Cottier, + sitting on the floor, with her back against the wheel of her + trap, which had been dragged inside to be out of the snow. I + hitched old Greylegs to one of the iron bolts, which had once + held a door-hinge, and ran to her to make sure that she was + unhurt. + </p> + <p> + "How in the world did you get here?" I asked. "Are you sure + you're not hurt?" + </p> + <p> + She laughed a little at this, and I got out my stores, and we + made our supper by the fire. "Where's old Nigger?" I asked + her; for I was puzzled by seeing no horse. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim," she said, "I've had such adventures." + </p> + <p> + When she had eaten a little she told me her story. + </p> + <p> + "I was coming home from Salcombe," she said, "and I was + driving fast, so as to get home before the snow lay deep. + Just outside South pool, Nigger cast a shoe, and I was kept + waiting at the forge for nearly half an hour. After that, the + snow was so bad that I could not get along. It grew dark when + I was only a mile or two from the blacksmith's, and I began + to fear that I should never get home. However, as I drove + through Stokenham, the weather seemed to clear a little, so I + hurried Nigger all I could, hoping to get home in the lull. + When I got to within a hundred yards from here, in the little + hollow, where the stunted ashes are, I found myself among a + troop of horsemen, who stopped me, and asked me a lot of + questions. They were all disguised, and they had lanterns + among them, and I could see that the horses carried tubs; I + suppose full of smuggled lace and brandy and tobacco, ready + to be carried inland. Jim, dear, I was horribly frightened; + for while they were speaking together I thought I heard the + voice of—of some one I know—or used to know." + </p> + <p> + She stopped for a moment overcome, and I knew at once that + she was speaking of her husband, the schoolmaster that was. + "And then," she continued, "some of them told me to get down + out of the trap. And then another of them seized Nigger's + head, and walked the trap as far as the barn here. Then they + unharnessed Nigger, and led him away, saying they were short + of horses, but would send him back in a day or two. They + seemed to know all about me, where I lived, and everything. + One of them took a faggot from a wall here, and laid the big + fire, with straw instead of paper. While he lit it he kept + his great bee-skep on his head (they all wore them), but I + noticed he had three blue rings tattooed on his left + ring-finger. Now, somewhere I have seen a man, quite + recently, with rings tattooed like that, only I can't + remember where. I wish I could think where. He was very civil + and gentle. He saw that the fire burnt up well, and left me + all those sticks and logs, as well as the flint and steel, in + case it should go out before the snow stopped. Oh, and he + took the rugs out of the trap, and laid them on the ground + for me to sit on. Before he left, he said, very civilly, "I + am sure you don't want to get folks into trouble, madam. + Perhaps you won't mention this, in case they ask you." So I + said that I didn't want to get people into trouble; but that + it was hardly a manly act to leave a woman alone, in an open + barn, miles from anywhere, on a night like to-night. He + seemed ashamed at this; for he slunk off, saying something + about 'only obeying orders,' and 'not having much choice in + the matter.' Then they all stood about outside, in the snow, + leaving me alone here. They must have stayed outside a couple + of hours. About a quarter of an hour before you came I heard + some one call out, 'There it is, boys!' and immediately they + all trotted off, at a smart pace. They must have seen or + heard some signal. Of course, up here on the top of the + combe, one could see a long way if the snow lulled for a + moment." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <h3> + THE MAN ON THE MOUND + </h3> + <p> + It was very awesome sitting there by the firelight in the + lonely barn, hearing the strange moan of the snow-wind. When + Mrs Cottier finished her story we talked of all sorts of + things; I think that we were both a little afraid of being + silent in such a place, so, as we ate, we kept talking just + as though we were by the fireside at home. I was afraid that + perhaps the revenue officers would catch us there and force + us to tell all we knew, and I was dreadfully frightened when + I remembered the captain in the bee-skep who had shaken my + throat and given me such a warning to be silent. When we had + finished our supper, I told Mrs Cottier that perhaps we could + harness old Greylegs to the trap, but this she thought would + never do, as the drifts on the road made it such bad going; + at last I persuaded her to mount old Greylegs and to ride + astride like a boy, or like so many of the countrywomen in + our parts. When she had mounted I took the old pony by the + head and led him out, carrying the lantern in my hand. + </p> + <p> + When we got outside we found, to our great surprise, that the + sky had cleared—it was a night of stars now that the + wind had changed. By the "blink" of the snow our road was + quite plain to us, and the sharp touch of frost in the air + (which we felt all the more after our bonfire in the barn) + had already made the snow crisp underfoot. It was pleasant to + be travelling like that so late at night with Mrs Cottier; I + felt like a knight who had just rescued a princess from a + dragon; we talked together as we had never talked before. + Whenever we climbed a bad combe she dismounted, and we walked + together hand in hand like dear friends. Once or twice in the + quiet I thought I heard the noise of the excisemen's horses, + and then my heart thumped in my throat; then, when I knew + myself mistaken, I felt only the delight of being of service + to this dear woman who walked by me so merrily. + </p> + <p> + When we came to the foot of the combe, to the bridge over the + trout-stream, she stopped for a moment. "Jim," she said, + drawing me to her, "I shall never forget to-night, nor the + little friend who rode out to help me; I want you, after + this, always to look on me as your mother—I knew your + mother a little, years ago. Well, dear, try to think of me as + you would of her, and be a brother to my Hugh, Jim: let us + all three be one family." She stooped down and kissed my + cheek and lips. + </p> + <p> + "I will, Mrs Cottier," I said; "I'll always be a brother to + Hugh." I was too deeply moved to say much more, for I had so + long yearned for some woman like my mother to whom I could go + for sympathy and to whom I could tell everything without the + fear of being snubbed or laughed at. I just said, "Thank you, + Mims." I don't know why I called her "Mims" then, but I did, + and afterwards I never called her anything else; that was my + secret name for her. She kissed me again and stroked my cheek + with her hand, and we went on again together up the last + steep bit of road to the house. Always, after that, I never + thought of Mrs Cottier without feeling her lips upon my cheek + and hearing the stamp of old Greylegs as he pawed on the + snow, eager for the stable just round the corner. + </p> + <p> + It was very nice to get round the corner and to see the + lights of the house a little way in front of us; in a minute + or two we were there. Mrs Cottier had been dragged in to the + fire to all sorts of comforting drinks and exclamations, and + old Greylegs was snug in his stable having his coat rubbed + down before going to sleep under his rug. We were all glad to + get to bed that night: Hugh and my aunt were tired with + anxiety, and Mrs Cottier and I had had enough adventure to + make us very thankful for rest. + </p> + <p> + Before we parted for the night she drew me to one side and + told me that she had not mentioned the night-riders to my + uncle and aunt while I was busy in the stable, and that it + might be safer if I, too, kept quiet about them. I do not + know how she explained the absence of Nigger, but I am sure + they were all too thankful to have her safely home again to + bother much about the details of her drive. + </p> + <p> + Hugh and I always slept in soldier's cot-beds in a little + room looking out over the lane. During the night we heard + voices, and footsteps moving in the lane beneath us, and our + dog (always kennelled at the back of the house) barked a good + deal. Hugh and I crept from our bed and peered through the + window, but it opened the wrong way; we could only look down + the lane, whereas the noise seemed to come from just above + us, near the stable door; unluckily, the frost had covered + the window with ice-flowers, so that we could not see through + the glass. We were, however, quite certain that there were + people with lights close to our stable door; we thought at + first that we had better call Mrs Cottier, and then it + flashed through my mind that these were the night-riders, + come to return Nigger, so I told Hugh to go back to bed and + forget about it. I waited at the window for a few moments, + wondering if the men would pass the house; I felt a horrible + longing to see those huge and ghastly things in skirts and + bee-skeps striding across the snow, going home from their + night's prowl like skulking foxes; but whoever they were they + took no risks. Some one softly whistled a scrap of a tune + ("Tom, Tom, the piper's son") as though he were pleased at + having finished a good piece of work, and then I heard + footsteps going over the gap in the hedge and the crackling + of twigs in the little wood on the other side of the lane. I + went back to bed and slept like a top until nearly breakfast + time. + </p> + <p> + I went out to the stable as soon as I was dressed, to find + Joe Barnicoat, our man, busy at his morning's work; he had + already swept away the snow from the doors of the house and + stable, so that I could not see what footmarks had been made + there since I went to fetch Greylegs at eight the night + before. Joe was in a great state of excitement, for during + the night the stable had been broken open. I had left it + locked up, as it always was locked, after I had made Greylegs + comfortable. When Joe came there at about half-past seven, he + had found the broken padlock lying in the snow and the + door-staple secured by a wooden peg cut from an ash in the + hedge. As I expected, Nigger was in his stall, but the poor + horse was dead lame from a cut in the fetlock: Joe said he + must have been kicked there. I was surprised to find that the + trap also had come home—there it was in its place with + the snow still unmelted on its wheels. I helped Joe to dress + poor Nigger's leg, saying that it was a pity we had not + noticed it before. Joe was grumbling about "some people not + having enough sense to know when a horse was lame," so I let + him grumble. + </p> + <p> + When we had dressed the wound, I turned to the trap to lift + out Mrs Cottier's parcels, which I carried indoors. Breakfast + was ready on the table, and Mrs Cottier and Hugh were + toasting some bread at the fire. My aunt was, of course, + breakfasting upstairs with my uncle; he was hardly able to + stir with sciatica, poor man; he needed somebody to feed him. + </p> + <p> + "Good morning, Mims dear," I cried. "What do you think? The + trap's come back and here are all your parcels." I noticed + then (I had not noticed it before) that one of the parcels + was very curiously wrapped. It was wrapped in an old sack, + probably one of those which filled the windows of the barn, + for bits of straw still stuck in the threads. + </p> + <p> + "Whatever have you got there, Jim?" said Mrs Cottier. + </p> + <p> + "One of your parcels," I answered; "I've just taken it out of + the trap." + </p> + <p> + "Let me see it," she said. "There must be some mistake. + That's not one of mine." She took the parcel from me and + turned it over before opening it. + </p> + <p> + On turning the package over, we saw that some one had twisted + a piece of dirty grey paper (evidently wrapping-paper from + the grocer's shop) about the rope yarn which kept the roll + secure. Mrs Cottier noticed it first. "Oh," she cried, + "there's a letter, too. I wonder if it's meant for me?" + </p> + <p> + We untied the rope yarn and the paper fell upon the table; we + opened it out, wondering what message could be written on it. + It was a part of a grocer's sugar bag, written upon in the + coarse black crayon used by the tallymen on the quays at + Kingsbridge. The writing was disguised, so as to give no clue + to the writer; the letters were badly-formed printer's + capitals; the words were ill-spelled, and the whole had + probably been written in a hurry, perhaps by the light of our + fire in the barn. + </p> + <p> + "Hors is laimd," said the curious letter. "Regret inconvenuns + axept Respect from obt servt Captin Sharp." + </p> + <p> + "Very sweet and to the point," said Mrs Cottier. "Is Nigger + lame, then?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I answered. "Joe says he has been kicked. You won't be + able to drive him for some time." + </p> + <p> + "Poor old Nigger," said Mrs Cottier, as she unwrapped the + parcel. "Now, I wonder what 'Respect' Captain Sharp has sent + me?" + </p> + <p> + She unrolled the sacking, and out fell two of those straw + cases which are used to protect wine-bottles. They seemed + unusually bulky, so we tore them open. In one of them there + was a roll, covered with a bit of tarpaulin. It contained a + dozen yards of very beautiful Malines lace. The other case + was full of silk neckerchiefs packed very tightly, eleven + altogether; most of them of uncoloured silk, but one of green + and another of blue—worth a lot of money in those days, + and perhaps worth more to-day, now that such fine silk is no + longer woven. + </p> + <p> + "So this is what we get for the loan of Nigger, Jim," said + Mrs Cottier. "We ought, by rights, to give these things to + the revenue officer." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "but if we do that, we shall have to say how + they came, and why they came, and then perhaps the exciseman + will get a clue, and we shall have brought the night-riders + into trouble." + </p> + <p> + It was cowardly of me to speak like this; but you must + remember that I had been in "Captain Sharp's" hands the night + before, and I was still terrified by his threat— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "When I know,<br> + Your neck'll go<br> + Like so." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said Mrs Cottier, looking at me rather sharply, "we + will keep the things, and say nothing about them: but we must + find out what duty should be paid on them, and send it to the + exciseman at Dartmouth. That will spare our consciences." + </p> + <p> + After breakfast, Mrs Cottier went to give orders to the + servant, while Hugh and I slipped down the lane to see how + the snow had drifted in our little orchard by the brook. We + had read somewhere that the Red Indians often make themselves + snow-houses, or snow-burrows, when the winter is severe. We + were anxious to try our hands at making a snow-house. We + wanted to know whether a house with snow walls could really + be warm, and we pictured to ourselves how strange it would be + to be shut in by walls of snow, with only one little hole for + air, seeing nothing but the white all round us, having no + window to look through. We thought that it would be wonderful + to have a snow-house, especially if snow fell after the roof + had been covered in, for then no one could know if the + dweller were at home. One would lie very still, wrapped up in + buffalo robes, while all the time the other Indians would be + prowling about in their war-paint, looking for you. Or + perhaps the Spaniards would be after you with their + bloodhounds, and you would get down under the snow in the + forest somewhere, and the snow would fall and fall, covering + your tracks, till nothing could be seen but a little tiny + hole, melted by your breath, through which you got fresh air. + Then you would hear the horses and the armour and the baying + of the hounds; but they would never find you, though their + horses' hoofs might almost sink through the snow to your + body. + </p> + <p> + We went down to the orchard, Hugh and I, determined to build + a snow-house if the drifts were deep enough. We were not + going to plunge into a drift, and make a sort of chamber by + wrestling our bodies about, as the Indians do. We had planned + to dig a square chamber in the biggest drift we could find, + and then to roof it over with an old tarpaulin stretched upon + sticks. We were going to cover the tarpaulin with snow, in + the Indian fashion, and we had planned to make a little + narrow passage, like a fox's earth, as the only doorway to + the chamber. + </p> + <p> + It was a bright, frosty morning: the sun shone, the world + sparkled, the sky was of a dazzling blue, the snow gleamed + everywhere. Hoolie, the dog, was wild with excitement. He ran + from drift to drift, snapping up mouthfuls of snow, and + burrowing down sideways till he was half buried. + </p> + <p> + There was a flower garden at one end of the orchard, and in + the middle of the garden there was a summer-house. The house + was a large, airy single room (overlooking the stream), with + a space beneath it, half-cave, half-cellar, open to the + light, where Joe Barnicoat kept his gardening tools, with + other odds-and-ends, such as bast, peasticks, sieves, shears, + and traps for birds and vermin. Hugh and I went directly to + this lower chamber to get a shovel for our work. + </p> + <p> + We stood at the entrance for a moment to watch Hoolie playing + in the snow; and as we watched, something caught my eye and + made me look up sharply. + </p> + <p> + Up above us, on the side of the combe beyond the lane, among + a waste of gorse, in full view of the house (and of the + orchard where we were), there was a mound or barrow, the + burial-place of an ancient British king. It was a + beautifully-rounded hill, some twenty-five feet high. A year + or two before I went there it had been opened by the vicar, + who found inside it a narrow stone passage, leading to an + inner chamber, walled with unmortared stone. In the central + chamber there were broken pots, a few bronze spear-heads, + very green and brittle, and a mass of burnt bones. The doctor + said that they were the bones of horses. On the top of all + this litter, with his head between his knees, there sat a + huge skeleton. The vicar said that when alive the man must + have been fully six feet six inches tall, and large in + proportion, for the bones were thick and heavy. He had + evidently been a king: he wore a soft gold circlet round his + head, and three golden bangles on his arms. He had been + killed in battle. In the side of his skull just above the + circle of gold, there was a great wound, with a flint + axe-blade firmly wedged in the bone. The vicar had often told + me about this skeleton. I remember to this day the shock of + horror which came upon me when I heard of this great dead + king, sitting in the dark among his broken goods, staring out + over the valley. The country people always said that the hill + was a fairy hill. They believed that the pixies went to dance + there whenever the moon was full. I never saw the pixies + myself, but somehow I always felt that the hill was uncanny. + I never passed it at night if I could avoid it. + </p> + <p> + Now, when I looked up, as I stood with Hugh watching the dog, + I saw something flash upon the top of the barrow. In that + bright sun, with all the snow about, many things were + sparkling; but this thing gleamed like lightning, suddenly, + and then flashed again. Looking at it sharply, I saw that + there was a man upon the barrow top, apparently lying down + upon the snow. He had something in his hand turned to the + sun, a piece of glass perhaps, or a tin plate, some very + bright thing, which flashed. He flashed it three times + quickly, then paused, then flashed it again. He seemed to be + looking intently across the valley to the top of the combe + beyond, to the very place where the road from Salcombe swings + round to the dip. Looking in that direction, I saw the figure + of a man standing on the top of the wall against a stunted + holly-tree at the curve of the road. I had to look intently + to see him at all, for he was in dark clothes, which shaded + off unnoticed against the leaves of the holly. I saw him jump + down now and again, and disappear round the curve of the road + as though to look for something. Then he would run back and + flash some bright thing once, as though in answer to the man + on the barrow. It seemed to me very curious. I nudged Hugh's + arm, and slipped into the shelter of the cave. For a few + moments we watched the signaller. Then, suddenly, the watcher + at the road-bend came running back from his little tour up + the road, waving his arms, and flashing his bright plate as + he ran. We saw him spring to his old place on the wall, and + jump from his perch into the ditch. He had some shelter + there, for we could see his head peeping out above the snow + like an apple among straw. We were so busy watching the head + among the snow that we did not notice the man upon the + barrow. Something made us glance towards him, and, to our + surprise and terror, we saw him running across the orchard + more than half-way towards us. In spite of the snow he ran + swiftly. We were frightened, for he was evidently coming + towards us. He saw that we saw him, and lifted one arm and + swung it downwards violently, as though to bid us lie down. + </p> + <p> + I glanced at Hugh and he at me, and that was enough. We + turned at once, horribly scared, and ran as fast as we could + along the narrow garden path, then over the wall, stumbling + in our fright, into the wood. We did not know why we ran nor + where we were going. We only felt that this strange man was + after us, coming in great bounds to catch us. We were too + frightened to run well; even had there been no snow upon the + ground we could not have run our best. We were like rabbits + pursued by a stoat, we seemed to have lost all power in our + legs. + </p> + <p> + We had a good start. Perhaps without that fear upon us we + might have reached the house, but as it was we felt as one + feels in a nightmare, unable to run though in an agony of + terror. Getting over the wall was the worst, for there Hugh + stumbled badly, and I had to turn and help him, watching the + man bounding ever nearer, signing to us to stay for him. A + minute later, as we slipped and stumbled through the scrub of + the wood, we heard him close behind us, crying to us in a + smothered voice to stop. We ran on, terrified; and then + Hugh's foot caught in a briar, so that he fell headlong with + a little cry. + </p> + <p> + I turned at once to help him up, feeling like the doe rabbit, + which turns (they say) against a weasel, to defend its young + ones. It sounds brave of me, but it was not: I was scared + almost out of my wits. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <h3> + THE HUT IN THE GORSE-BUSHES + </h3> + <p> + The man was on us in three strides, with his hand on our + collars, frightening us out of any power to struggle. "You + young fools," he said, not unkindly. "Why couldn't you stop + when I waved to you?" + </p> + <p> + We did not answer, nor did he seem to expect us to answer. He + just swung us round with our faces from the house, and + hurried us, at a smart run, down the road. "Don't you stir a + muscle," he added as he ran. "I'm not going to eat you, + unless you drive me to it." + </p> + <p> + At the lower end of the wood, nearly half a mile from our + home, the scrub was very thick. It seemed to be a tangle of + briars, too thick for hounds—too thick, almost, for + rabbits. Hugh and I had never been in that part of the wood + before, but our guide evidently knew it well, for he never + hesitated. He swung us on, panting as we were, along the + clearer parts, till we came to a part where our way seemed + stopped by gorse-bushes. They rose up, thick and dark, right + in front of us. Our guide stopped and told us to look down. + Among the gnarled gorse-stems there seemed to be a passage or + "run" made by some beast, fox or badger, going to and from + his lair. + </p> + <p> + "Down you go," said our guide. "There's lots of room when you + try. Imagine you're a rabbit." + </p> + <p> + We saw that it was useless to say No; and, besides, by this + time we had lost most of our terror. I dropped on to my knees + at once, and began to squirm through the passage. Hugh + followed me, and the strange man followed after Hugh. It was + not really difficult, except just at the beginning, where the + stems were close together. When I had wriggled for a couple + of yards, the bushes seemed to open out to either side. It + was prickly work, but I am sure that we both felt the romance + of it, forgetting our fear before we reached the heart of the + clump. + </p> + <p> + In the heart of the clump the gorse-bushes had been cut away, + and piled up in a sort of wall about a small central square + some five or six yards across. In the middle of the square + some one had dug a shallow hollow, filling rather more than + half of the open space. The hollow was about eighteen inches + deep, and roughly paved with shingle from the beach, well + stamped down into the clay. It had then been neatly wattled + over into a sort of trim hut, like the huts the + salmon-fishers used to build near Kings-bridge. The wattling + was made fairly waterproof by masses of gorse and bracken + driven in among the boughs. It was one of the most perfect + hiding-places you could imagine. It could not be seen from + any point, save from high up in one of the trees surrounding + the thicket. A regiment might have beaten the wood pretty + thoroughly, and yet have failed to find it. The gorse was so + thick in all the outer part of the clump that dogs would + leave its depths un-searched. Yet, lying there in the shelter + one could hear the splashing babble of the brook only fifty + yards away, and the singing of a girl at the mill a little + further up the stream. + </p> + <p> + The man told us to get inside the shelter, which we did. + Inside it was rather dark, but the man lit a lantern which + hung from the roof, and kindled a fire in a little fireplace. + This fireplace was covered with turf, so that the smoke + should not rise up in a column. We saw that the floor of the + hut was heaped with bracken, and there were tarpaulin + boat-rugs piled in one corner, as though for bedding. + </p> + <p> + The man picked up a couple of rugs and told us to wrap + ourselves in them. "You'll be cold if you don't wrap up," he + said. + </p> + <p> + As he tucked the rugs about us I noticed that the ring-finger + of his left hand was tattooed with three blue rings. I + remembered what Mrs Cottier had said about the man who had + lighted her fire in the barn, so I stared at him hard, trying + to fix his features on my memory. He was a well-made, + active-looking man, with great arms and shoulders. He was + evidently a sailor: one could tell that by the way of his + walk, by the way in which his arms swung, by the way in which + his head was set upon his body. What made him remarkable was + the peculiar dancing brightness of his eyes; they gave his + face, at odd moments, the look of a fiend; then that look + would go, and he would look like a mischievous, merry boy; + but more generally he would look fierce and resolute. Then + his straight mouth would set, his eyes puckered in as though + he were looking out to windward, the scar upon his cheek + twitched and turned red, and he looked most wrathful and + terrible. + </p> + <p> + "Well, mister," the man said to me, "would you know me again, + in case you saw me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "I should know you anywhere." + </p> + <p> + "Would you," he said, grinning. "Well, I was always the + beauty of the bunch." He bit off a piece of plug tobacco and + began to chew it. By-and-by he turned to Hugh to ask if he + chewed tobacco. Hugh answered "No," laughing. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said the man, "don't you learn. That's my advice. It's + not easy to stop, once you begin." + </p> + <p> + He lay back in his corner, and seemed to pass into a sort of + day-dream. Presently he looked up at us again, and asked us + if we knew why we were there. We said that we did not. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, "it's like this. Last night you" (here he + gave me a nudge with his foot) "you young gentleman that + looks so smart, you went for a ride late at night, in the + snow and all. See what came of it. There was Others out for a + ride last night, quite a lot of 'em. Others that the law + would be glad to know of, with men so scarce for the King's + navy. Well, to-day the beaks are out trying to find them + other ones. There's a power of redcoats come here, besides + the preventives, and there they go, clackity clank, all + swords and horses, asking at every house." + </p> + <p> + "What do they ask," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "They ask a lot of things," said the man. "'Where was you + last night?' That's one question. 'What time did you come in + last night?' That's another. 'Let's have a look at your + horse; he looks as though he'd bin out in the snow last + night.' Lots of things they ask, and if they got a hold of + you, young master, why, you might have noticed things last + night, and perhaps they might pump what you noticed out of + you. So some one thinks you had best be out of the road when + they come." + </p> + <p> + "Who is some one?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Just some one," he answered. "Some one who gets more money + than I get." His mouth drew into a hard and cruel line; he + lapsed into his day-dream, still chewing his plug of tobacco. + "Some one," he added, "who don't like questions, and don't + like to be talked about too much." + </p> + <p> + He was silent for a minute or two, while Hugh and I looked at + each other. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I'm not going to keep you long," said the man. "Them + redcoats'll have done asking questions about here before your + dinner time. Then they'll ride on, and a good riddance. Your + lady will know how to answer them all right. But till they're + gone, why, here you'll stay. So let's be comp'ny. What's your + name, young master?" He gave Hugh a dig in the ribs with his + boot. + </p> + <p> + "Hugh," he answered. + </p> + <p> + "Hugh," said the man: "Hugh! You won't never come to much, + you won't. What's <i>your</i> name?" He nudged me in the same + way. + </p> + <p> + "Jim," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Ah! Jim, Jim," he repeated. "I've known a many Jims. Some + were good in their way, too." He seemed to shrink into + himself suddenly—I can't explain it—but he seemed + to shrink, like a cat crouched to spring, and his eyes burned + and danced; they seemed to look right into me, horribly + gleaming, till the whole man became, as it were, just two + bright spots of eyes—one saw nothing else. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," he said, after a long, cruel glare at me, "this is the + first time Jim and I ever met. The first time. We shall be + great friends, we shall. We shall be better acquainted, you + and I. I wouldn't wonder if I didn't make a man of you, one + time or another. Give me your hand, Jim." + </p> + <p> + I gave him my hand; he looked at it under the lantern; he + traced one or two of the lines with his blackened + finger-nails, muttering some words in a strange language, + which somehow made my flesh creep. He repeated the words: + "Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." Then he glanced at the other hand, + still muttering, and made a sort of mark with his fingers on + my forehead. Hugh told me afterwards that he seemed to trace + a kind of zigzag on my left temple. All the time he was + muttering he seemed to be half-conscious, almost in a trance, + or as if he were mad: he frightened us dreadfully. After he + had made the mark upon my brow he came to himself again. + </p> + <p> + "They will see it," he muttered. "It'll be bright enough. The + mark. It'll shine. They'll know when they see it. It is very + good. A very good sign: it burns in the dark. They'll know it + over there in the night." Then he went on mumbling to + himself, but so brokenly that we could catch only a few words + here and there—"black and red, knowledge and beauty; + red and black, pleasure and strength. What do the cards say?" + </p> + <p> + He opened his thick sea-coat, and took out a little packet of + cards from an oilskin case. He dealt them out, first of all, + in a circle containing two smaller circles; then in a curious + sort of five-pointed star; lastly, in a square with a circle + cutting off the corners. "Queer, queer," he said, grinning, + as he swept the cards up and returned them to his pocket. + "You and I will know a power of queer times together, Jim." + </p> + <p> + He brightened up after that, as though something had pleased + him very much. He looked very nice when he looked pleased, in + spite of his eyes and in spite of the gipsy darkness of his + skin. "Here," he said, "let's be company. D'ye know any + knots, you two?" + </p> + <p> + No; neither of us knew any knots except the ordinary overhand + and granny knots. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I'll show you," he said. "It'll come in useful some + day. Always learn what you can, that's what I say, because + it'll come in useful. That's what the Irishman said. Always + learn what you can. You never know; that's the beauty of it." + </p> + <p> + He searched in his pockets till he found a small hank of + spun-yarn, from which he cut a piece about a yard long. "See + here," he said. "Now, I'll teach you. It's quite easy, if you + only pay attention. Now, how would you tie a knot if you was + doing up a parcel?" + </p> + <p> + We both tried, and both made granny knots, with the ends + sticking out at right angles to the rest of the yarn. + </p> + <p> + "Wrong," he said. "Those are grannies. They would jam so that + you'd never untie 'em, besides being ugly. There's wrong ways + even in doing up a string. See here." He rapidly twisted the + ends together into a reef-knot. "There's strength and beauty + together," he said. "Look how neat it is, the ends tidy along + the standing part, all so neat as pie. Besides, it'd never + jam. Watch how I do it, and then try it for yourself." + </p> + <p> + Very soon we had both mastered the reef-knot, and had tried + our hand at others—the bowline, the figure of eight, + the Carrick-bend, and the old swab-hitch. He was very patient + with us. He told us exactly how each knot would be used at + sea, and when, and why, and what the officers would say, and + how things would look on deck while they were in the doing. + The time passed pleasantly and quickly; we felt like jolly + robbers in a cave. It was like being the hero of a story-book + to sit there with that rough man waiting till the troops had + gone. It was not very cold with the fire and the boat-rugs. + We were heartily sorry when the man rose to his feet, with + the remark that he must see if the coast were clear. Before + he left the hut he glared down at us. "Look here," he said, + "don't you try to go till I give the word. But there, we're + friends; no need to speak rough to friends. I'll be back in a + minute." + </p> + <p> + The strange man passed out of the hut and along the + rabbit-run to the edge of the gorse. We heard his feet crunch + upon the snow beyond, rustling the leaves underneath it; and + then it was very, very quiet again, though once, in the + stillness, we heard a cock pheasant calling. Another pheasant + answered him from somewhere above at the upper part of the + wood, and it occurred to both of us that the pheasants were + the night-riders, making their private signals. + </p> + <p> + "We've had a famous adventure to tell Mother," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said; "but we had better be careful not to tell + anybody else. I wonder what they do here in this hut; I + suppose they hide their things here till it's safe to take + them away." + </p> + <p> + "Where do they take them?" asked Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Away into Dartmoor," I said. "And there there are wonderful + places, so old Evans the postboy told me." + </p> + <p> + "What sort of places?" asked Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, caves covered over with gorse and fern, and old copper + and tin mines, which were worked by the ancient Britons. They + go under the ground for miles, so old Evans told me, with + passages, and steps up and down, and great big rooms cut in + the rock. And then there are bogs where you can sink things + till it's quite safe to take them up. The bog-water keeps + them quite sound; it doesn't rot them like ordinary water. + Sometimes men fall into the bogs, and the marsh-mud closes + over them. That's the sort of place Dartmoor is." + </p> + <p> + Hugh was very much interested in all this, but he was a quiet + boy, not fond of talking. "Yes," he said; "but where do the + things go afterwards—who takes them?" + </p> + <p> + "Nobody knows, so old Evans said," I answered; "but they go, + they get taken. People come at night and carry them to the + towns, little by little, and from the market towns, they get + to the cities, no one knows how. I dare say this hut has been + full of things—valuable lace and silk, and all sorts of + wines and spirits—waiting for some one to carry them + into the moor." + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" said Hugh; "there's some one calling—it's + Mother." + </p> + <p> + Outside the gorse-clump, at some little distance from us, we + heard Mrs Cottier and my aunt calling "Hugh!" and "Jim!" + repeatedly. We lay very still wondering what they would + think, and hoping that they would make no search for us. They + could have tracked us in the snow quite easily, but we knew + very well they would never think of it, for they were both + shortsighted and ignorant of what the Red Indians do when + they go tracking. To our surprise their voices came nearer + and nearer, till they were at the edge of the clump, but on + the side opposite to that in which the rabbit-run opened. I + whispered to Hugh to be quiet as they stopped to call us. + They lingered for several minutes, calling every now and + then, and talking to each other in between whiles. We could + hear every word of their conversation. + </p> + <p> + "It's very curious," said my aunt. "Where-ever can they have + got to? How provoking boys are!" + </p> + <p> + "It doesn't really matter," said Mims; "the officer has gone, + and the boy would only have been scared by all his questions. + He might have frightened the boy out of his wits. I wonder + where the young monkeys have got to. They were going to build + snow-huts, like the Indians. Perhaps they're hiding in one + now." + </p> + <p> + We were, had she only known it; Hugh and I grinned at each + other. Suddenly my aunt spoke again with a curious inflection + in her voice. + </p> + <p> + "How funny," she exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" asked Mrs Cottier. + </p> + <p> + "I'm almost sure I smell something burning," said my aunt + "I'm sure I do. Don't you?" + </p> + <p> + There was a pause of a few seconds while the two ladies + sniffed the air. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Mrs Cottier, "there is something burning. It + seems to come from that gorse there." + </p> + <p> + "Funny," said my aunt. "I suppose some one has lighted a fire + up in the wood and the smoke is blowing down on us. Well, + we'll go in to dinner; it's no good staying here catching our + death looking for two mad things. I suppose you didn't hear + how Mrs Burns is, yesterday?" + </p> + <p> + The two ladies passed away from the clump towards the + orchard, talking of the affairs of the neighbourhood. A few + minutes after they had gone, a cock pheasant called softly a + few yards from us, then the gorse-stems shook, and our friend + appeared at the hut door. + </p> + <p> + "They're gone, all right," he said; "swords, and redcoats and + pipe-clay—they're gone. And a good riddance too! I + should have been back before, only your ladies were talking, + looking for you, so I had to wait till they were gone. I + expect you'll want your dinner, sitting here so long? Well, + cut and get it." + </p> + <p> + He slung the boat-rugs into a corner, blew out the lantern, + and dropped a handful of snow on to the fire. "Cut," he + continued. "You can go. Get out of this. Run and get your + dinners." We went with him out of the hut into the square. + "See here," he continued, "don't you go coming here. You + don't know of this place—see? Don't you show your + little tracks in this part of the wood; this is a private + house, this is—trespassers will be prosecuted. Now run + along and thank 'ee for your company." + </p> + <p> + As Hugh began to squirm along the passage, I turned and shook + hands with the man. I thought it would be the polite thing to + do to say good-bye properly. "Will you tell me your name?" I + asked. + </p> + <p> + "Haven't got a name," he answered gruffly. "None of your + business if I had." He saw that I was hurt by his rudeness, + for his face changed: "I'll tell you," he added quickly; "but + don't you say it about here. Gorsuch is my name—Marah + Gorsuch." + </p> + <p> + "Marah," I said. "What a funny name!" + </p> + <p> + "Is it?" he said grimly: "It means bitter—bitter water, + and I'm bitter on the tongue, as you may find. Now cut." + </p> + <p> + "One thing more, Mr Gorsuch," I said, "be careful of your + fires. They can smell them outside when the wind blows down + from the wood." + </p> + <p> + "Fires!" he exclaimed; "I don't light fires here except I've + little bleating schoolboys to tea. Cut and get your porridge. + Here," he called, as I went down on my hands and knees, + "here's a keepsake for you." + </p> + <p> + He tossed me a little ornament of twisted silver wire woven + into the form of a double diamond knot, probably by the man + himself. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, don't thank me," he answered rudely: "I'm tired of being + thanked. Now cut." + </p> + <p> + I wriggled through the clump after Hugh, then we ran home + together through the wood, just as the dinner-bell was + ringing for the second time. + </p> + <p> + Mrs Cottier asked us if we had not heard her calling. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mims," I said, "we did hear; but we were hidden in a + secret house; we wondered if you would find us—we were + close to you some of the time." + </p> + <p> + My aunt said Something about "giving a lot of trouble" and + "being very thoughtless for others"; but we had heard similar + lectures many times before and did not mind them much. After + dinner I took Mims aside and told her everything; she laughed + a little, though I could see that she was uneasy about Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't mention it to any one," she said. "It would be + safer not. But, oh, Jim, here we are, all three of us, in + league with the lawbreakers. The soldiers were here this + morning asking all sorts of questions, and they'd two men + prisoners with them, taken at Tor Cross on suspicion; they're + to be sent to Exeter till the Assizes. I'm afraid it will go + hard with them; I dare say they'll be sent abroad, poor + fellows. Every house is being searched for last night's work: + it seems they surprised the coastguards at the Cross and tied + them up in their barracks, before they landed their goods, + and now the whole country is being searched by troops. And + here are we three innocents," she went on, smiling, drawing + us both to her, "all conspiring against the King's + peace—I expect we shall all be transported. Well, I + shall be transported, but you'd have to serve in the Navy. So + now we won't talk about it any more; I've had enough + smuggling for one day. Let's go out and build a real + snow-house, and then Jim will be a Red Indian and we will + have a fight with bows and arrows." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <h3> + THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE "SNAIL" + </h3> + <p> + It was during the wintry days that Mrs Cottier decided to + remove us from the school at Newton Abbot. She had arranged + with the Rector at Strete for us to have lessons at the + Rectory every morning with young Ned Evans, the Rector's son; + so when the winter holidays ended we were spared the long, + cold drive and that awful "going back" to the school we hated + so. + </p> + <p> + Winter drew to an end and the snow melted. March came in like + a lion, bringing so much rain that the brook was flooded. We + saw no more of the night-riders after that day in the snow, + but we noticed little things now and then among the country + people which made us sure that they were not far off. Once, + when we were driving home in the evening after a day at + Dartmouth, owls called along the road from just behind the + hedge, whenever the road curved. Hugh and I remembered the + pheasants that day in the wood, and we nudged each other in + the darkness, wondering whether Mr Gorsuch was one of the + owls. After that night we used to practise the call of the + owls and the pheasants, but we were only clever at the owl's + cry: the pheasant's call really needs a man's voice, it is + too deep a note for any boy to imitate well; but we could cry + like the owls after some little practice, and we were very + vain when we made an owl in the wood reply to us. Once, at + the end of February, we gave the owl's cry outside the + "Adventure Inn," where the road dips from Strete to the + sands, and a man ran out to the door and looked up and down, + and whistled a strange little tune, or scrap of a tune, + evidently expecting an answer; but that frightened us; we + made him no answer, and presently he went in muttering. He + was puzzled, no doubt, for he came out again a minute later + and again whistled his tune, though very quietly. We learned + the scrap of tune and practised it together whenever we were + sure that no one was near us. + </p> + <p> + As for the two men taken by the troops, they were let off. + The innkeeper at South Poole swore that both men had been in + his inn all the night of the storm playing the "ring-quoits" + game with the other guests and as his oath was supported by + half-a-dozen witnesses, the case for the King fell through; + the night-riders never scrupled to commit perjury. Later on I + learned a good deal about how the night-riders managed + things. + </p> + <p> + During that rainy March, while the brook was in flood all + over the valley, Hugh and I had a splendid time sailing toy + boats, made out of boxes and pieces of plank. We had one big + ship made out of a long wooden box which had once held + flowers along a window-sill. We had painted ports upon her + sides, and we had rigged her with a single square sail. With + a strong southwesterly wind blowing up the valley, she would + sail for nearly a mile whenever the floods were out, and + though she often ran aground, we could always get her off, as + the water was so shallow. + </p> + <p> + Now, one day (I suppose it was about the middle of the month) + we went to sail this ship (we used to call her the + <i>Snail</i>) from our side of the flood, right across the + river-course, to the old slate quarry on the opposite side. + The distance was, perhaps, three hundred yards. We chose this + site because in this place there was a sort of ridge causeway + leading to a bridge, so that we could follow our ship across + the flood without getting our feet wet. In the old days the + quarry carts had crossed the brook by this cause-way, but the + quarry was long worked out, and the road and bridge were now + in a bad state, but still good enough for us, and well above + water. + </p> + <p> + We launched the <i>Snail</i> from a green, shelving bank, and + shoved her off with the long sticks we carried. The wind + caught her sail and drove her forward in fine style; she made + a great ripple as she went. Once she caught in a drowned + bush; but the current swung her clear, and she cut across the + course of the brook like a Falmouth Packet. Hugh and I ran + along the causeway, and over the bridge, to catch her on the + other side. We had our eyes on her as we ran, for we feared + that she might catch, or capsize; and we were so intent upon + our ship that we noticed nothing else. Now when we came to + the end of the causeway, and turned to the right, along the + shale and rubble tipped there from the quarry, we saw a man + coming down the slope to the water, evidently bent on + catching the <i>Snail</i> when she arrived. We could not see + his face very clearly, for he wore a grey slouch-hat, and the + brambles were so high just there that sometimes they hid him + from us. He seemed, somehow, a familiar figure; and the + thought flashed through me that it might be Mr Gorsuch. + </p> + <p> + "Come on, Hugh," I cried, "or she'll capsize on the shale. + The water's very shallow, so close up to this side." + </p> + <p> + We began to run as well as we could, over the broken stones. + </p> + <p> + "It's no good," said Hugh. "She'll be there before we are." + </p> + <p> + We broke through a brake of brambles to a green space sloping + to the flood. There was the <i>Snail</i>, drawn up, high and + dry, on to the grass, and there was the man, sitting by her + on a stone, solemnly cutting up enough tobacco for a pipe. + </p> + <p> + "Good morning, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Why, it's young sweethearter," he answered. "Why haven't you + got your nurses with you?" He filled his pipe and lighted it, + watching us with a sort of quizzical interest, but making no + attempt to shake hands. He made me feel that he was glad to + see us; but that nothing would make him show it. "What d'ye + call this thing?" he asked, pointing with his toe to the + <i>Snail</i>. + </p> + <p> + "That's our ship," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Is it?" he asked contemptuously. "I thought it was your + mother's pudding-box, with some of baby's bedclothes on it. + That's what I thought it was." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to take a pleasure in seeing Hugh's face fall. Hugh + always took a rough word to heart, and he could never bear to + hear his mother mentioned by a stranger. + </p> + <p> + "It's a good enough ship for us," he answered hotly. + </p> + <p> + "How d'ye know it is?" said the man. "You know nothing at all + about it. What do <i>you</i> know of ships, or what's good + for you? Hey? You don't know nothing of the kind." + </p> + <p> + This rather silenced Hugh; we were both a little abashed, and + so we stood sheepishly for a moment looking on the ground. + </p> + <p> + At last I took Hugh by the arm. "Let's take her somewhere + else," I said softly. I bent down and picked up the ship and + turned to go. + </p> + <p> + The man watched us with a sort of amused contempt. "Where are + you going now?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Down the stream," I called back. + </p> + <p> + "Drop it," he said. "Come back here." + </p> + <p> + I called softly to Hugh to run. "Shan't!" I cried as we + started off together, at our best speed. + </p> + <p> + "Won't you?" he called. "Then I'll make you." He was after us + in a brace of shakes, and had us both by the collar in less + than a dozen yards. "What little tempers we have got," he + said grinning. "Regular little spitfires, both of you. Now + back you come till we have had a talk." + </p> + <p> + I noticed then that he was much better dressed than formerly. + His clothes were of the very finest sea-cloth, and well cut. + The buttons on his scarlet waistcoat were new George guineas; + and the buttons on his coat were of silver, very beautifully + chased. His shoes had big silver buckles on them, and there + was a silver buckle to the flap of his grey slouch hat. The + tattoo marks on his left hand were covered over by broad + silver rings, of the sort the Spanish onion-boys used to sell + in Dartmouth, after the end of the war. He looked extremely + handsome in his fine clothes. I wondered how I could ever + have been afraid of him. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said with a grin, when he saw me eyeing him, "my + ship came home all right. I was able to refit for a full due. + So now we'll see what gifts the Queen sent." + </p> + <p> + We wondered what he meant by this sentence; but we were not + kept long in doubt. He led us through the briars to the ruins + of the shed where the quarry overseer had formerly had his + office. + </p> + <p> + "Come in here," he said, shoving us in front of him, "and see + what the Queen'll give you. Shut your eyes. That's the style. + Now open." + </p> + <p> + When we opened our eyes we could hardly keep from shouting + with pleasure. There, on the ground, kept upright by a couple + of bricks was a three-foot model of a revenue cutter, under + all her sail except the big square foresail, which was neatly + folded upon her yard. She was perfect aloft, even to her + pennant; and on deck she was perfect too, with beautiful + little model guns, all brass, on their carriages, pointing + through the port-holes. + </p> + <p> + "Oh!" we exclaimed. "Oh! Is she really for us, for our very + own?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes," he said. "At least she's for you, Mr + What's-your-name. Jim, I think you call yourself. Yes, Jim. + Well, she's for you, Jim. I got something else the Queen sent + for Mr Preacher-feller." He bent in one corner of the ruin, + and pulled out what seemed to be a stout but broken box. + "This is for you, Mr Preacher-feller," he said to Hugh. + </p> + <p> + We saw that it was a model of a port of a ship's deck and + side. The side was cut for a gun-port, which opened and shut + by means of laniards; and, pointing through the opened port + was a model brass nine-pounder on its carriage, with all its + roping correctly rigged, and its sponges and rammers hooked + up above it ready for use. It was a beautiful piece of work + (indeed, both models were), for the gun was quite eighteen + inches long. "There you are," said Marah Gorsuch. "That lot's + for you, Mr Preacher-feller. Them things is what the Queen + sent." + </p> + <p> + We were so much delighted by these beautiful presents that it + was some minutes before we could find words with which to + thank him. We could not believe that such things were really + for us. He was much pleased to find that his gifts gave so + much pleasure; he kept up a continual grin while we examined + the toys inch by inch. + </p> + <p> + "Like 'em, hey?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I should just think we do," we answered. We shook him + by the hand, almost unable to speak from pleasure. + </p> + <p> + "And now let's come down and sail her," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Hold on there," said Marah Gorsuch. "Don't be too quick. You + ain't going to sail that cutter till you know how. You've got + a lot to learn first, so that must wait. It's to be Master + Preacher-feller's turn this morning. Yours'll come by-and-by. + What you got to do, first go off, is to sink that old hulk + you were playing with. We'll sink her at anchor with + Preacher-feller's cannon." + </p> + <p> + He told Hugh to pick up his toy, and to come along down to + the water's edge. When he came near to the water, Marah took + the old <i>Snail</i> and tied a piece of string to her bows + by way of a cable. Then he thrust her well out into the + flood, tied a piece of shale (as an anchor) to the other end + of the string, and flung it out ahead of her, so that she + rode at anchor trimly a few yards from the bank. "Now," he + said, "we'll exercise great guns. Here (he produced a + powder-horn) is the magazine; here (he produced a bag of + bullets) is the shot-locker. Here's a bag of wads. Now, my + sons, down to business. Cast loose your housings, take out + tompions. Now bear a hand, my lads; we'll give your old + galleon a broadside." + </p> + <p> + We watched him as he prepared the gun for firing, eagerly + lending a hand whenever we saw what he wanted. "First of + all," he said, "you must sponge your gun. There's the sponge. + Shove it down the muzzle and give it a screw round. There! + Now tap your sponge against the muzzle to knock the dust off. + There! Now the powder." He took his powder-horn and filled a + little funnel (like the funnels once used by chemists for + filling bottles of cough-mixture) with the powder. This he + poured down the muzzle of the gun. "Now a wad," he said, + taking up a screw of twisted paper. "Ram it home on to the + powder with the rammer. That's the way. Now for the shot. + We'll put in a dozen bullets, and then top with a couple more + wads. There! Now she's loaded. Those bullets will go for + fifty yards with that much powder ahind 'em. Now, all we have + to do is to prime her." He filled the touch-hole with powder, + and poured a few grains along the base or breech of the gun. + "There!" he said. "Only one thing more. That is aim. Here, Mr + Preacher-feller, Hugh, whatever your name is. You're captain + of the gun; you must aim her. Take a squint along the gun + till you get the notch on the muzzle against the target; then + raise your gun's breech till the notch is a little below your + target. Those wooden quoins under the gun will keep it raised + if you pull them out a little." + </p> + <p> + Hugh lay down flat on the grass and moved the gun carefully + till he was sure the aim was correct. "Let's have a match," + he said, "to see which is the best shot." + </p> + <p> + "All right," said Marah. "We will. You have first shot. Are + you ready? All ready? Very well then. Here's the linstock + that you're to fire with." He took up a long stick which had + a slow match twisted round it. He lit the slow match by a + pocket flint and steel after moving his powder away from him. + "Now then," he cried, "are you ready? Stand clear of the + breech. Starboard battery. Fire!" + </p> + <p> + Hugh dropped the lighted match on to the priming. The gun + banged loudly, leaped back and up, and fell over on one side + in spite of its roping as the smoke spurted. At the same + instant there was a lashing noise, like rain, upon the water + as the bullets skimmed along upon the surface. One white + splinter flew from the <i>Snail's</i> stern where a single + bullet struck; the rest flew wide astern of her. + </p> + <p> + "Let your piece cool a moment," said Marah, "then we will + sponge and load again, and then Jim'll try. You were too much + to the right, Mr Hugh. Your shots fell astern." + </p> + <p> + After a minute or two we cleaned the gun thoroughly and + reloaded. + </p> + <p> + "Now," said Marah, "remember one thing. If you was in a ship, + fighting that other ship, you wouldn't want just to blaze + away at her broadside. No. You'd want to hit her so as your + shot would rake all along her decks from the bow aft, or from + the stern forrard. You wait a second, Master Jim, till the + wind gives her bows a skew towards you, or till her stern + swings round more. There she goes. Are you ready? Now, as she + comes round; allow for it. Fire!" + </p> + <p> + Very hurriedly I made my aim, and still more hurriedly did I + give fire. Again came the bang and flash; again the gun + clattered over; but, to my joy, a smacking crack showed that + the shot went home. The shock made the old <i>Snail</i> roll. + A piece of her bow was knocked off. Two or three bullets + ripped through her sail. One bored a groove along her, and + the rest went over her. + </p> + <p> + "Good," said. Marah. "A few more like that and she's all our + own. Now it's my shot. I'll try to knock her rudder away. + Wait till she swings. There she comes! There she comes! Over + a little. Up a little. Now. Fire." He darted his linstock + down upon the priming. The gun roared and upset; the bullets + banged out the <i>Snail's</i> stern, and she filled slowly, + and sank to the level of the water, her mast standing erect + out of the flood, and her whole fabric swaying a little as + the water moved her up and down. + </p> + <p> + After that we fired at the mast till we had knocked it away, + and then we placed our toys in the sheltered fireplace of the + ruin and came away, happy to the bone, talking nineteen to + the dozen. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <h3> + THE OWL'S CRY + </h3> + <p> + For the next month we passed all our afternoons with Marah. + In the mornings the Rector gave us our lessons at Strete; + then we walked home to dinner; then we played with our gun + and cutter, or at the sailing of our home-made boats, till + about six, when we went home for tea. After tea we prepared + our lessons for the next day and went upstairs to bed, where + we talked of smugglers and pirates till we fell asleep. Marah + soon taught us how to sail the cutter; and, what was more, he + taught us how to rig her. For an hour of each fine afternoon + he would give us a lesson in the quarry office, showing us + how to rig model boats, which we made out of old boxes and + packing-cases. In the sunny evenings of April we used to sail + our fleets, ship against ship, upon the great freshwater lake + into which the trout-brook passes on its way to the sea. + Sometimes we would have a fleet of ships of the line anchored + close to the shore, and then we would fire at them with the + gun and with one of Marah's pistols till we had shattered + them to bits and sunk them. Sometimes Marah would tell us + tales of the smugglers and pirates of long ago, especially + about a pirate named Van Horn, who was burned in his ship off + Mugeres Island, near Campeachy, more than a hundred years + back. + </p> + <p> + "His ship was full of gold and silver," said Marah. "You can + see her at a very low tide even now. I've seen her myself. + She is all burnt to a black coal, a great Spanish galleon, + with all her guns in her. I was out fishing in the boat, and + a mate said, 'Look there. There she is!' and I saw her as + plain as plain among all the weeds in the sea. The water's + very clear there, and there she was, with the fishes dubbing + their noses on her. And she's as full of gold as the Bank of + England. The seas'll have washed Van Horn's bones white, and + the bones of his crew too; eaten white by the fish and washed + white, lying there in all that gold under the sea, with the + weeds growing over them. It gives you a turn to think of it, + don't it?" + </p> + <p> + "Why don't they send down divers to get the gold?" asked + Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Why!" said Marah. "There's many has tried after all that + gold. But some the shacks took and some the Spaniards took, + and then there was storms and fighting. None ever got a + doubloon from her. But somebody'll have a go for it again. I + tried once, long ago. That was an unlucky try, though. Many + poor men died along of that one. They died on the decks," he + added. "It was like old Van Horn cursing us. They died in my + arms, some of 'em. Seven and twenty seamen, and one of them + was my mate, Charlie!" + </p> + <p> + I have wandered away from my story, I'm afraid, remembering + these scraps of the past; but it all comes back to me now, so + clearly that it seems to be happening again. There are Marah + and Hugh, with the sun going down behind the gorse-bank, + across the Lea; and there are the broken ships floating + slowly past, with the perch rising at them; and there is + myself, a very young cub, ignorant of what was about to come + upon me. Perhaps, had I known what was to happen before the + leaves of that spring had fallen, I should have played less + light-heartedly, and given more heed to Mr Evans, the Rector. + </p> + <p> + Now, on one day in each week, generally on Thursdays, we had + rather longer school hours than on the other days. On these + days of extra work Hugh and I had dinner at the Rectory with + Ned Evans, our schoolmate. After dinner we three boys would + wander off together, generally down to Black Pool, where old + Spanish coins (from some forgotten wreck) were sometimes + found in the sand after heavy weather had altered the lie of + the beach. We never found any Spanish coins, but we always + enjoyed our afternoons there. The brook which runs into the + sea there was very good for trout, in the way that Marah + showed us; but we never caught any, for all our pains. In the + summer we meant to bathe from the sands, and all through that + beautiful spring we talked of the dives we would take from + the spring-board running out into the sea. Then we would have + great games of ducks and drakes, with flat pebbles; or games + of pebble-dropping, in which our aim was to drop a stone so + that it should make no splash as it entered the water. But + the best game of all was our game of cliff-exploring among + the cliffs on each side of the bay, and this same game gave + me the adventure of my life. + </p> + <p> + One lovely afternoon towards the end of the May of that year, + when we were grubbing among the cliff-gorse as usual, + wondering how we could get down the cliffs to rob the + sea-birds' nests, we came to a bare patch among the furze; + and there lay a couple of coastguards, looking intently at + something a little further down the slope, and out of sight, + beyond the brow of the cliff. They had ropes with them, and a + few iron spikes, and one of them had his telescope on the + grass beside him. They looked up at us angrily when we broke + through the thicket upon them, and one of them hissed at us + through his teeth: "Get out, you boys. Quick. Cut!" and waved + to us to get away, which we did, a good deal puzzled and + perhaps a little startled. We talked about it on our way + home. Ned Evans said that the men were setting rabbit snares, + and that he had seen the wires. Hugh thought that they might + be after sea-birds' eggs during their hours off duty. Both + excuses seemed plausible, but for my own part I thought + something very different. The men, I felt, were out on some + special service, and on the brink of some discovery. It + seemed to me that when we broke in upon them they were + craning forward to the brow of the cliff, intently listening. + I even thought that from below the brow of the cliff, only a + few feet away, there had come a noise of people talking. I + did not mention my suspicions to Hugh and Ned, because I was + not sure, and they both seemed so sure; but all the way home + I kept thinking that I was right. It flashed on me that + perhaps the night-riders had a cave below the cliff-brow, and + that the coast-guards had discovered the secret. It was very + wrong of me, but my only thought was: "Oh, will they catch + Marah? Will poor Marah be sent to prison?" and the fear that + our friend would be dragged off to gaol kept me silent as We + walked. + </p> + <p> + When we came to the gate which takes you by a short cut to + the valley and the shale quarry, I said that I would go home + that way, while the others went by the road, and that we + would race each other, walking, to see who got home first. + They agreed to this, and set off together at a great rate; + but as soon as they were out of sight behind the hedge I + buckled my satchel to my shoulders and started running to + warn Marah. It was all downhill to the brook, and I knew that + I should find Marah there,—for he had said that he was + coming earlier than usual that afternoon to finish off a + model boat which we were to sail after tea. I ran as I had + never run before—I thought my heart would thump itself + to pieces; but at last I got to the valley and saw Marah + crossing the brook by the causeway. I shouted to him then and + he heard me. I had not breath to call again, so I waved to + him to come and then collapsed, panting, for I had run a good + mile across country. He walked towards me slowly, almost + carelessly; but I saw that he was puzzled by my distress, and + wondered what the matter was. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" he asked. "What's the rally for?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh," I cried, "the coastguards—over at Black Pool." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said carelessly, "what about <i>them?</i>" + </p> + <p> + "They've discovered it," I cried. "The cave under the + cliff-top. They've discovered it." + </p> + <p> + His face did not change; he looked at me rather hard; and + then asked me, quite carelessly, what I had seen. + </p> + <p> + "Two coastguards," I answered. "Two coastguards. In the + furze. They were listening to people somewhere below them." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, still carelessly, "over at Black Pool? I + suppose they recognized you?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, they must have. We three are known all over the place. + And I ran to tell you." + </p> + <p> + "So I see," he said grimly. "You seem to have run like a + tea-ship. Well, you needn't have. There's no cave on this + side Salcombe, except the hole at Tor Cross. What made you + run to tell <i>me?</i>" + </p> + <p> + "Oh," I said, "you've been so kind—so kind, and—I + don't know—I thought they'd send you to prison." + </p> + <p> + "Did you?" he said gruffly. "Did you indeed? Well, they + won't. There was no call for you to fret your little self. + Still, you've done it; I'll remember that—I'll always + remember that. Now you be off to your tea, quick. Cut!" + </p> + <p> + When he gave an order it was always well for us to obey it at + once; if we did not he used to lose his temper. So when he + told me to go I got up and turned away, but slowly, for I was + still out of breath. I looked back before I passed behind the + hedge which marks the beginning of the combe, but Marah had + disappeared—I could see no trace of him. Then suddenly, + from somewhere behind me, out of sight, an owl + called—and this in broad daylight. Three times the + "Too-hoo, too-hoo" rose in a long wail from the shrubs, and + three times another owl answered from up the combe, and from + up the valley, too, till the place seemed full of owls. + "Too-hoo, too-hoo" came the cries, and very faintly came + answers—some of them in strange tones, as though the + criers asked for information. As they sounded, the first owl + answered in sharp, broken cries. But I had had enough. + Breathless as I was, I ran on up the valley to the house, + only hoping that no owl would come swooping down upon me. And + this is what happened. Just as I reached the gate which leads + to the little bridge below the house I saw Joe Barnicoat + galloping towards me on an unsaddled horse of Farmer + Rowser's. He seemed shocked, or upset, at seeing me; but he + kicked the horse in the ribs and galloped on, crying out that + he was having a little ride. His little ride was taking him + at a gallop to the owl, and I was startled to find that quiet + Joe, the mildest gardener in the county, should be one of the + uncanny crew whose signals still hooted along the combes. + </p> + <p> + When I reached home the others jeered at me for a sluggard. + They had been at home for twenty minutes, and had begun tea. + I let them talk as they pleased, and then settled down to + work; but all that night I dreamed of great owls, riding in + the dark with bee-skeps over them, filling the combes with + their hootings. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII + </h2> + <h3> + THE TWO COASTGUARDS + </h3> + <p> + The next morning, when Hugh and I came to Strete for our + lessons, we found a lot of yeomen and preventives drawn up in + the village. People were talking outside their houses in + little excited groups. Jan Edeclog, the grocer, was at the + door of his shop, wiping his hands on his apron. There was a + general rustle and stir, something had evidently happened. + </p> + <p> + "What's all the row about, Mr Edeclog?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Row?" he asked. "Row enough, Master Jim. Two of the + coastguards, who were on duty yesterday afternoon, have + disappeared. It's thought there's been foul play." + </p> + <p> + My heart sank into my boots, my head swam, I could hardly + stand upright. All my thought was: "They have been killed. + And all through my telling Marah. And I'm a murderer." + </p> + <p> + I don't know how I could have got to the Rectory gate, had + not the militia captain come from the tavern at that moment. + He mounted his horse, called out a word of command, and the + men under him moved off towards Slapton at a quick trot. + </p> + <p> + "They have gone to beat the Lay banks," said some one, and + then some one laughed derisively. + </p> + <p> + I walked across to the Rectory and flung my satchel of books + on to the floor. The Rector's wife came into the hall as we + entered. "Why, Jim," she said, "what is the matter? Aren't + you well?" + </p> + <p> + "Not very," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "My dear," she cried to her husband, "Jim's not well. He + looks as though he'd seen a ghost, poor boy." + </p> + <p> + "Why, Jim," said the Rector, coming out of the sitting-room, + "what's the matter with you? Had too much jam for breakfast?" + </p> + <p> + "No," I said. "But I feel faint. I feel sick. Can I go to sit + in the garden for a minute?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he answered. "Certainly. I'll get you a glass of cold + water." + </p> + <p> + I was really too far gone to pay much heed to anything. I + think I told them that I should be quite well in a few + minutes, if they would leave me there; and I think that Mrs + Evans told her husband to come indoors, leaving me to myself. + At any rate they went indoors, and then the cool air, blowing + on me from the sea, refreshed me, so that I stood up. + </p> + <p> + I could think of nothing except the words: "I am a murderer." + A wild wish came to me to run to the cliffs by Black Pool to + see whether the bodies lay on the grass in the place where I + had seen them (full of life) only a few hours before. + Anything was better than that uncertainty. In one moment a + hope would surge up in me that the men would not be dead; but + perhaps only gagged and bound: so that I could free them. In + the next there would be a feeling of despair, that the men + lay there, dead through my fault, killed by Marah's orders, + and flung among the gorse for the crows and gulls. I got out + of the Rectory garden into the road; and in the road I felt + strong enough to run; and then a frenzy took hold of me, so + that I ran like one possessed. It is not very far to Black + Pool; but I think I ran the whole way. I didn't feel out of + breath when I got there, though I had gone at top speed; a + spirit had been in me, such as one only feels at rare times. + Afterwards, when I saw a sea-fight, I saw that just such a + spirit filled the sailors, as they loaded and fired the guns. + </p> + <p> + I pushed my way along the cliffs through the gorse, till I + came to the patch where the coast-guards had lain. The grass + was trampled and broken, beaten flat in places as though + heavy bodies had fallen on it; there were marks of a struggle + all over the patch. Some of the near-by gorse twigs were + broken from their stems; some one had dropped a small hank of + spun-yarn. They had lain there all that night, for the dew + was thick upon them. What puzzled me at first was the fact + that there were marks from only two pairs of boots, both of + the regulation pattern. The men who struggled with the + coastguards must have worn moccasins, or heelless leather + slippers, made out of some soft hide. + </p> + <p> + I felt deeply relieved when I saw no bodies, nor any stain + upon the grass. I began to wonder what the night-riders had + done with the coastguards; and, as I sat wondering, I heard, + really and truly, a noise of the people talking from a little + way below me, just beyond the brow of the cliff. That told me + at once that there was a cave, even as I had suspected. I + craned forward eagerly, as near as I dared creep, to the very + rim of the land. I looked down over the edge into the sea, + and saw the little blue waves creaming into foam far below + me. + </p> + <p> + I could see nothing but the side of the cliff, with its + projecting knobs of rock; no opening of any kind, and yet a + voice from just below me (it seemed to come from below a + little projecting slab a few feet down): a voice just below + me, I say, said, quite clearly, evidently between puffs at a + pipe, "I don't know so much about that." Another voice + answered; but I could not catch the words. The voice I should + have known anywhere; it was Marah's "good-temper voice," as + he called it, making a pleasant answer. + </p> + <p> + "That settles it," I said to myself. "There's a cave, and the + coastguards are there, I'll be bound, as prisoners. Now I + have to find them and set them free." + </p> + <p> + Very cautiously I peered over the cliff-face, examining every + knob and ledge which might conceal (or lead to) an opening in + the rock. No. I could see nothing; the cliff seemed to me to + be almost sheer; and though it was low tide, the rocks at the + base of the cliffs seemed to conceal no opening. I crept + cautiously along the cliff-top, as near to the edge as I + dared, till I was some twenty feet from the spot where I had + heard the voice. Then I looked down again carefully, + searching every handbreadth for a firm foothold or path down + the rocks, with an opening at the end, through which a big + man could squeeze his body. No. There was nothing. No living + human being could get down that cliff-face without a rope + from up above; and even If he managed to get down, there + seemed to be nothing but the sea for him at the end of his + journey. Again I looked carefully right to the foot of the + crag. No. There was absolutely nothing; I was off the track + somehow. + </p> + <p> + Now, just at this point the cliff fell Inland for a few + paces, forming a tiny bay about six yards across. To get + along the cliff towards Strete I had to turn inland for a few + steps, then turn again towards the sea, in order to reach the + cliff. I skirted the little bay in this manner, and dropped + one or two stones into it from where I stood. As I craned + over the edge, watching them fall into the sea, I caught + sight of something far below me, in the water. + </p> + <p> + I caught my breath and looked again, but the thing, whatever + it was, had disappeared from sight. It was something red, + which had gleamed for a moment from behind a rock at the base + of the cliff. I watched eagerly for a moment or two, hearing + the sucking of the sea along the stones, and the cry of the + seagulls' young in their nests on the ledges. Then, very + slowly, as the slack water urged it, I saw the red stem-piece + of a rather large boat nosing slowly forward apparently from + the cliff-face towards the great rock immediately in front of + it. The secret was plain in a moment. Here was a cave with a + sea-entrance, and a cave big enough to hide a large, seagoing + fisher's boat; a cave, too, so perfectly hidden that it could + not possibly be seen from any point except right at the + mouth. A coastguard's boat could row within three yards of + the entrance and never once suspect its being there, unless, + at a very low tide, the sea clucked strangely from somewhere + within. Any men entering the little bay in a boat would see + only the big rock hiding the face of the cliff. No one would + suspect that behind the rock lay a big cave accessible from + the sea, at low tide in fair weather. Even in foul weather, + good boatmen (and all the night-riders were wonderful fellows + in a boat) could have made that cave in safety, for at the + mouth of the little bay there was a great rock, which shut it + in on the southwest side, so that in our bad southwesterly + gales the bay or cove would have been sheltered, though full + of the foam spattered from the sheltering crag. + </p> + <p> + I had found the cave, but my next task was to find an + entrance, and that seemed to be no easy matter. I searched + every inch of the cliff-face for a foothold, but there was + nothing there big enough for anything bigger than a sea-lark. + I could never have clambered down the cliff, even had I the + necessary nerve, which I certainly had not. The only way down + was to shut my eyes and walk over the cliff-edge, and trust + to luck at the bottom, and "that was one beyond + me"—only Marah Gorsuch would have tried that way. No; + there was no way down the cliff-side, that was certain. + </p> + <p> + Now, somebody—I think it was old Alec Jewler, the + ostler at the Tor Cross posting-house—had told me that + here and there along the coast, but most of all in Cornwall, + near Falmouth, there had once been arsenic mines, now long + since worked out. Their shafts, he said, could be followed + here and there for some little distance, and every now and + again they would broaden out into chambers, in which people + sometimes live, even now. It occurred to me that there might + be some such shaft-opening among the gorse quite close to me; + so I crept away from the cliff-brink, and began to search + among the furze, till my skin was full of prickles. Though I + searched diligently for an hour or two, I could find no hole + big enough to be the mouth of a shaft. I knew that a shaft of + the kind might open a hundred yards from where I was + searching, and I was therefore well prepared to spend some + time in my hunt. And at last, when I was almost tired of + looking, I came across a fox or badger earth, not very + recent, which seemed, though I could not be certain, to + broaden out inside. I lay down and thrust my head down the + hole, and that confirmed me. From up the hole there came the + reek of strong ship's tobacco. I had stumbled upon one of the + cave's air-holes. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII + </h2> + <h3> + THE CAVE IN THE CLIFF + </h3> + <p> + My heart was thumping on my ribs as I thrust and wriggled my + body down the hole. I did not think how I was to get back + again; it never once occurred to me that I might stick in the + burrow, and die stifled there, like a rat in a trap. My one + thought was, "I shall save the coastguards," and that thought + nerved me to push on, careless of everything else. It was not + at all easy at first, for the earth fell in my ears from the + burrow-roof, and there was very little room for my body. + Presently, as I had expected, the burrow broadened + out—I could kneel erect in it quite easily; and then I + found that I could stand up without bumping my head. I was + not frightened, I was only very excited; for, now that I + stood in the shaft, the reek of the tobacco was very strong. + I could see hardly anything—only the light from the + burrow-mouth, lighting up the sides of the burrow for a yard + or two, and a sort of gleam, a sort of shining wetness, upon + the floor of the shaft and on its outer wall. I heard the + wash of the sea, or thought I heard it, and that was the only + noise, except a steady drip, drip, splash where water dripped + from the roof into a pool on the floor. For a moment I stood + still, not certain which way to go. Then I settled to myself + the direction from which I had heard the voices, and turned + along the shaft on that side. + </p> + <p> + When I had walked a few yards my nerve began to go; for the + gleam on the walls faded, the last glimmer of light went out. + I was walking along an unknown path in pitchy darkness, + hearing only the drip, drip, splash of the water slowly + falling from the roof. Suddenly I ran against a sort of + breastwork of mortared stones, and the shock almost made me + faint. I stretched my hand out beyond it, but could feel + nothing, and then downward on the far side, but could feel + nothing; and then I knocked away a scrap of stone from the + top of the wall, and it seemed to fall for several seconds + before a faint splash told me that it had reached water. The + shaft seemed to turn to the right and left at this low wall, + and at first I turned to the left, but only for a moment, as + I soon saw that the right-hand turning would bring me more + quickly to the cliff-face from which I had heard the voices. + After I had made my choice, you may be sure that I went on + hands and knees, feeling the ground in front of me. I went + forward very, very slowly, with the wet mud coming through my + knickerbockers, and the cold drops sometimes falling on my + neck from the roof. At last I saw a little glimmer of light, + and there was a turning to the left; and just beyond the + turning there was a chamber in the rock, all lit up by the + sun, as clear as clear. There were holes in the cliff-face, + one of them a great big hole, and the sun shone through on to + the floor of the cave, and I could look out and see the sea, + and the seagulls going past after fish, and the clouds + drifting up by the horizon. Very cautiously I crept up to the + entrance to the chamber, and then into it, so that I could + look all round it. + </p> + <p> + It was not a very large room (I suppose it was fifteen feet + square) and it looked rather smaller than it was, because it + was heaped almost to the roof in one or two places with boxes + and kegs, and the various sea-stores, such as new rope and + spare anchors. In one corner of it (in the corner at which I + entered it) a flight of worn stone steps led downwards into + the bowels of the earth. "Aha!" I thought; "so that's how you + reach your harbour!" Then I crept up to one of the piles of + boxes and cautiously peeped over. + </p> + <p> + I looked over cautiously, for as I entered the room I had the + eerie feeling which one gets sometimes at night; I felt that + there was somebody else in the room. Sure enough there was + somebody else—two somebodies—and my heart leaped + up in joy to see them. Sitting on the ground, tied by the + body to some of the boxes over which I peered, were the two + missing coastguards. Their backs were towards me, and their + hands and feet were securely bound; but they were unhurt, + that was the great thing. One of them was quietly smoking, + filling the cave with strong tobacco smoke; the other was + asleep, breathing rather heavily. It was evidently a pleasant + holiday for the pair of them. No other person was in the + room, but I saw that on the far side of the chamber another + gallery led on into the cliff to another chamber, and from + this chamber came the sound of many voices talking (in a dull + quiet way), and the slow droning of the song of a drunken + man. I shut my eyes, and lay across the boxes as still as a + dead man, trying to summon up enough courage to speak to the + coastguard; and all the time the drunkard's song quavered and + shook, and died down, and dragged on again, as though it + would never end. Afterwards I often heard that song, in all + its thirty stanzas; and I have only to repeat a line of it to + bring back to myself the scene of the sunny cave, with the + bound coastguard smoking, and the smugglers talking and + talking just a few paces out of sight. + </p> + <p> + <br> + "And the gale it roar-ed dismally<br> + As we went to New Barbary," + </p> + <p> + said the singer; and then some one asked a question, and some + one struck a light for his pipe, and the singer droned on and + on about the bold Captain Glen, and the ship which met with + such disaster. + </p> + <p> + At last I summoned up enough courage to speak. I crawled over + the boxes as far as I could, and touched the coastguard. + "Sh!" I said, in a low voice, "Don't make a sound. I've come + to rescue you." + </p> + <p> + The man stared violently (I dare say his nerves were in a bad + way after his night in the cave), he dropped his pipe with a + little clatter on the stones, and turned to stare at me. + </p> + <p> + "Sh!" I said again. "Don't speak. Don't make a sound." + </p> + <p> + I crept round the boxes to him, and opened my knife. It was a + strong knife, with very sharp blades (Marah used to whet them + for me), so that it did not take me long to cut through the + "inch-and-a-half-rope," which lashed the poor fellow to the + boxes. + </p> + <p> + "Thankee, master," the man said, as he rose to his feet and + stretched himself. "I was getting stiff. Now, let's get out + of here. D'ye know the way out?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "I think I do. Oh, don't make a noise; but + come this way. This way." + </p> + <p> + Very quietly we stole out by the gallery by which I had + entered. We made no attempt to rouse the sleeping man; he + slept too heavily, and we could not afford to run risks. I + don't know what the coastguard's feelings were. As for + myself, I was pretty nearly fainting with excitement. I could + hear my heart go thump, thump, thump; it seemed to be right + up in my very throat. As we stepped into the gloom of the + gallery, the smugglers behind us burst into the chorus at the + end of the song— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "O never more do I intend<br> + For to cross the raging main<br> + But to live at home most cheerfull-ee,<br> + And thus I end my traged-ee." + </p> + <p> + I felt that if I could get away from that adventure I, too, + would live at home most cheerfully until the day of my death. + We took advantage of the uproar to step quickly into the + darkness of the passage. + </p> + <p> + Just before we came to the low stone breastwork which had + given me such a shock a few minutes before, we heard some one + whistling a bar of a tune. The tune was the tune of— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "Oh, my true love's listed, and wears a white + cockade." + </p> + <p> + And to our horror the whistler was coming quickly towards us. + In another second we saw him stepping along the gallery, + swinging a lantern. He was a big, strong man, evidently + familiar with the way. + </p> + <p> + "Back," said the coastguard in a gasp. "Get back, for your + life, and down that staircase." + </p> + <p> + The man didn't see us; didn't even hear us. He stopped at the + stone breastwork, opened his lantern, and lit his pipe at the + candle, and then stepped on leisurely towards the chamber. + Our right course would have been "to go for him," knock him + down, knock the breath out of him, lash his wrists and ankles + together, and bolt for the entrance. But the coastguard was + rather upset by his adventure, and he let the minute pass by. + Had he rushed at the man as soon as he appeared; but, + there—it is no use talking. We didn't rush at him, we + scuttled back into the chamber, and then down the worn stone + steps cut out of the rock, which seemed to lead down and down + into the bowels of the earth. As we hurried down, leaping + lightly on the tips of our toes, the quaver of the tune came + after us, so clearly that I even made a guess at the + whistler's identity. + </p> + <p> + When we had run down the staircase about half-way down to + sea-level we found ourselves in a cave as big as the church + at Dartmouth. It was fairly light, for the entrance was + large, though low, and at low water (as it was then) the roof + of the cave mouth stood six feet from the sea. The sea ran up + into the cave in a deep triangular channel, with a + landing-place (a natural ledge of rock) on each of the sides, + and the sea entrance at the base. The sea made a sort of + clucking noise about the rocks; and at the right inland it + washed upon a cave-floor of pebbles, which clattered slightly + as the swell moved them. The roof dripped a little, and there + were little pools on both the landings, and the whole place + had a queer, dim, green, uncanny light upon it; due, I + suppose, to the deep water of the channel. I saw all these + things afterwards, at leisure; I did not notice them very + clearly in that first moment. All that I saw then was a large + sea-lugger, lying moored at the cavemouth, some few feet + lower down. She was a beautiful model of a boat (I had seen + that much in seeing her bow from the top of the cliff), but + of course her three masts were unstepped, and she was rather + a handful for a man and a boy. We saw her, and made a leap + for her together, and both of us landed in her bows at the + same instant, just as the man with the lantern, peering down + from the top of the stairs, asked us what in the world we + were playing at down there. + </p> + <p> + The coastguard made no answer, for he was busy in the bows; I + think he had his knife through the painter in five seconds. + Then he snatched up a boat-hook (I took an oar), and we drove + her with all our strength along the channel into (or, I + should say, towards) the open sea and freedom. + </p> + <p> + "Hey," cried the man with the lantern, "chuck that! Are you + mad?" He took a step or two down the staircase, in order to + see better. + </p> + <p> + "Drive her, oh, drive her, boy!" cried the coastguard. + </p> + <p> + I thrust with all my force, the coastguard gave a mighty + heave, the lugger slid slowly seawards. + </p> + <p> + "Hey!" yelled the smuggler, clattering upstairs, dropping his + lantern down on us. "Hey, Marah, Jewler, Smokewell, + Hankin—all of you! They've got away in the boat." + </p> + <p> + "Now the play begins," said the coastguard. "Another heave, + and another—together now!" + </p> + <p> + We drove the lugger forward again, so that half her length + thrust out into the sea. We ran aft to give her a final + thrust out, and just at that moment her bow struck upon the + rock at the cave mouth: in the excitement of the moment we + had not realised that one of us was wanted in the bows to + shove her nose clean into the sea. The blow threw us both + upon our hands and knees in the stern sheets; it took us + half-a-dozen seconds to pick ourselves up, and then I + realised that I should have to jump forward and guide the + boat clear of all outlying dangers. As I sprang to the bows + there came yells from the top of the stairs, where I saw + half-a-dozen smugglers coming full tilt towards us. + </p> + <p> + Some one cried out, "Drop it, drop it, you fool!" Another + voice cried, "Fire!" and two or three shots cracked out, + making a noise like a cannonade. The coastguard gave a last + desperate heave, I shoved the bows clear, and lo! we were + actually gliding out. The coastguard's body was outside the + cliff in full sunlight, giving a final thrust from the cliff + wall. And then I saw Marah leap into the stern sheets as they + passed out of the cave; he gave a little thrust to the + coastguard, just a gentle thrust—enough to make him + lose his balance and topple over. + </p> + <p> + "That's enough now," he said, with a grim glance at me. + "That's enough for one time." + </p> + <p> + He picked up the coastguard's boat-hook (the man just grinned + and looked sheepish; he made no attempt to fight with Marah) + and thrust the boat back into the cave with half-a-dozen deft + strokes. Another smuggler dropped down into the stern sheets, + looked at the coastguard with a grin, and helped to work the + lugger back into the cave. A third man threw down a sternfast + to secure her; a fourth jumped into the bow and began to put + a long splice into the painter which we had cut. We had tried + and we had failed; here we were prisoners again, and I felt + sick at heart lest those rough smugglers should teach us a + lesson for our daring. But Marah just told the coastguard to + jump out. + </p> + <p> + "Out you get," he said, "and don't try that again." + </p> + <p> + "I won't," said the coastguard. + </p> + <p> + "You'd better not," said another smuggler. That was all. + </p> + <p> + We were helped out of the lugger on to the ledge above the + channel, and the smugglers walked behind us up the stairs to + the room we had just left. The other coastguard was still + snoring, and that seemed strange to me, for the last few + minutes had seemed like hours. + </p> + <p> + "Better bring him inside, boss," said one of the smugglers. + "He may try the same game." + </p> + <p> + "He's got no young sprig to cut his lashings," said Marah. + "He'll be well enough." So they left the man to his quiet and + passed on with their other prisoners into the inner room. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX + </h2> + <h3> + SIGNING ON + </h3> + <p> + The inner room was much larger than the prison chamber; it + was not littered with boxes, but clean and open like a + frigate's lower deck. It was not, perhaps, quite so light as + the other room, but there were great holes in the cliff + hidden by bushes from the view of passing fishermen, and the + sun streamed through these on to the floor, leaving only the + ends of the room in shadow. The room had been arranged like + the mess-deck of a war-ship; there were sea-chests and bags + ranged trimly round the inner wall; there was a trestle table + littered with tin pannikins and plates. The roof was + supported by a line of wooden stanchions. There were arm + racks round the stanchions, containing muskets, cutlasses, + and long, double-barrelled pistols. As I expected, there were + several bee-skeps hanging from nails, or lying on the floor. + I was in the smugglers' roost, perhaps in the presence of + Captain Sharp himself. + </p> + <p> + The drunken smuggler who had sung of Captain Glen was the + only occupant of the room when we entered: he sat half asleep + in his chest, still clutching his pannikin, still muttering + about the boatswain. He was an Italian by birth, so Marah + told me. He was known as Gateo. When he was sober he was a + good seaman, but when he was drunk he would do nothing but + sing of Captain Glen until he dropped off to sleep. He had + served in the Navy, Marah told me, and had once been a + boatswain's mate in the <i>Victory</i>; but he had deserted, + and now he was a smuggler living in a hole in the earth. + </p> + <p> + "And now," said Marah, after he had told me all this, "you + and me will have to talk. Step into the other room there, you + boys," he cried to the other smugglers: "I want to have a + word with master here." + </p> + <p> + One of the men—he was the big man who had raised the + alarm on us; I never knew his real name, everybody always + called him Extry—said glumly that he "wasn't going to + oblige boys, not for dollars." + </p> + <p> + Marah turned upon him, and the two men faced each other; the + others stood expectantly, eager for a fight. "Step into the + other room there," repeated Marah quietly. + </p> + <p> + "I ain't no pup nor no nigger-man," said Extry. "You ain't + going to order me." + </p> + <p> + Marah seemed to shrink into himself and to begin to sparkle + all over—I can't describe it: that is the effect he + produced—he seemed to settle down like a cat going to + spring. Extry's hand travelled round for his sheath-knife, + and yet it moved indecisively, as though half afraid. And + then, just as I felt that Extry would die from being looked + at in that way, he hung his head, turned to the door, and + walked out sheepishly according to order. He was beaten. + </p> + <p> + "No listening now," said Marah, as they filed out. "Keep on + your own side of the fence." + </p> + <p> + "Shall we take Gatty with us?" said one of the men. + </p> + <p> + "Let him lie," said Marah; "he's hove down for a full due, + Gatty is." + </p> + <p> + The men disappeared with their prisoner. Marah looked after + them for a moment. "Now," he said, "come on over here to the + table, Master Jim." He watched me with a strange grin upon + his face; I knew that grin; it was the look his face always + bore when he was worried. "Now we will come to business. Lie + back against the hammocks and rest; I'm going to talk to you + like a father." + </p> + <p> + I lay back upon the lashed-up hammocks and he began. + </p> + <p> + "I suppose you know what you've done? You've just about + busted yourself. D'ye know that? You thought you'd rescue the + pugs"—he meant coastguards. "Well, you haven't. You + have gone and shoved your head down a wasp's nest, so you'll + find. How did you get here, in the first place? What gave you + your clue?" + </p> + <p> + "I saw the coastguards up above here yesterday," I answered, + "and I thought I heard voices speaking from below the brow of + the cliff, so then I searched about till I found a hole, and + so I got down here." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said Marah, "they will be round here looking for you, + then. I'll take the liberty of hiding your tracks." He went + in to the other room and spoke a few words to one of the + other smugglers. "Well," he said, as he came back to me, + "they'll not find you now, if they search from now till + glory. They'll think you fell into the sea." + </p> + <p> + "But," I exclaimed, "I must go home! Surely I can go home + now? They'll be so anxious." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah, "they'll be anxious. But look you here, my + son; folk who acts hasty, as you've done, they often make + other people anxious—often enough. Very anxious indeed, + some of 'em. That's what you have done by coming nosing + around here. Now here you are, our prisoner—Captain + Sharp's prisoner—and here you must stay." + </p> + <p> + "But, I <i>must</i> go home," I cried, the tears coming to my + eyes. "I <i>must</i> go home." + </p> + <p> + "Well, you just can't," he answered kindly. "Think it over a + minute. You've come here," he went on, "nosing round like a + spy; you've found out our secret. You might let as many as + fifty men in for the gallows—fifty men to be hanged, + d'ye understand; or to be transported, or sent to a hulk, or + drafted into a man-o'-war. I don't say you would, for I + believe you have sense: still, you're only a boy, and they + might get at you in all sorts of ways. Cunning lawyers might. + And then you give us away and where would <i>we</i> be? Eh, + boy? Where would we be? Suppose you gave us away, meaning no + harm, not really knowing what you done. Well, I ask you, + where would <i>we</i> be?" + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't give you away," I said hotly. "You know I + wouldn't. I never gave you away about the hut in the woods." + </p> + <p> + "No," he said, "you never; but this time there's men's necks + concerned. I can't help myself—Captain Sharp's, orders. + I couldn't let you go if I wanted to; the hands wouldn't let + me. It'd be putting so many ropes round their necks." By this + time I was crying. "Don't cry, young 'un," he said; "it won't + be so bad. But you see yourself what you've done now, don't + you?" + </p> + <p> + He walked away from me a turn or two to let me have my cry + out. When my sobs ceased, he came back and sat close to me, + waiting for me to speak. + </p> + <p> + "What will you do to me?" I asked him. + </p> + <p> + "Why," he answered, "there's only one thing <i>to</i> be + done; either you've got to become one of us, so as if you + give us away you'll be in the same boat—I don't say you + need be one of us for long; only a trip or two—or, + you'll have to walk through the window there, and that's a + long fall and a mighty wet splash at the bottom." + </p> + <p> + I thought of Mims waiting at home for me, and of the jolly + tea-table, with Hoolie begging for toast and Hugh's face bent + over his plate. The thought that I should never see them + again set me crying passionately—I cried as if my heart + would break. + </p> + <p> + "Why—come, come," said Marah; "I thought you were a + sailor. Take a brace, boy. We're not going to kill you. + You'll make a trip or two. What's that? Why it's only a + matter of a week or two, and it'll make a man of you. A very + jolly holiday. I'll be able to make a man of you just as I + said I would. You'll see life and you'll see the sea, and + then you'll come home and forget all about us. But go home + you'll not, understand that, till we got a hold on you the + same as you on us." + </p> + <p> + There was something in his voice which gave me the fury of + despair. I sprang to my feet, almost beside myself. "Very + well, then," I cried. "You can drown me. I'm not going to be + one of you. And if I ever get away I'll see you all hanged, + every one of you—you first." + </p> + <p> + I couldn't say more, for I burst out crying again. + </p> + <p> + Marah sat still, watching me. "Well, well," he said, "I + always thought you had spirit. Still, no sense in drowning + you, no sense at all." + </p> + <p> + He walked to the door and called out to some of the + smugglers, "Here, Extry, Hankin, you fellows, just come in + here, I want you a moment." + </p> + <p> + The men came in quickly, and ranged themselves about the + room, grinning cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + "'Low me to introduce you," said Marah. "Our new apprentice, + Mr Jim Davis." + </p> + <p> + The men bowed to me sheepishly. + </p> + <p> + "Glad to meet Mr Davis," said one of them. + </p> + <p> + "Quite a pleasure," said another. + </p> + <p> + "I s'pose you just volunteered, Mr Jim?" said the third. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah; "he just volunteered. I want you to + witness his name on the articles." He produced a sheet of + paper which was scrawled all over with names. "Now, Mr Jim," + he said, "your name, please. There's ink and pen in the chest + here." + </p> + <p> + "What d'ye want my name for?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Signing on," he said, winking at me. "It's only a game." + </p> + <p> + "I won't set my name to the paper." I cried. "I'll have + nothing to do with you. I'd sooner die—far sooner." + </p> + <p> + "That's a pity," said Marah, taking up the pen. "Well, if you + won't, you won't." + </p> + <p> + He bent over the chest and wrote "Jim Davis" in a round, + unformed, boyish hand, not unlike my own. + </p> + <p> + "Now, boys," he said, "you have seen the signature. Witness + it, please." + </p> + <p> + The men witnessed the signature and made their clumsy + crosses; none of them could write. + </p> + <p> + "You see?" asked Marah. "We were bound to get you, Jim. + You've signed our articles." "I've done nothing of the kind," + I said. "Oh! but you have," he said calmly. "Here's your + witnessed signature. You're one of us now." + </p> + <p> + "It's a forgery!" I cried. + </p> + <p> + "Forgery?" he said in pretended amazement. "But here are + witnesses to swear to it. Now don't take on, son"—he + saw that I was on the point of breaking down again at seeing + myself thus trapped. "You can't get away. You're ours. Make + the best of a bad job. We will tell your friends you are + safe. They'll know within an hour that you will not be home + till the end of June. After that you will be enough one of us + to keep your tongue shut for your own sake. I'm sorry you + don't like it. Well, 'The sooner the quicker' is a good + proverb. The sooner you dry your tears, the quicker we can + begin to work together. Here, Smokewell, get dinner along; + it's pretty near two o'clock. Now, Jim, my son, I'll just + send a note to your people." He sat down on a chest and began + to write. "No," he added; "<i>you</i> had better write. Say + this: 'I am safe. I shall be back in three weeks' time. Say I + have gone to stay in Somersetshire with Captain Sharp. Do not + worry about me. Do not look for me. I am safe.' There; that's + enough. Give it here. Hankin, deliver this letter at once to + Mrs Cottier, at the Snail's Castle. Don't show your beautiful + face to more'n you can help. Be off." + </p> + <p> + Hankin took the letter and shambled out of the cave. Long + afterwards I heard that he shot it through the dining-room + window on a dart of hazelwood while my aunt and Mrs Cottier + were at lunch. That was the last letter I wrote for many a + long day. That was my farewell to boyhood, that letter. + </p> + <p> + After a time Smokewell brought in dinner, and we all fell-to + at the table. For my own part, I was too sick at heart to eat + much, though the food was good enough. There was a cold fowl, + a ham, and a great apple-pasty. + </p> + <p> + After dinner, the men cut up tobacco, and played cards, and + smoked, and threw dice; but Marah made them do this in the + outer room. He was very kind to me in my wretchedness. He + slung one of the hammocks for me, and made me turn in for a + sleep. After a time I cried myself into a sort of uneasy + doze. I woke up from time to time, and whenever I woke up I + would see Marah smoking, with his face turned to the window, + watching the sea. Then I would hear the flicker of the cards + in the next room, and the voices of the players. "You go + that? Do you? Well, and I'll raise you." And then I would + hear the money being paid to the winners, and wonder where I + was, and so doze off again into all manner of dreams. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER X + </h2> + <h3> + ABOARD THE LUGGER + </h3> + <p> + When I woke up, it was still bright day, but the sun was off + the cliffs, and the caves seemed dark and uncanny. + </p> + <p> + "Well," said Marah, "have you had a good sleep?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, full of wretchedness; "I must have slept for + hours." + </p> + <p> + "You'll need a good sleep," said Marah, "for it's likely + you'll have none to-night. We night-riders, the like of you + and me, why, we know what the owls do, don't we? We sleep + like cats in the daytime. They'll be getting supper along in + about half-an-hour. What d'you say to a wash and that down in + the sea—a plunge in the cove and then out and dry + yourself? Why, it'd be half your life. Do you all the good in + the world. Can't offer you fresh water; there's next to none + down below here. But you come down and have a dip in the + salt." + </p> + <p> + He led the way into the next room, and down the stairs to the + water. The tide was pretty full, so that I could dive off one + ledge and climb out by the ledge at the other side. So I + dived in and then climbed back, and dried myself with a piece + of an old sail, feeling wonderfully refreshed. Then we went + upstairs to the cave again, and supped off the remains of the + dinner; and then the men sat about the table talking, telling + each other stories of the sea. It was dusk before we finished + supper, and the caves were dark, but no lights were allowed. + The smugglers always went into the passages to light their + pipes. I don't know how they managed in the winter: probably + they lived in the passages, where a fire could not be seen + from the sea. In summer they could manage very well. + </p> + <p> + Towards sunset the sky clouded over, and it began to rain. I + sat at the cave window, listlessly looking out upon it, + feeling very sick at heart. The talk of the smugglers rang in + my ears in little snatches. + </p> + <p> + "So I said, 'You're a liar. There's no man alive ever came + away, not ever. They were all drowned, every man Jack.' + That's what I said." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said another; "so they was. I saw the wreck myself. + The lower masts was standing." + </p> + <p> + I didn't understand half of what they said; but it all seemed + to be full of terrible meaning, like the words heard in + dreams. Marah was very kind in his rough sailor's way, but I + was homesick, achingly homesick, and his jokes only made me + more wretched than I was. At last he told me to turn in again + and get some sleep, and, after I had tucked myself up, the + men were quieter. I slept in a dazed, light-headed fashion + (as I had slept in the afternoon) till some time early in the + morning (at about one o'clock), when a hand shook my hammock, + and Marah's voice bade me rise. + </p> + <p> + It was dark in the cave, almost pitch-dark. Marah took my arm + and led me downstairs to the lower cave, where one or two + battle-lanterns made it somewhat lighter. There were nearly + twenty men gathered together in the cave, and I could see + that the lugger had been half filled with stores, all + securely stowed, ready for the sea. A little, + brightly-dressed mannikin, in a white, caped overcoat, was + directing matters, talking sometimes in English, sometimes in + French, but always with a refined accent and in picked + phrases. He was clean shaven, as far as I could see, and his + eyes glittered in the lantern-light. The English smugglers + addressed him as Captain Sharp, but I learnt afterwards that + "Captain Sharp" was the name by which all their officers were + known, and that there were at least twenty other Captain + Sharps scattered along the coast. At the time, I thought that + this man was the supreme head, the man who had sent Mrs + Cottier her present, the man who had spoken to me that night + of the snow-storm. + </p> + <p> + "Here, Marah," he said, when he saw that I was taking too + much notice of him, "stow that lad away in the bows; he will + be recognising me by-and-by." + </p> + <p> + "Come on, Jim," said Marah; "jump into the boat, my son." + </p> + <p> + "But where are we going?" I asked, dismayed. + </p> + <p> + "Going?" he answered. "Going? Going to make a man of you. + Going to France, my son." + </p> + <p> + I hung back, frightened and wretched. He swung me lightly off + the ledge into the lugger's bows. + </p> + <p> + "Now, come," he said; "you're not going to cry. I'm going to + make a man of you. Here, you must put on this suit of + wrap-rascal, and these here knee-boots, or you'll be cold to + the bone,'specially if you're sick. Put 'em on, son, before + we sail." He didn't give me time to think or to refuse, but + forced the clothes upon me; they were a world too big. + "There," he said; "now you're quite the sailor." He gave a + hail to the little dapper man above him. "We're all ready, + Captain Sharp," he cried, "so soon as you like." + </p> + <p> + "Right," said the Captain. "You know what you got to do. + Shove off, boys!" + </p> + <p> + A dozen more smugglers leaped down upon the lugger; the + gaskets were cast off the sails, a few ropes were flung + clear. I saw one or two men coiling away the lines which had + lashed us to the rocks. The dapper man waved his hands and + skipped up the staircase. + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye, Jim," said some one. "So long—so long," + cried the smugglers to their friends. Half-a-dozen strong + hands walked along the ledge with the sternfast, helping to + drag us from the cave. "Quietly now," said Marah, as the + lugger moved out into the night. "Heave, oh, heave," said the + seamen, as they thrust her forward to the sea. The sea air + beat freshly upon me, a drop or two of rain fell, wetting my + skin, the water talked under the keel and along the + cliff-edge—we were out of the cave, we were at sea; the + cave and the cliff were a few yards from us, we were moving + out into the unknown. + </p> + <p> + "Aft with the boy, out of the way," said some one; a hand led + me aft to the stern sheets, and there was Marah at the + tiller. "Get sail on her," he said in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + The men ran to the yards and masts, the masts were stepped + and the yards hoisted quietly. There was a little rattle of + sheets and blocks, the sails slatted once or twice. Then the + lugger passed from the last shelter of the cliff; the wind + caught us, and made us heel a little; the men went to the + weather side; the noise of talking water deepened. Soon the + water creamed into brightness as we drove through it. They + set the little main topsail—luggers were never very + strictly rigged in those days. + </p> + <p> + "There's the Start Light, Jim," said Marah. "Bid it good-bye. + You'll see it no more for a week." + </p> + <p> + They were very quiet in the lugger; no one spoke, except when + the steersman was relieved, or when the master wished + something done among the rigging. The men settled down on the + weather side with their pipes and quids, and all through the + short summer night we lay there, huddled half asleep + together, running to the south like a stag. At dawn the wind + breezed up, and the lugger leaped and bounded till I felt + giddy; but they shortened no sail, only let her drive and + stagger, wasting no ounce of the fair wind. The sun came up, + the waves sparkled, and the lugger drove on for France, + lashing the sea into foam and lying along on her side. I + didn't take much notice of things for I felt giddy and + stunned; but the change in my circumstances had been so + great—the life in the lugger was so new and strange to + me—that I really did not feel keen sorrow for being + away from my friends. I just felt stunned and crushed. + </p> + <p> + Marah was at the taffrail looking out over the water with one + hand on the rail. He grinned at me whenever the sprays rose + up and crashed down upon us. "Ha," he would say, "there she + sprays; that beats your shower-baths," and he would laugh to + see me duck whenever a very heavy spray flung itself into the + boat. We were tearing along at a great pace and there were + two men at the tiller: Marah was driving his boat in order to + "make a passage." We leaped and shook, and lay down and + rushed, like a thing possessed; our sails were dark with the + spray; nearly every man on board was wet through. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by Marah called me to him and took me by the scruff of + the neck with one hand. "See here," he said, putting his + mouth against my ear; "look just as though nothing was + happening. You see that old Gateo at the lee tiller? Well, + watch him for a moment. Now look beyond his red cap at the + sea. What's that? Your eyes are younger—I use tobacco + too much to have good eyes. What's that on the sea there?" + </p> + <p> + I looked hard whenever the lugger rose up in a swell. "It's a + sail," I said, in a low voice; "a small sail. A cutter by the + look of her." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, "she's a cutter. Now turn to windward. What + d'ye make of that?" + </p> + <p> + He jerked himself around to stare to windward and ahead of + us. Very far away, I could not say how far, I saw, or thought + I saw, several ships; but the sprays drove into my face and + the wind blew the tears out of my eyes. "Ships," I answered + him. "A lot of ships—a whole convoy of ships." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," he answered, "that's no convoy. That's the fleet + blockading Brest, my son. That cutter's a revenue cruiser, + and she's new from home; her bottom's clean, otherwise we'd + dropped her. She's going to head us off into the fleet, and + then there will be James M'Kenna." + </p> + <p> + "Who was he?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Who? James M'Kenna?" he answered lightly. "He stole the + admiral's pig. He was hanged at the yardarm until he was + dead. You thank your stars we have not got far to go. There's + France fair to leeward; but that cutter's between us and + there, so we shall have a close call to get home. P'raps we + shall not <i>get</i> home—it depends, my son." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI + </h2> + <h3> + THE FRIGATE "LAOCOON" + </h3> + <p> + By this time the other smugglers had become alarmed. The + longboat gun, which worked on a slide abaft all, was cleared, + and the two little cohorns, or hand-swivel guns, which + pointed over the sides, were trained and loaded. A man + swarmed up the mainmast to look around. "The cutter's bearing + up to close," he called out. "I see she's the Salcombe boat." + </p> + <p> + "That shows they have information," said Marah grimly, + "otherwise they'd not be looking for us here. Some one had + been talking to his wife." He hailed the masthead again. + "Have the frigates seen us yet?" + </p> + <p> + For answer, the man took a hurried glance to windward, turned + visibly white to the lips, and slid down a rope to the deck. + "Bearing down fast, under stunsails," he reported. "The + cutter's signalled them with her topsail. There's three + frigates coming down," he added. + </p> + <p> + "Right," said Marah. "I'll go up and see for myself." + </p> + <p> + He went up, and came down again looking very ugly. He + evidently thought that he was in a hole. "As she goes," he + called to the helmsman, "get all you can on the sheets, boys. + Now Jim, you're up a tree; you're within an hour of being + pressed into the Navy. How'd ye like to be a ship's boy, hey, + and get tickled up by a bo'sun's rope-end?" + </p> + <p> + "I shouldn't like it at all," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "You'll like it a jolly sight less than that," said he, "and + it's what you'll probably be. We're ten miles from home. The + cutter's in the road. The frigates will be on us in + half-an-hour. It will be a mighty close call, my son; we + shall have to fight to get clear." + </p> + <p> + At that instant of time something went overhead with a + curious whanging whine. + </p> + <p> + "That's a three-pound ball," said Marah, pointing to a spurt + upon a wave. "The cutter wants us to stop and have breakfast + with 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Whang," went another shot, flying far overhead. "Fire away," + said Marah. "You're more than a mile away; you will not hit + us at that range." + </p> + <p> + He shifted his course a little, edging more towards the + shore, so as to cut transversely across the cutter's bows. We + ran for twenty minutes in the course of the frigates; by that + time the cutter was within half a mile and the frigates + within three miles of us. All the cutter's guns were + peppering at us; a shot or two went through our sails, one + shot knocked a splinter from our fiferail. + </p> + <p> + "They shoot a treat, don't they?" said Marah. "Another minute + and they will be knocking away a spar." + </p> + <p> + Just as he spoke, there came another shot from the cutter; + something aloft went "crack"; a rope unreeved from its pulley + and rattled on to the deck; the mizen came down in a heap: + the halliards had been cut clean through. The men leaped to + repair the damage; it took but a minute or two, but we had + lost way; the next shot took us square amidships and tore off + a yard of our lee side. + </p> + <p> + "We must give them one in return," he said. "Aft to the gun, + boys." + </p> + <p> + The men trained the long gun on the cutter. "Oh, Marah," I + said, "don't fire on Englishmen." + </p> + <p> + "Who began the firing?" he answered. "I'm going to knock away + some of their sails. Stand clear of the breech," he shouted, + as he pulled the trigger-spring. The gun roared and recoiled; + a hole appeared as if by magic in the swelling square + foresail of the cutter. "Load with bar-shot and chain," said + Marah. "Another like that and we shall rip the whole sail + off. Mind your eye. There goes her gun again." + </p> + <p> + This time the shot struck the sea beside us, sending a spout + of water over our rail. Again Marah pulled his + trigger-spring, the gun fell over on its side, and the + cutter's mast seemed to collapse into itself as though it + were wrapping itself up in its own canvas. A huge loose clue + of sail—the foresail's starboard leach—flew up + into the air; the boom swung after it; the gaff toppled over + from above; we saw the topmast dive like a lunging rapier + into the sea. We had torn the foresail in two, and the shot + passing on had smashed the foremast just below the cap. All + her sails lay in a confused heap just forward of the mast. + </p> + <p> + "That's done her," said one of the smugglers. "She can't even + use her gun now." + </p> + <p> + "Hooray!" cried another. "We're the boys for a lark." + </p> + <p> + "Are you?" said Marah. "We got the frigates to clear yet, my + son. They'll be in range in two minutes or less. Look at + them." + </p> + <p> + Tearing after us, in chase, under all sail, came the + frigates. Their bows were burrowing into white heaps of foam; + we could see the red port-lids and the shining gun-muzzles; + we could see the scarlet coats of the marines, and the glint + of brass on the poops. A flame spurted from the bows of the + leader. She was firing a shot over us to bid us heave to. The + smugglers looked at each other; they felt that the game was + up. Bang! Another shot splashed into the sea beside us, and + bounded on from wave to wave, sending up huge splashes at + each bound. A third shot came from the second frigate, but + this also missed. Marah was leaning over our lee rail, + looking at the coast of France, still several miles away. + "White water," he cried suddenly. "Here's the Green Stones. + We shall do them yet." + </p> + <p> + I could see no green stones, but a quarter of a mile away, on + our port-hand, the sea was all a cream of foam above reefs + and sands just covered by the tide. If they were to help us, + it was none too soon, for by this time the leading frigate + was only a hundred yards from us. Her vast masts towered over + us. I could look into her open bow ports; I could see the men + at the bow guns waiting for the word to fire. I have often + seen ships since then, but I never saw any ship so splendid + and so terrible as that one. She was the <i>Laocoon</i>, and + her figurehead was twined with serpents. The line of her + ports was of a dull yellow colour, and as all her ports were + open, the port-lids made scarlet marks all along it. Her + great lower studdingsail swept out from her side for all the + world like a butterfly-net, raking the top of the sea for us. + An officer stood on the forecastle with a speaking-trumpet in + his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Stand by!" cried Marah. "They're going to hail us." + </p> + <p> + "Ahoy, the lugger there!" yelled the officer. "Heave to at + once or I sink you. Heave to." + </p> + <p> + "Answer him in French," said Marah to one of the men. + </p> + <p> + A man made some answer in French; I think he said he didn't + understand. The officer told a marine to fire at us. The + bullet whipped through the mizen. "Bang" went one of the + main-deck guns just over our heads. We felt a rush and shock, + and our mizen mast and sail went over the side. + </p> + <p> + Marah stood up and raised his hand. "We surrender, sir!" he + shouted; "we surrender! Down helm, boys." + </p> + <p> + We swung round on our keel, and came to the wind. We saw the + officer nod approval and speak a word to the sailing-master, + and then the great ship lashed past us, a mighty, straining, + heaving fabric of beauty, whose lower studding-sails were wet + half-way to their irons. + </p> + <p> + "Now for it!" said Marah. He hauled his wind, and the lugger + shot off towards the broken water. "If we get among those + shoals," he said, "we're safe as houses. The frigate's done. + She's going at such a pace they will never stop her. Not till + she's gone a mile. Not without they rip the masts out of her. + That officer ought to have known that trick. That will be a + lesson to you, Mr Jim. If ever you're in a little ship, and + you get chased by a big ship, you keep on till she's right on + top of you, and then luff hard all you know, and the chances + are you'll get a mile start before they come round to go + after you." + </p> + <p> + We had, in fact, doubled like a hare, and the frigate, like a + greyhound, had torn on ahead, unable to turn. We saw her + lower stunsail boom carry away as they took in the sail, and + we could see her seamen running to their quarters ready to + brace the yards and bring the ship to her new course. The + lugger soon gathered way and tore on, but it was now blowing + very fresh indeed, and the sea before us was one lashing + smother of breakers. Marah seemed to think nothing of that; + he was watching the frigates. One, a slower sailer than the + other, was sailing back to the fleet; the second had hove to + about a mile away, with her longboat lowered to pursue us. + The boat was just clear of her shadow; crowding all sail in + order to get to us. The third ship, the ship which we had + tricked, was hauling to the wind, with her light canvas clued + up for furling. In a few moments she was braced up and + standing towards us, but distant about a mile. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly both frigates opened fire, and the great + cannon-balls ripped up the sea all round us. + </p> + <p> + "They'll sink us, sure," said one of the smugglers with a + grin. + </p> + <p> + The men all laughed, and I laughed too; we were all so very + much interested in what was going to happen. The guns fired + steadily one after the other in a long rolling roar. The men + laughed at each shot. + </p> + <p> + "They couldn't hit the sea," they said derisively. "The navy + gunners are no use at all." + </p> + <p> + "No," said Marah, "they're not. But if they keep their course + another half-minute they'll be on the sunk reef, and a lot of + 'em'll be drowned. I wonder will the old <i>Laocoon</i> take + a hint." + </p> + <p> + "Give 'em the pennant," said Gateo. + </p> + <p> + "Ay, give it 'em," said half-a-dozen others. "Don't let 'em + wreck." + </p> + <p> + Marah opened the flag-locker, and took out a blue pennant (it + had a white ball in the middle of it), which he hoisted to + his main truck. "Let her go off," he cried to the helmsman. + </p> + <p> + For just a moment we lay broadside on to the frigate, a fair + target for her guns, so that she could see the pennant + blowing out clear. + </p> + <p> + "You see, Jim?" asked Marah. "That pennant means 'You are + standing in to danger.' Now we will luff again." + </p> + <p> + "I don't think they saw it, guv'nor," said one of the sailors + as another shot flew over us. "They'll have to send below to + get their glasses, those blind navy jokers." + </p> + <p> + "Off," said Marah, quickly; and again we lay broadside on, + tumbling in the swell, shipping heavy sprays. + </p> + <p> + This time they saw it, for the <i>Laocoon's</i> helm was put + down, her great sails shivered and threshed, and she stood + off on the other tack. As she stood away we saw an officer + leap on to the taffrail, holding on by the mizen backstays. + "Tar my wig," said Marah, "if he isn't bowing to us!" + </p> + <p> + Sure enough the officer took off his hat to us and bowed + gracefully. + </p> + <p> + "Polite young man," said Marah. "We will give them the other + pennant." Another flag, a red pennant, was hoisted in place + of the blue. "Wishing you a pleasant voyage," said Marah. + "Now luff, my sons. That longboat will be on to us." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the longboat had crept to within six hundred yards of + us; it was time we were moving, though the guns were no + longer firing on us from the ships. + </p> + <p> + "Mind your helm, boys," said Marah as he went forward to the + bows. "I've got to con you through a lot of bad rocks. You'll + have to steer small or die." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII + </h2> + <h3> + BLACK POOL BAY + </h3> + <p> + I shall not describe our passage through the Green Stones to + Kermorvan, but in nightmares it comes back to me. We seemed + to wander in blind avenues, hedged in by seas, and broken + water, awful with the menace of death. For five or six hours + we dodged among rocks and reefs, wet with the spray that + broke upon them and sick at heart at the sight of the + whirlpools and eddies. I think that they are called the Green + Stones because the seas break over them in bright green + heaps. Here and there among them the tide seized us and swept + us along, and in the races where this happened there were + sucking whirlpools, strong enough to twist us round. How + often we were near our deaths I cannot think, but time and + time again the backwash of a breaker came over our rail in a + green mass. When we sailed into Kermorvan I was only half + conscious from the cold and wet. I just remember some one + helping me up some steps with seaweed on them. + </p> + <p> + We stayed in Kermorvan for a week or more, waiting for our + cargo of brandy, silk, and tobacco, and for letters and + papers addressed to the French war-prisoners in the huge + prison on Dartmoor. + </p> + <p> + I was very unhappy in Kermorvan, thinking of home. It would + have been less dismal had I had more to do, but I was + unoccupied and a prisoner, in charge of an old French woman, + who spoke little English, so that time passed slowly indeed. + At last we set sail up the coast, hugging the French shore, + touching at little ports for more cargo till we came to + Cartaret. Here a French gentleman (he was a military spy) + came aboard us, and then we waited two or three days for a + fair wind. At last the wind drew to the east, and we spread + all sail for home on a wild morning when the fishermen were + unable to keep the sea. + </p> + <p> + At dusk we were so near to home that I could see the Start + and the whole well-known coast from Salcombe to Dartmoor. In + fact I had plenty of time to see it, for we doused our sails + several miles out to sea, and lay tossing in the storm to a + sea-anchor, waiting for the short summer night to fall. When + it grew dark enough (of course, in that time of year, it is + never very dark even in a storm) we stole in, mile by mile, + to somewhere off Flushing, where we showed a light. We showed + it three times from the bow, and at the last showing a red + light gleamed from Flushing Church. That was the signal to + tell us that all was safe, so then we sailed into Black Pool + Bay, where the breakers were beating fiercely in trampling + ranks. + </p> + <p> + There were about a dozen men gathered together on the beach. + We sailed right in, till we were within ten yards of the + sands, and there we moored the lugger by the head and stern, + so that her freight could be discharged. The men on the beach + waded out through the surf (though it took them up to the + armpits), and the men in the lugger passed the kegs and boxes + to them. Waves which were unusually big would knock down the + men in the water, burden and all, and then there would be + laughter from all hands, and grumbles from the victim. I + never saw men work harder. The freight was all flung out and + landed and packed in half an hour. It passed out in a + continual stream from both sides of the boat; everybody + working like a person possessed. And when the lugger was + nearly free of cargo, and the string of workers in the water + was broken on the port side, it occurred to me that I had a + chance of escape. It flashed into my mind that it was dark, + that no one in the lugger was watching me, that the set of + the tide would drive me ashore (I was not a good swimmer, but + I knew that in five yards I should be able to touch bottom), + and that in another two hours, or less, I should be in bed at + home, with all my troubles at an end. + </p> + <p> + When I thought of escaping, I was standing alone at the + stern. A lot of the boat's crew were in the water, going + ashore to "run" the cargo, on horseback, to the wilds of + Dartmoor. The others were crowded at the bow, watching them + go, or watching the men upon the beach, moving here and there + by torchlight, packing the kegs on the horses' backs. It was + a wild scene. The wind blew the torches into great red fiery + banners; the waves hissed and spumed, and glimmered into + brightness; you could see the horses shying, and the men + hurrying to and fro; and now and then some one would cry out, + and then a horse would whinny. All the time there was a good + deal of unnecessary talk and babble; the voices and laughter + of the seamen came in bursts as the wind lulled. Every now + and then a wave would burst with a smashing noise, and the + smugglers would laugh at those wetted by the spray. I saw + that I had a better chance of landing unobserved on the port + side; so I stole to that side, crawled over the gunwale, and + slid into the sea without a splash. + </p> + <p> + The water made me gasp at first; but that only lasted a + second. I made a gentle stroke or two towards the shore, + trying not to raise my head much, and really I felt quite + safe before I had made three strokes. When you swim in the + sea at night, you see so little that you feel that you, in + your turn, cannot be seen either. All that I could see was a + confused mass of shore with torchlights. Every now and then + that would be hidden from me by the comb of a wave; and then + a following wave would souse into my face and go clean over + me; but as my one thought was to be hidden from the lugger, I + rather welcomed a buffet of that sort. I very soon touched + bottom, for the water near the beach is shallow. I stood up + and bent over, so as not to be seen, and began to stumble + towards the shelter of the rocks. The business of lading the + horses was going steadily forward, with the same noisy hurry. + I climbed out of the backwash of the last breaker, and dipped + down behind a rock, high and dry on the sands. I was safe, I + thought, safe at last, and I was too glad at heart to think + of my sopping clothes, and of the cold which already made me + shiver like an aspen. Suddenly, from up the hill, not more + than a hundred yards from me, came the "Hoo-hoo" of an owl, + the smuggler's danger signal. The noise upon the beach ceased + at once; the torches plunged into the sand and went out: I + heard the lugger's crew cut their cables and hoist sail. + </p> + <p> + A voice said, "Carry on, boys. The preventives are safe at + Bolt Tail," and at that the noise broke out as before. + </p> + <p> + Some one cried "Sh," and "Still," and in the silence which + followed, the "Hoo-hoo" of the owl called again, with a + little flourishing note at the end of the call. + </p> + <p> + A man cried out, "Mount and scatter." + </p> + <p> + Some one else cried, "Where's Marah?" and as I lay crouched, + some one bent over me and touched me. + </p> + <p> + "Sorry, Jim," said Marah's voice. "I knew you'd try it. You + only got your clothes wet. Come on, now." + </p> + <p> + "Hoo-hoo" went the owl again, and at this, the third summons, + we distinctly heard many horses' hoofs coming at a gallop + towards us, though at a considerable distance. + </p> + <p> + "Marah! Come on, man!" cried several voices. + </p> + <p> + "Come on," said Marah, dragging me to the horses. "Off, + boys," he called. "Scatter as you ride," Many horses moved + off at a smart trot up the hill to Stoke Fleming. Their + horses' feet were muffled with felt, so that they made little + noise, although they were many. + </p> + <p> + Marah swung me up into the saddle of one of the three horses + in his care. He himself rode the middle horse. I was on his + off side. The horse I mounted had a keg of spirits lashed to + the saddle behind me; the horse beyond Marah was laden like a + pack-mule. + </p> + <p> + "We're the rearguard," said Marah to me. "We must bring them + clear off. Ride, boys—Strete road," he called; and the + smugglers of the rearguard clattered off by the back road, or + broken disused lane, which leads to Allington. Still Marah + waited, the only smuggler now left on the beach. The + preventive officers were clattering down the hill to us, less + than a quarter of a mile away. "It's the preventives right + enough," he said, as a gust of wind brought the clatter of + sabres to us, above the clatter of the hoofs. "We're in for a + run to-night. Some one's been blabbing. I think I know who. + Well, I pity him. That's what. I pity him. Here, boy. You + ought not to ha' tried to cut. You'll be half frozen with the + wet. Drink some of this." + </p> + <p> + He handed me a flask, and forced me to take a gulp of + something hot; it made me gasp, but it certainly warmed me, + and gave me heart after my disappointment. I was too cold and + too broken with misery to be frightened of the preventives. I + only prayed that they might catch me and take me home. + </p> + <p> + We moved slowly to the meeting of the roads, and there Marah + halted for a moment. Our horses stamped, and then whinnied. A + horse on the road above us whinnied. + </p> + <p> + One of the clattering troop cried, "There they are. We have + them. Come along, boys." + </p> + <p> + Some one—I knew the voice—it was Captain Barmoor, + of the Yeomanry—cried out, "Stand and surrender." And + then I saw the sabres gleam under the trees, and heard the + horses' hoofs grow furious upon the stones. Marah stood up in + his stirrups, and put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled + a long, wailing, shrill whistle. Then he kicked his horses + and we started, at a rattling pace, up the wretched twisting + lane which led to Allington. + </p> + <p> + Now, the preventives, coming downhill at a tearing gallop, + could not take the sharp turn of the lane without pulling up; + they got mixed in some confusion at the turning, and a horse + and rider went into the ditch. We were up the steep rise, and + stretching out at full tilt for safety, before they had + cleared the corner. Our horses were fresh; theirs had trotted + hard for some miles under heavy men, so that at the first + sight the advantage lay with us; but their horses were better + than ours, and in better trim for a gallop. Marah checked the + three horses, and let them take it easy, till we turned into + the well-remembered high road which leads from Strete to my + home. Here, on the level, he urged them on, and the pursuit + swept after us; and here in the open, I felt for the first + time the excitement of the hunt. I wanted to be caught; I + kept praying that my horse would come down, or that the + preventives would catch us; and at the same time the hurry of + our rush through the night set my blood leaping, made me cry + aloud as we galloped, made me call to the horses to gallop + faster. There was nothing on the road; no one was travelling; + we had the highway to ourselves. Near the farm at the bend we + saw men by the roadside, and an owl called to us from among + them, with that little flourish at the end of the call which + I had heard once before that evening. We dashed past them; + but as Marah passed, he cried out, "Yes. Be quick." And + behind us, as we sped along, we heard something dragged + across the road. The crossways lay just beyond. + </p> + <p> + To my surprise, Marah never hesitated. He did not take the + Allington road, but spurred uphill towards the "Snail's + Castle," and the road to Kingsbridge. As we galloped, we + heard a crash behind us, and the cry of a hurt horse, and the + clatter of a sword upon the road. Then more cries sounded; we + could hear our pursuers pulling up. + </p> + <p> + "They're into a tree-trunk," said Marah. "Some friends put a + tree across, and one of them's gone into it. We shall + probably lose them now," he added. "They will go on for + Allington. Still, we mustn't wait yet." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the delay was only momentary. The noise of the horses + soon re-commenced behind us; and though they paused at the + cross-roads, it was only for a few seconds. Some of the + troopers took the Allington road. Another party took the road + which we had taken; and a third party stopped (I believe) to + beat the farm buildings for the men who had laid the tree in + the road. + </p> + <p> + We did not stop to see what they were doing, you may be sure; + for when Marah saw that his trick had not shaken them off, he + began to hurry his horses, and we were soon slipping and + sliding down the steep zigzag road which leads past "Snail's + Castle." I had some half-formed notion of flinging myself off + my horse as we passed the door, or of checking the horse I + rode, and shouting for help. For there, beyond the corner, + was the house where I had been so happy, and the light from + the window lying in a yellow patch across the road; and there + was Hoolie's bark to welcome us. Perhaps if I had not been + wet and cold I might have made an attempt to get away; and I + knew the preventives were too close to us for Marah to have + lingered, had I done so. + </p> + <p> + But you must remember that we were riding very fast, that I + was very young, and very much afraid of Marah, and that the + cold and the fear of the preventives (for in a way I was + horribly frightened by them) had numbed my brain. + </p> + <p> + "Don't you try it," said Marah, grimly, as we came within + sight of the house. "Don't you try it." He snatched my rein, + bending forward on his horse's neck, calling a wild, queer + cry. It was one of the gipsy horse-calls, and at the sound of + it the horses seemed to lose their wits, for they dashed + forward past the house, as though they were running away. It + was as much as I could do to keep in the saddle. What made it + so bitter to me was the opening of the window behind me. At + the sound of the cry, and of those charging horses, some + one—some one whom I knew so well, and loved + so—ran to the window to look out. I heard the latch + rattling and the jarring of the thrown-back sash, and I knew + that some one—I would have given the world to have + known who—looked out, and saw us as we swept round the + corner and away downhill. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII + </h2> + <h3> + IN THE VALLEY + </h3> + <p> + We turned down the valley, along the coast-track, splashing + through the little stream that makes it so boggy by the gate, + and soon we were on the coach-road galloping along the + straight two miles towards Tor Cross. + </p> + <p> + Our horses were beginning to give way, for we had done four + miles at good speed, and now the preventives began to gain + upon us. Looking back as we galloped we could see them on the + straight road, about two hundred yards away. Every time we + looked back they seemed to be nearer, and at last Marah leant + across and told me to keep low in my saddle, as he thought + they were going to fire on us. A carbine shot cracked behind + us, and I heard the "zip" of the bullet over me. + </p> + <p> + A man ran out suddenly from one of the furze-bushes by the + road, and a voice cried, "Stop them, boys!" The road seemed + suddenly full of people, who snatched at our reins, and hit + us with sticks. I got a shrewd blow over the knee, and I + heard Marah say something as he sent one man spinning to the + ground. "Crack, crack!" went the carbines behind us. Some one + had hold of my horse's reins, shouting, "I've got <i>you</i>, + anyway!" Then Marah fired a pistol—it all happened in a + second—the bullet missed, but the flash scorched my + horse's nose; the horse reared, and knocked the man down, and + then we were clear, and rattling along to Tor Cross. + </p> + <p> + Looking back, we saw one or two men getting up from the road, + and then half-a-dozen guns and pistols flashed, and Marah's + horse screamed and staggered. There was a quarter of a mile + to go to Tor Cross, and that quarter-mile was done at such a + speed as I have never seen since. Marah's horse took the bit + in his teeth, and something of his terror was in our horses + too. + </p> + <p> + In a moment, as it seemed, we were past the houses, and over + the rocks by the brook-mouth; and there, with a groan, + Marah's horse came down. Marah was evidently expecting it, + for he had hold of my rein at the time, and as his horse fell + he cleared the body. "Get down, Jim," he said. "We're done. + The horses are cooked. They have had six miles; another mile + would kill them. Poor beast's heart's burst. Down with you." + He lifted me off the saddle, and lashed the two living horses + over the quarters with a strip of seaweed. He patted the dead + horse, with a "Poor boy," and dragged me down behind one of + the black rocks, which crop up there above the shingle. + </p> + <p> + The two horses bolted off along the strand, scattering the + pebbles, and then, while the clash of their hoofs was still + loud upon the stones, the preventives came pounding up, their + horses all badly blown and much distressed. Their leader was + Captain Barmoor. I knew him by his voice. + </p> + <p> + "Here's a dead horse!" he cried. "Sergeant, we have one of + their horses. Get down and see if there's any contraband upon + him. After them, you others. We shall get them now. Ride on, + I tell you! What are you pulling up for?" + </p> + <p> + The other preventives crashed on over the shingle. Captain + Barmoor and the sergeant remained by the dead horse. Marah + and I lay close under the rock, hardly daring to breathe, and + wondering very much whether we made any visible mark to the + tall man on his horse. Shots rang out from the preventives' + carbines, and the gallopers made a great clash upon the + stones. We heard the sergeant's saddle creak, only a few + yards away, and then his boots crunched on the beach as he + walked up to the dead horse. + </p> + <p> + "No. There be no tubs here, sir," he said, after a short + examination. "Her be dead enough. Stone dead, sir. There's an + empty pistol-case, master." + </p> + <p> + "Oh," said Captain Barmoor. "Any saddlebag, or anything of + that kind?" + </p> + <p> + The man fumbled about in the gear. "No, there was nothing of + that kind—nothing at all." + </p> + <p> + "Bring on the saddle," said the captain. "There may be papers + stitched in it." We heard the sergeant unbuckling the girth. + "By the way," said the captain, "you're sure the third horse + was led?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the sergeant. "Two and a led horse there was, + sir." + </p> + <p> + "H'm," said the captain. "I wonder if they have dismounted. + They might have. Look about among the rocks there." + </p> + <p> + I saw Marah's right hand raise his horse-pistol, as the + sergeant stepped nearer. In another moment he must have seen + us. If he had even looked down, he could not have failed to + see us: but he stood within six feet of us, looking all round + him—looking anywhere but at his feet. Then he walked + away from us, and looked at the rocks near the brook. + </p> + <p> + "D'ye see them?" snapped the captain. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir. Nothin' of 'em. They ben't about here, sir. I think + they've ridden on. Shall I look in the furze there, sir, + afore we go?" + </p> + <p> + "No," said the captain. "Well, yes. Just take a squint + through it." + </p> + <p> + But as the sergeant waddled uneasily in his sea-boots across + the shingle, the carbines of the preventives cracked out in a + volley about a quarter of a mile away. A shot or two followed + the volley. + </p> + <p> + "A shotgun that last, sir," said the sergeant. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the captain. "Come along. There's another. Come, + mount, man. They're engaged." + </p> + <p> + We heard the sergeant's horse squirming about as the sergeant + tried to mount, and then the two galloped off. Voices sounded + close beside us, and feet moved upon the sand. "Still!" + growled Marah in my ear. Some one cried out, "Further on. + They're fighting further on. Hurry up, and we shall see it." + </p> + <p> + About a dozen Tor Cross men were hurrying up, in the chance + of seeing a skirmish. The wife of one of them—old Mrs. + Rivers—followed after them, calling to her man to come + back. "I'll give it to 'ee, if 'ee don't come back. Come + back, I tell 'ee." They passed on rapidly, pursued by the + angry woman, while more shots banged and cracked further and + further along the shore. + </p> + <p> + We waited till they passed out of hearing, and then Marah got + up. "Come on, son," he said. "We must be going. Lucky your + teeth didn't chatter, or they'd have heard us." + </p> + <p> + "I wish they had heard us," I cried, hotly. "Then I'd have + gone home to-night. Let me go, Marah. Let me go home." + </p> + <p> + "Next trip, Jim," he said kindly. "Not this. I want you to + learn about life. You will get mewed up with them ladies + else, and then you will never do anything." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," I said. "But if you don't let me go I'll scream. Now + then. I'll scream." + </p> + <p> + "Scream away, son," said Marah, calmly. "There's not many to + hear you. But you'll not get home after what you have seen + to-night. Come on, now." + </p> + <p> + He took me by the collar, and walked me swiftly to a little + cove, where one or two of the Tor Cross fishers kept their + boats. I heard a gun or two away in the distance, and then a + great clatter of shingle, as the coastguards' horses trotted + back towards us, with the led horse between two of them, as + the prize of the night. They did not hear us, and could not + see us, and Marah took good care not to let me cry out to + them. He just turned my face up to his, and muttered, "You + just try it. You try it, son, and I'll hold you in the sea + till you choke." + </p> + <p> + The wind was blowing from the direction of the coastguards + towards us, and even if I had cried out, perhaps, they would + never have heard me. You may think me a great coward to have + given in in this way; but few boys of my age would have made + much outcry against a man like Marah. He made the heart die + within you; and to me, cold and wet from my ducking, + terrified of capture in spite of my innocence (for I was not + at all sure that the smugglers would not swear that I had + joined them, and had helped them in their fights and + escapades), the outlook seemed so hopeless and full of misery + that I could do nothing. My one little moment of mutiny was + gone, my one little opportunity was lost. Had I made a dash + for it—But it is useless to think in that way. + </p> + <p> + Marah got into the one boat which floated in the little + artificial creek, and thrust me down into the stern sheets. + Then he shoved her off with a stretcher (the oars had been + carried to the fisher's house, there were none in the boat), + and as soon as we were clear of the rocks, in the rather + choppy sea, he stepped the stretcher in the mast-crutch as a + mast, and hoisted his coat as a sail. He made rough sheets by + tying a few yards of spun-yarn to the coat-skirts, and then, + shipping the rudder, he bore away before the wind towards the + cave by Black Pool. + </p> + <p> + We had not gone far (certainly not fifty yards), when we saw + the horses of the coastguards galloping down to the sea, one + of the horses shying at the whiteness of the breaking water. + </p> + <p> + A voice hailed us. "Boat ahoy!" it shouted; "what are you + doing in the boat there?" + </p> + <p> + And then all the horsemen drew up in a clump among the rocks. + </p> + <p> + "Us be drifting, master," shouted Marah, speaking in the + broad dialect of the Devon men; "us be drifting." + </p> + <p> + "Come in till I have a look at you," cried the voice again. + "Row in to the rocks here." + </p> + <p> + "Us a-got no o-ars," shouted Marah, letting the boat slip on. + "Lie down, son," he said; "they will fire in another minute." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, we heard the ramrods in the carbines and the loud + click of the gun-cocks. + </p> + <p> + "Boat ahoy!" cried the voice again. "Row in at once! D'ye + hear? Row in at once, or I shall fire on you." + </p> + <p> + Marah did not answer. + </p> + <p> + "Present arms!" cried the voice again after a pause; and at + that Marah bowed down in the stern sheets under the gunwale. + </p> + <p> + "Fire!" said the voice; and a volley ripped up the sea all + round us, knocking off splinters from the plank and + flattening out against the transom. + </p> + <p> + "Keep down, Jim; you're all right," said Marah. "We will be + out of range in another minute." + </p> + <p> + Bang! came a second volley, and then single guns cracked and + banged at intervals as we drew away. + </p> + <p> + For the next half-hour we were just within extreme range of + the carbines and musketoons. During that half-hour we were + slowly slipping by the long two miles of Slapton sands. We + could not go fast, for our only sail was a coat, and, though + the wind was pretty fresh, the set of the tide was against + us. So for half an hour we crouched below that rowboat's + gunwale, just peeping up now and then to see the white line + of the breakers on the sand, and beyond that the black + outlines of the horsemen, who slowly followed us, firing + steadily, but with no very clear view of what they fired at. + I thought that the two miles would never end. Sometimes the + guns would stop for a minute, and I would think, "Ah! now we + are out of range," or, "Now they have given us up." And then, + in another second, another volley would rattle at us, and + perhaps a bullet would go whining overhead, or a heavy chewed + slug would come "plob" into the boat's side within six inches + of me. + </p> + <p> + Marah didn't seem to mind their firing. He was too pleased at + having led the preventives away from the main body of the + night-riders to mind a few bullets. "Ah, Jim," he said, + "there's three thousand pounds in lace, brandy, and tobacco + gone to Dartmoor this night. And all them redcoat fellers got + was a dead horse and a horse with a water-breaker on him. And + the dead horse was their own, <i>and</i> the one they took. I + stole 'em out of the barrack stables myself." + </p> + <p> + "But horse-stealing is a capital offence," I cried. "They + could hang you." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said; "so they would if they could." Bang! came + another volley of bullets all round us. "They'd shoot us, + too, if they could, so far as that goes; but so far, they + haven't been able. Never cross any rivers till you come to + the water, Jim. Let that be a lesson to you." + </p> + <p> + I have often thought of it since as sound advice, and I have + always tried to act upon it; but at the time it didn't give + much comfort. + </p> + <p> + At the end of half an hour we were clear of Slapton sands, + and coming near to Strete, and here even Marah began to be + uneasy. He was watching the horsemen on the beach very + narrowly, for as soon as they had passed the Lea they had + stopped firing on us, and had gone at a gallop to the beach + boathouse to get out a boat. + </p> + <p> + "What are they doing, Marah?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Getting out a boat to come after us," he answered. "Silly + fools! If they'd done that at once they'd have got us. They + may do it now. There goes the boat." + </p> + <p> + We heard the cries of the men as the boat ground over the + shingle. Then we heard shouts and cries, and saw a light in + the boathouse. + </p> + <p> + "Looking for oars and sails," said Marah, "and there are + none. Good, there are none." + </p> + <p> + Happily for us, there were none. But we heard a couple of + horses go clattering up the road to O'Farrell's cottage to + get them. + </p> + <p> + "We shall get away now," said Marah. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes we were out of sight of the beach. Then one + of the strange coast currents caught us, and swept us along + finely for a few minutes. Soon our boat was in the cave, + snugly lashed to the ring-bolts, and Marah had lifted me up + the stairs to the room where a few smugglers lay in their + hammocks, sleeping heavily. Marah made me drink something and + eat some pigeon pie; and then, stripping my clothes from me, + he rubbed me down with a blanket, wrapped me in a pile of + blankets, and laid me to sleep in a corner on an old sail. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV + </h2> + <h3> + A TRAITOR + </h3> + <p> + The next day, when I woke, a number of smugglers had come + back from their ride. They were sitting about the cave, in + their muddy clothes, in high good spirits. They had been + chased by a few preventives as far as Allington, and there + they had had a brisk skirmish with the Allington police, + roused by the preventives' carbine fire. They had beaten off + their opponents, and had reached Dartmoor in safety. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah; "all very well. But we have been blabbed + on. We had the cutter on us on our way out, and here we were + surprised coming home. It was the Salcombe cutter chased us, + and it was the Salcombe boys gave the preventives the tip + last night. Otherwise they'd have been in Salcombe all last + night, watching Bolt Tail, no less. 'Stead of that, they came + lumbering here, and jolly near nabbed us. Now, it's one of + us. There's no one outside knows anything: and only + half-a-dozen in Salcombe knew our plans. Salcombe district + supplies North Devon; we supply to the east more. Who could + it be, boys?" + </p> + <p> + Some said one thing, some another. And then a man suggested + "the parson"; and when he said that it flashed across my mind + that he meant Mr Cottier, for I knew that sailors always + called a schoolmaster a parson, and I remembered how Mrs + Cottier had heard his voice among the night-riders on the + night of the snow-storm just before Christmas. + </p> + <p> + "No; it couldn't be the parson," said some one. "No one + trusts the parson." + </p> + <p> + "I don't know as it couldn't be," said the man whom they + called Hankie. "He is a proper cunning one to pry out." + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said another smuggler. "And, come to think of it, we + passed him the afternoon afore we sailed. I was driving with + the Captain. I was driving the Captain here from + Kingsbridge." + </p> + <p> + "He knows the Captain," said Marah grimly. "He might have + guessed—seeing him with you—that you were coming + to arrange a run. Now, how would he know where we were + bound?" + </p> + <p> + "Guessed it," said Hankie. "He's been on a run or two with + the Salcombe fellers. Besides, he couldn't be far out." + </p> + <p> + "No," said Marah, musingly; "he couldn't. And a hint would + have been enough to send the cutter after us." + </p> + <p> + "But how did he put them on us last night?" said another + smuggler. "We had drawed them out proper to Bolt Tail to look + for a cargo there. Properly we had drawed them. Us had a boat + and all, showing lights." + </p> + <p> + "Well, if it was the parson who done it, he'd easily find a + way," said Marah. "We had better go over and see about it" + </p> + <p> + Before they went they left me in charge of the old Italian + man, who taught me how to point a rope, which is one of the + prettiest kinds of plaiting ever invented. The day passed + slowly—oh! so slowly; for a day like that, so near + home, yet so far away, and with so much misery in prospect, + was agonising. I wondered what they would do to Mr Cottier; I + wondered if ever I should get home again; I wondered whether + the coastguards would have sufficient sense to arrest Marah + if they saw him on the roads. In wondering like this, the day + slowly dragged to an end; and at the end of the day, just + before a watery sunset, Marah and the others returned, + leading Mr Cottier as their prisoner. + </p> + <p> + It shows you what power the night-riders had in those days. + They had gone to Salcombe to Mr Cottier's lodgings; they had + questioned him, perhaps with threats, till he had confessed + that he had betrayed them to the preventives; then they had + gagged him, hustled him downstairs to a waiting closed + carriage, and then they had quietly driven him on, + undisturbed, to their fastness in the cliff. It was sad to + see a man fallen so low, a man who had been at the + University, and master of a school. It was sad to see him, + his flabby face all fallen in and white from excess of fear, + and to see his eyes lolling about from one to another man, + trying to find a little hope in the look of the faces in the + fast-darkening cave. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said surlily at last; "you have got me. What are + you going to do to me?" + </p> + <p> + "What d'ye think you deserve?" said Marah. "Eh? You'd have + had us all hanged and glad, too. You'll see soon enough what + we're going to do to you." He struck a light for his pipe, + and lit a candle in a corner of the cave near where I lay. + "You'll soon know <i>your</i> fate," he added. "Meanwhile, + here's a friend of yours one—you might like to talk to. + You'll not get another chance." + </p> + <p> + At this the man grovelled on the cave floor, crying out to + them to let him live, that he would give them all his money, + and so on. + </p> + <p> + "Get up," said Marah; "get up. Try and act like a man, even + if you aren't one." + </p> + <p> + The man went on wailing, "What are you going to do to + me?—what are you going to do to me?" + </p> + <p> + "Spike your guns," said Marah, curtly. "There's your friend + in the corner. Talk to him." + </p> + <p> + He left us together in the cave; an armed smuggler sat at the + cave entrance, turning his quid meditatively. + </p> + <p> + "Mr Cottier," I said, "do you remember Jim—Jim Davis?" + </p> + <p> + "Jim!" cried Mr Cottier; "Jim, how did you come here?" + </p> + <p> + "By accident," I said; "and now I'm a prisoner here, like + you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim," he cried, "what are they going to do to me? You + must have heard them. What are they going to do to me? Will + they kill me, Jim?" + </p> + <p> + I thought of the two coastguards snugly shut up in France, in + one of the inns near Brest, living at free-quarters, till the + smugglers thought they could be sure of them. When I thought + of those two men I felt that the traitor would not be killed; + and yet I was not sure. I believe they would have killed him + if I had not been there. They were a very rough lot, living + rough lives, and a traitor put them all in peril of the + gallows. Smugglers were not merciful to traitors (it is said + that they once tied a traitor to a post at low-water mark, + and let the tide drown him), and Marah's words made me feel + that Mr Cottier would suffer some punishment: not death, + perhaps, but something terrible. + </p> + <p> + I tried to reassure the man, but I could say very little. And + I was angry with him, for he never asked after his wife, nor + after Hugh, his son: and he asked me nothing of my prospects. + The thought of his possible death by violence within the next + few hours kept him from all thought of other people. Do not + blame him. We who have not been tried do not know how we + should behave in similar circumstances. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by the men came back to us. We were led downstairs, + and put aboard the lugger. Then the boat pushed off silently, + sail was hoisted, and a course was set down channel, under a + press of canvas. Mr Cottier cheered up when we had passed out + of the sight of the lights of the shore, for he knew then + that his life was to be spared. His natural bullying vein + came back to him. He sang and joked, and even threatened his + captors. So all that night we sailed, and all the next day + and night—a wild two or three days' sailing, with spray + flying over us, and no really dry or warm place to sleep in, + save a little half-deck which they rigged in the bows. + </p> + <p> + I should have been very miserable had not Marah made me work + with the men, hauling the ropes, swabbing down the decks, + scrubbing the paintwork, and even bearing a hand at the + tiller. The work kept me from thinking. The watches (four + hours on, four hours off), which I had to keep like the other + men, made the time pass rapidly; for the days slid into each + other, and the nights, broken into as they were by the + night-watches, seemed all too short for a sleepy head like + mine. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of the passage, when the weather had grown + brighter and hotter, I began to wonder how much further we + were going. Then, one morning, I woke up to find the lugger + at anchor in one of the ports of Northern Spain, with dawn + just breaking over the olive-trees, and one or two large, + queer-looking, lateen-rigged boats, xebecs from Africa, lying + close to us. One of them was flying a red flag, and I noticed + that our own boat was alongside of her. I thought nothing of + it, but drew a little water from the scuttle-butt, and washed + my face and hands in one of the buckets. One or two of the + men were talking at my side. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said one of them, "that's nine he did that + way—nine, counting him." + </p> + <p> + "A good job, too," said another man. "It's us or them. I'd + rather it was them." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said another fellow; "and I guess they repent." + </p> + <p> + The others laughed a harsh laugh, turning to the African boat + with curious faces, to watch our boat pulling back, with + Marah at her steering oar. + </p> + <p> + I noticed, at breakfast (which we all ate together on the + deck), that Mr Cottier was no longer aboard the lugger. I had + some queer misgivings, but said nothing till afterwards, when + I found Marah alone. + </p> + <p> + "Marah," I said, "where is Mr Cottier? What have you done to + him?" + </p> + <p> + He grinned at me grimly, as though he were going to refuse to + tell me. Then he beckoned me to the side of the boat. "Here," + he said, pointing to the lateen-rigged xebec; "you see that + felucca-boat?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Well, then," Marah continued, "he's aboard her—down in + her hold: tied somewhere on the ballast. That's where Mr + Cottier is. Now you want to know what we have done to him? + Hey? Well, we've enlisted him in the Spanish Navy. That + felucca-boat is what they call a tender. They carry recruits + to the Navy in them boats. He will be in a Spanish man-of-war + by this time next week. They give him twenty dollars to buy a + uniform. He's about ripe for the Spanish Navy." + </p> + <p> + "But, Marah," I cried, "he may have to fight against our + ships." + </p> + <p> + "All the better for us," he answered. "I wish all our enemies + were as easy jobs." + </p> + <p> + I could not answer for a moment; then I asked if he would + ever get free again. + </p> + <p> + "I could get free again," said Marah; "but that man isn't + like me. He's enlisted for three years. I doubt the war will + last so long. The free trade will be done by the time he's + discharged. You see, Jim, we free-traders can only make a + little while the nations are fighting. By this time three + years Mr Cottier can talk all he's a mind." + </p> + <p> + I had never liked Mr Cottier, but I felt a sort of pity for + him. Then I felt that perhaps the discipline would be the + making of him, and that, if he kept steady, he might even + rise in the Spanish Navy, since he was a man of education. + Then I thought of poor Mrs Cottier at home, and I felt that + her husband must be saved at all costs. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Marah," I cried, "don't let him go like that. Go and buy + him back. He doesn't deserve to end like that." + </p> + <p> + "Rot!" said Marah, turning on his heel. "Hands up anchor! + Forward to the windlass, Jim. You know your duty." + </p> + <p> + The men ran to their places. Very soon we were under sail + again, out at sea, with the Spanish coast in the distance + astern, a line of bluish hills, almost like clouds. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV + </h2> + <h3> + THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE + </h3> + <p> + We had rough weather on the passage north, so that we were + forced to go slowly creeping from port to port, from Bayonne + to Fecamp, always in dread of boats of the English frigates, + which patrolled the whole coast, keeping the French + merchantmen shut up in harbour. + </p> + <p> + As we stole slowly to the north, I thought of nothing but the + new Spanish sailor. He would be living on crusts, so the + smugglers told me; and always he would have an overseer to + prod him with a knife if, in a moment of sickness or + weariness, he faltered in his work, no matter how hard it + might be. But by this time I had learned that the smugglers + loved to frighten me. I know now that there was not a word of + truth in any of the tales they told me. + </p> + <p> + At Etaples we were delayed for nearly a fortnight, waiting, + first of all, for cargo, and then for a fair wind. There were + two other smugglers' luggers at Etaples with us. They were + both waiting for the wind to draw to the south or southeast, + so that they could dash across to Romney Sands. + </p> + <p> + As they had more cargo than they could stow, they induced + Marah to help them by carrying their surplus. They were a + whole day arguing about it before they came to terms; but it + ended, as we all knew that it would end, by Marah giving the + other captains drink, and leading them thus to give him + whatever terms he asked. + </p> + <p> + The other smugglers in our boat were not very eager to work + with strangers; but Marah talked them over. Only old Gateo + would not listen to him. + </p> + <p> + "Something bad will come of it," he kept saying. "You mark + what I say: something bad will come of it." + </p> + <p> + Then Marah would heave a sea-boot at him, and tell him to + hold his jaw; and the old man would mutter over his quid and + say that we should see. + </p> + <p> + We loaded our lugger with contraband goods, mostly lace and + brandy, an extremely valuable cargo. The work of loading kept + the men from thinking about Gateo's warnings, though, like + most sailors, they were all very superstitious. + </p> + <p> + Then some French merchants gave us a dinner at the inn, to + wish us a good voyage, and to put new spirit into us, by + telling us what good fellows we were. But the dinner was + never finished; for before they had begun their speeches a + smuggler came in to say that the wind had shifted, and that + it was now breezing up from the southeast. So we left our + plates just as they were. The men rose up from their chairs, + drank whatever was in their cups at the moment, and marched + out of the inn in a body. + </p> + <p> + To me it seemed bitterly cold outside the inn, I shivered + till my teeth chattered. + </p> + <p> + Marah asked me if I had a touch of fever, or if I were ill, + or "what was it, anyway, that made me shiver so?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was cold. + </p> + <p> + "Cold!" he said. "Cold? Why, it's one of the hottest nights + we have had this summer. Here's a youngster says he's cold!" + </p> + <p> + One or two of them laughed at me then; for it was, indeed, a + hot night. They laughed and chaffed together as they cast off + the mooring ropes. + </p> + <p> + For my part, I felt that my sudden chilly fit was a warning + that there was trouble coming. I can't say why I felt that, + but I felt it; and I believe that Marah in some way felt it, + too. Almost the last thing I saw that night, as I made up my + bed under the half-deck among a few sacks and bolts of + canvas, was Marah scowling and muttering, as though uneasy, + at the foot of the foremast, from which he watched the other + luggers as they worked out of the river ahead of us. + </p> + <p> + "He, too, feels uneasy," I said to myself. + </p> + <p> + Then I fell into a troubled doze, full of dreams of + sea-monsters, which flapped and screamed at me from the foam + of the breaking seas. + </p> + <p> + I was not called for a watch that night. In the early + morning, between one and two o'clock, I was awakened by a + feeling that something was about to happen. I sat up, and + then crept out on to the deck, and there, sure enough, + something was about to happen. Our sails were down, we were + hardly moving through the water, the water gurgled and + plowtered under our keel, there was a light mist fast fading + before the wind. It was not very dark, in fact it was almost + twilight. One or two stars were shining; there were clouds + slowly moving over them; but the sky astern of us was grey + and faint yellow, and the land, the Kentish coast, lay clear + before us, with the nose of Dungeness away on our port bow. + It was all very still and beautiful. The seamen moved to and + fro about the lugger. Dew dripped from our rigging; the decks + were wet with dew, the drops pattered down whenever the + lugger rolled. The other boats lay near us, both of them to + starboard. Their sails were doused in masses under the mast. + I could see men moving about; I could hear the creaking of + the blocks, as the light roll drew a rope over a sheave. + </p> + <p> + The boats were not very close to the shore; but it was so + still, so very peaceful, that we could hear the waves + breaking on the beach with a noise of hushing and of slipping + shingle, as each wave passed with a hiss to slither back in a + rush of foam broken by tiny stones. A man in the bows of the + middle lugger showed a red lantern, and then doused it below + the half-deck. He showed it three times; and at the third + showing, we all turned to the shore, to see what signal the + red light would bring. The shore was open before us. In the + rapidly growing light, we could make out a good deal of the + lie of the land. From the northern end of the beach an + answering red light flashed; and then, nearer to us, a dark + body was seen for a moment, kindling two green fires at a + little distance from each other. Our men were not given to + nervousness, they were rough, tough sailors; but they were + all relieved when our signals were answered. + </p> + <p> + "It's them," they said. "It's all right. Up with the + foresail. We must get the stuff ashore. It'll be dawn in a + few minutes, and then we shall have the country on us." + </p> + <p> + "Heave ahead, boys!" cried one of the men in the next lugger + as she drove past us to the shore. + </p> + <p> + "Ay! Heave ahead," said Marah, eyeing the coast. + </p> + <p> + He took the tiller as the lugger gathered way under her + hoisted foresail. While we slipped nearer to the white line + of the breakers along the sand, he muttered under his breath + (I was standing just beside him) in a way which frightened + me. + </p> + <p> + "I dunno," he said aloud. "But I've a feeling that there's + going to be trouble. I never liked this job. Here it is, + almost daylight, and not an ounce of stuff ashore. I'd never + have come this trip if the freights hadn't been so good. + Here, you," he cried suddenly to one of the men. "Don't you + pass the gaskets. You'll furl no sails till you're home, my + son. Pass the halliards along so that you can hoist in a + jiffy." Then he hailed the other luggers. "Ahoy there!" he + called. "You mind your eyes for trouble." + </p> + <p> + His words caused some laughter in the other boats. In our + boat, they caused the men to look around at Marah almost + anxiously. He laughed and told them to stand by. Then we saw + that the beach was crowded with men and horses, as at Black + Pool, a week or two before. In the shallow water near the + beach, we dropped our killick. The men from the beach waded + out to us, our own men slipped over the side. The tubs and + bales began to pass along the lines of men, to the men in + charge of the horses. Only one word was spoken; the word + "Hurry." At every moment, as it seemed to me (full as I was + of anxiety), the land showed more clearly, the trees stood + out more sharply against the sky, the light in the east + became more like a flame. + </p> + <p> + "Hurry," said Marah. "It'll be dawn in a tick." + </p> + <p> + Hurry was the watchword of the crews. The men worked with a + will. Tub after tub was passed along. Now and then we heard a + splash and an oath. Then a horse would whinny upon the beach, + startled by a wave, and a man would tell him to "Stand back," + or "Woa yer." I caught the excitement, and handed out the + tubs with the best of them. + </p> + <p> + I suppose that we worked in this way for half an hour or a + little more. The men had worked well at Black Pool, where the + run had been timed to end in darkness. Now that they had to + race the daylight they worked like slaves under an overseer. + One string of horses trotted off, fully loaded, within twenty + minutes. A second string was led down; in the growing light I + could see them stamping and tossing; they were backed right + down into the sea, so that the water washed upon their hocks. + </p> + <p> + "Here, Jim," said Marah suddenly, stopping me in my work, + "come here to me. Look here," he said, when I stood before + him. "It's getting too light for this game. We may have to + cut and run. Take this hatchet here, and go forward to the + bows. When I say 'cut,' you cut, without looking round. Cut + the cable, see? Cut it in two, mucho pronto. And you, + Hankin—you, Gateo. Stand by the halliards, stretch them + along ready to hoist. No. Hoist them. Don't wait. Hoist them + now." + </p> + <p> + One or two others lent their hands at the halliards, and the + sails were hoisted. The men in the other luggers laughed and + jeered. + </p> + <p> + "What are you hoisting sail for?" they cried. + </p> + <p> + "Sail-drill of a forenoon," cried another, perhaps a deserter + from the navy. + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," Marah answered. "Don't mind them, boys. Heave + round. Heave round at what you're doing. Over with them tubs, + sons! My hat! Those fellows are mad to be playing this game + in a light like this. There's a fort within three miles of + us." + </p> + <p> + He had hardly finished speaking, when one of the men at the + side of the lugger suddenly looked towards the beach, as + though he had caught sight of something. + </p> + <p> + "Something's up," he said sharply. + </p> + <p> + The beach and the shore beyond were both very flat in that + part; nothing but marshy land, overgrown with tussock-grass, + and a few sand-dunes, covered with bents. It was not a + country which could give much cover to an enemy; but in that + half-light one could not distinguish very clearly, and an + enemy could therefore take risks impossible in full day. + </p> + <p> + "A lot of cattle there," said the smuggler who had spoken. + "It's odd there being so many." + </p> + <p> + "Don't you graze many cattle here?" said Marah, looking + ashore. + </p> + <p> + "What! in the marsh?" said the man. "Not much." + </p> + <p> + "Them's no cattle," said Marah, after a pause, "Them's not + cows. Them's horses. Sure they're horses. Yes, and there's + men mounting them. They have crawled up, leading their + horses, and now we're done. Look out, boys!" he shouted. + "Look out! Get on board." + </p> + <p> + Even as he spoke the whole shore seemed to bristle with + cavalry. Each slowly moving horse stopped a moment, for his + rider to mount. There were fifty or sixty of them: they + seemed to spread all along the edge of the bay except at the + northern end, where the line was not quite closed. + </p> + <p> + "Sentries asleep," said Mafah. "This is the way they carry on + in Kent. Yes. There's the sentry. Asleep on the sand-dune. + Oh, yes. Time to wake up it is. You Mahon ape. Look at him." + </p> + <p> + We saw the sentry leap to his feet, almost under the nose of + a horse. He was too much surprised even to fire his pistol. + He just jumped up, all dazed, holding up his hands to show + that he surrendered. We saw two men on foot secure his hands. + That was our first loss. + </p> + <p> + It all happened very, very quickly. We were taken by + surprise, all unready, with our men ashore or mixed among the + horses, or carrying tubs in the water. The troops and + preventives were over the last dune and galloping down the + sand to us almost before Marah had finished speaking; yet + even then in all the confusion, as a captain shouted to us to + "surrender in the name of the King," the smugglers were not + without resource. A young man in a blue Scotch bonnet jumped + on one of the horses, snatching another horse by the rein; + half-a-dozen others did the same; the second string, + half-loaded, started as they were up the sand and away at + full gallop for the north end of the bay, where no soldiers + showed as yet. + </p> + <p> + It was done in an instant of time; drilled horsemen could not + have done it; the little man in the blue bonnet saw the one + loophole and dashed for it. There was no shouting. One or two + men spoke, and then there it was—done. Practically all + the horses were lashing along the beach, going full tilt for + safety: they galloped in a body like a troop of cavalry. Two + preventives rode at them to stop them, but they rode slap + into the preventives, tumbled them over, horse and man and + then galloped on, not looking back. A trooper reined in, + whipped up his carbine and fired, and that was the beginning + of the fight. Then there came a general volley; pistols and + carbines cracked and banged; a lot of smoke blew about the + beach and along the water; our men shouted to each other; the + soldiers cheered. + </p> + <p> + In another ten seconds a battle was going on in the water all + round us. The horsemen urged their horses right up to the + sides of the luggers. + </p> + <p> + The men in the water hacked at the horses' legs with their + hangers; the horses screamed and bit. I saw one wounded horse + seize a smuggler by the arm and shake him as a dog shakes a + rat; the rider of the horse, firing at the man, shot the + horse by accident through the head. I suppose he was too much + excited to know what he was doing—I fancy that men in a + battle are never quite sane. The horse fell over in the + water, knocking down another horse, and then there was a + lashing in the sea as the horse tried to rise. The smugglers + cut at him in the sea and all the time his rider was half + under water trying to get up and pulling at the trigger of + his useless, wetted pistol. + </p> + <p> + It all happened so quickly, that was the strange thing. In + one minute we were hard at work at the tubs, in the next we + were struggling and splashing, hacking at each other with + swords, firing in each other's faces. Half-a-dozen horsemen + tried to drag the lugger towards the shore, but the men beat + them back, knocked them from their saddles, or flogged the + horses over the nose with pistol-butts. + </p> + <p> + All this time the guns were banging, men were crying out, + horses were screaming; it was the most confused thing I ever + saw. + </p> + <p> + Marah knocked down a trooper with a broken cleat and shouted + to me to cut the cable—which I did at once. One or two + men ran to trim sail, and Marah took the tiller. At that + moment a trooper rode into the sea just astern of us—I + remember to this day the brightness of the splash his horse + made; Marah turned at the noise and shot the horse; but the + man fired too, and Marah seemed to stagger and droop over the + tiller as though badly hit. Seeing that, I ran aft to help + him. It seemed to me as I ran that the side of the lugger was + all red with clambering, shouting soldiers, all of them + firing pistols at me. + </p> + <p> + Marah picked himself up as I got there. "Out of the way, + boy," he cried. Two or three smugglers rallied round him. + There were more shots, more cries. Half-a-dozen redcoats came + aft in a rush; someone hit me a blow on the head, and all my + life seemed to pass from me in a stream of fire out at my + eyes. The last thing which I remember of the tussle was the + face of the man who hit me. He was a pale man with wide eyes, + his helmet knocked off, his stock loose at his throat; I just + saw him as I fell, and then everything passed from my sight + in a sound of roaring, like the roaring of waters in a spate. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI + </h2> + <h3> + DRIFTING + </h3> + <p> + When I recovered consciousness, the sun had risen; it was + bright daylight all about us. That was really the first thing + which I saw—the light of the sun on the deck. I + struggled up to a sitting position, feeling great pain in my + head. Marah lying over the tiller was the next thing which I + saw; he was dead, I thought. Then I realised what had + happened; we had had a fight. We were not under control; we + were drifting with the tide up and down, with our sails + backing and filling; up and down the deck there were wounded + men, some of them preventives, some of them + smugglers—poor Hankin was one of them. When I stood up + I saw that I was the only person on his feet in the boat: it + was not strange, perhaps. + </p> + <p> + Some of our men had gone with the horses, others had been in + the water when the horsemen first charged them; probably all + of those who had been in the water were either killed or + taken. We had had four men aboard during the attack: of these + one was badly hurt, another (Marah) was unconscious, the + remaining two were drinking under the half-deck, having + opened a tub of spirits. When I had stood up I felt a little + stronger; I heard Marah moan a little. I tottered to the + scuttle-butt, where we kept our drinking water; I splashed + the contents of a couple of pannikins over my head and then + drank about a pint and a half; that made me feel a different + being. I was then able to do something for the others. + </p> + <p> + First of all I managed to help Marah down from his perch over + the tiller: he had fallen across it with his head and hands + almost touching the deck. I helped him, or rather, lifted + him—for he could not help himself—to the deck; it + was as much as I could do, he was so big and heavy. I put a + tub under his head as a pillow, then I cut his shirt open and + saw that he had been shot in the chest. I ran forward with a + pannikin, drew some water, and gave him a drink. He drank + greedily, biting the tin, but did not recognise me; all that + he could say was "Rip-raps, Rip-raps," over and over again. + The Rip-raps was the name of a race or tideway on the + Campeachy coast; he had often told me about it, and I had + remembered the name because it was such a queer one. I bathed + his wound with the water. + </p> + <p> + After I had done what I could for Marah, I did the same for + the wounded soldier. He thanked me for my trouble in a + little, low, weak voice, infinitely serious—he seemed + to think that I didn't believe him. "I say, thank you; thank + you," he repeated earnestly, and then he gave a little gasp + and fainted away in the middle of his thanks. + </p> + <p> + At that, I stood up and began to cry. I had had enough of + misery, and that was more than I could bear. Between my sobs + I saw—I did not observe, I just saw—that the + lugger was drifting slowly northward, clear of Little Stone + Point, as the smugglers had called it. I didn't much care + where we drifted, but having seen so much, it occurred to me + to see where the other luggers were. + </p> + <p> + One of them, I saw, was on her course for France, a couple of + miles away already; the other was going for Dungeness, no + doubt to pick up more hands somewhere on the Dunge Marsh. It + was like them, I thought, to go off like that, leaving us to + have the worst of the fight and every chance of being taken; + they only thought of their own necks. When I saw that they + had deserted us without even pausing to put a helmsman aboard + us, I knew that there was no honour among thieves. There is + not, in spite of what the proverb says. We were left + alone—a boy, two drunkards, and some wounded men, + within half a mile of the shore. + </p> + <p> + I looked for the preventives, but I could not see them. Most + of them had gone after the horses across Romney Marsh. I did + not know till long afterwards that the smugglers had beaten + off the rest of the party, killing some and about twenty + horses, and wounding nearly every other man engaged. It had + been, in fact, a very determined battle, one of the worst + ever fought between the smugglers and the authorities on that + coast. As soon as the fight was over, the luggers got out + from the shore, and the troops made off with their wounded to + report at the fort, and to signal the Ness cutter to go in + chase. At the moment when I looked for them they must, I + think, have been rallying again. I could not see them, that + was enough for me. Years afterwards I talked with one of the + survivors, an old cavalryman. He told me how the fight had + seemed to him as he rode in at us. + </p> + <p> + "And d'ye know, sir," he said, "they had a boy forward ready + with an axe to cut the cable, so I fired at him" ("Thank + you," I thought); "and just as I pulled the trigger one of + their men hit my gee a welt, and down he came in the water, + and so, of course, I missed. But for that, sir, we'd have got + them." + </p> + <p> + I wondered which of the men had saved my life by hitting that + "gee a welt" I wondered if he had been killed or taken, or + whether he had got aboard us afterwards, or whether one of + the other luggers had saved him. Well, I shall never know on + this side of the grave. But it is odd, is it not, that one + should have one's life saved and never know that it was in + danger till twenty years afterwards, when the man who saved + it was never likely to be found? But I am getting away from + my story. + </p> + <p> + I soon saw that the current was slowly setting us ashore. + Marah, with his great manliness, had steered the lugger out + to sea for some six hundred yards before he had collapsed. + Then his fellows, seeing him, as they supposed, dead, turned + to drinking. The lugger, left to herself, took charge, and + swung round head to wind. Since then she had drifted, + sometimes making a stern-board, sometimes going ahead a + little, but nearly always drifting slowly shoreward, flogging + her gear, making a great clatter of blocks. If the soldiers + had been half smart they would have seen that she was not + under command, and ridden to Dymchurch, taken boat, and come + after us. But they had had a severe beating, many of them + were wounded, and they had watched our start feeling that we + had safely escaped from them. I have never had much opinion + of soldiers. Boys generally take their opinions ready made + from their elders. I took mine from Marah, who, being a + sailor, thought that a soldier was something too silly for + words. + </p> + <p> + As we drifted I went back to Marah to bathe his head with + water and to give him drink. He was not conscious; he had + even ceased babbling; I was afraid that he could not live for + more than a few hours at the most. I had never really liked + the man—I had feared him too much to like him—but + he had looked after me for so long, and had been, in his + rough way, so kind to me, that I cried for him as though he + were my only friend. He was the only friend within many miles + of me, and now he lay there dying in a boat which was + drifting ashore to a land full of enemies. + </p> + <p> + It was a hateful-looking land, flat and desolate, dank and + dirty-looking. The flat, dull, dirty marsh country seemed to + be without life; the very grass seemed blighted. And we were + drifting ashore to it, fast drifting ashore to the tune of + the two drunkards: + </p> + <p> + <br> + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame:<br> + Away, ho! Rise and shine.<br> + There was a ship, and a ship of fame,<br> + So rise and shine, my buck o boy." + </p> + <p> + A ship manned by such a crew was hardly a ship of fame, I + thought. Then it occurred to me that if she went ashore I + might escape from her, might even get safely home, or at + least get to London (I had no notion how far London might + be), where I thought that the Lord Mayor, of whom I had often + heard as a great man, would send me home. I had a new + half-crown in my pocket; that would be enough to keep me in + food on the road, I thought. And then, just as I thought + that, a little coast-current spun us in very rapidly, helped + by the wind, for about two hundred yards. This brought us + very close to the shore, but not quite near enough for me, + who had no great wish to start my journey wet through. + </p> + <p> + I gave Marah a last sip of water, left a bucket of fresh + water and a pannikin close to him, in case he should recover + (I never thought he would), and then began to make up a + little parcel of things to take with me. I was wearing the + clothes of a ship's boy, canvas trousers, thick blucher + shoes, a rough check shirt, and a straw hat. My own + clothes—the clothes which I had worn when I scrambled + down the fox's earth—were forward, under the half deck. + I went to fetch them, and got them safely, though the + drunkards tried to stop me, and said that they only wanted me + to sing them a song to be as happy as kings. However, I got + away from them, and carried my belongings aft. I then took + the tarpaulin boat-rug, which covered our little Norwegian + pram or skiff, on its chocks between the masts. It was rather + too large for my purpose, so I cut it in two, using the one + half as a bundle-cover. The other half would make a sort of + cape or cloak, I thought, and to that end I folded it and + slung it over my shoulder. I gave my knife a few turns upon + the grindstone, pocketed some twine from one of the lockers, + lashed my bundle in its tarpaulin as tightly as I could, and + then went aft to the provision lockers to get some stores for + the road. I took out a few ship's biscuits, a large hunk of + ham, some onions, and the half of a Dutch cheese. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that I ought to eat before + </p> + <p> + I started, as I did not know what might befall upon the road. + When I sat down upon the deck to begin my meal, I saw, to my + horror, that we were drifting out again. While I had been + packing, we had been swept off shore; by this time we were + three hundred yards away, still drawing further out to sea. + Looking out, I saw that we were drifting into a "jobble" or + tide-race, which seemed to drift obliquely into the shore. + This made me feel less frightened, so I turned to my food, + ate heartily, and took a good swig at the scuttle-butt by way + of a morning draught. Then I undid my parcel, packed as much + food into it as I possibly could, and lashed it up again in + its tarpaulin. I found a few reins and straps in one of the + lockers, so I made shoulder-straps of them, and buckled my + package to my shoulders. My last preparation was to fill a + half-pint glass flask (every man aboard carries one or two of + these). Just as I replaced its stopper, we swept into the + jobble; the lugger filled on one tack, and lay over, and the + spray of a wave came over us. Then we righted suddenly, came + up into the wind with our sails slatting, and made a + stern-board. + </p> + <p> + Nearer and nearer came the land; the shore, with its bent + grass, seemed almost within catapult shot. I heard the wash + of the sea upon the beach, I could see the pebbles on the + sands shining as the foam left them. And then, suddenly, the + lugger drove ashore upon a bank, stern first. In a moment she + had swung round, broadside on to the shoal, heaving over on + her side. Every wave which struck her lifted her further in, + tossing her over on her starboard side. I could see that the + tide was now very nearly fully in, and I knew that the lugger + would lie there, high and dry, as soon as it ebbed. + </p> + <p> + I made Marah as comfortable as I could, and called to the + drunkards to come with me. I told them that a revenue cutter + was within six miles of us (there was, as it happened, but + she was at anchor off Dymchurch), and that they had better be + going out of that before they got themselves arrested. For + answer they jeered and made catcalls, flinging a + marline-spike at me. I tried a second time to make them come + ashore, but one of them said, "Let's do for him," and the + other cheered the proposal with loud yells. Then they came + lurching aft at me, so I just slipped over the side, and + waded very hurriedly ashore. The water was not deep (it was + not up to my thighs in any place), so that I soon reached the + sand without wetting my package. Then I looked back to see + the two smugglers leaning over the side, watching my + movements. One of them was singing—<br> + <br> + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame:<br> + Away, ho! Rise and shine"<br> + <br> + in a cracked falsetto. The other one was saying, "You + come back, you young cub." + </p> + <p> + But I did not do as they bid. I ran up the beach and as far + across the wet grassland as I could without once stopping. + When I thought that I was safe, I sat down under some bushes, + took off my wet things, and dressed myself in my own clothes. + I wrung the water from the wet canvas, repacked my parcel, + and seeing a road close to me, turned into it at once, + resolved to ask the way to London at the first house. I + suppose that it was five o'clock in the morning when I began + my journey. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII + </h2> + <h3> + THE "BLUE BOAR" + </h3> + <p> + As I stepped out, the adventure, the fight, Marah's wound, + all the tumult of the battle, seemed very far away, and as + though they had happened to some one else who had told me of + them. If my head had not ached so cruelly from the blow which + the soldier gave me, I should not have believed that they had + really occurred, and that I had seen them and taken part in + them. It seemed to me that I was close to my home, that I + should soon come to the combe country, where the Gara runs + down the valley to the sea, passing the slate quarry, so grey + against the copse. The road was good enough, though I was not + in good trim for walking, after so many days cooped up in the + lugger. I stepped forward bravely along a lonely countryside + till I saw before me the houses of a town. + </p> + <p> + I thought that I had better skirt the town, lest I should + tumble on the coastguards and rouse their suspicions. It was + too early in the morning for a boy to be abroad, and I had no + very satisfactory account to give of myself in case anybody + questioned me. I knew that if I said that I had been among + the smugglers I should be sent to prison. I felt that the + magistrate would be too angry to listen to my story, and that + they would perhaps send to me prison at once if they ever got + hold of me. Magistrates in those days had a great deal of + power. They were often illiterate, and they bullied and + hectored the people whom they tried. I had seen one or two + bad magistrates at home, and I knew how little chance I + should stand if I told my unlikely story to a bench in a + court-house before such men as they were. So I turned up a + small road to the right, avoiding the town, where, as I could + see, a good deal of bustle was stirring; indeed, the streets + were full of people. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by, as the sun rose higher, I began to meet people. A + few labouring men came past me, one of them carrying a + pitchfork. I noticed that they looked at me curiously. One of + them spoke, and said, "You have been in the wars, master!" So + I said, "Yes," and passed on, wondering what he meant. After + I had passed, the man stopped to look back at me. I even + heard him take a few steps towards me, before he thought + better of it, and went on upon his way. This set me wondering + if there were anything strange about my appearance; so, when + I came to the little brook or river, which crossed the road a + little further on, I went down to a pool where the water was + still, and looked at my image in the water. Sure enough, I + had an odd appearance. The blow which the soldier gave me had + broken the skin of my scalp, not badly, but enough to make an + ugly scar. You may be sure that I lost no time in washing my + face and head, till no stains showed. I rebuked myself for + not having done this while aboard the lugger, when I had + splashed my head at the scuttle-butt. I felt all the better + for the wash in the brook; but when I took to the road again + I had a great fear lest the labourers should hear of the + battle, and give out that they had seen a wounded boy going + along the road away from the beach. + </p> + <p> + After a mile of lane, I came to a highroad, past a church and + houses, all very peaceful and still. I passed these, and + wandered on along the highroad, thinking that I had gone many + miles from the sea, though, of course, I had only gone a + little distance. When one walks a new road, one finds it much + longer than it really is. I sat down by the roadside now and + then to think of plans. I felt that my best plan would be to + go to London, and see the Lord Mayor, who, I felt sure, would + help me to get home. But I had not much notion of where + London was, and I knew that if I went into a house to ask the + road to London, people would suspect that I was running away, + and so, perhaps, find out that I had been with the smugglers. + I knew that many people there must be smugglers themselves; + but then, suppose that I asked at a house where they were + friends of the preventives? The smugglers had signs among + themselves by which they recognised each other. + </p> + <p> + They used to scratch the left ear with the left little + finger, and then bite the lower lip, before shaking hands + with anybody. I thought that I would go into an inn and try + these signs on somebody (on the landlord if possible) and + then ask his advice. An inn would be a good place, I thought, + because the landlord would be sure to buy from the smugglers; + besides, in inns there are generally maps of the country, + showing the coaching houses, and the days of the fairs. A map + of the kind would show me my road, and be a help to me in + that way, even if the landlord did not recognise my signs. + And yet I was half afraid of trying these signs. I did not + want to get back among the smugglers. + </p> + <p> + I only wanted to get to London. I had that foolish belief + that the Lord Mayor would help me. I was too young to know + better; and besides, I was afraid that my being with the + smugglers would, perhaps, get me hanged, if I were caught by + one of those magistrates, whom I so much feared. + </p> + <p> + Presently I came to another little village, rather larger + than the last. There was an inn in the main street (the "Blue + Boar"), so I went into the inn-parlour, and looked about me. + One or two men were talking earnestly, in low voices, to a + sad-faced, weary-looking woman behind the bar. She looked up + at me rather sharply as I entered, and the men turned round + and stared at me, made a few more remarks to the woman, and + went quickly out. I looked at the woman, scratched my left + ear with my left little finger, and bit my lower lip. She + caught her breath sharply and turned quite white; evidently + she knew that sign extremely well. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" she said, "what's the news? There's been + fighting. Where's Dick?" + </p> + <p> + I said I didn't know where Dick was, but that there had been + fighting, sure enough; and the preventives had been beaten + off. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," she said, "and the stuff? Did they get the stuff off?" + </p> + <p> + I said I believed that it had got off safely. + </p> + <p> + "I believe everybody's bewitched to-day," she said, bursting + into tears. "Oh, Dick, come back to me. Come back to me. Oh, + why did I ever marry a man like you?" + </p> + <p> + She cried bitterly for a few minutes. Then she asked me a lot + of questions about the fight. One question she repeated many + times: "Was there a grey horse in the second string?" + </p> + <p> + But this I could not answer certainly. All the time that we + were talking, she was crying and laughing by turns. Whenever + a person entered (even if it were only the milkman) she + turned white and shook, as though expecting the police. + </p> + <p> + "It's the palpitation," she would explain. "That and the + sizzums." + </p> + <p> + Then she would go on laughing and crying by turns until some + one else came in. + </p> + <p> + Presently the landlady looked at me rather hard. "Here," she + said, "you are not one of them. You've run away from home, + you have. What are you doing here?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was on my way to London. + </p> + <p> + "To London," she said. "What's a boy like you going to London + for? How are you going?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was going to walk there, to see the Lord Mayor. + </p> + <p> + "To—see—the—Lord Mayor," she repeated. "Is + the boy daft, or what?" + </p> + <p> + I blushed, and hung my head, for I did not like to be laughed + at. + </p> + <p> + "What are you going to see the Lord Mayor for?" she asked + with a smile. + </p> + <p> + I answered that he would send me home to my friends, as he + was always generous to people in distress. She laughed very + heartily when I had said this: but still, not unkindly. Then + she asked me a lot of questions about my joining the + smugglers, about my friends at home (particularly if they + were well off), and about the money I had to carry me to + London. When I had told her everything, she + said,—"Well, why don't you write to your friends from + here? Surely that's a more sensible plan than going to + London—why, London's seventy miles. Write to your + friends from here. They will get the letter in three or four + days. They will be here within a week from now. That's a + wiser thing to do than going to London. Why, you'd die in a + ditch before you got half-way." + </p> + <p> + "I shouldn't," I answered hotly. + </p> + <p> + "Well, if you didn't you'd get taken up. It's all the same," + she answered. "You stop here and write to your friends. I + will see that the letter goes all right. I suppose," she + continued, "I suppose your friends wouldn't let me be a loser + by you? They'd pay for what you ate and that?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "of course they will." + </p> + <p> + "What's your name?" she said sharply. + </p> + <p> + I told her. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she said. "Jim—Jim Davis. Let's see that shirt of + yours, to see if it's got your name on. I been taken in once + or twice before. One has to look alive, keeping an inn." + </p> + <p> + Luckily my name was upon my shirt and stockings, so that she + accepted my story without further talk, especially as the + contents of my package showed her that I told her the truth + about the lugger. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what Dick will say," she said. "But now you + come up, and I'll dress your head. You'll have to lie low, + remember. It won't do for a smuggler like you to be seen + about here. So till your friends come, you'll keep pretty + dark, remember." + </p> + <p> + She led me upstairs to plaster my wound. Then she put me into + a little bedroom on one of the upper floors, and told me to + stay there till she called me. There were one or two books + upon the shelf, including a funny one with woodcuts, a + collection of tales and ballads, such as the pedlers used to + sell in those days. With this book, and with a piece of paper + and a pencil, I passed the morning more happily than I can + say. + </p> + <p> + My head felt quite easy after it had been dressed and + bandaged. My troubles were nearly over, I thought. In a week + my friends would be there to fetch me away. In three days + they would get my letter and hear all about my adventures; so + as I wrote I almost sang aloud; I was so happy at the thought + of my sorrows being ended. Mrs Dick (I never learned her real + name till some years afterwards) brought me some bread and + cheese at midday. As I ate, she sealed and addressed my + letter for me, and took it over to the post-house, so that + the postman could carry it to meet the mail, as it drove past + from Rye towards London. + </p> + <p> + After my midday meal I felt strangely weary; perhaps all my + excitements had been too much for me. When Mrs Dick came back + to say that she had posted my letter I was almost asleep; but + her manner was so strange that it roused me. She could hardly + speak from anxiety and terror. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she cried, "they have raised the whole country. My + Dick'll be taken. He will. He will. They're riding all + through the land arresting everybody. And they're going to + hang them all, they say, as soon as they can give them their + trials." + </p> + <p> + She cried and cried as though her heart would break. I did + what I could to comfort her, but still she cried + hysterically, and for all that afternoon she sobbed and + laughed in the little upper bedroom, only going out at rare + intervals, to peep into the bar, where her servant served the + guests. + </p> + <p> + Towards five o'clock, the servant came running upstairs to + say that a lot of the smugglers had been taken. "A whole + boatload," the girl said, so that now it would "all come out, + and master would be hanged." Mrs Dick told her not to talk in + that way of her master, but to find out if any of the men had + peached. + </p> + <p> + When the girl had gone she seemed to collect herself. She + became a different woman in a minute. + </p> + <p> + "Well, if he's taken," she said, "they'll be here. That's + very sure. They'll search the premises. They mustn't find you + here, Mr Jim. If they find you, they'll question you, and you + know too much by a long way." + </p> + <p> + "Shall I go?" I asked. "I'm willing to clear out, if you + wish." + </p> + <p> + "Go?" she said. "Go? I will turn no poor boy out into the + road. I have a boy of my own, somewhere walking the world. + No, I'll put you in the drawing-room. Come with me, and don't + make a noise." + </p> + <p> + She led me downstairs to the foot of the lowest staircase, + which was rather broad, with high steps of stout old oak. + </p> + <p> + "Look," she said, as she stepped away from me—I suppose + to touch some secret spring—"this is the drawing-room." + </p> + <p> + As she spoke, the two lowest stairs suddenly rolled back upon + a sort of hinge, showing a little room, not much bigger than + a couple of barrels, arranged underneath them. There were + blankets and a mattress upon the floor of this little room, + besides several packages like those which I had seen in the + lugger. + </p> + <p> + "You'll have to stay here, Jim," she said kindly. "But first + of all I must get together Dick's papers and that. Come on + and help me." + </p> + <p> + Very soon she had gathered together a few papers and packets + of tobacco and lace, which might have brought Dick into + trouble. She laid these away in the recesses of the secret + room, and told me to get inside, and go to sleep, and above + all things to keep very still if people came along upon the + stairs. I crept inside, rather frightened, and lay down among + the blankets, to get some rest. Then Mrs Dick swung the two + stairs back in to their place, a spring clicked, and I was a + prisoner in the dark, shut up in the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII + </h2> + <h3> + TRACKED + </h3> + <p> + It was very dark in the drawing-room under the stairs, and + rather stuffy, for the only light and air admitted came + through a little narrow crack, about six inches long, and + half an inch across at its broadest. There was a strong smell + of mice, among other smells; and the mice came scampering all + over me before I had lain there long. I lay as still as I + could, because of what Mrs Dick had said, and by-and-by I + fell asleep in spite of the mice, and slept until it was + dark. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened by the rolling back of the stairs. As I + started up, thinking that I was captured, I saw Mrs Dick + standing over me with a candle in her hand. + </p> + <p> + "Hush, Jim," she said. "Get out quickly. Don't ask any + questions. Get out at once. You can't stay here any longer." + </p> + <p> + "What has happened?" I asked. "Where is your husband? Has + your husband come home?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she said. "And you must go. They're coming after you. + You were seen in the lugger with an axe in your hands. A man + who passed you on the road after, saw you in the lugger. He + was with the soldiers, and now he's given an information. + Mary, the girl, heard it down at the magistrate's, where the + inquest is. And so you must go. Besides, I want the + drawing-room for my Dick. He has come back, and they'll be + after him quite likely. He was seen, they say. So he must lie + low till we've arranged the alibi, as they call it. Everybody + has to have an alibi. And so my Dick'll have one, just to + make sure. Mind your head against the stair." + </p> + <p> + I crawled out, rubbing my eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Where shall I go to?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she said. "Until we find out, you had better go in the + stable, in among the feed in the box, or covered up in the + hay." + </p> + <p> + When she had settled her husband safely into the + drawing-room, she bustled me out of doors into the stable, + which stood in the yard at the back of the inn. She put me + into a mass of loose hay, in one of the unused stalls. + </p> + <p> + "There," she said. "They'll never look for you there. Don't + get hay-fever and begin to sneeze, though. Here's your parcel + for you. It wouldn't do to leave that about in the house, + would it?" + </p> + <p> + She wished me good night and bustled back to the inn, to + laugh and jest as though nothing was happening, and as though + she had no trouble in the world. + </p> + <p> + I lay very quietly in my warm nest in the hay, feeling lonely + in that still stable after my nights in the lugger among the + men. The old horse stamped once or twice, and the stable cat + came purring to me, seeking to be petted. The church clock + struck nine, and rang out a chime. Shortly after nine I heard + the clatter of many horses' hoofs coming along the road, and + then the noise of cavalry jingling and clattering into the + inn yard. A horse whinnied, the old horse in the stable + whinnied in answer. A curt voice called to the men to + dismount, and for some one to hold the horses. I strained my + ears to hear any further words, but some one banging on a + door (I guessed it to be the inn door) drowned the orders. + </p> + <p> + Then some one cried out, "Well, break it in, then. Don't come + asking me." + </p> + <p> + After that there was more banging, an excited cry from a + woman, and a few minutes of quiet. + </p> + <p> + I crept from my hiding-place to the window, so that I might + see what was happening. The whole yard was full of cavalry. A + couple of troopers were holding horses quite close to the + door. By listening carefully, I could hear what they were + saying. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said one of them; "I got a proper lick myself. I + shan't mind if they do get caught. They say there's some of + them caught in a boat." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said his mate; "three. And they do say we shall find a + boy here as well as the other fellow. There was a boy aboard + all night. And he's been tracked here. He's as good as + caught, I reckon." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose they'll all be hanged?" said the first. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the other. "Won't be no defence for them. Neck or + nothing. Hey?" + </p> + <p> + Then they passed out of earshot, leading their horses. I was + so horribly scared that I was almost beside myself. What + could I do? Where could I go? Where could I hide? The only + door and window opened on to the courtyard. The loft was my + only chance. I snatched up my parcel, and ran to the little + ladder (nailed to the wall) which led to the loft, and + climbed up as though the hounds were after me. + </p> + <p> + Even in the loft I was not much better off. There was a heap + of hay and a few bundles of straw lying at one end, and two + great swing-doors, opening on to the courtyard, through which + the hay and straw had been passed to shelter. It was plainly + useless to lie down in the straw. That would be the first + place searched. I should be caught at once if I hid among the + straw. Then it occurred to me that the loft must lead to a + pigeon-house. I had seen a pigeon-house above and at one end + of the stable, and I judged that the loft would communicate + with it. It was not very light, but, by groping along the end + wall, I came to a little latched door leading to another + little room. This was the pigeon-house, and as I burst into + it, closing the door behind me, the many pigeons rustled and + stirred upon their nests and perches. It was darker in the + pigeon-house than in the loft, but I could see that the place + was bigger than the loft itself, and this gave me hope that + there would be an opening at the back of it away from the + yard. I had not much time, I knew, because the troopers were + already trying to open the stable-door below me. I could hear + them pounding and grumbling. Just as I heard them say, + "That's it. The bar lifts up. There you are"—showing + that they had found how to open the door—I came to a + little door at the back, a little rotten door, locked and + bolted with rusty cobwebbed iron. Very cautiously I turned + the lock and drew the bolts back. The latch creaked under my + thumb for the first time in many years. I was outside the + door on a little, rotten, wooden landing, from which a flight + of wooden steps led downward. I saw beyond me a few + farm-buildings, a byre, several pigsties, and three disused + waggons. Voices sounded in the stable as I climbed down the + steps. I heard a man say, "He might be in the loft. We might + look there." And then I touched the ground, and scurried + quickly past the shelters to the outer wall. + </p> + <p> + Happily for me, the wall was well-grown with ivy, so that I + could climb to the top. There was a six-foot drop on the far + side into a lane; but it was now neck or nothing, so I let + myself go. I came down with a crack which made my teeth + rattle, my parcel spun away into a bed of nettles, and I got + well stung in fishing it out. Then I strapped it on my back + and turned along the lane in the direction which (as I + judged) led me away from the sea. As I stepped out on my + adventures, I heard the ordered trample of horses leaving the + inn-yard together to seek elsewhere. The lane soon ended at a + stile, which led into a field. I saw a barn or shed just + beyond the stile, and in the shed there was a heap of hay, + which smelt a little mouldy. I lay down upon it, determined + to wake early, and creep back to the inn before anybody + stirred in the village. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, well," I said to myself before I fell asleep, "in a + week's time they will be here to take me home. Then my + troubles will be over." + </p> + <p> + I remember that all my fear of the troops was gone. I felt so + sure that all would be well in the morning. So, putting my + parcel under my head as a pillow, I snuggled down into the + hay, and very soon fell asleep. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened in the morning by the entrance of an old + cart-horse, who came to smell at the hay. It was light enough + to see where I was going, so I opened my knapsack and made a + rough breakfast before setting out. Overnight I had planned + to go back to the inn. In the cool of the morning that plan + did not seem so very wise as I had thought it. I was almost + afraid to put it into practice. However, I went back along + the lane. With some trouble, I got over the tall brick wall + down which I had dropped the night before. Then I climbed up + to the pigeon-house, down the loft-ladder, into the inn-yard, + to the broken back door of the tavern. The door hung from one + hinge, with its lower panels kicked in just as the soldiers + had left it. The inn was open to anybody who cared to enter. + </p> + <p> + I entered cautiously, half expecting to find a few soldiers + billeted there. But the place was empty. I went from room to + room, finding no one; Mrs. Dick seemed to have disappeared. + One of the rooms was in disorder. A few broken glasses were + on the floor; a chair lay on its side under the table. I went + upstairs. I tapped at the outside of the drawing-room. No + answer there; all was still there. I listened attentively for + some sound of breathing; none came. No one was inside. I went + all over the house. No one was there. I was alone in the + "Blue Boar," the only person in the house. I could only guess + that Mr and Mrs Dick had been arrested. To be sure, they + might have run away together during the night. I did not + quite know what to think. + </p> + <p> + In my wanderings, I came to the bar, which I found in great + disorder; the bench was upset, jugs and glasses were + scattered on the floor, and the blinds had not been pulled + up. Although I had some fear of being seen from outside, I + pulled up the blinds to let in a little light, so that I + might look at the coaching-map which hung at one end of the + bar. When I passed behind the bar to trace out for myself the + road to London, I saw an open book lying on a shelf among the + bottles. It was a copy of Captain Johnson's <i>Lives of the + Highwaymen and Pirates</i>, lying open at the life of Captain + Roberts, the famous pirate Whydah. Some one must have been + reading it when the soldiers entered. + </p> + <p> + I looked at it curiously, for it was open at the portrait of + Roberts. Underneath the portrait were a few words written in + pencil in a clumsy scrawl. I read them over, expecting some + of the ordinary schoolboy nonsense. + </p> + <p> + "Captain Roberts was a bad one. <i>Jim</i>. Don't come back + here. The lobsters is around." That was all the message. But + I saw at once that it was meant for me; that Mrs Dick, + knowing that I should come back, had done her best to leave a + warning for me. "Lobsters," I knew, was the smugglers' slang + for soldiers; and if the lobsters were dangerous to me it was + plain that I was wanted for my innocent share in the fight. I + looked through the book for any further message; but there + was no other entry, except a brief pencilled memorandum of + what some one had paid for groceries many years before, at + some market town not named. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX + </h2> + <h3> + THE ROAD TO LONDON + </h3> + <p> + You may be sure that I lost no time in leaving the inn. I + merely noted the way to London from the coaching-map and + hurried out, repeating the direction so that I should not + forget. It was a bright, cool morning: and I walked very + briskly for a couple of hours, when I sat down to rest by the + roadside, under a patch of willows, which grew about a little + bubbling brook. Presently I saw that a little way ahead of me + were three gipsy-looking people (a boy with his father and + mother), sitting by the road resting. They got up, after I + had been there for twenty minutes or so, and came along the + road towards me, bowed under their bundles. I got up, too, + intending to continue my journey; but when I was about to + pass them, the man drew up in front of me. + </p> + <p> + "Beg your pardon, young master," he said; "but could you tell + me the way to Big Ben?" "But that's in London," I said. + "That's in London, at the House of Parliament." + </p> + <p> + "What!" he cried. "You don't mean to tell me that us have + come the wrong road?' + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said. "You're going the wrong way for London." + </p> + <p> + "Then take that," cried the man, giving me a shove, just as + the woman flung her shawl over my head. I stepped back, for + the shove was no light one; but just behind me the boy had + crouched on all fours (he had evidently practised the trick), + so that I went headlong over him, and had a nasty fall into + the road. + </p> + <p> + "Stop his mouth, Martha," said the man: and stop it she did, + with her ragged old shawl, in which she had evidently carried + the provisions of the gang. + </p> + <p> + "What's he got on him?" said the woman, as the man rummaged + through my pockets. + </p> + <p> + "Only a prince and a chive," said the man, disgustedly, + meaning my half-crown and a jack-knife. + </p> + <p> + "Well," said the woman, "his jacket's better than Bill's, and + we'll have his little portmanteau, what's more." + </p> + <p> + In another minute they had my suit stripped from me; and I + had the sight of dirty little Bill, the tramper's boy, + putting on my things. + </p> + <p> + "Here," said the woman. "You put on Bill's things. They're + good enough for you. And don't you dare breathe a word of + what we done." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the man, as Bill buttoned up his jacket, and took + my little bundle in his hand. "You keep your little jaw shut + or <i>I</i>'ll come after you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Mother," said Bill. "Don't I look a young swell, + neither?" + </p> + <p> + For answer, his mother grabbed him by the arm, and the three + hurried away from me in the direction from which I had come. + The man looked back and made a face at me, shaking his fist. + I was left penniless in the road. A milestone told me that I + was seventy miles from London. + </p> + <p> + I was now at the end of my resources; almost too miserable to + cry. I did not know what was to become of me. I could only + wander along the road, in a dazed sort of way, wishing for + Marah. I was wretched and faint, and Marah was so strong and + careless. Then I said to myself that Marah was dead, and that + I should soon be dead, for I had neither food nor money. The + smugglers had talked of shipwrecks once or twice. I had heard + them say that a man could live for three days without food or + drink, in fair weather; and that without food, drinking + plenty of water, he could live for three weeks. They were + very wild talkers, to be sure; but I remembered this now and + got comfort from it. Surely, I thought, I shall be able to + last for a week, and in a week I ought to be near London. + Besides, I can eat grass; and perhaps I shall find a turnip, + or a potato, or a partridge's nest with young ones still in + it; and perhaps I shall be able to earn a few coppers by + opening gates, or holding horses. + </p> + <p> + I plucked up wonderfully when I thought of all these things; + though I did not at all like wearing Bill's clothes. I felt + that I looked like a dirty young tramp, and that anybody who + saw me would think that I was one. Besides, I had always + hated dirt and untidiness, and the feeling that I carried + both about me was hateful. + </p> + <p> + But Bill's clothes were to be a great help to me before noon + that day. As I wandered along the road, wondering where I + could get something to eat (for I was now very hungry), I + came to a turnpike. The turnpike-keeper was cleaning his + windows, outside his little house. When he saw me, he just + popped his head inside the door, and said something to some + people inside. His manner frightened me; but I was still more + frightened when two Bow Street runners (as we called + detectives then) and a yeomanry officer came out of the + house, and laid hold of me. + </p> + <p> + "That's your boy, sir," said the turnpike-keeper. + </p> + <p> + "Come on in here," said the officer, "and give an account of + yourself." + </p> + <p> + They led me into the room, where they were eating some bread + and cheese. + </p> + <p> + "He doesn't answer the description," said one of the men, + glancing at a paper. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not so sure about that," said the officer. "He's the + exact height, and that's the same coloured hair." + </p> + <p> + "Now I come to think of it," said the keeper, "I believe I + saw that boy pass along here this morning, along with two + trampers. That coat with the pocket torn. Yes, and red lining + showing. I thought I'd seen them." + </p> + <p> + "Well, boy," said the officer, "what's your name?" + </p> + <p> + "Jim Davis," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "What were you doing with the two trampers, Jim?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Please, sir," I said, "I wasn't doing anything with them." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said one of the runners. "These young rogues is that + artful, they never do nothing anywhere." + </p> + <p> + "You'll live to be hanged, I know," said the other runner. + </p> + <p> + "What were you doing with the smugglers?" asked the officer + suddenly, staring hard at my face, to watch for any change of + expression. + </p> + <p> + But I was ready for him. A boy is often better able to keep + his countenance than a grown man. With masters, and aunts, + and game-keepers all down upon him, he lives a hunted life. + He gets lots of practice in keeping his countenance. A grown + man often gets very little. + </p> + <p> + "What smugglers, sir?" I asked as boldly as I could. + </p> + <p> + "The men you sailed with from Etaples," said the officer. + </p> + <p> + "Sailed with?" I asked, feeling that I was done for. + </p> + <p> + "Didn't the horses splash about, when you cut the cable?" + said the officer, with a smile. + </p> + <p> + This time I thought I had better not answer. I looked as + puzzled as I could, and looked from one face to the other, as + though for enlightenment. + </p> + <p> + "Now, Jim," said one of the runners. "It's no good. Tell us + all about the smugglers, and we'll let you go." + </p> + <p> + "We know you're the boy we want," said the captain. "Make a + clean breast of it, and perhaps you will get off with + transportation." + </p> + <p> + "Now don't look so innocent," said the other runner. "Tell us + what we want to know, or we'll make you." + </p> + <p> + Now somewhere I had read that the police bullied suspected + persons in this way. If you make a guilty person believe that + you know him to be guilty, you can also get him to confess if + you startle him sufficiently. It occurred to me that this was + what these men were doing, especially as they had not been + sure of me when I came into the room. + </p> + <p> + I had some twenty or thirty seconds in which to think of an + answer, for the three men spoke one after the other, without + giving me a chance to speak. I shook my head, putting on a + puzzled look. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon, sir," I said, speaking rather roughly, in + the accent which Bill had used. "I think there's some + mistake." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I think not," said the officer. "Suppose I tell you how + many men were in the lugger?" + </p> + <p> + But here we were stopped by the arrival of a chaise outside. + A man entered hurriedly. + </p> + <p> + "It's all right, Gray," the newcomer called to the officer. + "We have the boy. We caught him back there, along the road, + with a couple of gipsies. There can be no doubt about it. The + clothes and bundle are just as they're described in the + advertisement. Who have you here?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, a boy we brought in on suspicion," said the officer. + "Shall we let him go?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, who is he?" asked the new arrival. "Eh, boy? Who are + you?" + </p> + <p> + "A poor boy," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "How do you make a living?" he asked. "Little boys, like you, + oughtn't to be about on the roads, you know. What d'ye do for + a living?" + </p> + <p> + I am afraid it was rather a bold statement; but I cried out + that I could sing ballads. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim. So you sing ballads, do you?" said the officer. + "Get on to that chair and sing us a ballad." + </p> + <p> + But I was cunning and wary. "Please, sir," I said, "I'm very + hungry. I don't sing, except for my dinner and a sixpence." + </p> + <p> + "So you defy the law already, do you?" said the newcomer. + "Well. Eat some bread and cheese, and I will give you + sixpence for a song." + </p> + <p> + So I sat down very thankfully, and made a good dinner at the + table. I pretended to pay no attention to the officers; but + really I listened very eagerly to all that they said. I + gathered that the newcomer was a coastguard naval captain, of + the name of Byrne, and I felt that he half-suspected and + half-liked me, without thinking very much about me one way or + the other. When I had finished my dinner—and I ate + enough to last me till the night—I got upon my chair, + without being pressed, and sang the ballad of "The White + Cockade," then very popular all over the West country. My + voice was not bad in those days, and I was used to singing; + indeed, people sang more then than they do now. Everybody + sang. + </p> + <p> + Captain Byrne seemed puzzled by my voice, and by my + cultivated accent. "Who taught you to sing?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + So I answered that I had been in the village choir at home; + which was true enough. + </p> + <p> + "And where was that?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + For a moment I thought that I would trust him, and tell him + everything. Then, very foolishly, I determined to say + nothing, so I said that it was a long way away, and that I + had come from thence after my father had died. He whispered + something to Mr. Gray, the other officer; and they looked at + me curiously. They both gave me a sixpenny piece for my + ballad; and then they went out. Captain Byrne stopped at the + door. "Look here," he said, "you take my advice and go home. + You will come to no good, leading this wandering life." + </p> + <p> + When they had gone, I went out also, and watched their chaise + disappear. The last that I saw of them was the two top-hats + of the runners, sticking up at the back of the conveyance, + like little black chimneys. + </p> + <p> + I felt very glad that Bill was taken up, evidently in mistake + for me. It seemed a fitting reward. But at the same time I + knew that the mistake might be found out at any moment; and + that I should be searched for as soon as Bill had cleared + himself. I walked slowly away from the turnpike, so that the + keeper might not suspect me, and then I nipped over a stile, + and ran away across country, going inland, away from the sea, + as fast as I could travel. I could tell my direction by the + sun, and I kept a westerly course, almost due west, for three + or four hours, till I was tired out. + </p> + <p> + It was a lonely walk, too; hardly anything but wild, rather + marshy country, with few houses, few churches, and no bigger + town than the tiniest of villages. At about six o'clock that + afternoon, when I had gone some sixteen miles since daybreak, + I felt that I could go no further, and began to cast about + for a lodging-place. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX + </h2> + <h3> + THE GIPSY CAMP + </h3> + <p> + I plodded on till I came to a sort of copse or little wood, + where I expected to find shelter. Supper I had resolved to do + without; I wished to keep my shilling for dinner and + breakfast the next day. As I came up to the copse hedge I saw + that some gipsies were camped there. They had a fine + travelling waggon drawn up on some waste ground near at hand; + they had also pitched three or four beehive huts, made of + bent poles, covered with sacks. They were horse-dealers and + basket-makers, as one could see from the drove of lean horses + and heap of wicker-work near the waggon. Several children + were playing about among the huts. Some women were at their + basket-making by the waggon. A middle-aged man, smoking a + pipe, stood by the hedge, mending what looked like an + enormous butterfly net. In spite of my adventure on the road, + I was not at all frightened by these gipsies, because I liked + their looks, and I knew now that I had only my shilling to + lose, and that I could earn a dinner at any time by singing a + ballad. + </p> + <p> + The middle-aged man looked rather hard at me as I came near, + and called out in a strange language to his people in the + tents. They came about me at the call, and stared at me very + strangely, as though I was a queer beast escaped from a + menagerie. Then, to my great surprise, the man pointed to my + forehead, and all the gipsies stared at my forehead, + repeating those queer words which Marah had used so long + before in the gorse-clump—"Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." + They seemed very pleased and proud; they clapped their hands + and danced, as though I was a little prince. All the time + they kept singing and talking in their curious language. Now + and then one of them would come up to me and push back my cap + to look at my hair, which was of a dark brown colour, with a + dash of reddy gold above my forehead. + </p> + <p> + I learned afterwards that gipsies held sacred all boys with + hair like mine. They call the ruddy tinge over the forehead + "the cross upon crutches"; for long ago, they say, a great + gipsy hero had that mark upon his brow in lines of fire; and + to this day all people with a fiery lock of hair, they + believe, bring luck to them. + </p> + <p> + When the gipsies had danced for some twenty minutes, the + elderly man (who seemed to be a chief among them) begged me + (in English) with many profound bows and smiles, to enter + their waggon. I had heard that the gipsies stole little + children; but as I had never heard of them stealing a boy of + my age I did not fear them. So I entered the waggon as he + bade me, and very neat and trim it was. Here a man produced a + curious red suit of clothes, rather too small for me; but + still a lot better than Bill's rags. He begged me to put it + on, which I did. I know now that it was the red magical suit + in which the gipsies dress their magical puppets on St. + John's Eve; but as I did not then know this, I put it on + quite willingly, wishing that it fitted better. + </p> + <p> + Then we came out again among the huts, and all the other + gipsies crowded round me, laughing and clapping their hands; + for now, they thought, their tribe would have wonderful luck + wherever they went. The women put a pot upon the fire, ready + for supper. Everybody treated me (very much to my annoyance) + as though I were a fairy child. Whenever I spoke, they bowed + and laughed and clapped their hands, crying out in their wild + language, till I could have boxed their ears. + </p> + <p> + When supper was ready, they brought me to the place of honour + by the fire, and fed me with all the delicacies of the gipsy + race. We had hedgehog baked in a clay cover—though I + did not much like him—and then a stew of poultry and + pheasant (both stolen, I'm afraid) with bread baked in the + ashes; and wonderful tea, which they said cost eighteen + shillings a pound. They annoyed me very much by the way in + which they bowed and smirked, but they really meant to be + kind, and I had sense enough to know that while I was with + them I should be practically safe from the runners and + yeomanry. After supper they made me up a bed in the waggon. + The next morning before daybreak we started off, horses, + waggon, and all, away towards the west; going to Portsmouth + Fair, the man said, to sell their horses. + </p> + <p> + I had not been very long among the gipsies when I discovered + that I was as much a prisoner as a pet. They would never let + me out of their sight. If I tried to get away by myself, one + of the children, or a young woman would follow me, or rather, + come in the same direction, and pretend not to be following + me; but all the time noting where I went, and heading me off + carefully if I went too far from the caravan. Before the end + of the first day I was wondering how it would all finish, and + whether they meant to make a gipsy of me. They were very + careful not to let me be seen by other travellers. When the + road was clear, they would let me follow the caravan on foot; + but when people drove past us, and whenever we came to a + village (they always avoided the big towns), they hurried me + into the waggon, and kept me from peeping out. At night, when + we pitched our camp, after a long day's journey of sixteen or + seventeen hours, they gave me a bed inside the caravan; and + the elderly chief laid his blankets on the waggon floor, + between my bed and the door, so that I should not get out. I + lived with the gipsies in this way for three whole days. + </p> + <p> + I did not like it any better as time went on. I kept thinking + of how I should escape, and worrying about the anxiety at + home, now that my letter must have reached them. I did not + think any more about the police. I felt that they would give + me no more trouble; but my distress at not being able to get + away from these gipsies was almost more than I could bear. On + the afternoon of the third day I made a dash for freedom, but + the chief soon caught me and brought me back, evidently very + much displeased, and muttering something about stealing the + red coat. + </p> + <p> + About midday on the fourth day, as we were passing through a + village, it chanced that a drove of sheep blocked up the + road. The caravan stopped and I managed to get down from the + waggon, with my gaoler, to see what was happening in the + road. The sheep were very wild, and the drover was a boy who + did not know how to drive them. The way was blocked for a + good ten minutes, so that I had time to look about me. While + we waited, a donkey-cart drove up, with two people inside it, + dressed in the clothes of naval sailors—white trousers, + blue, short, natty jackets (with red and green ribbons in the + seams), and with huge clubbed pigtails under their black, + glazed hats. One of them was evidently ill, for he lay back + against the backboard and did not speak. I noticed also that + he had not been to sea for a long time, as his beard was long + and unkempt. The other, who drove the cart, was a one-legged + man, very short and broad, with a thick black stubble on his + cheeks. He was a hearty person with a voice like a lion's + roar. They had rigged up Union Jacks on the donkey's + blinkers, they had a pilot jack upon the shaft, and a white + ensign on a flagpole tied to the backboard. The body of the + cart was all sprigged out with streamers of ribbon as thick + as horses' tails, and there were placards fixed to the sides + of the donkey's collar. They were clumsily scrawled as + follows:—<br> + <br> + Pity the Braiv English Seamen,<br> + Wonded in the Wars,<br> + Help them as cannot help theirselves,<br> + We have Bled for our nativland.<br> + Nelson and Bronte.<br> + + </p> + <p> + This wonderful conveyance pulled up among the sheep. The + one-legged man stood upright in the cart, called for three + cheers, and at once began to roar out the never-ending ballad + of the battle of Belle Isle:— + </p> + <p> + <br> + At the battle of Belle Isle,<br> + I was there all the while, etc., etc.<br> + + </p> + <p> + Everybody clustered round to listen, and to admire the + turnout. + </p> + <p> + I could not get very near to the cart, because of the press; + but I noticed quite suddenly that the sick man was staring + rather hard at me from under the rim of his glazed hat, which + was jammed down over his eyes. The eyes seemed familiar. + There was something familiar in the figure, covered up, as it + was, with the rough beard, and with a ship's boat-cloak. It + reminded me of Marah, somehow, and yet it could not possibly + be Marah; and yet the man was staring hard at me. + </p> + <p> + A countryman came out of an inn with a mug of drink for the + singer, who checked his song at about the + hundred-and-fiftieth stanza, to take the mug with a "Thank + ye, mate," and hand it to his sick friend. The sick man took + the mug with his left hand, opening the fingers curiously, + and still looking hard at me. My heart gave a great jump, for + there were three blue rings tattooed on one of the fingers. + The man waved his mug towards me. "Hoo, hoo, hoo," he cried, + imitating an owl with his weak voice. "Hoo, hoo, hoo." Then + he clapped his right hand across his mouth to warn me to be + silent, and drank, with a bow to the giver. + </p> + <p> + It <i>was</i> Marah, after all. At this moment the caravan + started, and the man urged me to enter the waggon again. I + did so; but as I turned away, Marah smiled in an absurd + manner at me, and bowed three times, making everybody laugh. + That made me feel sure that he would help me to escape, and + to get home again. I could not help laughing at his trick of + dressing up as "a braiv English seaman, wonded in the war." + Had the people known in what wars he had been wounded, they + would not have been so free with their kindness, perhaps. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that Marah had made the owl's cry (or night + signal) to show me that I might expect him at night. So when + the gipsies went to bed that night I lay awake among them, + pretending to be fast asleep. It was very dark, shut up in + the waggon. The gipsies slept heavily, and I could hear the + horses outside, cropping on the grass and snorting. Once or + twice I heard a clock strike very far away. Then I fell + asleep, I think, in spite of my excitement. I woke with a + start, because just outside the waggon came the wild crying + of an owl: and then, at that instant, a banging of guns and + pistols. A voice cried out: "The horses. Save the horses." + Some one screamed "Help! help!" in a falsetto. More guns + banged and cracked, and I heard a rush of hoofs as the drove + of horses stampeded. The gipsies in the waggon rushed out as + one man to save the precious horses. I rushed out after them, + and there was Marah with his one-legged friend, crouched + under the waggon, waiting for me. + </p> + <p> + "Well, Jim," he said; "nip this way, quick. We have a suit of + clothes all ready for you." + </p> + <p> + So they hurried me away to their little cart, where I found a + boy's suit, which I was glad to put on, as of course I never + wore the precious red suit in bed. + </p> + <p> + "Those were good fire-crackers," said Marah's friend. "They + made the horses run." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah. "I knew we could clear the gipsies out of + the way and get Jim clear. Well, Jim, my son, I'm not strong + enough to talk much. I reckon I have done with night-riding + since I got this slug in my chest. But here we are again, + bound home, my son, with not much shot in the locker." + </p> + <p> + "You be quiet," said his friend; "you'll be getting your + wound bad. Get up, Neddy." + </p> + <p> + We trotted off to a little inn which stood at some distance + from the gipsies' camp. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, after a comfortable night in bed; I asked + Marah how he had escaped. He told me that when the lugger + drove ashore, one or two smugglers who had hidden in the + dunes, crept down to her and carried him ashore. The two + others, the drunkards, were too noisy to bring off. They were + captured, and condemned to serve in the Navy. Marah's wound + was not very severe; but he had had a great shock, and would + not be able to exert himself for many weeks. An old smuggler + (the one-legged man) had dressed his wound for him, and had + then disguised him as I saw him, with a beard and naval + clothes. One of the many Captains Sharp had advanced money + for the journey home; but to avoid suspicion they had rigged + up their donkey-cart; and worked their way as poor sea-ballad + singers. + </p> + <p> + "And now," said Marah, "I heard tell in Kent that you'd + written home by the mail-coach, a full five days ago. Well, + Jim, we're near the coach-road here. I reckon your friends'll + be coming to see you by to-day's coach. If we go out into the + road, to the 'Bold Sawyer' yonder, where they change horses + and wait, I reckon you'll be able to save them some of their + journey. Hey, Sally," he cried to the waitress, "what time + does the Plymouth mail pass by?" + </p> + <p> + "At eleven o'clock," said Sally. + </p> + <p> + "At six bells, Jim," said Marah, "you'll see your folk again. + On that I'll wager my best new silver buttons." + </p> + <p> + The clock struck ten. + </p> + <p> + It was a fair sunny summer's day, with a brisk wind blowing, + when we ranged ourselves across the road outside the "Bold + Sawyer." The coach-horn, sounding in the distance, was + drawing rapidly nearer; we could hear the rhythm of the + sixteen hoofs. Presently the horses swung round the corner; + we saw the coachman flick his leaders so that he might dash + up to the inn in style. Then as they galloped up I saw two + well-known figures sitting outside, well muffled up. + </p> + <p> + They were Hugh and Mrs Cottier. We had flags in our hands, so + we waved them and shouted. The one-legged man roared out his + doings at the battle of Belle Isle. I heard Hugh shouting at + the top of his voice, "Look, Mother. It's Jim. It's Jim." We + had a great dinner at the "Bold Sawyer" at one o'clock that + day. We had hardly finished at half-past three, when the + mail-coach stopped for us, to take us on our first stage + home. + </p> + <p> + I need only add a few words. Hugh became a "parson fellow," + as Marah had put it; while I, in time, went to Jamaica as a + planter. Marah and the one-legged man took the Gara Mill + together, and did very well at it. Mr Cottier is now a + Captain in the Portuguese Navy. Mrs Cottier keeps house for + me here on the Gara. We are all a good deal older; but we + keep well. Marah and I are planning a new adventure; for old + Van Horn's treasure is still among the coral, and some day we + are going to try for it. + </p> + <p> + THE END + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + +***** This file should be named 7369-h.htm or 7369-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/3/6/7369/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric +Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Jim Davis + +Author: John Masefield + +Posting Date: February 12, 2013 [EBook #7369] +Release Date: January, 2005 +First Posted: April 22, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric +Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + + + +Jim Davis + +_By_ + +John Masefield + +For Judith + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MY FIRST JOURNEY + + +I was born in the year 1800, in the town of Newnham-on-Severn, in +Gloucestershire. I am sure of the year, because my father always told +me that I was born at the end of the century, in the year that they +began to build the great house. The house has been finished now these +many years. The red-brick wall, which shuts its garden from the road +(and the Severn), is all covered with valerian and creeping +plants. One of my earliest memories is of the masons at work, shaping +the two great bows. I remember how my nurse used to stop to watch +them, at the corner of the road, on the green strip by the river-bank, +where the gipsies camped on the way to Gloucester horse-fair. One of +the masons was her sweetheart (Tom Farrell his name was), but he got +into bad ways, I remember, and was hanged or transported, though that +was years afterwards, when I had left that countryside. + +My father and mother died when I was still a boy--my mother on the day +of Trafalgar battle, in 1805, my father four years later. It was very +sad at home after mother died; my father shut himself up in his study, +never seeing anybody. When my father died, my uncle came to Newnham +from his home in Devonshire; my old home was sold then, and I was +taken away. I remember the day so very clearly. It was one sunny +morning in early April. My uncle and I caught the coach at the top of +the hill, at the door of the old inn opposite the church. The coachman +had a hot drink handed up to him, and the ostlers hitched up the new +team. Then the guard (he had a red coat, like a soldier) blew his +horn, and the coach started off down the hill, going so very fast that +I was afraid, for I had never ridden on a coach before, though I had +seen them every day. The last that I saw of Newnham was the great +house at the corner. It was finished by that time, of course, and as +we drove past I saw the beautiful woman who lived there walking up and +down the lawn with her husband, Captain Rylands, a very tall, handsome +man, who used to give me apples. I was always afraid to eat the +apples, because my nurse said that the Captain had killed a man. That +was in the wars in Spain, fighting against the French. + +I remember a great deal about my first coach-ride. We slept that night +at Bristol in one of the famous coaching inns, where, as a great +treat, I had bacon and eggs for supper, instead of bread-and-milk. In +the morning, my uncle took me with him to the docks, where he had some +business to do. That was the first time I ever really saw big ships, +and that was the first time I spoke with the sailors. There was a +capstan on one of the wharves, and men were at work, heaving round it, +hoisting casks out of a West Indiaman. One of the men said, "Come on, +young master; give us a hand on the bar here." So I put my hands on to +the bar and pushed my best, walking beside him till my uncle called me +away. There were many ships there at the time, all a West Indian +convoy, and it was fine to see their great figureheads, and the brass +cannon at the ports, and to hear the men singing out aloft as they +shifted spars and bent and unbent sails. They were all very lofty +ships, built for speed; all were beautifully kept, like men-of-war, +and all of them had their house-flags and red ensigns flying, so that +in the sun they looked splendid. I shall never forget them. + +After that, we went back to the inn, and climbed into another coach, +and drove for a long, long time, often very slowly, till we reached a +place near Newton Abbot, where there was a kind woman who put me to +bed (I was too tired to notice more). Then, the next morning, I +remember a strange man who was very cross at breakfast, so that the +kind woman cried till my uncle sent me out of the room. It is funny +how these things came back to me; it might have been only yesterday. + +Late that afternoon we reached the south coast of Devon, so that we +had the sea close beside us until the sun set. I heard the sea, as I +thought, when we reached my uncle's house, at the end of the twilight; +but they told me that it was a trout-stream, brawling over its +boulders, and that the sea was a full mile away. My aunt helped to put +me to bed, but I was too much excited to sleep well. I lay awake for a +long, long time, listening to the noise of the brook, and to the wind +among the trees outside, and to the cuckoo clock on the landing +calling out the hours and half-hours. When I fell asleep I seemed to +hear the sea and the crying out of the sailors. Voices seemed to be +talking close beside me in the room; I seemed to hear all sorts of +things, strange things, which afterwards really happened. There was a +night-light burning on the wash-handstand. Whenever I woke up in the +night the light would show me the shadow of the water jug upon the +ceiling. It looked like an old, old man, with a humped back, walking +the road, bowed over his cudgel. + +I am not going to say very much about my life during the next few +years. My aunt and uncle had no children of their own, and no great +fondness for the children of others. Sometimes I was very lonely +there; but after my tenth birthday I was at school most of my time, at +Newton Abbot. I used to spend my Easter holidays (never more than a +week) with the kind woman who put me to bed that night of my journey. +My summer and winter holidays I spent with my uncle and aunt in their +little house above the trout-stream. + +The trout-stream rose about three miles from my uncle's house, in a +boggy wood full of springs. It was a very rapid brook, nowhere more +than three or four feet deep, and never more than twenty feet across, +even near its mouth. Below my uncle's house it was full of little +falls, with great mossy boulders which checked its flow, and pools +where the bubbles spun. Further down, its course was gentler, for the +last mile to the sea was a flat valley, with combes on each side +covered with gorse and bramble. The sea had once come right up that +valley to just below my uncle's house; but that was many years +before--long before anybody could remember. Just after I went to live +there, one of the farmers dug a drain, or "rhine," in the valley, to +clear a boggy patch. He dug up the wreck of a large fishing-boat, with +her anchor and a few rusty hoops lying beside her under the ooze about +a foot below the surface. She must have sailed right up from the sea +hundreds of years ago, before the brook's mouth got blocked with +shingle (as I suppose it was) during some summer gale when the stream +was nearly dry. Often, when I was a boy, I used to imagine the ships +coming up from the sea, along that valley, firing their cannon. In the +winter, when the snow melted, the valley would be flooded, till it +looked just like a sea, and then I would imagine sea-fights there, +with pirates in red caps boarding Spanish treasure galleons. + +The seacoast is mostly very bold in that part of Devon. Even where +there are no cliffs, the land rises steeply from the sea, in grassy +hills, with boulders and broken rock, instead of a beach, below +them. There are small sandy beaches wherever the brooks run into the +sea. Everywhere else the shore is "steep-to"--so much so that in many +places it is very difficult to reach the sea. I mention this because, +later on, that steep coast gave me some queer adventures. + + + +CHAPTER II + +NIGHT-RIDERS + + +When I was twelve years old, something very terrible happened, with +good results for myself. The woman near Newton Abbot (I have spoken of +her several times) was a Mrs Cottier, the wife of a schoolmaster. Her +husband used to drink very hard, and in this particular year he was +turned out of the school, and lost his living. His wife left him then +(or rather he left her; for a long time no one knew what became of +him) and came to live with us, bringing with her little Hugh Cottier, +her son, a boy of about my own age. After that, life in my uncle's +house was a different thing to me. Mrs Cottier was very beautiful and +kind; she was like my mother, strangely like, always sweet and gentle, +always helpful and wise. I think she was the dearest woman who ever +lived. I was always proud when she asked me to do something for +her. Once, I remember (in the winter after Mrs Cottier came to us), +she drove to Salcombe to do her Christmas shopping. It came on to snow +during the afternoon; and at night-time the storm grew worse. We put +back supper, expecting her to come in at any minute, but she did not +come. The hours went by, and still she did not come, and still the +storm worsened. The wind was not very high, but the air was full of a +fine, powdery, drifting snow; the night seemed full of snow; snow fell +down the chimney and drifted in under the door. My uncle was too lame +with sciatica to leave his bed; and my aunt, always a woman of poor +spirit, was afraid of the night. At eight o'clock I could stand it no +longer, so I said that I would saddle the pony, and ride out along the +Salcombe road to find her. Hugh was for going in my place; but Hugh +was not so strongly built as I, and I felt that Hugh would faint after +an hour in the cold, I put on double clothes, with an oilskin jacket +over all, and then lit the lantern, and beat out of the house to the +stable. I put one or two extra candles in my pockets, with a flint and +steel, and some bread and meat Something prompted me to take a hank of +cord, and a heavy old boat-rug; and with all these things upon him old +Greylegs, the pony, was heavy-laden. + +When we got into the road together, I could not see a yard in front of +me. There was nothing but darkness and drifting snow and the gleam of +the drifts where the light of the lantern fell. There was no question +of losing the road; for the road was a Devon lane, narrow and deep, +built by the ancient Britons, so everybody says, to give them +protection as they went down to the brooks for water. If it had been +an open road, I could never have found my way for fifty yards. I was +strongly built for a boy; even at sea I never suffered much from the +cold, and this night was not intensely cold--snowy weather seldom +is. What made the ride so exhausting was the beating of the snow into +my eyes and mouth. It fell upon me in a continual dry feathery +pelting, till I was confused and tired out with the effort of trying +to see ahead. For a little while, I had the roar of the trout-stream +in my ears to comfort me; but when I topped the next combe that died +away; and there I was in the night, beating on against the storm, with +the strange moaning sound of the wind from Dartmoor, and the snow +rustling to keep me company. I was not exactly afraid, for the snow in +my face bothered me too much, but often the night would seem full of +people--laughing, horrible people--and often I would think that I saw +Mrs Cottier lying half-buried in a drift. + +I rode three miles or more without seeing anybody. Then, just before I +reached the moor cross-roads, in a lull when the snow was not so bad, +I heard a horse whinny, and old Greylegs baulked. Then I heard voices +and a noise as of people riding; and before I could start old Greylegs +I saw a party of horsemen crossing my road by the road from the sea to +Dartmoor. They were riding at a quick trot, and though there were many +horses (some thirty or forty), I could see, even in that light, that +most of them were led. There were not more than a dozen men; and only +one of all that dozen carried a lantern. Something told me that they +were out for no good, and the same instinct made me cover my lantern +with my coat, so that they passed me without seeing me. At first I +thought that they were the fairy troop, and that gave me an awful +fear; but a moment later, in the wind, I felt a whiff of tobacco, and +of a strong, warm, sweet smell of spirits, and I knew then that they +were the night-riders or smugglers. After they had gone, I forced old +Greylegs forward, and trotted on, against the snow, for another +half-mile, with my heart going thump upon my ribs. I had an awful fear +that they would turn, and catch me; and I knew that the night-riders +wanted no witnesses of their adventures in the dark. + +About four miles from home, I came to an open part of the road, where +the snow came down in its full fury, there being no hedge to give a +little shelter. It was so thick that I could not get Greylegs to go +on. He stood stock-still, and cowered, though I beat him with my hank +of cord, and kicked his ribs. It was cruel of me; but I thought of Mrs +Cottier, with her beautiful kind face, lying in a drift of snow, and +the thought was dreadful to me. I got down from the saddle, and put my +lantern on the ground, and tried to drag him forward, but it was +useless. He would not have stirred if I had lighted a fire under +him. When he had the instinct to stand still, nothing would make him +budge a yard. A very fierce gust came upon me then. The snow seemed to +whirl upon me from all sides, so that I got giddy and sick. And then, +just at the moment, there were horses and voices all about me, coming +from Salcombe way. Somebody called out, "Hullo," and somebody called +out "Look out, behind"; and then a lot of horses pulled up suddenly, +and some men spoke, and a led horse shied at my lantern. I had no time +to think or to run, I felt myself backing into old Greylegs in sheer +fright; and then some one thrust a lantern into my face, and asked me +who I was. By the light of the lantern I saw that he wore a woman's +skirt over his trousers; and his face was covered by one of those +great straw bee-skeps, pierced with holes for his eyes and mouth. He +was one of the most terrible things I have ever seen. + +"Why, it's a boy," said the terrible man. "What are you doing here, +boy?" + +Another man, who seemed to be a leader, called out from his horse, +"Who are you?" but I was too scared to answer; my teeth were rattling +in my head. + +"It's a trick," said another voice. "We had best go for the moor." + +"Shut up," said the leader, sharply. "The boy's scared." + +He got down from his horse, and peered at me by the lantern light. +He, too, wore a bee-skep; in fact, they all did, for there is no +better disguise in the world, while nothing makes a man look more +horrible. I was not quite so terrified by this time, because he had +spoken kindly. + +"Who are you?" he asked. "We shan't eat you. What are you doing here?" + +As well as I could I told him. The leader strode off a few paces, and +spoke with one or two other men; but I could only catch the words, +"Yes; yes, Captain," spoken in a low, quick voice, which seemed +somehow familiar. Then he came back to me, and took me by the throat, +and swayed me to and fro, very gently, but in a way which made me feel +that I was going to be killed. + +"Tell me," he said, "I shall know whether you're lying, so tell the +truth, now. What have you seen to-night?" + +I told him that I had seen a troop of horsemen going through the snow +towards the moor. + +"That settles it, Captain," said another voice. "You can't trust a +young chap like that." + +"Shut up," said the man they called Captain; "I'm master, not you." + +He strode off again, to speak to another man. I heard some one laugh a +little, and then the Captain came back to me. He took me by the throat +as before, and again shook me. "You listen to me," he said, +grimly. "If you breathe so much as one word of what you've seen +to-night--well--I shall know. D'ye hear? I shall know. And when I +know--well--your little neck'll go. There's poetry. That will help you +remember-- + + 'When I know, + Your neck'll go + Like so'" + +He gave a sharp little twist of his hand upon my Adam's apple. + +I was terrified. I don't know what I said; my tongue seemed to wither +on its stalk. The Captain walked to his horse, and remounted. "Come +along, boys," he said. The line of horses started off again. A hand +fell upon my shoulder, and a voice spoke kindly to me. "See here," it +said, "you go on another half-mile, you'll find a barn by the side of +the road. There's no door on the barn, and you'll see a fire +inside. You'll find your lady there. She is safe all right. You keep +your tongue shut now." + +The speaker climbed into his saddle, and trotted off into the +night. "Half a mile. Straight ahead!" he called; then the dull +trampling died away, and I was left alone again with Greylegs. Some +minutes passed before I could mount; for I was stiff with fright. I +was too frightened after that to mind the snow; I was almost too +frightened to ride. Luckily for me the coming of the night-riders had +startled old Greylegs also; he trotted on gallantly, though sometimes +he floundered into a drift, and had to be helped out. + +Before I came to the barn the snow stopped falling, except for a few +aimless flakes, which drifted from all sides in the air. It was very +dark still; the sky was like ink; but there was a feel of freshness (I +cannot describe it) which told me that the wind had changed. Presently +I saw the barn ahead of me, to the right of the road, spreading a red +glow of fire across the way. Old Greylegs seemed glad of the sight; he +gave a whinny and snorted. As well as he could he broke into a canter, +and carried me up to the door in style. + +"Are you safe, Mrs Cottier?" I called out. + +"What! Jim!" she answered. "How good of you to come for me!" + +The barn, unlike most barns in that country, was of only one story. +It may have been a farmhouse in the long ago, for it had larger +windows than most barns. These had been stuffed with sacks and straw, +to keep out the weather. The door had been torn from its place by some +one in need of firewood; the roof was fairly sound; the floor was of +trampled earth. Well away from the doorway, in the centre of the barn, +some one had lighted a fire, using (as fuel) one of the faggots +stacked against the wall. The smoke had long since blown out of +doors. The air in the barn was clear and fresh. The fire had died down +to a ruddy heap of embers, which glowed and grew grey again, as the +draughts fanned them from the doorway. By the light of the fire I +could see Mrs Cottier, sitting on the floor, with her back against the +wheel of her trap, which had been dragged inside to be out of the +snow. I hitched old Greylegs to one of the iron bolts, which had once +held a door-hinge, and ran to her to make sure that she was unhurt. + +"How in the world did you get here?" I asked. "Are you sure you're not +hurt?" + +She laughed a little at this, and I got out my stores, and we made our +supper by the fire. "Where's old Nigger?" I asked her; for I was +puzzled by seeing no horse. + +"Oh, Jim," she said, "I've had such adventures." + +When she had eaten a little she told me her story. + +"I was coming home from Salcombe," she said, "and I was driving fast, +so as to get home before the snow lay deep. Just outside South pool, +Nigger cast a shoe, and I was kept waiting at the forge for nearly +half an hour. After that, the snow was so bad that I could not get +along. It grew dark when I was only a mile or two from the +blacksmith's, and I began to fear that I should never get +home. However, as I drove through Stokenham, the weather seemed to +clear a little, so I hurried Nigger all I could, hoping to get home in +the lull. When I got to within a hundred yards from here, in the +little hollow, where the stunted ashes are, I found myself among a +troop of horsemen, who stopped me, and asked me a lot of +questions. They were all disguised, and they had lanterns among them, +and I could see that the horses carried tubs; I suppose full of +smuggled lace and brandy and tobacco, ready to be carried inland. Jim, +dear, I was horribly frightened; for while they were speaking together +I thought I heard the voice of--of some one I know--or used to know." + +She stopped for a moment overcome, and I knew at once that she was +speaking of her husband, the schoolmaster that was. "And then," she +continued, "some of them told me to get down out of the trap. And then +another of them seized Nigger's head, and walked the trap as far as +the barn here. Then they unharnessed Nigger, and led him away, saying +they were short of horses, but would send him back in a day or two. +They seemed to know all about me, where I lived, and everything. One +of them took a faggot from a wall here, and laid the big fire, with +straw instead of paper. While he lit it he kept his great bee-skep on +his head (they all wore them), but I noticed he had three blue rings +tattooed on his left ring-finger. Now, somewhere I have seen a man, +quite recently, with rings tattooed like that, only I can't remember +where. I wish I could think where. He was very civil and gentle. He +saw that the fire burnt up well, and left me all those sticks and +logs, as well as the flint and steel, in case it should go out before +the snow stopped. Oh, and he took the rugs out of the trap, and laid +them on the ground for me to sit on. Before he left, he said, very +civilly, "I am sure you don't want to get folks into trouble, +madam. Perhaps you won't mention this, in case they ask you." So I +said that I didn't want to get people into trouble; but that it was +hardly a manly act to leave a woman alone, in an open barn, miles from +anywhere, on a night like to-night. He seemed ashamed at this; for he +slunk off, saying something about 'only obeying orders,' and 'not +having much choice in the matter.' Then they all stood about outside, +in the snow, leaving me alone here. They must have stayed outside a +couple of hours. About a quarter of an hour before you came I heard +some one call out, 'There it is, boys!' and immediately they all +trotted off, at a smart pace. They must have seen or heard some +signal. Of course, up here on the top of the combe, one could see a +long way if the snow lulled for a moment." + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE MAN ON THE MOUND + + +It was very awesome sitting there by the firelight in the lonely barn, +hearing the strange moan of the snow-wind. When Mrs Cottier finished +her story we talked of all sorts of things; I think that we were both +a little afraid of being silent in such a place, so, as we ate, we +kept talking just as though we were by the fireside at home. I was +afraid that perhaps the revenue officers would catch us there and +force us to tell all we knew, and I was dreadfully frightened when I +remembered the captain in the bee-skep who had shaken my throat and +given me such a warning to be silent. When we had finished our supper, +I told Mrs Cottier that perhaps we could harness old Greylegs to the +trap, but this she thought would never do, as the drifts on the road +made it such bad going; at last I persuaded her to mount old Greylegs +and to ride astride like a boy, or like so many of the countrywomen in +our parts. When she had mounted I took the old pony by the head and +led him out, carrying the lantern in my hand. + +When we got outside we found, to our great surprise, that the sky had +cleared--it was a night of stars now that the wind had changed. By the +"blink" of the snow our road was quite plain to us, and the sharp +touch of frost in the air (which we felt all the more after our +bonfire in the barn) had already made the snow crisp underfoot. It was +pleasant to be travelling like that so late at night with Mrs Cottier; +I felt like a knight who had just rescued a princess from a dragon; we +talked together as we had never talked before. Whenever we climbed a +bad combe she dismounted, and we walked together hand in hand like +dear friends. Once or twice in the quiet I thought I heard the noise +of the excisemen's horses, and then my heart thumped in my throat; +then, when I knew myself mistaken, I felt only the delight of being of +service to this dear woman who walked by me so merrily. + +When we came to the foot of the combe, to the bridge over the +trout-stream, she stopped for a moment. "Jim," she said, drawing me to +her, "I shall never forget to-night, nor the little friend who rode +out to help me; I want you, after this, always to look on me as your +mother--I knew your mother a little, years ago. Well, dear, try to +think of me as you would of her, and be a brother to my Hugh, Jim: let +us all three be one family." She stooped down and kissed my cheek and +lips. + +"I will, Mrs Cottier," I said; "I'll always be a brother to Hugh." I +was too deeply moved to say much more, for I had so long yearned for +some woman like my mother to whom I could go for sympathy and to whom +I could tell everything without the fear of being snubbed or laughed +at. I just said, "Thank you, Mims." I don't know why I called her +"Mims" then, but I did, and afterwards I never called her anything +else; that was my secret name for her. She kissed me again and stroked +my cheek with her hand, and we went on again together up the last +steep bit of road to the house. Always, after that, I never thought of +Mrs Cottier without feeling her lips upon my cheek and hearing the +stamp of old Greylegs as he pawed on the snow, eager for the stable +just round the corner. + +It was very nice to get round the corner and to see the lights of the +house a little way in front of us; in a minute or two we were +there. Mrs Cottier had been dragged in to the fire to all sorts of +comforting drinks and exclamations, and old Greylegs was snug in his +stable having his coat rubbed down before going to sleep under his +rug. We were all glad to get to bed that night: Hugh and my aunt were +tired with anxiety, and Mrs Cottier and I had had enough adventure to +make us very thankful for rest. + +Before we parted for the night she drew me to one side and told me +that she had not mentioned the night-riders to my uncle and aunt while +I was busy in the stable, and that it might be safer if I, too, kept +quiet about them. I do not know how she explained the absence of +Nigger, but I am sure they were all too thankful to have her safely +home again to bother much about the details of her drive. + +Hugh and I always slept in soldier's cot-beds in a little room looking +out over the lane. During the night we heard voices, and footsteps +moving in the lane beneath us, and our dog (always kennelled at the +back of the house) barked a good deal. Hugh and I crept from our bed +and peered through the window, but it opened the wrong way; we could +only look down the lane, whereas the noise seemed to come from just +above us, near the stable door; unluckily, the frost had covered the +window with ice-flowers, so that we could not see through the +glass. We were, however, quite certain that there were people with +lights close to our stable door; we thought at first that we had +better call Mrs Cottier, and then it flashed through my mind that +these were the night-riders, come to return Nigger, so I told Hugh to +go back to bed and forget about it. I waited at the window for a few +moments, wondering if the men would pass the house; I felt a horrible +longing to see those huge and ghastly things in skirts and bee-skeps +striding across the snow, going home from their night's prowl like +skulking foxes; but whoever they were they took no risks. Some one +softly whistled a scrap of a tune ("Tom, Tom, the piper's son") as +though he were pleased at having finished a good piece of work, and +then I heard footsteps going over the gap in the hedge and the +crackling of twigs in the little wood on the other side of the lane. I +went back to bed and slept like a top until nearly breakfast time. + +I went out to the stable as soon as I was dressed, to find Joe +Barnicoat, our man, busy at his morning's work; he had already swept +away the snow from the doors of the house and stable, so that I could +not see what footmarks had been made there since I went to fetch +Greylegs at eight the night before. Joe was in a great state of +excitement, for during the night the stable had been broken open. I +had left it locked up, as it always was locked, after I had made +Greylegs comfortable. When Joe came there at about half-past seven, he +had found the broken padlock lying in the snow and the door-staple +secured by a wooden peg cut from an ash in the hedge. As I expected, +Nigger was in his stall, but the poor horse was dead lame from a cut +in the fetlock: Joe said he must have been kicked there. I was +surprised to find that the trap also had come home--there it was in +its place with the snow still unmelted on its wheels. I helped Joe to +dress poor Nigger's leg, saying that it was a pity we had not noticed +it before. Joe was grumbling about "some people not having enough +sense to know when a horse was lame," so I let him grumble. + +When we had dressed the wound, I turned to the trap to lift out Mrs +Cottier's parcels, which I carried indoors. Breakfast was ready on the +table, and Mrs Cottier and Hugh were toasting some bread at the +fire. My aunt was, of course, breakfasting upstairs with my uncle; he +was hardly able to stir with sciatica, poor man; he needed somebody to +feed him. + +"Good morning, Mims dear," I cried. "What do you think? The trap's +come back and here are all your parcels." I noticed then (I had not +noticed it before) that one of the parcels was very curiously +wrapped. It was wrapped in an old sack, probably one of those which +filled the windows of the barn, for bits of straw still stuck in the +threads. + +"Whatever have you got there, Jim?" said Mrs Cottier. + +"One of your parcels," I answered; "I've just taken it out of the +trap." + +"Let me see it," she said. "There must be some mistake. That's not one +of mine." She took the parcel from me and turned it over before +opening it. + +On turning the package over, we saw that some one had twisted a piece +of dirty grey paper (evidently wrapping-paper from the grocer's shop) +about the rope yarn which kept the roll secure. Mrs Cottier noticed it +first. "Oh," she cried, "there's a letter, too. I wonder if it's meant +for me?" + +We untied the rope yarn and the paper fell upon the table; we opened +it out, wondering what message could be written on it. It was a part +of a grocer's sugar bag, written upon in the coarse black crayon used +by the tallymen on the quays at Kingsbridge. The writing was +disguised, so as to give no clue to the writer; the letters were +badly-formed printer's capitals; the words were ill-spelled, and the +whole had probably been written in a hurry, perhaps by the light of +our fire in the barn. + +"Hors is laimd," said the curious letter. "Regret inconvenuns axept +Respect from obt servt Captin Sharp." + +"Very sweet and to the point," said Mrs Cottier. "Is Nigger lame, +then?" + +"Yes," I answered. "Joe says he has been kicked. You won't be able to +drive him for some time." + +"Poor old Nigger," said Mrs Cottier, as she unwrapped the +parcel. "Now, I wonder what 'Respect' Captain Sharp has sent me?" + +She unrolled the sacking, and out fell two of those straw cases which +are used to protect wine-bottles. They seemed unusually bulky, so we +tore them open. In one of them there was a roll, covered with a bit of +tarpaulin. It contained a dozen yards of very beautiful Malines +lace. The other case was full of silk neckerchiefs packed very +tightly, eleven altogether; most of them of uncoloured silk, but one +of green and another of blue--worth a lot of money in those days, and +perhaps worth more to-day, now that such fine silk is no longer woven. + +"So this is what we get for the loan of Nigger, Jim," said Mrs +Cottier. "We ought, by rights, to give these things to the revenue +officer." + +"Yes," I said, "but if we do that, we shall have to say how they came, +and why they came, and then perhaps the exciseman will get a clue, and +we shall have brought the night-riders into trouble." + +It was cowardly of me to speak like this; but you must remember that I +had been in "Captain Sharp's" hands the night before, and I was still +terrified by his threat-- + + "When I know, + Your neck'll go + Like so." + +"Well," said Mrs Cottier, looking at me rather sharply, "we will keep +the things, and say nothing about them: but we must find out what duty +should be paid on them, and send it to the exciseman at +Dartmouth. That will spare our consciences." + +After breakfast, Mrs Cottier went to give orders to the servant, while +Hugh and I slipped down the lane to see how the snow had drifted in +our little orchard by the brook. We had read somewhere that the Red +Indians often make themselves snow-houses, or snow-burrows, when the +winter is severe. We were anxious to try our hands at making a +snow-house. We wanted to know whether a house with snow walls could +really be warm, and we pictured to ourselves how strange it would be +to be shut in by walls of snow, with only one little hole for air, +seeing nothing but the white all round us, having no window to look +through. We thought that it would be wonderful to have a snow-house, +especially if snow fell after the roof had been covered in, for then +no one could know if the dweller were at home. One would lie very +still, wrapped up in buffalo robes, while all the time the other +Indians would be prowling about in their war-paint, looking for +you. Or perhaps the Spaniards would be after you with their +bloodhounds, and you would get down under the snow in the forest +somewhere, and the snow would fall and fall, covering your tracks, +till nothing could be seen but a little tiny hole, melted by your +breath, through which you got fresh air. Then you would hear the +horses and the armour and the baying of the hounds; but they would +never find you, though their horses' hoofs might almost sink through +the snow to your body. + +We went down to the orchard, Hugh and I, determined to build a +snow-house if the drifts were deep enough. We were not going to plunge +into a drift, and make a sort of chamber by wrestling our bodies +about, as the Indians do. We had planned to dig a square chamber in +the biggest drift we could find, and then to roof it over with an old +tarpaulin stretched upon sticks. We were going to cover the tarpaulin +with snow, in the Indian fashion, and we had planned to make a little +narrow passage, like a fox's earth, as the only doorway to the +chamber. + +It was a bright, frosty morning: the sun shone, the world sparkled, +the sky was of a dazzling blue, the snow gleamed everywhere. Hoolie, +the dog, was wild with excitement. He ran from drift to drift, +snapping up mouthfuls of snow, and burrowing down sideways till he was +half buried. + +There was a flower garden at one end of the orchard, and in the middle +of the garden there was a summer-house. The house was a large, airy +single room (overlooking the stream), with a space beneath it, +half-cave, half-cellar, open to the light, where Joe Barnicoat kept +his gardening tools, with other odds-and-ends, such as bast, +peasticks, sieves, shears, and traps for birds and vermin. Hugh and I +went directly to this lower chamber to get a shovel for our work. + +We stood at the entrance for a moment to watch Hoolie playing in the +snow; and as we watched, something caught my eye and made me look up +sharply. + +Up above us, on the side of the combe beyond the lane, among a waste +of gorse, in full view of the house (and of the orchard where we +were), there was a mound or barrow, the burial-place of an ancient +British king. It was a beautifully-rounded hill, some twenty-five feet +high. A year or two before I went there it had been opened by the +vicar, who found inside it a narrow stone passage, leading to an inner +chamber, walled with unmortared stone. In the central chamber there +were broken pots, a few bronze spear-heads, very green and brittle, +and a mass of burnt bones. The doctor said that they were the bones of +horses. On the top of all this litter, with his head between his +knees, there sat a huge skeleton. The vicar said that when alive the +man must have been fully six feet six inches tall, and large in +proportion, for the bones were thick and heavy. He had evidently been +a king: he wore a soft gold circlet round his head, and three golden +bangles on his arms. He had been killed in battle. In the side of his +skull just above the circle of gold, there was a great wound, with a +flint axe-blade firmly wedged in the bone. The vicar had often told me +about this skeleton. I remember to this day the shock of horror which +came upon me when I heard of this great dead king, sitting in the dark +among his broken goods, staring out over the valley. The country +people always said that the hill was a fairy hill. They believed that +the pixies went to dance there whenever the moon was full. I never saw +the pixies myself, but somehow I always felt that the hill was +uncanny. I never passed it at night if I could avoid it. + +Now, when I looked up, as I stood with Hugh watching the dog, I saw +something flash upon the top of the barrow. In that bright sun, with +all the snow about, many things were sparkling; but this thing gleamed +like lightning, suddenly, and then flashed again. Looking at it +sharply, I saw that there was a man upon the barrow top, apparently +lying down upon the snow. He had something in his hand turned to the +sun, a piece of glass perhaps, or a tin plate, some very bright thing, +which flashed. He flashed it three times quickly, then paused, then +flashed it again. He seemed to be looking intently across the valley +to the top of the combe beyond, to the very place where the road from +Salcombe swings round to the dip. Looking in that direction, I saw the +figure of a man standing on the top of the wall against a stunted +holly-tree at the curve of the road. I had to look intently to see him +at all, for he was in dark clothes, which shaded off unnoticed against +the leaves of the holly. I saw him jump down now and again, and +disappear round the curve of the road as though to look for +something. Then he would run back and flash some bright thing once, as +though in answer to the man on the barrow. It seemed to me very +curious. I nudged Hugh's arm, and slipped into the shelter of the +cave. For a few moments we watched the signaller. Then, suddenly, the +watcher at the road-bend came running back from his little tour up the +road, waving his arms, and flashing his bright plate as he ran. We saw +him spring to his old place on the wall, and jump from his perch into +the ditch. He had some shelter there, for we could see his head +peeping out above the snow like an apple among straw. We were so busy +watching the head among the snow that we did not notice the man upon +the barrow. Something made us glance towards him, and, to our surprise +and terror, we saw him running across the orchard more than half-way +towards us. In spite of the snow he ran swiftly. We were frightened, +for he was evidently coming towards us. He saw that we saw him, and +lifted one arm and swung it downwards violently, as though to bid us +lie down. + +I glanced at Hugh and he at me, and that was enough. We turned at +once, horribly scared, and ran as fast as we could along the narrow +garden path, then over the wall, stumbling in our fright, into the +wood. We did not know why we ran nor where we were going. We only felt +that this strange man was after us, coming in great bounds to catch +us. We were too frightened to run well; even had there been no snow +upon the ground we could not have run our best. We were like rabbits +pursued by a stoat, we seemed to have lost all power in our legs. + +We had a good start. Perhaps without that fear upon us we might have +reached the house, but as it was we felt as one feels in a nightmare, +unable to run though in an agony of terror. Getting over the wall was +the worst, for there Hugh stumbled badly, and I had to turn and help +him, watching the man bounding ever nearer, signing to us to stay for +him. A minute later, as we slipped and stumbled through the scrub of +the wood, we heard him close behind us, crying to us in a smothered +voice to stop. We ran on, terrified; and then Hugh's foot caught in a +briar, so that he fell headlong with a little cry. + +I turned at once to help him up, feeling like the doe rabbit, which +turns (they say) against a weasel, to defend its young ones. It sounds +brave of me, but it was not: I was scared almost out of my wits. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE HUT IN THE GORSE-BUSHES + + +The man was on us in three strides, with his hand on our collars, +frightening us out of any power to struggle. "You young fools," he +said, not unkindly. "Why couldn't you stop when I waved to you?" + +We did not answer, nor did he seem to expect us to answer. He just +swung us round with our faces from the house, and hurried us, at a +smart run, down the road. "Don't you stir a muscle," he added as he +ran. "I'm not going to eat you, unless you drive me to it." + +At the lower end of the wood, nearly half a mile from our home, the +scrub was very thick. It seemed to be a tangle of briars, too thick +for hounds--too thick, almost, for rabbits. Hugh and I had never been +in that part of the wood before, but our guide evidently knew it well, +for he never hesitated. He swung us on, panting as we were, along the +clearer parts, till we came to a part where our way seemed stopped by +gorse-bushes. They rose up, thick and dark, right in front of us. Our +guide stopped and told us to look down. Among the gnarled gorse-stems +there seemed to be a passage or "run" made by some beast, fox or +badger, going to and from his lair. + +"Down you go," said our guide. "There's lots of room when you +try. Imagine you're a rabbit." + +We saw that it was useless to say No; and, besides, by this time we +had lost most of our terror. I dropped on to my knees at once, and +began to squirm through the passage. Hugh followed me, and the strange +man followed after Hugh. It was not really difficult, except just at +the beginning, where the stems were close together. When I had +wriggled for a couple of yards, the bushes seemed to open out to +either side. It was prickly work, but I am sure that we both felt the +romance of it, forgetting our fear before we reached the heart of the +clump. + +In the heart of the clump the gorse-bushes had been cut away, and +piled up in a sort of wall about a small central square some five or +six yards across. In the middle of the square some one had dug a +shallow hollow, filling rather more than half of the open space. The +hollow was about eighteen inches deep, and roughly paved with shingle +from the beach, well stamped down into the clay. It had then been +neatly wattled over into a sort of trim hut, like the huts the +salmon-fishers used to build near Kings-bridge. The wattling was made +fairly waterproof by masses of gorse and bracken driven in among the +boughs. It was one of the most perfect hiding-places you could +imagine. It could not be seen from any point, save from high up in one +of the trees surrounding the thicket. A regiment might have beaten the +wood pretty thoroughly, and yet have failed to find it. The gorse was +so thick in all the outer part of the clump that dogs would leave its +depths un-searched. Yet, lying there in the shelter one could hear the +splashing babble of the brook only fifty yards away, and the singing +of a girl at the mill a little further up the stream. + +The man told us to get inside the shelter, which we did. Inside it was +rather dark, but the man lit a lantern which hung from the roof, and +kindled a fire in a little fireplace. This fireplace was covered with +turf, so that the smoke should not rise up in a column. We saw that +the floor of the hut was heaped with bracken, and there were tarpaulin +boat-rugs piled in one corner, as though for bedding. + +The man picked up a couple of rugs and told us to wrap ourselves in +them. "You'll be cold if you don't wrap up," he said. + +As he tucked the rugs about us I noticed that the ring-finger of his +left hand was tattooed with three blue rings. I remembered what Mrs +Cottier had said about the man who had lighted her fire in the barn, +so I stared at him hard, trying to fix his features on my memory. He +was a well-made, active-looking man, with great arms and shoulders. +He was evidently a sailor: one could tell that by the way of his walk, +by the way in which his arms swung, by the way in which his head was +set upon his body. What made him remarkable was the peculiar dancing +brightness of his eyes; they gave his face, at odd moments, the look +of a fiend; then that look would go, and he would look like a +mischievous, merry boy; but more generally he would look fierce and +resolute. Then his straight mouth would set, his eyes puckered in as +though he were looking out to windward, the scar upon his cheek +twitched and turned red, and he looked most wrathful and terrible. + +"Well, mister," the man said to me, "would you know me again, in case +you saw me?" + +"Yes," I said, "I should know you anywhere." + +"Would you," he said, grinning. "Well, I was always the beauty of the +bunch." He bit off a piece of plug tobacco and began to chew +it. By-and-by he turned to Hugh to ask if he chewed tobacco. Hugh +answered "No," laughing. + +"Ah," said the man, "don't you learn. That's my advice. It's not easy +to stop, once you begin." + +He lay back in his corner, and seemed to pass into a sort of +day-dream. Presently he looked up at us again, and asked us if we knew +why we were there. We said that we did not. + +"Well," he said, "it's like this. Last night you" (here he gave me a +nudge with his foot) "you young gentleman that looks so smart, you +went for a ride late at night, in the snow and all. See what came of +it. There was Others out for a ride last night, quite a lot of +'em. Others that the law would be glad to know of, with men so scarce +for the King's navy. Well, to-day the beaks are out trying to find +them other ones. There's a power of redcoats come here, besides the +preventives, and there they go, clackity clank, all swords and horses, +asking at every house." + +"What do they ask," said Hugh. + +"They ask a lot of things," said the man. "'Where was you last night?' +That's one question. 'What time did you come in last night?' That's +another. 'Let's have a look at your horse; he looks as though he'd bin +out in the snow last night.' Lots of things they ask, and if they got +a hold of you, young master, why, you might have noticed things last +night, and perhaps they might pump what you noticed out of you. So +some one thinks you had best be out of the road when they come." + +"Who is some one?" I asked. + +"Just some one," he answered. "Some one who gets more money than I +get." His mouth drew into a hard and cruel line; he lapsed into his +day-dream, still chewing his plug of tobacco. "Some one," he added, +"who don't like questions, and don't like to be talked about too +much." + +He was silent for a minute or two, while Hugh and I looked at each +other. + +"Oh, I'm not going to keep you long," said the man. "Them redcoats'll +have done asking questions about here before your dinner time. Then +they'll ride on, and a good riddance. Your lady will know how to +answer them all right. But till they're gone, why, here you'll +stay. So let's be comp'ny. What's your name, young master?" He gave +Hugh a dig in the ribs with his boot. + +"Hugh," he answered. + +"Hugh," said the man: "Hugh! You won't never come to much, you +won't. What's _your_ name?" He nudged me in the same way. + +"Jim," I said. + +"Ah! Jim, Jim," he repeated. "I've known a many Jims. Some were good +in their way, too." He seemed to shrink into himself suddenly--I can't +explain it--but he seemed to shrink, like a cat crouched to spring, +and his eyes burned and danced; they seemed to look right into me, +horribly gleaming, till the whole man became, as it were, just two +bright spots of eyes--one saw nothing else. + +"Ah," he said, after a long, cruel glare at me, "this is the first +time Jim and I ever met. The first time. We shall be great friends, we +shall. We shall be better acquainted, you and I. I wouldn't wonder if +I didn't make a man of you, one time or another. Give me your hand, +Jim." + +I gave him my hand; he looked at it under the lantern; he traced one +or two of the lines with his blackened finger-nails, muttering some +words in a strange language, which somehow made my flesh creep. He +repeated the words: "Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." Then he glanced at the +other hand, still muttering, and made a sort of mark with his fingers +on my forehead. Hugh told me afterwards that he seemed to trace a kind +of zigzag on my left temple. All the time he was muttering he seemed +to be half-conscious, almost in a trance, or as if he were mad: he +frightened us dreadfully. After he had made the mark upon my brow he +came to himself again. + +"They will see it," he muttered. "It'll be bright enough. The +mark. It'll shine. They'll know when they see it. It is very good. A +very good sign: it burns in the dark. They'll know it over there in +the night." Then he went on mumbling to himself, but so brokenly that +we could catch only a few words here and there--"black and red, +knowledge and beauty; red and black, pleasure and strength. What do +the cards say?" + +He opened his thick sea-coat, and took out a little packet of cards +from an oilskin case. He dealt them out, first of all, in a circle +containing two smaller circles; then in a curious sort of five-pointed +star; lastly, in a square with a circle cutting off the +corners. "Queer, queer," he said, grinning, as he swept the cards up +and returned them to his pocket. "You and I will know a power of queer +times together, Jim." + +He brightened up after that, as though something had pleased him very +much. He looked very nice when he looked pleased, in spite of his eyes +and in spite of the gipsy darkness of his skin. "Here," he said, +"let's be company. D'ye know any knots, you two?" + +No; neither of us knew any knots except the ordinary overhand and +granny knots. + +"Well, I'll show you," he said. "It'll come in useful some day. Always +learn what you can, that's what I say, because it'll come in useful. +That's what the Irishman said. Always learn what you can. You never +know; that's the beauty of it." + +He searched in his pockets till he found a small hank of spun-yarn, +from which he cut a piece about a yard long. "See here," he said. +"Now, I'll teach you. It's quite easy, if you only pay attention. Now, +how would you tie a knot if you was doing up a parcel?" + +We both tried, and both made granny knots, with the ends sticking out +at right angles to the rest of the yarn. + +"Wrong," he said. "Those are grannies. They would jam so that you'd +never untie 'em, besides being ugly. There's wrong ways even in doing +up a string. See here." He rapidly twisted the ends together into a +reef-knot. "There's strength and beauty together," he said. "Look how +neat it is, the ends tidy along the standing part, all so neat as +pie. Besides, it'd never jam. Watch how I do it, and then try it for +yourself." + +Very soon we had both mastered the reef-knot, and had tried our hand +at others--the bowline, the figure of eight, the Carrick-bend, and the +old swab-hitch. He was very patient with us. He told us exactly how +each knot would be used at sea, and when, and why, and what the +officers would say, and how things would look on deck while they were +in the doing. The time passed pleasantly and quickly; we felt like +jolly robbers in a cave. It was like being the hero of a story-book to +sit there with that rough man waiting till the troops had gone. It was +not very cold with the fire and the boat-rugs. We were heartily sorry +when the man rose to his feet, with the remark that he must see if the +coast were clear. Before he left the hut he glared down at us. "Look +here," he said, "don't you try to go till I give the word. But there, +we're friends; no need to speak rough to friends. I'll be back in a +minute." + +The strange man passed out of the hut and along the rabbit-run to the +edge of the gorse. We heard his feet crunch upon the snow beyond, +rustling the leaves underneath it; and then it was very, very quiet +again, though once, in the stillness, we heard a cock pheasant +calling. Another pheasant answered him from somewhere above at the +upper part of the wood, and it occurred to both of us that the +pheasants were the night-riders, making their private signals. + +"We've had a famous adventure to tell Mother," said Hugh. + +"Yes," I said; "but we had better be careful not to tell anybody +else. I wonder what they do here in this hut; I suppose they hide +their things here till it's safe to take them away." + +"Where do they take them?" asked Hugh. + +"Away into Dartmoor," I said. "And there there are wonderful places, +so old Evans the postboy told me." + +"What sort of places?" asked Hugh. + +"Oh, caves covered over with gorse and fern, and old copper and tin +mines, which were worked by the ancient Britons. They go under the +ground for miles, so old Evans told me, with passages, and steps up +and down, and great big rooms cut in the rock. And then there are bogs +where you can sink things till it's quite safe to take them up. The +bog-water keeps them quite sound; it doesn't rot them like ordinary +water. Sometimes men fall into the bogs, and the marsh-mud closes over +them. That's the sort of place Dartmoor is." + +Hugh was very much interested in all this, but he was a quiet boy, not +fond of talking. "Yes," he said; "but where do the things go +afterwards--who takes them?" + +"Nobody knows, so old Evans said," I answered; "but they go, they get +taken. People come at night and carry them to the towns, little by +little, and from the market towns, they get to the cities, no one +knows how. I dare say this hut has been full of things--valuable lace +and silk, and all sorts of wines and spirits--waiting for some one to +carry them into the moor." + +"Hush!" said Hugh; "there's some one calling--it's Mother." + +Outside the gorse-clump, at some little distance from us, we heard Mrs +Cottier and my aunt calling "Hugh!" and "Jim!" repeatedly. We lay very +still wondering what they would think, and hoping that they would make +no search for us. They could have tracked us in the snow quite easily, +but we knew very well they would never think of it, for they were both +shortsighted and ignorant of what the Red Indians do when they go +tracking. To our surprise their voices came nearer and nearer, till +they were at the edge of the clump, but on the side opposite to that +in which the rabbit-run opened. I whispered to Hugh to be quiet as +they stopped to call us. They lingered for several minutes, calling +every now and then, and talking to each other in between whiles. We +could hear every word of their conversation. + +"It's very curious," said my aunt. "Where-ever can they have got to? +How provoking boys are!" + +"It doesn't really matter," said Mims; "the officer has gone, and the +boy would only have been scared by all his questions. He might have +frightened the boy out of his wits. I wonder where the young monkeys +have got to. They were going to build snow-huts, like the Indians. +Perhaps they're hiding in one now." + +We were, had she only known it; Hugh and I grinned at each +other. Suddenly my aunt spoke again with a curious inflection in her +voice. + +"How funny," she exclaimed. + +"What is it?" asked Mrs Cottier. + +"I'm almost sure I smell something burning," said my aunt "I'm sure I +do. Don't you?" + +There was a pause of a few seconds while the two ladies sniffed the +air. + +"Yes," said Mrs Cottier, "there is something burning. It seems to come +from that gorse there." + +"Funny," said my aunt. "I suppose some one has lighted a fire up in +the wood and the smoke is blowing down on us. Well, we'll go in to +dinner; it's no good staying here catching our death looking for two +mad things. I suppose you didn't hear how Mrs Burns is, yesterday?" + +The two ladies passed away from the clump towards the orchard, talking +of the affairs of the neighbourhood. A few minutes after they had +gone, a cock pheasant called softly a few yards from us, then the +gorse-stems shook, and our friend appeared at the hut door. + +"They're gone, all right," he said; "swords, and redcoats and +pipe-clay--they're gone. And a good riddance too! I should have been +back before, only your ladies were talking, looking for you, so I had +to wait till they were gone. I expect you'll want your dinner, sitting +here so long? Well, cut and get it." + +He slung the boat-rugs into a corner, blew out the lantern, and +dropped a handful of snow on to the fire. "Cut," he continued. "You +can go. Get out of this. Run and get your dinners." We went with him +out of the hut into the square. "See here," he continued, "don't you +go coming here. You don't know of this place--see? Don't you show your +little tracks in this part of the wood; this is a private house, this +is--trespassers will be prosecuted. Now run along and thank 'ee for +your company." + +As Hugh began to squirm along the passage, I turned and shook hands +with the man. I thought it would be the polite thing to do to say +good-bye properly. "Will you tell me your name?" I asked. + +"Haven't got a name," he answered gruffly. "None of your business if I +had." He saw that I was hurt by his rudeness, for his face changed: +"I'll tell you," he added quickly; "but don't you say it about +here. Gorsuch is my name--Marah Gorsuch." + +"Marah," I said. "What a funny name!" + +"Is it?" he said grimly: "It means bitter--bitter water, and I'm +bitter on the tongue, as you may find. Now cut." + +"One thing more, Mr Gorsuch," I said, "be careful of your fires. They +can smell them outside when the wind blows down from the wood." + +"Fires!" he exclaimed; "I don't light fires here except I've little +bleating schoolboys to tea. Cut and get your porridge. Here," he +called, as I went down on my hands and knees, "here's a keepsake for +you." + +He tossed me a little ornament of twisted silver wire woven into the +form of a double diamond knot, probably by the man himself. + +"Thank you, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + +"Oh, don't thank me," he answered rudely: "I'm tired of being +thanked. Now cut." + +I wriggled through the clump after Hugh, then we ran home together +through the wood, just as the dinner-bell was ringing for the second +time. + +Mrs Cottier asked us if we had not heard her calling. + +"Yes, Mims," I said, "we did hear; but we were hidden in a secret +house; we wondered if you would find us--we were close to you some of +the time." + +My aunt said Something about "giving a lot of trouble" and "being very +thoughtless for others"; but we had heard similar lectures many times +before and did not mind them much. After dinner I took Mims aside and +told her everything; she laughed a little, though I could see that she +was uneasy about Hugh. + +"I wouldn't mention it to any one," she said. "It would be safer +not. But, oh, Jim, here we are, all three of us, in league with the +lawbreakers. The soldiers were here this morning asking all sorts of +questions, and they'd two men prisoners with them, taken at Tor Cross +on suspicion; they're to be sent to Exeter till the Assizes. I'm +afraid it will go hard with them; I dare say they'll be sent abroad, +poor fellows. Every house is being searched for last night's work: it +seems they surprised the coastguards at the Cross and tied them up in +their barracks, before they landed their goods, and now the whole +country is being searched by troops. And here are we three innocents," +she went on, smiling, drawing us both to her, "all conspiring against +the King's peace--I expect we shall all be transported. Well, I shall +be transported, but you'd have to serve in the Navy. So now we won't +talk about it any more; I've had enough smuggling for one day. Let's +go out and build a real snow-house, and then Jim will be a Red Indian +and we will have a fight with bows and arrows." + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE "SNAIL" + + +It was during the wintry days that Mrs Cottier decided to remove us +from the school at Newton Abbot. She had arranged with the Rector at +Strete for us to have lessons at the Rectory every morning with young +Ned Evans, the Rector's son; so when the winter holidays ended we were +spared the long, cold drive and that awful "going back" to the school +we hated so. + +Winter drew to an end and the snow melted. March came in like a lion, +bringing so much rain that the brook was flooded. We saw no more of +the night-riders after that day in the snow, but we noticed little +things now and then among the country people which made us sure that +they were not far off. Once, when we were driving home in the evening +after a day at Dartmouth, owls called along the road from just behind +the hedge, whenever the road curved. Hugh and I remembered the +pheasants that day in the wood, and we nudged each other in the +darkness, wondering whether Mr Gorsuch was one of the owls. After that +night we used to practise the call of the owls and the pheasants, but +we were only clever at the owl's cry: the pheasant's call really needs +a man's voice, it is too deep a note for any boy to imitate well; but +we could cry like the owls after some little practice, and we were +very vain when we made an owl in the wood reply to us. Once, at the +end of February, we gave the owl's cry outside the "Adventure Inn," +where the road dips from Strete to the sands, and a man ran out to the +door and looked up and down, and whistled a strange little tune, or +scrap of a tune, evidently expecting an answer; but that frightened +us; we made him no answer, and presently he went in muttering. He was +puzzled, no doubt, for he came out again a minute later and again +whistled his tune, though very quietly. We learned the scrap of tune +and practised it together whenever we were sure that no one was near +us. + +As for the two men taken by the troops, they were let off. The +innkeeper at South Poole swore that both men had been in his inn all +the night of the storm playing the "ring-quoits" game with the other +guests and as his oath was supported by half-a-dozen witnesses, the +case for the King fell through; the night-riders never scrupled to +commit perjury. Later on I learned a good deal about how the +night-riders managed things. + +During that rainy March, while the brook was in flood all over the +valley, Hugh and I had a splendid time sailing toy boats, made out of +boxes and pieces of plank. We had one big ship made out of a long +wooden box which had once held flowers along a window-sill. We had +painted ports upon her sides, and we had rigged her with a single +square sail. With a strong southwesterly wind blowing up the valley, +she would sail for nearly a mile whenever the floods were out, and +though she often ran aground, we could always get her off, as the +water was so shallow. + +Now, one day (I suppose it was about the middle of the month) we went +to sail this ship (we used to call her the _Snail_) from our side +of the flood, right across the river-course, to the old slate quarry +on the opposite side. The distance was, perhaps, three hundred +yards. We chose this site because in this place there was a sort of +ridge causeway leading to a bridge, so that we could follow our ship +across the flood without getting our feet wet. In the old days the +quarry carts had crossed the brook by this cause-way, but the quarry +was long worked out, and the road and bridge were now in a bad state, +but still good enough for us, and well above water. + +We launched the _Snail_ from a green, shelving bank, and shoved +her off with the long sticks we carried. The wind caught her sail and +drove her forward in fine style; she made a great ripple as she +went. Once she caught in a drowned bush; but the current swung her +clear, and she cut across the course of the brook like a Falmouth +Packet. Hugh and I ran along the causeway, and over the bridge, to +catch her on the other side. We had our eyes on her as we ran, for we +feared that she might catch, or capsize; and we were so intent upon +our ship that we noticed nothing else. Now when we came to the end of +the causeway, and turned to the right, along the shale and rubble +tipped there from the quarry, we saw a man coming down the slope to +the water, evidently bent on catching the _Snail_ when she +arrived. We could not see his face very clearly, for he wore a grey +slouch-hat, and the brambles were so high just there that sometimes +they hid him from us. He seemed, somehow, a familiar figure; and the +thought flashed through me that it might be Mr Gorsuch. + +"Come on, Hugh," I cried, "or she'll capsize on the shale. The water's +very shallow, so close up to this side." + +We began to run as well as we could, over the broken stones. + +"It's no good," said Hugh. "She'll be there before we are." + +We broke through a brake of brambles to a green space sloping to the +flood. There was the _Snail_, drawn up, high and dry, on to the +grass, and there was the man, sitting by her on a stone, solemnly +cutting up enough tobacco for a pipe. + +"Good morning, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + +"Why, it's young sweethearter," he answered. "Why haven't you got your +nurses with you?" He filled his pipe and lighted it, watching us with +a sort of quizzical interest, but making no attempt to shake hands. He +made me feel that he was glad to see us; but that nothing would make +him show it. "What d'ye call this thing?" he asked, pointing with his +toe to the _Snail_. + +"That's our ship," said Hugh. + +"Is it?" he asked contemptuously. "I thought it was your mother's +pudding-box, with some of baby's bedclothes on it. That's what I +thought it was." + +He seemed to take a pleasure in seeing Hugh's face fall. Hugh always +took a rough word to heart, and he could never bear to hear his mother +mentioned by a stranger. + +"It's a good enough ship for us," he answered hotly. + +"How d'ye know it is?" said the man. "You know nothing at all about +it. What do _you_ know of ships, or what's good for you? Hey? +You don't know nothing of the kind." + +This rather silenced Hugh; we were both a little abashed, and so we +stood sheepishly for a moment looking on the ground. + +At last I took Hugh by the arm. "Let's take her somewhere else," I +said softly. I bent down and picked up the ship and turned to go. + +The man watched us with a sort of amused contempt. "Where are you +going now?" he asked. + +"Down the stream," I called back. + +"Drop it," he said. "Come back here." + +I called softly to Hugh to run. "Shan't!" I cried as we started off +together, at our best speed. + +"Won't you?" he called. "Then I'll make you." He was after us in a +brace of shakes, and had us both by the collar in less than a dozen +yards. "What little tempers we have got," he said grinning. "Regular +little spitfires, both of you. Now back you come till we have had a +talk." + +I noticed then that he was much better dressed than formerly. His +clothes were of the very finest sea-cloth, and well cut. The buttons +on his scarlet waistcoat were new George guineas; and the buttons on +his coat were of silver, very beautifully chased. His shoes had big +silver buckles on them, and there was a silver buckle to the flap of +his grey slouch hat. The tattoo marks on his left hand were covered +over by broad silver rings, of the sort the Spanish onion-boys used to +sell in Dartmouth, after the end of the war. He looked extremely +handsome in his fine clothes. I wondered how I could ever have been +afraid of him. + +"Yes," he said with a grin, when he saw me eyeing him, "my ship came +home all right. I was able to refit for a full due. So now we'll see +what gifts the Queen sent." + +We wondered what he meant by this sentence; but we were not kept long +in doubt. He led us through the briars to the ruins of the shed where +the quarry overseer had formerly had his office. + +"Come in here," he said, shoving us in front of him, "and see what the +Queen'll give you. Shut your eyes. That's the style. Now open." + +When we opened our eyes we could hardly keep from shouting with +pleasure. There, on the ground, kept upright by a couple of bricks was +a three-foot model of a revenue cutter, under all her sail except the +big square foresail, which was neatly folded upon her yard. She was +perfect aloft, even to her pennant; and on deck she was perfect too, +with beautiful little model guns, all brass, on their carriages, +pointing through the port-holes. + +"Oh!" we exclaimed. "Oh! Is she really for us, for our very own?" + +"Why, yes," he said. "At least she's for you, Mr +What's-your-name. Jim, I think you call yourself. Yes, Jim. Well, +she's for you, Jim. I got something else the Queen sent for Mr +Preacher-feller." He bent in one corner of the ruin, and pulled out +what seemed to be a stout but broken box. "This is for you, Mr +Preacher-feller," he said to Hugh. + +We saw that it was a model of a port of a ship's deck and side. The +side was cut for a gun-port, which opened and shut by means of +laniards; and, pointing through the opened port was a model brass +nine-pounder on its carriage, with all its roping correctly rigged, +and its sponges and rammers hooked up above it ready for use. It was a +beautiful piece of work (indeed, both models were), for the gun was +quite eighteen inches long. "There you are," said Marah Gorsuch. "That +lot's for you, Mr Preacher-feller. Them things is what the Queen +sent." + +We were so much delighted by these beautiful presents that it was some +minutes before we could find words with which to thank him. We could +not believe that such things were really for us. He was much pleased +to find that his gifts gave so much pleasure; he kept up a continual +grin while we examined the toys inch by inch. + +"Like 'em, hey?" he said. + +"Yes; I should just think we do," we answered. We shook him by the +hand, almost unable to speak from pleasure. + +"And now let's come down and sail her," I said. + +"Hold on there," said Marah Gorsuch. "Don't be too quick. You ain't +going to sail that cutter till you know how. You've got a lot to learn +first, so that must wait. It's to be Master Preacher-feller's turn +this morning. Yours'll come by-and-by. What you got to do, first go +off, is to sink that old hulk you were playing with. We'll sink her at +anchor with Preacher-feller's cannon." + +He told Hugh to pick up his toy, and to come along down to the water's +edge. When he came near to the water, Marah took the old _Snail_ +and tied a piece of string to her bows by way of a cable. Then he +thrust her well out into the flood, tied a piece of shale (as an +anchor) to the other end of the string, and flung it out ahead of her, +so that she rode at anchor trimly a few yards from the bank. "Now," he +said, "we'll exercise great guns. Here (he produced a powder-horn) is +the magazine; here (he produced a bag of bullets) is the +shot-locker. Here's a bag of wads. Now, my sons, down to business. +Cast loose your housings, take out tompions. Now bear a hand, my lads; +we'll give your old galleon a broadside." + +We watched him as he prepared the gun for firing, eagerly lending a +hand whenever we saw what he wanted. "First of all," he said, "you +must sponge your gun. There's the sponge. Shove it down the muzzle and +give it a screw round. There! Now tap your sponge against the muzzle +to knock the dust off. There! Now the powder." He took his powder-horn +and filled a little funnel (like the funnels once used by chemists for +filling bottles of cough-mixture) with the powder. This he poured down +the muzzle of the gun. "Now a wad," he said, taking up a screw of +twisted paper. "Ram it home on to the powder with the rammer. That's +the way. Now for the shot. We'll put in a dozen bullets, and then top +with a couple more wads. There! Now she's loaded. Those bullets will +go for fifty yards with that much powder ahind 'em. Now, all we have +to do is to prime her." He filled the touch-hole with powder, and +poured a few grains along the base or breech of the gun. "There!" he +said. "Only one thing more. That is aim. Here, Mr Preacher-feller, +Hugh, whatever your name is. You're captain of the gun; you must aim +her. Take a squint along the gun till you get the notch on the muzzle +against the target; then raise your gun's breech till the notch is a +little below your target. Those wooden quoins under the gun will keep +it raised if you pull them out a little." + +Hugh lay down flat on the grass and moved the gun carefully till he +was sure the aim was correct. "Let's have a match," he said, "to see +which is the best shot." + +"All right," said Marah. "We will. You have first shot. Are you ready? +All ready? Very well then. Here's the linstock that you're to fire +with." He took up a long stick which had a slow match twisted round +it. He lit the slow match by a pocket flint and steel after moving his +powder away from him. "Now then," he cried, "are you ready? Stand +clear of the breech. Starboard battery. Fire!" + +Hugh dropped the lighted match on to the priming. The gun banged +loudly, leaped back and up, and fell over on one side in spite of its +roping as the smoke spurted. At the same instant there was a lashing +noise, like rain, upon the water as the bullets skimmed along upon the +surface. One white splinter flew from the _Snail's_ stern where a +single bullet struck; the rest flew wide astern of her. + +"Let your piece cool a moment," said Marah, "then we will sponge and +load again, and then Jim'll try. You were too much to the right, Mr +Hugh. Your shots fell astern." + +After a minute or two we cleaned the gun thoroughly and reloaded. + +"Now," said Marah, "remember one thing. If you was in a ship, fighting +that other ship, you wouldn't want just to blaze away at her +broadside. No. You'd want to hit her so as your shot would rake all +along her decks from the bow aft, or from the stern forrard. You wait +a second, Master Jim, till the wind gives her bows a skew towards you, +or till her stern swings round more. There she goes. Are you ready? +Now, as she comes round; allow for it. Fire!" + +Very hurriedly I made my aim, and still more hurriedly did I give +fire. Again came the bang and flash; again the gun clattered over; +but, to my joy, a smacking crack showed that the shot went home. The +shock made the old _Snail_ roll. A piece of her bow was knocked +off. Two or three bullets ripped through her sail. One bored a groove +along her, and the rest went over her. + +"Good," said. Marah. "A few more like that and she's all our own. Now +it's my shot. I'll try to knock her rudder away. Wait till she +swings. There she comes! There she comes! Over a little. Up a +little. Now. Fire." He darted his linstock down upon the priming. The +gun roared and upset; the bullets banged out the _Snail's_ stern, +and she filled slowly, and sank to the level of the water, her mast +standing erect out of the flood, and her whole fabric swaying a little +as the water moved her up and down. + +After that we fired at the mast till we had knocked it away, and then +we placed our toys in the sheltered fireplace of the ruin and came +away, happy to the bone, talking nineteen to the dozen. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE OWL'S CRY + + +For the next month we passed all our afternoons with Marah. In the +mornings the Rector gave us our lessons at Strete; then we walked home +to dinner; then we played with our gun and cutter, or at the sailing +of our home-made boats, till about six, when we went home for +tea. After tea we prepared our lessons for the next day and went +upstairs to bed, where we talked of smugglers and pirates till we fell +asleep. Marah soon taught us how to sail the cutter; and, what was +more, he taught us how to rig her. For an hour of each fine afternoon +he would give us a lesson in the quarry office, showing us how to rig +model boats, which we made out of old boxes and packing-cases. In the +sunny evenings of April we used to sail our fleets, ship against ship, +upon the great freshwater lake into which the trout-brook passes on +its way to the sea. Sometimes we would have a fleet of ships of the +line anchored close to the shore, and then we would fire at them with +the gun and with one of Marah's pistols till we had shattered them to +bits and sunk them. Sometimes Marah would tell us tales of the +smugglers and pirates of long ago, especially about a pirate named Van +Horn, who was burned in his ship off Mugeres Island, near Campeachy, +more than a hundred years back. + +"His ship was full of gold and silver," said Marah. "You can see her +at a very low tide even now. I've seen her myself. She is all burnt to +a black coal, a great Spanish galleon, with all her guns in her. I was +out fishing in the boat, and a mate said, 'Look there. There she is!' +and I saw her as plain as plain among all the weeds in the sea. The +water's very clear there, and there she was, with the fishes dubbing +their noses on her. And she's as full of gold as the Bank of +England. The seas'll have washed Van Horn's bones white, and the bones +of his crew too; eaten white by the fish and washed white, lying there +in all that gold under the sea, with the weeds growing over them. It +gives you a turn to think of it, don't it?" + +"Why don't they send down divers to get the gold?" asked Hugh. + +"Why!" said Marah. "There's many has tried after all that gold. But +some the shacks took and some the Spaniards took, and then there was +storms and fighting. None ever got a doubloon from her. But +somebody'll have a go for it again. I tried once, long ago. That was +an unlucky try, though. Many poor men died along of that one. They +died on the decks," he added. "It was like old Van Horn cursing +us. They died in my arms, some of 'em. Seven and twenty seamen, and +one of them was my mate, Charlie!" + +I have wandered away from my story, I'm afraid, remembering these +scraps of the past; but it all comes back to me now, so clearly that +it seems to be happening again. There are Marah and Hugh, with the sun +going down behind the gorse-bank, across the Lea; and there are the +broken ships floating slowly past, with the perch rising at them; and +there is myself, a very young cub, ignorant of what was about to come +upon me. Perhaps, had I known what was to happen before the leaves of +that spring had fallen, I should have played less light-heartedly, and +given more heed to Mr Evans, the Rector. + +Now, on one day in each week, generally on Thursdays, we had rather +longer school hours than on the other days. On these days of extra +work Hugh and I had dinner at the Rectory with Ned Evans, our +schoolmate. After dinner we three boys would wander off together, +generally down to Black Pool, where old Spanish coins (from some +forgotten wreck) were sometimes found in the sand after heavy weather +had altered the lie of the beach. We never found any Spanish coins, +but we always enjoyed our afternoons there. The brook which runs into +the sea there was very good for trout, in the way that Marah showed +us; but we never caught any, for all our pains. In the summer we meant +to bathe from the sands, and all through that beautiful spring we +talked of the dives we would take from the spring-board running out +into the sea. Then we would have great games of ducks and drakes, with +flat pebbles; or games of pebble-dropping, in which our aim was to +drop a stone so that it should make no splash as it entered the water. +But the best game of all was our game of cliff-exploring among the +cliffs on each side of the bay, and this same game gave me the +adventure of my life. + +One lovely afternoon towards the end of the May of that year, when we +were grubbing among the cliff-gorse as usual, wondering how we could +get down the cliffs to rob the sea-birds' nests, we came to a bare +patch among the furze; and there lay a couple of coastguards, looking +intently at something a little further down the slope, and out of +sight, beyond the brow of the cliff. They had ropes with them, and a +few iron spikes, and one of them had his telescope on the grass beside +him. They looked up at us angrily when we broke through the thicket +upon them, and one of them hissed at us through his teeth: "Get out, +you boys. Quick. Cut!" and waved to us to get away, which we did, a +good deal puzzled and perhaps a little startled. We talked about it on +our way home. Ned Evans said that the men were setting rabbit snares, +and that he had seen the wires. Hugh thought that they might be after +sea-birds' eggs during their hours off duty. Both excuses seemed +plausible, but for my own part I thought something very different. +The men, I felt, were out on some special service, and on the brink of +some discovery. It seemed to me that when we broke in upon them they +were craning forward to the brow of the cliff, intently listening. I +even thought that from below the brow of the cliff, only a few feet +away, there had come a noise of people talking. I did not mention my +suspicions to Hugh and Ned, because I was not sure, and they both +seemed so sure; but all the way home I kept thinking that I was +right. It flashed on me that perhaps the night-riders had a cave below +the cliff-brow, and that the coast-guards had discovered the +secret. It was very wrong of me, but my only thought was: "Oh, will +they catch Marah? Will poor Marah be sent to prison?" and the fear +that our friend would be dragged off to gaol kept me silent as We +walked. + +When we came to the gate which takes you by a short cut to the valley +and the shale quarry, I said that I would go home that way, while the +others went by the road, and that we would race each other, walking, +to see who got home first. They agreed to this, and set off together +at a great rate; but as soon as they were out of sight behind the +hedge I buckled my satchel to my shoulders and started running to warn +Marah. It was all downhill to the brook, and I knew that I should find +Marah there,--for he had said that he was coming earlier than usual +that afternoon to finish off a model boat which we were to sail after +tea. I ran as I had never run before--I thought my heart would thump +itself to pieces; but at last I got to the valley and saw Marah +crossing the brook by the causeway. I shouted to him then and he heard +me. I had not breath to call again, so I waved to him to come and then +collapsed, panting, for I had run a good mile across country. He +walked towards me slowly, almost carelessly; but I saw that he was +puzzled by my distress, and wondered what the matter was. + +"What is it?" he asked. "What's the rally for?" + +"Oh," I cried, "the coastguards--over at Black Pool." + +"Yes," he said carelessly, "what about _them?_" + +"They've discovered it," I cried. "The cave under the +cliff-top. They've discovered it." + +His face did not change; he looked at me rather hard; and then asked +me, quite carelessly, what I had seen. + +"Two coastguards," I answered. "Two coastguards. In the furze. They +were listening to people somewhere below them." + +"Yes," he said, still carelessly, "over at Black Pool? I suppose they +recognized you?" + +"Yes, they must have. We three are known all over the place. And I ran +to tell you." + +"So I see," he said grimly. "You seem to have run like a +tea-ship. Well, you needn't have. There's no cave on this side +Salcombe, except the hole at Tor Cross. What made you run to tell +_me?_" + +"Oh," I said, "you've been so kind--so kind, and--I don't know--I +thought they'd send you to prison." + +"Did you?" he said gruffly. "Did you indeed? Well, they won't. There +was no call for you to fret your little self. Still, you've done it; +I'll remember that--I'll always remember that. Now you be off to your +tea, quick. Cut!" + +When he gave an order it was always well for us to obey it at once; if +we did not he used to lose his temper. So when he told me to go I got +up and turned away, but slowly, for I was still out of breath. I +looked back before I passed behind the hedge which marks the beginning +of the combe, but Marah had disappeared--I could see no trace of +him. Then suddenly, from somewhere behind me, out of sight, an owl +called--and this in broad daylight. Three times the "Too-hoo, too-hoo" +rose in a long wail from the shrubs, and three times another owl +answered from up the combe, and from up the valley, too, till the +place seemed full of owls. "Too-hoo, too-hoo" came the cries, and very +faintly came answers--some of them in strange tones, as though the +criers asked for information. As they sounded, the first owl answered +in sharp, broken cries. But I had had enough. Breathless as I was, I +ran on up the valley to the house, only hoping that no owl would come +swooping down upon me. And this is what happened. Just as I reached +the gate which leads to the little bridge below the house I saw Joe +Barnicoat galloping towards me on an unsaddled horse of Farmer +Rowser's. He seemed shocked, or upset, at seeing me; but he kicked the +horse in the ribs and galloped on, crying out that he was having a +little ride. His little ride was taking him at a gallop to the owl, +and I was startled to find that quiet Joe, the mildest gardener in the +county, should be one of the uncanny crew whose signals still hooted +along the combes. + +When I reached home the others jeered at me for a sluggard. They had +been at home for twenty minutes, and had begun tea. I let them talk as +they pleased, and then settled down to work; but all that night I +dreamed of great owls, riding in the dark with bee-skeps over them, +filling the combes with their hootings. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE TWO COASTGUARDS + + +The next morning, when Hugh and I came to Strete for our lessons, we +found a lot of yeomen and preventives drawn up in the village. People +were talking outside their houses in little excited groups. Jan +Edeclog, the grocer, was at the door of his shop, wiping his hands on +his apron. There was a general rustle and stir, something had +evidently happened. + +"What's all the row about, Mr Edeclog?" I asked. + +"Row?" he asked. "Row enough, Master Jim. Two of the coastguards, who +were on duty yesterday afternoon, have disappeared. It's thought +there's been foul play." + +My heart sank into my boots, my head swam, I could hardly stand +upright. All my thought was: "They have been killed. And all through +my telling Marah. And I'm a murderer." + +I don't know how I could have got to the Rectory gate, had not the +militia captain come from the tavern at that moment. He mounted his +horse, called out a word of command, and the men under him moved off +towards Slapton at a quick trot. + +"They have gone to beat the Lay banks," said some one, and then some +one laughed derisively. + +I walked across to the Rectory and flung my satchel of books on to the +floor. The Rector's wife came into the hall as we entered. "Why, Jim," +she said, "what is the matter? Aren't you well?" + +"Not very," I answered. + +"My dear," she cried to her husband, "Jim's not well. He looks as +though he'd seen a ghost, poor boy." + +"Why, Jim," said the Rector, coming out of the sitting-room, "what's +the matter with you? Had too much jam for breakfast?" + +"No," I said. "But I feel faint. I feel sick. Can I go to sit in the +garden for a minute?" + +"Yes," he answered. "Certainly. I'll get you a glass of cold water." + +I was really too far gone to pay much heed to anything. I think I told +them that I should be quite well in a few minutes, if they would leave +me there; and I think that Mrs Evans told her husband to come indoors, +leaving me to myself. At any rate they went indoors, and then the cool +air, blowing on me from the sea, refreshed me, so that I stood up. + +I could think of nothing except the words: "I am a murderer." A wild +wish came to me to run to the cliffs by Black Pool to see whether the +bodies lay on the grass in the place where I had seen them (full of +life) only a few hours before. Anything was better than that +uncertainty. In one moment a hope would surge up in me that the men +would not be dead; but perhaps only gagged and bound: so that I could +free them. In the next there would be a feeling of despair, that the +men lay there, dead through my fault, killed by Marah's orders, and +flung among the gorse for the crows and gulls. I got out of the +Rectory garden into the road; and in the road I felt strong enough to +run; and then a frenzy took hold of me, so that I ran like one +possessed. It is not very far to Black Pool; but I think I ran the +whole way. I didn't feel out of breath when I got there, though I had +gone at top speed; a spirit had been in me, such as one only feels at +rare times. Afterwards, when I saw a sea-fight, I saw that just such a +spirit filled the sailors, as they loaded and fired the guns. + +I pushed my way along the cliffs through the gorse, till I came to the +patch where the coast-guards had lain. The grass was trampled and +broken, beaten flat in places as though heavy bodies had fallen on it; +there were marks of a struggle all over the patch. Some of the near-by +gorse twigs were broken from their stems; some one had dropped a small +hank of spun-yarn. They had lain there all that night, for the dew was +thick upon them. What puzzled me at first was the fact that there were +marks from only two pairs of boots, both of the regulation pattern. +The men who struggled with the coastguards must have worn moccasins, +or heelless leather slippers, made out of some soft hide. + +I felt deeply relieved when I saw no bodies, nor any stain upon the +grass. I began to wonder what the night-riders had done with the +coastguards; and, as I sat wondering, I heard, really and truly, a +noise of the people talking from a little way below me, just beyond +the brow of the cliff. That told me at once that there was a cave, +even as I had suspected. I craned forward eagerly, as near as I dared +creep, to the very rim of the land. I looked down over the edge into +the sea, and saw the little blue waves creaming into foam far below +me. + +I could see nothing but the side of the cliff, with its projecting +knobs of rock; no opening of any kind, and yet a voice from just below +me (it seemed to come from below a little projecting slab a few feet +down): a voice just below me, I say, said, quite clearly, evidently +between puffs at a pipe, "I don't know so much about that." Another +voice answered; but I could not catch the words. The voice I should +have known anywhere; it was Marah's "good-temper voice," as he called +it, making a pleasant answer. + +"That settles it," I said to myself. "There's a cave, and the +coastguards are there, I'll be bound, as prisoners. Now I have to find +them and set them free." + +Very cautiously I peered over the cliff-face, examining every knob and +ledge which might conceal (or lead to) an opening in the rock. No. I +could see nothing; the cliff seemed to me to be almost sheer; and +though it was low tide, the rocks at the base of the cliffs seemed to +conceal no opening. I crept cautiously along the cliff-top, as near to +the edge as I dared, till I was some twenty feet from the spot where I +had heard the voice. Then I looked down again carefully, searching +every handbreadth for a firm foothold or path down the rocks, with an +opening at the end, through which a big man could squeeze his +body. No. There was nothing. No living human being could get down that +cliff-face without a rope from up above; and even If he managed to get +down, there seemed to be nothing but the sea for him at the end of his +journey. Again I looked carefully right to the foot of the +crag. No. There was absolutely nothing; I was off the track somehow. + +Now, just at this point the cliff fell Inland for a few paces, forming +a tiny bay about six yards across. To get along the cliff towards +Strete I had to turn inland for a few steps, then turn again towards +the sea, in order to reach the cliff. I skirted the little bay in this +manner, and dropped one or two stones into it from where I stood. As I +craned over the edge, watching them fall into the sea, I caught sight +of something far below me, in the water. + +I caught my breath and looked again, but the thing, whatever it was, +had disappeared from sight. It was something red, which had gleamed +for a moment from behind a rock at the base of the cliff. I watched +eagerly for a moment or two, hearing the sucking of the sea along the +stones, and the cry of the seagulls' young in their nests on the +ledges. Then, very slowly, as the slack water urged it, I saw the red +stem-piece of a rather large boat nosing slowly forward apparently +from the cliff-face towards the great rock immediately in front of +it. The secret was plain in a moment. Here was a cave with a +sea-entrance, and a cave big enough to hide a large, seagoing fisher's +boat; a cave, too, so perfectly hidden that it could not possibly be +seen from any point except right at the mouth. A coastguard's boat +could row within three yards of the entrance and never once suspect +its being there, unless, at a very low tide, the sea clucked strangely +from somewhere within. Any men entering the little bay in a boat would +see only the big rock hiding the face of the cliff. No one would +suspect that behind the rock lay a big cave accessible from the sea, +at low tide in fair weather. Even in foul weather, good boatmen (and +all the night-riders were wonderful fellows in a boat) could have made +that cave in safety, for at the mouth of the little bay there was a +great rock, which shut it in on the southwest side, so that in our bad +southwesterly gales the bay or cove would have been sheltered, though +full of the foam spattered from the sheltering crag. + +I had found the cave, but my next task was to find an entrance, and +that seemed to be no easy matter. I searched every inch of the +cliff-face for a foothold, but there was nothing there big enough for +anything bigger than a sea-lark. I could never have clambered down the +cliff, even had I the necessary nerve, which I certainly had not. The +only way down was to shut my eyes and walk over the cliff-edge, and +trust to luck at the bottom, and "that was one beyond me"--only Marah +Gorsuch would have tried that way. No; there was no way down the +cliff-side, that was certain. + +Now, somebody--I think it was old Alec Jewler, the ostler at the Tor +Cross posting-house--had told me that here and there along the coast, +but most of all in Cornwall, near Falmouth, there had once been +arsenic mines, now long since worked out. Their shafts, he said, could +be followed here and there for some little distance, and every now and +again they would broaden out into chambers, in which people sometimes +live, even now. It occurred to me that there might be some such +shaft-opening among the gorse quite close to me; so I crept away from +the cliff-brink, and began to search among the furze, till my skin was +full of prickles. Though I searched diligently for an hour or two, I +could find no hole big enough to be the mouth of a shaft. I knew that +a shaft of the kind might open a hundred yards from where I was +searching, and I was therefore well prepared to spend some time in my +hunt. And at last, when I was almost tired of looking, I came across a +fox or badger earth, not very recent, which seemed, though I could not +be certain, to broaden out inside. I lay down and thrust my head down +the hole, and that confirmed me. From up the hole there came the reek +of strong ship's tobacco. I had stumbled upon one of the cave's +air-holes. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CAVE IN THE CLIFF + + +My heart was thumping on my ribs as I thrust and wriggled my body down +the hole. I did not think how I was to get back again; it never once +occurred to me that I might stick in the burrow, and die stifled +there, like a rat in a trap. My one thought was, "I shall save the +coastguards," and that thought nerved me to push on, careless of +everything else. It was not at all easy at first, for the earth fell +in my ears from the burrow-roof, and there was very little room for my +body. Presently, as I had expected, the burrow broadened out--I could +kneel erect in it quite easily; and then I found that I could stand up +without bumping my head. I was not frightened, I was only very +excited; for, now that I stood in the shaft, the reek of the tobacco +was very strong. I could see hardly anything--only the light from the +burrow-mouth, lighting up the sides of the burrow for a yard or two, +and a sort of gleam, a sort of shining wetness, upon the floor of the +shaft and on its outer wall. I heard the wash of the sea, or thought I +heard it, and that was the only noise, except a steady drip, drip, +splash where water dripped from the roof into a pool on the floor. For +a moment I stood still, not certain which way to go. Then I settled to +myself the direction from which I had heard the voices, and turned +along the shaft on that side. + +When I had walked a few yards my nerve began to go; for the gleam on +the walls faded, the last glimmer of light went out. I was walking +along an unknown path in pitchy darkness, hearing only the drip, drip, +splash of the water slowly falling from the roof. Suddenly I ran +against a sort of breastwork of mortared stones, and the shock almost +made me faint. I stretched my hand out beyond it, but could feel +nothing, and then downward on the far side, but could feel nothing; +and then I knocked away a scrap of stone from the top of the wall, and +it seemed to fall for several seconds before a faint splash told me +that it had reached water. The shaft seemed to turn to the right and +left at this low wall, and at first I turned to the left, but only for +a moment, as I soon saw that the right-hand turning would bring me +more quickly to the cliff-face from which I had heard the voices. +After I had made my choice, you may be sure that I went on hands and +knees, feeling the ground in front of me. I went forward very, very +slowly, with the wet mud coming through my knickerbockers, and the +cold drops sometimes falling on my neck from the roof. At last I saw a +little glimmer of light, and there was a turning to the left; and just +beyond the turning there was a chamber in the rock, all lit up by the +sun, as clear as clear. There were holes in the cliff-face, one of +them a great big hole, and the sun shone through on to the floor of +the cave, and I could look out and see the sea, and the seagulls going +past after fish, and the clouds drifting up by the horizon. Very +cautiously I crept up to the entrance to the chamber, and then into +it, so that I could look all round it. + +It was not a very large room (I suppose it was fifteen feet square) +and it looked rather smaller than it was, because it was heaped almost +to the roof in one or two places with boxes and kegs, and the various +sea-stores, such as new rope and spare anchors. In one corner of it +(in the corner at which I entered it) a flight of worn stone steps led +downwards into the bowels of the earth. "Aha!" I thought; "so that's +how you reach your harbour!" Then I crept up to one of the piles of +boxes and cautiously peeped over. + +I looked over cautiously, for as I entered the room I had the eerie +feeling which one gets sometimes at night; I felt that there was +somebody else in the room. Sure enough there was somebody else--two +somebodies--and my heart leaped up in joy to see them. Sitting on the +ground, tied by the body to some of the boxes over which I peered, +were the two missing coastguards. Their backs were towards me, and +their hands and feet were securely bound; but they were unhurt, that +was the great thing. One of them was quietly smoking, filling the cave +with strong tobacco smoke; the other was asleep, breathing rather +heavily. It was evidently a pleasant holiday for the pair of them. No +other person was in the room, but I saw that on the far side of the +chamber another gallery led on into the cliff to another chamber, and +from this chamber came the sound of many voices talking (in a dull +quiet way), and the slow droning of the song of a drunken man. I shut +my eyes, and lay across the boxes as still as a dead man, trying to +summon up enough courage to speak to the coastguard; and all the time +the drunkard's song quavered and shook, and died down, and dragged on +again, as though it would never end. Afterwards I often heard that +song, in all its thirty stanzas; and I have only to repeat a line of +it to bring back to myself the scene of the sunny cave, with the bound +coastguard smoking, and the smugglers talking and talking just a few +paces out of sight. + + "And the gale it roar-ed dismally + As we went to New Barbary," + +said the singer; and then some one asked a question, and some one +struck a light for his pipe, and the singer droned on and on about the +bold Captain Glen, and the ship which met with such disaster. + +At last I summoned up enough courage to speak. I crawled over the +boxes as far as I could, and touched the coastguard. "Sh!" I said, in +a low voice, "Don't make a sound. I've come to rescue you." + +The man stared violently (I dare say his nerves were in a bad way +after his night in the cave), he dropped his pipe with a little +clatter on the stones, and turned to stare at me. + +"Sh!" I said again. "Don't speak. Don't make a sound." + +I crept round the boxes to him, and opened my knife. It was a strong +knife, with very sharp blades (Marah used to whet them for me), so +that it did not take me long to cut through the "inch-and-a-half-rope," +which lashed the poor fellow to the boxes. + +"Thankee, master," the man said, as he rose to his feet and stretched +himself. "I was getting stiff. Now, let's get out of here. D'ye know +the way out?" + +"Yes," I said, "I think I do. Oh, don't make a noise; but come this +way. This way." + +Very quietly we stole out by the gallery by which I had entered. We +made no attempt to rouse the sleeping man; he slept too heavily, and +we could not afford to run risks. I don't know what the coastguard's +feelings were. As for myself, I was pretty nearly fainting with +excitement. I could hear my heart go thump, thump, thump; it seemed to +be right up in my very throat. As we stepped into the gloom of the +gallery, the smugglers behind us burst into the chorus at the end of +the song-- + + "O never more do I intend + For to cross the raging main + But to live at home most cheerfull-ee, + And thus I end my traged-ee." + +I felt that if I could get away from that adventure I, too, would live +at home most cheerfully until the day of my death. We took advantage +of the uproar to step quickly into the darkness of the passage. + +Just before we came to the low stone breastwork which had given me +such a shock a few minutes before, we heard some one whistling a bar +of a tune. The tune was the tune of-- + + "Oh, my true love's listed, and wears a white cockade." + +And to our horror the whistler was coming quickly towards us. In +another second we saw him stepping along the gallery, swinging a +lantern. He was a big, strong man, evidently familiar with the way. + +"Back," said the coastguard in a gasp. "Get back, for your life, and +down that staircase." + +The man didn't see us; didn't even hear us. He stopped at the stone +breastwork, opened his lantern, and lit his pipe at the candle, and +then stepped on leisurely towards the chamber. Our right course would +have been "to go for him," knock him down, knock the breath out of +him, lash his wrists and ankles together, and bolt for the +entrance. But the coastguard was rather upset by his adventure, and he +let the minute pass by. Had he rushed at the man as soon as he +appeared; but, there--it is no use talking. We didn't rush at him, we +scuttled back into the chamber, and then down the worn stone steps cut +out of the rock, which seemed to lead down and down into the bowels of +the earth. As we hurried down, leaping lightly on the tips of our +toes, the quaver of the tune came after us, so clearly that I even +made a guess at the whistler's identity. + +When we had run down the staircase about half-way down to sea-level we +found ourselves in a cave as big as the church at Dartmouth. It was +fairly light, for the entrance was large, though low, and at low water +(as it was then) the roof of the cave mouth stood six feet from the +sea. The sea ran up into the cave in a deep triangular channel, with a +landing-place (a natural ledge of rock) on each of the sides, and the +sea entrance at the base. The sea made a sort of clucking noise about +the rocks; and at the right inland it washed upon a cave-floor of +pebbles, which clattered slightly as the swell moved them. The roof +dripped a little, and there were little pools on both the landings, +and the whole place had a queer, dim, green, uncanny light upon it; +due, I suppose, to the deep water of the channel. I saw all these +things afterwards, at leisure; I did not notice them very clearly in +that first moment. All that I saw then was a large sea-lugger, lying +moored at the cavemouth, some few feet lower down. She was a beautiful +model of a boat (I had seen that much in seeing her bow from the top +of the cliff), but of course her three masts were unstepped, and she +was rather a handful for a man and a boy. We saw her, and made a leap +for her together, and both of us landed in her bows at the same +instant, just as the man with the lantern, peering down from the top +of the stairs, asked us what in the world we were playing at down +there. + +The coastguard made no answer, for he was busy in the bows; I think he +had his knife through the painter in five seconds. Then he snatched up +a boat-hook (I took an oar), and we drove her with all our strength +along the channel into (or, I should say, towards) the open sea and +freedom. + +"Hey," cried the man with the lantern, "chuck that! Are you mad?" He +took a step or two down the staircase, in order to see better. + +"Drive her, oh, drive her, boy!" cried the coastguard. + +I thrust with all my force, the coastguard gave a mighty heave, the +lugger slid slowly seawards. + +"Hey!" yelled the smuggler, clattering upstairs, dropping his lantern +down on us. "Hey, Marah, Jewler, Smokewell, Hankin--all of you! +They've got away in the boat." + +"Now the play begins," said the coastguard. "Another heave, and +another--together now!" + +We drove the lugger forward again, so that half her length thrust out +into the sea. We ran aft to give her a final thrust out, and just at +that moment her bow struck upon the rock at the cave mouth: in the +excitement of the moment we had not realised that one of us was wanted +in the bows to shove her nose clean into the sea. The blow threw us +both upon our hands and knees in the stern sheets; it took us +half-a-dozen seconds to pick ourselves up, and then I realised that I +should have to jump forward and guide the boat clear of all outlying +dangers. As I sprang to the bows there came yells from the top of the +stairs, where I saw half-a-dozen smugglers coming full tilt towards +us. + +Some one cried out, "Drop it, drop it, you fool!" Another voice cried, +"Fire!" and two or three shots cracked out, making a noise like a +cannonade. The coastguard gave a last desperate heave, I shoved the +bows clear, and lo! we were actually gliding out. The coastguard's +body was outside the cliff in full sunlight, giving a final thrust +from the cliff wall. And then I saw Marah leap into the stern sheets +as they passed out of the cave; he gave a little thrust to the +coastguard, just a gentle thrust--enough to make him lose his balance +and topple over. + +"That's enough now," he said, with a grim glance at me. "That's enough +for one time." + +He picked up the coastguard's boat-hook (the man just grinned and +looked sheepish; he made no attempt to fight with Marah) and thrust +the boat back into the cave with half-a-dozen deft strokes. Another +smuggler dropped down into the stern sheets, looked at the coastguard +with a grin, and helped to work the lugger back into the cave. A third +man threw down a sternfast to secure her; a fourth jumped into the bow +and began to put a long splice into the painter which we had cut. We +had tried and we had failed; here we were prisoners again, and I felt +sick at heart lest those rough smugglers should teach us a lesson for +our daring. But Marah just told the coastguard to jump out. + +"Out you get," he said, "and don't try that again." + +"I won't," said the coastguard. + +"You'd better not," said another smuggler. That was all. + +We were helped out of the lugger on to the ledge above the channel, +and the smugglers walked behind us up the stairs to the room we had +just left. The other coastguard was still snoring, and that seemed +strange to me, for the last few minutes had seemed like hours. + +"Better bring him inside, boss," said one of the smugglers. "He may +try the same game." + +"He's got no young sprig to cut his lashings," said Marah. "He'll be +well enough." So they left the man to his quiet and passed on with +their other prisoners into the inner room. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +SIGNING ON + + +The inner room was much larger than the prison chamber; it was not +littered with boxes, but clean and open like a frigate's lower +deck. It was not, perhaps, quite so light as the other room, but there +were great holes in the cliff hidden by bushes from the view of +passing fishermen, and the sun streamed through these on to the floor, +leaving only the ends of the room in shadow. The room had been +arranged like the mess-deck of a war-ship; there were sea-chests and +bags ranged trimly round the inner wall; there was a trestle table +littered with tin pannikins and plates. The roof was supported by a +line of wooden stanchions. There were arm racks round the stanchions, +containing muskets, cutlasses, and long, double-barrelled pistols. As +I expected, there were several bee-skeps hanging from nails, or lying +on the floor. I was in the smugglers' roost, perhaps in the presence +of Captain Sharp himself. + +The drunken smuggler who had sung of Captain Glen was the only +occupant of the room when we entered: he sat half asleep in his chest, +still clutching his pannikin, still muttering about the boatswain. He +was an Italian by birth, so Marah told me. He was known as Gateo. +When he was sober he was a good seaman, but when he was drunk he would +do nothing but sing of Captain Glen until he dropped off to sleep. He +had served in the Navy, Marah told me, and had once been a boatswain's +mate in the _Victory_; but he had deserted, and now he was a +smuggler living in a hole in the earth. + +"And now," said Marah, after he had told me all this, "you and me will +have to talk. Step into the other room there, you boys," he cried to +the other smugglers: "I want to have a word with master here." + +One of the men--he was the big man who had raised the alarm on us; I +never knew his real name, everybody always called him Extry--said +glumly that he "wasn't going to oblige boys, not for dollars." + +Marah turned upon him, and the two men faced each other; the others +stood expectantly, eager for a fight. "Step into the other room +there," repeated Marah quietly. + +"I ain't no pup nor no nigger-man," said Extry. "You ain't going to +order me." + +Marah seemed to shrink into himself and to begin to sparkle all +over--I can't describe it: that is the effect he produced--he seemed +to settle down like a cat going to spring. Extry's hand travelled +round for his sheath-knife, and yet it moved indecisively, as though +half afraid. And then, just as I felt that Extry would die from being +looked at in that way, he hung his head, turned to the door, and +walked out sheepishly according to order. He was beaten. + +"No listening now," said Marah, as they filed out. "Keep on your own +side of the fence." + +"Shall we take Gatty with us?" said one of the men. + +"Let him lie," said Marah; "he's hove down for a full due, Gatty is." + +The men disappeared with their prisoner. Marah looked after them for a +moment. "Now," he said, "come on over here to the table, Master Jim." +He watched me with a strange grin upon his face; I knew that grin; it +was the look his face always bore when he was worried. "Now we will +come to business. Lie back against the hammocks and rest; I'm going to +talk to you like a father." + +I lay back upon the lashed-up hammocks and he began. + +"I suppose you know what you've done? You've just about busted +yourself. D'ye know that? You thought you'd rescue the pugs"--he meant +coastguards. "Well, you haven't. You have gone and shoved your head +down a wasp's nest, so you'll find. How did you get here, in the first +place? What gave you your clue?" + +"I saw the coastguards up above here yesterday," I answered, "and I +thought I heard voices speaking from below the brow of the cliff, so +then I searched about till I found a hole, and so I got down here." + +"Ah," said Marah, "they will be round here looking for you, then. I'll +take the liberty of hiding your tracks." He went in to the other room +and spoke a few words to one of the other smugglers. "Well," he said, +as he came back to me, "they'll not find you now, if they search from +now till glory. They'll think you fell into the sea." + +"But," I exclaimed, "I must go home! Surely I can go home now? They'll +be so anxious." + +"Yes," said Marah, "they'll be anxious. But look you here, my son; +folk who acts hasty, as you've done, they often make other people +anxious--often enough. Very anxious indeed, some of 'em. That's what +you have done by coming nosing around here. Now here you are, our +prisoner--Captain Sharp's prisoner--and here you must stay." + +"But, I _must_ go home," I cried, the tears coming to my eyes. +"I _must_ go home." + +"Well, you just can't," he answered kindly. "Think it over a +minute. You've come here," he went on, "nosing round like a spy; +you've found out our secret. You might let as many as fifty men in for +the gallows--fifty men to be hanged, d'ye understand; or to be +transported, or sent to a hulk, or drafted into a man-o'-war. I don't +say you would, for I believe you have sense: still, you're only a boy, +and they might get at you in all sorts of ways. Cunning lawyers +might. And then you give us away and where would _we_ be? Eh, +boy? Where would we be? Suppose you gave us away, meaning no harm, not +really knowing what you done. Well, I ask you, where would _we_ +be?" + +"I wouldn't give you away," I said hotly. "You know I wouldn't. I +never gave you away about the hut in the woods." + +"No," he said, "you never; but this time there's men's necks +concerned. I can't help myself--Captain Sharp's, orders. I couldn't +let you go if I wanted to; the hands wouldn't let me. It'd be putting +so many ropes round their necks." By this time I was crying. "Don't +cry, young 'un," he said; "it won't be so bad. But you see yourself +what you've done now, don't you?" + +He walked away from me a turn or two to let me have my cry out. When +my sobs ceased, he came back and sat close to me, waiting for me to +speak. + +"What will you do to me?" I asked him. + +"Why," he answered, "there's only one thing _to_ be done; either +you've got to become one of us, so as if you give us away you'll be in +the same boat--I don't say you need be one of us for long; only a trip +or two--or, you'll have to walk through the window there, and that's a +long fall and a mighty wet splash at the bottom." + +I thought of Mims waiting at home for me, and of the jolly tea-table, +with Hoolie begging for toast and Hugh's face bent over his plate. +The thought that I should never see them again set me crying +passionately--I cried as if my heart would break. + +"Why--come, come," said Marah; "I thought you were a sailor. Take a +brace, boy. We're not going to kill you. You'll make a trip or two. +What's that? Why it's only a matter of a week or two, and it'll make a +man of you. A very jolly holiday. I'll be able to make a man of you +just as I said I would. You'll see life and you'll see the sea, and +then you'll come home and forget all about us. But go home you'll not, +understand that, till we got a hold on you the same as you on us." + +There was something in his voice which gave me the fury of despair. I +sprang to my feet, almost beside myself. "Very well, then," I +cried. "You can drown me. I'm not going to be one of you. And if I +ever get away I'll see you all hanged, every one of you--you first." + +I couldn't say more, for I burst out crying again. + +Marah sat still, watching me. "Well, well," he said, "I always thought +you had spirit. Still, no sense in drowning you, no sense at all." + +He walked to the door and called out to some of the smugglers, "Here, +Extry, Hankin, you fellows, just come in here, I want you a moment." + +The men came in quickly, and ranged themselves about the room, +grinning cheerfully. + +"'Low me to introduce you," said Marah. "Our new apprentice, Mr Jim +Davis." + +The men bowed to me sheepishly. + +"Glad to meet Mr Davis," said one of them. + +"Quite a pleasure," said another. + +"I s'pose you just volunteered, Mr Jim?" said the third. + +"Yes," said Marah; "he just volunteered. I want you to witness his +name on the articles." He produced a sheet of paper which was scrawled +all over with names. "Now, Mr Jim," he said, "your name, +please. There's ink and pen in the chest here." + +"What d'ye want my name for?" I asked. + +"Signing on," he said, winking at me. "It's only a game." + +"I won't set my name to the paper." I cried. "I'll have nothing to do +with you. I'd sooner die--far sooner." + +"That's a pity," said Marah, taking up the pen. "Well, if you won't, +you won't." + +He bent over the chest and wrote "Jim Davis" in a round, unformed, +boyish hand, not unlike my own. + +"Now, boys," he said, "you have seen the signature. Witness it, +please." + +The men witnessed the signature and made their clumsy crosses; none of +them could write. + +"You see?" asked Marah. "We were bound to get you, Jim. You've signed +our articles." "I've done nothing of the kind," I said. "Oh! but you +have," he said calmly. "Here's your witnessed signature. You're one of +us now." + +"It's a forgery!" I cried. + +"Forgery?" he said in pretended amazement. "But here are witnesses to +swear to it. Now don't take on, son"--he saw that I was on the point +of breaking down again at seeing myself thus trapped. "You can't get +away. You're ours. Make the best of a bad job. We will tell your +friends you are safe. They'll know within an hour that you will not be +home till the end of June. After that you will be enough one of us to +keep your tongue shut for your own sake. I'm sorry you don't like +it. Well, 'The sooner the quicker' is a good proverb. The sooner you +dry your tears, the quicker we can begin to work together. Here, +Smokewell, get dinner along; it's pretty near two o'clock. Now, Jim, +my son, I'll just send a note to your people." He sat down on a chest +and began to write. "No," he added; "_you_ had better write. Say +this: 'I am safe. I shall be back in three weeks' time. Say I have +gone to stay in Somersetshire with Captain Sharp. Do not worry about +me. Do not look for me. I am safe.' There; that's enough. Give it +here. Hankin, deliver this letter at once to Mrs Cottier, at the +Snail's Castle. Don't show your beautiful face to more'n you can +help. Be off." + +Hankin took the letter and shambled out of the cave. Long afterwards I +heard that he shot it through the dining-room window on a dart of +hazelwood while my aunt and Mrs Cottier were at lunch. That was the +last letter I wrote for many a long day. That was my farewell to +boyhood, that letter. + +After a time Smokewell brought in dinner, and we all fell-to at the +table. For my own part, I was too sick at heart to eat much, though +the food was good enough. There was a cold fowl, a ham, and a great +apple-pasty. + +After dinner, the men cut up tobacco, and played cards, and smoked, +and threw dice; but Marah made them do this in the outer room. He was +very kind to me in my wretchedness. He slung one of the hammocks for +me, and made me turn in for a sleep. After a time I cried myself into +a sort of uneasy doze. I woke up from time to time, and whenever I +woke up I would see Marah smoking, with his face turned to the window, +watching the sea. Then I would hear the flicker of the cards in the +next room, and the voices of the players. "You go that? Do you? Well, +and I'll raise you." And then I would hear the money being paid to the +winners, and wonder where I was, and so doze off again into all manner +of dreams. + + + +CHAPTER X + +ABOARD THE LUGGER + + +When I woke up, it was still bright day, but the sun was off the +cliffs, and the caves seemed dark and uncanny. + +"Well," said Marah, "have you had a good sleep?" + +"Yes," I said, full of wretchedness; "I must have slept for hours." + +"You'll need a good sleep," said Marah, "for it's likely you'll have +none to-night. We night-riders, the like of you and me, why, we know +what the owls do, don't we? We sleep like cats in the daytime. They'll +be getting supper along in about half-an-hour. What d'you say to a +wash and that down in the sea--a plunge in the cove and then out and +dry yourself? Why, it'd be half your life. Do you all the good in the +world. Can't offer you fresh water; there's next to none down below +here. But you come down and have a dip in the salt." + +He led the way into the next room, and down the stairs to the +water. The tide was pretty full, so that I could dive off one ledge +and climb out by the ledge at the other side. So I dived in and then +climbed back, and dried myself with a piece of an old sail, feeling +wonderfully refreshed. Then we went upstairs to the cave again, and +supped off the remains of the dinner; and then the men sat about the +table talking, telling each other stories of the sea. It was dusk +before we finished supper, and the caves were dark, but no lights were +allowed. The smugglers always went into the passages to light their +pipes. I don't know how they managed in the winter: probably they +lived in the passages, where a fire could not be seen from the sea. In +summer they could manage very well. + +Towards sunset the sky clouded over, and it began to rain. I sat at +the cave window, listlessly looking out upon it, feeling very sick at +heart. The talk of the smugglers rang in my ears in little snatches. + +"So I said, 'You're a liar. There's no man alive ever came away, not +ever. They were all drowned, every man Jack.' That's what I said." + +"Yes," said another; "so they was. I saw the wreck myself. The lower +masts was standing." + +I didn't understand half of what they said; but it all seemed to be +full of terrible meaning, like the words heard in dreams. Marah was +very kind in his rough sailor's way, but I was homesick, achingly +homesick, and his jokes only made me more wretched than I was. At last +he told me to turn in again and get some sleep, and, after I had +tucked myself up, the men were quieter. I slept in a dazed, +light-headed fashion (as I had slept in the afternoon) till some time +early in the morning (at about one o'clock), when a hand shook my +hammock, and Marah's voice bade me rise. + +It was dark in the cave, almost pitch-dark. Marah took my arm and led +me downstairs to the lower cave, where one or two battle-lanterns made +it somewhat lighter. There were nearly twenty men gathered together in +the cave, and I could see that the lugger had been half filled with +stores, all securely stowed, ready for the sea. A little, +brightly-dressed mannikin, in a white, caped overcoat, was directing +matters, talking sometimes in English, sometimes in French, but always +with a refined accent and in picked phrases. He was clean shaven, as +far as I could see, and his eyes glittered in the lantern-light. The +English smugglers addressed him as Captain Sharp, but I learnt +afterwards that "Captain Sharp" was the name by which all their +officers were known, and that there were at least twenty other Captain +Sharps scattered along the coast. At the time, I thought that this man +was the supreme head, the man who had sent Mrs Cottier her present, +the man who had spoken to me that night of the snow-storm. + +"Here, Marah," he said, when he saw that I was taking too much notice +of him, "stow that lad away in the bows; he will be recognising me +by-and-by." + +"Come on, Jim," said Marah; "jump into the boat, my son." + +"But where are we going?" I asked, dismayed. + +"Going?" he answered. "Going? Going to make a man of you. Going to +France, my son." + +I hung back, frightened and wretched. He swung me lightly off the +ledge into the lugger's bows. + +"Now, come," he said; "you're not going to cry. I'm going to make a +man of you. Here, you must put on this suit of wrap-rascal, and these +here knee-boots, or you'll be cold to the bone,'specially if you're +sick. Put 'em on, son, before we sail." He didn't give me time to +think or to refuse, but forced the clothes upon me; they were a world +too big. "There," he said; "now you're quite the sailor." He gave a +hail to the little dapper man above him. "We're all ready, Captain +Sharp," he cried, "so soon as you like." + +"Right," said the Captain. "You know what you got to do. Shove off, +boys!" + +A dozen more smugglers leaped down upon the lugger; the gaskets were +cast off the sails, a few ropes were flung clear. I saw one or two men +coiling away the lines which had lashed us to the rocks. The dapper +man waved his hands and skipped up the staircase. + +"Good-bye, Jim," said some one. "So long--so long," cried the +smugglers to their friends. Half-a-dozen strong hands walked along the +ledge with the sternfast, helping to drag us from the cave. "Quietly +now," said Marah, as the lugger moved out into the night. "Heave, oh, +heave," said the seamen, as they thrust her forward to the sea. The +sea air beat freshly upon me, a drop or two of rain fell, wetting my +skin, the water talked under the keel and along the cliff-edge--we +were out of the cave, we were at sea; the cave and the cliff were a +few yards from us, we were moving out into the unknown. + +"Aft with the boy, out of the way," said some one; a hand led me aft +to the stern sheets, and there was Marah at the tiller. "Get sail on +her," he said in a low voice. + +The men ran to the yards and masts, the masts were stepped and the +yards hoisted quietly. There was a little rattle of sheets and blocks, +the sails slatted once or twice. Then the lugger passed from the last +shelter of the cliff; the wind caught us, and made us heel a little; +the men went to the weather side; the noise of talking water +deepened. Soon the water creamed into brightness as we drove through +it. They set the little main topsail--luggers were never very strictly +rigged in those days. + +"There's the Start Light, Jim," said Marah. "Bid it good-bye. You'll +see it no more for a week." + +They were very quiet in the lugger; no one spoke, except when the +steersman was relieved, or when the master wished something done among +the rigging. The men settled down on the weather side with their pipes +and quids, and all through the short summer night we lay there, +huddled half asleep together, running to the south like a stag. At +dawn the wind breezed up, and the lugger leaped and bounded till I +felt giddy; but they shortened no sail, only let her drive and +stagger, wasting no ounce of the fair wind. The sun came up, the waves +sparkled, and the lugger drove on for France, lashing the sea into +foam and lying along on her side. I didn't take much notice of things +for I felt giddy and stunned; but the change in my circumstances had +been so great--the life in the lugger was so new and strange to +me--that I really did not feel keen sorrow for being away from my +friends. I just felt stunned and crushed. + +Marah was at the taffrail looking out over the water with one hand on +the rail. He grinned at me whenever the sprays rose up and crashed +down upon us. "Ha," he would say, "there she sprays; that beats your +shower-baths," and he would laugh to see me duck whenever a very heavy +spray flung itself into the boat. We were tearing along at a great +pace and there were two men at the tiller: Marah was driving his boat +in order to "make a passage." We leaped and shook, and lay down and +rushed, like a thing possessed; our sails were dark with the spray; +nearly every man on board was wet through. + +By-and-by Marah called me to him and took me by the scruff of the neck +with one hand. "See here," he said, putting his mouth against my ear; +"look just as though nothing was happening. You see that old Gateo at +the lee tiller? Well, watch him for a moment. Now look beyond his red +cap at the sea. What's that? Your eyes are younger--I use tobacco too +much to have good eyes. What's that on the sea there?" + +I looked hard whenever the lugger rose up in a swell. "It's a sail," I +said, in a low voice; "a small sail. A cutter by the look of her." + +"Yes," he said, "she's a cutter. Now turn to windward. What d'ye make +of that?" + +He jerked himself around to stare to windward and ahead of us. Very +far away, I could not say how far, I saw, or thought I saw, several +ships; but the sprays drove into my face and the wind blew the tears +out of my eyes. "Ships," I answered him. "A lot of ships--a whole +convoy of ships." + +"Ah," he answered, "that's no convoy. That's the fleet blockading +Brest, my son. That cutter's a revenue cruiser, and she's new from +home; her bottom's clean, otherwise we'd dropped her. She's going to +head us off into the fleet, and then there will be James M'Kenna." + +"Who was he?" I asked. + +"Who? James M'Kenna?" he answered lightly. "He stole the admiral's +pig. He was hanged at the yardarm until he was dead. You thank your +stars we have not got far to go. There's France fair to leeward; but +that cutter's between us and there, so we shall have a close call to +get home. P'raps we shall not _get_ home--it depends, my son." + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FRIGATE "LAOCOON" + + +By this time the other smugglers had become alarmed. The longboat gun, +which worked on a slide abaft all, was cleared, and the two little +cohorns, or hand-swivel guns, which pointed over the sides, were +trained and loaded. A man swarmed up the mainmast to look around. +"The cutter's bearing up to close," he called out. "I see she's the +Salcombe boat." + +"That shows they have information," said Marah grimly, "otherwise +they'd not be looking for us here. Some one had been talking to his +wife." He hailed the masthead again. "Have the frigates seen us yet?" + +For answer, the man took a hurried glance to windward, turned visibly +white to the lips, and slid down a rope to the deck. "Bearing down +fast, under stunsails," he reported. "The cutter's signalled them with +her topsail. There's three frigates coming down," he added. + +"Right," said Marah. "I'll go up and see for myself." + +He went up, and came down again looking very ugly. He evidently +thought that he was in a hole. "As she goes," he called to the +helmsman, "get all you can on the sheets, boys. Now Jim, you're up a +tree; you're within an hour of being pressed into the Navy. How'd ye +like to be a ship's boy, hey, and get tickled up by a bo'sun's +rope-end?" + +"I shouldn't like it at all," I answered. + +"You'll like it a jolly sight less than that," said he, "and it's what +you'll probably be. We're ten miles from home. The cutter's in the +road. The frigates will be on us in half-an-hour. It will be a mighty +close call, my son; we shall have to fight to get clear." + +At that instant of time something went overhead with a curious +whanging whine. + +"That's a three-pound ball," said Marah, pointing to a spurt upon a +wave. "The cutter wants us to stop and have breakfast with 'em." + +"Whang," went another shot, flying far overhead. "Fire away," said +Marah. "You're more than a mile away; you will not hit us at that +range." + +He shifted his course a little, edging more towards the shore, so as +to cut transversely across the cutter's bows. We ran for twenty +minutes in the course of the frigates; by that time the cutter was +within half a mile and the frigates within three miles of us. All the +cutter's guns were peppering at us; a shot or two went through our +sails, one shot knocked a splinter from our fiferail. + +"They shoot a treat, don't they?" said Marah. "Another minute and they +will be knocking away a spar." + +Just as he spoke, there came another shot from the cutter; something +aloft went "crack"; a rope unreeved from its pulley and rattled on to +the deck; the mizen came down in a heap: the halliards had been cut +clean through. The men leaped to repair the damage; it took but a +minute or two, but we had lost way; the next shot took us square +amidships and tore off a yard of our lee side. + +"We must give them one in return," he said. "Aft to the gun, boys." + +The men trained the long gun on the cutter. "Oh, Marah," I said, +"don't fire on Englishmen." + +"Who began the firing?" he answered. "I'm going to knock away some of +their sails. Stand clear of the breech," he shouted, as he pulled the +trigger-spring. The gun roared and recoiled; a hole appeared as if by +magic in the swelling square foresail of the cutter. "Load with +bar-shot and chain," said Marah. "Another like that and we shall rip +the whole sail off. Mind your eye. There goes her gun again." + +This time the shot struck the sea beside us, sending a spout of water +over our rail. Again Marah pulled his trigger-spring, the gun fell +over on its side, and the cutter's mast seemed to collapse into itself +as though it were wrapping itself up in its own canvas. A huge loose +clue of sail--the foresail's starboard leach--flew up into the air; +the boom swung after it; the gaff toppled over from above; we saw the +topmast dive like a lunging rapier into the sea. We had torn the +foresail in two, and the shot passing on had smashed the foremast just +below the cap. All her sails lay in a confused heap just forward of +the mast. + +"That's done her," said one of the smugglers. "She can't even use her +gun now." + +"Hooray!" cried another. "We're the boys for a lark." + +"Are you?" said Marah. "We got the frigates to clear yet, my +son. They'll be in range in two minutes or less. Look at them." + +Tearing after us, in chase, under all sail, came the frigates. Their +bows were burrowing into white heaps of foam; we could see the red +port-lids and the shining gun-muzzles; we could see the scarlet coats +of the marines, and the glint of brass on the poops. A flame spurted +from the bows of the leader. She was firing a shot over us to bid us +heave to. The smugglers looked at each other; they felt that the game +was up. Bang! Another shot splashed into the sea beside us, and +bounded on from wave to wave, sending up huge splashes at each +bound. A third shot came from the second frigate, but this also +missed. Marah was leaning over our lee rail, looking at the coast of +France, still several miles away. "White water," he cried suddenly. +"Here's the Green Stones. We shall do them yet." + +I could see no green stones, but a quarter of a mile away, on our +port-hand, the sea was all a cream of foam above reefs and sands just +covered by the tide. If they were to help us, it was none too soon, +for by this time the leading frigate was only a hundred yards from +us. Her vast masts towered over us. I could look into her open bow +ports; I could see the men at the bow guns waiting for the word to +fire. I have often seen ships since then, but I never saw any ship so +splendid and so terrible as that one. She was the _Laocoon_, and +her figurehead was twined with serpents. The line of her ports was of +a dull yellow colour, and as all her ports were open, the port-lids +made scarlet marks all along it. Her great lower studdingsail swept +out from her side for all the world like a butterfly-net, raking the +top of the sea for us. An officer stood on the forecastle with a +speaking-trumpet in his hand. + +"Stand by!" cried Marah. "They're going to hail us." + +"Ahoy, the lugger there!" yelled the officer. "Heave to at once or I +sink you. Heave to." + +"Answer him in French," said Marah to one of the men. + +A man made some answer in French; I think he said he didn't +understand. The officer told a marine to fire at us. The bullet +whipped through the mizen. "Bang" went one of the main-deck guns just +over our heads. We felt a rush and shock, and our mizen mast and sail +went over the side. + +Marah stood up and raised his hand. "We surrender, sir!" he shouted; +"we surrender! Down helm, boys." + +We swung round on our keel, and came to the wind. We saw the officer +nod approval and speak a word to the sailing-master, and then the +great ship lashed past us, a mighty, straining, heaving fabric of +beauty, whose lower studding-sails were wet half-way to their irons. + +"Now for it!" said Marah. He hauled his wind, and the lugger shot off +towards the broken water. "If we get among those shoals," he said, +"we're safe as houses. The frigate's done. She's going at such a pace +they will never stop her. Not till she's gone a mile. Not without they +rip the masts out of her. That officer ought to have known that +trick. That will be a lesson to you, Mr Jim. If ever you're in a +little ship, and you get chased by a big ship, you keep on till she's +right on top of you, and then luff hard all you know, and the chances +are you'll get a mile start before they come round to go after you." + +We had, in fact, doubled like a hare, and the frigate, like a +greyhound, had torn on ahead, unable to turn. We saw her lower +stunsail boom carry away as they took in the sail, and we could see +her seamen running to their quarters ready to brace the yards and +bring the ship to her new course. The lugger soon gathered way and +tore on, but it was now blowing very fresh indeed, and the sea before +us was one lashing smother of breakers. Marah seemed to think nothing +of that; he was watching the frigates. One, a slower sailer than the +other, was sailing back to the fleet; the second had hove to about a +mile away, with her longboat lowered to pursue us. The boat was just +clear of her shadow; crowding all sail in order to get to us. The +third ship, the ship which we had tricked, was hauling to the wind, +with her light canvas clued up for furling. In a few moments she was +braced up and standing towards us, but distant about a mile. + +Suddenly both frigates opened fire, and the great cannon-balls ripped +up the sea all round us. + +"They'll sink us, sure," said one of the smugglers with a grin. + +The men all laughed, and I laughed too; we were all so very much +interested in what was going to happen. The guns fired steadily one +after the other in a long rolling roar. The men laughed at each shot. + +"They couldn't hit the sea," they said derisively. "The navy gunners +are no use at all." + +"No," said Marah, "they're not. But if they keep their course another +half-minute they'll be on the sunk reef, and a lot of 'em'll be +drowned. I wonder will the old _Laocoon_ take a hint." + +"Give 'em the pennant," said Gateo. + +"Ay, give it 'em," said half-a-dozen others. "Don't let 'em wreck." + +Marah opened the flag-locker, and took out a blue pennant (it had a +white ball in the middle of it), which he hoisted to his main +truck. "Let her go off," he cried to the helmsman. + +For just a moment we lay broadside on to the frigate, a fair target +for her guns, so that she could see the pennant blowing out clear. + +"You see, Jim?" asked Marah. "That pennant means 'You are standing in +to danger.' Now we will luff again." + +"I don't think they saw it, guv'nor," said one of the sailors as +another shot flew over us. "They'll have to send below to get their +glasses, those blind navy jokers." + +"Off," said Marah, quickly; and again we lay broadside on, tumbling in +the swell, shipping heavy sprays. + +This time they saw it, for the _Laocoon's_ helm was put down, her +great sails shivered and threshed, and she stood off on the other +tack. As she stood away we saw an officer leap on to the taffrail, +holding on by the mizen backstays. "Tar my wig," said Marah, "if he +isn't bowing to us!" + +Sure enough the officer took off his hat to us and bowed gracefully. + +"Polite young man," said Marah. "We will give them the other pennant." +Another flag, a red pennant, was hoisted in place of the +blue. "Wishing you a pleasant voyage," said Marah. "Now luff, my +sons. That longboat will be on to us." + +Indeed, the longboat had crept to within six hundred yards of us; it +was time we were moving, though the guns were no longer firing on us +from the ships. + +"Mind your helm, boys," said Marah as he went forward to the +bows. "I've got to con you through a lot of bad rocks. You'll have to +steer small or die." + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BLACK POOL BAY + + +I shall not describe our passage through the Green Stones to +Kermorvan, but in nightmares it comes back to me. We seemed to wander +in blind avenues, hedged in by seas, and broken water, awful with the +menace of death. For five or six hours we dodged among rocks and +reefs, wet with the spray that broke upon them and sick at heart at +the sight of the whirlpools and eddies. I think that they are called +the Green Stones because the seas break over them in bright green +heaps. Here and there among them the tide seized us and swept us +along, and in the races where this happened there were sucking +whirlpools, strong enough to twist us round. How often we were near +our deaths I cannot think, but time and time again the backwash of a +breaker came over our rail in a green mass. When we sailed into +Kermorvan I was only half conscious from the cold and wet. I just +remember some one helping me up some steps with seaweed on them. + +We stayed in Kermorvan for a week or more, waiting for our cargo of +brandy, silk, and tobacco, and for letters and papers addressed to the +French war-prisoners in the huge prison on Dartmoor. + +I was very unhappy in Kermorvan, thinking of home. It would have been +less dismal had I had more to do, but I was unoccupied and a prisoner, +in charge of an old French woman, who spoke little English, so that +time passed slowly indeed. At last we set sail up the coast, hugging +the French shore, touching at little ports for more cargo till we came +to Cartaret. Here a French gentleman (he was a military spy) came +aboard us, and then we waited two or three days for a fair wind. At +last the wind drew to the east, and we spread all sail for home on a +wild morning when the fishermen were unable to keep the sea. + +At dusk we were so near to home that I could see the Start and the +whole well-known coast from Salcombe to Dartmoor. In fact I had plenty +of time to see it, for we doused our sails several miles out to sea, +and lay tossing in the storm to a sea-anchor, waiting for the short +summer night to fall. When it grew dark enough (of course, in that +time of year, it is never very dark even in a storm) we stole in, mile +by mile, to somewhere off Flushing, where we showed a light. We showed +it three times from the bow, and at the last showing a red light +gleamed from Flushing Church. That was the signal to tell us that all +was safe, so then we sailed into Black Pool Bay, where the breakers +were beating fiercely in trampling ranks. + +There were about a dozen men gathered together on the beach. We sailed +right in, till we were within ten yards of the sands, and there we +moored the lugger by the head and stern, so that her freight could be +discharged. The men on the beach waded out through the surf (though it +took them up to the armpits), and the men in the lugger passed the +kegs and boxes to them. Waves which were unusually big would knock +down the men in the water, burden and all, and then there would be +laughter from all hands, and grumbles from the victim. I never saw men +work harder. The freight was all flung out and landed and packed in +half an hour. It passed out in a continual stream from both sides of +the boat; everybody working like a person possessed. And when the +lugger was nearly free of cargo, and the string of workers in the +water was broken on the port side, it occurred to me that I had a +chance of escape. It flashed into my mind that it was dark, that no +one in the lugger was watching me, that the set of the tide would +drive me ashore (I was not a good swimmer, but I knew that in five +yards I should be able to touch bottom), and that in another two +hours, or less, I should be in bed at home, with all my troubles at an +end. + +When I thought of escaping, I was standing alone at the stern. A lot +of the boat's crew were in the water, going ashore to "run" the cargo, +on horseback, to the wilds of Dartmoor. The others were crowded at the +bow, watching them go, or watching the men upon the beach, moving here +and there by torchlight, packing the kegs on the horses' backs. It was +a wild scene. The wind blew the torches into great red fiery banners; +the waves hissed and spumed, and glimmered into brightness; you could +see the horses shying, and the men hurrying to and fro; and now and +then some one would cry out, and then a horse would whinny. All the +time there was a good deal of unnecessary talk and babble; the voices +and laughter of the seamen came in bursts as the wind lulled. Every +now and then a wave would burst with a smashing noise, and the +smugglers would laugh at those wetted by the spray. I saw that I had a +better chance of landing unobserved on the port side; so I stole to +that side, crawled over the gunwale, and slid into the sea without a +splash. + +The water made me gasp at first; but that only lasted a second. I made +a gentle stroke or two towards the shore, trying not to raise my head +much, and really I felt quite safe before I had made three +strokes. When you swim in the sea at night, you see so little that you +feel that you, in your turn, cannot be seen either. All that I could +see was a confused mass of shore with torchlights. Every now and then +that would be hidden from me by the comb of a wave; and then a +following wave would souse into my face and go clean over me; but as +my one thought was to be hidden from the lugger, I rather welcomed a +buffet of that sort. I very soon touched bottom, for the water near +the beach is shallow. I stood up and bent over, so as not to be seen, +and began to stumble towards the shelter of the rocks. The business of +lading the horses was going steadily forward, with the same noisy +hurry. I climbed out of the backwash of the last breaker, and dipped +down behind a rock, high and dry on the sands. I was safe, I thought, +safe at last, and I was too glad at heart to think of my sopping +clothes, and of the cold which already made me shiver like an +aspen. Suddenly, from up the hill, not more than a hundred yards from +me, came the "Hoo-hoo" of an owl, the smuggler's danger signal. The +noise upon the beach ceased at once; the torches plunged into the sand +and went out: I heard the lugger's crew cut their cables and hoist +sail. + +A voice said, "Carry on, boys. The preventives are safe at Bolt Tail," +and at that the noise broke out as before. + +Some one cried "Sh," and "Still," and in the silence which followed, +the "Hoo-hoo" of the owl called again, with a little flourishing note +at the end of the call. + +A man cried out, "Mount and scatter." + +Some one else cried, "Where's Marah?" and as I lay crouched, some one +bent over me and touched me. + +"Sorry, Jim," said Marah's voice. "I knew you'd try it. You only got +your clothes wet. Come on, now." + +"Hoo-hoo" went the owl again, and at this, the third summons, we +distinctly heard many horses' hoofs coming at a gallop towards us, +though at a considerable distance. + +"Marah! Come on, man!" cried several voices. + +"Come on," said Marah, dragging me to the horses. "Off, boys," he +called. "Scatter as you ride," Many horses moved off at a smart trot +up the hill to Stoke Fleming. Their horses' feet were muffled with +felt, so that they made little noise, although they were many. + +Marah swung me up into the saddle of one of the three horses in his +care. He himself rode the middle horse. I was on his off side. The +horse I mounted had a keg of spirits lashed to the saddle behind me; +the horse beyond Marah was laden like a pack-mule. + +"We're the rearguard," said Marah to me. "We must bring them clear +off. Ride, boys--Strete road," he called; and the smugglers of the +rearguard clattered off by the back road, or broken disused lane, +which leads to Allington. Still Marah waited, the only smuggler now +left on the beach. The preventive officers were clattering down the +hill to us, less than a quarter of a mile away. "It's the preventives +right enough," he said, as a gust of wind brought the clatter of +sabres to us, above the clatter of the hoofs. "We're in for a run +to-night. Some one's been blabbing. I think I know who. Well, I pity +him. That's what. I pity him. Here, boy. You ought not to ha' tried to +cut. You'll be half frozen with the wet. Drink some of this." + +He handed me a flask, and forced me to take a gulp of something hot; +it made me gasp, but it certainly warmed me, and gave me heart after +my disappointment. I was too cold and too broken with misery to be +frightened of the preventives. I only prayed that they might catch me +and take me home. + +We moved slowly to the meeting of the roads, and there Marah halted +for a moment. Our horses stamped, and then whinnied. A horse on the +road above us whinnied. + +One of the clattering troop cried, "There they are. We have them. Come +along, boys." + +Some one--I knew the voice--it was Captain Barmoor, of the +Yeomanry--cried out, "Stand and surrender." And then I saw the sabres +gleam under the trees, and heard the horses' hoofs grow furious upon +the stones. Marah stood up in his stirrups, and put his fingers in his +mouth, and whistled a long, wailing, shrill whistle. Then he kicked +his horses and we started, at a rattling pace, up the wretched +twisting lane which led to Allington. + +Now, the preventives, coming downhill at a tearing gallop, could not +take the sharp turn of the lane without pulling up; they got mixed in +some confusion at the turning, and a horse and rider went into the +ditch. We were up the steep rise, and stretching out at full tilt for +safety, before they had cleared the corner. Our horses were fresh; +theirs had trotted hard for some miles under heavy men, so that at the +first sight the advantage lay with us; but their horses were better +than ours, and in better trim for a gallop. Marah checked the three +horses, and let them take it easy, till we turned into the +well-remembered high road which leads from Strete to my home. Here, on +the level, he urged them on, and the pursuit swept after us; and here +in the open, I felt for the first time the excitement of the hunt. I +wanted to be caught; I kept praying that my horse would come down, or +that the preventives would catch us; and at the same time the hurry of +our rush through the night set my blood leaping, made me cry aloud as +we galloped, made me call to the horses to gallop faster. There was +nothing on the road; no one was travelling; we had the highway to +ourselves. Near the farm at the bend we saw men by the roadside, and +an owl called to us from among them, with that little flourish at the +end of the call which I had heard once before that evening. We dashed +past them; but as Marah passed, he cried out, "Yes. Be quick." And +behind us, as we sped along, we heard something dragged across the +road. The crossways lay just beyond. + +To my surprise, Marah never hesitated. He did not take the Allington +road, but spurred uphill towards the "Snail's Castle," and the road to +Kingsbridge. As we galloped, we heard a crash behind us, and the cry +of a hurt horse, and the clatter of a sword upon the road. Then more +cries sounded; we could hear our pursuers pulling up. + +"They're into a tree-trunk," said Marah. "Some friends put a tree +across, and one of them's gone into it. We shall probably lose them +now," he added. "They will go on for Allington. Still, we mustn't wait +yet." + +Indeed, the delay was only momentary. The noise of the horses soon +re-commenced behind us; and though they paused at the cross-roads, it +was only for a few seconds. Some of the troopers took the Allington +road. Another party took the road which we had taken; and a third +party stopped (I believe) to beat the farm buildings for the men who +had laid the tree in the road. + +We did not stop to see what they were doing, you may be sure; for when +Marah saw that his trick had not shaken them off, he began to hurry +his horses, and we were soon slipping and sliding down the steep +zigzag road which leads past "Snail's Castle." I had some half-formed +notion of flinging myself off my horse as we passed the door, or of +checking the horse I rode, and shouting for help. For there, beyond +the corner, was the house where I had been so happy, and the light +from the window lying in a yellow patch across the road; and there was +Hoolie's bark to welcome us. Perhaps if I had not been wet and cold I +might have made an attempt to get away; and I knew the preventives +were too close to us for Marah to have lingered, had I done so. + +But you must remember that we were riding very fast, that I was very +young, and very much afraid of Marah, and that the cold and the fear +of the preventives (for in a way I was horribly frightened by them) +had numbed my brain. + +"Don't you try it," said Marah, grimly, as we came within sight of the +house. "Don't you try it." He snatched my rein, bending forward on his +horse's neck, calling a wild, queer cry. It was one of the gipsy +horse-calls, and at the sound of it the horses seemed to lose their +wits, for they dashed forward past the house, as though they were +running away. It was as much as I could do to keep in the saddle. +What made it so bitter to me was the opening of the window behind me. +At the sound of the cry, and of those charging horses, some one--some +one whom I knew so well, and loved so--ran to the window to look +out. I heard the latch rattling and the jarring of the thrown-back +sash, and I knew that some one--I would have given the world to have +known who--looked out, and saw us as we swept round the corner and +away downhill. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +IN THE VALLEY + + +We turned down the valley, along the coast-track, splashing through +the little stream that makes it so boggy by the gate, and soon we were +on the coach-road galloping along the straight two miles towards Tor +Cross. + +Our horses were beginning to give way, for we had done four miles at +good speed, and now the preventives began to gain upon us. Looking +back as we galloped we could see them on the straight road, about two +hundred yards away. Every time we looked back they seemed to be +nearer, and at last Marah leant across and told me to keep low in my +saddle, as he thought they were going to fire on us. A carbine shot +cracked behind us, and I heard the "zip" of the bullet over me. + +A man ran out suddenly from one of the furze-bushes by the road, and a +voice cried, "Stop them, boys!" The road seemed suddenly full of +people, who snatched at our reins, and hit us with sticks. I got a +shrewd blow over the knee, and I heard Marah say something as he sent +one man spinning to the ground. "Crack, crack!" went the carbines +behind us. Some one had hold of my horse's reins, shouting, "I've got +_you_, anyway!" Then Marah fired a pistol--it all happened in a +second--the bullet missed, but the flash scorched my horse's nose; the +horse reared, and knocked the man down, and then we were clear, and +rattling along to Tor Cross. + +Looking back, we saw one or two men getting up from the road, and then +half-a-dozen guns and pistols flashed, and Marah's horse screamed and +staggered. There was a quarter of a mile to go to Tor Cross, and that +quarter-mile was done at such a speed as I have never seen since. +Marah's horse took the bit in his teeth, and something of his terror +was in our horses too. + +In a moment, as it seemed, we were past the houses, and over the rocks +by the brook-mouth; and there, with a groan, Marah's horse came +down. Marah was evidently expecting it, for he had hold of my rein at +the time, and as his horse fell he cleared the body. "Get down, Jim," +he said. "We're done. The horses are cooked. They have had six miles; +another mile would kill them. Poor beast's heart's burst. Down with +you." He lifted me off the saddle, and lashed the two living horses +over the quarters with a strip of seaweed. He patted the dead horse, +with a "Poor boy," and dragged me down behind one of the black rocks, +which crop up there above the shingle. + +The two horses bolted off along the strand, scattering the pebbles, +and then, while the clash of their hoofs was still loud upon the +stones, the preventives came pounding up, their horses all badly blown +and much distressed. Their leader was Captain Barmoor. I knew him by +his voice. + +"Here's a dead horse!" he cried. "Sergeant, we have one of their +horses. Get down and see if there's any contraband upon him. After +them, you others. We shall get them now. Ride on, I tell you! What are +you pulling up for?" + +The other preventives crashed on over the shingle. Captain Barmoor and +the sergeant remained by the dead horse. Marah and I lay close under +the rock, hardly daring to breathe, and wondering very much whether we +made any visible mark to the tall man on his horse. Shots rang out +from the preventives' carbines, and the gallopers made a great clash +upon the stones. We heard the sergeant's saddle creak, only a few +yards away, and then his boots crunched on the beach as he walked up +to the dead horse. + +"No. There be no tubs here, sir," he said, after a short +examination. "Her be dead enough. Stone dead, sir. There's an empty +pistol-case, master." + +"Oh," said Captain Barmoor. "Any saddlebag, or anything of that kind?" + +The man fumbled about in the gear. "No, there was nothing of that +kind--nothing at all." + +"Bring on the saddle," said the captain. "There may be papers stitched +in it." We heard the sergeant unbuckling the girth. "By the way," said +the captain, "you're sure the third horse was led?" + +"Yes," said the sergeant. "Two and a led horse there was, sir." + +"H'm," said the captain. "I wonder if they have dismounted. They might +have. Look about among the rocks there." + +I saw Marah's right hand raise his horse-pistol, as the sergeant +stepped nearer. In another moment he must have seen us. If he had even +looked down, he could not have failed to see us: but he stood within +six feet of us, looking all round him--looking anywhere but at his +feet. Then he walked away from us, and looked at the rocks near the +brook. + +"D'ye see them?" snapped the captain. + +"No, sir. Nothin' of 'em. They ben't about here, sir. I think they've +ridden on. Shall I look in the furze there, sir, afore we go?" + +"No," said the captain. "Well, yes. Just take a squint through it." + +But as the sergeant waddled uneasily in his sea-boots across the +shingle, the carbines of the preventives cracked out in a volley about +a quarter of a mile away. A shot or two followed the volley. + +"A shotgun that last, sir," said the sergeant. + +"Yes," said the captain. "Come along. There's another. Come, mount, +man. They're engaged." + +We heard the sergeant's horse squirming about as the sergeant tried to +mount, and then the two galloped off. Voices sounded close beside us, +and feet moved upon the sand. "Still!" growled Marah in my ear. Some +one cried out, "Further on. They're fighting further on. Hurry up, and +we shall see it." + +About a dozen Tor Cross men were hurrying up, in the chance of seeing +a skirmish. The wife of one of them--old Mrs. Rivers--followed after +them, calling to her man to come back. "I'll give it to 'ee, if 'ee +don't come back. Come back, I tell 'ee." They passed on rapidly, +pursued by the angry woman, while more shots banged and cracked +further and further along the shore. + +We waited till they passed out of hearing, and then Marah got +up. "Come on, son," he said. "We must be going. Lucky your teeth +didn't chatter, or they'd have heard us." + +"I wish they had heard us," I cried, hotly. "Then I'd have gone home +to-night. Let me go, Marah. Let me go home." + +"Next trip, Jim," he said kindly. "Not this. I want you to learn about +life. You will get mewed up with them ladies else, and then you will +never do anything." + +"Ah," I said. "But if you don't let me go I'll scream. Now then. I'll +scream." + +"Scream away, son," said Marah, calmly. "There's not many to hear +you. But you'll not get home after what you have seen to-night. Come +on, now." + +He took me by the collar, and walked me swiftly to a little cove, +where one or two of the Tor Cross fishers kept their boats. I heard a +gun or two away in the distance, and then a great clatter of shingle, +as the coastguards' horses trotted back towards us, with the led horse +between two of them, as the prize of the night. They did not hear us, +and could not see us, and Marah took good care not to let me cry out +to them. He just turned my face up to his, and muttered, "You just try +it. You try it, son, and I'll hold you in the sea till you choke." + +The wind was blowing from the direction of the coastguards towards us, +and even if I had cried out, perhaps, they would never have heard +me. You may think me a great coward to have given in in this way; but +few boys of my age would have made much outcry against a man like +Marah. He made the heart die within you; and to me, cold and wet from +my ducking, terrified of capture in spite of my innocence (for I was +not at all sure that the smugglers would not swear that I had joined +them, and had helped them in their fights and escapades), the outlook +seemed so hopeless and full of misery that I could do nothing. My one +little moment of mutiny was gone, my one little opportunity was lost. +Had I made a dash for it--But it is useless to think in that way. + +Marah got into the one boat which floated in the little artificial +creek, and thrust me down into the stern sheets. Then he shoved her +off with a stretcher (the oars had been carried to the fisher's house, +there were none in the boat), and as soon as we were clear of the +rocks, in the rather choppy sea, he stepped the stretcher in the +mast-crutch as a mast, and hoisted his coat as a sail. He made rough +sheets by tying a few yards of spun-yarn to the coat-skirts, and then, +shipping the rudder, he bore away before the wind towards the cave by +Black Pool. + +We had not gone far (certainly not fifty yards), when we saw the +horses of the coastguards galloping down to the sea, one of the horses +shying at the whiteness of the breaking water. + +A voice hailed us. "Boat ahoy!" it shouted; "what are you doing in the +boat there?" + +And then all the horsemen drew up in a clump among the rocks. + +"Us be drifting, master," shouted Marah, speaking in the broad dialect +of the Devon men; "us be drifting." + +"Come in till I have a look at you," cried the voice again. "Row in to +the rocks here." + +"Us a-got no o-ars," shouted Marah, letting the boat slip on. "Lie +down, son," he said; "they will fire in another minute." + +Indeed, we heard the ramrods in the carbines and the loud click of the +gun-cocks. + +"Boat ahoy!" cried the voice again. "Row in at once! D'ye hear? Row in +at once, or I shall fire on you." + +Marah did not answer. + +"Present arms!" cried the voice again after a pause; and at that Marah +bowed down in the stern sheets under the gunwale. + +"Fire!" said the voice; and a volley ripped up the sea all round us, +knocking off splinters from the plank and flattening out against the +transom. + +"Keep down, Jim; you're all right," said Marah. "We will be out of +range in another minute." + +Bang! came a second volley, and then single guns cracked and banged at +intervals as we drew away. + +For the next half-hour we were just within extreme range of the +carbines and musketoons. During that half-hour we were slowly slipping +by the long two miles of Slapton sands. We could not go fast, for our +only sail was a coat, and, though the wind was pretty fresh, the set +of the tide was against us. So for half an hour we crouched below that +rowboat's gunwale, just peeping up now and then to see the white line +of the breakers on the sand, and beyond that the black outlines of the +horsemen, who slowly followed us, firing steadily, but with no very +clear view of what they fired at. I thought that the two miles would +never end. Sometimes the guns would stop for a minute, and I would +think, "Ah! now we are out of range," or, "Now they have given us up." +And then, in another second, another volley would rattle at us, and +perhaps a bullet would go whining overhead, or a heavy chewed slug +would come "plob" into the boat's side within six inches of me. + +Marah didn't seem to mind their firing. He was too pleased at having +led the preventives away from the main body of the night-riders to +mind a few bullets. "Ah, Jim," he said, "there's three thousand pounds +in lace, brandy, and tobacco gone to Dartmoor this night. And all them +redcoat fellers got was a dead horse and a horse with a water-breaker +on him. And the dead horse was their own, _and_ the one they +took. I stole 'em out of the barrack stables myself." + +"But horse-stealing is a capital offence," I cried. "They could hang +you." + +"Yes," he said; "so they would if they could." Bang! came another +volley of bullets all round us. "They'd shoot us, too, if they could, +so far as that goes; but so far, they haven't been able. Never cross +any rivers till you come to the water, Jim. Let that be a lesson to +you." + +I have often thought of it since as sound advice, and I have always +tried to act upon it; but at the time it didn't give much comfort. + +At the end of half an hour we were clear of Slapton sands, and coming +near to Strete, and here even Marah began to be uneasy. He was +watching the horsemen on the beach very narrowly, for as soon as they +had passed the Lea they had stopped firing on us, and had gone at a +gallop to the beach boathouse to get out a boat. + +"What are they doing, Marah?" I asked. + +"Getting out a boat to come after us," he answered. "Silly fools! If +they'd done that at once they'd have got us. They may do it now. +There goes the boat." + +We heard the cries of the men as the boat ground over the +shingle. Then we heard shouts and cries, and saw a light in the +boathouse. + +"Looking for oars and sails," said Marah, "and there are none. Good, +there are none." + +Happily for us, there were none. But we heard a couple of horses go +clattering up the road to O'Farrell's cottage to get them. + +"We shall get away now," said Marah. + +In a few minutes we were out of sight of the beach. Then one of the +strange coast currents caught us, and swept us along finely for a few +minutes. Soon our boat was in the cave, snugly lashed to the +ring-bolts, and Marah had lifted me up the stairs to the room where a +few smugglers lay in their hammocks, sleeping heavily. Marah made me +drink something and eat some pigeon pie; and then, stripping my +clothes from me, he rubbed me down with a blanket, wrapped me in a +pile of blankets, and laid me to sleep in a corner on an old sail. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A TRAITOR + + +The next day, when I woke, a number of smugglers had come back from +their ride. They were sitting about the cave, in their muddy clothes, +in high good spirits. They had been chased by a few preventives as far +as Allington, and there they had had a brisk skirmish with the +Allington police, roused by the preventives' carbine fire. They had +beaten off their opponents, and had reached Dartmoor in safety. + +"Yes," said Marah; "all very well. But we have been blabbed on. We had +the cutter on us on our way out, and here we were surprised coming +home. It was the Salcombe cutter chased us, and it was the Salcombe +boys gave the preventives the tip last night. Otherwise they'd have +been in Salcombe all last night, watching Bolt Tail, no less. 'Stead +of that, they came lumbering here, and jolly near nabbed us. Now, it's +one of us. There's no one outside knows anything: and only +half-a-dozen in Salcombe knew our plans. Salcombe district supplies +North Devon; we supply to the east more. Who could it be, boys?" + +Some said one thing, some another. And then a man suggested "the +parson"; and when he said that it flashed across my mind that he meant +Mr Cottier, for I knew that sailors always called a schoolmaster a +parson, and I remembered how Mrs Cottier had heard his voice among the +night-riders on the night of the snow-storm just before Christmas. + +"No; it couldn't be the parson," said some one. "No one trusts the +parson." + +"I don't know as it couldn't be," said the man whom they called +Hankie. "He is a proper cunning one to pry out." + +"Ah!" said another smuggler. "And, come to think of it, we passed him +the afternoon afore we sailed. I was driving with the Captain. I was +driving the Captain here from Kingsbridge." + +"He knows the Captain," said Marah grimly. "He might have +guessed--seeing him with you--that you were coming to arrange a +run. Now, how would he know where we were bound?" + +"Guessed it," said Hankie. "He's been on a run or two with the +Salcombe fellers. Besides, he couldn't be far out." + +"No," said Marah, musingly; "he couldn't. And a hint would have been +enough to send the cutter after us." + +"But how did he put them on us last night?" said another smuggler. "We +had drawed them out proper to Bolt Tail to look for a cargo there. +Properly we had drawed them. Us had a boat and all, showing lights." + +"Well, if it was the parson who done it, he'd easily find a way," said +Marah. "We had better go over and see about it" + +Before they went they left me in charge of the old Italian man, who +taught me how to point a rope, which is one of the prettiest kinds of +plaiting ever invented. The day passed slowly--oh! so slowly; for a +day like that, so near home, yet so far away, and with so much misery +in prospect, was agonising. I wondered what they would do to Mr +Cottier; I wondered if ever I should get home again; I wondered +whether the coastguards would have sufficient sense to arrest Marah if +they saw him on the roads. In wondering like this, the day slowly +dragged to an end; and at the end of the day, just before a watery +sunset, Marah and the others returned, leading Mr Cottier as their +prisoner. + +It shows you what power the night-riders had in those days. They had +gone to Salcombe to Mr Cottier's lodgings; they had questioned him, +perhaps with threats, till he had confessed that he had betrayed them +to the preventives; then they had gagged him, hustled him downstairs +to a waiting closed carriage, and then they had quietly driven him on, +undisturbed, to their fastness in the cliff. It was sad to see a man +fallen so low, a man who had been at the University, and master of a +school. It was sad to see him, his flabby face all fallen in and white +from excess of fear, and to see his eyes lolling about from one to +another man, trying to find a little hope in the look of the faces in +the fast-darkening cave. + +"Well," he said surlily at last; "you have got me. What are you going +to do to me?" + +"What d'ye think you deserve?" said Marah. "Eh? You'd have had us all +hanged and glad, too. You'll see soon enough what we're going to do to +you." He struck a light for his pipe, and lit a candle in a corner of +the cave near where I lay. "You'll soon know _your_ fate," he +added. "Meanwhile, here's a friend of yours one--you might like to +talk to. You'll not get another chance." + +At this the man grovelled on the cave floor, crying out to them to let +him live, that he would give them all his money, and so on. + +"Get up," said Marah; "get up. Try and act like a man, even if you +aren't one." + +The man went on wailing, "What are you going to do to me?--what are +you going to do to me?" + +"Spike your guns," said Marah, curtly. "There's your friend in the +corner. Talk to him." + +He left us together in the cave; an armed smuggler sat at the cave +entrance, turning his quid meditatively. + +"Mr Cottier," I said, "do you remember Jim--Jim Davis?" + +"Jim!" cried Mr Cottier; "Jim, how did you come here?" + +"By accident," I said; "and now I'm a prisoner here, like you." + +"Oh, Jim," he cried, "what are they going to do to me? You must have +heard them. What are they going to do to me? Will they kill me, Jim?" + +I thought of the two coastguards snugly shut up in France, in one of +the inns near Brest, living at free-quarters, till the smugglers +thought they could be sure of them. When I thought of those two men I +felt that the traitor would not be killed; and yet I was not sure. I +believe they would have killed him if I had not been there. They were +a very rough lot, living rough lives, and a traitor put them all in +peril of the gallows. Smugglers were not merciful to traitors (it is +said that they once tied a traitor to a post at low-water mark, and +let the tide drown him), and Marah's words made me feel that Mr +Cottier would suffer some punishment: not death, perhaps, but +something terrible. + +I tried to reassure the man, but I could say very little. And I was +angry with him, for he never asked after his wife, nor after Hugh, his +son: and he asked me nothing of my prospects. The thought of his +possible death by violence within the next few hours kept him from all +thought of other people. Do not blame him. We who have not been tried +do not know how we should behave in similar circumstances. + +By-and-by the men came back to us. We were led downstairs, and put +aboard the lugger. Then the boat pushed off silently, sail was +hoisted, and a course was set down channel, under a press of +canvas. Mr Cottier cheered up when we had passed out of the sight of +the lights of the shore, for he knew then that his life was to be +spared. His natural bullying vein came back to him. He sang and joked, +and even threatened his captors. So all that night we sailed, and all +the next day and night--a wild two or three days' sailing, with spray +flying over us, and no really dry or warm place to sleep in, save a +little half-deck which they rigged in the bows. + +I should have been very miserable had not Marah made me work with the +men, hauling the ropes, swabbing down the decks, scrubbing the +paintwork, and even bearing a hand at the tiller. The work kept me +from thinking. The watches (four hours on, four hours off), which I +had to keep like the other men, made the time pass rapidly; for the +days slid into each other, and the nights, broken into as they were by +the night-watches, seemed all too short for a sleepy head like mine. + +Towards the end of the passage, when the weather had grown brighter +and hotter, I began to wonder how much further we were going. Then, +one morning, I woke up to find the lugger at anchor in one of the +ports of Northern Spain, with dawn just breaking over the olive-trees, +and one or two large, queer-looking, lateen-rigged boats, xebecs from +Africa, lying close to us. One of them was flying a red flag, and I +noticed that our own boat was alongside of her. I thought nothing of +it, but drew a little water from the scuttle-butt, and washed my face +and hands in one of the buckets. One or two of the men were talking at +my side. + +"Ah!" said one of them, "that's nine he did that way--nine, counting +him." + +"A good job, too," said another man. "It's us or them. I'd rather it +was them." + +"Yes," said another fellow; "and I guess they repent." + +The others laughed a harsh laugh, turning to the African boat with +curious faces, to watch our boat pulling back, with Marah at her +steering oar. + +I noticed, at breakfast (which we all ate together on the deck), that +Mr Cottier was no longer aboard the lugger. I had some queer +misgivings, but said nothing till afterwards, when I found Marah +alone. + +"Marah," I said, "where is Mr Cottier? What have you done to him?" + +He grinned at me grimly, as though he were going to refuse to tell +me. Then he beckoned me to the side of the boat. "Here," he said, +pointing to the lateen-rigged xebec; "you see that felucca-boat?" + +"Yes," I said. + +"Well, then," Marah continued, "he's aboard her--down in her hold: +tied somewhere on the ballast. That's where Mr Cottier is. Now you +want to know what we have done to him? Hey? Well, we've enlisted him +in the Spanish Navy. That felucca-boat is what they call a tender. +They carry recruits to the Navy in them boats. He will be in a Spanish +man-of-war by this time next week. They give him twenty dollars to buy +a uniform. He's about ripe for the Spanish Navy." + +"But, Marah," I cried, "he may have to fight against our ships." + +"All the better for us," he answered. "I wish all our enemies were as +easy jobs." + +I could not answer for a moment; then I asked if he would ever get +free again. + +"I could get free again," said Marah; "but that man isn't like +me. He's enlisted for three years. I doubt the war will last so +long. The free trade will be done by the time he's discharged. You +see, Jim, we free-traders can only make a little while the nations are +fighting. By this time three years Mr Cottier can talk all he's a +mind." + +I had never liked Mr Cottier, but I felt a sort of pity for him. Then +I felt that perhaps the discipline would be the making of him, and +that, if he kept steady, he might even rise in the Spanish Navy, since +he was a man of education. Then I thought of poor Mrs Cottier at home, +and I felt that her husband must be saved at all costs. + +"Oh, Marah," I cried, "don't let him go like that. Go and buy him +back. He doesn't deserve to end like that." + +"Rot!" said Marah, turning on his heel. "Hands up anchor! Forward to +the windlass, Jim. You know your duty." + +The men ran to their places. Very soon we were under sail again, out +at sea, with the Spanish coast in the distance astern, a line of +bluish hills, almost like clouds. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE + + +We had rough weather on the passage north, so that we were forced to +go slowly creeping from port to port, from Bayonne to Fecamp, always +in dread of boats of the English frigates, which patrolled the whole +coast, keeping the French merchantmen shut up in harbour. + +As we stole slowly to the north, I thought of nothing but the new +Spanish sailor. He would be living on crusts, so the smugglers told +me; and always he would have an overseer to prod him with a knife if, +in a moment of sickness or weariness, he faltered in his work, no +matter how hard it might be. But by this time I had learned that the +smugglers loved to frighten me. I know now that there was not a word +of truth in any of the tales they told me. + +At Etaples we were delayed for nearly a fortnight, waiting, first of +all, for cargo, and then for a fair wind. There were two other +smugglers' luggers at Etaples with us. They were both waiting for the +wind to draw to the south or southeast, so that they could dash across +to Romney Sands. + +As they had more cargo than they could stow, they induced Marah to +help them by carrying their surplus. They were a whole day arguing +about it before they came to terms; but it ended, as we all knew that +it would end, by Marah giving the other captains drink, and leading +them thus to give him whatever terms he asked. + +The other smugglers in our boat were not very eager to work with +strangers; but Marah talked them over. Only old Gateo would not listen +to him. + +"Something bad will come of it," he kept saying. "You mark what I say: +something bad will come of it." + +Then Marah would heave a sea-boot at him, and tell him to hold his +jaw; and the old man would mutter over his quid and say that we should +see. + +We loaded our lugger with contraband goods, mostly lace and brandy, an +extremely valuable cargo. The work of loading kept the men from +thinking about Gateo's warnings, though, like most sailors, they were +all very superstitious. + +Then some French merchants gave us a dinner at the inn, to wish us a +good voyage, and to put new spirit into us, by telling us what good +fellows we were. But the dinner was never finished; for before they +had begun their speeches a smuggler came in to say that the wind had +shifted, and that it was now breezing up from the southeast. So we +left our plates just as they were. The men rose up from their chairs, +drank whatever was in their cups at the moment, and marched out of the +inn in a body. + +To me it seemed bitterly cold outside the inn, I shivered till my +teeth chattered. + +Marah asked me if I had a touch of fever, or if I were ill, or "what +was it, anyway, that made me shiver so?" + +I said that I was cold. + +"Cold!" he said. "Cold? Why, it's one of the hottest nights we have +had this summer. Here's a youngster says he's cold!" + +One or two of them laughed at me then; for it was, indeed, a hot +night. They laughed and chaffed together as they cast off the mooring +ropes. + +For my part, I felt that my sudden chilly fit was a warning that there +was trouble coming. I can't say why I felt that, but I felt it; and I +believe that Marah in some way felt it, too. Almost the last thing I +saw that night, as I made up my bed under the half-deck among a few +sacks and bolts of canvas, was Marah scowling and muttering, as though +uneasy, at the foot of the foremast, from which he watched the other +luggers as they worked out of the river ahead of us. + +"He, too, feels uneasy," I said to myself. + +Then I fell into a troubled doze, full of dreams of sea-monsters, +which flapped and screamed at me from the foam of the breaking seas. + +I was not called for a watch that night. In the early morning, between +one and two o'clock, I was awakened by a feeling that something was +about to happen. I sat up, and then crept out on to the deck, and +there, sure enough, something was about to happen. Our sails were +down, we were hardly moving through the water, the water gurgled and +plowtered under our keel, there was a light mist fast fading before +the wind. It was not very dark, in fact it was almost twilight. One or +two stars were shining; there were clouds slowly moving over them; but +the sky astern of us was grey and faint yellow, and the land, the +Kentish coast, lay clear before us, with the nose of Dungeness away on +our port bow. It was all very still and beautiful. The seamen moved to +and fro about the lugger. Dew dripped from our rigging; the decks were +wet with dew, the drops pattered down whenever the lugger rolled. The +other boats lay near us, both of them to starboard. Their sails were +doused in masses under the mast. I could see men moving about; I could +hear the creaking of the blocks, as the light roll drew a rope over a +sheave. + +The boats were not very close to the shore; but it was so still, so +very peaceful, that we could hear the waves breaking on the beach with +a noise of hushing and of slipping shingle, as each wave passed with a +hiss to slither back in a rush of foam broken by tiny stones. A man in +the bows of the middle lugger showed a red lantern, and then doused it +below the half-deck. He showed it three times; and at the third +showing, we all turned to the shore, to see what signal the red light +would bring. The shore was open before us. In the rapidly growing +light, we could make out a good deal of the lie of the land. From the +northern end of the beach an answering red light flashed; and then, +nearer to us, a dark body was seen for a moment, kindling two green +fires at a little distance from each other. Our men were not given to +nervousness, they were rough, tough sailors; but they were all +relieved when our signals were answered. + +"It's them," they said. "It's all right. Up with the foresail. We must +get the stuff ashore. It'll be dawn in a few minutes, and then we +shall have the country on us." + +"Heave ahead, boys!" cried one of the men in the next lugger as she +drove past us to the shore. + +"Ay! Heave ahead," said Marah, eyeing the coast. + +He took the tiller as the lugger gathered way under her hoisted +foresail. While we slipped nearer to the white line of the breakers +along the sand, he muttered under his breath (I was standing just +beside him) in a way which frightened me. + +"I dunno," he said aloud. "But I've a feeling that there's going to be +trouble. I never liked this job. Here it is, almost daylight, and not +an ounce of stuff ashore. I'd never have come this trip if the +freights hadn't been so good. Here, you," he cried suddenly to one of +the men. "Don't you pass the gaskets. You'll furl no sails till you're +home, my son. Pass the halliards along so that you can hoist in a +jiffy." Then he hailed the other luggers. "Ahoy there!" he +called. "You mind your eyes for trouble." + +His words caused some laughter in the other boats. In our boat, they +caused the men to look around at Marah almost anxiously. He laughed +and told them to stand by. Then we saw that the beach was crowded with +men and horses, as at Black Pool, a week or two before. In the shallow +water near the beach, we dropped our killick. The men from the beach +waded out to us, our own men slipped over the side. The tubs and bales +began to pass along the lines of men, to the men in charge of the +horses. Only one word was spoken; the word "Hurry." At every moment, +as it seemed to me (full as I was of anxiety), the land showed more +clearly, the trees stood out more sharply against the sky, the light +in the east became more like a flame. + +"Hurry," said Marah. "It'll be dawn in a tick." + +Hurry was the watchword of the crews. The men worked with a will. Tub +after tub was passed along. Now and then we heard a splash and an +oath. Then a horse would whinny upon the beach, startled by a wave, +and a man would tell him to "Stand back," or "Woa yer." I caught the +excitement, and handed out the tubs with the best of them. + +I suppose that we worked in this way for half an hour or a little +more. The men had worked well at Black Pool, where the run had been +timed to end in darkness. Now that they had to race the daylight they +worked like slaves under an overseer. One string of horses trotted +off, fully loaded, within twenty minutes. A second string was led +down; in the growing light I could see them stamping and tossing; they +were backed right down into the sea, so that the water washed upon +their hocks. + +"Here, Jim," said Marah suddenly, stopping me in my work, "come here +to me. Look here," he said, when I stood before him. "It's getting too +light for this game. We may have to cut and run. Take this hatchet +here, and go forward to the bows. When I say 'cut,' you cut, without +looking round. Cut the cable, see? Cut it in two, mucho pronto. And +you, Hankin--you, Gateo. Stand by the halliards, stretch them along +ready to hoist. No. Hoist them. Don't wait. Hoist them now." + +One or two others lent their hands at the halliards, and the sails +were hoisted. The men in the other luggers laughed and jeered. + +"What are you hoisting sail for?" they cried. + +"Sail-drill of a forenoon," cried another, perhaps a deserter from the +navy. + +"Shut up," Marah answered. "Don't mind them, boys. Heave round. Heave +round at what you're doing. Over with them tubs, sons! My hat! Those +fellows are mad to be playing this game in a light like this. There's +a fort within three miles of us." + +He had hardly finished speaking, when one of the men at the side of +the lugger suddenly looked towards the beach, as though he had caught +sight of something. + +"Something's up," he said sharply. + +The beach and the shore beyond were both very flat in that part; +nothing but marshy land, overgrown with tussock-grass, and a few +sand-dunes, covered with bents. It was not a country which could give +much cover to an enemy; but in that half-light one could not +distinguish very clearly, and an enemy could therefore take risks +impossible in full day. + +"A lot of cattle there," said the smuggler who had spoken. "It's odd +there being so many." + +"Don't you graze many cattle here?" said Marah, looking ashore. + +"What! in the marsh?" said the man. "Not much." + +"Them's no cattle," said Marah, after a pause, "Them's not +cows. Them's horses. Sure they're horses. Yes, and there's men +mounting them. They have crawled up, leading their horses, and now +we're done. Look out, boys!" he shouted. "Look out! Get on board." + +Even as he spoke the whole shore seemed to bristle with cavalry. Each +slowly moving horse stopped a moment, for his rider to mount. There +were fifty or sixty of them: they seemed to spread all along the edge +of the bay except at the northern end, where the line was not quite +closed. + +"Sentries asleep," said Mafah. "This is the way they carry on in +Kent. Yes. There's the sentry. Asleep on the sand-dune. Oh, yes. Time +to wake up it is. You Mahon ape. Look at him." + +We saw the sentry leap to his feet, almost under the nose of a +horse. He was too much surprised even to fire his pistol. He just +jumped up, all dazed, holding up his hands to show that he +surrendered. We saw two men on foot secure his hands. That was our +first loss. + +It all happened very, very quickly. We were taken by surprise, all +unready, with our men ashore or mixed among the horses, or carrying +tubs in the water. The troops and preventives were over the last dune +and galloping down the sand to us almost before Marah had finished +speaking; yet even then in all the confusion, as a captain shouted to +us to "surrender in the name of the King," the smugglers were not +without resource. A young man in a blue Scotch bonnet jumped on one of +the horses, snatching another horse by the rein; half-a-dozen others +did the same; the second string, half-loaded, started as they were up +the sand and away at full gallop for the north end of the bay, where +no soldiers showed as yet. + +It was done in an instant of time; drilled horsemen could not have +done it; the little man in the blue bonnet saw the one loophole and +dashed for it. There was no shouting. One or two men spoke, and then +there it was--done. Practically all the horses were lashing along the +beach, going full tilt for safety: they galloped in a body like a +troop of cavalry. Two preventives rode at them to stop them, but they +rode slap into the preventives, tumbled them over, horse and man and +then galloped on, not looking back. A trooper reined in, whipped up +his carbine and fired, and that was the beginning of the fight. Then +there came a general volley; pistols and carbines cracked and banged; +a lot of smoke blew about the beach and along the water; our men +shouted to each other; the soldiers cheered. + +In another ten seconds a battle was going on in the water all round +us. The horsemen urged their horses right up to the sides of the +luggers. + +The men in the water hacked at the horses' legs with their hangers; +the horses screamed and bit. I saw one wounded horse seize a smuggler +by the arm and shake him as a dog shakes a rat; the rider of the +horse, firing at the man, shot the horse by accident through the +head. I suppose he was too much excited to know what he was doing--I +fancy that men in a battle are never quite sane. The horse fell over +in the water, knocking down another horse, and then there was a +lashing in the sea as the horse tried to rise. The smugglers cut at +him in the sea and all the time his rider was half under water trying +to get up and pulling at the trigger of his useless, wetted pistol. + +It all happened so quickly, that was the strange thing. In one minute +we were hard at work at the tubs, in the next we were struggling and +splashing, hacking at each other with swords, firing in each other's +faces. Half-a-dozen horsemen tried to drag the lugger towards the +shore, but the men beat them back, knocked them from their saddles, or +flogged the horses over the nose with pistol-butts. + +All this time the guns were banging, men were crying out, horses were +screaming; it was the most confused thing I ever saw. + +Marah knocked down a trooper with a broken cleat and shouted to me to +cut the cable--which I did at once. One or two men ran to trim sail, +and Marah took the tiller. At that moment a trooper rode into the sea +just astern of us--I remember to this day the brightness of the splash +his horse made; Marah turned at the noise and shot the horse; but the +man fired too, and Marah seemed to stagger and droop over the tiller +as though badly hit. Seeing that, I ran aft to help him. It seemed to +me as I ran that the side of the lugger was all red with clambering, +shouting soldiers, all of them firing pistols at me. + +Marah picked himself up as I got there. "Out of the way, boy," he +cried. Two or three smugglers rallied round him. There were more +shots, more cries. Half-a-dozen redcoats came aft in a rush; someone +hit me a blow on the head, and all my life seemed to pass from me in a +stream of fire out at my eyes. The last thing which I remember of the +tussle was the face of the man who hit me. He was a pale man with wide +eyes, his helmet knocked off, his stock loose at his throat; I just +saw him as I fell, and then everything passed from my sight in a sound +of roaring, like the roaring of waters in a spate. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +DRIFTING + + +When I recovered consciousness, the sun had risen; it was bright +daylight all about us. That was really the first thing which I +saw--the light of the sun on the deck. I struggled up to a sitting +position, feeling great pain in my head. Marah lying over the tiller +was the next thing which I saw; he was dead, I thought. Then I +realised what had happened; we had had a fight. We were not under +control; we were drifting with the tide up and down, with our sails +backing and filling; up and down the deck there were wounded men, some +of them preventives, some of them smugglers--poor Hankin was one of +them. When I stood up I saw that I was the only person on his feet in +the boat: it was not strange, perhaps. + +Some of our men had gone with the horses, others had been in the water +when the horsemen first charged them; probably all of those who had +been in the water were either killed or taken. We had had four men +aboard during the attack: of these one was badly hurt, another (Marah) +was unconscious, the remaining two were drinking under the half-deck, +having opened a tub of spirits. When I had stood up I felt a little +stronger; I heard Marah moan a little. I tottered to the scuttle-butt, +where we kept our drinking water; I splashed the contents of a couple +of pannikins over my head and then drank about a pint and a half; that +made me feel a different being. I was then able to do something for +the others. + +First of all I managed to help Marah down from his perch over the +tiller: he had fallen across it with his head and hands almost +touching the deck. I helped him, or rather, lifted him--for he could +not help himself--to the deck; it was as much as I could do, he was so +big and heavy. I put a tub under his head as a pillow, then I cut his +shirt open and saw that he had been shot in the chest. I ran forward +with a pannikin, drew some water, and gave him a drink. He drank +greedily, biting the tin, but did not recognise me; all that he could +say was "Rip-raps, Rip-raps," over and over again. The Rip-raps was +the name of a race or tideway on the Campeachy coast; he had often +told me about it, and I had remembered the name because it was such a +queer one. I bathed his wound with the water. + +After I had done what I could for Marah, I did the same for the +wounded soldier. He thanked me for my trouble in a little, low, weak +voice, infinitely serious--he seemed to think that I didn't believe +him. "I say, thank you; thank you," he repeated earnestly, and then he +gave a little gasp and fainted away in the middle of his thanks. + +At that, I stood up and began to cry. I had had enough of misery, and +that was more than I could bear. Between my sobs I saw--I did not +observe, I just saw--that the lugger was drifting slowly northward, +clear of Little Stone Point, as the smugglers had called it. I didn't +much care where we drifted, but having seen so much, it occurred to me +to see where the other luggers were. + +One of them, I saw, was on her course for France, a couple of miles +away already; the other was going for Dungeness, no doubt to pick up +more hands somewhere on the Dunge Marsh. It was like them, I thought, +to go off like that, leaving us to have the worst of the fight and +every chance of being taken; they only thought of their own +necks. When I saw that they had deserted us without even pausing to +put a helmsman aboard us, I knew that there was no honour among +thieves. There is not, in spite of what the proverb says. We were left +alone--a boy, two drunkards, and some wounded men, within half a mile +of the shore. + +I looked for the preventives, but I could not see them. Most of them +had gone after the horses across Romney Marsh. I did not know till +long afterwards that the smugglers had beaten off the rest of the +party, killing some and about twenty horses, and wounding nearly every +other man engaged. It had been, in fact, a very determined battle, one +of the worst ever fought between the smugglers and the authorities on +that coast. As soon as the fight was over, the luggers got out from +the shore, and the troops made off with their wounded to report at the +fort, and to signal the Ness cutter to go in chase. At the moment when +I looked for them they must, I think, have been rallying again. I +could not see them, that was enough for me. Years afterwards I talked +with one of the survivors, an old cavalryman. He told me how the fight +had seemed to him as he rode in at us. + +"And d'ye know, sir," he said, "they had a boy forward ready with an +axe to cut the cable, so I fired at him" ("Thank you," I thought); +"and just as I pulled the trigger one of their men hit my gee a welt, +and down he came in the water, and so, of course, I missed. But for +that, sir, we'd have got them." + +I wondered which of the men had saved my life by hitting that "gee a +welt" I wondered if he had been killed or taken, or whether he had got +aboard us afterwards, or whether one of the other luggers had saved +him. Well, I shall never know on this side of the grave. But it is +odd, is it not, that one should have one's life saved and never know +that it was in danger till twenty years afterwards, when the man who +saved it was never likely to be found? But I am getting away from my +story. + +I soon saw that the current was slowly setting us ashore. Marah, with +his great manliness, had steered the lugger out to sea for some six +hundred yards before he had collapsed. Then his fellows, seeing him, +as they supposed, dead, turned to drinking. The lugger, left to +herself, took charge, and swung round head to wind. Since then she had +drifted, sometimes making a stern-board, sometimes going ahead a +little, but nearly always drifting slowly shoreward, flogging her +gear, making a great clatter of blocks. If the soldiers had been half +smart they would have seen that she was not under command, and ridden +to Dymchurch, taken boat, and come after us. But they had had a severe +beating, many of them were wounded, and they had watched our start +feeling that we had safely escaped from them. I have never had much +opinion of soldiers. Boys generally take their opinions ready made +from their elders. I took mine from Marah, who, being a sailor, +thought that a soldier was something too silly for words. + +As we drifted I went back to Marah to bathe his head with water and to +give him drink. He was not conscious; he had even ceased babbling; I +was afraid that he could not live for more than a few hours at the +most. I had never really liked the man--I had feared him too much to +like him--but he had looked after me for so long, and had been, in his +rough way, so kind to me, that I cried for him as though he were my +only friend. He was the only friend within many miles of me, and now +he lay there dying in a boat which was drifting ashore to a land full +of enemies. + +It was a hateful-looking land, flat and desolate, dank and +dirty-looking. The flat, dull, dirty marsh country seemed to be +without life; the very grass seemed blighted. And we were drifting +ashore to it, fast drifting ashore to the tune of the two drunkards: + + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame: + Away, ho! Rise and shine. + There was a ship, and a ship of fame, + So rise and shine, my buck o boy." + +A ship manned by such a crew was hardly a ship of fame, I +thought. Then it occurred to me that if she went ashore I might escape +from her, might even get safely home, or at least get to London (I had +no notion how far London might be), where I thought that the Lord +Mayor, of whom I had often heard as a great man, would send me home. +I had a new half-crown in my pocket; that would be enough to keep me +in food on the road, I thought. And then, just as I thought that, a +little coast-current spun us in very rapidly, helped by the wind, for +about two hundred yards. This brought us very close to the shore, but +not quite near enough for me, who had no great wish to start my +journey wet through. + +I gave Marah a last sip of water, left a bucket of fresh water and a +pannikin close to him, in case he should recover (I never thought he +would), and then began to make up a little parcel of things to take +with me. I was wearing the clothes of a ship's boy, canvas trousers, +thick blucher shoes, a rough check shirt, and a straw hat. My own +clothes--the clothes which I had worn when I scrambled down the fox's +earth--were forward, under the half deck. I went to fetch them, and +got them safely, though the drunkards tried to stop me, and said that +they only wanted me to sing them a song to be as happy as +kings. However, I got away from them, and carried my belongings aft. I +then took the tarpaulin boat-rug, which covered our little Norwegian +pram or skiff, on its chocks between the masts. It was rather too +large for my purpose, so I cut it in two, using the one half as a +bundle-cover. The other half would make a sort of cape or cloak, I +thought, and to that end I folded it and slung it over my shoulder. I +gave my knife a few turns upon the grindstone, pocketed some twine +from one of the lockers, lashed my bundle in its tarpaulin as tightly +as I could, and then went aft to the provision lockers to get some +stores for the road. I took out a few ship's biscuits, a large hunk of +ham, some onions, and the half of a Dutch cheese. + +It occurred to me that I ought to eat before + +I started, as I did not know what might befall upon the road. When I +sat down upon the deck to begin my meal, I saw, to my horror, that we +were drifting out again. While I had been packing, we had been swept +off shore; by this time we were three hundred yards away, still +drawing further out to sea. Looking out, I saw that we were drifting +into a "jobble" or tide-race, which seemed to drift obliquely into the +shore. This made me feel less frightened, so I turned to my food, ate +heartily, and took a good swig at the scuttle-butt by way of a morning +draught. Then I undid my parcel, packed as much food into it as I +possibly could, and lashed it up again in its tarpaulin. I found a few +reins and straps in one of the lockers, so I made shoulder-straps of +them, and buckled my package to my shoulders. My last preparation was +to fill a half-pint glass flask (every man aboard carries one or two +of these). Just as I replaced its stopper, we swept into the jobble; +the lugger filled on one tack, and lay over, and the spray of a wave +came over us. Then we righted suddenly, came up into the wind with our +sails slatting, and made a stern-board. + +Nearer and nearer came the land; the shore, with its bent grass, +seemed almost within catapult shot. I heard the wash of the sea upon +the beach, I could see the pebbles on the sands shining as the foam +left them. And then, suddenly, the lugger drove ashore upon a bank, +stern first. In a moment she had swung round, broadside on to the +shoal, heaving over on her side. Every wave which struck her lifted +her further in, tossing her over on her starboard side. I could see +that the tide was now very nearly fully in, and I knew that the lugger +would lie there, high and dry, as soon as it ebbed. + +I made Marah as comfortable as I could, and called to the drunkards to +come with me. I told them that a revenue cutter was within six miles +of us (there was, as it happened, but she was at anchor off +Dymchurch), and that they had better be going out of that before they +got themselves arrested. For answer they jeered and made catcalls, +flinging a marline-spike at me. I tried a second time to make them +come ashore, but one of them said, "Let's do for him," and the other +cheered the proposal with loud yells. Then they came lurching aft at +me, so I just slipped over the side, and waded very hurriedly +ashore. The water was not deep (it was not up to my thighs in any +place), so that I soon reached the sand without wetting my +package. Then I looked back to see the two smugglers leaning over the +side, watching my movements. One of them was singing-- + + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame: + Away, ho! Rise and shine" + +in a cracked falsetto. The other one was saying, "You come back, you +young cub." + +But I did not do as they bid. I ran up the beach and as far across the +wet grassland as I could without once stopping. When I thought that I +was safe, I sat down under some bushes, took off my wet things, and +dressed myself in my own clothes. I wrung the water from the wet +canvas, repacked my parcel, and seeing a road close to me, turned into +it at once, resolved to ask the way to London at the first house. I +suppose that it was five o'clock in the morning when I began my +journey. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE "BLUE BOAR" + + +As I stepped out, the adventure, the fight, Marah's wound, all the +tumult of the battle, seemed very far away, and as though they had +happened to some one else who had told me of them. If my head had not +ached so cruelly from the blow which the soldier gave me, I should not +have believed that they had really occurred, and that I had seen them +and taken part in them. It seemed to me that I was close to my home, +that I should soon come to the combe country, where the Gara runs down +the valley to the sea, passing the slate quarry, so grey against the +copse. The road was good enough, though I was not in good trim for +walking, after so many days cooped up in the lugger. I stepped forward +bravely along a lonely countryside till I saw before me the houses of +a town. + +I thought that I had better skirt the town, lest I should tumble on +the coastguards and rouse their suspicions. It was too early in the +morning for a boy to be abroad, and I had no very satisfactory account +to give of myself in case anybody questioned me. I knew that if I said +that I had been among the smugglers I should be sent to prison. I felt +that the magistrate would be too angry to listen to my story, and that +they would perhaps send to me prison at once if they ever got hold of +me. Magistrates in those days had a great deal of power. They were +often illiterate, and they bullied and hectored the people whom they +tried. I had seen one or two bad magistrates at home, and I knew how +little chance I should stand if I told my unlikely story to a bench in +a court-house before such men as they were. So I turned up a small +road to the right, avoiding the town, where, as I could see, a good +deal of bustle was stirring; indeed, the streets were full of people. + +By-and-by, as the sun rose higher, I began to meet people. A few +labouring men came past me, one of them carrying a pitchfork. I +noticed that they looked at me curiously. One of them spoke, and said, +"You have been in the wars, master!" So I said, "Yes," and passed on, +wondering what he meant. After I had passed, the man stopped to look +back at me. I even heard him take a few steps towards me, before he +thought better of it, and went on upon his way. This set me wondering +if there were anything strange about my appearance; so, when I came to +the little brook or river, which crossed the road a little further on, +I went down to a pool where the water was still, and looked at my +image in the water. Sure enough, I had an odd appearance. The blow +which the soldier gave me had broken the skin of my scalp, not badly, +but enough to make an ugly scar. You may be sure that I lost no time +in washing my face and head, till no stains showed. I rebuked myself +for not having done this while aboard the lugger, when I had splashed +my head at the scuttle-butt. I felt all the better for the wash in the +brook; but when I took to the road again I had a great fear lest the +labourers should hear of the battle, and give out that they had seen a +wounded boy going along the road away from the beach. + +After a mile of lane, I came to a highroad, past a church and houses, +all very peaceful and still. I passed these, and wandered on along the +highroad, thinking that I had gone many miles from the sea, though, of +course, I had only gone a little distance. When one walks a new road, +one finds it much longer than it really is. I sat down by the roadside +now and then to think of plans. I felt that my best plan would be to +go to London, and see the Lord Mayor, who, I felt sure, would help me +to get home. But I had not much notion of where London was, and I knew +that if I went into a house to ask the road to London, people would +suspect that I was running away, and so, perhaps, find out that I had +been with the smugglers. I knew that many people there must be +smugglers themselves; but then, suppose that I asked at a house where +they were friends of the preventives? The smugglers had signs among +themselves by which they recognised each other. + +They used to scratch the left ear with the left little finger, and +then bite the lower lip, before shaking hands with anybody. I thought +that I would go into an inn and try these signs on somebody (on the +landlord if possible) and then ask his advice. An inn would be a good +place, I thought, because the landlord would be sure to buy from the +smugglers; besides, in inns there are generally maps of the country, +showing the coaching houses, and the days of the fairs. A map of the +kind would show me my road, and be a help to me in that way, even if +the landlord did not recognise my signs. And yet I was half afraid of +trying these signs. I did not want to get back among the smugglers. + +I only wanted to get to London. I had that foolish belief that the +Lord Mayor would help me. I was too young to know better; and besides, +I was afraid that my being with the smugglers would, perhaps, get me +hanged, if I were caught by one of those magistrates, whom I so much +feared. + +Presently I came to another little village, rather larger than the +last. There was an inn in the main street (the "Blue Boar"), so I went +into the inn-parlour, and looked about me. One or two men were talking +earnestly, in low voices, to a sad-faced, weary-looking woman behind +the bar. She looked up at me rather sharply as I entered, and the men +turned round and stared at me, made a few more remarks to the woman, +and went quickly out. I looked at the woman, scratched my left ear +with my left little finger, and bit my lower lip. She caught her +breath sharply and turned quite white; evidently she knew that sign +extremely well. + +"What is it?" she said, "what's the news? There's been +fighting. Where's Dick?" + +I said I didn't know where Dick was, but that there had been fighting, +sure enough; and the preventives had been beaten off. + +"Ah," she said, "and the stuff? Did they get the stuff off?" + +I said I believed that it had got off safely. + +"I believe everybody's bewitched to-day," she said, bursting into +tears. "Oh, Dick, come back to me. Come back to me. Oh, why did I ever +marry a man like you?" + +She cried bitterly for a few minutes. Then she asked me a lot of +questions about the fight. One question she repeated many times: "Was +there a grey horse in the second string?" + +But this I could not answer certainly. All the time that we were +talking, she was crying and laughing by turns. Whenever a person +entered (even if it were only the milkman) she turned white and shook, +as though expecting the police. + +"It's the palpitation," she would explain. "That and the sizzums." + +Then she would go on laughing and crying by turns until some one else +came in. + +Presently the landlady looked at me rather hard. "Here," she said, +"you are not one of them. You've run away from home, you have. What +are you doing here?" + +I said that I was on my way to London. + +"To London," she said. "What's a boy like you going to London for? +How are you going?" + +I said that I was going to walk there, to see the Lord Mayor. + +"To--see--the--Lord Mayor," she repeated. "Is the boy daft, or what?" + +I blushed, and hung my head, for I did not like to be laughed at. + +"What are you going to see the Lord Mayor for?" she asked with a +smile. + +I answered that he would send me home to my friends, as he was always +generous to people in distress. She laughed very heartily when I had +said this: but still, not unkindly. Then she asked me a lot of +questions about my joining the smugglers, about my friends at home +(particularly if they were well off), and about the money I had to +carry me to London. When I had told her everything, she said,--"Well, +why don't you write to your friends from here? Surely that's a more +sensible plan than going to London--why, London's seventy miles. Write +to your friends from here. They will get the letter in three or four +days. They will be here within a week from now. That's a wiser thing +to do than going to London. Why, you'd die in a ditch before you got +half-way." + +"I shouldn't," I answered hotly. + +"Well, if you didn't you'd get taken up. It's all the same," she +answered. "You stop here and write to your friends. I will see that +the letter goes all right. I suppose," she continued, "I suppose your +friends wouldn't let me be a loser by you? They'd pay for what you ate +and that?" + +"Yes," I said, "of course they will." + +"What's your name?" she said sharply. + +I told her. + +"Oh," she said. "Jim--Jim Davis. Let's see that shirt of yours, to see +if it's got your name on. I been taken in once or twice before. One +has to look alive, keeping an inn." + +Luckily my name was upon my shirt and stockings, so that she accepted +my story without further talk, especially as the contents of my +package showed her that I told her the truth about the lugger. + +"I don't know what Dick will say," she said. "But now you come up, and +I'll dress your head. You'll have to lie low, remember. It won't do +for a smuggler like you to be seen about here. So till your friends +come, you'll keep pretty dark, remember." + +She led me upstairs to plaster my wound. Then she put me into a little +bedroom on one of the upper floors, and told me to stay there till she +called me. There were one or two books upon the shelf, including a +funny one with woodcuts, a collection of tales and ballads, such as +the pedlers used to sell in those days. With this book, and with a +piece of paper and a pencil, I passed the morning more happily than I +can say. + +My head felt quite easy after it had been dressed and bandaged. My +troubles were nearly over, I thought. In a week my friends would be +there to fetch me away. In three days they would get my letter and +hear all about my adventures; so as I wrote I almost sang aloud; I was +so happy at the thought of my sorrows being ended. Mrs Dick (I never +learned her real name till some years afterwards) brought me some +bread and cheese at midday. As I ate, she sealed and addressed my +letter for me, and took it over to the post-house, so that the postman +could carry it to meet the mail, as it drove past from Rye towards +London. + +After my midday meal I felt strangely weary; perhaps all my +excitements had been too much for me. When Mrs Dick came back to say +that she had posted my letter I was almost asleep; but her manner was +so strange that it roused me. She could hardly speak from anxiety and +terror. + +"Oh," she cried, "they have raised the whole country. My Dick'll be +taken. He will. He will. They're riding all through the land arresting +everybody. And they're going to hang them all, they say, as soon as +they can give them their trials." + +She cried and cried as though her heart would break. I did what I +could to comfort her, but still she cried hysterically, and for all +that afternoon she sobbed and laughed in the little upper bedroom, +only going out at rare intervals, to peep into the bar, where her +servant served the guests. + +Towards five o'clock, the servant came running upstairs to say that a +lot of the smugglers had been taken. "A whole boatload," the girl +said, so that now it would "all come out, and master would be hanged." +Mrs Dick told her not to talk in that way of her master, but to find +out if any of the men had peached. + +When the girl had gone she seemed to collect herself. She became a +different woman in a minute. + +"Well, if he's taken," she said, "they'll be here. That's very +sure. They'll search the premises. They mustn't find you here, Mr Jim. +If they find you, they'll question you, and you know too much by a +long way." + +"Shall I go?" I asked. "I'm willing to clear out, if you wish." + +"Go?" she said. "Go? I will turn no poor boy out into the road. I have +a boy of my own, somewhere walking the world. No, I'll put you in the +drawing-room. Come with me, and don't make a noise." + +She led me downstairs to the foot of the lowest staircase, which was +rather broad, with high steps of stout old oak. + +"Look," she said, as she stepped away from me--I suppose to touch some +secret spring--"this is the drawing-room." + +As she spoke, the two lowest stairs suddenly rolled back upon a sort +of hinge, showing a little room, not much bigger than a couple of +barrels, arranged underneath them. There were blankets and a mattress +upon the floor of this little room, besides several packages like +those which I had seen in the lugger. + +"You'll have to stay here, Jim," she said kindly. "But first of all I +must get together Dick's papers and that. Come on and help me." + +Very soon she had gathered together a few papers and packets of +tobacco and lace, which might have brought Dick into trouble. She laid +these away in the recesses of the secret room, and told me to get +inside, and go to sleep, and above all things to keep very still if +people came along upon the stairs. I crept inside, rather frightened, +and lay down among the blankets, to get some rest. Then Mrs Dick swung +the two stairs back in to their place, a spring clicked, and I was a +prisoner in the dark, shut up in the drawing-room. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +TRACKED + + +It was very dark in the drawing-room under the stairs, and rather +stuffy, for the only light and air admitted came through a little +narrow crack, about six inches long, and half an inch across at its +broadest. There was a strong smell of mice, among other smells; and +the mice came scampering all over me before I had lain there long. I +lay as still as I could, because of what Mrs Dick had said, and +by-and-by I fell asleep in spite of the mice, and slept until it was +dark. + +I was awakened by the rolling back of the stairs. As I started up, +thinking that I was captured, I saw Mrs Dick standing over me with a +candle in her hand. + +"Hush, Jim," she said. "Get out quickly. Don't ask any questions. Get +out at once. You can't stay here any longer." + +"What has happened?" I asked. "Where is your husband? Has your husband +come home?" + +"Yes," she said. "And you must go. They're coming after you. You were +seen in the lugger with an axe in your hands. A man who passed you on +the road after, saw you in the lugger. He was with the soldiers, and +now he's given an information. Mary, the girl, heard it down at the +magistrate's, where the inquest is. And so you must go. Besides, I +want the drawing-room for my Dick. He has come back, and they'll be +after him quite likely. He was seen, they say. So he must lie low till +we've arranged the alibi, as they call it. Everybody has to have an +alibi. And so my Dick'll have one, just to make sure. Mind your head +against the stair." + +I crawled out, rubbing my eyes. + +"Where shall I go to?" I asked. + +"Oh," she said. "Until we find out, you had better go in the stable, +in among the feed in the box, or covered up in the hay." + +When she had settled her husband safely into the drawing-room, she +bustled me out of doors into the stable, which stood in the yard at +the back of the inn. She put me into a mass of loose hay, in one of +the unused stalls. + +"There," she said. "They'll never look for you there. Don't get +hay-fever and begin to sneeze, though. Here's your parcel for you. +It wouldn't do to leave that about in the house, would it?" + +She wished me good night and bustled back to the inn, to laugh and +jest as though nothing was happening, and as though she had no trouble +in the world. + +I lay very quietly in my warm nest in the hay, feeling lonely in that +still stable after my nights in the lugger among the men. The old +horse stamped once or twice, and the stable cat came purring to me, +seeking to be petted. The church clock struck nine, and rang out a +chime. Shortly after nine I heard the clatter of many horses' hoofs +coming along the road, and then the noise of cavalry jingling and +clattering into the inn yard. A horse whinnied, the old horse in the +stable whinnied in answer. A curt voice called to the men to dismount, +and for some one to hold the horses. I strained my ears to hear any +further words, but some one banging on a door (I guessed it to be the +inn door) drowned the orders. + +Then some one cried out, "Well, break it in, then. Don't come asking +me." + +After that there was more banging, an excited cry from a woman, and a +few minutes of quiet. + +I crept from my hiding-place to the window, so that I might see what +was happening. The whole yard was full of cavalry. A couple of +troopers were holding horses quite close to the door. By listening +carefully, I could hear what they were saying. + +"Yes," said one of them; "I got a proper lick myself. I shan't mind if +they do get caught. They say there's some of them caught in a boat." + +"Yes," said his mate; "three. And they do say we shall find a boy here +as well as the other fellow. There was a boy aboard all night. And +he's been tracked here. He's as good as caught, I reckon." + +"I suppose they'll all be hanged?" said the first. + +"Yes," said the other. "Won't be no defence for them. Neck or +nothing. Hey?" + +Then they passed out of earshot, leading their horses. I was so +horribly scared that I was almost beside myself. What could I do? +Where could I go? Where could I hide? The only door and window opened +on to the courtyard. The loft was my only chance. I snatched up my +parcel, and ran to the little ladder (nailed to the wall) which led to +the loft, and climbed up as though the hounds were after me. + +Even in the loft I was not much better off. There was a heap of hay +and a few bundles of straw lying at one end, and two great +swing-doors, opening on to the courtyard, through which the hay and +straw had been passed to shelter. It was plainly useless to lie down +in the straw. That would be the first place searched. I should be +caught at once if I hid among the straw. Then it occurred to me that +the loft must lead to a pigeon-house. I had seen a pigeon-house above +and at one end of the stable, and I judged that the loft would +communicate with it. It was not very light, but, by groping along the +end wall, I came to a little latched door leading to another little +room. This was the pigeon-house, and as I burst into it, closing the +door behind me, the many pigeons rustled and stirred upon their nests +and perches. It was darker in the pigeon-house than in the loft, but I +could see that the place was bigger than the loft itself, and this +gave me hope that there would be an opening at the back of it away +from the yard. I had not much time, I knew, because the troopers were +already trying to open the stable-door below me. I could hear them +pounding and grumbling. Just as I heard them say, "That's it. The bar +lifts up. There you are"--showing that they had found how to open the +door--I came to a little door at the back, a little rotten door, +locked and bolted with rusty cobwebbed iron. Very cautiously I turned +the lock and drew the bolts back. The latch creaked under my thumb for +the first time in many years. I was outside the door on a little, +rotten, wooden landing, from which a flight of wooden steps led +downward. I saw beyond me a few farm-buildings, a byre, several +pigsties, and three disused waggons. Voices sounded in the stable as I +climbed down the steps. I heard a man say, "He might be in the +loft. We might look there." And then I touched the ground, and +scurried quickly past the shelters to the outer wall. + +Happily for me, the wall was well-grown with ivy, so that I could +climb to the top. There was a six-foot drop on the far side into a +lane; but it was now neck or nothing, so I let myself go. I came down +with a crack which made my teeth rattle, my parcel spun away into a +bed of nettles, and I got well stung in fishing it out. Then I +strapped it on my back and turned along the lane in the direction +which (as I judged) led me away from the sea. As I stepped out on my +adventures, I heard the ordered trample of horses leaving the inn-yard +together to seek elsewhere. The lane soon ended at a stile, which led +into a field. I saw a barn or shed just beyond the stile, and in the +shed there was a heap of hay, which smelt a little mouldy. I lay down +upon it, determined to wake early, and creep back to the inn before +anybody stirred in the village. + +"Ah, well," I said to myself before I fell asleep, "in a week's time +they will be here to take me home. Then my troubles will be over." + +I remember that all my fear of the troops was gone. I felt so sure +that all would be well in the morning. So, putting my parcel under my +head as a pillow, I snuggled down into the hay, and very soon fell +asleep. + +I was awakened in the morning by the entrance of an old cart-horse, +who came to smell at the hay. It was light enough to see where I was +going, so I opened my knapsack and made a rough breakfast before +setting out. Overnight I had planned to go back to the inn. In the +cool of the morning that plan did not seem so very wise as I had +thought it. I was almost afraid to put it into practice. However, I +went back along the lane. With some trouble, I got over the tall brick +wall down which I had dropped the night before. Then I climbed up to +the pigeon-house, down the loft-ladder, into the inn-yard, to the +broken back door of the tavern. The door hung from one hinge, with its +lower panels kicked in just as the soldiers had left it. The inn was +open to anybody who cared to enter. + +I entered cautiously, half expecting to find a few soldiers billeted +there. But the place was empty. I went from room to room, finding no +one; Mrs. Dick seemed to have disappeared. One of the rooms was in +disorder. A few broken glasses were on the floor; a chair lay on its +side under the table. I went upstairs. I tapped at the outside of the +drawing-room. No answer there; all was still there. I listened +attentively for some sound of breathing; none came. No one was +inside. I went all over the house. No one was there. I was alone in +the "Blue Boar," the only person in the house. I could only guess that +Mr and Mrs Dick had been arrested. To be sure, they might have run +away together during the night. I did not quite know what to think. + +In my wanderings, I came to the bar, which I found in great disorder; +the bench was upset, jugs and glasses were scattered on the floor, and +the blinds had not been pulled up. Although I had some fear of being +seen from outside, I pulled up the blinds to let in a little light, so +that I might look at the coaching-map which hung at one end of the +bar. When I passed behind the bar to trace out for myself the road to +London, I saw an open book lying on a shelf among the bottles. It was +a copy of Captain Johnson's _Lives of the Highwaymen and +Pirates_, lying open at the life of Captain Roberts, the famous +pirate Whydah. Some one must have been reading it when the soldiers +entered. + +I looked at it curiously, for it was open at the portrait of +Roberts. Underneath the portrait were a few words written in pencil in +a clumsy scrawl. I read them over, expecting some of the ordinary +schoolboy nonsense. + +"Captain Roberts was a bad one. _Jim_. Don't come back here. The +lobsters is around." That was all the message. But I saw at once that +it was meant for me; that Mrs Dick, knowing that I should come back, +had done her best to leave a warning for me. "Lobsters," I knew, was +the smugglers' slang for soldiers; and if the lobsters were dangerous +to me it was plain that I was wanted for my innocent share in the +fight. I looked through the book for any further message; but there +was no other entry, except a brief pencilled memorandum of what some +one had paid for groceries many years before, at some market town not +named. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE ROAD TO LONDON + + +You may be sure that I lost no time in leaving the inn. I merely noted +the way to London from the coaching-map and hurried out, repeating the +direction so that I should not forget. It was a bright, cool morning: +and I walked very briskly for a couple of hours, when I sat down to +rest by the roadside, under a patch of willows, which grew about a +little bubbling brook. Presently I saw that a little way ahead of me +were three gipsy-looking people (a boy with his father and mother), +sitting by the road resting. They got up, after I had been there for +twenty minutes or so, and came along the road towards me, bowed under +their bundles. I got up, too, intending to continue my journey; but +when I was about to pass them, the man drew up in front of me. + +"Beg your pardon, young master," he said; "but could you tell me the +way to Big Ben?" "But that's in London," I said. "That's in London, at +the House of Parliament." + +"What!" he cried. "You don't mean to tell me that us have come the +wrong road?' + +"Yes," I said. "You're going the wrong way for London." + +"Then take that," cried the man, giving me a shove, just as the woman +flung her shawl over my head. I stepped back, for the shove was no +light one; but just behind me the boy had crouched on all fours (he +had evidently practised the trick), so that I went headlong over him, +and had a nasty fall into the road. + +"Stop his mouth, Martha," said the man: and stop it she did, with her +ragged old shawl, in which she had evidently carried the provisions of +the gang. + +"What's he got on him?" said the woman, as the man rummaged through my +pockets. + +"Only a prince and a chive," said the man, disgustedly, meaning my +half-crown and a jack-knife. + +"Well," said the woman, "his jacket's better than Bill's, and we'll +have his little portmanteau, what's more." + +In another minute they had my suit stripped from me; and I had the +sight of dirty little Bill, the tramper's boy, putting on my things. + +"Here," said the woman. "You put on Bill's things. They're good enough +for you. And don't you dare breathe a word of what we done." + +"Yes," said the man, as Bill buttoned up his jacket, and took my +little bundle in his hand. "You keep your little jaw shut or +_I_'ll come after you." + +"Oh, Mother," said Bill. "Don't I look a young swell, neither?" + +For answer, his mother grabbed him by the arm, and the three hurried +away from me in the direction from which I had come. The man looked +back and made a face at me, shaking his fist. I was left penniless in +the road. A milestone told me that I was seventy miles from London. + +I was now at the end of my resources; almost too miserable to cry. I +did not know what was to become of me. I could only wander along the +road, in a dazed sort of way, wishing for Marah. I was wretched and +faint, and Marah was so strong and careless. Then I said to myself +that Marah was dead, and that I should soon be dead, for I had neither +food nor money. The smugglers had talked of shipwrecks once or +twice. I had heard them say that a man could live for three days +without food or drink, in fair weather; and that without food, +drinking plenty of water, he could live for three weeks. They were +very wild talkers, to be sure; but I remembered this now and got +comfort from it. Surely, I thought, I shall be able to last for a +week, and in a week I ought to be near London. Besides, I can eat +grass; and perhaps I shall find a turnip, or a potato, or a +partridge's nest with young ones still in it; and perhaps I shall be +able to earn a few coppers by opening gates, or holding horses. + +I plucked up wonderfully when I thought of all these things; though I +did not at all like wearing Bill's clothes. I felt that I looked like +a dirty young tramp, and that anybody who saw me would think that I +was one. Besides, I had always hated dirt and untidiness, and the +feeling that I carried both about me was hateful. + +But Bill's clothes were to be a great help to me before noon that +day. As I wandered along the road, wondering where I could get +something to eat (for I was now very hungry), I came to a +turnpike. The turnpike-keeper was cleaning his windows, outside his +little house. When he saw me, he just popped his head inside the door, +and said something to some people inside. His manner frightened me; +but I was still more frightened when two Bow Street runners (as we +called detectives then) and a yeomanry officer came out of the house, +and laid hold of me. + +"That's your boy, sir," said the turnpike-keeper. + +"Come on in here," said the officer, "and give an account of +yourself." + +They led me into the room, where they were eating some bread and +cheese. + +"He doesn't answer the description," said one of the men, glancing at +a paper. + +"I'm not so sure about that," said the officer. "He's the exact +height, and that's the same coloured hair." + +"Now I come to think of it," said the keeper, "I believe I saw that +boy pass along here this morning, along with two trampers. That coat +with the pocket torn. Yes, and red lining showing. I thought I'd seen +them." + +"Well, boy," said the officer, "what's your name?" + +"Jim Davis," I answered. + +"What were you doing with the two trampers, Jim?" he asked. + +"Please, sir," I said, "I wasn't doing anything with them." + +"Ah," said one of the runners. "These young rogues is that artful, +they never do nothing anywhere." + +"You'll live to be hanged, I know," said the other runner. + +"What were you doing with the smugglers?" asked the officer suddenly, +staring hard at my face, to watch for any change of expression. + +But I was ready for him. A boy is often better able to keep his +countenance than a grown man. With masters, and aunts, and +game-keepers all down upon him, he lives a hunted life. He gets lots +of practice in keeping his countenance. A grown man often gets very +little. + +"What smugglers, sir?" I asked as boldly as I could. + +"The men you sailed with from Etaples," said the officer. + +"Sailed with?" I asked, feeling that I was done for. + +"Didn't the horses splash about, when you cut the cable?" said the +officer, with a smile. + +This time I thought I had better not answer. I looked as puzzled as I +could, and looked from one face to the other, as though for +enlightenment. + +"Now, Jim," said one of the runners. "It's no good. Tell us all about +the smugglers, and we'll let you go." + +"We know you're the boy we want," said the captain. "Make a clean +breast of it, and perhaps you will get off with transportation." + +"Now don't look so innocent," said the other runner. "Tell us what we +want to know, or we'll make you." + +Now somewhere I had read that the police bullied suspected persons in +this way. If you make a guilty person believe that you know him to be +guilty, you can also get him to confess if you startle him +sufficiently. It occurred to me that this was what these men were +doing, especially as they had not been sure of me when I came into the +room. + +I had some twenty or thirty seconds in which to think of an answer, +for the three men spoke one after the other, without giving me a +chance to speak. I shook my head, putting on a puzzled look. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," I said, speaking rather roughly, in the +accent which Bill had used. "I think there's some mistake." + +"Oh, I think not," said the officer. "Suppose I tell you how many men +were in the lugger?" + +But here we were stopped by the arrival of a chaise outside. A man +entered hurriedly. + +"It's all right, Gray," the newcomer called to the officer. "We have +the boy. We caught him back there, along the road, with a couple of +gipsies. There can be no doubt about it. The clothes and bundle are +just as they're described in the advertisement. Who have you here?" + +"Oh, a boy we brought in on suspicion," said the officer. "Shall we +let him go?" + +"Well, who is he?" asked the new arrival. "Eh, boy? Who are you?" + +"A poor boy," I answered. + +"How do you make a living?" he asked. "Little boys, like you, oughtn't +to be about on the roads, you know. What d'ye do for a living?" + +I am afraid it was rather a bold statement; but I cried out that I +could sing ballads. + +"Oh, Jim. So you sing ballads, do you?" said the officer. "Get on to +that chair and sing us a ballad." + +But I was cunning and wary. "Please, sir," I said, "I'm very hungry. I +don't sing, except for my dinner and a sixpence." + +"So you defy the law already, do you?" said the newcomer. "Well. Eat +some bread and cheese, and I will give you sixpence for a song." + +So I sat down very thankfully, and made a good dinner at the table. I +pretended to pay no attention to the officers; but really I listened +very eagerly to all that they said. I gathered that the newcomer was a +coastguard naval captain, of the name of Byrne, and I felt that he +half-suspected and half-liked me, without thinking very much about me +one way or the other. When I had finished my dinner--and I ate enough +to last me till the night--I got upon my chair, without being pressed, +and sang the ballad of "The White Cockade," then very popular all over +the West country. My voice was not bad in those days, and I was used +to singing; indeed, people sang more then than they do now. Everybody +sang. + +Captain Byrne seemed puzzled by my voice, and by my cultivated +accent. "Who taught you to sing?" he asked. + +So I answered that I had been in the village choir at home; which was +true enough. + +"And where was that?" he asked. + +For a moment I thought that I would trust him, and tell him +everything. Then, very foolishly, I determined to say nothing, so I +said that it was a long way away, and that I had come from thence +after my father had died. He whispered something to Mr. Gray, the +other officer; and they looked at me curiously. They both gave me a +sixpenny piece for my ballad; and then they went out. Captain Byrne +stopped at the door. "Look here," he said, "you take my advice and go +home. You will come to no good, leading this wandering life." + +When they had gone, I went out also, and watched their chaise +disappear. The last that I saw of them was the two top-hats of the +runners, sticking up at the back of the conveyance, like little black +chimneys. + +I felt very glad that Bill was taken up, evidently in mistake for +me. It seemed a fitting reward. But at the same time I knew that the +mistake might be found out at any moment; and that I should be +searched for as soon as Bill had cleared himself. I walked slowly away +from the turnpike, so that the keeper might not suspect me, and then I +nipped over a stile, and ran away across country, going inland, away +from the sea, as fast as I could travel. I could tell my direction by +the sun, and I kept a westerly course, almost due west, for three or +four hours, till I was tired out. + +It was a lonely walk, too; hardly anything but wild, rather marshy +country, with few houses, few churches, and no bigger town than the +tiniest of villages. At about six o'clock that afternoon, when I had +gone some sixteen miles since daybreak, I felt that I could go no +further, and began to cast about for a lodging-place. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE GIPSY CAMP + + +I plodded on till I came to a sort of copse or little wood, where I +expected to find shelter. Supper I had resolved to do without; I +wished to keep my shilling for dinner and breakfast the next day. As I +came up to the copse hedge I saw that some gipsies were camped +there. They had a fine travelling waggon drawn up on some waste ground +near at hand; they had also pitched three or four beehive huts, made +of bent poles, covered with sacks. They were horse-dealers and +basket-makers, as one could see from the drove of lean horses and heap +of wicker-work near the waggon. Several children were playing about +among the huts. Some women were at their basket-making by the +waggon. A middle-aged man, smoking a pipe, stood by the hedge, mending +what looked like an enormous butterfly net. In spite of my adventure +on the road, I was not at all frightened by these gipsies, because I +liked their looks, and I knew now that I had only my shilling to lose, +and that I could earn a dinner at any time by singing a ballad. + +The middle-aged man looked rather hard at me as I came near, and +called out in a strange language to his people in the tents. They came +about me at the call, and stared at me very strangely, as though I was +a queer beast escaped from a menagerie. Then, to my great surprise, +the man pointed to my forehead, and all the gipsies stared at my +forehead, repeating those queer words which Marah had used so long +before in the gorse-clump--"Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." They seemed very +pleased and proud; they clapped their hands and danced, as though I +was a little prince. All the time they kept singing and talking in +their curious language. Now and then one of them would come up to me +and push back my cap to look at my hair, which was of a dark brown +colour, with a dash of reddy gold above my forehead. + +I learned afterwards that gipsies held sacred all boys with hair like +mine. They call the ruddy tinge over the forehead "the cross upon +crutches"; for long ago, they say, a great gipsy hero had that mark +upon his brow in lines of fire; and to this day all people with a +fiery lock of hair, they believe, bring luck to them. + +When the gipsies had danced for some twenty minutes, the elderly man +(who seemed to be a chief among them) begged me (in English) with many +profound bows and smiles, to enter their waggon. I had heard that the +gipsies stole little children; but as I had never heard of them +stealing a boy of my age I did not fear them. So I entered the waggon +as he bade me, and very neat and trim it was. Here a man produced a +curious red suit of clothes, rather too small for me; but still a lot +better than Bill's rags. He begged me to put it on, which I did. I +know now that it was the red magical suit in which the gipsies dress +their magical puppets on St. John's Eve; but as I did not then know +this, I put it on quite willingly, wishing that it fitted better. + +Then we came out again among the huts, and all the other gipsies +crowded round me, laughing and clapping their hands; for now, they +thought, their tribe would have wonderful luck wherever they went. The +women put a pot upon the fire, ready for supper. Everybody treated me +(very much to my annoyance) as though I were a fairy child. Whenever I +spoke, they bowed and laughed and clapped their hands, crying out in +their wild language, till I could have boxed their ears. + +When supper was ready, they brought me to the place of honour by the +fire, and fed me with all the delicacies of the gipsy race. We had +hedgehog baked in a clay cover--though I did not much like him--and +then a stew of poultry and pheasant (both stolen, I'm afraid) with +bread baked in the ashes; and wonderful tea, which they said cost +eighteen shillings a pound. They annoyed me very much by the way in +which they bowed and smirked, but they really meant to be kind, and I +had sense enough to know that while I was with them I should be +practically safe from the runners and yeomanry. After supper they made +me up a bed in the waggon. The next morning before daybreak we started +off, horses, waggon, and all, away towards the west; going to +Portsmouth Fair, the man said, to sell their horses. + +I had not been very long among the gipsies when I discovered that I +was as much a prisoner as a pet. They would never let me out of their +sight. If I tried to get away by myself, one of the children, or a +young woman would follow me, or rather, come in the same direction, +and pretend not to be following me; but all the time noting where I +went, and heading me off carefully if I went too far from the caravan. +Before the end of the first day I was wondering how it would all +finish, and whether they meant to make a gipsy of me. They were very +careful not to let me be seen by other travellers. When the road was +clear, they would let me follow the caravan on foot; but when people +drove past us, and whenever we came to a village (they always avoided +the big towns), they hurried me into the waggon, and kept me from +peeping out. At night, when we pitched our camp, after a long day's +journey of sixteen or seventeen hours, they gave me a bed inside the +caravan; and the elderly chief laid his blankets on the waggon floor, +between my bed and the door, so that I should not get out. I lived +with the gipsies in this way for three whole days. + +I did not like it any better as time went on. I kept thinking of how I +should escape, and worrying about the anxiety at home, now that my +letter must have reached them. I did not think any more about the +police. I felt that they would give me no more trouble; but my +distress at not being able to get away from these gipsies was almost +more than I could bear. On the afternoon of the third day I made a +dash for freedom, but the chief soon caught me and brought me back, +evidently very much displeased, and muttering something about stealing +the red coat. + + +About midday on the fourth day, as we were passing through a village, +it chanced that a drove of sheep blocked up the road. The caravan +stopped and I managed to get down from the waggon, with my gaoler, to +see what was happening in the road. The sheep were very wild, and the +drover was a boy who did not know how to drive them. The way was +blocked for a good ten minutes, so that I had time to look about +me. While we waited, a donkey-cart drove up, with two people inside +it, dressed in the clothes of naval sailors--white trousers, blue, +short, natty jackets (with red and green ribbons in the seams), and +with huge clubbed pigtails under their black, glazed hats. One of them +was evidently ill, for he lay back against the backboard and did not +speak. I noticed also that he had not been to sea for a long time, as +his beard was long and unkempt. The other, who drove the cart, was a +one-legged man, very short and broad, with a thick black stubble on +his cheeks. He was a hearty person with a voice like a lion's +roar. They had rigged up Union Jacks on the donkey's blinkers, they +had a pilot jack upon the shaft, and a white ensign on a flagpole tied +to the backboard. The body of the cart was all sprigged out with +streamers of ribbon as thick as horses' tails, and there were placards +fixed to the sides of the donkey's collar. They were clumsily scrawled +as follows:-- + + Pity the Braiv English Seamen, + Wonded in the Wars, + Help them as cannot help theirselves, + We have Bled for our nativland. + Nelson and Bronte. + +This wonderful conveyance pulled up among the sheep. The one-legged +man stood upright in the cart, called for three cheers, and at once +began to roar out the never-ending ballad of the battle of Belle +Isle:-- + + At the battle of Belle Isle, + I was there all the while, etc., etc. + +Everybody clustered round to listen, and to admire the turnout. + +I could not get very near to the cart, because of the press; but I +noticed quite suddenly that the sick man was staring rather hard at me +from under the rim of his glazed hat, which was jammed down over his +eyes. The eyes seemed familiar. There was something familiar in the +figure, covered up, as it was, with the rough beard, and with a ship's +boat-cloak. It reminded me of Marah, somehow, and yet it could not +possibly be Marah; and yet the man was staring hard at me. + +A countryman came out of an inn with a mug of drink for the singer, +who checked his song at about the hundred-and-fiftieth stanza, to take +the mug with a "Thank ye, mate," and hand it to his sick friend. The +sick man took the mug with his left hand, opening the fingers +curiously, and still looking hard at me. My heart gave a great jump, +for there were three blue rings tattooed on one of the fingers. The +man waved his mug towards me. "Hoo, hoo, hoo," he cried, imitating an +owl with his weak voice. "Hoo, hoo, hoo." Then he clapped his right +hand across his mouth to warn me to be silent, and drank, with a bow +to the giver. + +It _was_ Marah, after all. At this moment the caravan started, +and the man urged me to enter the waggon again. I did so; but as I +turned away, Marah smiled in an absurd manner at me, and bowed three +times, making everybody laugh. That made me feel sure that he would +help me to escape, and to get home again. I could not help laughing at +his trick of dressing up as "a braiv English seaman, wonded in the +war." Had the people known in what wars he had been wounded, they +would not have been so free with their kindness, perhaps. + +It occurred to me that Marah had made the owl's cry (or night signal) +to show me that I might expect him at night. So when the gipsies went +to bed that night I lay awake among them, pretending to be fast +asleep. It was very dark, shut up in the waggon. The gipsies slept +heavily, and I could hear the horses outside, cropping on the grass +and snorting. Once or twice I heard a clock strike very far away. Then +I fell asleep, I think, in spite of my excitement. I woke with a +start, because just outside the waggon came the wild crying of an owl: +and then, at that instant, a banging of guns and pistols. A voice +cried out: "The horses. Save the horses." Some one screamed "Help! +help!" in a falsetto. More guns banged and cracked, and I heard a rush +of hoofs as the drove of horses stampeded. The gipsies in the waggon +rushed out as one man to save the precious horses. I rushed out after +them, and there was Marah with his one-legged friend, crouched under +the waggon, waiting for me. + +"Well, Jim," he said; "nip this way, quick. We have a suit of clothes +all ready for you." + +So they hurried me away to their little cart, where I found a boy's +suit, which I was glad to put on, as of course I never wore the +precious red suit in bed. + +"Those were good fire-crackers," said Marah's friend. "They made the +horses run." + +"Yes," said Marah. "I knew we could clear the gipsies out of the way +and get Jim clear. Well, Jim, my son, I'm not strong enough to talk +much. I reckon I have done with night-riding since I got this slug in +my chest. But here we are again, bound home, my son, with not much +shot in the locker." + +"You be quiet," said his friend; "you'll be getting your wound +bad. Get up, Neddy." + +We trotted off to a little inn which stood at some distance from the +gipsies' camp. + +The next morning, after a comfortable night in bed; I asked Marah how +he had escaped. He told me that when the lugger drove ashore, one or +two smugglers who had hidden in the dunes, crept down to her and +carried him ashore. The two others, the drunkards, were too noisy to +bring off. They were captured, and condemned to serve in the +Navy. Marah's wound was not very severe; but he had had a great shock, +and would not be able to exert himself for many weeks. An old smuggler +(the one-legged man) had dressed his wound for him, and had then +disguised him as I saw him, with a beard and naval clothes. One of the +many Captains Sharp had advanced money for the journey home; but to +avoid suspicion they had rigged up their donkey-cart; and worked their +way as poor sea-ballad singers. + +"And now," said Marah, "I heard tell in Kent that you'd written home +by the mail-coach, a full five days ago. Well, Jim, we're near the +coach-road here. I reckon your friends'll be coming to see you by +to-day's coach. If we go out into the road, to the 'Bold Sawyer' +yonder, where they change horses and wait, I reckon you'll be able to +save them some of their journey. Hey, Sally," he cried to the +waitress, "what time does the Plymouth mail pass by?" + +"At eleven o'clock," said Sally. + +"At six bells, Jim," said Marah, "you'll see your folk again. On that +I'll wager my best new silver buttons." + +The clock struck ten. + +It was a fair sunny summer's day, with a brisk wind blowing, when we +ranged ourselves across the road outside the "Bold Sawyer." The +coach-horn, sounding in the distance, was drawing rapidly nearer; we +could hear the rhythm of the sixteen hoofs. Presently the horses swung +round the corner; we saw the coachman flick his leaders so that he +might dash up to the inn in style. Then as they galloped up I saw +two well-known figures sitting outside, well muffled up. + +They were Hugh and Mrs Cottier. We had flags in our hands, so we waved +them and shouted. The one-legged man roared out his doings at the +battle of Belle Isle. I heard Hugh shouting at the top of his voice, +"Look, Mother. It's Jim. It's Jim." We had a great dinner at the "Bold +Sawyer" at one o'clock that day. We had hardly finished at half-past +three, when the mail-coach stopped for us, to take us on our first +stage home. + +I need only add a few words. Hugh became a "parson fellow," as Marah +had put it; while I, in time, went to Jamaica as a planter. Marah and +the one-legged man took the Gara Mill together, and did very well at +it. Mr Cottier is now a Captain in the Portuguese Navy. Mrs Cottier +keeps house for me here on the Gara. We are all a good deal older; but +we keep well. Marah and I are planning a new adventure; for old Van +Horn's treasure is still among the coral, and some day we are going to +try for it. + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + +***** This file should be named 7369.txt or 7369.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/3/6/7369/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric +Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Jim Davis + +Author: John Masefield + +Release Date: January, 2005 [EBook #7369] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on April 22, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + + + + +Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +Jim Davis + +_By_ + +John Masefield + +For Judith + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MY FIRST JOURNEY + + +I was born in the year 1800, in the town of Newnham-on-Severn, in +Gloucestershire. I am sure of the year, because my father always told +me that I was born at the end of the century, in the year that they +began to build the great house. The house has been finished now these +many years. The red-brick wall, which shuts its garden from the road +(and the Severn), is all covered with valerian and creeping +plants. One of my earliest memories is of the masons at work, shaping +the two great bows. I remember how my nurse used to stop to watch +them, at the corner of the road, on the green strip by the river-bank, +where the gipsies camped on the way to Gloucester horse-fair. One of +the masons was her sweetheart (Tom Farrell his name was), but he got +into bad ways, I remember, and was hanged or transported, though that +was years afterwards, when I had left that countryside. + +My father and mother died when I was still a boy--my mother on the day +of Trafalgar battle, in 1805, my father four years later. It was very +sad at home after mother died; my father shut himself up in his study, +never seeing anybody. When my father died, my uncle came to Newnham +from his home in Devonshire; my old home was sold then, and I was +taken away. I remember the day so very clearly. It was one sunny +morning in early April. My uncle and I caught the coach at the top of +the hill, at the door of the old inn opposite the church. The coachman +had a hot drink handed up to him, and the ostlers hitched up the new +team. Then the guard (he had a red coat, like a soldier) blew his +horn, and the coach started off down the hill, going so very fast that +I was afraid, for I had never ridden on a coach before, though I had +seen them every day. The last that I saw of Newnham was the great +house at the corner. It was finished by that time, of course, and as +we drove past I saw the beautiful woman who lived there walking up and +down the lawn with her husband, Captain Rylands, a very tall, handsome +man, who used to give me apples. I was always afraid to eat the +apples, because my nurse said that the Captain had killed a man. That +was in the wars in Spain, fighting against the French. + +I remember a great deal about my first coach-ride. We slept that night +at Bristol in one of the famous coaching inns, where, as a great +treat, I had bacon and eggs for supper, instead of bread-and-milk. In +the morning, my uncle took me with him to the docks, where he had some +business to do. That was the first time I ever really saw big ships, +and that was the first time I spoke with the sailors. There was a +capstan on one of the wharves, and men were at work, heaving round it, +hoisting casks out of a West Indiaman. One of the men said, "Come on, +young master; give us a hand on the bar here." So I put my hands on to +the bar and pushed my best, walking beside him till my uncle called me +away. There were many ships there at the time, all a West Indian +convoy, and it was fine to see their great figureheads, and the brass +cannon at the ports, and to hear the men singing out aloft as they +shifted spars and bent and unbent sails. They were all very lofty +ships, built for speed; all were beautifully kept, like men-of-war, +and all of them had their house-flags and red ensigns flying, so that +in the sun they looked splendid. I shall never forget them. + +After that, we went back to the inn, and climbed into another coach, +and drove for a long, long time, often very slowly, till we reached a +place near Newton Abbot, where there was a kind woman who put me to +bed (I was too tired to notice more). Then, the next morning, I +remember a strange man who was very cross at breakfast, so that the +kind woman cried till my uncle sent me out of the room. It is funny +how these things came back to me; it might have been only yesterday. + +Late that afternoon we reached the south coast of Devon, so that we +had the sea close beside us until the sun set. I heard the sea, as I +thought, when we reached my uncle's house, at the end of the twilight; +but they told me that it was a trout-stream, brawling over its +boulders, and that the sea was a full mile away. My aunt helped to put +me to bed, but I was too much excited to sleep well. I lay awake for a +long, long time, listening to the noise of the brook, and to the wind +among the trees outside, and to the cuckoo clock on the landing +calling out the hours and half-hours. When I fell asleep I seemed to +hear the sea and the crying out of the sailors. Voices seemed to be +talking close beside me in the room; I seemed to hear all sorts of +things, strange things, which afterwards really happened. There was a +night-light burning on the wash-handstand. Whenever I woke up in the +night the light would show me the shadow of the water jug upon the +ceiling. It looked like an old, old man, with a humped back, walking +the road, bowed over his cudgel. + +I am not going to say very much about my life during the next few +years. My aunt and uncle had no children of their own, and no great +fondness for the children of others. Sometimes I was very lonely +there; but after my tenth birthday I was at school most of my time, at +Newton Abbot. I used to spend my Easter holidays (never more than a +week) with the kind woman who put me to bed that night of my journey. +My summer and winter holidays I spent with my uncle and aunt in their +little house above the trout-stream. + +The trout-stream rose about three miles from my uncle's house, in a +boggy wood full of springs. It was a very rapid brook, nowhere more +than three or four feet deep, and never more than twenty feet across, +even near its mouth. Below my uncle's house it was full of little +falls, with great mossy boulders which checked its flow, and pools +where the bubbles spun. Further down, its course was gentler, for the +last mile to the sea was a flat valley, with combes on each side +covered with gorse and bramble. The sea had once come right up that +valley to just below my uncle's house; but that was many years +before--long before anybody could remember. Just after I went to live +there, one of the farmers dug a drain, or "rhine," in the valley, to +clear a boggy patch. He dug up the wreck of a large fishing-boat, with +her anchor and a few rusty hoops lying beside her under the ooze about +a foot below the surface. She must have sailed right up from the sea +hundreds of years ago, before the brook's mouth got blocked with +shingle (as I suppose it was) during some summer gale when the stream +was nearly dry. Often, when I was a boy, I used to imagine the ships +coming up from the sea, along that valley, firing their cannon. In the +winter, when the snow melted, the valley would be flooded, till it +looked just like a sea, and then I would imagine sea-fights there, +with pirates in red caps boarding Spanish treasure galleons. + +The seacoast is mostly very bold in that part of Devon. Even where +there are no cliffs, the land rises steeply from the sea, in grassy +hills, with boulders and broken rock, instead of a beach, below +them. There are small sandy beaches wherever the brooks run into the +sea. Everywhere else the shore is "steep-to"--so much so that in many +places it is very difficult to reach the sea. I mention this because, +later on, that steep coast gave me some queer adventures. + + + +CHAPTER II + +NIGHT-RIDERS + + +When I was twelve years old, something very terrible happened, with +good results for myself. The woman near Newton Abbot (I have spoken of +her several times) was a Mrs Cottier, the wife of a schoolmaster. Her +husband used to drink very hard, and in this particular year he was +turned out of the school, and lost his living. His wife left him then +(or rather he left her; for a long time no one knew what became of +him) and came to live with us, bringing with her little Hugh Cottier, +her son, a boy of about my own age. After that, life in my uncle's +house was a different thing to me. Mrs Cottier was very beautiful and +kind; she was like my mother, strangely like, always sweet and gentle, +always helpful and wise. I think she was the dearest woman who ever +lived. I was always proud when she asked me to do something for +her. Once, I remember (in the winter after Mrs Cottier came to us), +she drove to Salcombe to do her Christmas shopping. It came on to snow +during the afternoon; and at night-time the storm grew worse. We put +back supper, expecting her to come in at any minute, but she did not +come. The hours went by, and still she did not come, and still the +storm worsened. The wind was not very high, but the air was full of a +fine, powdery, drifting snow; the night seemed full of snow; snow fell +down the chimney and drifted in under the door. My uncle was too lame +with sciatica to leave his bed; and my aunt, always a woman of poor +spirit, was afraid of the night. At eight o'clock I could stand it no +longer, so I said that I would saddle the pony, and ride out along the +Salcombe road to find her. Hugh was for going in my place; but Hugh +was not so strongly built as I, and I felt that Hugh would faint after +an hour in the cold, I put on double clothes, with an oilskin jacket +over all, and then lit the lantern, and beat out of the house to the +stable. I put one or two extra candles in my pockets, with a flint and +steel, and some bread and meat Something prompted me to take a hank of +cord, and a heavy old boat-rug; and with all these things upon him old +Greylegs, the pony, was heavy-laden. + +When we got into the road together, I could not see a yard in front of +me. There was nothing but darkness and drifting snow and the gleam of +the drifts where the light of the lantern fell. There was no question +of losing the road; for the road was a Devon lane, narrow and deep, +built by the ancient Britons, so everybody says, to give them +protection as they went down to the brooks for water. If it had been +an open road, I could never have found my way for fifty yards. I was +strongly built for a boy; even at sea I never suffered much from the +cold, and this night was not intensely cold--snowy weather seldom +is. What made the ride so exhausting was the beating of the snow into +my eyes and mouth. It fell upon me in a continual dry feathery +pelting, till I was confused and tired out with the effort of trying +to see ahead. For a little while, I had the roar of the trout-stream +in my ears to comfort me; but when I topped the next combe that died +away; and there I was in the night, beating on against the storm, with +the strange moaning sound of the wind from Dartmoor, and the snow +rustling to keep me company. I was not exactly afraid, for the snow in +my face bothered me too much, but often the night would seem full of +people--laughing, horrible people--and often I would think that I saw +Mrs Cottier lying half-buried in a drift. + +I rode three miles or more without seeing anybody. Then, just before I +reached the moor cross-roads, in a lull when the snow was not so bad, +I heard a horse whinny, and old Greylegs baulked. Then I heard voices +and a noise as of people riding; and before I could start old Greylegs +I saw a party of horsemen crossing my road by the road from the sea to +Dartmoor. They were riding at a quick trot, and though there were many +horses (some thirty or forty), I could see, even in that light, that +most of them were led. There were not more than a dozen men; and only +one of all that dozen carried a lantern. Something told me that they +were out for no good, and the same instinct made me cover my lantern +with my coat, so that they passed me without seeing me. At first I +thought that they were the fairy troop, and that gave me an awful +fear; but a moment later, in the wind, I felt a whiff of tobacco, and +of a strong, warm, sweet smell of spirits, and I knew then that they +were the night-riders or smugglers. After they had gone, I forced old +Greylegs forward, and trotted on, against the snow, for another +half-mile, with my heart going thump upon my ribs. I had an awful fear +that they would turn, and catch me; and I knew that the night-riders +wanted no witnesses of their adventures in the dark. + +About four miles from home, I came to an open part of the road, where +the snow came down in its full fury, there being no hedge to give a +little shelter. It was so thick that I could not get Greylegs to go +on. He stood stock-still, and cowered, though I beat him with my hank +of cord, and kicked his ribs. It was cruel of me; but I thought of Mrs +Cottier, with her beautiful kind face, lying in a drift of snow, and +the thought was dreadful to me. I got down from the saddle, and put my +lantern on the ground, and tried to drag him forward, but it was +useless. He would not have stirred if I had lighted a fire under +him. When he had the instinct to stand still, nothing would make him +budge a yard. A very fierce gust came upon me then. The snow seemed to +whirl upon me from all sides, so that I got giddy and sick. And then, +just at the moment, there were horses and voices all about me, coming +from Salcombe way. Somebody called out, "Hullo," and somebody called +out "Look out, behind"; and then a lot of horses pulled up suddenly, +and some men spoke, and a led horse shied at my lantern. I had no time +to think or to run, I felt myself backing into old Greylegs in sheer +fright; and then some one thrust a lantern into my face, and asked me +who I was. By the light of the lantern I saw that he wore a woman's +skirt over his trousers; and his face was covered by one of those +great straw bee-skeps, pierced with holes for his eyes and mouth. He +was one of the most terrible things I have ever seen. + +"Why, it's a boy," said the terrible man. "What are you doing here, +boy?" + +Another man, who seemed to be a leader, called out from his horse, +"Who are you?" but I was too scared to answer; my teeth were rattling +in my head. + +"It's a trick," said another voice. "We had best go for the moor." + +"Shut up," said the leader, sharply. "The boy's scared." + +He got down from his horse, and peered at me by the lantern light. +He, too, wore a bee-skep; in fact, they all did, for there is no +better disguise in the world, while nothing makes a man look more +horrible. I was not quite so terrified by this time, because he had +spoken kindly. + +"Who are you?" he asked. "We shan't eat you. What are you doing here?" + +As well as I could I told him. The leader strode off a few paces, and +spoke with one or two other men; but I could only catch the words, +"Yes; yes, Captain," spoken in a low, quick voice, which seemed +somehow familiar. Then he came back to me, and took me by the throat, +and swayed me to and fro, very gently, but in a way which made me feel +that I was going to be killed. + +"Tell me," he said, "I shall know whether you're lying, so tell the +truth, now. What have you seen to-night?" + +I told him that I had seen a troop of horsemen going through the snow +towards the moor. + +"That settles it, Captain," said another voice. "You can't trust a +young chap like that." + +"Shut up," said the man they called Captain; "I'm master, not you." + +He strode off again, to speak to another man. I heard some one laugh a +little, and then the Captain came back to me. He took me by the throat +as before, and again shook me. "You listen to me," he said, +grimly. "If you breathe so much as one word of what you've seen +to-night--well--I shall know. D'ye hear? I shall know. And when I +know--well--your little neck'll go. There's poetry. That will help you +remember-- + + 'When I know, + Your neck'll go + Like so'" + +He gave a sharp little twist of his hand upon my Adam's apple. + +I was terrified. I don't know what I said; my tongue seemed to wither +on its stalk. The Captain walked to his horse, and remounted. "Come +along, boys," he said. The line of horses started off again. A hand +fell upon my shoulder, and a voice spoke kindly to me. "See here," it +said, "you go on another half-mile, you'll find a barn by the side of +the road. There's no door on the barn, and you'll see a fire +inside. You'll find your lady there. She is safe all right. You keep +your tongue shut now." + +The speaker climbed into his saddle, and trotted off into the +night. "Half a mile. Straight ahead!" he called; then the dull +trampling died away, and I was left alone again with Greylegs. Some +minutes passed before I could mount; for I was stiff with fright. I +was too frightened after that to mind the snow; I was almost too +frightened to ride. Luckily for me the coming of the night-riders had +startled old Greylegs also; he trotted on gallantly, though sometimes +he floundered into a drift, and had to be helped out. + +Before I came to the barn the snow stopped falling, except for a few +aimless flakes, which drifted from all sides in the air. It was very +dark still; the sky was like ink; but there was a feel of freshness (I +cannot describe it) which told me that the wind had changed. Presently +I saw the barn ahead of me, to the right of the road, spreading a red +glow of fire across the way. Old Greylegs seemed glad of the sight; he +gave a whinny and snorted. As well as he could he broke into a canter, +and carried me up to the door in style. + +"Are you safe, Mrs Cottier?" I called out. + +"What! Jim!" she answered. "How good of you to come for me!" + +The barn, unlike most barns in that country, was of only one story. +It may have been a farmhouse in the long ago, for it had larger +windows than most barns. These had been stuffed with sacks and straw, +to keep out the weather. The door had been torn from its place by some +one in need of firewood; the roof was fairly sound; the floor was of +trampled earth. Well away from the doorway, in the centre of the barn, +some one had lighted a fire, using (as fuel) one of the faggots +stacked against the wall. The smoke had long since blown out of +doors. The air in the barn was clear and fresh. The fire had died down +to a ruddy heap of embers, which glowed and grew grey again, as the +draughts fanned them from the doorway. By the light of the fire I +could see Mrs Cottier, sitting on the floor, with her back against the +wheel of her trap, which had been dragged inside to be out of the +snow. I hitched old Greylegs to one of the iron bolts, which had once +held a door-hinge, and ran to her to make sure that she was unhurt. + +"How in the world did you get here?" I asked. "Are you sure you're not +hurt?" + +She laughed a little at this, and I got out my stores, and we made our +supper by the fire. "Where's old Nigger?" I asked her; for I was +puzzled by seeing no horse. + +"Oh, Jim," she said, "I've had such adventures." + +When she had eaten a little she told me her story. + +"I was coming home from Salcombe," she said, "and I was driving fast, +so as to get home before the snow lay deep. Just outside South pool, +Nigger cast a shoe, and I was kept waiting at the forge for nearly +half an hour. After that, the snow was so bad that I could not get +along. It grew dark when I was only a mile or two from the +blacksmith's, and I began to fear that I should never get +home. However, as I drove through Stokenham, the weather seemed to +clear a little, so I hurried Nigger all I could, hoping to get home in +the lull. When I got to within a hundred yards from here, in the +little hollow, where the stunted ashes are, I found myself among a +troop of horsemen, who stopped me, and asked me a lot of +questions. They were all disguised, and they had lanterns among them, +and I could see that the horses carried tubs; I suppose full of +smuggled lace and brandy and tobacco, ready to be carried inland. Jim, +dear, I was horribly frightened; for while they were speaking together +I thought I heard the voice of--of some one I know--or used to know." + +She stopped for a moment overcome, and I knew at once that she was +speaking of her husband, the schoolmaster that was. "And then," she +continued, "some of them told me to get down out of the trap. And then +another of them seized Nigger's head, and walked the trap as far as +the barn here. Then they unharnessed Nigger, and led him away, saying +they were short of horses, but would send him back in a day or two. +They seemed to know all about me, where I lived, and everything. One +of them took a faggot from a wall here, and laid the big fire, with +straw instead of paper. While he lit it he kept his great bee-skep on +his head (they all wore them), but I noticed he had three blue rings +tattooed on his left ring-finger. Now, somewhere I have seen a man, +quite recently, with rings tattooed like that, only I can't remember +where. I wish I could think where. He was very civil and gentle. He +saw that the fire burnt up well, and left me all those sticks and +logs, as well as the flint and steel, in case it should go out before +the snow stopped. Oh, and he took the rugs out of the trap, and laid +them on the ground for me to sit on. Before he left, he said, very +civilly, "I am sure you don't want to get folks into trouble, +madam. Perhaps you won't mention this, in case they ask you." So I +said that I didn't want to get people into trouble; but that it was +hardly a manly act to leave a woman alone, in an open barn, miles from +anywhere, on a night like to-night. He seemed ashamed at this; for he +slunk off, saying something about 'only obeying orders,' and 'not +having much choice in the matter.' Then they all stood about outside, +in the snow, leaving me alone here. They must have stayed outside a +couple of hours. About a quarter of an hour before you came I heard +some one call out, 'There it is, boys!' and immediately they all +trotted off, at a smart pace. They must have seen or heard some +signal. Of course, up here on the top of the combe, one could see a +long way if the snow lulled for a moment." + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE MAN ON THE MOUND + + +It was very awesome sitting there by the firelight in the lonely barn, +hearing the strange moan of the snow-wind. When Mrs Cottier finished +her story we talked of all sorts of things; I think that we were both +a little afraid of being silent in such a place, so, as we ate, we +kept talking just as though we were by the fireside at home. I was +afraid that perhaps the revenue officers would catch us there and +force us to tell all we knew, and I was dreadfully frightened when I +remembered the captain in the bee-skep who had shaken my throat and +given me such a warning to be silent. When we had finished our supper, +I told Mrs Cottier that perhaps we could harness old Greylegs to the +trap, but this she thought would never do, as the drifts on the road +made it such bad going; at last I persuaded her to mount old Greylegs +and to ride astride like a boy, or like so many of the countrywomen in +our parts. When she had mounted I took the old pony by the head and +led him out, carrying the lantern in my hand. + +When we got outside we found, to our great surprise, that the sky had +cleared--it was a night of stars now that the wind had changed. By the +"blink" of the snow our road was quite plain to us, and the sharp +touch of frost in the air (which we felt all the more after our +bonfire in the barn) had already made the snow crisp underfoot. It was +pleasant to be travelling like that so late at night with Mrs Cottier; +I felt like a knight who had just rescued a princess from a dragon; we +talked together as we had never talked before. Whenever we climbed a +bad combe she dismounted, and we walked together hand in hand like +dear friends. Once or twice in the quiet I thought I heard the noise +of the excisemen's horses, and then my heart thumped in my throat; +then, when I knew myself mistaken, I felt only the delight of being of +service to this dear woman who walked by me so merrily. + +When we came to the foot of the combe, to the bridge over the +trout-stream, she stopped for a moment. "Jim," she said, drawing me to +her, "I shall never forget to-night, nor the little friend who rode +out to help me; I want you, after this, always to look on me as your +mother--I knew your mother a little, years ago. Well, dear, try to +think of me as you would of her, and be a brother to my Hugh, Jim: let +us all three be one family." She stooped down and kissed my cheek and +lips. + +"I will, Mrs Cottier," I said; "I'll always be a brother to Hugh." I +was too deeply moved to say much more, for I had so long yearned for +some woman like my mother to whom I could go for sympathy and to whom +I could tell everything without the fear of being snubbed or laughed +at. I just said, "Thank you, Mims." I don't know why I called her +"Mims" then, but I did, and afterwards I never called her anything +else; that was my secret name for her. She kissed me again and stroked +my cheek with her hand, and we went on again together up the last +steep bit of road to the house. Always, after that, I never thought of +Mrs Cottier without feeling her lips upon my cheek and hearing the +stamp of old Greylegs as he pawed on the snow, eager for the stable +just round the corner. + +It was very nice to get round the corner and to see the lights of the +house a little way in front of us; in a minute or two we were +there. Mrs Cottier had been dragged in to the fire to all sorts of +comforting drinks and exclamations, and old Greylegs was snug in his +stable having his coat rubbed down before going to sleep under his +rug. We were all glad to get to bed that night: Hugh and my aunt were +tired with anxiety, and Mrs Cottier and I had had enough adventure to +make us very thankful for rest. + +Before we parted for the night she drew me to one side and told me +that she had not mentioned the night-riders to my uncle and aunt while +I was busy in the stable, and that it might be safer if I, too, kept +quiet about them. I do not know how she explained the absence of +Nigger, but I am sure they were all too thankful to have her safely +home again to bother much about the details of her drive. + +Hugh and I always slept in soldier's cot-beds in a little room looking +out over the lane. During the night we heard voices, and footsteps +moving in the lane beneath us, and our dog (always kennelled at the +back of the house) barked a good deal. Hugh and I crept from our bed +and peered through the window, but it opened the wrong way; we could +only look down the lane, whereas the noise seemed to come from just +above us, near the stable door; unluckily, the frost had covered the +window with ice-flowers, so that we could not see through the +glass. We were, however, quite certain that there were people with +lights close to our stable door; we thought at first that we had +better call Mrs Cottier, and then it flashed through my mind that +these were the night-riders, come to return Nigger, so I told Hugh to +go back to bed and forget about it. I waited at the window for a few +moments, wondering if the men would pass the house; I felt a horrible +longing to see those huge and ghastly things in skirts and bee-skeps +striding across the snow, going home from their night's prowl like +skulking foxes; but whoever they were they took no risks. Some one +softly whistled a scrap of a tune ("Tom, Tom, the piper's son") as +though he were pleased at having finished a good piece of work, and +then I heard footsteps going over the gap in the hedge and the +crackling of twigs in the little wood on the other side of the lane. I +went back to bed and slept like a top until nearly breakfast time. + +I went out to the stable as soon as I was dressed, to find Joe +Barnicoat, our man, busy at his morning's work; he had already swept +away the snow from the doors of the house and stable, so that I could +not see what footmarks had been made there since I went to fetch +Greylegs at eight the night before. Joe was in a great state of +excitement, for during the night the stable had been broken open. I +had left it locked up, as it always was locked, after I had made +Greylegs comfortable. When Joe came there at about half-past seven, he +had found the broken padlock lying in the snow and the door-staple +secured by a wooden peg cut from an ash in the hedge. As I expected, +Nigger was in his stall, but the poor horse was dead lame from a cut +in the fetlock: Joe said he must have been kicked there. I was +surprised to find that the trap also had come home--there it was in +its place with the snow still unmelted on its wheels. I helped Joe to +dress poor Nigger's leg, saying that it was a pity we had not noticed +it before. Joe was grumbling about "some people not having enough +sense to know when a horse was lame," so I let him grumble. + +When we had dressed the wound, I turned to the trap to lift out Mrs +Cottier's parcels, which I carried indoors. Breakfast was ready on the +table, and Mrs Cottier and Hugh were toasting some bread at the +fire. My aunt was, of course, breakfasting upstairs with my uncle; he +was hardly able to stir with sciatica, poor man; he needed somebody to +feed him. + +"Good morning, Mims dear," I cried. "What do you think? The trap's +come back and here are all your parcels." I noticed then (I had not +noticed it before) that one of the parcels was very curiously +wrapped. It was wrapped in an old sack, probably one of those which +filled the windows of the barn, for bits of straw still stuck in the +threads. + +"Whatever have you got there, Jim?" said Mrs Cottier. + +"One of your parcels," I answered; "I've just taken it out of the +trap." + +"Let me see it," she said. "There must be some mistake. That's not one +of mine." She took the parcel from me and turned it over before +opening it. + +On turning the package over, we saw that some one had twisted a piece +of dirty grey paper (evidently wrapping-paper from the grocer's shop) +about the rope yarn which kept the roll secure. Mrs Cottier noticed it +first. "Oh," she cried, "there's a letter, too. I wonder if it's meant +for me?" + +We untied the rope yarn and the paper fell upon the table; we opened +it out, wondering what message could be written on it. It was a part +of a grocer's sugar bag, written upon in the coarse black crayon used +by the tallymen on the quays at Kingsbridge. The writing was +disguised, so as to give no clue to the writer; the letters were +badly-formed printer's capitals; the words were ill-spelled, and the +whole had probably been written in a hurry, perhaps by the light of +our fire in the barn. + +"Hors is laimd," said the curious letter. "Regret inconvenuns axept +Respect from obt servt Captin Sharp." + +"Very sweet and to the point," said Mrs Cottier. "Is Nigger lame, +then?" + +"Yes," I answered. "Joe says he has been kicked. You won't be able to +drive him for some time." + +"Poor old Nigger," said Mrs Cottier, as she unwrapped the +parcel. "Now, I wonder what 'Respect' Captain Sharp has sent me?" + +She unrolled the sacking, and out fell two of those straw cases which +are used to protect wine-bottles. They seemed unusually bulky, so we +tore them open. In one of them there was a roll, covered with a bit of +tarpaulin. It contained a dozen yards of very beautiful Malines +lace. The other case was full of silk neckerchiefs packed very +tightly, eleven altogether; most of them of uncoloured silk, but one +of green and another of blue--worth a lot of money in those days, and +perhaps worth more to-day, now that such fine silk is no longer woven. + +"So this is what we get for the loan of Nigger, Jim," said Mrs +Cottier. "We ought, by rights, to give these things to the revenue +officer." + +"Yes," I said, "but if we do that, we shall have to say how they came, +and why they came, and then perhaps the exciseman will get a clue, and +we shall have brought the night-riders into trouble." + +It was cowardly of me to speak like this; but you must remember that I +had been in "Captain Sharp's" hands the night before, and I was still +terrified by his threat-- + + "When I know, + Your neck'll go + Like so." + +"Well," said Mrs Cottier, looking at me rather sharply, "we will keep +the things, and say nothing about them: but we must find out what duty +should be paid on them, and send it to the exciseman at +Dartmouth. That will spare our consciences." + +After breakfast, Mrs Cottier went to give orders to the servant, while +Hugh and I slipped down the lane to see how the snow had drifted in +our little orchard by the brook. We had read somewhere that the Red +Indians often make themselves snow-houses, or snow-burrows, when the +winter is severe. We were anxious to try our hands at making a +snow-house. We wanted to know whether a house with snow walls could +really be warm, and we pictured to ourselves how strange it would be +to be shut in by walls of snow, with only one little hole for air, +seeing nothing but the white all round us, having no window to look +through. We thought that it would be wonderful to have a snow-house, +especially if snow fell after the roof had been covered in, for then +no one could know if the dweller were at home. One would lie very +still, wrapped up in buffalo robes, while all the time the other +Indians would be prowling about in their war-paint, looking for +you. Or perhaps the Spaniards would be after you with their +bloodhounds, and you would get down under the snow in the forest +somewhere, and the snow would fall and fall, covering your tracks, +till nothing could be seen but a little tiny hole, melted by your +breath, through which you got fresh air. Then you would hear the +horses and the armour and the baying of the hounds; but they would +never find you, though their horses' hoofs might almost sink through +the snow to your body. + +We went down to the orchard, Hugh and I, determined to build a +snow-house if the drifts were deep enough. We were not going to plunge +into a drift, and make a sort of chamber by wrestling our bodies +about, as the Indians do. We had planned to dig a square chamber in +the biggest drift we could find, and then to roof it over with an old +tarpaulin stretched upon sticks. We were going to cover the tarpaulin +with snow, in the Indian fashion, and we had planned to make a little +narrow passage, like a fox's earth, as the only doorway to the +chamber. + +It was a bright, frosty morning: the sun shone, the world sparkled, +the sky was of a dazzling blue, the snow gleamed everywhere. Hoolie, +the dog, was wild with excitement. He ran from drift to drift, +snapping up mouthfuls of snow, and burrowing down sideways till he was +half buried. + +There was a flower garden at one end of the orchard, and in the middle +of the garden there was a summer-house. The house was a large, airy +single room (overlooking the stream), with a space beneath it, +half-cave, half-cellar, open to the light, where Joe Barnicoat kept +his gardening tools, with other odds-and-ends, such as bast, +peasticks, sieves, shears, and traps for birds and vermin. Hugh and I +went directly to this lower chamber to get a shovel for our work. + +We stood at the entrance for a moment to watch Hoolie playing in the +snow; and as we watched, something caught my eye and made me look up +sharply. + +Up above us, on the side of the combe beyond the lane, among a waste +of gorse, in full view of the house (and of the orchard where we +were), there was a mound or barrow, the burial-place of an ancient +British king. It was a beautifully-rounded hill, some twenty-five feet +high. A year or two before I went there it had been opened by the +vicar, who found inside it a narrow stone passage, leading to an inner +chamber, walled with unmortared stone. In the central chamber there +were broken pots, a few bronze spear-heads, very green and brittle, +and a mass of burnt bones. The doctor said that they were the bones of +horses. On the top of all this litter, with his head between his +knees, there sat a huge skeleton. The vicar said that when alive the +man must have been fully six feet six inches tall, and large in +proportion, for the bones were thick and heavy. He had evidently been +a king: he wore a soft gold circlet round his head, and three golden +bangles on his arms. He had been killed in battle. In the side of his +skull just above the circle of gold, there was a great wound, with a +flint axe-blade firmly wedged in the bone. The vicar had often told me +about this skeleton. I remember to this day the shock of horror which +came upon me when I heard of this great dead king, sitting in the dark +among his broken goods, staring out over the valley. The country +people always said that the hill was a fairy hill. They believed that +the pixies went to dance there whenever the moon was full. I never saw +the pixies myself, but somehow I always felt that the hill was +uncanny. I never passed it at night if I could avoid it. + +Now, when I looked up, as I stood with Hugh watching the dog, I saw +something flash upon the top of the barrow. In that bright sun, with +all the snow about, many things were sparkling; but this thing gleamed +like lightning, suddenly, and then flashed again. Looking at it +sharply, I saw that there was a man upon the barrow top, apparently +lying down upon the snow. He had something in his hand turned to the +sun, a piece of glass perhaps, or a tin plate, some very bright thing, +which flashed. He flashed it three times quickly, then paused, then +flashed it again. He seemed to be looking intently across the valley +to the top of the combe beyond, to the very place where the road from +Salcombe swings round to the dip. Looking in that direction, I saw the +figure of a man standing on the top of the wall against a stunted +holly-tree at the curve of the road. I had to look intently to see him +at all, for he was in dark clothes, which shaded off unnoticed against +the leaves of the holly. I saw him jump down now and again, and +disappear round the curve of the road as though to look for +something. Then he would run back and flash some bright thing once, as +though in answer to the man on the barrow. It seemed to me very +curious. I nudged Hugh's arm, and slipped into the shelter of the +cave. For a few moments we watched the signaller. Then, suddenly, the +watcher at the road-bend came running back from his little tour up the +road, waving his arms, and flashing his bright plate as he ran. We saw +him spring to his old place on the wall, and jump from his perch into +the ditch. He had some shelter there, for we could see his head +peeping out above the snow like an apple among straw. We were so busy +watching the head among the snow that we did not notice the man upon +the barrow. Something made us glance towards him, and, to our surprise +and terror, we saw him running across the orchard more than half-way +towards us. In spite of the snow he ran swiftly. We were frightened, +for he was evidently coming towards us. He saw that we saw him, and +lifted one arm and swung it downwards violently, as though to bid us +lie down. + +I glanced at Hugh and he at me, and that was enough. We turned at +once, horribly scared, and ran as fast as we could along the narrow +garden path, then over the wall, stumbling in our fright, into the +wood. We did not know why we ran nor where we were going. We only felt +that this strange man was after us, coming in great bounds to catch +us. We were too frightened to run well; even had there been no snow +upon the ground we could not have run our best. We were like rabbits +pursued by a stoat, we seemed to have lost all power in our legs. + +We had a good start. Perhaps without that fear upon us we might have +reached the house, but as it was we felt as one feels in a nightmare, +unable to run though in an agony of terror. Getting over the wall was +the worst, for there Hugh stumbled badly, and I had to turn and help +him, watching the man bounding ever nearer, signing to us to stay for +him. A minute later, as we slipped and stumbled through the scrub of +the wood, we heard him close behind us, crying to us in a smothered +voice to stop. We ran on, terrified; and then Hugh's foot caught in a +briar, so that he fell headlong with a little cry. + +I turned at once to help him up, feeling like the doe rabbit, which +turns (they say) against a weasel, to defend its young ones. It sounds +brave of me, but it was not: I was scared almost out of my wits. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE HUT IN THE GORSE-BUSHES + + +The man was on us in three strides, with his hand on our collars, +frightening us out of any power to struggle. "You young fools," he +said, not unkindly. "Why couldn't you stop when I waved to you?" + +We did not answer, nor did he seem to expect us to answer. He just +swung us round with our faces from the house, and hurried us, at a +smart run, down the road. "Don't you stir a muscle," he added as he +ran. "I'm not going to eat you, unless you drive me to it." + +At the lower end of the wood, nearly half a mile from our home, the +scrub was very thick. It seemed to be a tangle of briars, too thick +for hounds--too thick, almost, for rabbits. Hugh and I had never been +in that part of the wood before, but our guide evidently knew it well, +for he never hesitated. He swung us on, panting as we were, along the +clearer parts, till we came to a part where our way seemed stopped by +gorse-bushes. They rose up, thick and dark, right in front of us. Our +guide stopped and told us to look down. Among the gnarled gorse-stems +there seemed to be a passage or "run" made by some beast, fox or +badger, going to and from his lair. + +"Down you go," said our guide. "There's lots of room when you +try. Imagine you're a rabbit." + +We saw that it was useless to say No; and, besides, by this time we +had lost most of our terror. I dropped on to my knees at once, and +began to squirm through the passage. Hugh followed me, and the strange +man followed after Hugh. It was not really difficult, except just at +the beginning, where the stems were close together. When I had +wriggled for a couple of yards, the bushes seemed to open out to +either side. It was prickly work, but I am sure that we both felt the +romance of it, forgetting our fear before we reached the heart of the +clump. + +In the heart of the clump the gorse-bushes had been cut away, and +piled up in a sort of wall about a small central square some five or +six yards across. In the middle of the square some one had dug a +shallow hollow, filling rather more than half of the open space. The +hollow was about eighteen inches deep, and roughly paved with shingle +from the beach, well stamped down into the clay. It had then been +neatly wattled over into a sort of trim hut, like the huts the +salmon-fishers used to build near Kings-bridge. The wattling was made +fairly waterproof by masses of gorse and bracken driven in among the +boughs. It was one of the most perfect hiding-places you could +imagine. It could not be seen from any point, save from high up in one +of the trees surrounding the thicket. A regiment might have beaten the +wood pretty thoroughly, and yet have failed to find it. The gorse was +so thick in all the outer part of the clump that dogs would leave its +depths un-searched. Yet, lying there in the shelter one could hear the +splashing babble of the brook only fifty yards away, and the singing +of a girl at the mill a little further up the stream. + +The man told us to get inside the shelter, which we did. Inside it was +rather dark, but the man lit a lantern which hung from the roof, and +kindled a fire in a little fireplace. This fireplace was covered with +turf, so that the smoke should not rise up in a column. We saw that +the floor of the hut was heaped with bracken, and there were tarpaulin +boat-rugs piled in one corner, as though for bedding. + +The man picked up a couple of rugs and told us to wrap ourselves in +them. "You'll be cold if you don't wrap up," he said. + +As he tucked the rugs about us I noticed that the ring-finger of his +left hand was tattooed with three blue rings. I remembered what Mrs +Cottier had said about the man who had lighted her fire in the barn, +so I stared at him hard, trying to fix his features on my memory. He +was a well-made, active-looking man, with great arms and shoulders. +He was evidently a sailor: one could tell that by the way of his walk, +by the way in which his arms swung, by the way in which his head was +set upon his body. What made him remarkable was the peculiar dancing +brightness of his eyes; they gave his face, at odd moments, the look +of a fiend; then that look would go, and he would look like a +mischievous, merry boy; but more generally he would look fierce and +resolute. Then his straight mouth would set, his eyes puckered in as +though he were looking out to windward, the scar upon his cheek +twitched and turned red, and he looked most wrathful and terrible. + +"Well, mister," the man said to me, "would you know me again, in case +you saw me?" + +"Yes," I said, "I should know you anywhere." + +"Would you," he said, grinning. "Well, I was always the beauty of the +bunch." He bit off a piece of plug tobacco and began to chew +it. By-and-by he turned to Hugh to ask if he chewed tobacco. Hugh +answered "No," laughing. + +"Ah," said the man, "don't you learn. That's my advice. It's not easy +to stop, once you begin." + +He lay back in his corner, and seemed to pass into a sort of +day-dream. Presently he looked up at us again, and asked us if we knew +why we were there. We said that we did not. + +"Well," he said, "it's like this. Last night you" (here he gave me a +nudge with his foot) "you young gentleman that looks so smart, you +went for a ride late at night, in the snow and all. See what came of +it. There was Others out for a ride last night, quite a lot of +'em. Others that the law would be glad to know of, with men so scarce +for the King's navy. Well, to-day the beaks are out trying to find +them other ones. There's a power of redcoats come here, besides the +preventives, and there they go, clackity clank, all swords and horses, +asking at every house." + +"What do they ask," said Hugh. + +"They ask a lot of things," said the man. "'Where was you last night?' +That's one question. 'What time did you come in last night?' That's +another. 'Let's have a look at your horse; he looks as though he'd bin +out in the snow last night.' Lots of things they ask, and if they got +a hold of you, young master, why, you might have noticed things last +night, and perhaps they might pump what you noticed out of you. So +some one thinks you had best be out of the road when they come." + +"Who is some one?" I asked. + +"Just some one," he answered. "Some one who gets more money than I +get." His mouth drew into a hard and cruel line; he lapsed into his +day-dream, still chewing his plug of tobacco. "Some one," he added, +"who don't like questions, and don't like to be talked about too +much." + +He was silent for a minute or two, while Hugh and I looked at each +other. + +"Oh, I'm not going to keep you long," said the man. "Them redcoats'll +have done asking questions about here before your dinner time. Then +they'll ride on, and a good riddance. Your lady will know how to +answer them all right. But till they're gone, why, here you'll +stay. So let's be comp'ny. What's your name, young master?" He gave +Hugh a dig in the ribs with his boot. + +"Hugh," he answered. + +"Hugh," said the man: "Hugh! You won't never come to much, you +won't. What's _your_ name?" He nudged me in the same way. + +"Jim," I said. + +"Ah! Jim, Jim," he repeated. "I've known a many Jims. Some were good +in their way, too." He seemed to shrink into himself suddenly--I can't +explain it--but he seemed to shrink, like a cat crouched to spring, +and his eyes burned and danced; they seemed to look right into me, +horribly gleaming, till the whole man became, as it were, just two +bright spots of eyes--one saw nothing else. + +"Ah," he said, after a long, cruel glare at me, "this is the first +time Jim and I ever met. The first time. We shall be great friends, we +shall. We shall be better acquainted, you and I. I wouldn't wonder if +I didn't make a man of you, one time or another. Give me your hand, +Jim." + +I gave him my hand; he looked at it under the lantern; he traced one +or two of the lines with his blackened finger-nails, muttering some +words in a strange language, which somehow made my flesh creep. He +repeated the words: "Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." Then he glanced at the +other hand, still muttering, and made a sort of mark with his fingers +on my forehead. Hugh told me afterwards that he seemed to trace a kind +of zigzag on my left temple. All the time he was muttering he seemed +to be half-conscious, almost in a trance, or as if he were mad: he +frightened us dreadfully. After he had made the mark upon my brow he +came to himself again. + +"They will see it," he muttered. "It'll be bright enough. The +mark. It'll shine. They'll know when they see it. It is very good. A +very good sign: it burns in the dark. They'll know it over there in +the night." Then he went on mumbling to himself, but so brokenly that +we could catch only a few words here and there--"black and red, +knowledge and beauty; red and black, pleasure and strength. What do +the cards say?" + +He opened his thick sea-coat, and took out a little packet of cards +from an oilskin case. He dealt them out, first of all, in a circle +containing two smaller circles; then in a curious sort of five-pointed +star; lastly, in a square with a circle cutting off the +corners. "Queer, queer," he said, grinning, as he swept the cards up +and returned them to his pocket. "You and I will know a power of queer +times together, Jim." + +He brightened up after that, as though something had pleased him very +much. He looked very nice when he looked pleased, in spite of his eyes +and in spite of the gipsy darkness of his skin. "Here," he said, +"let's be company. D'ye know any knots, you two?" + +No; neither of us knew any knots except the ordinary overhand and +granny knots. + +"Well, I'll show you," he said. "It'll come in useful some day. Always +learn what you can, that's what I say, because it'll come in useful. +That's what the Irishman said. Always learn what you can. You never +know; that's the beauty of it." + +He searched in his pockets till he found a small hank of spun-yarn, +from which he cut a piece about a yard long. "See here," he said. +"Now, I'll teach you. It's quite easy, if you only pay attention. Now, +how would you tie a knot if you was doing up a parcel?" + +We both tried, and both made granny knots, with the ends sticking out +at right angles to the rest of the yarn. + +"Wrong," he said. "Those are grannies. They would jam so that you'd +never untie 'em, besides being ugly. There's wrong ways even in doing +up a string. See here." He rapidly twisted the ends together into a +reef-knot. "There's strength and beauty together," he said. "Look how +neat it is, the ends tidy along the standing part, all so neat as +pie. Besides, it'd never jam. Watch how I do it, and then try it for +yourself." + +Very soon we had both mastered the reef-knot, and had tried our hand +at others--the bowline, the figure of eight, the Carrick-bend, and the +old swab-hitch. He was very patient with us. He told us exactly how +each knot would be used at sea, and when, and why, and what the +officers would say, and how things would look on deck while they were +in the doing. The time passed pleasantly and quickly; we felt like +jolly robbers in a cave. It was like being the hero of a story-book to +sit there with that rough man waiting till the troops had gone. It was +not very cold with the fire and the boat-rugs. We were heartily sorry +when the man rose to his feet, with the remark that he must see if the +coast were clear. Before he left the hut he glared down at us. "Look +here," he said, "don't you try to go till I give the word. But there, +we're friends; no need to speak rough to friends. I'll be back in a +minute." + +The strange man passed out of the hut and along the rabbit-run to the +edge of the gorse. We heard his feet crunch upon the snow beyond, +rustling the leaves underneath it; and then it was very, very quiet +again, though once, in the stillness, we heard a cock pheasant +calling. Another pheasant answered him from somewhere above at the +upper part of the wood, and it occurred to both of us that the +pheasants were the night-riders, making their private signals. + +"We've had a famous adventure to tell Mother," said Hugh. + +"Yes," I said; "but we had better be careful not to tell anybody +else. I wonder what they do here in this hut; I suppose they hide +their things here till it's safe to take them away." + +"Where do they take them?" asked Hugh. + +"Away into Dartmoor," I said. "And there there are wonderful places, +so old Evans the postboy told me." + +"What sort of places?" asked Hugh. + +"Oh, caves covered over with gorse and fern, and old copper and tin +mines, which were worked by the ancient Britons. They go under the +ground for miles, so old Evans told me, with passages, and steps up +and down, and great big rooms cut in the rock. And then there are bogs +where you can sink things till it's quite safe to take them up. The +bog-water keeps them quite sound; it doesn't rot them like ordinary +water. Sometimes men fall into the bogs, and the marsh-mud closes over +them. That's the sort of place Dartmoor is." + +Hugh was very much interested in all this, but he was a quiet boy, not +fond of talking. "Yes," he said; "but where do the things go +afterwards--who takes them?" + +"Nobody knows, so old Evans said," I answered; "but they go, they get +taken. People come at night and carry them to the towns, little by +little, and from the market towns, they get to the cities, no one +knows how. I dare say this hut has been full of things--valuable lace +and silk, and all sorts of wines and spirits--waiting for some one to +carry them into the moor." + +"Hush!" said Hugh; "there's some one calling--it's Mother." + +Outside the gorse-clump, at some little distance from us, we heard Mrs +Cottier and my aunt calling "Hugh!" and "Jim!" repeatedly. We lay very +still wondering what they would think, and hoping that they would make +no search for us. They could have tracked us in the snow quite easily, +but we knew very well they would never think of it, for they were both +shortsighted and ignorant of what the Red Indians do when they go +tracking. To our surprise their voices came nearer and nearer, till +they were at the edge of the clump, but on the side opposite to that +in which the rabbit-run opened. I whispered to Hugh to be quiet as +they stopped to call us. They lingered for several minutes, calling +every now and then, and talking to each other in between whiles. We +could hear every word of their conversation. + +"It's very curious," said my aunt. "Where-ever can they have got to? +How provoking boys are!" + +"It doesn't really matter," said Mims; "the officer has gone, and the +boy would only have been scared by all his questions. He might ha^e +frightened the boy out of his wits. I wonder where the young monkeys +have got to. They were going to build snow-huts, like the Indians. +Perhaps they're hiding in one now." + +We were, had she only known it; Hugh and I grinned at each +other. Suddenly my aunt spoke again with a curious inflection in her +voice. + +"How funny," she exclaimed. + +"What is it?" asked Mrs Cottier. + +"I'm almost sure I smell something burning," said my aunt "I'm sure I +do. Don't you?" + +There was a pause of a few seconds while the two ladies sniffed the +air. + +"Yes," said Mrs Cottier, "there is something burning. It seems to come +from that gorse there." + +"Funny," said my aunt. "I suppose some one has lighted a fire up in +the wood and the smoke is blowing down on us. Well, we'll go in to +dinner; it's no good staying here catching our death looking for two +mad things. I suppose you didn't hear how Mrs Burns is, yesterday?" + +The two ladies passed away from the clump towards the orchard, talking +of the affairs of the neighbourhood. A few minutes after they had +gone, a cock pheasant called softly a few yards from us, then the +gorse-stems shook, and our friend appeared at the hut door, + +"They're gone, all right," he said; "swords, and redcoats and +pipe-clay--they're gone. And a good riddance too! I should have been +back before, only your ladies were talking, looking for you, so I had +to wait till they were gone. I expect you'll want your dinner, sitting +here so long? Well, cut and get it." + +He slung the boat-rugs into a corner, blew out the lantern, and +dropped a handful of snow on to the fire. "Cut," he continued. "You +can go. Get out of this. Run and get your dinners." We went with him +out of the hut into the square. "See here," he continued, "don't you +go coming here. You don't know of this place--see? Don't you show your +little tracks in this part of the wood; this is a private house, this +is--trespassers will be prosecuted. Now run along and thank 'ee for +your company." + +As Hugh began to squirm along the passage, I turned and shook hands +with the man. I thought it would be the polite thing to do to say +good-bye properly. "Will you tell me your name?" I asked. + +"Haven't got a name," he answered gruffly. "None of your business if I +had." He saw that I was hurt by his rudeness, for his face changed: +"I'll tell you," he added quickly; "but don't you say it about +here. Gorsuch is my name--Marah Gorsuch." + +"Marah," I said. "What a funny name!" + +"Is it?" he said grimly: "It means bitter--bitter water, and I'm +bitter on the tongue, as you may find. Now cut." + +"One thing more, Mr Gorsuch," I said, "be careful of your fires. They +can smell them outside when the wind blows down from the wood." + +"Fires!" he exclaimed; "I don't light fires here except I've little +bleating schoolboys to tea. Cut and get your porridge. Here," he +called, as I went down on my hands and knees, "here's a keepsake for +you." + +He tossed me a little ornament of twisted silver wire woven into the +form of a double diamond knot, probably by the man himself. + +"Thank you, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + +"Oh, don't thank me," he answered rudely: "I'm tired of being +thanked. Now cut." + +I wriggled through the clump after Hugh, then we ran home together +through the wood, just as the dinner-bell was ringing for the second +time. + +Mrs Cottier asked us if we had not heard her calling. + +"Yes, Mims," I said, "we did hear; but we were hidden in a secret +house; we wondered if you would find us--we were close to you some of +the time." + +My aunt said Something about "giving a lot of trouble" and "being very +thoughtless for others"; but we had heard similar lectures many times +before and did not mind them much. After dinner I took Mims aside and +told her everything; she laughed a little, though I could see that she +was uneasy about Hugh. + +"I wouldn't mention it to any one," she said. "It would be safer +not. But, oh, Jim, here we are, all three of us, in league with the +lawbreakers. The soldiers were here this morning asking all sorts of +questions, and they'd two men prisoners with them, taken at Tor Cross +on suspicion; they're to be sent to Exeter till the Assizes. I'm +afraid it will go hard with them; I dare say they'll be sent abroad, +poor fellows. Every house is being searched for last night's work: it +seems they surprised the coastguards at the Cross and tied them up in +their barracks, before they landed their goods, and now the whole +country is being searched by troops. And here are we three innocents," +she went on, smiling, drawing us both to her, "all conspiring against +the King's peace--I expect we shall all be transported. Well, I shall +be transported, but you'd have to serve in the Navy. So now we won't +talk about it any more; I've had enough smuggling for one day. Let's +go out and build a real snow-house, and then Jim will be a Red Indian +and we will have a fight with bows and arrows." + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE "SNAIL" + + +It was during the wintry days that Mrs Cottier decided to remove us +from the school at Newton Abbot. She had arranged with the Rector at +Strete for us to have lessons at the Rectory every morning with young +Ned Evans, the Rector's son; so when the winter holidays ended we were +spared the long, cold drive and that awful "going back" to the school +we hated so. + +Winter drew to an end and the snow melted. March came in like a lion, +bringing so much rain that the brook was flooded. We saw no more of +the night-riders after that day in the snow, but we noticed little +things now and then among the country people which made us sure that +they were not far off. Once, when we were driving home in the evening +after a day at Dartmouth, owls called along the road from just behind +the hedge, whenever the road curved. Hugh and I remembered the +pheasants that day in the wood, and we nudged each other in the +darkness, wondering whether Mr Gorsuch was one of the owls. After that +night we used to practise the call of the owls and the pheasants, but +we were only clever at the owl's cry: the pheasant's call really needs +a man's voice, it is too deep a note for any boy to imitate well; but +we could cry like the owls after some little practice, and we were +very vain when we made an owl in the wood reply to us. Once, at the +end of February, we gave the owl's cry outside the "Adventure Inn," +where the road dips from Strete to the sands, and a man ran out to the +door and looked up and down, and whistled a strange little tune, or +scrap of a tune, evidently expecting an answer; but that frightened +us; we made him no answer, and presently he went in muttering. He was +puzzled, no doubt, for he came out again a minute later and again +whistled his tune, though very quietly. We learned the scrap of tune +and practised it together whenever we were sure that no one was near +us. + +As for the two men taken by the troops, they were let off. The +innkeeper at South Poole swore that both men had been in his inn all +the night of the storm playing the "ring-quoits" game with the other +guests and as his oath was supported by half-a-dozen witnesses, the +case for the King fell through; the night-riders never scrupled to +commit perjury. Later on I learned a good deal about how the +night-riders managed things. + +During that rainy March, while the brook was in flood all over the +valley, Hugh and I had a splendid time sailing toy boats, made out of +boxes and pieces of plank. We had one big ship made out of a long +wooden box which had once held flowers along a window-sill. We had +painted ports upon her sides, and we had rigged her with a single +square sail. With a strong southwesterly wind blowing up the valley, +she would sail for nearly a mile whenever the floods were out, and +though she often ran aground, we could always get her off, as the +water was so shallow. + +Now, one day (I suppose it was about the middle of the month) we went +to sail this ship (we used to call her the _Snail_) from our side +of the flood, right across the river-course, to the old slate quarry +on the opposite side. The distance was, perhaps, three hundred +yards. We chose this site because in this place there was a sort of +ridge causeway leading to a bridge, so that we could follow our ship +across the flood without getting our feet wet. In the old days the +quarry carts had crossed the brook by this cause-way, but the quarry +was long worked out, and the road and bridge were now in a bad state, +but still good enough for us, and well above water. + +We launched the _Snail_ from a green, shelving bank, and shoved +her off with the long sticks we carried. The wind caught her sail and +drove her forward in fine style; she made a great ripple as she +went. Once she caught in a drowned bush; but the current swung her +clear, and she cut across the course of the brook like a Falmouth +Packet. Hugh and I ran along the causeway, and over the bridge, to +catch her on the other side. We had our eyes on her as we ran, for we +feared that she might catch, or capsize; and we were so intent upon +our ship that we noticed nothing else. Now when we came to the end of +the causeway, and turned to the right, along the shale and rubble +tipped there from the quarry, we saw a man coming down the slope to +the water, evidently bent on catching the _Snail_ when she +arrived. We could not see his face very clearly, for he wore a grey +slouch-hat, and the brambles were so high just there that sometimes +they hid him from us. He seemed, somehow, a familiar figure; and the +thought flashed through me that it might be Mr Gorsuch. + +"Come on, Hugh," I cried, "or she'll capsize on the shale. The water's +very shallow, so close up to this side." + +We began to run as well as we could, over the broken stones. + +"It's no good," said Hugh. "She'll be there before we are." + +We broke through a brake of brambles to a green space sloping to the +flood. There was the _Snail_, drawn up, high and dry, on to the +grass, and there was the man, sitting by her on a stone, solemnly +cutting up enough tobacco for a pipe. + +"Good morning, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + +"Why, it's young sweethearter," he answered. "Why haven't you got your +nurses with you?" He filled his pipe and lighted it, watching us with +a sort of quizzical interest, but making no attempt to shake hands. He +made me feel that he was glad to see us; but that nothing would make +him show it. "What d'ye call this thing?" he asked, pointing with his +toe to the _Snail_. + +"That's our ship," said Hugh. + +"Is it?" he asked contemptuously. "I thought it was your mother's +pudding-box, with some of baby's bedclothes on it. That's what I +thought it was." + +He seemed to take a pleasure in seeing Hugh's face fall. Hugh always +took a rough word to heart, and he could never bear to hear his mother +mentioned by a stranger. + +"It's a good enough ship for us," he answered hotly. + +"How d'ye know it is?" said the man. "You know nothing at all about +it. What do _you_ know of ships, or what's good for you? Hey? +You don't know nothing of the kind." + +This rather silenced Hugh; we were both a little abashed, and so we +stood sheepishly for a moment looking on the ground. + +At last I took Hugh by the arm. "Let's take her somewhere else," I +said softly. I bent down and picked up the ship and turned to go. + +The man watched us with a sort of amused contempt. "Where are you +going now?" he asked. + +"Down the stream," I called back. + +"Drop it," he said. "Come back here." + +I called softly to Hugh to run. "Shan't!" I cried as we started off +together, at our best speed. + +"Won't you?" he called. "Then I'll make you." He was after us in a +brace of shakes, and had us both by the collar in less than a dozen +yards. "What little tempers we have got," he said grinning. "Regular +little spitfires, both of you. Now back you come till we have had a +talk." + +I noticed then that he was much better dressed than formerly. His +clothes were of the very finest sea-cloth, and well cut. The buttons +on his scarlet waistcoat were new George guineas; and the buttons on +his coat were of silver, very beautifully chased. His shoes had big +silver buckles on them, and there was a silver buckle to the flap of +his grey slouch hat. The tattoo marks on his left hand were covered +over by broad silver rings, of the sort the Spanish onion-boys used to +sell in Dartmouth, after the end of the war. He looked extremely +handsome in his fine clothes. I wondered how I could ever have been +afraid of him. + +"Yes," he said with a grin, when he saw me eyeing him, "my ship came +home all right. I was able to refit for a full due. So now we'll see +what gifts the Queen sent." + +We wondered what he meant by this sentence; but we were not kept long +in doubt. He led us through the briars to the ruins of the shed where +the quarry overseer had formerly had his office. + +"Come in here," he said, shoving us in front of him, "and see what the +Queen'll give you. Shut your eyes. That's the style. Now open." + +When we opened our eyes we could hardly keep from shouting with +pleasure. There, on the ground, kept upright by a couple of bricks was +a three-foot model of a revenue cutter, under all her sail except the +big square foresail, which was neatly folded upon her yard. She was +perfect aloft, even to her pennant; and on deck she was perfect too, +with beautiful little model guns, all brass, on their carriages, +pointing through the port-holes. + +"Oh!" we exclaimed. "Oh! Is she really for us, for our very own?" + +"Why, yes," he said. "At least she's for you, Mr +What's-your-name. Jim, I think you call yourself. Yes, Jim. Well, +she's for you, Jim. I got something else the Queen sent for Mr +Preacher-feller." He bent in one corner of the ruin, and pulled out +what seemed to be a stout but broken box. "This is for you, Mr +Preacher-feller," he said to Hugh. + +We saw that it was a model of a port of a ship's deck and side. The +side was cut for a gun-port, which opened and shut by means of +laniards; and, pointing through the opened port was a model brass +nine-pounder on its carriage, with all its roping correctly rigged, +and its sponges and rammers hooked up above it ready for use. It was a +beautiful piece of work (indeed, both models were), for the gun was +quite eighteen inches long. "There you are," said Marah Gorsuch. "That +lot's for you, Mr Preacher-feller. Them things is what the Queen +sent." + +We were so much delighted by these beautiful presents that it was some +minutes before we could find words with which to thank him. We could +not believe that such things were really for us. He was much pleased +to find that his gifts gave so much pleasure; he kept up a continual +grin while we examined the toys inch by inch. + +"Like 'em, hey?" he said. + +"Yes; I should just think we do," we answered. We shook him by the +hand, almost unable to speak from pleasure. + +"And now let's come down and sail her," I said. + +"Hold on there," said Marah Gorsuch. "Don't be too quick. You ain't +going to sail that cutter till you know how. You've got a lot to learn +first, so that must wait. It's to be Master Preacher-feller's turn +this morning. Yours'll come by-and-by. What you got to do, first go +off, is to sink that old hulk you were playing with. We'll sink her at +anchor with Preacher-feller's cannon." + +He told Hugh to pick up his toy, and to come along down to the water's +edge. When he came near to the water, Marah took the old _Snail_ +and tied a piece of string to her bows by way of a cable. Then he +thrust her well out into the flood, tied a piece of shale (as an +anchor) to the other end of the string, and flung it out ahead of her, +so that she rode at anchor trimly a few yards from the bank. "Now," he +said, "we'll exercise great guns. Here (he produced a powder-horn) is +the magazine; here (he produced a bag of bullets) is the +shot-locker. Here's a bag of wads. Now, my sons, down to business. +Cast loose your housings, take out tompions. Now bear a hand, my lads; +we'll give your old galleon a broadside." + +We watched him as he prepared the gun for firing, eagerly lending a +hand whenever we saw what he wanted. "First of all," he said, "you +must sponge your gun. There's the sponge. Shove it down the muzzle and +give it a screw round. There! Now tap your sponge against the muzzle +to knock the dust off. There! Now the powder." He took his powder-horn +and filled a little funnel (like the funnels once used by chemists for +filling bottles of cough-mixture) with the powder. This he poured down +the muzzle of the gun. "Now a wad," he said, taking up a screw of +twisted paper. "Ram it home on to the powder with the rammer. That's +the way. Now for the shot. We'll put in a dozen bullets, and then top +with a couple more wads. There! Now she's loaded. Those bullets will +go for fifty yards with that much powder ahind 'em. Now, all we have +to do is to prime her." He filled the touch-hole with powder, and +poured a few grains along the base or breech of the gun. "There!" he +said. "Only one thing more. That is aim. Here, Mr Preacher-feller, +Hugh, whatever your name is. You're captain of the gun; you must aim +her. Take a squint along the gun till you get the notch on the muzzle +against the target; then raise your gun's breech till the notch is a +little below your target. Those wooden quoins under the gun will keep +it raised if you pull them out a little." + +Hugh lay down flat on the grass and moved the gun carefully till he +was sure the aim was correct. "Let's have a match," he said, "to see +which is the best shot." + +"All right," said Marah. "We will. You have first shot. Are you ready? +All ready? Very well then. Here's the linstock that you're to fire +with." He took up a long stick which had a slow match twisted round +it. He lit the slow match by a pocket flint and steel after moving his +powder away from him. "Now then," he cried, "are you ready? Stand +clear of the breech. Starboard battery. Fire!" + +Hugh dropped the lighted match on to the priming. The gun banged +loudly, leaped back and up, and fell over on one side in spite of its +roping as the smoke spurted. At the same instant there was a lashing +noise, like rain, upon the water as the bullets skimmed along upon the +surface. One white splinter flew from the _Snail's_ stern where a +single bullet struck; the rest flew wide astern of her. + +"Let your piece cool a moment," said Marah, "then we will sponge and +load again, and then Jim'll try. You were too much to the right, Mr +Hugh. Your shots fell astern." + +After a minute or two we cleaned the gun thoroughly and reloaded. + +"Now," said Marah, "remember one thing. If you was in a ship, fighting +that other ship, you wouldn't want just to blaze away at her +broadside. No. You'd want to hit her so as your shot would rake all +along her decks from the bow aft, or from the stern forrard. You wait +a second, Master Jim, till the wind gives her bows a skew towards you, +or till her stern swings round more. There she goes. Are you ready? +Now, as she comes round; allow for it. Fire!" + +Very hurriedly I made my aim, and still more hurriedly did I give +fire. Again came the bang and flash; again the gun clattered over; +but, to my joy, a smacking crack showed that the shot went home. The +shock made the old _Snail_ roll. A piece of her bow was knocked +off. Two or three bullets ripped through her sail. One bored a groove +along her, and the rest went over her. + +"Good," said. Marah. "A few more like that and she's all our own. Now +it's my shot. I'll try to knock her rudder away. Wait till she +swings. There she comes! There she comes! Over a little. Up a +little. Now. Fire." He darted his linstock down upon the priming. The +gun roared and upset; the bullets banged out the _Snail's_ stern, +and she filled slowly, and sank to the level of the water, her mast +standing erect out of the flood, and her whole fabric swaying a little +as the water moved her up and down. + +After that we fired at the mast till we had knocked it away, and then +we placed our toys in the sheltered fireplace of the ruin and came +away, happy to the bone, talking nineteen to the dozen. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE OWL'S CRY + + +For the next month we passed all our afternoons with Marah. In the +mornings the Rector gave us our lessons at Strete; then we walked home +to dinner; then we played with our gun and cutter, or at the sailing +of our home-made boats, till about six, when we went home for +tea. After tea we prepared our lessons for the next day and went +upstairs to bed, where we talked of smugglers and pirates till we fell +asleep. Marah soon taught us how to sail the cutter; and, what was +more, he taught us how to rig her. For an hour of each fine afternoon +he would give us a lesson in the quarry office, showing us how to rig +model boats, which we made out of old boxes and packing-cases. In the +sunny evenings of April we used to sail our fleets, ship against ship, +upon the great freshwater lake into which the trout-brook passes on +its way to the sea. Sometimes we would have a fleet of ships of the +line anchored close to the shore, and then we would fire at them with +the gun and with one of Marah's pistols till we had shattered them to +bits and sunk them. Sometimes Marah would tell us tales of the +smugglers and pirates of long ago, especially about a pirate named Van +Horn, who was burned in his ship off Mugeres Island, near Campeachy, +more than a hundred years back. + +"His ship was full of gold and silver," said Marah. "You can see her +at a very low tide even now. I've seen her myself. She is all burnt to +a black coal, a great Spanish galleon, with all her guns in her. I was +out fishing in the boat, and a mate said, 'Look there. There she is!' +and I saw her as plain as plain among all the weeds in the sea. The +water's very clear there, and there she was, with the fishes dubbing +their noses on her. And she's as full of gold as the Bank of +England. The seas'll have washed Van Horn's bones white, and the bones +of his crew too; eaten white by the fish and washed white, lying there +in all that gold under the sea, with the weeds growing over them. It +gives you a turn to think of it, don't it?" + +"Why don't they send down divers to get the gold?" asked Hugh. + +"Why!" said Marah. "There's many has tried after all that gold. But +some the shacks took and some the Spaniards took, and then there was +storms and fighting. None ever got a doubloon from her. But +somebody'll have a go for it again. I tried once, long ago. That was +an unlucky try, though. Many poor men died along of that one. They +died on the decks," he added. "It was like old Van Horn cursing +us. They died in my arms, some of 'em. Seven and twenty seamen, and +one of them was my mate, Charlie!" + +I have wandered away from my story, I'm afraid, remembering these +scraps of the past; but it all comes back to me now, so clearly that +it seems to be happening again. There are Marah and Hugh, with the sun +going down behind the gorse-bank, across the Lea; and there are the +broken ships floating slowly past, with the perch rising at them; and +there is myself, a very young cub, ignorant of what was about to come +upon me. Perhaps, had I known what was to happen before the leaves of +that spring had fallen, I should have played less light-heartedly, and +given more heed to Mr Evans, the Rector. + +Now, on one day in each week, generally on Thursdays, we had rather +longer school hours than on the other days. On these days of extra +work Hugh and I had dinner at the Rectory with Ned Evans, our +schoolmate. After dinner we three boys would wander off together, +generally down to Black Pool, where old Spanish coins (from some +forgotten wreck) were sometimes found in the sand after heavy weather +had altered the lie of the beach. We never found any Spanish coins, +but we always enjoyed our afternoons there. The brook which runs into +the sea there was very good for trout, in the way that Marah showed +us; but we never caught any, for all our pains. In the summer we meant +to bathe from the sands, and all through that beautiful spring we +talked of the dives we would take from the spring-board running out +into the sea. Then we would have great games of ducks and drakes, with +flat pebbles; or games of pebble-dropping, in which our aim was to +drop a stone so that it should make no splash as it entered the water. +But the best game of all was our game of cliff-exploring among the +cliffs on each side of the bay, and this same game gave me the +adventure of my life. + +One lovely afternoon towards the end of the May of that year, when we +were grubbing among the cliff-gorse as usual, wondering how we could +get down the cliffs to rob the sea-birds' nests, we came to a bare +patch among the furze; and there lay a couple of coastguards, looking +intently at something a little further down the slope, and out of +sight, beyond the brow of the cliff. They had ropes with them, and a +few iron spikes, and one of them had his telescope on the grass beside +him. They looked up at us angrily when we broke through the thicket +upon them, and one of them hissed at us through his teeth: "Get out, +you boys. Quick. Cut!" and waved to us to get away, which we did, a +good deal puzzled and perhaps a little startled. We talked about it on +our way home. Ned Evans said that the men were setting rabbit snares, +and that he had seen the wires. Hugh thought that they might be after +sea-birds' eggs during their hours off duty. Both excuses seemed +plausible, but for my own part I thought something very different. +The men, I felt, were out on some special service, and on the brink of +some discovery. It seemed to me that when we broke in upon them they +were craning forward to the brow of the cliff, intently listening. I +even thought that from below the brow of the cliff, only a few feet +away, there had come a noise of people talking. I did not mention my +suspicions to Hugh and Ned, because I was not sure, and they both +seemed so sure; but all the way home I kept thinking that I was +right. It flashed on me that perhaps the night-riders had a cave below +the cliff-brow, and that the coast-guards had discovered the +secret. It was very wrong of me, but my only thought was: "Oh, will +they catch Marah? Will poor Marah be sent to prison?" and the fear +that our friend would be dragged off to gaol kept me silent as We +walked. + +When we came to the gate which takes you by a short cut to the valley +and the shale quarry, I said that I would go home that way, while the +others went by the road, and that we would race each other, walking, +to see who got home first. They agreed to this, and set off together +at a great rate; but as soon as they were out of sight behind the +hedge I buckled my satchel to my shoulders and started running to warn +Marah. It was all downhill to the brook, and I knew that I should find +Marah there,--for he had said that he was coming earlier than usual +that afternoon to finish off a model boat which we were to sail after +tea. I ran as I had never run before--I thought my heart would thump +itself to pieces; but at last I got to the valley and saw Marah +crossing the brook by the causeway. I shouted to him then and he heard +me. I had not breath to call again, so I waved to him to come and then +collapsed, panting, for I had run a good mile across country. He +walked towards me slowly, almost carelessly; but I saw that he was +puzzled by my distress, and wondered what the matter was. + +"What is it?" he asked. "What's the rally for?" + +"Oh," I cried, "the coastguards--over at Black Pool." + +"Yes," he said carelessly, "what about _them?_" + +"They've discovered it," I cried. "The cave under the +cliff-top. They've discovered it." + +His face did not change; he looked at me rather hard; and then asked +me, quite carelessly, what I had seen. + +"Two coastguards," I answered. "Two coastguards. In the furze. They +were listening to people somewhere below them." + +"Yes," he said, still carelessly, "over at Black Pool? I suppose they +recognized you?" + +"Yes, they must have. We three are known all over the place. And I ran +to tell you." + +"So I see," he said grimly. "You seem to have run like a +tea-ship. Well, you needn't have. There's no cave on this side +Salcombe, except the hole at Tor Cross. What made you run to tell +_me?_" + +"Oh," I said, "you've been so kind--so kind, and--I don't know--I +thought they'd send you to prison." + +"Did you?" he said gruffly. "Did you indeed? Well, they won't. There +was no call for you to fret your little self. Still, you've done it; +I'll remember that--I'll always remember that. Now you be off to your +tea, quick. Cut!" + +When he gave an order it was always well for us to obey it at once; if +we did not he used to lose his temper. So when he told me to go I got +up and turned away, but slowly, for I was still out of breath. I +looked back before I passed behind the hedge which marks the beginning +of the combe, but Marah had disappeared--I could see no trace of +him. Then suddenly, from somewhere behind me, out of sight, an owl +called--and this in broad daylight. Three times the "Too-hoo, too-hoo" +rose in a long wail from the shrubs, and three times another owl +answered from up the combe, and from up the valley, too, till the +place seemed full of owls. "Too-hoo, too-hoo" came the cries, and very +faintly came answers--some of them in strange tones, as though the +criers asked for information. As they sounded, the first owl answered +in sharp, broken cries. But I had had enough. Breathless as I was, I +ran on up the valley to the house, only hoping that no owl would come +swooping down upon me. And this is what happened. Just as I reached +the gate which leads to the little bridge below the house I saw Joe +Barnicoat galloping towards me on an unsaddled horse of Farmer +Rowser's. He seemed shocked, or upset, at seeing me; but he kicked the +horse in the ribs and galloped on, crying out that he was having a +little ride. His little ride was taking him at a gallop to the owl, +and I was startled to find that quiet Joe, the mildest gardener in the +county, should be one of the uncanny crew whose signals still hooted +along the combes. + +When I reached home the others jeered at me for a sluggard. They had +been at home for twenty minutes, and had begun tea. I let them talk as +they pleased, and then settled down to work; but all that night I +dreamed of great owls, riding in the dark with bee-skeps over them, +filling the combes with their hootings. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE TWO COASTGUARDS + + +The next morning, when Hugh and I came to Strete for our lessons, we +found a lot of yeomen and preventives drawn up in the village. People +were talking outside their houses in little excited groups. Jan +Edeclog, the grocer, was at the door of his shop, wiping his hands on +his apron. There was a general rustle and stir, something had +evidently happened. + +"What's all the row about, Mr Edeclog?" I asked. + +"Row?" he asked. "Row enough, Master Jim. Two of the coastguards, who +were on duty yesterday afternoon, have disappeared. It's thought +there's been foul play." + +My heart sank into my boots, my head swam, I could hardly stand +upright. All my thought was: "They have been killed. And all through +my telling Marah. And I'm a murderer." + +I don't know how I could have got to the Rectory gate, had not the +militia captain come from the tavern at that moment. He mounted his +horse, called out a word of command, and the men under him moved off +towards Slapton at a quick trot. + +"They have gone to beat the Lay banks," said some one, and then some +one laughed derisively. + +I walked across to the Rectory and flung my satchel of books on to the +floor. The Rector's wife came into the hall as we entered. "Why, Jim," +she said, "what is the matter? Aren't you well?" + +"Not very," I answered. + +"My dear," she cried to her husband, "Jim's not well. He looks as +though he'd seen a ghost, poor boy." + +"Why, Jim," said the Rector, coming out of the sitting-room, "what's +the matter with you? Had too much jam for breakfast?" + +"No," I said. "But I feel faint. I feel sick. Can I go to sit in the +garden for a minute?" + +"Yes," he answered. "Certainly. I'll get you a glass of cold water." + +I was really too far gone to pay much heed to anything. I think I told +them that I should be quite well in a few minutes, if they would leave +me there; and I think that Mrs Evans told her husband to come indoors, +leaving me to myself. At any rate they went indoors, and then the cool +air, blowing on me from the sea, refreshed me, so that I stood up. + +I could think of nothing except the words: "I am a murderer." A wild +wish came to me to run to the cliffs by Black Pool to see whether the +bodies lay on the grass in the place where I had seen them (full of +life) only a few hours before. Anything was better than that +uncertainty. In one moment a hope would surge up in me that the men +would not be dead; but perhaps only gagged and bound: so that I could +free them. In the next there would be a feeling of despair, that the +men lay there, dead through my fault, killed by Marah's orders, and +flung among the gorse for the crows and gulls. I got out of the +Rectory garden into the road; and in the road I felt strong enough to +run; and then a frenzy took hold of me, so that I ran like one +possessed. It is not very far to Black Pool; but I think I ran the +whole way. I didn't feel out of breath when I got there, though I had +gone at top speed; a spirit had been in me, such as one only feels at +rare times. Afterwards, when I saw a sea-fight, I saw that just such a +spirit filled the sailors, as they loaded and fired the guns. + +I pushed my way along the cliffs through the gorse, till I came to the +patch where the coast-guards had lain. The grass was trampled and +broken, beaten flat in places as though heavy bodies had fallen on it; +there were marks of a struggle all over the patch. Some of the near-by +gorse twigs were broken from their stems; some one had dropped a small +hank of spun-yarn. They had lain there all that night, for the dew was +thick upon them. What puzzled me at first was the fact that there were +marks from only two pairs of boots, both of the regulation pattern. +The men who struggled with the coastguards must have worn moccasins, +or heelless leather slippers, made out of some soft hide. + +I felt deeply relieved when I saw no bodies, nor any stain upon the +grass. I began to wonder what the night-riders had done with the +coastguards; and, as I sat wondering, I heard, really and truly, a +noise of the people talking from a little way below me, just beyond +the brow of the cliff. That told me at once that there was a cave, +even as I had suspected. I craned forward eagerly, as near as I dared +creep, to the very rim of the land. I looked down over the edge into +the sea, and saw the little blue waves creaming into foam far below +me. + +I could see nothing but the side of the cliff, with its projecting +knobs of rock; no opening of any kind, and yet a voice from just below +me (it seemed to come from below a little projecting slab a few feet +down): a voice just below me, I say, said, quite clearly, evidently +between puffs at a pipe, "I don't know so much about that." Another +voice answered; but I could not catch the words. The voice I should +have known anywhere; it was Marah's "good-temper voice," as he called +it, making a pleasant answer. + +"That settles it," I said to myself. "There's a cave, and the +coastguards are there, I'll be bound, as prisoners. Now I have to find +them and set them free." + +Very cautiously I peered over the cliff-face, examining every knob and +ledge which might conceal (or lead to) an opening in the rock. No. I +could see nothing; the cliff seemed to me to be almost sheer; and +though it was low tide, the rocks at the base of the cliffs seemed to +conceal no opening. I crept cautiously along the cliff-top, as near to +the edge as I dared, till I was some twenty feet from the spot where I +had heard the voice. Then I looked down again carefully, searching +every handbreadth for a firm foothold or path down the rocks, with an +opening at the end, through which a big man could squeeze his +body. No. There was nothing. No living human being could get down that +cliff-face without a rope from up above; and even If he managed to get +down, there seemed to be nothing but the sea for him at the end of his +journey. Again I looked carefully right to the foot of the +crag. No. There was absolutely nothing; I was off the track somehow. + +Now, just at this point the cliff fell Inland for a few paces, forming +a tiny bay about six yards across. To get along the cliff towards +Strete I had to turn inland for a few steps, then turn again towards +the sea, in order to reach the cliff. I skirted the little bay in this +manner, and dropped one or two stones into it from where I stood. As I +craned over the edge, watching them fall into the sea, I caught sight +of something far below me, in the water. + +I caught my breath and looked again, but the thing, whatever it was, +had disappeared from sight. It was something red, which had gleamed +for a moment from behind a rock at the base of the cliff. I watched +eagerly for a moment or two, hearing the sucking of the sea along the +stones, and the cry of the seagulls' young in their nests on the +ledges. Then, very slowly, as the slack water urged it, I saw the red +stem-piece of a rather large boat nosing slowly forward apparently +from the cliff-face towards the great rock immediately in front of +it. The secret was plain in a moment. Here was a cave with a +sea-entrance, and a cave big enough to hide a large, seagoing fisher's +boat; a cave, too, so perfectly hidden that it could not possibly be +seen from any point except right at the mouth. A coastguard's boat +could row within three yards of the entrance and never once suspect +its being there, unless, at a very low tide, the sea clucked strangely +from somewhere within. Any men entering the little bay in a boat would +see only the big rock hiding the face of the cliff. No one would +suspect that behind the rock lay a big cave accessible from the sea, +at low tide in fair weather. Even in foul weather, good boatmen (and +all the night-riders were wonderful fellows in a boat) could have made +that cave in safety, for at the mouth of the little bay there was a +great rock, which shut it in on the southwest side, so that in our bad +southwesterly gales the bay or cove would have been sheltered, though +full of the foam spattered from the sheltering crag. + +I had found the cave, but my next task was to find an entrance, and +that seemed to be no easy matter. I searched every inch of the +cliff-face for a foothold, but there was nothing there big enough for +anything bigger than a sea-lark. I could never have clambered down the +cliff, even had I the necessary nerve, which I certainly had not. The +only way down was to shut my eyes and walk over the cliff-edge, and +trust to luck at the bottom, and "that was one beyond me"--only Marah +Gorsuch would have tried that way. No; there was no way down the +cliff-side, that was certain. + +Now, somebody--I think it was old Alec Jewler, the ostler at the Tor +Cross posting-house--had told me that here and there along the coast, +but most of all in Cornwall, near Falmouth, there had once been +arsenic mines, now long since worked out. Their shafts, he said, could +be followed here and there for some little distance, and every now and +again they would broaden out into chambers, in which people sometimes +live, even now. It occurred to me that there might be some such +shaft-opening among the gorse quite close to me; so I crept away from +the cliff-brink, and began to search among the furze, till my skin was +full of prickles. Though I searched diligently for an hour or two, I +could find no hole big enough to be the mouth of a shaft. I knew that +a shaft of the kind might open a hundred yards from where I was +searching, and I was therefore well prepared to spend some time in my +hunt. And at last, when I was almost tired of looking, I came across a +fox or badger earth, not very recent, which seemed, though I could not +be certain, to broaden out inside. I lay down and thrust my head down +the hole, and that confirmed me. From up the hole there came the reek +of strong ship's tobacco. I had stumbled upon one of the cave's +air-holes. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CAVE IN THE CLIFF + + +My heart was thumping on my ribs as I thrust and wriggled my body down +the hole. I did not think how I was to get back again; it never once +occurred to me that I might stick in the burrow, and die stifled +there, like a rat in a trap. My one thought was, "I shall save the +coastguards," and that thought nerved me to push on, careless of +everything else. It was not at all easy at first, for the earth fell +in my ears from the burrow-roof, and there was very little room for my +body. Presently, as I had expected, the burrow broadened out--I could +kneel erect in it quite easily; and then I found that I could stand up +without bumping my head. I was not frightened, I was only very +excited; for, now that I stood in the shaft, the reek of the tobacco +was very strong. I could see hardly anything--only the light from the +burrow-mouth, lighting up the sides of the burrow for a yard or two, +and a sort of gleam, a sort of shining wetness, upon the floor of the +shaft and on its outer wall. I heard the wash of the sea, or thought I +heard it, and that was the only noise, except a steady drip, drip, +splash where water dripped from the roof into a pool on the floor. For +a moment I stood still, not certain which way to go. Then I settled to +myself the direction from which I had heard the voices, and turned +along the shaft on that side. + +When I had walked a few yards my nerve began to go; for the gleam on +the walls faded, the last glimmer of light went out. I was walking +along an unknown path in pitchy darkness, hearing only the drip, drip, +splash of the water slowly falling from the roof. Suddenly I ran +against a sort of breastwork of mortared stones, and the shock almost +made me faint. I stretched my hand out beyond it, but could feel +nothing, and then downward on the far side, but could feel nothing; +and then I knocked away a scrap of stone from the top of the wall, and +it seemed to fall for several seconds before a faint splash told me +that it had reached water. The shaft seemed to turn to the right and +left at this low wall, and at first I turned to the left, but only for +a moment, as I soon saw that the right-hand turning would bring me +more quickly to the cliff-face from which I had heard the voices. +After I had made my choice, you may be sure that I went on hands and +knees, feeling the ground in front of me. I went forward very, very +slowly, with the wet mud coming through my knickerbockers, and the +cold drops sometimes falling on my neck from the roof. At last I saw a +little glimmer of light, and there was a turning to the left; and just +beyond the turning there was a chamber in the rock, all lit up by the +sun, as clear as clear. There were holes in the cliff-face, one of +them a great big hole, and the sun shone through on to the floor of +the cave, and I could look out and see the sea, and the seagulls going +past after fish, and the clouds drifting up by the horizon. Very +cautiously I crept up to the entrance to the chamber, and then into +it, so that I could look all round it. + +It was not a very large room (I suppose it was fifteen feet square) +and it looked rather smaller than it was, because it was heaped almost +to the roof in one or two places with boxes and kegs, and the various +sea-stores, such as new rope and spare anchors. In one corner of it +(in the corner at which I entered it) a flight of worn stone steps led +downwards into the bowels of the earth. "Aha!" I thought; "so that's +how you reach your harbour!" Then I crept up to one of the piles of +boxes and cautiously peeped over. + +I looked over cautiously, for as I entered the room I had the eerie +feeling which one gets sometimes at night; I felt that there was +somebody else in the room. Sure enough there was somebody else--two +somebodies--and my heart leaped up in joy to see them. Sitting on the +ground, tied by the body to some of the boxes over which I peered, +were the two missing coastguards. Their backs were towards me, and +their hands and feet were securely bound; but they were unhurt, that +was the great thing. One of them was quietly smoking, filling the cave +with strong tobacco smoke; the other was asleep, breathing rather +heavily. It was evidently a pleasant holiday for the pair of them. No +other person was in the room, but I saw that on the far side of the +chamber another gallery led on into the cliff to another chamber, and +from this chamber came the sound of many voices talking (in a dull +quiet way), and the slow droning of the song of a drunken man. I shut +my eyes, and lay across the boxes as still as a dead man, trying to +summon up enough courage to speak to the coastguard; and all the time +the drunkard's song quavered and shook, and died down, and dragged on +again, as though it would never end. Afterwards I often heard that +song, in all its thirty stanzas; and I have only to repeat a line of +it to bring back to myself the scene of the sunny cave, with the bound +coastguard smoking, and the smugglers talking and talking just a few +paces out of sight. + + "And the gale it roar-ed dismally + As we went to New Barbary," + +said the singer; and then some one asked a question, and some one +struck a light for his pipe, and the singer droned on and on about the +bold Captain Glen, and the ship which met with such disaster. + +At last I summoned up enough courage to speak. I crawled over the +boxes as far as I could, and touched the coastguard. "Sh!" I said, in +a low voice, "Don't make a sound. I've come to rescue you." + +The man stared violently (I dare say his nerves were in a bad way +after his night in the cave), he dropped his pipe with a little +clatter on the stones, and turned to stare at me. + +"Sh!" I said again. "Don't speak. Don't make a sound." + +I crept round the boxes to him, and opened my knife. It was a strong +knife, with very sharp blades (Marah used to whet them for me), so +that it did not take me long to cut through the "inch-and-a-half-rope," +which lashed the poor fellow to the boxes. + +"Thankee, master," the man said, as he rose to his feet and stretched +himself. "I was getting stiff. Now, let's get out of here. D'ye know +the way out?" + +"Yes," I said, "I think I do. Oh, don't make a noise; but come this +way. This way." + +Very quietly we stole out by the gallery by which I had entered. We +made no attempt to rouse the sleeping man; he slept too heavily, and +we could not afford to run risks. I don't know what the coastguard's +feelings were. As for myself, I was pretty nearly fainting with +excitement. I could hear my heart go thump, thump, thump; it seemed to +be right up in my very throat. As we stepped into the gloom of the +gallery, the smugglers behind us burst into the chorus at the end of +the song-- + + "O never more do I intend + For to cross the raging main + But to live at home most cheerfull-ee, + And thus I end my traged-ee." + +I felt that if I could get away from that adventure I, too, would live +at home most cheerfully until the day of my death. We took advantage +of the uproar to step quickly into the darkness of the passage. + +Just before we came to the low stone breastwork which had given me +such a shock a few minutes before, we heard some one whistling a bar +of a tune. The tune was the tune of-- + + "Oh, my true love's listed, and wears a white cockade." + +And to our horror the whistler was coming quickly towards us. In +another second we saw him stepping along the gallery, swinging a +lantern. He was a big, strong man, evidently familiar with the way. + +"Back," said the coastguard in a gasp. "Get back, for your life, and +down that staircase." + +The man didn't see us; didn't even hear us. He stopped at the stone +breastwork, opened his lantern, and lit his pipe at the candle, and +then stepped on leisurely towards the chamber. Our right course would +have been "to go for him," knock him down, knock the breath out of +him, lash his wrists and ankles together, and bolt for the +entrance. But the coastguard was rather upset by his adventure, and he +let the minute pass by. Had he rushed at the man as soon as he +appeared; but, there--it is no use talking. We didn't rush at him, we +scuttled back into the chamber, and then down the worn stone steps cut +out of the rock, which seemed to lead down and down into the bowels of +the earth. As we hurried down, leaping lightly on the tips of our +toes, the quaver of the tune came after us, so clearly that I even +made a guess at the whistler's identity. + +When we had run down the staircase about half-way down to sea-level we +found ourselves in a cave as big as the church at Dartmouth. It was +fairly light, for the entrance was large, though low, and at low water +(as it was then) the roof of the cave mouth stood six feet from the +sea. The sea ran up into the cave in a deep triangular channel, with a +landing-place (a natural ledge of rock) on each of the sides, and the +sea entrance at the base. The sea made a sort of clucking noise about +the rocks; and at the right inland it washed upon a cave-floor of +pebbles, which clattered slightly as the swell moved them. The roof +dripped a little, and there were little pools on both the landings, +and the whole place had a queer, dim, green, uncanny light upon it; +due, I suppose, to the deep water of the channel. I saw all these +things afterwards, at leisure; I did not notice them very clearly in +that first moment. All that I saw then was a large sea-lugger, lying +moored at the cavemouth, some few feet lower down. She was a beautiful +model of a boat (I had seen that much in seeing her bow from the top +of the cliff), but of course her three masts were unstepped, and she +was rather a handful for a man and a boy. We saw her, and made a leap +for her together, and both of us landed in her bows at the same +instant, just as the man with the lantern, peering down from the top +of the stairs, asked us what in the world we were playing at down +there. + +The coastguard made no answer, for he was busy in the bows; I think he +had his knife through the painter in five seconds. Then he snatched up +a boat-hook (I took an oar), and we drove her with all our strength +along the channel into (or, I should say, towards) the open sea and +freedom. + +"Hey," cried the man with the lantern, "chuck that! Are you mad?" He +took a step or two down the staircase, in order to see better. + +"Drive her, oh, drive her, boy!" cried the coastguard. + +I thrust with all my force, the coastguard gave a mighty heave, the +lugger slid slowly seawards. + +"Hey!" yelled the smuggler, clattering upstairs, dropping his lantern +down on us. "Hey, Marah, Jewler, Smokewell, Hankin--all of you! +They've got away in the boat." + +"Now the play begins," said the coastguard. "Another heave, and +another--together now!" + +We drove the lugger forward again, so that half her length thrust out +into the sea. We ran aft to give her a final thrust out, and just at +that moment her bow struck upon the rock at the cave mouth: in the +excitement of the moment we had not realised that one of us was wanted +in the bows to shove her nose clean into the sea. The blow threw us +both upon our hands and knees in the stern sheets; it took us +half-a-dozen seconds to pick ourselves up, and then I realised that I +should have to jump forward and guide the boat clear of all outlying +dangers. As I sprang to the bows there came yells from the top of the +stairs, where I saw half-a-dozen smugglers coming full tilt towards +us. + +Some one cried out, "Drop it, drop it, you fool!" Another voice cried, +"Fire!" and two or three shots cracked out, making a noise like a +cannonade. The coastguard gave a last desperate heave, I shoved the +bows clear, and lo! we were actually gliding out. The coastguard's +body was outside the cliff in full sunlight, giving a final thrust +from the cliff wall. And then I saw Marah leap into the stern sheets +as they passed out of the cave; he gave a little thrust to the +coastguard, just a gentle thrust--enough to make him lose his balance +and topple over. + +"That's enough now," he said, with a grim glance at me. "That's enough +for one time." + +He picked up the coastguard's boat-hook (the man just grinned and +looked sheepish; he made no attempt to fight with Marah) and thrust +the boat back into the cave with half-a-dozen deft strokes. Another +smuggler dropped down into the stern sheets, looked at the coastguard +with a grin, and helped to work the lugger back into the cave. A third +man threw down a sternfast to secure her; a fourth jumped into the bow +and began to put a long splice into the painter which we had cut. We +had tried and we had failed; here we were prisoners again, and I felt +sick at heart lest those rough smugglers should teach us a lesson for +our daring. But Marah just told the coastguard to jump out. + +"Out you get," he said, "and don't try that again." + +"I won't," said the coastguard. + +"You'd better not," said another smuggler. That was all. + +We were helped out of the lugger on to the ledge above the channel, +and the smugglers walked behind us up the stairs to the room we had +just left. The other coastguard was still snoring, and that seemed +strange to me, for the last few minutes had seemed like hours. + +"Better bring him inside, boss," said one of the smugglers. "He may +try the same game." + +"He's got no young sprig to cut his lashings," said Marah. "He'll be +well enough." So they left the man to his quiet and passed on with +their other prisoners into the inner room. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +SIGNING ON + + +The inner room was much larger than the prison chamber; it was not +littered with boxes, but clean and open like a frigate's lower +deck. It was not, perhaps, quite so light as the other room, but there +were great holes in the cliff hidden by bushes from the view of +passing fishermen, and the sun streamed through these on to the floor, +leaving only the ends of the room in shadow. The room had been +arranged like the mess-deck of a war-ship; there were sea-chests and +bags ranged trimly round the inner wall; there was a trestle table +littered with tin pannikins and plates. The roof was supported by a +line of wooden stanchions. There were arm racks round the stanchions, +containing muskets, cutlasses, and long, double-barrelled pistols. As +I expected, there were several bee-skeps hanging from nails, or lying +on the floor. I was in the smugglers' roost, perhaps in the presence +of Captain Sharp himself. + +The drunken smuggler who had sung of Captain Glen was the only +occupant of the room when we entered: he sat half asleep in his chest, +still clutching his pannikin, still muttering about the boatswain. He +was an Italian by birth, so Marah told me. He was known as Gateo. +When he was sober he was a good seaman, but when he was drunk he would +do nothing but sing of Captain Glen until he dropped off to sleep. He +had served in the Navy, Marah told me, and had once been a boatswain's +mate in the _Victory_; but he had deserted, and now he was a +smuggler living in a hole in the earth. + +"And now," said Marah, after he had told me all this, "you and me will +have to talk. Step into the other room there, you boys," he cried to +the other smugglers: "I want to have a word with master here." + +One of the men--he was the big man who had raised the alarm on us; I +never knew his real name, everybody always called him Extry--said +glumly that he "wasn't going to oblige boys, not for dollars." + +Marah turned upon him, and the two men faced each other; the others +stood expectantly, eager for a fight. "Step into the other room +there," repeated Marah quietly. + +"I ain't no pup nor no nigger-man," said Extry. "You ain't going to +order me." + +Marah seemed to shrink into himself and to begin to sparkle all +over--I can't describe it: that is the effect he produced--he seemed +to settle down like a cat going to spring. Extry's hand travelled +round for his sheath-knife, and yet it moved indecisively, as though +half afraid. And then, just as I felt that Extry would die from being +looked at in that way, he hung his head, turned to the door, and +walked out sheepishly according to order. He was beaten. + +"No listening now," said Marah, as they filed out. "Keep on your own +side of the fence." + +"Shall we take Gatty with us?" said one of the men. + +"Let him lie," said Marah; "he's hove down for a full due, Gatty is." + +The men disappeared with their prisoner. Marah looked after them for a +moment. "Now," he said, "come on over here to the table, Master Jim." +He watched me with a strange grin upon his face; I knew that grin; it +was the look his face always bore when he was worried. "Now we will +come to business. Lie back against the hammocks and rest; I'm going to +talk to you like a father." + +I lay back upon the lashed-up hammocks and he began. + +"I suppose you know what you've done? You've just about busted +yourself. D'ye know that? You thought you'd rescue the pugs"--he meant +coastguards. "Well, you haven't. You have gone and shoved your head +down a wasp's nest, so you'll find. How did you get here, in the first +place? What gave you your clue?" + +"I saw the coastguards up above here yesterday," I answered, "and I +thought I heard voices speaking from below the brow of the cliff, so +then I searched about till I found a hole, and so I got down here." + +"Ah," said Marah, "they will be round here looking for you, then. I'll +take the liberty of hiding your tracks." He went in to the other room +and spoke a few words to one of the other smugglers. "Well," he said, +as he came back to me, "they'll not find you now, if they search from +now till glory. They'll think you fell into the sea." + +"But," I exclaimed, "I must go home! Surely I can go home now? They'll +be so anxious." + +"Yes," said Marah, "they'll be anxious. But look you here, my son; +folk who acts hasty, as you've done, they often make other people +anxious--often enough. Very anxious indeed, some of 'em. That's what +you have done by coming nosing around here. Now here you are, our +prisoner--Captain Sharp's prisoner--and here you must stay." + +"But, I _must_ go home," I cried, the tears coming to my eyes. +"I _must_ go home." + +"Well, you just can't," he answered kindly. "Think it over a +minute. You've come here," he went on, "nosing round like a spy; +you've found out our secret. You might let as many as fifty men in for +the gallows--fifty men to be hanged, d'ye understand; or to be +transported, or sent to a hulk, or drafted into a man-o'-war. I don't +say you would, for I believe you have sense: still, you're only a boy, +and they might get at you in all sorts of ways. Cunning lawyers +might. And then you give us away and where would _we_ be? Eh, +boy? Where would we be? Suppose you gave us away, meaning no harm, not +really knowing what you done. Well, I ask you, where would _we_ +be?" + +"I wouldn't give you away," I said hotly. "You know I wouldn't. I +never gave you away about the hut in the woods." + +"No," he said, "you never; but this time there's men's necks +concerned. I can't help myself--Captain Sharp's, orders. I couldn't +let you go if I wanted to; the hands wouldn't let me. It'd be putting +so many ropes round their necks." By this time I was crying. "Don't +cry, young 'un," he said; "it won't be so bad. But you see yourself +what you've done now, don't you?" + +He walked away from me a turn or two to let me have my cry out. When +my sobs ceased, he came back and sat close to me, waiting for me to +speak. + +"What will you do to me?" I asked him. + +"Why," he answered, "there's only one thing _to_ be done; either +you've got to become one of us, so as if you give us away you'll be in +the same boat--I don't say you need be one of us for long; only a trip +or two--or, you'll have to walk through the window there, and that's a +long fall and a mighty wet splash at the bottom." + +I thought of Mims waiting at home for me, and of the jolly tea-table, +with Hoolie begging for toast and Hugh's face bent over his plate. +The thought that I should never see them again set me crying +passionately--I cried as if my heart would break. + +"Why--come, come," said Marah; "I thought you were a sailor. Take a +brace, boy. We're not going to kill you. You'll make a trip or two. +What's that? Why it's only a matter of a week or two, and it'll make a +man of you. A very jolly holiday. I'll be able to make a man of you +just as I said I would. You'll see life and you'll see the sea, and +then you'll come home and forget all about us. But go home you'll not, +understand that, till we got a hold on you the same as you on us." + +There was something in his voice which gave me the fury of despair. I +sprang to my feet, almost beside myself. "Very well, then," I +cried. "You can drown me. I'm not going to be one of you. And if I +ever get away I'll see you all hanged, every one of you--you first." + +I couldn't say more, for I burst out crying again. + +Marah sat still, watching me. "Well, well," he said, "I always thought +you had spirit. Still, no sense in drowning you, no sense at all." + +He walked to the door and called out to some of the smugglers, "Here, +Extry, Hankin, you fellows, just come in here, I want you a moment." + +The men came in quickly, and ranged themselves about the room, +grinning cheerfully. + +"'Low me to introduce you," said Marah. "Our new apprentice, Mr Jim +Davis." + +The men bowed to me sheepishly. + +"Glad to meet Mr Davis," said one of them. + +"Quite a pleasure," said another. + +"I s'pose you just volunteered, Mr Jim?" said the third. + +"Yes," said Marah; "he just volunteered. I want you to witness his +name on the articles." He produced a sheet of paper which was scrawled +all over with names. "Now, Mr Jim," he said, "your name, +please. There's ink and pen in the chest here." + +"What d'ye want my name for?" I asked. + +"Signing on," he said, winking at me. It's only a game." + +"I won't set my name to the paper." I cried. "I'll have nothing to do +with you. I'd sooner die--far sooner." + +"That's a pity," said Marah, taking up the pen. "Well, if you won't, +you won't." + +He bent over the chest and wrote "Jim Davis" in a round, unformed, +boyish hand, not unlike my own. + +"Now, boys," he said, "you have seen the signature. Witness it, +please." + +The men witnessed the signature and made their clumsy crosses; none of +them could write. + +"You see?" asked Marah. "We were bound to get you, Jim. You've signed +our articles." "I've done nothing of the kind," I said. "Oh! but you +have," he said calmly. "Here's your witnessed signature. You're one of +us now." + +"It's a forgery!" I cried. + +"Forgery?" he said in pretended amazement. "But here are witnesses to +swear to it. Now don't take on, son"--he saw that I was on the point +of breaking down again at seeing myself thus trapped. "You can't get +away. You're ours. Make the best of a bad job. We will tell your +friends you are safe. They'll know within an hour that you will not be +home till the end of June. After that you will be enough one of us to +keep your tongue shut for your own sake. I'm sorry you don't like +it. Well, 'The sooner the quicker' is a good proverb. The sooner you +dry your tears, the quicker we can begin to work together. Here, +Smokewell, get dinner along; it's pretty near two o'clock. Now, Jim, +my son, I'll just send a note to your people." He sat down on a chest +and began to write. "No," he added; "_you_ had better write. Say +this: 'I am safe. I shall be back in three weeks' time. Say I have +gone to stay in Somersetshire with Captain Sharp. Do not worry about +me. Do not look for me. I am safe.' There; that's enough. Give it +here. Hankin, deliver this letter at once to Mrs Cottier, at the +Snail's Castle. Don't show your beautiful face to more'n you can +help. Be off." + +Hankin took the letter and shambled out of the cave. Long afterwards I +heard that he shot it through the dining-room window on a dart of +hazelwood while my aunt and Mrs Cottier were at lunch. That was the +last letter I wrote for many a long day. That was my farewell to +boyhood, that letter. + +After a time Smokewell brought in dinner, and we all fell-to at the +table. For my own part, I was too sick at heart to eat much, though +the food was good enough. There was a cold fowl, a ham, and a great +apple-pasty. + +After dinner, the men cut up tobacco, and played cards, and smoked, +and threw dice; but Marah made them do this in the outer room. He was +very kind to me in my wretchedness. He slung one of the hammocks for +me, and made me turn in for a sleep. After a time I cried myself into +a sort of uneasy doze. I woke up from time to time, and whenever I +woke up I would see Marah smoking, with his face turned to the window, +watching the sea. Then I would hear the flicker of the cards in the +next room, and the voices of the players. "You go that? Do you? Well, +and I'll raise you." And then I would hear the money being paid to the +winners, and wonder where I was, and so doze off again into all manner +of dreams. + + + +CHAPTER X + +ABOARD THE LUGGER + + +When I woke up, it was still bright day, but the sun was off the +cliffs, and the caves seemed dark and uncanny. + +"Well," said Marah, "have you had a good sleep?" + +"Yes," I said, full of wretchedness; "I must have slept for hours." + +"You'll need a good sleep," said Marah, "for it's likely you'll have +none to-night. We night-riders, the like of you and me, why, we know +what the owls do, don't we? We sleep like cats in the daytime. They'll +be getting supper along in about half-an-hour. What d'you say to a +wash and that down in the sea--a plunge in the cove and then out and +dry yourself? Why, it'd be half your life. Do you all the good in the +world. Can't offer you fresh water; there's next to none down below +here. But you come down and have a dip in the salt." + +He led the way into the next room, and down the stairs to the +water. The tide was pretty full, so that I could dive off one ledge +and climb out by the ledge at the other side. So I dived in and then +climbed back, and dried myself with a piece of an old sail, feeling +wonderfully refreshed. Then we went upstairs to the cave again, and +supped off the remains of the dinner; and then the men sat about the +table talking, telling each other stories of the sea. It was dusk +before we finished supper, and the caves were dark, but no lights were +allowed. The smugglers always went into the passages to light their +pipes. I don't know how they managed in the winter: probably they +lived in the passages, where a fire could not be seen from the sea. In +summer they could manage very well. + +Towards sunset the sky clouded over, and it began to rain. I sat at +the cave window, listlessly looking out upon it, feeling very sick at +heart. The talk of the smugglers rang in my ears in little snatches. + +"So I said, 'You're a liar. There's no man alive ever came away, not +ever. They were all drowned, every man Jack.' That's what I said." + +"Yes," said another; "so they was. I saw the wreck myself. The lower +masts was standing." + +I didn't understand half of what they said; but it all seemed to be +full of terrible meaning, like the words heard in dreams. Marah was +very kind in his rough sailor's way, but I was homesick, achingly +homesick, and his jokes only made me more wretched than I was. At last +he told me to turn in again and get some sleep, and, after I had +tucked myself up, the men were quieter. I slept in a dazed, +light-headed fashion (as I had slept in the afternoon) till some time +early in the morning (at about one o'clock), when a hand shook my +hammock, and Marah's voice bade me rise. + +It was dark in the cave, almost pitch-dark. Marah took my arm and led +me downstairs to the lower cave, where one or two battle-lanterns made +it somewhat lighter. There were nearly twenty men gathered together in +the cave, and I could see that the lugger had been half filled with +stores, all securely stowed, ready for the sea. A little, +brightly-dressed mannikin, in a white, caped overcoat, was directing +matters, talking sometimes in English, sometimes in French, but always +with a refined accent and in picked phrases. He was clean shaven, as +far as I could see, and his eyes glittered in the lantern-light. The +English smugglers addressed him as Captain Sharp, but I learnt +afterwards that "Captain Sharp" was the name by which all their +officers were known, and that there were at least twenty other Captain +Sharps scattered along the coast. At the time, I thought that this man +was the supreme head, the man who had sent Mrs Cottier her present, +the man who had spoken to me that night of the snow-storm. + +"Here, Marah," he said, when he saw that I was taking too much notice +of him, "stow that lad away in the bows; he will be recognising me +by-and-by." + +"Come on, Jim," said Marah; "jump into the boat, my son." + +"But where are we going?" I asked, dismayed. + +"Going?" he answered. "Going? Going to make a man of you. Going to +France, my son," + +I hung back, frightened and wretched. He swung me lightly off the +ledge into the lugger's bows. + +"Now, come," he said; "you're not going to cry. I'm going to make a +man of you. Here, you must put on this suit of wrap-rascal, and these +here knee-boots, or you'll be cold to the bone,'specially if you're +sick. Put 'em on, son, before we sail." He didn't give me time to +think or to refuse, but forced the clothes upon me; they were a world +too big. "There," he said; "now you're quite the sailor." He gave a +hail to the little dapper man above him. "We're all ready, Captain +Sharp," he cried, "so soon as you like." + +"Right," said the Captain. "You know what you got to do. Shove off, +boys!" + +A dozen more smugglers leaped down upon the lugger; the gaskets were +cast off the sails, a few ropes were flung clear. I saw one or two men +coiling away the lines which had lashed us to the rocks. The dapper +man waved his hands and skipped up the staircase. + +"Good-bye, Jim," said some one. "So long--so long," cried the +smugglers to their friends. Half-a-dozen strong hands walked along the +ledge with the sternfast, helping to drag us from the cave. "Quietly +now," said Marah, as the lugger moved out into the night. "Heave, oh, +heave," said the seamen, as they thrust her forward to the sea. The +sea air beat freshly upon me, a drop or two of rain fell, wetting my +skin, the water talked under the keel and along the cliff-edge--we +were out of the cave, we were at sea; the cave and the cliff were a +few yards from us, we were moving out into the unknown. + +"Aft with the boy, out of the way," said some one; a hand led me aft +to the stern sheets, and there was Marah at the tiller. "Get sail on +her," he said in a low voice. + +The men ran to the yards and masts, the masts were stepped and the +yards hoisted quietly. There was a little rattle of sheets and blocks, +the sails slatted once or twice. Then the lugger passed from the last +shelter of the cliff; the wind caught us, and made us heel a little; +the men went to the weather side; the noise of talking water +deepened. Soon the water creamed into brightness as we drove through +it. They set the little main topsail--luggers were never very strictly +rigged in those days. + +"There's the Start Light, Jim," said Marah. "Bid it good-bye. You'll +see it no more for a week." + +They were very quiet in the lugger; no one spoke, except when the +steersman was relieved, or when the master wished something done among +the rigging. The men settled down on the weather side with their pipes +and quids, and all through the short summer night we lay there, +huddled half asleep together, running to the south like a stag. At +dawn the wind breezed up, and the lugger leaped and bounded till I +felt giddy; but they shortened no sail, only let her drive and +stagger, wasting no ounce of the fair wind. The sun came up, the waves +sparkled, and the lugger drove on for France, lashing the sea into +foam and lying along on her side. I didn't take much notice of things +for I felt giddy and stunned; but the change in my circumstances had +been so great--the life in the lugger was so new and strange to +me--that I really did not feel keen sorrow for being away from my +friends. I just felt stunned and crushed. + +Marah was at the taffrail looking out over the water with one hand on +the rail. He grinned at me whenever the sprays rose up and crashed +down upon us. "Ha," he would say, "there she sprays; that beats your +shower-baths," and he would laugh to see me duck whenever a very heavy +spray flung itself into the boat. We were tearing along at a great +pace and there were two men at the tiller: Marah was driving his boat +in order to "make a passage." We leaped and shook, and lay down and +rushed, like a thing possessed; our sails were dark with the spray; +nearly every man on board was wet through. + +By-and-by Marah called me to him and took me by the scruff of the neck +with one hand. "See here," he said, putting his mouth against my ear; +"look just as though nothing was happening. You see that old Gateo at +the lee tiller? Well, watch him for a moment. Now look beyond his red +cap at the sea. What's that? Your eyes are younger--I use tobacco too +much to have good eyes. What's that on the sea there?" + +I looked hard whenever the lugger rose up in a swell. "It's a sail," I +said, in a low voice; "a small sail. A cutter by the look of her." + +"Yes," he said, "she's a cutter. Now turn to windward. What d'ye make +of that?" + +He jerked himself around to stare to windward and ahead of us. Very +far away, I could not say how far, I saw, or thought I saw, several +ships; but the sprays drove into my face and the wind blew the tears +out of my eyes. "Ships," I answered him. "A lot of ships--a whole +convoy of ships." + +"Ah," he answered, "that's no convoy. That's the fleet blockading +Brest, my son. That cutter's a revenue cruiser, and she's new from +home; her bottom's clean, otherwise we'd dropped her. She's going to +head us off into the fleet, and then there will be James M'Kenna." + +"Who was he?" I asked. + +"Who? James M'Kenna?" he answered lightly. "He stole the admiral's +pig. He was hanged at the yardarm until he was dead. You thank your +stars we have not got far to go. There's France fair to leeward; but +that cutter's between us and there, so we shall have a close call to +get home. P'raps we shall not _get_ home--it depends, my son." + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FRIGATE "LAOCOON" + + +By this time the other smugglers had become alarmed. The longboat gun, +which worked on a slide abaft all, was cleared, and the two little +cohorns, or hand-swivel guns, which pointed over the sides, were +trained and loaded. A man swarmed up the mainmast to look around. +"The cutter's bearing up to close," he called out. "I see she's the +Salcombe boat." + +"That shows they have information," said Marah grimly, "otherwise +they'd not be looking for us here. Some one had been talking to his +wife." He hailed the masthead again. "Have the frigates seen us yet?" + +For answer, the man took a hurried glance to windward, turned visibly +white to the lips, and slid down a rope to the deck. "Bearing down +fast, under stunsails," he reported. "The cutter's signalled them with +her topsail. There's three frigates coming down," he added. + +"Right," said Marah. "I'll go up and see for myself." + +He went up, and came down again looking very ugly. He evidently +thought that he was in a hole. "As she goes," he called to the +helmsman, "get all you can on the sheets, boys. Now Jim, you're up a +tree; you're within an hour of being pressed into the Navy. How'd ye +like to be a ship's boy, hey, and get tickled up by a bo'sun's +rope-end?" + +"I shouldn't like it at all," I answered. + +"You'll like it a jolly sight less than that," said he, "and it's what +you'll probably be. We're ten miles from home. The cutter's in the +road. The frigates will be on us in half-an-hour. It will be a mighty +close call, my son; we shall have to fight to get clear." + +At that instant of time something went overhead with a curious +whanging whine. + +"That's a three-pound ball," said Marah, pointing to a spurt upon a +wave. "The cutter wants us to stop and have breakfast with 'em." + +"Whang," went another shot, flying far overhead. "Fire away," said +Marah. "You're more than a mile away; you will not hit us at that +range." + +He shifted his course a little, edging more towards the shore, so as +to cut transversely across the cutter's bows. We ran for twenty +minutes in the course of the frigates; by that time the cutter was +within half a mile and the frigates within three miles of us. All the +cutter's guns were peppering at us; a shot or two went through our +sails, one shot knocked a splinter from our fiferail. + +"They shoot a treat, don't they?" said Marah. "Another minute and they +will be knocking away a spar." + +Just as he spoke, there came another shot from the cutter; something +aloft went "crack"; a rope unreeved from its pulley and rattled on to +the deck; the mizen came down in a heap: the halliards had been cut +clean through. The men leaped to repair the damage; it took but a +minute or two, but we had lost way; the next shot took us square +amidships and tore off a yard of our lee side. + +"We must give them one in return," he said. "Aft to the gun, boys." + +The men trained the long gun on the cutter. "Oh, Marah," I said, +"don't fire on Englishmen." + +"Who began the firing?" he answered. "I'm going to knock away some of +their sails. Stand clear of the breech," he shouted, as he pulled the +trigger-spring. The gun roared and recoiled; a hole appeared as if by +magic in the swelling square foresail of the cutter. "Load with +bar-shot and chain," said Marah. "Another like that and we shall rip +the whole sail off. Mind your eye. There goes her gun again." + +This time the shot struck the sea beside us, sending a spout of water +over our rail. Again Marah pulled his trigger-spring, the gun fell +over on its side, and the cutter's mast seemed to collapse into itself +as though it were wrapping itself up in its own canvas. A huge loose +clue of sail--the foresail's starboard leach--flew up into the air; +the boom swung after it; the gaff toppled over from above; we saw the +topmast dive like a lunging rapier into the sea. We had torn the +foresail in two, and the shot passing on had smashed the foremast just +below the cap. All her sails lay in a confused heap just forward of +the mast. + +"That's done her," said one of the smugglers. "She can't even use her +gun now." + +"Hooray!" cried another. "We're the boys for a lark." + +"Are you?" said Marah. "We got the frigates to clear yet, my +son. They'll be in range in two minutes or less. Look at them." + +Tearing after us, in chase, under all sail, came the frigates. Their +bows were burrowing into white heaps of foam; we could see the red +port-lids and the shining gun-muzzles; we could see the scarlet coats +of the marines, and the glint of brass on the poops. A flame spurted +from the bows of the leader. She was firing a shot over us to bid us +heave to. The smugglers looked at each other; they felt that the game +was up. Bang! Another shot splashed into the sea beside us, and +bounded on from wave to wave, sending up huge splashes at each +bound. A third shot came from the second frigate, but this also +missed. Marah was leaning over our lee rail, looking at the coast of +France, still several miles away. "White water," he cried suddenly. +"Here's the Green Stones. We shall do them yet." + +I could see no green stones, but a quarter of a mile away, on our +port-hand, the sea was all a cream of foam above reefs and sands just +covered by the tide. If they were to help us, it was none too soon, +for by this time the leading frigate was only a hundred yards from +us. Her vast masts towered over us. I could look into her open bow +ports; I could see the men at the bow guns waiting for the word to +fire. I have often seen ships since then, but I never saw any ship so +splendid and so terrible as that one. She was the _Laocoon_, and +her figurehead was twined with serpents. The line of her ports was of +a dull yellow colour, and as all her ports were open, the port-lids +made scarlet marks all along it. Her great lower studdingsail swept +out from her side for all the world like a butterfly-net, raking the +top of the sea for us. An officer stood on the forecastle with a +speaking-trumpet in his hand. + +"Stand by!" cried Marah. "They're going to hail us." + +"Ahoy, the lugger there!" yelled the officer. "Heave to at once or I +sink you. Heave to." + +"Answer him in French," said Marah to one of the men. + +A man made some answer in French; I think he said he didn't +understand. The officer told a marine to fire at us. The bullet +whipped through the mizen. "Bang" went one of the main-deck guns just +over our heads. We felt a rush and shock, and our mizen mast and sail +went over the side. + +Marah stood up and raised his hand. "We surrender, sir!" he shouted; +"we surrender! Down helm, boys." + +We swung round on our keel, and came to the wind. We saw the officer +nod approval and speak a word to the sailing-master, and then the +great ship lashed past us, a mighty, straining, heaving fabric of +beauty, whose lower studding-sails were wet half-way to their irons. + +"Now for it!" said Marah. He hauled his wind, and the lugger shot off +towards the broken water. "If we get among those shoals," he said, +"we're safe as houses. The frigate's done. She's going at such a pace +they will never stop her. Not till she's gone a mile. Not without they +rip the masts out of her. That officer ought to have known that +trick. That will be a lesson to you, Mr Jim. If ever you're in a +little ship, and you get chased by a big ship, you keep on till she's +right on top of you, and then luff hard all you know, and the chances +are you'll get a mile start before they come round to go after you." + +We had, in fact, doubled like a hare, and the frigate, like a +greyhound, had torn on ahead, unable to turn. We saw her lower +stunsail boom carry away as they took in the sail, and we could see +her seamen running to their quarters ready to brace the yards and +bring the ship to her new course. The lugger soon gathered way and +tore on, but it was now blowing very fresh indeed, and the sea before +us was one lashing smother of breakers. Marah seemed to think nothing +of that; he was watching the frigates. One, a slower sailer than the +other, was sailing back to the fleet; the second had hove to about a +mile away, with her longboat lowered to pursue us. The boat was just +clear of her shadow; crowding all sail in order to get to us. The +third ship, the ship which we had tricked, was hauling to the wind, +with her light canvas clued up for furling. In a few moments she was +braced up and standing towards us, but distant about a mile. + +Suddenly both frigates opened fire, and the great cannon-balls ripped +up the sea all round us. + +"They'll sink us, sure," said one of the smugglers with a grin. + +The men all laughed, and I laughed too; we were all so very much +interested in what was going to happen. The guns fired steadily one +after the other in a long rolling roar. The men laughed at each shot. + +"They couldn't hit the sea," they said derisively. "The navy gunners +are no use at all." + +"No," said Marah, "they're not. But if they keep their course another +half-minute they'll be on the sunk reef, and a lot of 'em'll be +drowned. I wonder will the old _Laocoon_ take a hint." + +"Give 'em the pennant," said Gateo. + +"Ay, give it 'em," said half-a-dozen others. "Don't let 'em wreck." + +Marah opened the flag-locker, and took out a blue pennant (it had a +white ball in the middle of it), which he hoisted to his main +truck. "Let her go off," he cried to the helmsman. + +For just a moment we lay broadside on to the frigate, a fair target +for her guns, so that she could see the pennant blowing out clear. + +"You see, Jim?" asked Marah. "That pennant means 'You are standing in +to danger.' Now we will luff again." + +"I don't think they saw it, guv'nor," said one of the sailors as +another shot flew over us. "They'll have to send below to get their +glasses, those blind navy jokers." + +"Off," said Marah, quickly; and again we lay broadside on, tumbling in +the swell, shipping heavy sprays. + +This time they saw it, for the _Laocoon's_ helm was put down, her +great sails shivered and threshed, and she stood off on the other +tack. As she stood away we saw an officer leap on to the taffrail, +holding on by the mizen backstays. "Tar my wig," said Marah, "if he +isn't bowing to us!" + +Sure enough the officer took off his hat to us and bowed gracefully. + +"Polite young man," said Marah. "We will give them the other pennant." +Another flag, a red pennant, was hoisted in place of the +blue. "Wishing you a pleasant voyage," said Marah. "Now luff, my +sons. That longboat will be on to us." + +Indeed, the longboat had crept to within six hundred yards of us; it +was time we were moving, though the guns were no longer firing on us +from the ships. + +"Mind your helm, boys," said Marah as he went forward to the +bows. "I've got to con you through a lot of bad rocks. You'll have to +steer small or die." + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BLACK POOL BAY + + +I shall not describe our passage through the Green Stones to +Kermorvan, but in nightmares it comes back to me. We seemed to wander +in blind avenues, hedged in by seas, and broken water, awful with the +menace of death. For five or six hours we dodged among rocks and +reefs, wet with the spray that broke upon them and sick at heart at +the sight of the whirlpools and eddies. I think that they are called +the Green Stones because the seas break over them in bright green +heaps. Here and there among them the tide seized us and swept us +along, and in the races where this happened there were sucking +whirlpools, strong enough to twist us round. How often we were near +our deaths I cannot think, but time and time again the backwash of a +breaker came over our rail in a green mass. When we sailed into +Kermorvan I was only half conscious from the cold and wet. I just +remember some one helping me up some steps with seaweed on them. + +We stayed in Kermorvan for a week or more, waiting for our cargo of +brandy, silk, and tobacco, and for letters and papers addressed to the +French war-prisoners in the huge prison on Dartmoor. + +I was very unhappy in Kermorvan, thinking of home. It would have been +less dismal had I had more to do, but I was unoccupied and a prisoner, +in charge of an old French woman, who spoke little English, so that +time passed slowly indeed. At last we set sail up the coast, hugging +the French shore, touching at little ports for more cargo till we came +to Cartaret. Here a French gentleman (he was a military spy) came +aboard us, and then we waited two or three days for a fair wind. At +last the wind drew to the east, and we spread all sail for home on a +wild morning when the fishermen were unable to keep the sea. + +At dusk we were so near to home that I could see the Start and the +whole well-known coast from Salcombe to Dartmoor. In fact I had plenty +of time to see it, for we doused our sails several miles out to sea, +and lay tossing in the storm to a sea-anchor, waiting for the short +summer night to fall. When it grew dark enough (of course, in that +time of year, it is never very dark even in a storm) we stole in, mile +by mile, to somewhere off Flushing, where we showed a light. We showed +it three times from the bow, and at the last showing a red light +gleamed from Flushing Church. That was the signal to tell us that all +was safe, so then we sailed into Black Pool Bay, where the breakers +were beating fiercely in trampling ranks. + +There were about a dozen men gathered together on the beach. We sailed +right in, till we were within ten yards of the sands, and there we +moored the lugger by the head and stern, so that her freight could be +discharged. The men on the beach waded out through the surf (though it +took them up to the armpits), and the men in the lugger passed the +kegs and boxes to them. Waves which were unusually big would knock +down the men in the water, burden and all, and then there would be +laughter from all hands, and grumbles from the victim. I never saw men +work harder. The freight was all flung out and landed and packed in +half an hour. It passed out in a continual stream from both sides of +the boat; everybody working like a person possessed. And when the +lugger was nearly free of cargo, and the string of workers in the +water was broken on the port side, it occurred to me that I had a +chance of escape. It flashed into my mind that it was dark, that no +one in the lugger was watching me, that the set of the tide would +drive me ashore (I was not a good swimmer, but I knew that in five +yards I should be able to touch bottom), and that in another two +hours, or less, I should be in bed at home, with all my troubles at an +end. + +When I thought of escaping, I was standing alone at the stern. A lot +of the boat's crew were in the water, going ashore to "run" the cargo, +on horseback, to the wilds of Dartmoor. The others were crowded at the +bow, watching them go, or watching the men upon the beach, moving here +and there by torchlight, packing the kegs on the horses' backs. It was +a wild scene. The wind blew the torches into great red fiery banners; +the waves hissed and spumed, and glimmered into brightness; you could +see the horses shying, and the men hurrying to and fro; and now and +then some one would cry out, and then a horse would whinny. All the +time there was a good deal of unnecessary talk and babble; the voices +and laughter of the seamen came in bursts as the wind lulled. Every +now and then a wave would burst with a smashing noise, and the +smugglers would laugh at those wetted by the spray. I saw that I had a +better chance of landing unobserved on the port side; so I stole to +that side, crawled over the gunwale, and slid into the sea without a +splash. + +The water made me gasp at first; but that only lasted a second. I made +a gentle stroke or two towards the shore, trying not to raise my head +much, and really I felt quite safe before I had made three +strokes. When you swim in the sea at night, you see so little that you +feel that you, in your turn, cannot be seen either. All that I could +see was a confused mass of shore with torchlights. Every now and then +that would be hidden from me by the comb of a wave; and then a +following wave would souse into my face and go clean over me; but as +my one thought was to be hidden from the lugger, I rather welcomed a +buffet of that sort. I very soon touched bottom, for the water near +the beach is shallow. I stood up and bent over, so as not to be seen, +and began to stumble towards the shelter of the rocks. The business of +lading the horses was going steadily forward, with the same noisy +hurry. I climbed out of the backwash of the last breaker, and dipped +down behind a rock, high and dry on the sands. I was safe, I thought, +safe at last, and I was too glad at heart to think of my sopping +clothes, and of the cold which already made me shiver like an +aspen. Suddenly, from up the hill, not more than a hundred yards from +me, came the "Hoo-hoo" of an owl, the smuggler's danger signal. The +noise upon the beach ceased at once; the torches plunged into the sand +and went out: I heard the lugger's crew cut their cables and hoist +sail. + +A voice said, "Carry on, boys. The preventives are safe at Bolt Tail," +and at that the noise broke out as before. + +Some one cried "Sh," and "Still," and in the silence which followed, +the "Hoo-hoo" of the owl called again, with a little flourishing note +at the end of the call. + +A man cried out, "Mount and scatter." + +Some one else cried, "Where's Marah?" and as I lay crouched, some one +bent over me and touched me. + +"Sorry, Jim," said Marah's voice. "I knew you'd try it. You only got +your clothes wet. Come on, now." + +"Hoo-hoo" went the owl again, and at this, the third summons, we +distinctly heard many horses' hoofs coming at a gallop towards us, +though at a considerable distance. + +"Marah! Come on, man!" cried several voices. + +"Come on," said Marah, dragging me to the horses. "Off, boys," he +called. "Scatter as you ride," Many horses moved off at a smart trot +up the hill to Stoke Fleming. Their horses' feet were muffled with +felt, so that they made little noise, although they were many. + +Marah swung me up into the saddle of one of the three horses in his +care. He himself rode the middle horse. I was on his off side. The +horse I mounted had a keg of spirits lashed to the saddle behind me; +the horse beyond Marah was laden like a pack-mule. + +"We're the rearguard," said Marah to me. "We must bring them clear +off. Ride, boys--Strete road," he called; and the smugglers of the +rearguard clattered off by the back road, or broken disused lane, +which leads to Allington. Still Marah waited, the only smuggler now +left on the beach. The preventive officers were clattering down the +hill to us, less than a quarter of a mile away. "It's the preventives +right enough," he said, as a gust of wind brought the clatter of +sabres to us, above the clatter of the hoofs. "We're in for a run +to-night. Some one's been blabbing. I think I know who. Well, I pity +him. That's what. I pity him. Here, boy. You ought not to ha' tried to +cut. You'll be half frozen with the wet. Drink some of this." + +He handed me a flask, and forced me to take a gulp of something hot; +it made me gasp, but it certainly warmed me, and gave me heart after +my disappointment. I was too cold and too broken with misery to be +frightened of the preventives. I only prayed that they might catch me +and take me home. + +We moved slowly to the meeting of the roads, and there Marah halted +for a moment. Our horses stamped, and then whinnied. A horse on the +road above us whinnied. + +One of the clattering troop cried, "There they are. We have them. Come +along, boys." + +Some one--I knew the voice--it was Captain Barmoor, of the +Yeomanry--cried out, "Stand and surrender." And then I saw the sabres +gleam under the trees, and heard the horses' hoofs grow furious upon +the stones. Marah stood up in his stirrups, and put his fingers in his +mouth, and whistled a long, wailing, shrill whistle. Then he kicked +his horses and we started, at a rattling pace, up the wretched +twisting lane which led to Allington. + +Now, the preventives, coming downhill at a tearing gallop, could not +take the sharp turn of the lane without pulling up; they got mixed in +some confusion at the turning, and a horse and rider went into the +ditch. We were up the steep rise, and stretching out at full tilt for +safety, before they had cleared the corner. Our horses were fresh; +theirs had trotted hard for some miles under heavy men, so that at the +first sight the advantage lay with us; but their horses were better +than ours, and in better trim for a gallop. Marah checked the three +horses, and let them take it easy, till we turned into the +well-remembered high road which leads from Strete to my home. Here, on +the level, he urged them on, and the pursuit swept after us; and here +in the open, I felt for the first time the excitement of the hunt. I +wanted to be caught; I kept praying that my horse would come down, or +that the preventives would catch us; and at the same time the hurry of +our rush through the night set my blood leaping, made me cry aloud as +we galloped, made me call to the horses to gallop faster. There was +nothing on the road; no one was travelling; we had the highway to +ourselves. Near the farm at the bend we saw men by the roadside, and +an owl called to us from among them, with that little flourish at the +end of the call which I had heard once before that evening. We dashed +past them; but as Marah passed, he cried out, "Yes. Be quick." And +behind us, as we sped along, we heard something dragged across the +road. The crossways lay just beyond. + +To my surprise, Marah never hesitated. He did not take the Allington +road, but spurred uphill towards the "Snail's Castle," and the road to +Kingsbridge. As we galloped, we heard a crash behind us, and the cry +of a hurt horse, and the clatter of a sword upon the road. Then more +cries sounded; we could hear our pursuers pulling up. + +"They're into a tree-trunk," said Marah. "Some friends put a tree +across, and one of them's gone into it. We shall probably lose them +now," he added. "They will go on for Allington. Still, we mustn't wait +yet." + +Indeed, the delay was only momentary. The noise of the horses soon +re-commenced behind us; and though they paused at the cross-roads, it +was only for a few seconds. Some of the troopers took the Allington +road. Another party took the road which we had taken; and a third +party stopped (I believe) to beat the farm buildings for the men who +had laid the tree in the road. + +We did not stop to see what they were doing, you may be sure; for when +Marah saw that his trick had not shaken them off, he began to hurry +his horses, and we were soon slipping and sliding down the steep +zigzag road which leads past "Snail's Castle." I had some half-formed +notion of flinging myself off my horse as we passed the door, or of +checking the horse I rode, and shouting for help. For there, beyond +the corner, was the house where I had been so happy, and the light +from the window lying in a yellow patch across the road; and there was +Hoolie's bark to welcome us. Perhaps if I had not been wet and cold I +might have made an attempt to get away; and I knew the preventives +were too close to us for Marah to have lingered, had I done so. + +But you must remember that we were riding very fast, that I was very +young, and very much afraid of Marah, and that the cold and the fear +of the preventives (for in a way I was horribly frightened by them) +had numbed my brain. + +"Don't you try it," said Marah, grimly, as we came within sight of the +house. "Don't you try it." He snatched my rein, bending forward on his +horse's neck, calling a wild, queer cry. It was one of the gipsy +horse-calls, and at the sound of it the horses seemed to lose their +wits, for they dashed forward past the house, as though they were +running away. It was as much as I could do to keep in the saddle. +What made it so bitter to me was the opening of the window behind me. +At the sound of the cry, and of those charging horses, some one--some +one whom I knew so well, and loved so--ran to the window to look +out. I heard the latch rattling and the jarring of the thrown-back +sash, and I knew that some one--I would have given the world to have +known who--looked out, and saw us as we swept round the corner and +away downhill. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +IN THE VALLEY + + +We turned down the valley, along the coast-track, splashing through +the little stream that makes it so boggy by the gate, and soon we were +on the coach-road galloping along the straight two miles towards Tor +Cross. + +Our horses were beginning to give way, for we had done four miles at +good speed, and now the preventives began to gain upon us. Looking +back as we galloped we could see them on the straight road, about two +hundred yards away. Every time we looked back they seemed to be +nearer, and at last Marah leant across and told me to keep low in my +saddle, as he thought they were going to fire on us. A carbine shot +cracked behind us, and I heard the "zip" of the bullet over me. + +A man ran out suddenly from one of the furze-bushes by the road, and a +voice cried, "Stop them, boys!" The road seemed suddenly full of +people, who snatched at our reins, and hit us with sticks. I got a +shrewd blow over the knee, and I heard Marah say something as he sent +one man spinning to the ground. "Crack, crack!" went the carbines +behind us. Some one had hold of my horse's reins, shouting, "I've got +_you_, anyway!" Then Marah fired a pistol--it all happened in a +second--the bullet missed, but the flash scorched my horse's nose; the +horse reared, and knocked the man down, and then we were clear, and +rattling along to Tor Cross. + +Looking back, we saw one or two men getting up from the road, and then +half-a-dozen guns and pistols flashed, and Marah's horse screamed and +staggered. There was a quarter of a mile to go to Tor Cross, and that +quarter-mile was done at such a speed as I have never seen since. +Marah's horse took the bit in his teeth, and something of his terror +was in our horses too. + +In a moment, as it seemed, we were past the houses, and over the rocks +by the brook-mouth; and there, with a groan, Marah's horse came +down. Marah was evidently expecting it, for he had hold of my rein at +the time, and as his horse fell he cleared the body. "Get down, Jim," +he said. "We're done. The horses are cooked. They have had six miles; +another mile would kill them. Poor beast's heart's burst. Down with +you." He lifted me off the saddle, and lashed the two living horses +over the quarters with a strip of seaweed. He patted the dead horse, +with a "Poor boy," and dragged me down behind one of the black rocks, +which crop up there above the shingle. + +The two horses bolted off along the strand, scattering the pebbles, +and then, while the clash of their hoofs was still loud upon the +stones, the preventives came pounding up, their horses all badly blown +and much distressed. Their leader was Captain Barmoor. I knew him by +his voice. + +"Here's a dead horse!" he cried. "Sergeant, we have one of their +horses. Get down and see if there's any contraband upon him. After +them, you others. We shall get them now. Ride on, I tell you! What are +you pulling up for?" + +The other preventives crashed on over the shingle. Captain Barmoor and +the sergeant remained by the dead horse. Marah and I lay close under +the rock, hardly daring to breathe, and wondering very much whether we +made any visible mark to the tall man on his horse. Shots rang out +from the preventives' carbines, and the gallopers made a great clash +upon the stones. We heard the sergeant's saddle creak, only a few +yards away, and then his boots crunched on the beach as he walked up +to the dead horse. + +"No. There be no tubs here, sir," he said, after a short +examination. "Her be dead enough. Stone dead, sir. There's an empty +pistol-case, master." + +"Oh," said Captain Barmoor. "Any saddlebag, or anything of that kind?" + +The man fumbled about in the gear. "No, there was nothing of that +kind--nothing at all." + +"Bring on the saddle," said the captain. "There may be papers stitched +in it." We heard the sergeant unbuckling the girth. "By the way," said +the captain, "you're sure the third horse was led?" + +"Yes," said the sergeant. "Two and a led horse there was, sir." + +"H'm," said the captain. "I wonder if they have dismounted. They might +have. Look about among the rocks there." + +I saw Marah's right hand raise his horse-pistol, as the sergeant +stepped nearer. In another moment he must have seen us. If he had even +looked down, he could not have failed to see us: but he stood within +six feet of us, looking all round him--looking anywhere but at his +feet. Then he walked away from us, and looked at the rocks near the +brook. + +"D'ye see them?" snapped the captain. + +"No, sir. Nothin' of 'em. They ben't about here, sir. I think they've +ridden on. Shall I look in the furze there, sir, afore we go?" + +"No," said the captain. "Well, yes. Just take a squint through it." + +But as the sergeant waddled uneasily in his sea-boots across the +shingle, the carbines of the preventives cracked out in a volley about +a quarter of a mile away. A shot or two followed the volley. + +"A shotgun that last, sir," said the sergeant. + +"Yes," said the captain. "Come along. There's another. Come, mount, +man. They're engaged." + +We heard the sergeant's horse squirming about as the sergeant tried to +mount, and then the two galloped off. Voices sounded close beside us, +and feet moved upon the sand. "Still!" growled Marah in my ear. Some +one cried out, "Further on. They're fighting further on. Hurry up, and +we shall see it." + +About a dozen Tor Cross men were hurrying up, in the chance of seeing +a skirmish. The wife of one of them--old Mrs. Rivers--followed after +them, calling to her man to come back. "I'll give it to 'ee, if 'ee +don't come back. Come back, I tell 'ee." They passed on rapidly, +pursued by the angry woman, while more shots banged and cracked +further and further along the shore. + +We waited till they passed out of hearing, and then Marah got +up. "Come on, son," he said. "We must be going. Lucky your teeth +didn't chatter, or they'd have heard us." + +"I wish they had heard us," I cried, hotly. "Then I'd have gone home +to-night. Let me go, Marah. Let me go home." + +"Next trip, Jim," he said kindly. "Not this. I want you to learn about +life. You will get mewed up with them ladies else, and then you will +never do anything." + +"Ah," I said. "But if you don't let me go I'll scream. Now then. I'll +scream." + +"Scream away, son," said Marah, calmly. "There's not many to hear +you. But you'll not get home after what you have seen to-night. Come +on, now." + +He took me by the collar, and walked me swiftly to a little cove, +where one or two of the Tor Cross fishers kept their boats. I heard a +gun or two away in the distance, and then a great clatter of shingle, +as the coastguards' horses trotted back towards us, with the led horse +between two of them, as the prize of the night. They did not hear us, +and could not see us, and Marah took good care not to let me cry out +to them. He just turned my face up to his, and muttered, "You just try +it. You try it, son, and I'll hold you in the sea till you choke." + +The wind was blowing from the direction of the coastguards towards us, +and even if I had cried out, perhaps, they would never have heard +me. You may think me a great coward to have given in in this way; but +few boys of my age would have made much outcry against a man like +Marah. He made the heart die within you; and to me, cold and wet from +my ducking, terrified of capture in spite of my innocence (for I was +not at all sure that the smugglers would not swear that I had joined +them, and had helped them in their fights and escapades), the outlook +seemed so hopeless and full of misery that I could do nothing. My one +little moment of mutiny was gone, my one little opportunity was lost. +Had I made a dash for it--But it is useless to think in that way. + +Marah got into the one boat which floated in the little artificial +creek, and thrust me down into the stern sheets. Then he shoved her +off with a stretcher (the oars had been carried to the fisher's house, +there were none in the boat), and as soon as we were clear of the +rocks, in the rather choppy sea, he stepped the stretcher in the +mast-crutch as a mast, and hoisted his coat as a sail. He made rough +sheets by tying a few yards of spun-yarn to the coat-skirts, and then, +shipping the rudder, he bore away before the wind towards the cave by +Black Pool. + +We had not gone far (certainly not fifty yards), when we saw the +horses of the coastguards galloping down to the sea, one of the horses +shying at the whiteness of the breaking water. + +A voice hailed us. "Boat ahoy!" it shouted; "what are you doing in the +boat there?" + +And then all the horsemen drew up in a clump among the rocks. + +"Us be drifting, master," shouted Marah, speaking in the broad dialect +of the Devon men; "us be drifting." + +"Come in till I have a look at you," cried the voice again. "Row in to +the rocks here." + +"Us a-got no o-ars," shouted Marah, letting the boat slip on. "Lie +down, son," he said; "they will fire in another minute." + +Indeed, we heard the ramrods in the carbines and the loud click of the +gun-cocks. + +"Boat ahoy!" cried the voice again. "Row in at once! D'ye hear? Row in +at once, or I shall fire on you." + +Marah did not answer. + +"Present arms!" cried the voice again after a pause; and at that Marah +bowed down in the stern sheets under the gunwale. + +"Fire!" said the voice; and a volley ripped up the sea all round us, +knocking off splinters from the plank and flattening out against the +transom. + +"Keep down, Jim; you're all right," said Marah. "We will be out of +range in another minute." + +Bang! came a second volley, and then single guns cracked and banged at +intervals as we drew away. + +For the next half-hour we were just within extreme range of the +carbines and musketoons. During that half-hour we were slowly slipping +by the long two miles of Slapton sands. We could not go fast, for our +only sail was a coat, and, though the wind was pretty fresh, the set +of the tide was against us. So for half an hour we crouched below that +rowboat's gunwale, just peeping up now and then to see the white line +of the breakers on the sand, and beyond that the black outlines of the +horsemen, who slowly followed us, firing steadily, but with no very +clear view of what they fired at. I thought that the two miles would +never end. Sometimes the guns would stop for a minute, and I would +think, "Ah! now we are out of range," or, "Now they have given us up." +And then, in another second, another volley would rattle at us, and +perhaps a bullet would go whining overhead, or a heavy chewed slug +would come "plob" into the boat's side within six inches of me. + +Marah didn't seem to mind their firing. He was too pleased at having +led the preventives away from the main body of the night-riders to +mind a few bullets. "Ah, Jim," he said, "there's three thousand pounds +in lace, brandy, and tobacco gone to Dartmoor this night. And all them +redcoat fellers got was a dead horse and a horse with a water-breaker +on him. And the dead horse was their own, _and_ the one they +took. I stole 'em out of the barrack stables myself." + +"But horse-stealing is a capital offence," I cried. "They could hang +you." + +"Yes," he said; "so they would if they could." Bang! came another +volley of bullets all round us. "They'd shoot us, too, if they could, +so far as that goes; but so far, they haven't been able. Never cross +any rivers till you come to the water, Jim. Let that be a lesson to +you." + +I have often thought of it since as sound advice, and I have always +tried to act upon it; but at the time it didn't give much comfort. + +At the end of half an hour we were clear of Slapton sands, and coming +near to Strete, and here even Marah began to be uneasy. He was +watching the horsemen on the beach very narrowly, for as soon as they +had passed the Lea they had stopped firing on us, and had gone at a +gallop to the beach boathouse to get out a boat." + +"What are they doing, Marah?" I asked. + +"Getting out a boat to come after us," he answered. "Silly fools! If +they'd done that at once they'd have got us. They may do it now. +There goes the boat." + +We heard the cries of the men as the boat ground over the +shingle. Then we heard shouts and cries, and saw a light in the +boathouse. + +"Looking for oars and sails," said Marah, "and there are none. Good, +there are none." + +Happily for us, there were none. But we heard a couple of horses go +clattering up the road to O'Farrell's cottage to get them. + +"We shall get away now," said Marah. + +In a few minutes we were out of sight of the beach. Then one of the +strange coast currents caught us, and swept us along finely for a few +minutes. Soon our boat was in the cave, snugly lashed to the +ring-bolts, and Marah had lifted me up the stairs to the room where a +few smugglers lay in their hammocks, sleeping heavily. Marah made me +drink something and eat some pigeon pie; and then, stripping my +clothes from me, he rubbed me down with a blanket, wrapped me in a +pile of blankets, and laid me to sleep in a corner on an old sail. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A TRAITOR + + +The next day, when I woke, a number of smugglers had come back from +their ride. They were sitting about the cave, in their muddy clothes, +in high good spirits. They had been chased by a few preventives as far +as Allington, and there they had had a brisk skirmish with the +Allington police, roused by the preventives' carbine fire. They had +beaten off their opponents, and had reached Dartmoor in safety. + +"Yes," said Marah; "all very well. But we have been blabbed on. We had +the cutter on us on our way out, and here we were surprised coming +home. It was the Salcombe cutter chased us, and it was the Salcombe +boys gave the preventives the tip last night. Otherwise they'd have +been in Salcombe all last night, watching Bolt Tail, no less. 'Stead +of that, they came lumbering here, and jolly near nabbed us. Now, it's +one of us. There's no one outside knows anything: and only +half-a-dozen in Salcombe knew our plans. Salcombe district supplies +North Devon; we supply to the east more. Who could it be, boys?" + +Some said one thing, some another. And then a man suggested "the +parson"; and when he said that it flashed across my mind that he meant +Mr Cottier, for I knew that sailors always called a schoolmaster a +parson, and I remembered how Mrs Cottier had heard his voice among the +night-riders on the night of the snow-storm just before Christmas. + +"No; it couldn't be the parson," said some one. "No one trusts the +parson." + +"I don't know as it couldn't be," said the man whom they called +Hankie. "He is a proper cunning one to pry out." + +"Ah!" said another smuggler. "And, come to think of it, we passed him +the afternoon afore we sailed. I was driving with the Captain. I was +driving the Captain here from Kingsbridge." + +"He knows the Captain," said Marah grimly. "He might have +guessed--seeing him with you--that you were coming to arrange a +run. Now, how would he know where we were bound?" + +"Guessed it," said Hankie. "He's been on a run or two with the +Salcombe fellers. Besides, he couldn't be far out" + +"No," said Marah, musingly; "he couldn't. And a hint would have been +enough to send the cutter after us." + +"But how did he put them on us last night?" said another smuggler. "We +had drawed them out proper to Bolt Tail to look for a cargo there. +Properly we had drawed them. Us had a boat and all, showing lights." + +"Well, if it was the parson who done it, he'd easily find a way," said +Marah. "We had better go over and see about it" + +Before they went they left me in charge of the old Italian man, who +taught me how to point a rope, which is one of the prettiest kinds of +plaiting ever invented. The day passed slowly--oh! so slowly; for a +day like that, so near home, yet so far away, and with so much misery +in prospect, was agonising. I wondered what they would do to Mr +Cottier; I wondered if ever I should get home again; I wondered +whether the coastguards would have sufficient sense to arrest Marah if +they saw him on the roads. In wondering like this, the day slowly +dragged to an end; and at the end of the day, just before a watery +sunset, Marah and the others returned, leading Mr Cottier as their +prisoner. + +It shows you what power the night-riders had in those days. They had +gone to Salcombe to Mr Cottier's lodgings; they had questioned him, +perhaps with threats, till he had confessed that he had betrayed them +to the preventives; then they had gagged him, hustled him downstairs +to a waiting closed carriage, and then they had quietly driven him on, +undisturbed, to their fastness in the cliff. It was sad to see a man +fallen so low, a man who had been at the University, and master of a +school. It was sad to see him, his flabby face all fallen in and white +from excess of fear, and to see his eyes lolling about from one to +another man, trying to find a little hope in the look of the faces in +the fast-darkening cave. + +"Well," he said surlily at last; "you have got me. What are you going +to do to me?" + +"What d'ye think you deserve?" said Marah. "Eh? You'd have had us all +hanged and glad, too. You'll see soon enough what we're going to do to +you." He struck a light for his pipe, and lit a candle in a corner of +the cave near where I lay. "You'll soon know _your_ fate," he +added. "Meanwhile, here's a friend of yours one--you might like to +talk to. You'll not get another chance." + +At this the man grovelled on the cave floor, crying out to them to let +him live, that he would give them all his money, and so on. + +"Get up," said Marah; "get up. Try and act like a man, even if you +aren't one." + +The man went on wailing, "What are you going to do to me?--what are +you going to do to me?" + +"Spike your guns," said Marah, curtly. "There's your friend in the +corner. Talk to him." + +He left us together in the cave; an armed smuggler sat at the cave +entrance, turning his quid meditatively. + +"Mr Cottier," I said, "do you remember Jim--Jim Davis?" + +"Jim!" cried Mr Cottier; "Jim, how did you come here?" + +"By accident," I said; "and now I'm a prisoner here, like you." + +"Oh, Jim," he cried, "what are they going to do to me? You must have +heard them. What are they going to do to me? Will they kill me, Jim?" + +I thought of the two coastguards snugly shut up in France, in one of +the inns near Brest, living at free-quarters, till the smugglers +thought they could be sure of them. When I thought of those two men I +felt that the traitor would not be killed; and yet I was not sure. I +believe they would have killed him if I had not been there. They were +a very rough lot, living rough lives, and a traitor put them all in +peril of the gallows. Smugglers were not merciful to traitors (it is +said that they once tied a traitor to a post at low-water mark, and +let the tide drown him), and Marah's words made me feel that Mr +Cottier would suffer some punishment: not death, perhaps, but +something terrible. + +I tried to reassure the man, but I could say very little. And I was +angry with him, for he never asked after his wife, nor after Hugh, his +son: and he asked me nothing of my prospects. The thought of his +possible death by violence within the next few hours kept him from all +thought of other people. Do not blame him. We who have not been tried +do not know how we should behave in similar circumstances. + +By-and-by the men came back to us. We were led downstairs, and put +aboard the lugger. Then the boat pushed off silently, sail was +hoisted, and a course was set down channel, under a press of +canvas. Mr Cottier cheered up when we had passed out of the sight of +the lights of the shore, for he knew then that his life was to be +spared. His natural bullying vein came back to him. He sang and joked, +and even threatened his captors. So all that night we sailed, and all +the next day and night--a wild two or three days' sailing, with spray +flying over us, and no really dry or warm place to sleep in, save a +little half-deck which they rigged in the bows. + +I should have been very miserable had not Marah made me work with the +men, hauling the ropes, swabbing down the decks, scrubbing the +paintwork, and even bearing a hand at the tiller. The work kept me +from thinking. The watches (four hours on, four hours off), which I +had to keep like the other men, made the time pass rapidly; for the +days slid into each other, and the nights, broken into as they were by +the night-watches, seemed all too short for a sleepy head like mine. + +Towards the end of the passage, when the weather had grown brighter +and hotter, I began to wonder how much further we were going. Then, +one morning, I woke up to find the lugger at anchor in one of the +ports of Northern Spain, with dawn just breaking over the olive-trees, +and one or two large, queer-looking, lateen-rigged boats, xebecs from +Africa, lying close to us. One of them was flying a red flag, and I +noticed that our own boat was alongside of her. I thought nothing of +it, but drew a little water from the scuttle-butt, and washed my face +and hands in one of the buckets. One or two of the men were talking at +my side. + +"Ah!" said one of them, "that's nine he did that way--nine, counting +him." + +"A good job, too," said another man. "It's us or them. I'd rather it +was them." + +"Yes," said another fellow; "and I guess they repent." + +The others laughed a harsh laugh, turning to the African boat with +curious faces, to watch our boat pulling back, with Marah at her +steering oar. + +I noticed, at breakfast (which we all ate together on the deck), that +Mr Cottier was no longer aboard the lugger. I had some queer +misgivings, but said nothing till afterwards, when I found Marah +alone. + +"Marah," I said, "where is Mr Cottier? What have you done to him?" + +He grinned at me grimly, as though he were going to refuse to tell +me. Then he beckoned me to the side of the boat. "Here," he said, +pointing to the lateen-rigged xebec; "you see that felucca-boat?" + +"Yes," I said. + +"Well, then," Marah continued, "he's aboard her--down in her hold: +tied somewhere on the ballast. That's where Mr Cottier is. Now you +want to know what we have done to him? Hey? Well, we've enlisted him +in the Spanish Navy. That felucca-boat is what they call a tender. +They carry recruits to the Navy in them boats. He will be in a Spanish +man-of-war by this time next week. They give him twenty dollars to buy +a uniform. He's about ripe for the Spanish Navy." + +"But, Marah," I cried, "he may have to fight against our ships." + +"All the better for us," he answered. "I wish all our enemies were as +easy jobs." + +I could not answer for a moment; then I asked if he would ever get +free again. + +"I could get free again," said Marah; "but that man isn't like +me. He's enlisted for three years. I doubt the war will last so +long. The free trade will be done by the time he's discharged. You +see, Jim, we free-traders can only make a little while the nations are +fighting. By this time three years Mr Cottier can talk all he's a +mind." + +I had never liked Mr Cottier, but I felt a sort of pity for him. Then +I felt that perhaps the discipline would be the making of him, and +that, if he kept steady, he might even rise in the Spanish Navy, since +he was a man of education. Then I thought of poor Mrs Cottier at home, +and I felt that her husband must be saved at all costs. + +"Oh, Marah," I cried, "don't let him go like that. Go and buy him +back. He doesn't deserve to end like that." + +"Rot!" said Marah, turning on his heel. "Hands up anchor! Forward to +the windlass, Jim. You know your duty." + +The men ran to their places. Very soon we were under sail again, out +at sea, with the Spanish coast in the distance astern, a line of +bluish hills, almost like clouds. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE + + +We had rough weather on the passage north, so that we were forced to +go slowly creeping from port to port, from Bayonne to Fecamp, always +in dread of boats of the English frigates, which patrolled the whole +coast, keeping the French merchantmen shut up in harbour. + +As we stole slowly to the north, I thought of nothing but the new +Spanish sailor. He would be living on crusts, so the smugglers told +me; and always he would have an overseer to prod him with a knife if, +in a moment of sickness or weariness, he faltered in his work, no +matter how hard it might be. But by this time I had learned that the +smugglers loved to frighten me. I know now that there was not a word +of truth in any of the tales they told me. + +At Etaples we were delayed for nearly a fortnight, waiting, first of +all, for cargo, and then for a fair wind. There were two other +smugglers' luggers at Etaples with us. They were both waiting for the +wind to draw to the south or southeast, so that they could dash across +to Romney Sands. + +As they had more cargo than they could stow, they induced Marah to +help them by carrying their surplus. They were a whole day arguing +about it before they came to terms; but it ended, as we all knew that +it would end, by Marah giving the other captains drink, and leading +them thus to give him whatever terms he asked. + +The other smugglers in our boat were not very eager to work with +strangers; but Marah talked them over. Only old Gateo would not listen +to him. + +"Something bad will come of it," he kept saying. "You mark what I say: +something bad will come of it." + +Then Marah would heave a sea-boot at him, and tell him to hold his +jaw; and the old man would mutter over his quid and say that we should +see. + +We loaded our lugger with contraband goods, mostly lace and brandy, an +extremely valuable cargo. The work of loading kept the men from +thinking about Gateo's warnings, though, like most sailors, they were +all very superstitious. + +Then some French merchants gave us a dinner at the inn, to wish us a +good voyage, and to put new spirit into us, by telling us what good +fellows we were. But the dinner was never finished; for before they +had begun their speeches a smuggler came in to say that the wind had +shifted, and that it was now breezing up from the southeast. So we +left our plates just as they were. The men rose up from their chairs, +drank whatever was in their cups at the moment, and marched out of the +inn in a body. + +To me it seemed bitterly cold outside the inn, I shivered till my +teeth chattered. + +Marah asked me if I had a touch of fever, or if I were ill, or "what +was it, anyway, that made me shiver so?" + +I said that I was cold. + +"Cold!" he said. "Cold? Why, it's one of the hottest nights we have +had this summer. Here's a youngster says he's cold!" + +One or two of them laughed at me then; for it was, indeed, a hot +night. They laughed and chaffed together as they cast off the mooring +ropes. + +For my part, I felt that my sudden chilly fit was a warning that there +was trouble coming. I can't say why I felt that, but I felt it; and I +believe that Marah in some way felt it, too. Almost the last thing I +saw that night, as I made up my bed under the half-deck among a few +sacks and bolts of canvas, was Marah scowling and muttering, as though +uneasy, at the foot of the foremast, from which he watched the other +luggers as they worked out of the river ahead of us. + +"He, too, feels uneasy," I said to myself. + +Then I fell into a troubled doze, full of dreams of sea-monsters, +which flapped and screamed at me from the foam of the breaking seas. + +I was not called for a watch that night. In the early morning, between +one and two o'clock, I was awakened by a feeling that something was +about to happen. I sat up, and then crept out on to the deck, and +there, sure enough, something was about to happen. Our sails were +down, we were hardly moving through the water, the water gurgled and +plowtered under our keel, there was a light mist fast fading before +the wind. It was not very dark, in fact it was almost twilight. One or +two stars were shining; there were clouds slowly moving over them; but +the sky astern of us was grey and faint yellow, and the land, the +Kentish coast, lay clear before us, with the nose of Dungeness away on +our port bow. It was all very still and beautiful. The seamen moved to +and fro about the lugger. Dew dripped from our rigging; the decks were +wet with dew, the drops pattered down whenever the lugger rolled. The +other boats lay near us, both of them to starboard. Their sails were +doused in masses under the mast. I could see men moving about; I could +hear the creaking of the blocks, as the light roll drew a rope over a +sheave. + +The boats were not very close to the shore; but it was so still, so +very peaceful, that we could hear the waves breaking on the beach with +a noise of hushing and of slipping shingle, as each wave passed with a +hiss to slither back in a rush of foam broken by tiny stones. A man in +the bows of the middle lugger showed a red lantern, and then doused it +below the half-deck. He showed it three times; and at the third +showing, we all turned to the shore, to see what signal the red light +would bring. The shore was open before us. In the rapidly growing +light, we could make out a good deal of the lie of the land. From the +northern end of the beach an answering red light flashed; and then, +nearer to us, a dark body was seen for a moment, kindling two green +fires at a little distance from each other. Our men were not given to +nervousness, they were rough, tough sailors; but they were all +relieved when our signals were answered. + +"It's them," they said. "It's all right. Up with the foresail. We must +get the stuff ashore. It'll be dawn in a few minutes, and then we +shall have the country on us." + +"Heave ahead, boys!" cried one of the men in the next lugger as she +drove past us to the shore. + +"Ay! Heave ahead," said Marah, eyeing the coast. + +He took the tiller as the lugger gathered way under her hoisted +foresail. While we slipped nearer to the white line of the breakers +along the sand, he muttered under his breath (I was standing just +beside him) in a way which frightened me. + +"I dunno," he said aloud. "But I've a feeling that there's going to be +trouble. I never liked this job. Here it is, almost daylight, and not +an ounce of stuff ashore. I'd never have come this trip if the +freights hadn't been so good. Here, you," he cried suddenly to one of +the men. "Don't you pass the gaskets. You'll furl no sails till you're +home, my son. Pass the halliards along so that you can hoist in a +jiffy." Then he hailed the other luggers. "Ahoy there!" he +called. "You mind your eyes for trouble." + +His words caused some laughter in the other boats. In our boat, they +caused the men to look around at Marah almost anxiously. He laughed +and told them to stand by. Then we saw that the beach was crowded with +men and horses, as at Black Pool, a week or two before. In the shallow +water near the beach, we dropped our killick. The men from the beach +waded out to us, our own men slipped over the side. The tubs and bales +began to pass along the lines of men, to the men in charge of the +horses. Only one word was spoken; the word "Hurry." At every moment, +as it seemed to me (full as I was of anxiety), the land showed more +clearly, the trees stood out more sharply against the sky, the light +in the east became more like a flame. + +"Hurry," said Marah. "It'll be dawn in a tick." + +Hurry was the watchword of the crews. The men worked with a will. Tub +after tub was passed along. Now and then we heard a splash and an +oath. Then a horse would whinny upon the beach, startled by a wave, +and a man would tell him to "Stand back," or "Woa yer." I caught the +excitement, and handed out the tubs with the best of them. + +I suppose that we worked in this way for half an hour or a little +more. The men had worked well at Black Pool, where the run had been +timed to end in darkness. Now that they had to race the daylight they +worked like slaves under an overseer. One string of horses trotted +off, fully loaded, within twenty minutes. A second string was led +down; in the growing light I could see them stamping and tossing; they +were backed right down into the sea, so that the water washed upon +their hocks. + +"Here, Jim," said Marah suddenly, stopping me in my work, "come here +to me. Look here," he said, when I stood before him. "It's getting too +light for this game. We may have to cut and run. Take this hatchet +here, and go forward to the bows. When I say 'cut,' you cut, without +looking round. Cut the cable, see? Cut it in two, mucho pronto. And +you, Hankin--you, Gateo. Stand by the halliards, stretch them along +ready to hoist. No. Hoist them. Don't wait. Hoist them now." + +One or two others lent their hands at the halliards, and the sails +were hoisted. The men in the other luggers laughed and jeered. + +"What are you hoisting sail for?" they cried. + +"Sail-drill of a forenoon," cried another, perhaps a deserter from the +navy. + +"Shut up," Marah answered. "Don't mind them, boys. Heave round. Heave +round at what you're doing. Over with them tubs, sons! My hat! Those +fellows are mad to be playing this game in a light like this. There's +a fort within three miles of us." + +He had hardly finished speaking, when one of the men at the side of +the lugger suddenly looked towards the beach, as though he had caught +sight of something. + +"Something's up," he said sharply. + +The beach and the shore beyond were both very flat in that part; +nothing but marshy land, overgrown with tussock-grass, and a few +sand-dunes, covered with bents. It was not a country which could give +much cover to an enemy; but in that half-light one could not +distinguish very clearly, and an enemy could therefore take risks +impossible in full day. + +"A lot of cattle there," said the smuggler who had spoken. "It's odd +there being so many." + +"Don't you graze many cattle here?" said Marah, looking ashore. + +"What! in the marsh?" said the man. "Not much." + +"Them's no cattle," said Marah, after a pause, "Them's not +cows. Them's horses. Sure they're horses. Yes, and there's men +mounting them. They have crawled up, leading their horses, and now +we're done. Look out, boys!" he shouted. "Look out! Get on board." + +Even as he spoke the whole shore seemed to bristle with cavalry. Each +slowly moving horse stopped a moment, for his rider to mount. There +were fifty or sixty of them: they seemed to spread all along the edge +of the bay except at the northern end, where the line was not quite +closed. + +"Sentries asleep," said Mafah. "This is the way they carry on in +Kent. Yes. There's the sentry. Asleep on the sand-dune. Oh, yes. Time +to wake up it is. You Mahon ape. Look at him." + +We saw the sentry leap to his feet, almost under the nose of a +horse. He was too much surprised even to fire his pistol. He just +jumped up, all dazed, holding up his hands to show that he +surrendered. We saw two men on foot secure his hands. That was our +first loss. + +It all happened very, very quickly. We were taken by surprise, all +unready, with our men ashore or mixed among the horses, or carrying +tubs in the water. The troops and preventives were over the last dune +and galloping down the sand to us almost before Marah had finished +speaking; yet even then in all the confusion, as a captain shouted to +us to "surrender in the name of the King," the smugglers were not +without resource. A young man in a blue Scotch bonnet jumped on one of +the horses, snatching another horse by the rein; half-a-dozen others +did the same; the second string, half-loaded, started as they were up +the sand and away at full gallop for the north end of the bay, where +no soldiers showed as yet. + +It was done in an instant of time; drilled horsemen could not have +done it; the little man in the blue bonnet saw the one loophole and +dashed for it. There was no shouting. One or two men spoke, and then +there it was--done. Practically all the horses were lashing along the +beach, going full tilt for safety: they galloped in a body like a +troop of cavalry. Two preventives rode at them to stop them, but they +rode slap into the preventives, tumbled them over, horse and man and +then galloped on, not looking back. A trooper reined in, whipped up +his carbine and fired, and that was the beginning of the fight. Then +there came a general volley; pistols and carbines cracked and banged; +a lot of smoke blew about the beach and along the water; our men +shouted to each other; the soldiers cheered. + +In another ten seconds a battle was going on in the water all round +us. The horsemen urged their horses right up to the sides of the +luggers. + +The men in the water hacked at the horses' legs with their hangers; +the horses screamed and bit. I saw one wounded horse seize a smuggler +by the arm and shake him as a dog shakes a rat; the rider of the +horse, firing at the man, shot the horse by accident through the +head. I suppose he was too much excited to know what he was doing--I +fancy that men in a battle are never quite sane. The horse fell over +in the water, knocking down another horse, and then there was a +lashing in the sea as the horse tried to rise. The smugglers cut at +him in the sea and all the time his rider was half under water trying +to get up and pulling at the trigger of his useless, wetted pistol. + +It all happened so quickly, that was the strange thing. In one minute +we were hard at work at the tubs, in the next we were struggling and +splashing, hacking at each other with swords, firing in each other's +faces. Half-a-dozen horsemen tried to drag the lugger towards the +shore, but the men beat them back, knocked them from their saddles, or +flogged the horses over the nose with pistol-butts. + +All this time the guns were banging, men were crying out, horses were +screaming; it was the most confused thing I ever saw. + +Marah knocked down a trooper with a broken cleat and shouted to me to +cut the cable--which I did at once. One or two men ran to trim sail, +and Marah took the tiller. At that moment a trooper rode into the sea +just astern of us--I remember to this day the brightness of the splash +his horse made; Marah turned at the noise and shot the horse; but the +man fired too, and Marah seemed to stagger and droop over the tiller +as though badly hit. Seeing that, I ran aft to help him. It seemed to +me as I ran that the side of the lugger was all red with clambering, +shouting soldiers, all of them firing pistols at me. + +Marah picked himself up as I got there. "Out of the way, boy," he +cried. Two or three smugglers rallied round him. There were more +shots, more cries. Half-a-dozen redcoats came aft in a rush; someone +hit me a blow on the head, and all my life seemed to pass from me in a +stream of fire out at my eyes. The last thing which I remember of the +tussle was the face of the man who hit me. He was a pale man with wide +eyes, his helmet knocked off, his stock loose at his throat; I just +saw him as I fell, and then everything passed from my sight in a sound +of roaring, like the roaring of waters in a spate. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +DRIFTING + + +When I recovered consciousness, the sun had risen; it was bright +daylight all about us. That was really the first thing which I +saw--the light of the sun on the deck. I struggled up to a sitting +position, feeling great pain in my head. Marah lying over the tiller +was the next thing which I saw; he was dead, I thought. Then I +realised what had happened; we had had a fight. We were not under +control; we were drifting with the tide up and down, with our sails +backing and filling; up and down the deck there were wounded men, some +of them preventives, some of them smugglers--poor Hankin was one of +them. When I stood up I saw that I was the only person on his feet in +the boat: it was not strange, perhaps. + +Some of our men had gone with the horses, others had been in the water +when the horsemen first charged them; probably all of those who had +been in the water were either killed or taken. We had had four men +aboard during the attack: of these one was badly hurt, another (Marah) +was unconscious, the remaining two were drinking under the half-deck, +having opened a tub of spirits. When I had stood up I felt a little +stronger; I heard Marah moan a little. I tottered to the scuttle-butt, +where we kept our drinking water; I splashed the contents of a couple +of pannikins over my head and then drank about a pint and a half; that +made me feel a different being. I was then able to do something for +the others. + +First of all I managed to help Marah down from his perch over the +tiller: he had fallen across it with his head and hands almost +touching the deck. I helped him, or rather, lifted him--for he could +not help himself--to the deck; it was as much as I could do, he was so +big and heavy. I put a tub under his head as a pillow, then I cut his +shirt open and saw that he had been shot in the chest. I ran forward +with a pannikin, drew some water, and gave him a drink. He drank +greedily, biting the tin, but did not recognise me; all that he could +say was "Rip-raps, Rip-raps," over and over again. The Rip-raps was +the name of a race or tideway on the Campeachy coast; he had often +told me about it, and I had remembered the name because it was such a +queer one. I bathed his wound with the water. + +After I had done what I could for Marah, I did the same for the +wounded soldier. He thanked me for my trouble in a little, low, weak +voice, infinitely serious--he seemed to think that I didn't believe +him. "I say, thank you; thank you," he repeated earnestly, and then he +gave a little gasp and fainted away in the middle of his thanks. + +At that, I stood up and began to cry. I had had enough of misery, and +that was more than I could bear. Between my sobs I saw--I did not +observe, I just saw--that the lugger was drifting slowly northward, +clear of Little Stone Point, as the smugglers had called it. I didn't +much care where we drifted, but having seen so much, it occurred to me +to see where the other luggers were. + +One of them, I saw, was on her course for France, a couple of miles +away already; the other was going for Dungeness, no doubt to pick up +more hands somewhere on the Dunge Marsh. It was like them, I thought, +to go off like that, leaving us to have the worst of the fight and +every chance of being taken; they only thought of their own +necks. When I saw that they had deserted us without even pausing to +put a helmsman aboard us, I knew that there was no honour among +thieves. There is not, in spite of what the proverb says. We were left +alone--a boy, two drunkards, and some wounded men, within half a mile +of the shore. + +I looked for the preventives, but I could not see them. Most of them +had gone after the horses across Romney Marsh. I did not know till +long afterwards that the smugglers had beaten off the rest of the +party, killing some and about twenty horses, and wounding nearly every +other man engaged. It had been, in fact, a very determined battle, one +of the worst ever fought between the smugglers and the authorities on +that coast. As soon as the fight was over, the luggers got out from +the shore, and the troops made off with their wounded to report at the +fort, and to signal the Ness cutter to go in chase. At the moment when +I looked for them they must, I think, have been rallying again. I +could not see them, that was enough for me. Years afterwards I talked +with one of the survivors, an old cavalryman. He told me how the fight +had seemed to him as he rode in at us. + +"And d'ye know, sir," he said, "they had a boy forward ready with an +axe to cut the cable, so I fired at him" ("Thank you," I thought); +"and just as I pulled the trigger one of their men hit my gee a welt, +and down he came in the water, and so, of course, I missed. But for +that, sir, we'd have got them." + +I wondered which of the men had saved my life by hitting that "gee a +welt" I wondered if he had been killed or taken, or whether he had got +aboard us afterwards, or whether one of the other luggers had saved +him. Well, I shall never know on this side of the grave. But it is +odd, is it not, that one should have one's life saved and never know +that it was in danger till twenty years afterwards, when the man who +saved it was never likely to be found? But I am getting away from my +story. + +I soon saw that the current was slowly setting us ashore. Marah, with +his great manliness, had steered the lugger out to sea for some six +hundred yards before he had collapsed. Then his fellows, seeing him, +as they supposed, dead, turned to drinking. The lugger, left to +herself, took charge, and swung round head to wind. Since then she had +drifted, sometimes making a stern-board, sometimes going ahead a +little, but nearly always drifting slowly shoreward, flogging her +gear, making a great clatter of blocks. If the soldiers had been half +smart they would have seen that she was not under command, and ridden +to Dymchurch, taken boat, and come after us. But they had had a severe +beating, many of them were wounded, and they had watched our start +feeling that we had safely escaped from them. I have never had much +opinion of soldiers. Boys generally take their opinions ready made +from their elders. I took mine from Marah, who, being a sailor, +thought that a soldier was something too silly for words. + +As we drifted I went back to Marah to bathe his head with water and to +give him drink. He was not conscious; he had even ceased babbling; I +was afraid that he could not live for more than a few hours at the +most. I had never really liked the man--I had feared him too much to +like him--but he had looked after me for so long, and had been, in his +rough way, so kind to me, that I cried for him as though he were my +only friend. He was the only friend within many miles of me, and now +he lay there dying in a boat which was drifting ashore to a land full +of enemies. + +It was a hateful-looking land, flat and desolate, dank and +dirty-looking. The flat, dull, dirty marsh country seemed to be +without life; the very grass seemed blighted. And we were drifting +ashore to it, fast drifting ashore to the tune of the two drunkards: + + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame: + Away, ho! Rise and shine. + There was a ship, and a ship of fame, + So rise and shine, my buck o boy." + +A ship manned by such a crew was hardly a ship of fame, I +thought. Then it occurred to me that if she went ashore I might escape +from her, might even get safely home, or at least get to London (I had +no notion how far London might be), where I thought that the Lord +Mayor, of whom I had often heard as a great man, would send me home. +I had a new half-crown in my pocket; that would be enough to keep me +in food on the road, I thought. And then, just as I thought that, a +little coast-current spun us in very rapidly, helped by the wind, for +about two hundred yards. This brought us very close to the shore, but +not quite near enough for me, who had no great wish to start my +journey wet through. + +I gave Marah a last sip of water, left a bucket of fresh water and a +pannikin close to him, in case he should recover (I never thought he +would), and then began to make up a little parcel of things to take +with me. I was wearing the clothes of a ship's boy, canvas trousers, +thick blucher shoes, a rough check shirt, and a straw hat. My own +clothes--the clothes which I had worn when I scrambled down the fox's +earth--were forward, under the half deck. I went to fetch them, and +got them safely, though the drunkards tried to stop me, and said that +they only wanted me to sing them a song to be as happy as +kings. However, I got away from them, and carried my belongings aft. I +then took the tarpaulin boat-rug, which covered our little Norwegian +pram or skiff, on its chocks between the masts. It was rather too +large for my purpose, so I cut it in two, using the one half as a +bundle-cover. The other half would make a sort of cape or cloak, I +thought, and to that end I folded it and slung it over my shoulder. I +gave my knife a few turns upon the grindstone, pocketed some twine +from one of the lockers, lashed my bundle in its tarpaulin as tightly +as I could, and then went aft to the provision lockers to get some +stores for the road. I took out a few ship's biscuits, a large hunk of +ham, some onions, and the half of a Dutch cheese. + +It occurred to me that I ought to eat before + +I started, as I did not know what might befall upon the road. When I +sat down upon the deck to begin my meal, I saw, to my horror, that we +were drifting out again. While I had been packing, we had been swept +off shore; by this time we were three hundred yards away, still +drawing further out to sea. Looking out, I saw that we were drifting +into a "jobble" or tide-race, which seemed to drift obliquely into the +shore. This made me feel less frightened, so I turned to my food, ate +heartily, and took a good swig at the scuttle-butt by way of a morning +draught. Then I undid my parcel, packed as much food into it as I +possibly could, and lashed it up again in its tarpaulin. I found a few +reins and straps in one of the lockers, so I made shoulder-straps of +them, and buckled my package to my shoulders. My last preparation was +to fill a half-pint glass flask (every man aboard carries one or two +of these). Just as I replaced its stopper, we swept into the jobble; +the lugger filled on one tack, and lay over, and the spray of a wave +came over us. Then we righted suddenly, came up into the wind with our +sails slatting, and made a stern-board. + +Nearer and nearer came the land; the shore, with its bent grass, +seemed almost within catapult shot. I heard the wash of the sea upon +the beach, I could see the pebbles on the sands shining as the foam +left them. And then, suddenly, the lugger drove ashore upon a bank, +stern first. In a moment she had swung round, broadside on to the +shoal, heaving over on her side. Every wave which struck her lifted +her further in, tossing her over on her starboard side. I could see +that the tide was now very nearly fully in, and I knew that the lugger +would lie there, high and dry, as soon as it ebbed. + +I made Marah as comfortable as I could, and called to the drunkards to +come with me. I told them that a revenue cutter was within six miles +of us (there was, as it happened, but she was at anchor off +Dymchurch), and that they had better be going out of that before they +got themselves arrested. For answer they jeered and made catcalls, +flinging a marline-spike at me. I tried a second time to make them +come ashore, but one of them said, "Let's do for him," and the other +cheered the proposal with loud yells. Then they came lurching aft at +me, so I just slipped over the side, and waded very hurriedly +ashore. The water was not deep (it was not up to my thighs in any +place), so that I soon reached the sand without wetting my +package. Then I looked back to see the two smugglers leaning over the +side, watching my movements. One of them was singing-- + + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame: + Away, ho! Rise and shine" + +in a cracked falsetto. The other one was saying, "You come back, you +young cub." + +But I did not do as they bid. I ran up the beach and as far across the +wet grassland as I could without once stopping. When I thought that I +was safe, I sat down under some bushes, took off my wet things, and +dressed myself in my own clothes. I wrung the water from the wet +canvas, repacked my parcel, and seeing a road close to me, turned into +it at once, resolved to ask the way to London at the first house. I +suppose that it was five o'clock in the morning when I began my +journey. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE "BLUE BOAR" + + +As I stepped out, the adventure, the fight, Marah's wound, all the +tumult of the battle, seemed very far away, and as though they had +happened to some one else who had told me of them. If my head had not +ached so cruelly from the blow which the soldier gave me, I should not +have believed that they had really occurred, and that I had seen them +and taken part in them. It seemed to me that I was close to my home, +that I should soon come to the combe country, where the Gara runs down +the valley to the sea, passing the slate quarry, so grey against the +copse. The road was good enough, though I was not in good trim for +walking, after so many days cooped up in the lugger. I stepped forward +bravely along a lonely countryside till I saw before me the houses of +a town. + +I thought that I had better skirt the town, lest I should tumble on +the coastguards and rouse their suspicions. It was too early in the +morning for a boy to be abroad, and I had no very satisfactory account +to give of myself in case anybody questioned me. I knew that if I said +that I had been among the smugglers I should be sent to prison. I felt +that the magistrate would be too angry to listen to my story, and that +they would perhaps send to me prison at once if they ever got hold of +me. Magistrates in those days had a great deal of power. They were +often illiterate, and they bullied and hectored the people whom they +tried. I had seen one or two bad magistrates at home, and I knew how +little chance I should stand if I told my unlikely story to a bench in +a court-house before such men as they were. So I turned up a small +road to the right, avoiding the town, where, as I could see, a good +deal of bustle was stirring; indeed, the streets were full of people. + +By-and-by, as the sun rose higher, I began to meet people. A few +labouring men came past me, one of them carrying a pitchfork. I +noticed that they looked at me curiously. One of them spoke, and said, +"You have been in the wars, master!" So I said, "Yes," and passed on, +wondering what he meant. After I had passed, the man stopped to look +back at me. I even heard him take a few steps towards me, before he +thought better of it, and went on upon his way. This set me wondering +if there were anything strange about my appearance; so, when I came to +the little brook or river, which crossed the road a little further on, +I went down to a pool where the water was still, and looked at my +image in the water. Sure enough, I had an odd appearance. The blow +which the soldier gave me had broken the skin of my scalp, not badly, +but enough to make an ugly scar. You may be sure that I lost no time +in washing my face and head, till no stains showed. I rebuked myself +for not having done this while aboard the lugger, when I had splashed +my head at the scuttle-butt. I felt all the better for the wash in the +brook; but when I took to the road again I had a great fear lest the +labourers should hear of the battle, and give out that they had seen a +wounded boy going along the road away from the beach. + +After a mile of lane, I came to a highroad, past a church and houses, +all very peaceful and still. I passed these, and wandered on along the +highroad, thinking that I had gone many miles from the sea, though, of +course, I had only gone a little distance. When one walks a new road, +one finds it much longer than it really is. I sat down by the roadside +now and then to think of plans. I felt that my best plan would be to +go to London, and see the Lord Mayor, who, I felt sure, would help me +to get home. But I had not much notion of where London was, and I knew +that if I went into a house to ask the road to London, people would +suspect that I was running away, and so, perhaps, find out that I had +been with the smugglers. I knew that many people there must be +smugglers themselves; but then, suppose that I asked at a house where +they were friends of the preventives? The smugglers had signs among +themselves by which they recognised each other. + +They used to scratch the left ear with the left little finger, and +then bite the lower lip, before shaking hands with anybody. I thought +that I would go into an inn and try these signs on somebody (on the +landlord if possible) and then ask his advice. An inn would be a good +place, I thought, because the landlord would be sure to buy from the +smugglers; besides, in inns there are generally maps of the country, +showing the coaching houses, and the days of the fairs. A map of the +kind would show me my road, and be a help to me in that way, even if +the landlord did not recognise my signs. And yet I was half afraid of +trying these signs. I did not want to get back among the smugglers. + +I only wanted to get to London. I had that foolish belief that the +Lord Mayor would help me. I was too young to know better; and besides, +I was afraid that my being with the smugglers would, perhaps, get me +hanged, if I were caught by one of those magistrates, whom I so much +feared. + +Presently I came to another little village, rather larger than the +last. There was an inn in the main street (the "Blue Boar"), so I went +into the inn-parlour, and looked about me. One or two men were talking +earnestly, in low voices, to a sad-faced, weary-looking woman behind +the bar. She looked up at me rather sharply as I entered, and the men +turned round and stared at me, made a few more remarks to the woman, +and went quickly out. I looked at the woman, scratched my left ear +with my left little finger, and bit my lower lip. She caught her +breath sharply and turned quite white; evidently she knew that sign +extremely well. + +"What is it?" she said, "what's the news? There's been +fighting. Where's Dick?" + +I said I didn't know where Dick was, but that there had been fighting, +sure enough; and the preventives had been beaten off. + +"Ah," she said, "and the stuff? Did they get the stuff off?" + +I said I believed that it had got off safely. + +"I believe everybody's bewitched to-day," she said, bursting into +tears. "Oh, Dick, come back to me. Come back to me. Oh, why did I ever +marry a man like you?" + +She cried bitterly for a few minutes. Then she asked me a lot of +questions about the fight. One question she repeated many times: "Was +there a grey horse in the second string?" + +But this I could not answer certainly. All the time that we were +talking, she was crying and laughing by turns. Whenever a person +entered (even if it were only the milkman) she turned white and shook, +as though expecting the police. + +"It's the palpitation," she would explain. "That and the sizzums." + +Then she would go on laughing and crying by turns until some one else +came in. + +Presently the landlady looked at me rather hard. "Here," she said, +"you are not one of them. You've run away from home, you have. What +are you doing here?" + +I said that I was on my way to London. + +"To London," she said. "What's a boy like you going to London for? +How are you going?" + +I said that I was going to walk there, to see the Lord Mayor. + +"To--see--the--Lord Mayor," she repeated. "Is the boy daft, or what?" + +I blushed, and hung my head, for I did not like to be laughed at. + +"What are you going to see the Lord Mayor for?" she asked with a +smile. + +I answered that he would send me home to my friends, as he was always +generous to people in distress. She laughed very heartily when I had +said this: but still, not unkindly. Then she asked me a lot of +questions about my joining the smugglers, about my friends at home +(particularly if they were well off), and about the money I had to +carry me to London. When I had told her everything, she said,--"Well, +why don't you write to your friends from here? Surely that's a more +sensible plan than going to London--why, London's seventy miles. Write +to your friends from here. They will get the letter in three or four +days. They will be here within a week from now. That's a wiser thing +to do than going to London. Why, you'd die in a ditch before you got +half-way." + +"I shouldn't," I answered hotly. + +"Well, if you didn't you'd get taken up. It's all the same," she +answered. "You stop here and write to your friends. I will see that +the letter goes all right. I suppose," she continued, "I suppose your +friends wouldn't let me be a loser by you? They'd pay for what you ate +and that?" + +"Yes," I said, "of course they will." + +"What's your name?" she said sharply. + +I told her. + +"Oh," she said. "Jim--Jim Davis. Let's see that shirt of yours, to see +if it's got your name on. I been taken in once or twice before. One +has to look alive, keeping an inn." + +Luckily my name was upon my shirt and stockings, so that she accepted +my story without further talk, especially as the contents of my +package showed her that I told her the truth about the lugger. + +"I don't know what Dick will say," she said. "But now you come up, and +I'll dress your head. You'll have to lie low, remember. It won't do +for a smuggler like you to be seen about here. So till your friends +come, you'll keep pretty dark, remember." + +She led me upstairs to plaster my wound. Then she put me into a little +bedroom on one of the upper floors, and told me to stay there till she +called me. There were one or two books upon the shelf, including a +funny one with woodcuts, a collection of tales and ballads, such as +the pedlers used to sell in those days. With this book, and with a +piece of paper and a pencil, I passed the morning more happily than I +can say. + +My head felt quite easy after it had been dressed and bandaged. My +troubles were nearly over, I thought. In a week my friends would be +there to fetch me away. In three days they would get my letter and +hear all about my adventures; so as I wrote I almost sang aloud; I was +so happy at the thought of my sorrows being ended. Mrs Dick (I never +learned her real name till some years afterwards) brought me some +bread and cheese at midday. As I ate, she sealed and addressed my +letter for me, and took it over to the post-house, so that the postman +could carry it to meet the mail, as it drove past from Rye towards +London. + +After my midday meal I felt strangely weary; perhaps all my +excitements had been too much for me. When Mrs Dick came back to say +that she had posted my letter I was almost asleep; but her manner was +so strange that it roused me. She could hardly speak from anxiety and +terror. + +"Oh," she cried, "they have raised the whole country. My Dick'll be +taken. He will. He will. They're riding all through the land arresting +everybody. And they're going to hang them all, they say, as soon as +they can give them their trials." + +She cried and cried as though her heart would break. I did what I +could to comfort her, but still she cried hysterically, and for all +that afternoon she sobbed and laughed in the little upper bedroom, +only going out at rare intervals, to peep into the bar, where her +servant served the guests. + +Towards five o'clock, the servant came running upstairs to say that a +lot of the smugglers had been taken. "A whole boatload," the girl +said, so that now it would "all come out, and master would be hanged." +Mrs Dick told her not to talk in that way of her master, but to find +out if any of the men had peached. + +When the girl had gone she seemed to collect herself. She became a +different woman in a minute. + +"Well, if he's taken," she said, "they'll be here. That's very +sure. They'll search the premises. They mustn't find you here, Mr Jim. +If they find you, they'll question you, and you know too much by a +long way." + +"Shall I go?" I asked. "I'm willing to clear out, if you wish." + +"Go?" she said. "Go? I will turn no poor boy out into the road. I have +a boy of my own, somewhere walking the world. No, I'll put you in the +drawing-room. Come with me, and don't make a noise." + +She led me downstairs to the foot of the lowest staircase, which was +rather broad, with high steps of stout old oak. + +"Look," she said, as she stepped away from me--I suppose to touch some +secret spring--"this is the drawing-room." + +As she spoke, the two lowest stairs suddenly rolled back upon a sort +of hinge, showing a little room, not much bigger than a couple of +barrels, arranged underneath them. There were blankets and a mattress +upon the floor of this little room, besides several packages like +those which I had seen in the lugger. + +"You'll have to stay here, Jim," she said kindly. "But first of all I +must get together Dick's papers and that. Come on and help me." + +Very soon she had gathered together a few papers and packets of +tobacco and lace, which might have brought Dick into trouble. She laid +these away in the recesses of the secret room, and told me to get +inside, and go to sleep, and above all things to keep very still if +people came along upon the stairs. I crept inside, rather frightened, +and lay down among the blankets, to get some rest. Then Mrs Dick swung +the two stairs back in to their place, a spring clicked, and I was a +prisoner in the dark, shut up in the drawing-room. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +TRACKED + + +It was very dark in the drawing-room under the stairs, and rather +stuffy, for the only light and air admitted came through a little +narrow crack, about six inches long, and half an inch across at its +broadest. There was a strong smell of mice, among other smells; and +the mice came scampering all over me before I had lain there long. I +lay as still as I could, because of what Mrs Dick had said, and +by-and-by I fell asleep in spite of the mice, and slept until it was +dark. + +I was awakened by the rolling back of the stairs. As I started up, +thinking that I was captured, I saw Mrs Dick standing over me with a +candle in her hand. + +"Hush, Jim," she said. "Get out quickly. Don't ask any questions. Get +out at once. You can't stay here any longer." + +"What has happened?" I asked. "Where is your husband? Has your husband +come home?" + +"Yes," she said. "And you must go. They're coming after you. You were +seen in the lugger with an axe in your hands. A man who passed you on +the road after, saw you in the lugger. He was with the soldiers, and +now he's given an information. Mary, the girl, heard it down at the +magistrate's, where the inquest is. And so you must go. Besides, I +want the drawing-room for my Dick. He has come back, and they'll be +after him quite likely. He was seen, they say. So he must lie low till +we've arranged the alibi, as they call it. Everybody has to have an +alibi. And so my Dick'll have one, just to make sure. Mind your head +against the stair." + +I crawled out, rubbing my eyes. + +"Where shall I go to?" I asked. + +"Oh," she said. "Until we find out, you had better go in the stable, +in among the feed in the box, or covered up in the hay." + +When she had settled her husband safely into the drawing-room, she +bustled me out of doors into the stable, which stood in the yard at +the back of the inn. She put me into a mass of loose hay, in one of +the unused stalls. + +"There," she said. "They'll never look for you there. Don't get +hay-fever and begin to sneeze, though. Here's your parcel for you. +It wouldn't do to leave that about in the house, would it?" + +She wished me good night and bustled back to the inn, to laugh and +jest as though nothing was happening, and as though she had no trouble +in the world. + +I lay very quietly in my warm nest in the hay, feeling lonely in that +still stable after my nights in the lugger among the men. The old +horse stamped once or twice, and the stable cat came purring to me, +seeking to be petted. The church clock struck nine, and rang out a +chime. Shortly after nine I heard the clatter of many horses' hoofs +coming along the road, and then the noise of cavalry jingling and +clattering into the inn yard. A horse whinnied, the old horse in the +stable whinnied in answer. A curt voice called to the men to dismount, +and for some one to hold the horses. I strained my ears to hear any +further words, but some one banging on a door (I guessed it to be the +inn door) drowned the orders. + +Then some one cried out, "Well, break it in, then. Don't come asking +me." + +After that there was more banging, an excited cry from a woman, and a +few minutes of quiet. + +I crept from my hiding-place to the window, so that I might see what +was happening. The whole yard was full of cavalry. A couple of +troopers were holding horses quite close to the door. By listening +carefully, I could hear what they were saying. + +"Yes," said one of them; "I got a proper lick myself. I shan't mind if +they do get caught. They say there's some of them caught in a boat." + +"Yes," said his mate; "three. And they do say we shall find a boy here +as well as the other fellow. There was a boy aboard all night. And +he's been tracked here. He's as good as caught, I reckon." + +"I suppose they'll all be hanged?" said the first. + +"Yes," said the other. "Won't be no defence for them. Neck or +nothing. Hey?" + +Then they passed out of earshot, leading their horses. I was so +horribly scared that I was almost beside myself. What could I do? +Where could I go? Where could I hide? The only door and window opened +on to the courtyard. The loft was my only chance. I snatched up my +parcel, and ran to the little ladder (nailed to the wall) which led to +the loft, and climbed up as though the hounds were after me. + +Even in the loft I was not much better off. There was a heap of hay +and a few bundles of straw lying at one end, and two great +swing-doors, opening on to the courtyard, through which the hay and +straw had been passed to shelter. It was plainly useless to lie down +in the straw. That would be the first place searched. I should be +caught at once if I hid among the straw. Then it occurred to me that +the loft must lead to a pigeon-house. I had seen a pigeon-house above +and at one end of the stable, and I judged that the loft would +communicate with it. It was not very light, but, by groping along the +end wall, I came to a little latched door leading to another little +room. This was the pigeon-house, and as I burst into it, closing the +door behind me, the many pigeons rustled and stirred upon their nests +and perches. It was darker in the pigeon-house than in the loft, but I +could see that the place was bigger than the loft itself, and this +gave me hope that there would be an opening at the back of it away +from the yard. I had not much time, I knew, because the troopers were +already trying to open the stable-door below me. I could hear them +pounding and grumbling. Just as I heard them say, "That's it. The bar +lifts up. There you are"--showing that they had found how to open the +door--I came to a little door at the back, a little rotten door, +locked and bolted with rusty cobwebbed iron. Very cautiously I turned +the lock and drew the bolts back. The latch creaked under my thumb for +the first time in many years. I was outside the door on a little, +rotten, wooden landing, from which a flight of wooden steps led +downward. I saw beyond me a few farm-buildings, a byre, several +pigsties, and three disused waggons. Voices sounded in the stable as I +climbed down the steps. I heard a man say, "He might be in the +loft. We might look there." And then I touched the ground, and +scurried quickly past the shelters to the outer wall. + +Happily for me, the wall was well-grown with ivy, so that I could +climb to the top. There was a six-foot drop on the far side into a +lane; but it was now neck or nothing, so I let myself go. I came down +with a crack which made my teeth rattle, my parcel spun away into a +bed of nettles, and I got well stung in fishing it out. Then I +strapped it on my back and turned along the lane in the direction +which (as I judged) led me away from the sea. As I stepped out on my +adventures, I heard the ordered trample of horses leaving the inn-yard +together to seek elsewhere. The lane soon ended at a stile, which led +into a field. I saw a barn or shed just beyond the stile, and in the +shed there was a heap of hay, which smelt a little mouldy. I lay down +upon it, determined to wake early, and creep back to the inn before +anybody stirred in the village. + +"Ah, well," I said to myself before I fell asleep, "in a week's time +they will be here to take me home. Then my troubles will be over." + +I remember that all my fear of the troops was gone. I felt so sure +that all would be well in the morning. So, putting my parcel under my +head as a pillow, I snuggled down into the hay, and very soon fell +asleep. + +I was awakened in the morning by the entrance of an old cart-horse, +who came to smell at the hay. It was light enough to see where I was +going, so I opened my knapsack and made a rough breakfast before +setting out. Overnight I had planned to go back to the inn. In the +cool of the morning that plan did not seem so very wise as I had +thought it. I was almost afraid to put it into practice. However, I +went back along the lane. With some trouble, I got over the tall brick +wall down which I had dropped the night before. Then I climbed up to +the pigeon-house, down the loft-ladder, into the inn-yard, to the +broken back door of the tavern. The door hung from one hinge, with its +lower panels kicked in just as the soldiers had left it. The inn was +open to anybody who cared to enter. + +I entered cautiously, half expecting to find a few soldiers billeted +there. But the place was empty. I went from room to room, finding no +one; Mrs. Dick seemed to have disappeared. One of the rooms was in +disorder. A few broken glasses were on the floor; a chair lay on its +side under the table. I went upstairs. I tapped at the outside of the +drawing-room. No answer there; all was still there. I listened +attentively for some sound of breathing; none came. No one was +inside. I went all over the house. No one was there. I was alone in +the "Blue Boar," the only person in the house. I could only guess that +Mr and Mrs Dick had been arrested. To be sure, they might have run +away together during the night. I did not quite know what to think. + +In my wanderings, I came to the bar, which I found in great disorder; +the bench was upset, jugs and glasses were scattered on the floor, and +the blinds had not been pulled up. Although I had some fear of being +seen from outside, I pulled up the blinds to let in a little light, so +that I might look at the coaching-map which hung at one end of the +bar. When I passed behind the bar to trace out for myself the road to +London, I saw an open book lying on a shelf among the bottles. It was +a copy of Captain Johnson's _Lives of the Highwaymen and +Pirates_, lying open at the life of Captain Roberts, the famous +pirate Whydah. Some one must have been reading it when the soldiers +entered. + +I looked at it curiously, for it was open at the portrait of +Roberts. Underneath the portrait were a few words written in pencil in +a clumsy scrawl. I read them over, expecting some of the ordinary +schoolboy nonsense. + +"Captain Roberts was a bad one. _Jim_. Don't come back here. The +lobsters is around." That was all the message. But I saw at once that +it was meant for me; that Mrs Dick, knowing that I should come back, +had done her best to leave a warning for me. "Lobsters," I knew, was +the smugglers' slang for soldiers; and if the lobsters were dangerous +to me it was plain that I was wanted for my innocent share in the +fight. I looked through the book for any further message; but there +was no other entry, except a brief pencilled memorandum of what some +one had paid for groceries many years before, at some market town not +named. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE ROAD TO LONDON + + +You may be sure that I lost no time in leaving the inn. I merely noted +the way to London from the coaching-map and hurried out, repeating the +direction so that I should not forget. It was a bright, cool morning: +and I walked very briskly for a couple of hours, when I sat down to +rest by the roadside, under a patch of willows, which grew about a +little bubbling brook. Presently I saw that a little way ahead of me +were three gipsy-looking people (a boy with his father and mother), +sitting by the road resting. They got up, after I had been there for +twenty minutes or so, and came along the road towards me, bowed under +their bundles. I got up, too, intending to continue my journey; but +when I was about to pass them, the man drew up in front of me. + +"Beg your pardon, young master," he said; "but could you tell me the +way to Big Ben?" "But that's in London," I said. "That's in London, at +the House of Parliament." + +"What!" he cried. "You don't mean to tell me that us have come the +wrong road?' + +"Yes," I said. "You're going the wrong way for London." + +"Then take that," cried the man, giving me a shove, just as the woman +flung her shawl over my head. I stepped back, for the shove was no +light one; but just behind me the boy had crouched on all fours (he +had evidently practised the trick), so that I went headlong over him, +and had a nasty fall into the road. + +"Stop his mouth, Martha," said the man: and stop it she did, with her +ragged old shawl, in which she had evidently carried the provisions of +the gang. + +"What's he got on him?" said the woman, as the man rummaged through my +pockets. + +"Only a prince and a chive," said the man, disgustedly, meaning my +half-crown and a jack-knife. + +"Well," said the woman, "his jacket's better than Bill's, and we'll +have his little portmanteau, what's more." + +In another minute they had my suit stripped from me; and I had the +sight of dirty little Bill, the tramper's boy, putting on my things. + +"Here," said the woman. "You put on Bill's things. They're good enough +for you. And don't you dare breathe a word of what we done." + +"Yes," said the man, as Bill buttoned up his jacket, and took my +little bundle in his hand. "You keep your little jaw shut or +_I_'ll come after you." + +"Oh, Mother," said Bill. "Don't I look a young swell, neither?" + +For answer, his mother grabbed him by the arm, and the three hurried +away from me in the direction from which I had come. The man looked +back and made a face at me, shaking his fist. I was left penniless in +the road. A milestone told me that I was seventy miles from London. + +I was now at the end of my resources; almost too miserable to cry. I +did not know what was to become of me. I could only wander along the +road, in a dazed sort of way, wishing for Marah. I was wretched and +faint, and Marah was so strong and careless. Then I said to myself +that Marah was dead, and that I should soon be dead, for I had neither +food nor money. The smugglers had talked of shipwrecks once or +twice. I had heard them say that a man could live for three days +without food or drink, in fair weather; and that without food, +drinking plenty of water, he could live for three weeks. They were +very wild talkers, to be sure; but I remembered this now and got +comfort from it. Surely, I thought, I shall be able to last for a +week, and in a week I ought to be near London. Besides, I can eat +grass; and perhaps I shall find a turnip, or a potato, or a +partridge's nest with young ones still in it; and perhaps I shall be +able to earn a few coppers by opening gates, or holding horses. + +I plucked up wonderfully when I thought of all these things; though I +did not at all like wearing Bill's clothes. I felt that I looked like +a dirty young tramp, and that anybody who saw me would think that I +was one. Besides, I had always hated dirt and untidiness, and the +feeling that I carried both about me was hateful. + +But Bill's clothes were to be a great help to me before noon that +day. As I wandered along the road, wondering where I could get +something to eat (for I was now very hungry), I came to a +turnpike. The turnpike-keeper was cleaning his windows, outside his +little house. When he saw me, he just popped his head inside the door, +and said something to some people inside. His manner frightened me; +but I was still more frightened when two Bow Street runners (as we +called detectives then) and a yeomanry officer came out of the house, +and laid hold of me. + +"That's your boy, sir," said the turnpike-keeper. + +"Come on in here," said the officer, "and give an account of +yourself." + +They led me into the room, where they were eating some bread and +cheese. + +"He doesn't answer the description," said one of the men, glancing at +a paper. + +"I'm not so sure about that," said the officer. "He's the exact +height, and that's the same coloured hair." + +"Now I come to think of it," said the keeper, "I believe I saw that +boy pass along here this morning, along with two trampers. That coat +with the pocket torn. Yes, and red lining showing. I thought I'd seen +them." + +"Well, boy," said the officer, "what's your name?" + +"Jim Davis," I answered. + +"What were you doing with the two trampers, Jim?" he asked. + +"Please, sir," I said, "I wasn't doing anything with them." + +"Ah," said one of the runners. "These young rogues is that artful, +they never do nothing anywhere." + +"You'll live to be hanged, I know," said the other runner. + +"What were you doing with the smugglers?" asked the officer suddenly, +staring hard at my face, to watch for any change of expression. + +But I was ready for him. A boy is often better able to keep his +countenance than a grown man. With masters, and aunts, and +game-keepers all down upon him, he lives a hunted life. He gets lots +of practice in keeping his countenance. A grown man often gets very +little. + +"What smugglers, sir?" I asked as boldly as I could. + +"The men you sailed with from Etaples," said the officer. + +"Sailed with?" I asked, feeling that I was done for. + +"Didn't the horses splash about, when you cut the cable?" said the +officer, with a smile. + +This time I thought I had better not answer. I looked as puzzled as I +could, and looked from one face to the other, as though for +enlightenment. + +"Now, Jim," said one of the runners. "It's no good. Tell us all about +the smugglers, and we'll let you go." + +"We know you're the boy we want," said the captain. "Make a clean +breast of it, and perhaps you will get off with transportation." + +"Now don't look so innocent," said the other runner. "Tell us what we +want to know, or we'll make you." + +Now somewhere I had read that the police bullied suspected persons in +this way. If you make a guilty person believe that you know him to be +guilty, you can also get him to confess if you startle him +sufficiently. It occurred to me that this was what these men were +doing, especially as they had not been sure of me when I came into the +room. + +I had some twenty or thirty seconds in which to think of an answer, +for the three men spoke one after the other, without giving me a +chance to speak. I shook my head, putting on a puzzled look. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," I said, speaking rather roughly, in the +accent which Bill had used. "I think there's some mistake." + +"Oh, I think not," said the officer. "Suppose I tell you how many men +were in the lugger?" + +But here we were stopped by the arrival of a chaise outside. A man +entered hurriedly. + +"It's all right, Gray," the newcomer called to the officer. "We have +the boy. We caught him back there, along the road, with a couple of +gipsies. There can be no doubt about it. The clothes and bundle are +just as they're described in the advertisement. Who have you here?" + +"Oh, a boy we brought in on suspicion," said the officer. "Shall we +let him go?" + +"Well, who is he?" asked the new arrival. "Eh, boy? Who are you?" + +"A poor boy," I answered. + +"How do you make a living?" he asked. "Little boys, like you, oughtn't +to be about on the roads, you know. What d'ye do for a living?" + +I am afraid it was rather a bold statement; but I cried out that I +could sing ballads. + +"Oh, Jim. So you sing ballads, do you?" said the officer. "Get on to +that chair and sing us a ballad." + +But I was cunning and wary. "Please, sir," I said, "I'm very hungry. I +don't sing, except for my dinner and a sixpence." + +"So you defy the law already, do you?" said the newcomer. "Well. Eat +some bread and cheese, and I will give you sixpence for a song." + +So I sat down very thankfully, and made a good dinner at the table. I +pretended to pay no attention to the officers; but really I listened +very eagerly to all that they said. I gathered that the newcomer was a +coastguard naval captain, of the name of Byrne, and I felt that he +half-suspected and half-liked me, without thinking very much about me +one way or the other. When I had finished my dinner--and I ate enough +to last me till the night--I got upon my chair, without being pressed, +and sang the ballad of "The White Cockade," then very popular all over +the West country. My voice was not bad in those days, and I was used +to singing; indeed, people sang more then than they do now. Everybody +sang. + +Captain Byrne seemed puzzled by my voice, and by my cultivated +accent. "Who taught you to sing?" he asked. + +So I answered that I had been in the village choir at home; which was +true enough. + +"And where was that?" he asked. + +For a moment I thought that I would trust him, and tell him +everything. Then, very foolishly, I determined to say nothing, so I +said that it was a long way away, and that I had come from thence +after my father had died. He whispered something to Mr. Gray, the +other officer; and they looked at me curiously. They both gave me a +sixpenny piece for my ballad; and then they went out. Captain Byrne +stopped at the door. "Look here," he said, "you take my advice and go +home. You will come to no good, leading this wandering life." + +When they had gone, I went out also, and watched their chaise +disappear. The last that I saw of them was the two top-hats of the +runners, sticking up at the back of the conveyance, like little black +chimneys. + +I felt very glad that Bill was taken up, evidently in mistake for +me. It seemed a fitting reward. But at the same time I knew that the +mistake might be found out at any moment; and that I should be +searched for as soon as Bill had cleared himself. I walked slowly away +from the turnpike, so that the keeper might not suspect me, and then I +nipped over a stile, and ran away across country, going inland, away +from the sea, as fast as I could travel. I could tell my direction by +the sun, and I kept a westerly course, almost due west, for three or +four hours, till I was tired out. + +It was a lonely walk, too; hardly anything but wild, rather marshy +country, with few houses, few churches, and no bigger town than the +tiniest of villages. At about six o'clock that afternoon, when I had +gone some sixteen miles since daybreak, I felt that I could go no +further, and began to cast about for a lodging-place. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE GIPSY CAMP + + +I plodded on till I came to a sort of copse or little wood, where I +expected to find shelter. Supper I had resolved to do without; I +wished to keep my shilling for dinner and breakfast the next day. As I +came up to the copse hedge I saw that some gipsies were camped +there. They had a fine travelling waggon drawn up on some waste ground +near at hand; they had also pitched three or four beehive huts, made +of bent poles, covered with sacks. They were horse-dealers and +basket-makers, as one could see from the drove of lean horses and heap +of wicker-work near the waggon. Several children were playing about +among the huts. Some women were at their basket-making by the +waggon. A middle-aged man, smoking a pipe, stood by the hedge, mending +what looked like an enormous butterfly net. In spite of my adventure +on the road, I was not at all frightened by these gipsies, because I +liked their looks, and I knew now that I had only my shilling to lose, +and that I could earn a dinner at any time by singing a ballad. + +The middle-aged man looked rather hard at me as I came near, and +called out in a strange language to his people in the tents. They came +about me at the call, and stared at me very strangely, as though I was +a queer beast escaped from a menagerie. Then, to my great surprise, +the man pointed to my forehead, and all the gipsies stared at my +forehead, repeating those queer words which Marah had used so long +before in the gorse-clump--"Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." They seemed very +pleased and proud; they clapped their hands and danced, as though I +was a little prince. All the time they kept singing and talking in +their curious language. Now and then one of them would come up to me +and push back my cap to look at my hair, which was of a dark brown +colour, with a dash of reddy gold above my forehead. + +I learned afterwards that gipsies held sacred all boys with hair like +mine. They call the ruddy tinge over the forehead "the cross upon +crutches"; for long ago, they say, a great gipsy hero had that mark +upon his brow in lines of fire; and to this day all people with a +fiery lock of hair, they believe, bring luck to them. + +When the gipsies had danced for some twenty minutes, the elderly man +(who seemed to be a chief among them) begged me (in English) with many +profound bows and smiles, to enter their waggon. I had heard that the +gipsies stole little children; but as I had never heard of them +stealing a boy of my age I did not fear them. So I entered the waggon +as he bade me, and very neat and trim it was. Here a man produced a +curious red suit of clothes, rather too small for me; but still a lot +better than Bill's rags. He begged me to put it on, which I did. I +know now that it was the red magical suit in which the gipsies dress +their magical puppets on St. John's Eve; but as I did not then know +this, I put it on quite willingly, wishing that it fitted better. + +Then we came out again among the huts, and all the other gipsies +crowded round me, laughing and clapping their hands; for now, they +thought, their tribe would have wonderful luck wherever they went. The +women put a pot upon the fire, ready for supper. Everybody treated me +(very much to my annoyance) as though I were a fairy child. Whenever I +spoke, they bowed and laughed and clapped their hands, crying out in +their wild language, till I could have boxed their ears. + +When supper was ready, they brought me to the place of honour by the +fire, and fed me with all the delicacies of the gipsy race. We had +hedgehog baked in a clay cover--though I did not much like him--and +then a stew of poultry and pheasant (both stolen, I'm afraid) with +bread baked in the ashes; and wonderful tea, which they said cost +eighteen shillings a pound. They annoyed me very much by the way in +which they bowed and smirked, but they really meant to be kind, and I +had sense enough to know that while I was with them I should be +practically safe from the runners and yeomanry. After supper they made +me up a bed in the waggon. The next morning before daybreak we started +off, horses, waggon, and all, away towards the west; going to +Portsmouth Fair, the man said, to sell their horses. + +I had not been very long among the gipsies when I discovered that I +was as much a prisoner as a pet. They would never let me out of their +sight. If I tried to get away by myself, one of the children, or a +young woman would follow me, or rather, come in the same direction, +and pretend not to be following me; but all the time noting where I +went, and heading me off carefully if I went too far from the caravan. +Before the end of the first day I was wondering how it would all +finish, and whether they meant to make a gipsy of me. They were very +careful not to let me be seen by other travellers. When the road was +clear, they would let me follow the caravan on foot; but when people +drove past us, and whenever we came to a village (they always avoided +the big towns), they hurried me into the waggon, and kept me from +peeping out. At night, when we pitched our camp, after a long day's +journey of sixteen or seventeen hours, they gave me a bed inside the +caravan; and the elderly chief laid his blankets on the waggon floor, +between my bed and the door, so that I should not get out. I lived +with the gipsies in this way for three whole days. + +I did not like it any better as time went on. I kept thinking of how I +should escape, and worrying about the anxiety at home, now that my +letter must have reached them. I did not think any more about the +police. I felt that they would give me no more trouble; but my +distress at not being able to get away from these gipsies was almost +more than I could bear. On the afternoon of the third day I made a +dash for freedom, but the chief soon caught me and brought me back, +evidently very much displeased, and muttering something about stealing +the red coat. + + +About midday on the fourth day, as we were passing through a village, +it chanced that a drove of sheep blocked up the road. The caravan +stopped and I managed to get down from the waggon, with my gaoler, to +see what was happening in the road. The sheep were very wild, and the +drover was a boy who did not know how to drive them. The way was +blocked for a good ten minutes, so that I had time to look about +me. While we waited, a donkey-cart drove up, with two people inside +it, dressed in the clothes of naval sailors--white trousers, blue, +short, natty jackets (with red and green ribbons in the seams), and +with huge clubbed pigtails under their black, glazed hats. One of them +was evidently ill, for he lay back against the backboard and did not +speak. I noticed also that he had not been to sea for a long time, as +his beard was long and unkempt. The other, who drove the cart, was a +one-legged man, very short and broad, with a thick black stubble on +his cheeks. He was a hearty person with a voice like a lion's +roar. They had rigged up Union Jacks on the donkey's blinkers, they +had a pilot jack upon the shaft, and a white ensign on a flagpole tied +to the backboard. The body of the cart was all sprigged out with +streamers of ribbon as thick as horses' tails, and there were placards +fixed to the sides of the donkey's collar. They were clumsily scrawled +as follows:-- + + Pity the Braiv English Seamen, + Wonded in the Wars, + Help them as cannot help theirselves, + We have Bled for our nativland. + Nelson and Bronte. + +This wonderful conveyance pulled up among the sheep. The one-legged +man stood upright in the cart, called for three cheers, and at once +began to roar out the never-ending ballad of the battle of Belle +Isle:-- + + At the battle of Belle Isle, + I was there all the while, etc., etc. + +Everybody clustered round to listen, and to admire the turnout. + +I could not get very near to the cart, because of the press; but I +noticed quite suddenly that the sick man was staring rather hard at me +from under the rim of his glazed hat, which was jammed down over his +eyes. The eyes seemed familiar. There was something familiar in the +figure, covered up, as it was, with the rough beard, and with a ship's +boat-cloak. It reminded me of Marah, somehow, and yet it could not +possibly be Marah; and yet the man was staring hard at me. + +A countryman came out of an inn with a mug of drink for the singer, +who checked his song at about the hundred-and-fiftieth stanza, to take +the mug with a "Thank ye, mate," and hand it to his sick friend. The +sick man took the mug with his left hand, opening the fingers +curiously, and still looking hard at me. My heart gave a great jump, +for there were three blue rings tattooed on one of the fingers. The +man waved his mug towards me. "Hoo, hoo, hoo," he cried, imitating an +owl with his weak voice. "Hoo, hoo, hoo." Then he clapped his right +hand across his mouth to warn me to be silent, and drank, with a bow +to the giver. + +It _was_ Marah, after all. At this moment the caravan started, +and the man urged me to enter the waggon again. I did so; but as I +turned away, Marah smiled in an absurd manner at me, and bowed three +times, making everybody laugh. That made me feel sure that he would +help me to escape, and to get home again. I could not help laughing at +his trick of dressing up as "a braiv English seaman, wonded in the +war." Had the people known in what wars he had been wounded, they +would not have been so free with their kindness, perhaps. + +It occurred to me that Marah had made the owl's cry (or night signal) +to show me that I might expect him at night. So when the gipsies went +to bed that night I lay awake among them, pretending to be fast +asleep. It was very dark, shut up in the waggon. The gipsies slept +heavily, and I could hear the horses outside, cropping on the grass +and snorting. Once or twice I heard a clock strike very far away. Then +I fell asleep, I think, in spite of my excitement. I woke with a +start, because just outside the waggon came the wild crying of an owl: +and then, at that instant, a banging of guns and pistols. A voice +cried out: "The horses. Save the horses." Some one screamed "Help! +help!" in a falsetto. More guns banged and cracked, and I heard a rush +of hoofs as the drove of horses stampeded. The gipsies in the waggon +rushed out as one man to save the precious horses. I rushed out after +them, and there was Marah with his one-legged friend, crouched under +the waggon, waiting for me. + +"Well, Jim," he said; "nip this way, quick. We have a suit of clothes +all ready for you." + +So they hurried me away to their little cart, where I found a boy's +suit, which I was glad to put on, as of course I never wore the +precious red suit in bed. + +"Those were good fire-crackers," said Marah's friend. "They made the +horses run." + +"Yes," said Marah. "I knew we could clear the gipsies out of the way +and get Jim clear. Well, Jim, my son, I'm not strong enough to talk +much. I reckon I have done with night-riding since I got this slug in +my chest. But here we are again, bound home, my son, with not much +shot in the locker." + +"You be quiet," said his friend; "you'll be getting your wound +bad. Get up, Neddy." + +We trotted off to a little inn which stood at some distance from the +gipsies' camp. + +The next morning, after a comfortable night in bed; I asked Marah how +he had escaped. He told me that when the lugger drove ashore, one or +two smugglers who had hidden in the dunes, crept down to her and +carried him ashore. The two others, the drunkards, were too noisy to +bring off. They were captured, and condemned to serve in the +Navy. Marah's wound was not very severe; but he had had a great shock, +and would not be able to exert himself for many weeks. An old smuggler +(the one-legged man) had dressed his wound for him, and had then +disguised him as I saw him, with a beard and naval clothes. One of the +many Captains Sharp had advanced money for the journey home; but to +avoid suspicion they had rigged up their donkey-cart; and worked their +way as poor sea-ballad singers. + +"And now," said Marah, "I heard tell in Kent that you'd written home +by the mail-coach, a full five days ago. Well, Jim, we're near the +coach-road here. I reckon your friends'll be coming to see you by +to-day's coach. If we go out into the road, to the 'Bold Sawyer' +yonder, where they change horses and wait, I reckon you'll be able to +save them some of their journey. Hey, Sally," he cried to the +waitress, "what time does the Plymouth mail pass by?" + +"At eleven o'clock," said Sally. + +"At six bells, Jim," said Marah, "you'll see your folk again. On that +I'll wager my best new silver buttons." + +The clock struck ten. + +It was a fair sunny summer's day, with a brisk wind blowing, when we +ranged ourselves across the road outside the "Bold Sawyer." The +coach-horn, sounding in the distance, was drawing rapidly nearer; we +could hear the rhythm of the sixteen hoofs. Presently the horses swung +round the corner; we saw the coachman flick his leaders so that he +might dash up to the inn in style. Then as they galloped up I saw +two well-known figures sitting outside, well muffled up. + +They were Hugh and Mrs Cottier. We had flags in our hands, so we waved +them and shouted. The one-legged man roared out his doings at the +battle of Belle Isle. I heard Hugh shouting at the top of his voice, +"Look, Mother. It's Jim. It's Jim." We had a great dinner at the "Bold +Sawyer" at one o'clock that day. We had hardly finished at half-past +three, when the mail-coach stopped for us, to take us on our first +stage home. + +I need only add a few words. Hugh became a "parson fellow," as Marah +had put it; while I, in time, went to Jamaica as a planter. Marah and +the one-legged man took the Gara Mill together, and did very well at +it. Mr Cottier is now a Captain in the Portuguese Navy. Mrs Cottier +keeps house for me here on the Gara. We are all a good deal older; but +we keep well. Marah and I are planning a new adventure; for old Van +Horn's treasure is still among the coral, and some day we are going to +try for it. + + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + +This file should be named jmdvs10.txt or jmdvs10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, jmdvs11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, jmdvs10a.txt + +Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + diff --git a/old/jmdvs10.zip b/old/jmdvs10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d4e70ee --- /dev/null +++ b/old/jmdvs10.zip diff --git a/old/jmdvs10h.htm b/old/jmdvs10h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f6986b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/jmdvs10h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6990 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=us-ascii"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times;} + P { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 14pt; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + // --> + </style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield +#4 in our series by John Masefield + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Jim Davis + +Author: John Masefield + +Release Date: January, 2005 [EBook #7369] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on April 22, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + + + + +Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h1> + Jim Davis + </h1> + <center> + <b><i>By</i><br> + John Masefield<br> + <br> + <br> + For Judith<br></b> + </center> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <h3> + MY FIRST JOURNEY + </h3> + <p> + I was born in the year 1800, in the town of + Newnham-on-Severn, in Gloucestershire. I am sure of the year, + because my father always told me that I was born at the end + of the century, in the year that they began to build the + great house. The house has been finished now these many + years. The red-brick wall, which shuts its garden from the + road (and the Severn), is all covered with valerian and + creeping plants. One of my earliest memories is of the masons + at work, shaping the two great bows. I remember how my nurse + used to stop to watch them, at the corner of the road, on the + green strip by the river-bank, where the gipsies camped on + the way to Gloucester horse-fair. One of the masons was her + sweetheart (Tom Farrell his name was), but he got into bad + ways, I remember, and was hanged or transported, though that + was years afterwards, when I had left that countryside. + </p> + <p> + My father and mother died when I was still a boy—my + mother on the day of Trafalgar battle, in 1805, my father + four years later. It was very sad at home after mother died; + my father shut himself up in his study, never seeing anybody. + When my father died, my uncle came to Newnham from his home + in Devonshire; my old home was sold then, and I was taken + away. I remember the day so very clearly. It was one sunny + morning in early April. My uncle and I caught the coach at + the top of the hill, at the door of the old inn opposite the + church. The coachman had a hot drink handed up to him, and + the ostlers hitched up the new team. Then the guard (he had a + red coat, like a soldier) blew his horn, and the coach + started off down the hill, going so very fast that I was + afraid, for I had never ridden on a coach before, though I + had seen them every day. The last that I saw of Newnham was + the great house at the corner. It was finished by that time, + of course, and as we drove past I saw the beautiful woman who + lived there walking up and down the lawn with her husband, + Captain Rylands, a very tall, handsome man, who used to give + me apples. I was always afraid to eat the apples, because my + nurse said that the Captain had killed a man. That was in the + wars in Spain, fighting against the French. + </p> + <p> + I remember a great deal about my first coach-ride. We slept + that night at Bristol in one of the famous coaching inns, + where, as a great treat, I had bacon and eggs for supper, + instead of bread-and-milk. In the morning, my uncle took me + with him to the docks, where he had some business to do. That + was the first time I ever really saw big ships, and that was + the first time I spoke with the sailors. There was a capstan + on one of the wharves, and men were at work, heaving round + it, hoisting casks out of a West Indiaman. One of the men + said, "Come on, young master; give us a hand on the bar + here." So I put my hands on to the bar and pushed my best, + walking beside him till my uncle called me away. There were + many ships there at the time, all a West Indian convoy, and + it was fine to see their great figureheads, and the brass + cannon at the ports, and to hear the men singing out aloft as + they shifted spars and bent and unbent sails. They were all + very lofty ships, built for speed; all were beautifully kept, + like men-of-war, and all of them had their house-flags and + red ensigns flying, so that in the sun they looked splendid. + I shall never forget them. + </p> + <p> + After that, we went back to the inn, and climbed into another + coach, and drove for a long, long time, often very slowly, + till we reached a place near Newton Abbot, where there was a + kind woman who put me to bed (I was too tired to notice + more). Then, the next morning, I remember a strange man who + was very cross at breakfast, so that the kind woman cried + till my uncle sent me out of the room. It is funny how these + things came back to me; it might have been only yesterday. + </p> + <p> + Late that afternoon we reached the south coast of Devon, so + that we had the sea close beside us until the sun set. I + heard the sea, as I thought, when we reached my uncle's + house, at the end of the twilight; but they told me that it + was a trout-stream, brawling over its boulders, and that the + sea was a full mile away. My aunt helped to put me to bed, + but I was too much excited to sleep well. I lay awake for a + long, long time, listening to the noise of the brook, and to + the wind among the trees outside, and to the cuckoo clock on + the landing calling out the hours and half-hours. When I fell + asleep I seemed to hear the sea and the crying out of the + sailors. Voices seemed to be talking close beside me in the + room; I seemed to hear all sorts of things, strange things, + which afterwards really happened. There was a night-light + burning on the wash-handstand. Whenever I woke up in the + night the light would show me the shadow of the water jug + upon the ceiling. It looked like an old, old man, with a + humped back, walking the road, bowed over his cudgel. + </p> + <p> + I am not going to say very much about my life during the next + few years. My aunt and uncle had no children of their own, + and no great fondness for the children of others. Sometimes I + was very lonely there; but after my tenth birthday I was at + school most of my time, at Newton Abbot. I used to spend my + Easter holidays (never more than a week) with the kind woman + who put me to bed that night of my journey. My summer and + winter holidays I spent with my uncle and aunt in their + little house above the trout-stream. + </p> + <p> + The trout-stream rose about three miles from my uncle's + house, in a boggy wood full of springs. It was a very rapid + brook, nowhere more than three or four feet deep, and never + more than twenty feet across, even near its mouth. Below my + uncle's house it was full of little falls, with great mossy + boulders which checked its flow, and pools where the bubbles + spun. Further down, its course was gentler, for the last mile + to the sea was a flat valley, with combes on each side + covered with gorse and bramble. The sea had once come right + up that valley to just below my uncle's house; but that was + many years before—long before anybody could remember. + Just after I went to live there, one of the farmers dug a + drain, or "rhine," in the valley, to clear a boggy patch. He + dug up the wreck of a large fishing-boat, with her anchor and + a few rusty hoops lying beside her under the ooze about a + foot below the surface. She must have sailed right up from + the sea hundreds of years ago, before the brook's mouth got + blocked with shingle (as I suppose it was) during some summer + gale when the stream was nearly dry. Often, when I was a boy, + I used to imagine the ships coming up from the sea, along + that valley, firing their cannon. In the winter, when the + snow melted, the valley would be flooded, till it looked just + like a sea, and then I would imagine sea-fights there, with + pirates in red caps boarding Spanish treasure galleons. + </p> + <p> + The seacoast is mostly very bold in that part of Devon. Even + where there are no cliffs, the land rises steeply from the + sea, in grassy hills, with boulders and broken rock, instead + of a beach, below them. There are small sandy beaches + wherever the brooks run into the sea. Everywhere else the + shore is "steep-to"—so much so that in many places it + is very difficult to reach the sea. I mention this because, + later on, that steep coast gave me some queer adventures. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <h3> + NIGHT-RIDERS + </h3> + <p> + When I was twelve years old, something very terrible + happened, with good results for myself. The woman near Newton + Abbot (I have spoken of her several times) was a Mrs Cottier, + the wife of a schoolmaster. Her husband used to drink very + hard, and in this particular year he was turned out of the + school, and lost his living. His wife left him then (or + rather he left her; for a long time no one knew what became + of him) and came to live with us, bringing with her little + Hugh Cottier, her son, a boy of about my own age. After that, + life in my uncle's house was a different thing to me. Mrs + Cottier was very beautiful and kind; she was like my mother, + strangely like, always sweet and gentle, always helpful and + wise. I think she was the dearest woman who ever lived. I was + always proud when she asked me to do something for her. Once, + I remember (in the winter after Mrs Cottier came to us), she + drove to Salcombe to do her Christmas shopping. It came on to + snow during the afternoon; and at night-time the storm grew + worse. We put back supper, expecting her to come in at any + minute, but she did not come. The hours went by, and still + she did not come, and still the storm worsened. The wind was + not very high, but the air was full of a fine, powdery, + drifting snow; the night seemed full of snow; snow fell down + the chimney and drifted in under the door. My uncle was too + lame with sciatica to leave his bed; and my aunt, always a + woman of poor spirit, was afraid of the night. At eight + o'clock I could stand it no longer, so I said that I would + saddle the pony, and ride out along the Salcombe road to find + her. Hugh was for going in my place; but Hugh was not so + strongly built as I, and I felt that Hugh would faint after + an hour in the cold, I put on double clothes, with an oilskin + jacket over all, and then lit the lantern, and beat out of + the house to the stable. I put one or two extra candles in my + pockets, with a flint and steel, and some bread and meat + Something prompted me to take a hank of cord, and a heavy old + boat-rug; and with all these things upon him old Greylegs, + the pony, was heavy-laden. + </p> + <p> + When we got into the road together, I could not see a yard in + front of me. There was nothing but darkness and drifting snow + and the gleam of the drifts where the light of the lantern + fell. There was no question of losing the road; for the road + was a Devon lane, narrow and deep, built by the ancient + Britons, so everybody says, to give them protection as they + went down to the brooks for water. If it had been an open + road, I could never have found my way for fifty yards. I was + strongly built for a boy; even at sea I never suffered much + from the cold, and this night was not intensely + cold—snowy weather seldom is. What made the ride so + exhausting was the beating of the snow into my eyes and + mouth. It fell upon me in a continual dry feathery pelting, + till I was confused and tired out with the effort of trying + to see ahead. For a little while, I had the roar of the + trout-stream in my ears to comfort me; but when I topped the + next combe that died away; and there I was in the night, + beating on against the storm, with the strange moaning sound + of the wind from Dartmoor, and the snow rustling to keep me + company. I was not exactly afraid, for the snow in my face + bothered me too much, but often the night would seem full of + people—laughing, horrible people—and often I + would think that I saw Mrs Cottier lying half-buried in a + drift. + </p> + <p> + I rode three miles or more without seeing anybody. Then, just + before I reached the moor cross-roads, in a lull when the + snow was not so bad, I heard a horse whinny, and old Greylegs + baulked. Then I heard voices and a noise as of people riding; + and before I could start old Greylegs I saw a party of + horsemen crossing my road by the road from the sea to + Dartmoor. They were riding at a quick trot, and though there + were many horses (some thirty or forty), I could see, even in + that light, that most of them were led. There were not more + than a dozen men; and only one of all that dozen carried a + lantern. Something told me that they were out for no good, + and the same instinct made me cover my lantern with my coat, + so that they passed me without seeing me. At first I thought + that they were the fairy troop, and that gave me an awful + fear; but a moment later, in the wind, I felt a whiff of + tobacco, and of a strong, warm, sweet smell of spirits, and I + knew then that they were the night-riders or smugglers. After + they had gone, I forced old Greylegs forward, and trotted on, + against the snow, for another half-mile, with my heart going + thump upon my ribs. I had an awful fear that they would turn, + and catch me; and I knew that the night-riders wanted no + witnesses of their adventures in the dark. + </p> + <p> + About four miles from home, I came to an open part of the + road, where the snow came down in its full fury, there being + no hedge to give a little shelter. It was so thick that I + could not get Greylegs to go on. He stood stock-still, and + cowered, though I beat him with my hank of cord, and kicked + his ribs. It was cruel of me; but I thought of Mrs Cottier, + with her beautiful kind face, lying in a drift of snow, and + the thought was dreadful to me. I got down from the saddle, + and put my lantern on the ground, and tried to drag him + forward, but it was useless. He would not have stirred if I + had lighted a fire under him. When he had the instinct to + stand still, nothing would make him budge a yard. A very + fierce gust came upon me then. The snow seemed to whirl upon + me from all sides, so that I got giddy and sick. And then, + just at the moment, there were horses and voices all about + me, coming from Salcombe way. Somebody called out, "Hullo," + and somebody called out "Look out, behind"; and then a lot of + horses pulled up suddenly, and some men spoke, and a led + horse shied at my lantern. I had no time to think or to run, + I felt myself backing into old Greylegs in sheer fright; and + then some one thrust a lantern into my face, and asked me who + I was. By the light of the lantern I saw that he wore a + woman's skirt over his trousers; and his face was covered by + one of those great straw bee-skeps, pierced with holes for + his eyes and mouth. He was one of the most terrible things I + have ever seen. + </p> + <p> + "Why, it's a boy," said the terrible man. "What are you doing + here, boy?" + </p> + <p> + Another man, who seemed to be a leader, called out from his + horse, "Who are you?" but I was too scared to answer; my + teeth were rattling in my head. + </p> + <p> + "It's a trick," said another voice. "We had best go for the + moor." + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," said the leader, sharply. "The boy's scared." + </p> + <p> + He got down from his horse, and peered at me by the lantern + light. He, too, wore a bee-skep; in fact, they all did, for + there is no better disguise in the world, while nothing makes + a man look more horrible. I was not quite so terrified by + this time, because he had spoken kindly. + </p> + <p> + "Who are you?" he asked. "We shan't eat you. What are you + doing here?" + </p> + <p> + As well as I could I told him. The leader strode off a few + paces, and spoke with one or two other men; but I could only + catch the words, "Yes; yes, Captain," spoken in a low, quick + voice, which seemed somehow familiar. Then he came back to + me, and took me by the throat, and swayed me to and fro, very + gently, but in a way which made me feel that I was going to + be killed. + </p> + <p> + "Tell me," he said, "I shall know whether you're lying, so + tell the truth, now. What have you seen to-night?" + </p> + <p> + I told him that I had seen a troop of horsemen going through + the snow towards the moor. + </p> + <p> + "That settles it, Captain," said another voice. "You can't + trust a young chap like that." + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," said the man they called Captain; "I'm master, not + you." + </p> + <p> + He strode off again, to speak to another man. I heard some + one laugh a little, and then the Captain came back to me. He + took me by the throat as before, and again shook me. "You + listen to me," he said, grimly. "If you breathe so much as + one word of what you've seen to-night—well—I + shall know. D'ye hear? I shall know. And when I + know—well—your little neck'll go. There's poetry. + That will help you remember— + </p> + <p> + <br> + 'When I know,<br> + Your neck'll go<br> + Like so'" + </p> + <p> + He gave a sharp little twist of his hand upon my Adam's + apple. + </p> + <p> + I was terrified. I don't know what I said; my tongue seemed + to wither on its stalk. The Captain walked to his horse, and + remounted. "Come along, boys," he said. The line of horses + started off again. A hand fell upon my shoulder, and a voice + spoke kindly to me. "See here," it said, "you go on another + half-mile, you'll find a barn by the side of the road. + There's no door on the barn, and you'll see a fire inside. + You'll find your lady there. She is safe all right. You keep + your tongue shut now." + </p> + <p> + The speaker climbed into his saddle, and trotted off into the + night. "Half a mile. Straight ahead!" he called; then the + dull trampling died away, and I was left alone again with + Greylegs. Some minutes passed before I could mount; for I was + stiff with fright. I was too frightened after that to mind + the snow; I was almost too frightened to ride. Luckily for me + the coming of the night-riders had startled old Greylegs + also; he trotted on gallantly, though sometimes he floundered + into a drift, and had to be helped out. + </p> + <p> + Before I came to the barn the snow stopped falling, except + for a few aimless flakes, which drifted from all sides in the + air. It was very dark still; the sky was like ink; but there + was a feel of freshness (I cannot describe it) which told me + that the wind had changed. Presently I saw the barn ahead of + me, to the right of the road, spreading a red glow of fire + across the way. Old Greylegs seemed glad of the sight; he + gave a whinny and snorted. As well as he could he broke into + a canter, and carried me up to the door in style. + </p> + <p> + "Are you safe, Mrs Cottier?" I called out. + </p> + <p> + "What! Jim!" she answered. "How good of you to come for me!" + </p> + <p> + The barn, unlike most barns in that country, was of only one + story. It may have been a farmhouse in the long ago, for it + had larger windows than most barns. These had been stuffed + with sacks and straw, to keep out the weather. The door had + been torn from its place by some one in need of firewood; the + roof was fairly sound; the floor was of trampled earth. Well + away from the doorway, in the centre of the barn, some one + had lighted a fire, using (as fuel) one of the faggots + stacked against the wall. The smoke had long since blown out + of doors. The air in the barn was clear and fresh. The fire + had died down to a ruddy heap of embers, which glowed and + grew grey again, as the draughts fanned them from the + doorway. By the light of the fire I could see Mrs Cottier, + sitting on the floor, with her back against the wheel of her + trap, which had been dragged inside to be out of the snow. I + hitched old Greylegs to one of the iron bolts, which had once + held a door-hinge, and ran to her to make sure that she was + unhurt. + </p> + <p> + "How in the world did you get here?" I asked. "Are you sure + you're not hurt?" + </p> + <p> + She laughed a little at this, and I got out my stores, and we + made our supper by the fire. "Where's old Nigger?" I asked + her; for I was puzzled by seeing no horse. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim," she said, "I've had such adventures." + </p> + <p> + When she had eaten a little she told me her story. + </p> + <p> + "I was coming home from Salcombe," she said, "and I was + driving fast, so as to get home before the snow lay deep. + Just outside South pool, Nigger cast a shoe, and I was kept + waiting at the forge for nearly half an hour. After that, the + snow was so bad that I could not get along. It grew dark when + I was only a mile or two from the blacksmith's, and I began + to fear that I should never get home. However, as I drove + through Stokenham, the weather seemed to clear a little, so I + hurried Nigger all I could, hoping to get home in the lull. + When I got to within a hundred yards from here, in the little + hollow, where the stunted ashes are, I found myself among a + troop of horsemen, who stopped me, and asked me a lot of + questions. They were all disguised, and they had lanterns + among them, and I could see that the horses carried tubs; I + suppose full of smuggled lace and brandy and tobacco, ready + to be carried inland. Jim, dear, I was horribly frightened; + for while they were speaking together I thought I heard the + voice of—of some one I know—or used to know." + </p> + <p> + She stopped for a moment overcome, and I knew at once that + she was speaking of her husband, the schoolmaster that was. + "And then," she continued, "some of them told me to get down + out of the trap. And then another of them seized Nigger's + head, and walked the trap as far as the barn here. Then they + unharnessed Nigger, and led him away, saying they were short + of horses, but would send him back in a day or two. They + seemed to know all about me, where I lived, and everything. + One of them took a faggot from a wall here, and laid the big + fire, with straw instead of paper. While he lit it he kept + his great bee-skep on his head (they all wore them), but I + noticed he had three blue rings tattooed on his left + ring-finger. Now, somewhere I have seen a man, quite + recently, with rings tattooed like that, only I can't + remember where. I wish I could think where. He was very civil + and gentle. He saw that the fire burnt up well, and left me + all those sticks and logs, as well as the flint and steel, in + case it should go out before the snow stopped. Oh, and he + took the rugs out of the trap, and laid them on the ground + for me to sit on. Before he left, he said, very civilly, "I + am sure you don't want to get folks into trouble, madam. + Perhaps you won't mention this, in case they ask you." So I + said that I didn't want to get people into trouble; but that + it was hardly a manly act to leave a woman alone, in an open + barn, miles from anywhere, on a night like to-night. He + seemed ashamed at this; for he slunk off, saying something + about 'only obeying orders,' and 'not having much choice in + the matter.' Then they all stood about outside, in the snow, + leaving me alone here. They must have stayed outside a couple + of hours. About a quarter of an hour before you came I heard + some one call out, 'There it is, boys!' and immediately they + all trotted off, at a smart pace. They must have seen or + heard some signal. Of course, up here on the top of the + combe, one could see a long way if the snow lulled for a + moment." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <h3> + THE MAN ON THE MOUND + </h3> + <p> + It was very awesome sitting there by the firelight in the + lonely barn, hearing the strange moan of the snow-wind. When + Mrs Cottier finished her story we talked of all sorts of + things; I think that we were both a little afraid of being + silent in such a place, so, as we ate, we kept talking just + as though we were by the fireside at home. I was afraid that + perhaps the revenue officers would catch us there and force + us to tell all we knew, and I was dreadfully frightened when + I remembered the captain in the bee-skep who had shaken my + throat and given me such a warning to be silent. When we had + finished our supper, I told Mrs Cottier that perhaps we could + harness old Greylegs to the trap, but this she thought would + never do, as the drifts on the road made it such bad going; + at last I persuaded her to mount old Greylegs and to ride + astride like a boy, or like so many of the countrywomen in + our parts. When she had mounted I took the old pony by the + head and led him out, carrying the lantern in my hand. + </p> + <p> + When we got outside we found, to our great surprise, that the + sky had cleared—it was a night of stars now that the + wind had changed. By the "blink" of the snow our road was + quite plain to us, and the sharp touch of frost in the air + (which we felt all the more after our bonfire in the barn) + had already made the snow crisp underfoot. It was pleasant to + be travelling like that so late at night with Mrs Cottier; I + felt like a knight who had just rescued a princess from a + dragon; we talked together as we had never talked before. + Whenever we climbed a bad combe she dismounted, and we walked + together hand in hand like dear friends. Once or twice in the + quiet I thought I heard the noise of the excisemen's horses, + and then my heart thumped in my throat; then, when I knew + myself mistaken, I felt only the delight of being of service + to this dear woman who walked by me so merrily. + </p> + <p> + When we came to the foot of the combe, to the bridge over the + trout-stream, she stopped for a moment. "Jim," she said, + drawing me to her, "I shall never forget to-night, nor the + little friend who rode out to help me; I want you, after + this, always to look on me as your mother—I knew your + mother a little, years ago. Well, dear, try to think of me as + you would of her, and be a brother to my Hugh, Jim: let us + all three be one family." She stooped down and kissed my + cheek and lips. + </p> + <p> + "I will, Mrs Cottier," I said; "I'll always be a brother to + Hugh." I was too deeply moved to say much more, for I had so + long yearned for some woman like my mother to whom I could go + for sympathy and to whom I could tell everything without the + fear of being snubbed or laughed at. I just said, "Thank you, + Mims." I don't know why I called her "Mims" then, but I did, + and afterwards I never called her anything else; that was my + secret name for her. She kissed me again and stroked my cheek + with her hand, and we went on again together up the last + steep bit of road to the house. Always, after that, I never + thought of Mrs Cottier without feeling her lips upon my cheek + and hearing the stamp of old Greylegs as he pawed on the + snow, eager for the stable just round the corner. + </p> + <p> + It was very nice to get round the corner and to see the + lights of the house a little way in front of us; in a minute + or two we were there. Mrs Cottier had been dragged in to the + fire to all sorts of comforting drinks and exclamations, and + old Greylegs was snug in his stable having his coat rubbed + down before going to sleep under his rug. We were all glad to + get to bed that night: Hugh and my aunt were tired with + anxiety, and Mrs Cottier and I had had enough adventure to + make us very thankful for rest. + </p> + <p> + Before we parted for the night she drew me to one side and + told me that she had not mentioned the night-riders to my + uncle and aunt while I was busy in the stable, and that it + might be safer if I, too, kept quiet about them. I do not + know how she explained the absence of Nigger, but I am sure + they were all too thankful to have her safely home again to + bother much about the details of her drive. + </p> + <p> + Hugh and I always slept in soldier's cot-beds in a little + room looking out over the lane. During the night we heard + voices, and footsteps moving in the lane beneath us, and our + dog (always kennelled at the back of the house) barked a good + deal. Hugh and I crept from our bed and peered through the + window, but it opened the wrong way; we could only look down + the lane, whereas the noise seemed to come from just above + us, near the stable door; unluckily, the frost had covered + the window with ice-flowers, so that we could not see through + the glass. We were, however, quite certain that there were + people with lights close to our stable door; we thought at + first that we had better call Mrs Cottier, and then it + flashed through my mind that these were the night-riders, + come to return Nigger, so I told Hugh to go back to bed and + forget about it. I waited at the window for a few moments, + wondering if the men would pass the house; I felt a horrible + longing to see those huge and ghastly things in skirts and + bee-skeps striding across the snow, going home from their + night's prowl like skulking foxes; but whoever they were they + took no risks. Some one softly whistled a scrap of a tune + ("Tom, Tom, the piper's son") as though he were pleased at + having finished a good piece of work, and then I heard + footsteps going over the gap in the hedge and the crackling + of twigs in the little wood on the other side of the lane. I + went back to bed and slept like a top until nearly breakfast + time. + </p> + <p> + I went out to the stable as soon as I was dressed, to find + Joe Barnicoat, our man, busy at his morning's work; he had + already swept away the snow from the doors of the house and + stable, so that I could not see what footmarks had been made + there since I went to fetch Greylegs at eight the night + before. Joe was in a great state of excitement, for during + the night the stable had been broken open. I had left it + locked up, as it always was locked, after I had made Greylegs + comfortable. When Joe came there at about half-past seven, he + had found the broken padlock lying in the snow and the + door-staple secured by a wooden peg cut from an ash in the + hedge. As I expected, Nigger was in his stall, but the poor + horse was dead lame from a cut in the fetlock: Joe said he + must have been kicked there. I was surprised to find that the + trap also had come home—there it was in its place with + the snow still unmelted on its wheels. I helped Joe to dress + poor Nigger's leg, saying that it was a pity we had not + noticed it before. Joe was grumbling about "some people not + having enough sense to know when a horse was lame," so I let + him grumble. + </p> + <p> + When we had dressed the wound, I turned to the trap to lift + out Mrs Cottier's parcels, which I carried indoors. Breakfast + was ready on the table, and Mrs Cottier and Hugh were + toasting some bread at the fire. My aunt was, of course, + breakfasting upstairs with my uncle; he was hardly able to + stir with sciatica, poor man; he needed somebody to feed him. + </p> + <p> + "Good morning, Mims dear," I cried. "What do you think? The + trap's come back and here are all your parcels." I noticed + then (I had not noticed it before) that one of the parcels + was very curiously wrapped. It was wrapped in an old sack, + probably one of those which filled the windows of the barn, + for bits of straw still stuck in the threads. + </p> + <p> + "Whatever have you got there, Jim?" said Mrs Cottier. + </p> + <p> + "One of your parcels," I answered; "I've just taken it out of + the trap." + </p> + <p> + "Let me see it," she said. "There must be some mistake. + That's not one of mine." She took the parcel from me and + turned it over before opening it. + </p> + <p> + On turning the package over, we saw that some one had twisted + a piece of dirty grey paper (evidently wrapping-paper from + the grocer's shop) about the rope yarn which kept the roll + secure. Mrs Cottier noticed it first. "Oh," she cried, + "there's a letter, too. I wonder if it's meant for me?" + </p> + <p> + We untied the rope yarn and the paper fell upon the table; we + opened it out, wondering what message could be written on it. + It was a part of a grocer's sugar bag, written upon in the + coarse black crayon used by the tallymen on the quays at + Kingsbridge. The writing was disguised, so as to give no clue + to the writer; the letters were badly-formed printer's + capitals; the words were ill-spelled, and the whole had + probably been written in a hurry, perhaps by the light of our + fire in the barn. + </p> + <p> + "Hors is laimd," said the curious letter. "Regret inconvenuns + axept Respect from obt servt Captin Sharp." + </p> + <p> + "Very sweet and to the point," said Mrs Cottier. "Is Nigger + lame, then?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I answered. "Joe says he has been kicked. You won't be + able to drive him for some time." + </p> + <p> + "Poor old Nigger," said Mrs Cottier, as she unwrapped the + parcel. "Now, I wonder what 'Respect' Captain Sharp has sent + me?" + </p> + <p> + She unrolled the sacking, and out fell two of those straw + cases which are used to protect wine-bottles. They seemed + unusually bulky, so we tore them open. In one of them there + was a roll, covered with a bit of tarpaulin. It contained a + dozen yards of very beautiful Malines lace. The other case + was full of silk neckerchiefs packed very tightly, eleven + altogether; most of them of uncoloured silk, but one of green + and another of blue—worth a lot of money in those days, + and perhaps worth more to-day, now that such fine silk is no + longer woven. + </p> + <p> + "So this is what we get for the loan of Nigger, Jim," said + Mrs Cottier. "We ought, by rights, to give these things to + the revenue officer." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "but if we do that, we shall have to say how + they came, and why they came, and then perhaps the exciseman + will get a clue, and we shall have brought the night-riders + into trouble." + </p> + <p> + It was cowardly of me to speak like this; but you must + remember that I had been in "Captain Sharp's" hands the night + before, and I was still terrified by his threat— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "When I know,<br> + Your neck'll go<br> + Like so." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said Mrs Cottier, looking at me rather sharply, "we + will keep the things, and say nothing about them: but we must + find out what duty should be paid on them, and send it to the + exciseman at Dartmouth. That will spare our consciences." + </p> + <p> + After breakfast, Mrs Cottier went to give orders to the + servant, while Hugh and I slipped down the lane to see how + the snow had drifted in our little orchard by the brook. We + had read somewhere that the Red Indians often make themselves + snow-houses, or snow-burrows, when the winter is severe. We + were anxious to try our hands at making a snow-house. We + wanted to know whether a house with snow walls could really + be warm, and we pictured to ourselves how strange it would be + to be shut in by walls of snow, with only one little hole for + air, seeing nothing but the white all round us, having no + window to look through. We thought that it would be wonderful + to have a snow-house, especially if snow fell after the roof + had been covered in, for then no one could know if the + dweller were at home. One would lie very still, wrapped up in + buffalo robes, while all the time the other Indians would be + prowling about in their war-paint, looking for you. Or + perhaps the Spaniards would be after you with their + bloodhounds, and you would get down under the snow in the + forest somewhere, and the snow would fall and fall, covering + your tracks, till nothing could be seen but a little tiny + hole, melted by your breath, through which you got fresh air. + Then you would hear the horses and the armour and the baying + of the hounds; but they would never find you, though their + horses' hoofs might almost sink through the snow to your + body. + </p> + <p> + We went down to the orchard, Hugh and I, determined to build + a snow-house if the drifts were deep enough. We were not + going to plunge into a drift, and make a sort of chamber by + wrestling our bodies about, as the Indians do. We had planned + to dig a square chamber in the biggest drift we could find, + and then to roof it over with an old tarpaulin stretched upon + sticks. We were going to cover the tarpaulin with snow, in + the Indian fashion, and we had planned to make a little + narrow passage, like a fox's earth, as the only doorway to + the chamber. + </p> + <p> + It was a bright, frosty morning: the sun shone, the world + sparkled, the sky was of a dazzling blue, the snow gleamed + everywhere. Hoolie, the dog, was wild with excitement. He ran + from drift to drift, snapping up mouthfuls of snow, and + burrowing down sideways till he was half buried. + </p> + <p> + There was a flower garden at one end of the orchard, and in + the middle of the garden there was a summer-house. The house + was a large, airy single room (overlooking the stream), with + a space beneath it, half-cave, half-cellar, open to the + light, where Joe Barnicoat kept his gardening tools, with + other odds-and-ends, such as bast, peasticks, sieves, shears, + and traps for birds and vermin. Hugh and I went directly to + this lower chamber to get a shovel for our work. + </p> + <p> + We stood at the entrance for a moment to watch Hoolie playing + in the snow; and as we watched, something caught my eye and + made me look up sharply. + </p> + <p> + Up above us, on the side of the combe beyond the lane, among + a waste of gorse, in full view of the house (and of the + orchard where we were), there was a mound or barrow, the + burial-place of an ancient British king. It was a + beautifully-rounded hill, some twenty-five feet high. A year + or two before I went there it had been opened by the vicar, + who found inside it a narrow stone passage, leading to an + inner chamber, walled with unmortared stone. In the central + chamber there were broken pots, a few bronze spear-heads, + very green and brittle, and a mass of burnt bones. The doctor + said that they were the bones of horses. On the top of all + this litter, with his head between his knees, there sat a + huge skeleton. The vicar said that when alive the man must + have been fully six feet six inches tall, and large in + proportion, for the bones were thick and heavy. He had + evidently been a king: he wore a soft gold circlet round his + head, and three golden bangles on his arms. He had been + killed in battle. In the side of his skull just above the + circle of gold, there was a great wound, with a flint + axe-blade firmly wedged in the bone. The vicar had often told + me about this skeleton. I remember to this day the shock of + horror which came upon me when I heard of this great dead + king, sitting in the dark among his broken goods, staring out + over the valley. The country people always said that the hill + was a fairy hill. They believed that the pixies went to dance + there whenever the moon was full. I never saw the pixies + myself, but somehow I always felt that the hill was uncanny. + I never passed it at night if I could avoid it. + </p> + <p> + Now, when I looked up, as I stood with Hugh watching the dog, + I saw something flash upon the top of the barrow. In that + bright sun, with all the snow about, many things were + sparkling; but this thing gleamed like lightning, suddenly, + and then flashed again. Looking at it sharply, I saw that + there was a man upon the barrow top, apparently lying down + upon the snow. He had something in his hand turned to the + sun, a piece of glass perhaps, or a tin plate, some very + bright thing, which flashed. He flashed it three times + quickly, then paused, then flashed it again. He seemed to be + looking intently across the valley to the top of the combe + beyond, to the very place where the road from Salcombe swings + round to the dip. Looking in that direction, I saw the figure + of a man standing on the top of the wall against a stunted + holly-tree at the curve of the road. I had to look intently + to see him at all, for he was in dark clothes, which shaded + off unnoticed against the leaves of the holly. I saw him jump + down now and again, and disappear round the curve of the road + as though to look for something. Then he would run back and + flash some bright thing once, as though in answer to the man + on the barrow. It seemed to me very curious. I nudged Hugh's + arm, and slipped into the shelter of the cave. For a few + moments we watched the signaller. Then, suddenly, the watcher + at the road-bend came running back from his little tour up + the road, waving his arms, and flashing his bright plate as + he ran. We saw him spring to his old place on the wall, and + jump from his perch into the ditch. He had some shelter + there, for we could see his head peeping out above the snow + like an apple among straw. We were so busy watching the head + among the snow that we did not notice the man upon the + barrow. Something made us glance towards him, and, to our + surprise and terror, we saw him running across the orchard + more than half-way towards us. In spite of the snow he ran + swiftly. We were frightened, for he was evidently coming + towards us. He saw that we saw him, and lifted one arm and + swung it downwards violently, as though to bid us lie down. + </p> + <p> + I glanced at Hugh and he at me, and that was enough. We + turned at once, horribly scared, and ran as fast as we could + along the narrow garden path, then over the wall, stumbling + in our fright, into the wood. We did not know why we ran nor + where we were going. We only felt that this strange man was + after us, coming in great bounds to catch us. We were too + frightened to run well; even had there been no snow upon the + ground we could not have run our best. We were like rabbits + pursued by a stoat, we seemed to have lost all power in our + legs. + </p> + <p> + We had a good start. Perhaps without that fear upon us we + might have reached the house, but as it was we felt as one + feels in a nightmare, unable to run though in an agony of + terror. Getting over the wall was the worst, for there Hugh + stumbled badly, and I had to turn and help him, watching the + man bounding ever nearer, signing to us to stay for him. A + minute later, as we slipped and stumbled through the scrub of + the wood, we heard him close behind us, crying to us in a + smothered voice to stop. We ran on, terrified; and then + Hugh's foot caught in a briar, so that he fell headlong with + a little cry. + </p> + <p> + I turned at once to help him up, feeling like the doe rabbit, + which turns (they say) against a weasel, to defend its young + ones. It sounds brave of me, but it was not: I was scared + almost out of my wits. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <h3> + THE HUT IN THE GORSE-BUSHES + </h3> + <p> + The man was on us in three strides, with his hand on our + collars, frightening us out of any power to struggle. "You + young fools," he said, not unkindly. "Why couldn't you stop + when I waved to you?" + </p> + <p> + We did not answer, nor did he seem to expect us to answer. He + just swung us round with our faces from the house, and + hurried us, at a smart run, down the road. "Don't you stir a + muscle," he added as he ran. "I'm not going to eat you, + unless you drive me to it." + </p> + <p> + At the lower end of the wood, nearly half a mile from our + home, the scrub was very thick. It seemed to be a tangle of + briars, too thick for hounds—too thick, almost, for + rabbits. Hugh and I had never been in that part of the wood + before, but our guide evidently knew it well, for he never + hesitated. He swung us on, panting as we were, along the + clearer parts, till we came to a part where our way seemed + stopped by gorse-bushes. They rose up, thick and dark, right + in front of us. Our guide stopped and told us to look down. + Among the gnarled gorse-stems there seemed to be a passage or + "run" made by some beast, fox or badger, going to and from + his lair. + </p> + <p> + "Down you go," said our guide. "There's lots of room when you + try. Imagine you're a rabbit." + </p> + <p> + We saw that it was useless to say No; and, besides, by this + time we had lost most of our terror. I dropped on to my knees + at once, and began to squirm through the passage. Hugh + followed me, and the strange man followed after Hugh. It was + not really difficult, except just at the beginning, where the + stems were close together. When I had wriggled for a couple + of yards, the bushes seemed to open out to either side. It + was prickly work, but I am sure that we both felt the romance + of it, forgetting our fear before we reached the heart of the + clump. + </p> + <p> + In the heart of the clump the gorse-bushes had been cut away, + and piled up in a sort of wall about a small central square + some five or six yards across. In the middle of the square + some one had dug a shallow hollow, filling rather more than + half of the open space. The hollow was about eighteen inches + deep, and roughly paved with shingle from the beach, well + stamped down into the clay. It had then been neatly wattled + over into a sort of trim hut, like the huts the + salmon-fishers used to build near Kings-bridge. The wattling + was made fairly waterproof by masses of gorse and bracken + driven in among the boughs. It was one of the most perfect + hiding-places you could imagine. It could not be seen from + any point, save from high up in one of the trees surrounding + the thicket. A regiment might have beaten the wood pretty + thoroughly, and yet have failed to find it. The gorse was so + thick in all the outer part of the clump that dogs would + leave its depths un-searched. Yet, lying there in the shelter + one could hear the splashing babble of the brook only fifty + yards away, and the singing of a girl at the mill a little + further up the stream. + </p> + <p> + The man told us to get inside the shelter, which we did. + Inside it was rather dark, but the man lit a lantern which + hung from the roof, and kindled a fire in a little fireplace. + This fireplace was covered with turf, so that the smoke + should not rise up in a column. We saw that the floor of the + hut was heaped with bracken, and there were tarpaulin + boat-rugs piled in one corner, as though for bedding. + </p> + <p> + The man picked up a couple of rugs and told us to wrap + ourselves in them. "You'll be cold if you don't wrap up," he + said. + </p> + <p> + As he tucked the rugs about us I noticed that the ring-finger + of his left hand was tattooed with three blue rings. I + remembered what Mrs Cottier had said about the man who had + lighted her fire in the barn, so I stared at him hard, trying + to fix his features on my memory. He was a well-made, + active-looking man, with great arms and shoulders. He was + evidently a sailor: one could tell that by the way of his + walk, by the way in which his arms swung, by the way in which + his head was set upon his body. What made him remarkable was + the peculiar dancing brightness of his eyes; they gave his + face, at odd moments, the look of a fiend; then that look + would go, and he would look like a mischievous, merry boy; + but more generally he would look fierce and resolute. Then + his straight mouth would set, his eyes puckered in as though + he were looking out to windward, the scar upon his cheek + twitched and turned red, and he looked most wrathful and + terrible. + </p> + <p> + "Well, mister," the man said to me, "would you know me again, + in case you saw me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "I should know you anywhere." + </p> + <p> + "Would you," he said, grinning. "Well, I was always the + beauty of the bunch." He bit off a piece of plug tobacco and + began to chew it. By-and-by he turned to Hugh to ask if he + chewed tobacco. Hugh answered "No," laughing. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said the man, "don't you learn. That's my advice. It's + not easy to stop, once you begin." + </p> + <p> + He lay back in his corner, and seemed to pass into a sort of + day-dream. Presently he looked up at us again, and asked us + if we knew why we were there. We said that we did not. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, "it's like this. Last night you" (here he + gave me a nudge with his foot) "you young gentleman that + looks so smart, you went for a ride late at night, in the + snow and all. See what came of it. There was Others out for a + ride last night, quite a lot of 'em. Others that the law + would be glad to know of, with men so scarce for the King's + navy. Well, to-day the beaks are out trying to find them + other ones. There's a power of redcoats come here, besides + the preventives, and there they go, clackity clank, all + swords and horses, asking at every house." + </p> + <p> + "What do they ask," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "They ask a lot of things," said the man. "'Where was you + last night?' That's one question. 'What time did you come in + last night?' That's another. 'Let's have a look at your + horse; he looks as though he'd bin out in the snow last + night.' Lots of things they ask, and if they got a hold of + you, young master, why, you might have noticed things last + night, and perhaps they might pump what you noticed out of + you. So some one thinks you had best be out of the road when + they come." + </p> + <p> + "Who is some one?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Just some one," he answered. "Some one who gets more money + than I get." His mouth drew into a hard and cruel line; he + lapsed into his day-dream, still chewing his plug of tobacco. + "Some one," he added, "who don't like questions, and don't + like to be talked about too much." + </p> + <p> + He was silent for a minute or two, while Hugh and I looked at + each other. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I'm not going to keep you long," said the man. "Them + redcoats'll have done asking questions about here before your + dinner time. Then they'll ride on, and a good riddance. Your + lady will know how to answer them all right. But till they're + gone, why, here you'll stay. So let's be comp'ny. What's your + name, young master?" He gave Hugh a dig in the ribs with his + boot. + </p> + <p> + "Hugh," he answered. + </p> + <p> + "Hugh," said the man: "Hugh! You won't never come to much, + you won't. What's <i>your</i> name?" He nudged me in the same + way. + </p> + <p> + "Jim," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Ah! Jim, Jim," he repeated. "I've known a many Jims. Some + were good in their way, too." He seemed to shrink into + himself suddenly—I can't explain it—but he seemed + to shrink, like a cat crouched to spring, and his eyes burned + and danced; they seemed to look right into me, horribly + gleaming, till the whole man became, as it were, just two + bright spots of eyes—one saw nothing else. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," he said, after a long, cruel glare at me, "this is the + first time Jim and I ever met. The first time. We shall be + great friends, we shall. We shall be better acquainted, you + and I. I wouldn't wonder if I didn't make a man of you, one + time or another. Give me your hand, Jim." + </p> + <p> + I gave him my hand; he looked at it under the lantern; he + traced one or two of the lines with his blackened + finger-nails, muttering some words in a strange language, + which somehow made my flesh creep. He repeated the words: + "Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." Then he glanced at the other hand, + still muttering, and made a sort of mark with his fingers on + my forehead. Hugh told me afterwards that he seemed to trace + a kind of zigzag on my left temple. All the time he was + muttering he seemed to be half-conscious, almost in a trance, + or as if he were mad: he frightened us dreadfully. After he + had made the mark upon my brow he came to himself again. + </p> + <p> + "They will see it," he muttered. "It'll be bright enough. The + mark. It'll shine. They'll know when they see it. It is very + good. A very good sign: it burns in the dark. They'll know it + over there in the night." Then he went on mumbling to + himself, but so brokenly that we could catch only a few words + here and there—"black and red, knowledge and beauty; + red and black, pleasure and strength. What do the cards say?" + </p> + <p> + He opened his thick sea-coat, and took out a little packet of + cards from an oilskin case. He dealt them out, first of all, + in a circle containing two smaller circles; then in a curious + sort of five-pointed star; lastly, in a square with a circle + cutting off the corners. "Queer, queer," he said, grinning, + as he swept the cards up and returned them to his pocket. + "You and I will know a power of queer times together, Jim." + </p> + <p> + He brightened up after that, as though something had pleased + him very much. He looked very nice when he looked pleased, in + spite of his eyes and in spite of the gipsy darkness of his + skin. "Here," he said, "let's be company. D'ye know any + knots, you two?" + </p> + <p> + No; neither of us knew any knots except the ordinary overhand + and granny knots. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I'll show you," he said. "It'll come in useful some + day. Always learn what you can, that's what I say, because + it'll come in useful. That's what the Irishman said. Always + learn what you can. You never know; that's the beauty of it." + </p> + <p> + He searched in his pockets till he found a small hank of + spun-yarn, from which he cut a piece about a yard long. "See + here," he said. "Now, I'll teach you. It's quite easy, if you + only pay attention. Now, how would you tie a knot if you was + doing up a parcel?" + </p> + <p> + We both tried, and both made granny knots, with the ends + sticking out at right angles to the rest of the yarn. + </p> + <p> + "Wrong," he said. "Those are grannies. They would jam so that + you'd never untie 'em, besides being ugly. There's wrong ways + even in doing up a string. See here." He rapidly twisted the + ends together into a reef-knot. "There's strength and beauty + together," he said. "Look how neat it is, the ends tidy along + the standing part, all so neat as pie. Besides, it'd never + jam. Watch how I do it, and then try it for yourself." + </p> + <p> + Very soon we had both mastered the reef-knot, and had tried + our hand at others—the bowline, the figure of eight, + the Carrick-bend, and the old swab-hitch. He was very patient + with us. He told us exactly how each knot would be used at + sea, and when, and why, and what the officers would say, and + how things would look on deck while they were in the doing. + The time passed pleasantly and quickly; we felt like jolly + robbers in a cave. It was like being the hero of a story-book + to sit there with that rough man waiting till the troops had + gone. It was not very cold with the fire and the boat-rugs. + We were heartily sorry when the man rose to his feet, with + the remark that he must see if the coast were clear. Before + he left the hut he glared down at us. "Look here," he said, + "don't you try to go till I give the word. But there, we're + friends; no need to speak rough to friends. I'll be back in a + minute." + </p> + <p> + The strange man passed out of the hut and along the + rabbit-run to the edge of the gorse. We heard his feet crunch + upon the snow beyond, rustling the leaves underneath it; and + then it was very, very quiet again, though once, in the + stillness, we heard a cock pheasant calling. Another pheasant + answered him from somewhere above at the upper part of the + wood, and it occurred to both of us that the pheasants were + the night-riders, making their private signals. + </p> + <p> + "We've had a famous adventure to tell Mother," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said; "but we had better be careful not to tell + anybody else. I wonder what they do here in this hut; I + suppose they hide their things here till it's safe to take + them away." + </p> + <p> + "Where do they take them?" asked Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Away into Dartmoor," I said. "And there there are wonderful + places, so old Evans the postboy told me." + </p> + <p> + "What sort of places?" asked Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, caves covered over with gorse and fern, and old copper + and tin mines, which were worked by the ancient Britons. They + go under the ground for miles, so old Evans told me, with + passages, and steps up and down, and great big rooms cut in + the rock. And then there are bogs where you can sink things + till it's quite safe to take them up. The bog-water keeps + them quite sound; it doesn't rot them like ordinary water. + Sometimes men fall into the bogs, and the marsh-mud closes + over them. That's the sort of place Dartmoor is." + </p> + <p> + Hugh was very much interested in all this, but he was a quiet + boy, not fond of talking. "Yes," he said; "but where do the + things go afterwards—who takes them?" + </p> + <p> + "Nobody knows, so old Evans said," I answered; "but they go, + they get taken. People come at night and carry them to the + towns, little by little, and from the market towns, they get + to the cities, no one knows how. I dare say this hut has been + full of things—valuable lace and silk, and all sorts of + wines and spirits—waiting for some one to carry them + into the moor." + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" said Hugh; "there's some one calling—it's + Mother." + </p> + <p> + Outside the gorse-clump, at some little distance from us, we + heard Mrs Cottier and my aunt calling "Hugh!" and "Jim!" + repeatedly. We lay very still wondering what they would + think, and hoping that they would make no search for us. They + could have tracked us in the snow quite easily, but we knew + very well they would never think of it, for they were both + shortsighted and ignorant of what the Red Indians do when + they go tracking. To our surprise their voices came nearer + and nearer, till they were at the edge of the clump, but on + the side opposite to that in which the rabbit-run opened. I + whispered to Hugh to be quiet as they stopped to call us. + They lingered for several minutes, calling every now and + then, and talking to each other in between whiles. We could + hear every word of their conversation. + </p> + <p> + "It's very curious," said my aunt. "Where-ever can they have + got to? How provoking boys are!" + </p> + <p> + "It doesn't really matter," said Mims; "the officer has gone, + and the boy would only have been scared by all his questions. + He might ha^e frightened the boy out of his wits. I wonder + where the young monkeys have got to. They were going to build + snow-huts, like the Indians. Perhaps they're hiding in one + now." + </p> + <p> + We were, had she only known it; Hugh and I grinned at each + other. Suddenly my aunt spoke again with a curious inflection + in her voice. + </p> + <p> + "How funny," she exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" asked Mrs Cottier. + </p> + <p> + "I'm almost sure I smell something burning," said my aunt + "I'm sure I do. Don't you?" + </p> + <p> + There was a pause of a few seconds while the two ladies + sniffed the air. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Mrs Cottier, "there is something burning. It + seems to come from that gorse there." + </p> + <p> + "Funny," said my aunt. "I suppose some one has lighted a fire + up in the wood and the smoke is blowing down on us. Well, + we'll go in to dinner; it's no good staying here catching our + death looking for two mad things. I suppose you didn't hear + how Mrs Burns is, yesterday?" + </p> + <p> + The two ladies passed away from the clump towards the + orchard, talking of the affairs of the neighbourhood. A few + minutes after they had gone, a cock pheasant called softly a + few yards from us, then the gorse-stems shook, and our friend + appeared at the hut door, + </p> + <p> + "They're gone, all right," he said; "swords, and redcoats and + pipe-clay—they're gone. And a good riddance too! I + should have been back before, only your ladies were talking, + looking for you, so I had to wait till they were gone. I + expect you'll want your dinner, sitting here so long? Well, + cut and get it." + </p> + <p> + He slung the boat-rugs into a corner, blew out the lantern, + and dropped a handful of snow on to the fire. "Cut," he + continued. "You can go. Get out of this. Run and get your + dinners." We went with him out of the hut into the square. + "See here," he continued, "don't you go coming here. You + don't know of this place—see? Don't you show your + little tracks in this part of the wood; this is a private + house, this is—trespassers will be prosecuted. Now run + along and thank 'ee for your company." + </p> + <p> + As Hugh began to squirm along the passage, I turned and shook + hands with the man. I thought it would be the polite thing to + do to say good-bye properly. "Will you tell me your name?" I + asked. + </p> + <p> + "Haven't got a name," he answered gruffly. "None of your + business if I had." He saw that I was hurt by his rudeness, + for his face changed: "I'll tell you," he added quickly; "but + don't you say it about here. Gorsuch is my name—Marah + Gorsuch." + </p> + <p> + "Marah," I said. "What a funny name!" + </p> + <p> + "Is it?" he said grimly: "It means bitter—bitter water, + and I'm bitter on the tongue, as you may find. Now cut." + </p> + <p> + "One thing more, Mr Gorsuch," I said, "be careful of your + fires. They can smell them outside when the wind blows down + from the wood." + </p> + <p> + "Fires!" he exclaimed; "I don't light fires here except I've + little bleating schoolboys to tea. Cut and get your porridge. + Here," he called, as I went down on my hands and knees, + "here's a keepsake for you." + </p> + <p> + He tossed me a little ornament of twisted silver wire woven + into the form of a double diamond knot, probably by the man + himself. + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, don't thank me," he answered rudely: "I'm tired of being + thanked. Now cut." + </p> + <p> + I wriggled through the clump after Hugh, then we ran home + together through the wood, just as the dinner-bell was + ringing for the second time. + </p> + <p> + Mrs Cottier asked us if we had not heard her calling. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, Mims," I said, "we did hear; but we were hidden in a + secret house; we wondered if you would find us—we were + close to you some of the time." + </p> + <p> + My aunt said Something about "giving a lot of trouble" and + "being very thoughtless for others"; but we had heard similar + lectures many times before and did not mind them much. After + dinner I took Mims aside and told her everything; she laughed + a little, though I could see that she was uneasy about Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't mention it to any one," she said. "It would be + safer not. But, oh, Jim, here we are, all three of us, in + league with the lawbreakers. The soldiers were here this + morning asking all sorts of questions, and they'd two men + prisoners with them, taken at Tor Cross on suspicion; they're + to be sent to Exeter till the Assizes. I'm afraid it will go + hard with them; I dare say they'll be sent abroad, poor + fellows. Every house is being searched for last night's work: + it seems they surprised the coastguards at the Cross and tied + them up in their barracks, before they landed their goods, + and now the whole country is being searched by troops. And + here are we three innocents," she went on, smiling, drawing + us both to her, "all conspiring against the King's + peace—I expect we shall all be transported. Well, I + shall be transported, but you'd have to serve in the Navy. So + now we won't talk about it any more; I've had enough + smuggling for one day. Let's go out and build a real + snow-house, and then Jim will be a Red Indian and we will + have a fight with bows and arrows." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <h3> + THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE "SNAIL" + </h3> + <p> + It was during the wintry days that Mrs Cottier decided to + remove us from the school at Newton Abbot. She had arranged + with the Rector at Strete for us to have lessons at the + Rectory every morning with young Ned Evans, the Rector's son; + so when the winter holidays ended we were spared the long, + cold drive and that awful "going back" to the school we hated + so. + </p> + <p> + Winter drew to an end and the snow melted. March came in like + a lion, bringing so much rain that the brook was flooded. We + saw no more of the night-riders after that day in the snow, + but we noticed little things now and then among the country + people which made us sure that they were not far off. Once, + when we were driving home in the evening after a day at + Dartmouth, owls called along the road from just behind the + hedge, whenever the road curved. Hugh and I remembered the + pheasants that day in the wood, and we nudged each other in + the darkness, wondering whether Mr Gorsuch was one of the + owls. After that night we used to practise the call of the + owls and the pheasants, but we were only clever at the owl's + cry: the pheasant's call really needs a man's voice, it is + too deep a note for any boy to imitate well; but we could cry + like the owls after some little practice, and we were very + vain when we made an owl in the wood reply to us. Once, at + the end of February, we gave the owl's cry outside the + "Adventure Inn," where the road dips from Strete to the + sands, and a man ran out to the door and looked up and down, + and whistled a strange little tune, or scrap of a tune, + evidently expecting an answer; but that frightened us; we + made him no answer, and presently he went in muttering. He + was puzzled, no doubt, for he came out again a minute later + and again whistled his tune, though very quietly. We learned + the scrap of tune and practised it together whenever we were + sure that no one was near us. + </p> + <p> + As for the two men taken by the troops, they were let off. + The innkeeper at South Poole swore that both men had been in + his inn all the night of the storm playing the "ring-quoits" + game with the other guests and as his oath was supported by + half-a-dozen witnesses, the case for the King fell through; + the night-riders never scrupled to commit perjury. Later on I + learned a good deal about how the night-riders managed + things. + </p> + <p> + During that rainy March, while the brook was in flood all + over the valley, Hugh and I had a splendid time sailing toy + boats, made out of boxes and pieces of plank. We had one big + ship made out of a long wooden box which had once held + flowers along a window-sill. We had painted ports upon her + sides, and we had rigged her with a single square sail. With + a strong southwesterly wind blowing up the valley, she would + sail for nearly a mile whenever the floods were out, and + though she often ran aground, we could always get her off, as + the water was so shallow. + </p> + <p> + Now, one day (I suppose it was about the middle of the month) + we went to sail this ship (we used to call her the + <i>Snail</i>) from our side of the flood, right across the + river-course, to the old slate quarry on the opposite side. + The distance was, perhaps, three hundred yards. We chose this + site because in this place there was a sort of ridge causeway + leading to a bridge, so that we could follow our ship across + the flood without getting our feet wet. In the old days the + quarry carts had crossed the brook by this cause-way, but the + quarry was long worked out, and the road and bridge were now + in a bad state, but still good enough for us, and well above + water. + </p> + <p> + We launched the <i>Snail</i> from a green, shelving bank, and + shoved her off with the long sticks we carried. The wind + caught her sail and drove her forward in fine style; she made + a great ripple as she went. Once she caught in a drowned + bush; but the current swung her clear, and she cut across the + course of the brook like a Falmouth Packet. Hugh and I ran + along the causeway, and over the bridge, to catch her on the + other side. We had our eyes on her as we ran, for we feared + that she might catch, or capsize; and we were so intent upon + our ship that we noticed nothing else. Now when we came to + the end of the causeway, and turned to the right, along the + shale and rubble tipped there from the quarry, we saw a man + coming down the slope to the water, evidently bent on + catching the <i>Snail</i> when she arrived. We could not see + his face very clearly, for he wore a grey slouch-hat, and the + brambles were so high just there that sometimes they hid him + from us. He seemed, somehow, a familiar figure; and the + thought flashed through me that it might be Mr Gorsuch. + </p> + <p> + "Come on, Hugh," I cried, "or she'll capsize on the shale. + The water's very shallow, so close up to this side." + </p> + <p> + We began to run as well as we could, over the broken stones. + </p> + <p> + "It's no good," said Hugh. "She'll be there before we are." + </p> + <p> + We broke through a brake of brambles to a green space sloping + to the flood. There was the <i>Snail</i>, drawn up, high and + dry, on to the grass, and there was the man, sitting by her + on a stone, solemnly cutting up enough tobacco for a pipe. + </p> + <p> + "Good morning, Mr Gorsuch," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Why, it's young sweethearter," he answered. "Why haven't you + got your nurses with you?" He filled his pipe and lighted it, + watching us with a sort of quizzical interest, but making no + attempt to shake hands. He made me feel that he was glad to + see us; but that nothing would make him show it. "What d'ye + call this thing?" he asked, pointing with his toe to the + <i>Snail</i>. + </p> + <p> + "That's our ship," said Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Is it?" he asked contemptuously. "I thought it was your + mother's pudding-box, with some of baby's bedclothes on it. + That's what I thought it was." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to take a pleasure in seeing Hugh's face fall. Hugh + always took a rough word to heart, and he could never bear to + hear his mother mentioned by a stranger. + </p> + <p> + "It's a good enough ship for us," he answered hotly. + </p> + <p> + "How d'ye know it is?" said the man. "You know nothing at all + about it. What do <i>you</i> know of ships, or what's good + for you? Hey? You don't know nothing of the kind." + </p> + <p> + This rather silenced Hugh; we were both a little abashed, and + so we stood sheepishly for a moment looking on the ground. + </p> + <p> + At last I took Hugh by the arm. "Let's take her somewhere + else," I said softly. I bent down and picked up the ship and + turned to go. + </p> + <p> + The man watched us with a sort of amused contempt. "Where are + you going now?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Down the stream," I called back. + </p> + <p> + "Drop it," he said. "Come back here." + </p> + <p> + I called softly to Hugh to run. "Shan't!" I cried as we + started off together, at our best speed. + </p> + <p> + "Won't you?" he called. "Then I'll make you." He was after us + in a brace of shakes, and had us both by the collar in less + than a dozen yards. "What little tempers we have got," he + said grinning. "Regular little spitfires, both of you. Now + back you come till we have had a talk." + </p> + <p> + I noticed then that he was much better dressed than formerly. + His clothes were of the very finest sea-cloth, and well cut. + The buttons on his scarlet waistcoat were new George guineas; + and the buttons on his coat were of silver, very beautifully + chased. His shoes had big silver buckles on them, and there + was a silver buckle to the flap of his grey slouch hat. The + tattoo marks on his left hand were covered over by broad + silver rings, of the sort the Spanish onion-boys used to sell + in Dartmouth, after the end of the war. He looked extremely + handsome in his fine clothes. I wondered how I could ever + have been afraid of him. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said with a grin, when he saw me eyeing him, "my + ship came home all right. I was able to refit for a full due. + So now we'll see what gifts the Queen sent." + </p> + <p> + We wondered what he meant by this sentence; but we were not + kept long in doubt. He led us through the briars to the ruins + of the shed where the quarry overseer had formerly had his + office. + </p> + <p> + "Come in here," he said, shoving us in front of him, "and see + what the Queen'll give you. Shut your eyes. That's the style. + Now open." + </p> + <p> + When we opened our eyes we could hardly keep from shouting + with pleasure. There, on the ground, kept upright by a couple + of bricks was a three-foot model of a revenue cutter, under + all her sail except the big square foresail, which was neatly + folded upon her yard. She was perfect aloft, even to her + pennant; and on deck she was perfect too, with beautiful + little model guns, all brass, on their carriages, pointing + through the port-holes. + </p> + <p> + "Oh!" we exclaimed. "Oh! Is she really for us, for our very + own?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes," he said. "At least she's for you, Mr + What's-your-name. Jim, I think you call yourself. Yes, Jim. + Well, she's for you, Jim. I got something else the Queen sent + for Mr Preacher-feller." He bent in one corner of the ruin, + and pulled out what seemed to be a stout but broken box. + "This is for you, Mr Preacher-feller," he said to Hugh. + </p> + <p> + We saw that it was a model of a port of a ship's deck and + side. The side was cut for a gun-port, which opened and shut + by means of laniards; and, pointing through the opened port + was a model brass nine-pounder on its carriage, with all its + roping correctly rigged, and its sponges and rammers hooked + up above it ready for use. It was a beautiful piece of work + (indeed, both models were), for the gun was quite eighteen + inches long. "There you are," said Marah Gorsuch. "That lot's + for you, Mr Preacher-feller. Them things is what the Queen + sent." + </p> + <p> + We were so much delighted by these beautiful presents that it + was some minutes before we could find words with which to + thank him. We could not believe that such things were really + for us. He was much pleased to find that his gifts gave so + much pleasure; he kept up a continual grin while we examined + the toys inch by inch. + </p> + <p> + "Like 'em, hey?" he said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes; I should just think we do," we answered. We shook him + by the hand, almost unable to speak from pleasure. + </p> + <p> + "And now let's come down and sail her," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Hold on there," said Marah Gorsuch. "Don't be too quick. You + ain't going to sail that cutter till you know how. You've got + a lot to learn first, so that must wait. It's to be Master + Preacher-feller's turn this morning. Yours'll come by-and-by. + What you got to do, first go off, is to sink that old hulk + you were playing with. We'll sink her at anchor with + Preacher-feller's cannon." + </p> + <p> + He told Hugh to pick up his toy, and to come along down to + the water's edge. When he came near to the water, Marah took + the old <i>Snail</i> and tied a piece of string to her bows + by way of a cable. Then he thrust her well out into the + flood, tied a piece of shale (as an anchor) to the other end + of the string, and flung it out ahead of her, so that she + rode at anchor trimly a few yards from the bank. "Now," he + said, "we'll exercise great guns. Here (he produced a + powder-horn) is the magazine; here (he produced a bag of + bullets) is the shot-locker. Here's a bag of wads. Now, my + sons, down to business. Cast loose your housings, take out + tompions. Now bear a hand, my lads; we'll give your old + galleon a broadside." + </p> + <p> + We watched him as he prepared the gun for firing, eagerly + lending a hand whenever we saw what he wanted. "First of + all," he said, "you must sponge your gun. There's the sponge. + Shove it down the muzzle and give it a screw round. There! + Now tap your sponge against the muzzle to knock the dust off. + There! Now the powder." He took his powder-horn and filled a + little funnel (like the funnels once used by chemists for + filling bottles of cough-mixture) with the powder. This he + poured down the muzzle of the gun. "Now a wad," he said, + taking up a screw of twisted paper. "Ram it home on to the + powder with the rammer. That's the way. Now for the shot. + We'll put in a dozen bullets, and then top with a couple more + wads. There! Now she's loaded. Those bullets will go for + fifty yards with that much powder ahind 'em. Now, all we have + to do is to prime her." He filled the touch-hole with powder, + and poured a few grains along the base or breech of the gun. + "There!" he said. "Only one thing more. That is aim. Here, Mr + Preacher-feller, Hugh, whatever your name is. You're captain + of the gun; you must aim her. Take a squint along the gun + till you get the notch on the muzzle against the target; then + raise your gun's breech till the notch is a little below your + target. Those wooden quoins under the gun will keep it raised + if you pull them out a little." + </p> + <p> + Hugh lay down flat on the grass and moved the gun carefully + till he was sure the aim was correct. "Let's have a match," + he said, "to see which is the best shot." + </p> + <p> + "All right," said Marah. "We will. You have first shot. Are + you ready? All ready? Very well then. Here's the linstock + that you're to fire with." He took up a long stick which had + a slow match twisted round it. He lit the slow match by a + pocket flint and steel after moving his powder away from him. + "Now then," he cried, "are you ready? Stand clear of the + breech. Starboard battery. Fire!" + </p> + <p> + Hugh dropped the lighted match on to the priming. The gun + banged loudly, leaped back and up, and fell over on one side + in spite of its roping as the smoke spurted. At the same + instant there was a lashing noise, like rain, upon the water + as the bullets skimmed along upon the surface. One white + splinter flew from the <i>Snail's</i> stern where a single + bullet struck; the rest flew wide astern of her. + </p> + <p> + "Let your piece cool a moment," said Marah, "then we will + sponge and load again, and then Jim'll try. You were too much + to the right, Mr Hugh. Your shots fell astern." + </p> + <p> + After a minute or two we cleaned the gun thoroughly and + reloaded. + </p> + <p> + "Now," said Marah, "remember one thing. If you was in a ship, + fighting that other ship, you wouldn't want just to blaze + away at her broadside. No. You'd want to hit her so as your + shot would rake all along her decks from the bow aft, or from + the stern forrard. You wait a second, Master Jim, till the + wind gives her bows a skew towards you, or till her stern + swings round more. There she goes. Are you ready? Now, as she + comes round; allow for it. Fire!" + </p> + <p> + Very hurriedly I made my aim, and still more hurriedly did I + give fire. Again came the bang and flash; again the gun + clattered over; but, to my joy, a smacking crack showed that + the shot went home. The shock made the old <i>Snail</i> roll. + A piece of her bow was knocked off. Two or three bullets + ripped through her sail. One bored a groove along her, and + the rest went over her. + </p> + <p> + "Good," said. Marah. "A few more like that and she's all our + own. Now it's my shot. I'll try to knock her rudder away. + Wait till she swings. There she comes! There she comes! Over + a little. Up a little. Now. Fire." He darted his linstock + down upon the priming. The gun roared and upset; the bullets + banged out the <i>Snail's</i> stern, and she filled slowly, + and sank to the level of the water, her mast standing erect + out of the flood, and her whole fabric swaying a little as + the water moved her up and down. + </p> + <p> + After that we fired at the mast till we had knocked it away, + and then we placed our toys in the sheltered fireplace of the + ruin and came away, happy to the bone, talking nineteen to + the dozen. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <h3> + THE OWL'S CRY + </h3> + <p> + For the next month we passed all our afternoons with Marah. + In the mornings the Rector gave us our lessons at Strete; + then we walked home to dinner; then we played with our gun + and cutter, or at the sailing of our home-made boats, till + about six, when we went home for tea. After tea we prepared + our lessons for the next day and went upstairs to bed, where + we talked of smugglers and pirates till we fell asleep. Marah + soon taught us how to sail the cutter; and, what was more, he + taught us how to rig her. For an hour of each fine afternoon + he would give us a lesson in the quarry office, showing us + how to rig model boats, which we made out of old boxes and + packing-cases. In the sunny evenings of April we used to sail + our fleets, ship against ship, upon the great freshwater lake + into which the trout-brook passes on its way to the sea. + Sometimes we would have a fleet of ships of the line anchored + close to the shore, and then we would fire at them with the + gun and with one of Marah's pistols till we had shattered + them to bits and sunk them. Sometimes Marah would tell us + tales of the smugglers and pirates of long ago, especially + about a pirate named Van Horn, who was burned in his ship off + Mugeres Island, near Campeachy, more than a hundred years + back. + </p> + <p> + "His ship was full of gold and silver," said Marah. "You can + see her at a very low tide even now. I've seen her myself. + She is all burnt to a black coal, a great Spanish galleon, + with all her guns in her. I was out fishing in the boat, and + a mate said, 'Look there. There she is!' and I saw her as + plain as plain among all the weeds in the sea. The water's + very clear there, and there she was, with the fishes dubbing + their noses on her. And she's as full of gold as the Bank of + England. The seas'll have washed Van Horn's bones white, and + the bones of his crew too; eaten white by the fish and washed + white, lying there in all that gold under the sea, with the + weeds growing over them. It gives you a turn to think of it, + don't it?" + </p> + <p> + "Why don't they send down divers to get the gold?" asked + Hugh. + </p> + <p> + "Why!" said Marah. "There's many has tried after all that + gold. But some the shacks took and some the Spaniards took, + and then there was storms and fighting. None ever got a + doubloon from her. But somebody'll have a go for it again. I + tried once, long ago. That was an unlucky try, though. Many + poor men died along of that one. They died on the decks," he + added. "It was like old Van Horn cursing us. They died in my + arms, some of 'em. Seven and twenty seamen, and one of them + was my mate, Charlie!" + </p> + <p> + I have wandered away from my story, I'm afraid, remembering + these scraps of the past; but it all comes back to me now, so + clearly that it seems to be happening again. There are Marah + and Hugh, with the sun going down behind the gorse-bank, + across the Lea; and there are the broken ships floating + slowly past, with the perch rising at them; and there is + myself, a very young cub, ignorant of what was about to come + upon me. Perhaps, had I known what was to happen before the + leaves of that spring had fallen, I should have played less + light-heartedly, and given more heed to Mr Evans, the Rector. + </p> + <p> + Now, on one day in each week, generally on Thursdays, we had + rather longer school hours than on the other days. On these + days of extra work Hugh and I had dinner at the Rectory with + Ned Evans, our schoolmate. After dinner we three boys would + wander off together, generally down to Black Pool, where old + Spanish coins (from some forgotten wreck) were sometimes + found in the sand after heavy weather had altered the lie of + the beach. We never found any Spanish coins, but we always + enjoyed our afternoons there. The brook which runs into the + sea there was very good for trout, in the way that Marah + showed us; but we never caught any, for all our pains. In the + summer we meant to bathe from the sands, and all through that + beautiful spring we talked of the dives we would take from + the spring-board running out into the sea. Then we would have + great games of ducks and drakes, with flat pebbles; or games + of pebble-dropping, in which our aim was to drop a stone so + that it should make no splash as it entered the water. But + the best game of all was our game of cliff-exploring among + the cliffs on each side of the bay, and this same game gave + me the adventure of my life. + </p> + <p> + One lovely afternoon towards the end of the May of that year, + when we were grubbing among the cliff-gorse as usual, + wondering how we could get down the cliffs to rob the + sea-birds' nests, we came to a bare patch among the furze; + and there lay a couple of coastguards, looking intently at + something a little further down the slope, and out of sight, + beyond the brow of the cliff. They had ropes with them, and a + few iron spikes, and one of them had his telescope on the + grass beside him. They looked up at us angrily when we broke + through the thicket upon them, and one of them hissed at us + through his teeth: "Get out, you boys. Quick. Cut!" and waved + to us to get away, which we did, a good deal puzzled and + perhaps a little startled. We talked about it on our way + home. Ned Evans said that the men were setting rabbit snares, + and that he had seen the wires. Hugh thought that they might + be after sea-birds' eggs during their hours off duty. Both + excuses seemed plausible, but for my own part I thought + something very different. The men, I felt, were out on some + special service, and on the brink of some discovery. It + seemed to me that when we broke in upon them they were + craning forward to the brow of the cliff, intently listening. + I even thought that from below the brow of the cliff, only a + few feet away, there had come a noise of people talking. I + did not mention my suspicions to Hugh and Ned, because I was + not sure, and they both seemed so sure; but all the way home + I kept thinking that I was right. It flashed on me that + perhaps the night-riders had a cave below the cliff-brow, and + that the coast-guards had discovered the secret. It was very + wrong of me, but my only thought was: "Oh, will they catch + Marah? Will poor Marah be sent to prison?" and the fear that + our friend would be dragged off to gaol kept me silent as We + walked. + </p> + <p> + When we came to the gate which takes you by a short cut to + the valley and the shale quarry, I said that I would go home + that way, while the others went by the road, and that we + would race each other, walking, to see who got home first. + They agreed to this, and set off together at a great rate; + but as soon as they were out of sight behind the hedge I + buckled my satchel to my shoulders and started running to + warn Marah. It was all downhill to the brook, and I knew that + I should find Marah there,—for he had said that he was + coming earlier than usual that afternoon to finish off a + model boat which we were to sail after tea. I ran as I had + never run before—I thought my heart would thump itself + to pieces; but at last I got to the valley and saw Marah + crossing the brook by the causeway. I shouted to him then and + he heard me. I had not breath to call again, so I waved to + him to come and then collapsed, panting, for I had run a good + mile across country. He walked towards me slowly, almost + carelessly; but I saw that he was puzzled by my distress, and + wondered what the matter was. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" he asked. "What's the rally for?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh," I cried, "the coastguards—over at Black Pool." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said carelessly, "what about <i>them?</i>" + </p> + <p> + "They've discovered it," I cried. "The cave under the + cliff-top. They've discovered it." + </p> + <p> + His face did not change; he looked at me rather hard; and + then asked me, quite carelessly, what I had seen. + </p> + <p> + "Two coastguards," I answered. "Two coastguards. In the + furze. They were listening to people somewhere below them." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, still carelessly, "over at Black Pool? I + suppose they recognized you?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, they must have. We three are known all over the place. + And I ran to tell you." + </p> + <p> + "So I see," he said grimly. "You seem to have run like a + tea-ship. Well, you needn't have. There's no cave on this + side Salcombe, except the hole at Tor Cross. What made you + run to tell <i>me?</i>" + </p> + <p> + "Oh," I said, "you've been so kind—so kind, and—I + don't know—I thought they'd send you to prison." + </p> + <p> + "Did you?" he said gruffly. "Did you indeed? Well, they + won't. There was no call for you to fret your little self. + Still, you've done it; I'll remember that—I'll always + remember that. Now you be off to your tea, quick. Cut!" + </p> + <p> + When he gave an order it was always well for us to obey it at + once; if we did not he used to lose his temper. So when he + told me to go I got up and turned away, but slowly, for I was + still out of breath. I looked back before I passed behind the + hedge which marks the beginning of the combe, but Marah had + disappeared—I could see no trace of him. Then suddenly, + from somewhere behind me, out of sight, an owl + called—and this in broad daylight. Three times the + "Too-hoo, too-hoo" rose in a long wail from the shrubs, and + three times another owl answered from up the combe, and from + up the valley, too, till the place seemed full of owls. + "Too-hoo, too-hoo" came the cries, and very faintly came + answers—some of them in strange tones, as though the + criers asked for information. As they sounded, the first owl + answered in sharp, broken cries. But I had had enough. + Breathless as I was, I ran on up the valley to the house, + only hoping that no owl would come swooping down upon me. And + this is what happened. Just as I reached the gate which leads + to the little bridge below the house I saw Joe Barnicoat + galloping towards me on an unsaddled horse of Farmer + Rowser's. He seemed shocked, or upset, at seeing me; but he + kicked the horse in the ribs and galloped on, crying out that + he was having a little ride. His little ride was taking him + at a gallop to the owl, and I was startled to find that quiet + Joe, the mildest gardener in the county, should be one of the + uncanny crew whose signals still hooted along the combes. + </p> + <p> + When I reached home the others jeered at me for a sluggard. + They had been at home for twenty minutes, and had begun tea. + I let them talk as they pleased, and then settled down to + work; but all that night I dreamed of great owls, riding in + the dark with bee-skeps over them, filling the combes with + their hootings. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII + </h2> + <h3> + THE TWO COASTGUARDS + </h3> + <p> + The next morning, when Hugh and I came to Strete for our + lessons, we found a lot of yeomen and preventives drawn up in + the village. People were talking outside their houses in + little excited groups. Jan Edeclog, the grocer, was at the + door of his shop, wiping his hands on his apron. There was a + general rustle and stir, something had evidently happened. + </p> + <p> + "What's all the row about, Mr Edeclog?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Row?" he asked. "Row enough, Master Jim. Two of the + coastguards, who were on duty yesterday afternoon, have + disappeared. It's thought there's been foul play." + </p> + <p> + My heart sank into my boots, my head swam, I could hardly + stand upright. All my thought was: "They have been killed. + And all through my telling Marah. And I'm a murderer." + </p> + <p> + I don't know how I could have got to the Rectory gate, had + not the militia captain come from the tavern at that moment. + He mounted his horse, called out a word of command, and the + men under him moved off towards Slapton at a quick trot. + </p> + <p> + "They have gone to beat the Lay banks," said some one, and + then some one laughed derisively. + </p> + <p> + I walked across to the Rectory and flung my satchel of books + on to the floor. The Rector's wife came into the hall as we + entered. "Why, Jim," she said, "what is the matter? Aren't + you well?" + </p> + <p> + "Not very," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "My dear," she cried to her husband, "Jim's not well. He + looks as though he'd seen a ghost, poor boy." + </p> + <p> + "Why, Jim," said the Rector, coming out of the sitting-room, + "what's the matter with you? Had too much jam for breakfast?" + </p> + <p> + "No," I said. "But I feel faint. I feel sick. Can I go to sit + in the garden for a minute?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he answered. "Certainly. I'll get you a glass of cold + water." + </p> + <p> + I was really too far gone to pay much heed to anything. I + think I told them that I should be quite well in a few + minutes, if they would leave me there; and I think that Mrs + Evans told her husband to come indoors, leaving me to myself. + At any rate they went indoors, and then the cool air, blowing + on me from the sea, refreshed me, so that I stood up. + </p> + <p> + I could think of nothing except the words: "I am a murderer." + A wild wish came to me to run to the cliffs by Black Pool to + see whether the bodies lay on the grass in the place where I + had seen them (full of life) only a few hours before. + Anything was better than that uncertainty. In one moment a + hope would surge up in me that the men would not be dead; but + perhaps only gagged and bound: so that I could free them. In + the next there would be a feeling of despair, that the men + lay there, dead through my fault, killed by Marah's orders, + and flung among the gorse for the crows and gulls. I got out + of the Rectory garden into the road; and in the road I felt + strong enough to run; and then a frenzy took hold of me, so + that I ran like one possessed. It is not very far to Black + Pool; but I think I ran the whole way. I didn't feel out of + breath when I got there, though I had gone at top speed; a + spirit had been in me, such as one only feels at rare times. + Afterwards, when I saw a sea-fight, I saw that just such a + spirit filled the sailors, as they loaded and fired the guns. + </p> + <p> + I pushed my way along the cliffs through the gorse, till I + came to the patch where the coast-guards had lain. The grass + was trampled and broken, beaten flat in places as though + heavy bodies had fallen on it; there were marks of a struggle + all over the patch. Some of the near-by gorse twigs were + broken from their stems; some one had dropped a small hank of + spun-yarn. They had lain there all that night, for the dew + was thick upon them. What puzzled me at first was the fact + that there were marks from only two pairs of boots, both of + the regulation pattern. The men who struggled with the + coastguards must have worn moccasins, or heelless leather + slippers, made out of some soft hide. + </p> + <p> + I felt deeply relieved when I saw no bodies, nor any stain + upon the grass. I began to wonder what the night-riders had + done with the coastguards; and, as I sat wondering, I heard, + really and truly, a noise of the people talking from a little + way below me, just beyond the brow of the cliff. That told me + at once that there was a cave, even as I had suspected. I + craned forward eagerly, as near as I dared creep, to the very + rim of the land. I looked down over the edge into the sea, + and saw the little blue waves creaming into foam far below + me. + </p> + <p> + I could see nothing but the side of the cliff, with its + projecting knobs of rock; no opening of any kind, and yet a + voice from just below me (it seemed to come from below a + little projecting slab a few feet down): a voice just below + me, I say, said, quite clearly, evidently between puffs at a + pipe, "I don't know so much about that." Another voice + answered; but I could not catch the words. The voice I should + have known anywhere; it was Marah's "good-temper voice," as + he called it, making a pleasant answer. + </p> + <p> + "That settles it," I said to myself. "There's a cave, and the + coastguards are there, I'll be bound, as prisoners. Now I + have to find them and set them free." + </p> + <p> + Very cautiously I peered over the cliff-face, examining every + knob and ledge which might conceal (or lead to) an opening in + the rock. No. I could see nothing; the cliff seemed to me to + be almost sheer; and though it was low tide, the rocks at the + base of the cliffs seemed to conceal no opening. I crept + cautiously along the cliff-top, as near to the edge as I + dared, till I was some twenty feet from the spot where I had + heard the voice. Then I looked down again carefully, + searching every handbreadth for a firm foothold or path down + the rocks, with an opening at the end, through which a big + man could squeeze his body. No. There was nothing. No living + human being could get down that cliff-face without a rope + from up above; and even If he managed to get down, there + seemed to be nothing but the sea for him at the end of his + journey. Again I looked carefully right to the foot of the + crag. No. There was absolutely nothing; I was off the track + somehow. + </p> + <p> + Now, just at this point the cliff fell Inland for a few + paces, forming a tiny bay about six yards across. To get + along the cliff towards Strete I had to turn inland for a few + steps, then turn again towards the sea, in order to reach the + cliff. I skirted the little bay in this manner, and dropped + one or two stones into it from where I stood. As I craned + over the edge, watching them fall into the sea, I caught + sight of something far below me, in the water. + </p> + <p> + I caught my breath and looked again, but the thing, whatever + it was, had disappeared from sight. It was something red, + which had gleamed for a moment from behind a rock at the base + of the cliff. I watched eagerly for a moment or two, hearing + the sucking of the sea along the stones, and the cry of the + seagulls' young in their nests on the ledges. Then, very + slowly, as the slack water urged it, I saw the red stem-piece + of a rather large boat nosing slowly forward apparently from + the cliff-face towards the great rock immediately in front of + it. The secret was plain in a moment. Here was a cave with a + sea-entrance, and a cave big enough to hide a large, seagoing + fisher's boat; a cave, too, so perfectly hidden that it could + not possibly be seen from any point except right at the + mouth. A coastguard's boat could row within three yards of + the entrance and never once suspect its being there, unless, + at a very low tide, the sea clucked strangely from somewhere + within. Any men entering the little bay in a boat would see + only the big rock hiding the face of the cliff. No one would + suspect that behind the rock lay a big cave accessible from + the sea, at low tide in fair weather. Even in foul weather, + good boatmen (and all the night-riders were wonderful fellows + in a boat) could have made that cave in safety, for at the + mouth of the little bay there was a great rock, which shut it + in on the southwest side, so that in our bad southwesterly + gales the bay or cove would have been sheltered, though full + of the foam spattered from the sheltering crag. + </p> + <p> + I had found the cave, but my next task was to find an + entrance, and that seemed to be no easy matter. I searched + every inch of the cliff-face for a foothold, but there was + nothing there big enough for anything bigger than a sea-lark. + I could never have clambered down the cliff, even had I the + necessary nerve, which I certainly had not. The only way down + was to shut my eyes and walk over the cliff-edge, and trust + to luck at the bottom, and "that was one beyond + me"—only Marah Gorsuch would have tried that way. No; + there was no way down the cliff-side, that was certain. + </p> + <p> + Now, somebody—I think it was old Alec Jewler, the + ostler at the Tor Cross posting-house—had told me that + here and there along the coast, but most of all in Cornwall, + near Falmouth, there had once been arsenic mines, now long + since worked out. Their shafts, he said, could be followed + here and there for some little distance, and every now and + again they would broaden out into chambers, in which people + sometimes live, even now. It occurred to me that there might + be some such shaft-opening among the gorse quite close to me; + so I crept away from the cliff-brink, and began to search + among the furze, till my skin was full of prickles. Though I + searched diligently for an hour or two, I could find no hole + big enough to be the mouth of a shaft. I knew that a shaft of + the kind might open a hundred yards from where I was + searching, and I was therefore well prepared to spend some + time in my hunt. And at last, when I was almost tired of + looking, I came across a fox or badger earth, not very + recent, which seemed, though I could not be certain, to + broaden out inside. I lay down and thrust my head down the + hole, and that confirmed me. From up the hole there came the + reek of strong ship's tobacco. I had stumbled upon one of the + cave's air-holes. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII + </h2> + <h3> + THE CAVE IN THE CLIFF + </h3> + <p> + My heart was thumping on my ribs as I thrust and wriggled my + body down the hole. I did not think how I was to get back + again; it never once occurred to me that I might stick in the + burrow, and die stifled there, like a rat in a trap. My one + thought was, "I shall save the coastguards," and that thought + nerved me to push on, careless of everything else. It was not + at all easy at first, for the earth fell in my ears from the + burrow-roof, and there was very little room for my body. + Presently, as I had expected, the burrow broadened + out—I could kneel erect in it quite easily; and then I + found that I could stand up without bumping my head. I was + not frightened, I was only very excited; for, now that I + stood in the shaft, the reek of the tobacco was very strong. + I could see hardly anything—only the light from the + burrow-mouth, lighting up the sides of the burrow for a yard + or two, and a sort of gleam, a sort of shining wetness, upon + the floor of the shaft and on its outer wall. I heard the + wash of the sea, or thought I heard it, and that was the only + noise, except a steady drip, drip, splash where water dripped + from the roof into a pool on the floor. For a moment I stood + still, not certain which way to go. Then I settled to myself + the direction from which I had heard the voices, and turned + along the shaft on that side. + </p> + <p> + When I had walked a few yards my nerve began to go; for the + gleam on the walls faded, the last glimmer of light went out. + I was walking along an unknown path in pitchy darkness, + hearing only the drip, drip, splash of the water slowly + falling from the roof. Suddenly I ran against a sort of + breastwork of mortared stones, and the shock almost made me + faint. I stretched my hand out beyond it, but could feel + nothing, and then downward on the far side, but could feel + nothing; and then I knocked away a scrap of stone from the + top of the wall, and it seemed to fall for several seconds + before a faint splash told me that it had reached water. The + shaft seemed to turn to the right and left at this low wall, + and at first I turned to the left, but only for a moment, as + I soon saw that the right-hand turning would bring me more + quickly to the cliff-face from which I had heard the voices. + After I had made my choice, you may be sure that I went on + hands and knees, feeling the ground in front of me. I went + forward very, very slowly, with the wet mud coming through my + knickerbockers, and the cold drops sometimes falling on my + neck from the roof. At last I saw a little glimmer of light, + and there was a turning to the left; and just beyond the + turning there was a chamber in the rock, all lit up by the + sun, as clear as clear. There were holes in the cliff-face, + one of them a great big hole, and the sun shone through on to + the floor of the cave, and I could look out and see the sea, + and the seagulls going past after fish, and the clouds + drifting up by the horizon. Very cautiously I crept up to the + entrance to the chamber, and then into it, so that I could + look all round it. + </p> + <p> + It was not a very large room (I suppose it was fifteen feet + square) and it looked rather smaller than it was, because it + was heaped almost to the roof in one or two places with boxes + and kegs, and the various sea-stores, such as new rope and + spare anchors. In one corner of it (in the corner at which I + entered it) a flight of worn stone steps led downwards into + the bowels of the earth. "Aha!" I thought; "so that's how you + reach your harbour!" Then I crept up to one of the piles of + boxes and cautiously peeped over. + </p> + <p> + I looked over cautiously, for as I entered the room I had the + eerie feeling which one gets sometimes at night; I felt that + there was somebody else in the room. Sure enough there was + somebody else—two somebodies—and my heart leaped + up in joy to see them. Sitting on the ground, tied by the + body to some of the boxes over which I peered, were the two + missing coastguards. Their backs were towards me, and their + hands and feet were securely bound; but they were unhurt, + that was the great thing. One of them was quietly smoking, + filling the cave with strong tobacco smoke; the other was + asleep, breathing rather heavily. It was evidently a pleasant + holiday for the pair of them. No other person was in the + room, but I saw that on the far side of the chamber another + gallery led on into the cliff to another chamber, and from + this chamber came the sound of many voices talking (in a dull + quiet way), and the slow droning of the song of a drunken + man. I shut my eyes, and lay across the boxes as still as a + dead man, trying to summon up enough courage to speak to the + coastguard; and all the time the drunkard's song quavered and + shook, and died down, and dragged on again, as though it + would never end. Afterwards I often heard that song, in all + its thirty stanzas; and I have only to repeat a line of it to + bring back to myself the scene of the sunny cave, with the + bound coastguard smoking, and the smugglers talking and + talking just a few paces out of sight. + </p> + <p> + <br> + "And the gale it roar-ed dismally<br> + As we went to New Barbary," + </p> + <p> + said the singer; and then some one asked a question, and some + one struck a light for his pipe, and the singer droned on and + on about the bold Captain Glen, and the ship which met with + such disaster. + </p> + <p> + At last I summoned up enough courage to speak. I crawled over + the boxes as far as I could, and touched the coastguard. + "Sh!" I said, in a low voice, "Don't make a sound. I've come + to rescue you." + </p> + <p> + The man stared violently (I dare say his nerves were in a bad + way after his night in the cave), he dropped his pipe with a + little clatter on the stones, and turned to stare at me. + </p> + <p> + "Sh!" I said again. "Don't speak. Don't make a sound." + </p> + <p> + I crept round the boxes to him, and opened my knife. It was a + strong knife, with very sharp blades (Marah used to whet them + for me), so that it did not take me long to cut through the + "inch-and-a-half-rope," which lashed the poor fellow to the + boxes. + </p> + <p> + "Thankee, master," the man said, as he rose to his feet and + stretched himself. "I was getting stiff. Now, let's get out + of here. D'ye know the way out?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "I think I do. Oh, don't make a noise; but + come this way. This way." + </p> + <p> + Very quietly we stole out by the gallery by which I had + entered. We made no attempt to rouse the sleeping man; he + slept too heavily, and we could not afford to run risks. I + don't know what the coastguard's feelings were. As for + myself, I was pretty nearly fainting with excitement. I could + hear my heart go thump, thump, thump; it seemed to be right + up in my very throat. As we stepped into the gloom of the + gallery, the smugglers behind us burst into the chorus at the + end of the song— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "O never more do I intend<br> + For to cross the raging main<br> + But to live at home most cheerfull-ee,<br> + And thus I end my traged-ee." + </p> + <p> + I felt that if I could get away from that adventure I, too, + would live at home most cheerfully until the day of my death. + We took advantage of the uproar to step quickly into the + darkness of the passage. + </p> + <p> + Just before we came to the low stone breastwork which had + given me such a shock a few minutes before, we heard some one + whistling a bar of a tune. The tune was the tune of— + </p> + <p> + <br> + "Oh, my true love's listed, and wears a white + cockade." + </p> + <p> + And to our horror the whistler was coming quickly towards us. + In another second we saw him stepping along the gallery, + swinging a lantern. He was a big, strong man, evidently + familiar with the way. + </p> + <p> + "Back," said the coastguard in a gasp. "Get back, for your + life, and down that staircase." + </p> + <p> + The man didn't see us; didn't even hear us. He stopped at the + stone breastwork, opened his lantern, and lit his pipe at the + candle, and then stepped on leisurely towards the chamber. + Our right course would have been "to go for him," knock him + down, knock the breath out of him, lash his wrists and ankles + together, and bolt for the entrance. But the coastguard was + rather upset by his adventure, and he let the minute pass by. + Had he rushed at the man as soon as he appeared; but, + there—it is no use talking. We didn't rush at him, we + scuttled back into the chamber, and then down the worn stone + steps cut out of the rock, which seemed to lead down and down + into the bowels of the earth. As we hurried down, leaping + lightly on the tips of our toes, the quaver of the tune came + after us, so clearly that I even made a guess at the + whistler's identity. + </p> + <p> + When we had run down the staircase about half-way down to + sea-level we found ourselves in a cave as big as the church + at Dartmouth. It was fairly light, for the entrance was + large, though low, and at low water (as it was then) the roof + of the cave mouth stood six feet from the sea. The sea ran up + into the cave in a deep triangular channel, with a + landing-place (a natural ledge of rock) on each of the sides, + and the sea entrance at the base. The sea made a sort of + clucking noise about the rocks; and at the right inland it + washed upon a cave-floor of pebbles, which clattered slightly + as the swell moved them. The roof dripped a little, and there + were little pools on both the landings, and the whole place + had a queer, dim, green, uncanny light upon it; due, I + suppose, to the deep water of the channel. I saw all these + things afterwards, at leisure; I did not notice them very + clearly in that first moment. All that I saw then was a large + sea-lugger, lying moored at the cavemouth, some few feet + lower down. She was a beautiful model of a boat (I had seen + that much in seeing her bow from the top of the cliff), but + of course her three masts were unstepped, and she was rather + a handful for a man and a boy. We saw her, and made a leap + for her together, and both of us landed in her bows at the + same instant, just as the man with the lantern, peering down + from the top of the stairs, asked us what in the world we + were playing at down there. + </p> + <p> + The coastguard made no answer, for he was busy in the bows; I + think he had his knife through the painter in five seconds. + Then he snatched up a boat-hook (I took an oar), and we drove + her with all our strength along the channel into (or, I + should say, towards) the open sea and freedom. + </p> + <p> + "Hey," cried the man with the lantern, "chuck that! Are you + mad?" He took a step or two down the staircase, in order to + see better. + </p> + <p> + "Drive her, oh, drive her, boy!" cried the coastguard. + </p> + <p> + I thrust with all my force, the coastguard gave a mighty + heave, the lugger slid slowly seawards. + </p> + <p> + "Hey!" yelled the smuggler, clattering upstairs, dropping his + lantern down on us. "Hey, Marah, Jewler, Smokewell, + Hankin—all of you! They've got away in the boat." + </p> + <p> + "Now the play begins," said the coastguard. "Another heave, + and another—together now!" + </p> + <p> + We drove the lugger forward again, so that half her length + thrust out into the sea. We ran aft to give her a final + thrust out, and just at that moment her bow struck upon the + rock at the cave mouth: in the excitement of the moment we + had not realised that one of us was wanted in the bows to + shove her nose clean into the sea. The blow threw us both + upon our hands and knees in the stern sheets; it took us + half-a-dozen seconds to pick ourselves up, and then I + realised that I should have to jump forward and guide the + boat clear of all outlying dangers. As I sprang to the bows + there came yells from the top of the stairs, where I saw + half-a-dozen smugglers coming full tilt towards us. + </p> + <p> + Some one cried out, "Drop it, drop it, you fool!" Another + voice cried, "Fire!" and two or three shots cracked out, + making a noise like a cannonade. The coastguard gave a last + desperate heave, I shoved the bows clear, and lo! we were + actually gliding out. The coastguard's body was outside the + cliff in full sunlight, giving a final thrust from the cliff + wall. And then I saw Marah leap into the stern sheets as they + passed out of the cave; he gave a little thrust to the + coastguard, just a gentle thrust—enough to make him + lose his balance and topple over. + </p> + <p> + "That's enough now," he said, with a grim glance at me. + "That's enough for one time." + </p> + <p> + He picked up the coastguard's boat-hook (the man just grinned + and looked sheepish; he made no attempt to fight with Marah) + and thrust the boat back into the cave with half-a-dozen deft + strokes. Another smuggler dropped down into the stern sheets, + looked at the coastguard with a grin, and helped to work the + lugger back into the cave. A third man threw down a sternfast + to secure her; a fourth jumped into the bow and began to put + a long splice into the painter which we had cut. We had tried + and we had failed; here we were prisoners again, and I felt + sick at heart lest those rough smugglers should teach us a + lesson for our daring. But Marah just told the coastguard to + jump out. + </p> + <p> + "Out you get," he said, "and don't try that again." + </p> + <p> + "I won't," said the coastguard. + </p> + <p> + "You'd better not," said another smuggler. That was all. + </p> + <p> + We were helped out of the lugger on to the ledge above the + channel, and the smugglers walked behind us up the stairs to + the room we had just left. The other coastguard was still + snoring, and that seemed strange to me, for the last few + minutes had seemed like hours. + </p> + <p> + "Better bring him inside, boss," said one of the smugglers. + "He may try the same game." + </p> + <p> + "He's got no young sprig to cut his lashings," said Marah. + "He'll be well enough." So they left the man to his quiet and + passed on with their other prisoners into the inner room. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX + </h2> + <h3> + SIGNING ON + </h3> + <p> + The inner room was much larger than the prison chamber; it + was not littered with boxes, but clean and open like a + frigate's lower deck. It was not, perhaps, quite so light as + the other room, but there were great holes in the cliff + hidden by bushes from the view of passing fishermen, and the + sun streamed through these on to the floor, leaving only the + ends of the room in shadow. The room had been arranged like + the mess-deck of a war-ship; there were sea-chests and bags + ranged trimly round the inner wall; there was a trestle table + littered with tin pannikins and plates. The roof was + supported by a line of wooden stanchions. There were arm + racks round the stanchions, containing muskets, cutlasses, + and long, double-barrelled pistols. As I expected, there were + several bee-skeps hanging from nails, or lying on the floor. + I was in the smugglers' roost, perhaps in the presence of + Captain Sharp himself. + </p> + <p> + The drunken smuggler who had sung of Captain Glen was the + only occupant of the room when we entered: he sat half asleep + in his chest, still clutching his pannikin, still muttering + about the boatswain. He was an Italian by birth, so Marah + told me. He was known as Gateo. When he was sober he was a + good seaman, but when he was drunk he would do nothing but + sing of Captain Glen until he dropped off to sleep. He had + served in the Navy, Marah told me, and had once been a + boatswain's mate in the <i>Victory</i>; but he had deserted, + and now he was a smuggler living in a hole in the earth. + </p> + <p> + "And now," said Marah, after he had told me all this, "you + and me will have to talk. Step into the other room there, you + boys," he cried to the other smugglers: "I want to have a + word with master here." + </p> + <p> + One of the men—he was the big man who had raised the + alarm on us; I never knew his real name, everybody always + called him Extry—said glumly that he "wasn't going to + oblige boys, not for dollars." + </p> + <p> + Marah turned upon him, and the two men faced each other; the + others stood expectantly, eager for a fight. "Step into the + other room there," repeated Marah quietly. + </p> + <p> + "I ain't no pup nor no nigger-man," said Extry. "You ain't + going to order me." + </p> + <p> + Marah seemed to shrink into himself and to begin to sparkle + all over—I can't describe it: that is the effect he + produced—he seemed to settle down like a cat going to + spring. Extry's hand travelled round for his sheath-knife, + and yet it moved indecisively, as though half afraid. And + then, just as I felt that Extry would die from being looked + at in that way, he hung his head, turned to the door, and + walked out sheepishly according to order. He was beaten. + </p> + <p> + "No listening now," said Marah, as they filed out. "Keep on + your own side of the fence." + </p> + <p> + "Shall we take Gatty with us?" said one of the men. + </p> + <p> + "Let him lie," said Marah; "he's hove down for a full due, + Gatty is." + </p> + <p> + The men disappeared with their prisoner. Marah looked after + them for a moment. "Now," he said, "come on over here to the + table, Master Jim." He watched me with a strange grin upon + his face; I knew that grin; it was the look his face always + bore when he was worried. "Now we will come to business. Lie + back against the hammocks and rest; I'm going to talk to you + like a father." + </p> + <p> + I lay back upon the lashed-up hammocks and he began. + </p> + <p> + "I suppose you know what you've done? You've just about + busted yourself. D'ye know that? You thought you'd rescue the + pugs"—he meant coastguards. "Well, you haven't. You + have gone and shoved your head down a wasp's nest, so you'll + find. How did you get here, in the first place? What gave you + your clue?" + </p> + <p> + "I saw the coastguards up above here yesterday," I answered, + "and I thought I heard voices speaking from below the brow of + the cliff, so then I searched about till I found a hole, and + so I got down here." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said Marah, "they will be round here looking for you, + then. I'll take the liberty of hiding your tracks." He went + in to the other room and spoke a few words to one of the + other smugglers. "Well," he said, as he came back to me, + "they'll not find you now, if they search from now till + glory. They'll think you fell into the sea." + </p> + <p> + "But," I exclaimed, "I must go home! Surely I can go home + now? They'll be so anxious." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah, "they'll be anxious. But look you here, my + son; folk who acts hasty, as you've done, they often make + other people anxious—often enough. Very anxious indeed, + some of 'em. That's what you have done by coming nosing + around here. Now here you are, our prisoner—Captain + Sharp's prisoner—and here you must stay." + </p> + <p> + "But, I <i>must</i> go home," I cried, the tears coming to my + eyes. "I <i>must</i> go home." + </p> + <p> + "Well, you just can't," he answered kindly. "Think it over a + minute. You've come here," he went on, "nosing round like a + spy; you've found out our secret. You might let as many as + fifty men in for the gallows—fifty men to be hanged, + d'ye understand; or to be transported, or sent to a hulk, or + drafted into a man-o'-war. I don't say you would, for I + believe you have sense: still, you're only a boy, and they + might get at you in all sorts of ways. Cunning lawyers might. + And then you give us away and where would <i>we</i> be? Eh, + boy? Where would we be? Suppose you gave us away, meaning no + harm, not really knowing what you done. Well, I ask you, + where would <i>we</i> be?" + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn't give you away," I said hotly. "You know I + wouldn't. I never gave you away about the hut in the woods." + </p> + <p> + "No," he said, "you never; but this time there's men's necks + concerned. I can't help myself—Captain Sharp's, orders. + I couldn't let you go if I wanted to; the hands wouldn't let + me. It'd be putting so many ropes round their necks." By this + time I was crying. "Don't cry, young 'un," he said; "it won't + be so bad. But you see yourself what you've done now, don't + you?" + </p> + <p> + He walked away from me a turn or two to let me have my cry + out. When my sobs ceased, he came back and sat close to me, + waiting for me to speak. + </p> + <p> + "What will you do to me?" I asked him. + </p> + <p> + "Why," he answered, "there's only one thing <i>to</i> be + done; either you've got to become one of us, so as if you + give us away you'll be in the same boat—I don't say you + need be one of us for long; only a trip or two—or, + you'll have to walk through the window there, and that's a + long fall and a mighty wet splash at the bottom." + </p> + <p> + I thought of Mims waiting at home for me, and of the jolly + tea-table, with Hoolie begging for toast and Hugh's face bent + over his plate. The thought that I should never see them + again set me crying passionately—I cried as if my heart + would break. + </p> + <p> + "Why—come, come," said Marah; "I thought you were a + sailor. Take a brace, boy. We're not going to kill you. + You'll make a trip or two. What's that? Why it's only a + matter of a week or two, and it'll make a man of you. A very + jolly holiday. I'll be able to make a man of you just as I + said I would. You'll see life and you'll see the sea, and + then you'll come home and forget all about us. But go home + you'll not, understand that, till we got a hold on you the + same as you on us." + </p> + <p> + There was something in his voice which gave me the fury of + despair. I sprang to my feet, almost beside myself. "Very + well, then," I cried. "You can drown me. I'm not going to be + one of you. And if I ever get away I'll see you all hanged, + every one of you—you first." + </p> + <p> + I couldn't say more, for I burst out crying again. + </p> + <p> + Marah sat still, watching me. "Well, well," he said, "I + always thought you had spirit. Still, no sense in drowning + you, no sense at all." + </p> + <p> + He walked to the door and called out to some of the + smugglers, "Here, Extry, Hankin, you fellows, just come in + here, I want you a moment." + </p> + <p> + The men came in quickly, and ranged themselves about the + room, grinning cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + "'Low me to introduce you," said Marah. "Our new apprentice, + Mr Jim Davis." + </p> + <p> + The men bowed to me sheepishly. + </p> + <p> + "Glad to meet Mr Davis," said one of them. + </p> + <p> + "Quite a pleasure," said another. + </p> + <p> + "I s'pose you just volunteered, Mr Jim?" said the third. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah; "he just volunteered. I want you to + witness his name on the articles." He produced a sheet of + paper which was scrawled all over with names. "Now, Mr Jim," + he said, "your name, please. There's ink and pen in the chest + here." + </p> + <p> + "What d'ye want my name for?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Signing on," he said, winking at me. It's only a game." + </p> + <p> + "I won't set my name to the paper." I cried. "I'll have + nothing to do with you. I'd sooner die—far sooner." + </p> + <p> + "That's a pity," said Marah, taking up the pen. "Well, if you + won't, you won't." + </p> + <p> + He bent over the chest and wrote "Jim Davis" in a round, + unformed, boyish hand, not unlike my own. + </p> + <p> + "Now, boys," he said, "you have seen the signature. Witness + it, please." + </p> + <p> + The men witnessed the signature and made their clumsy + crosses; none of them could write. + </p> + <p> + "You see?" asked Marah. "We were bound to get you, Jim. + You've signed our articles." "I've done nothing of the kind," + I said. "Oh! but you have," he said calmly. "Here's your + witnessed signature. You're one of us now." + </p> + <p> + "It's a forgery!" I cried. + </p> + <p> + "Forgery?" he said in pretended amazement. "But here are + witnesses to swear to it. Now don't take on, son"—he + saw that I was on the point of breaking down again at seeing + myself thus trapped. "You can't get away. You're ours. Make + the best of a bad job. We will tell your friends you are + safe. They'll know within an hour that you will not be home + till the end of June. After that you will be enough one of us + to keep your tongue shut for your own sake. I'm sorry you + don't like it. Well, 'The sooner the quicker' is a good + proverb. The sooner you dry your tears, the quicker we can + begin to work together. Here, Smokewell, get dinner along; + it's pretty near two o'clock. Now, Jim, my son, I'll just + send a note to your people." He sat down on a chest and began + to write. "No," he added; "<i>you</i> had better write. Say + this: 'I am safe. I shall be back in three weeks' time. Say I + have gone to stay in Somersetshire with Captain Sharp. Do not + worry about me. Do not look for me. I am safe.' There; that's + enough. Give it here. Hankin, deliver this letter at once to + Mrs Cottier, at the Snail's Castle. Don't show your beautiful + face to more'n you can help. Be off." + </p> + <p> + Hankin took the letter and shambled out of the cave. Long + afterwards I heard that he shot it through the dining-room + window on a dart of hazelwood while my aunt and Mrs Cottier + were at lunch. That was the last letter I wrote for many a + long day. That was my farewell to boyhood, that letter. + </p> + <p> + After a time Smokewell brought in dinner, and we all fell-to + at the table. For my own part, I was too sick at heart to eat + much, though the food was good enough. There was a cold fowl, + a ham, and a great apple-pasty. + </p> + <p> + After dinner, the men cut up tobacco, and played cards, and + smoked, and threw dice; but Marah made them do this in the + outer room. He was very kind to me in my wretchedness. He + slung one of the hammocks for me, and made me turn in for a + sleep. After a time I cried myself into a sort of uneasy + doze. I woke up from time to time, and whenever I woke up I + would see Marah smoking, with his face turned to the window, + watching the sea. Then I would hear the flicker of the cards + in the next room, and the voices of the players. "You go + that? Do you? Well, and I'll raise you." And then I would + hear the money being paid to the winners, and wonder where I + was, and so doze off again into all manner of dreams. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER X + </h2> + <h3> + ABOARD THE LUGGER + </h3> + <p> + When I woke up, it was still bright day, but the sun was off + the cliffs, and the caves seemed dark and uncanny. + </p> + <p> + "Well," said Marah, "have you had a good sleep?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, full of wretchedness; "I must have slept for + hours." + </p> + <p> + "You'll need a good sleep," said Marah, "for it's likely + you'll have none to-night. We night-riders, the like of you + and me, why, we know what the owls do, don't we? We sleep + like cats in the daytime. They'll be getting supper along in + about half-an-hour. What d'you say to a wash and that down in + the sea—a plunge in the cove and then out and dry + yourself? Why, it'd be half your life. Do you all the good in + the world. Can't offer you fresh water; there's next to none + down below here. But you come down and have a dip in the + salt." + </p> + <p> + He led the way into the next room, and down the stairs to the + water. The tide was pretty full, so that I could dive off one + ledge and climb out by the ledge at the other side. So I + dived in and then climbed back, and dried myself with a piece + of an old sail, feeling wonderfully refreshed. Then we went + upstairs to the cave again, and supped off the remains of the + dinner; and then the men sat about the table talking, telling + each other stories of the sea. It was dusk before we finished + supper, and the caves were dark, but no lights were allowed. + The smugglers always went into the passages to light their + pipes. I don't know how they managed in the winter: probably + they lived in the passages, where a fire could not be seen + from the sea. In summer they could manage very well. + </p> + <p> + Towards sunset the sky clouded over, and it began to rain. I + sat at the cave window, listlessly looking out upon it, + feeling very sick at heart. The talk of the smugglers rang in + my ears in little snatches. + </p> + <p> + "So I said, 'You're a liar. There's no man alive ever came + away, not ever. They were all drowned, every man Jack.' + That's what I said." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said another; "so they was. I saw the wreck myself. + The lower masts was standing." + </p> + <p> + I didn't understand half of what they said; but it all seemed + to be full of terrible meaning, like the words heard in + dreams. Marah was very kind in his rough sailor's way, but I + was homesick, achingly homesick, and his jokes only made me + more wretched than I was. At last he told me to turn in again + and get some sleep, and, after I had tucked myself up, the + men were quieter. I slept in a dazed, light-headed fashion + (as I had slept in the afternoon) till some time early in the + morning (at about one o'clock), when a hand shook my hammock, + and Marah's voice bade me rise. + </p> + <p> + It was dark in the cave, almost pitch-dark. Marah took my arm + and led me downstairs to the lower cave, where one or two + battle-lanterns made it somewhat lighter. There were nearly + twenty men gathered together in the cave, and I could see + that the lugger had been half filled with stores, all + securely stowed, ready for the sea. A little, + brightly-dressed mannikin, in a white, caped overcoat, was + directing matters, talking sometimes in English, sometimes in + French, but always with a refined accent and in picked + phrases. He was clean shaven, as far as I could see, and his + eyes glittered in the lantern-light. The English smugglers + addressed him as Captain Sharp, but I learnt afterwards that + "Captain Sharp" was the name by which all their officers were + known, and that there were at least twenty other Captain + Sharps scattered along the coast. At the time, I thought that + this man was the supreme head, the man who had sent Mrs + Cottier her present, the man who had spoken to me that night + of the snow-storm. + </p> + <p> + "Here, Marah," he said, when he saw that I was taking too + much notice of him, "stow that lad away in the bows; he will + be recognising me by-and-by." + </p> + <p> + "Come on, Jim," said Marah; "jump into the boat, my son." + </p> + <p> + "But where are we going?" I asked, dismayed. + </p> + <p> + "Going?" he answered. "Going? Going to make a man of you. + Going to France, my son," + </p> + <p> + I hung back, frightened and wretched. He swung me lightly off + the ledge into the lugger's bows. + </p> + <p> + "Now, come," he said; "you're not going to cry. I'm going to + make a man of you. Here, you must put on this suit of + wrap-rascal, and these here knee-boots, or you'll be cold to + the bone,'specially if you're sick. Put 'em on, son, before + we sail." He didn't give me time to think or to refuse, but + forced the clothes upon me; they were a world too big. + "There," he said; "now you're quite the sailor." He gave a + hail to the little dapper man above him. "We're all ready, + Captain Sharp," he cried, "so soon as you like." + </p> + <p> + "Right," said the Captain. "You know what you got to do. + Shove off, boys!" + </p> + <p> + A dozen more smugglers leaped down upon the lugger; the + gaskets were cast off the sails, a few ropes were flung + clear. I saw one or two men coiling away the lines which had + lashed us to the rocks. The dapper man waved his hands and + skipped up the staircase. + </p> + <p> + "Good-bye, Jim," said some one. "So long—so long," + cried the smugglers to their friends. Half-a-dozen strong + hands walked along the ledge with the sternfast, helping to + drag us from the cave. "Quietly now," said Marah, as the + lugger moved out into the night. "Heave, oh, heave," said the + seamen, as they thrust her forward to the sea. The sea air + beat freshly upon me, a drop or two of rain fell, wetting my + skin, the water talked under the keel and along the + cliff-edge—we were out of the cave, we were at sea; the + cave and the cliff were a few yards from us, we were moving + out into the unknown. + </p> + <p> + "Aft with the boy, out of the way," said some one; a hand led + me aft to the stern sheets, and there was Marah at the + tiller. "Get sail on her," he said in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + The men ran to the yards and masts, the masts were stepped + and the yards hoisted quietly. There was a little rattle of + sheets and blocks, the sails slatted once or twice. Then the + lugger passed from the last shelter of the cliff; the wind + caught us, and made us heel a little; the men went to the + weather side; the noise of talking water deepened. Soon the + water creamed into brightness as we drove through it. They + set the little main topsail—luggers were never very + strictly rigged in those days. + </p> + <p> + "There's the Start Light, Jim," said Marah. "Bid it good-bye. + You'll see it no more for a week." + </p> + <p> + They were very quiet in the lugger; no one spoke, except when + the steersman was relieved, or when the master wished + something done among the rigging. The men settled down on the + weather side with their pipes and quids, and all through the + short summer night we lay there, huddled half asleep + together, running to the south like a stag. At dawn the wind + breezed up, and the lugger leaped and bounded till I felt + giddy; but they shortened no sail, only let her drive and + stagger, wasting no ounce of the fair wind. The sun came up, + the waves sparkled, and the lugger drove on for France, + lashing the sea into foam and lying along on her side. I + didn't take much notice of things for I felt giddy and + stunned; but the change in my circumstances had been so + great—the life in the lugger was so new and strange to + me—that I really did not feel keen sorrow for being + away from my friends. I just felt stunned and crushed. + </p> + <p> + Marah was at the taffrail looking out over the water with one + hand on the rail. He grinned at me whenever the sprays rose + up and crashed down upon us. "Ha," he would say, "there she + sprays; that beats your shower-baths," and he would laugh to + see me duck whenever a very heavy spray flung itself into the + boat. We were tearing along at a great pace and there were + two men at the tiller: Marah was driving his boat in order to + "make a passage." We leaped and shook, and lay down and + rushed, like a thing possessed; our sails were dark with the + spray; nearly every man on board was wet through. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by Marah called me to him and took me by the scruff of + the neck with one hand. "See here," he said, putting his + mouth against my ear; "look just as though nothing was + happening. You see that old Gateo at the lee tiller? Well, + watch him for a moment. Now look beyond his red cap at the + sea. What's that? Your eyes are younger—I use tobacco + too much to have good eyes. What's that on the sea there?" + </p> + <p> + I looked hard whenever the lugger rose up in a swell. "It's a + sail," I said, in a low voice; "a small sail. A cutter by the + look of her." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, "she's a cutter. Now turn to windward. What + d'ye make of that?" + </p> + <p> + He jerked himself around to stare to windward and ahead of + us. Very far away, I could not say how far, I saw, or thought + I saw, several ships; but the sprays drove into my face and + the wind blew the tears out of my eyes. "Ships," I answered + him. "A lot of ships—a whole convoy of ships." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," he answered, "that's no convoy. That's the fleet + blockading Brest, my son. That cutter's a revenue cruiser, + and she's new from home; her bottom's clean, otherwise we'd + dropped her. She's going to head us off into the fleet, and + then there will be James M'Kenna." + </p> + <p> + "Who was he?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Who? James M'Kenna?" he answered lightly. "He stole the + admiral's pig. He was hanged at the yardarm until he was + dead. You thank your stars we have not got far to go. There's + France fair to leeward; but that cutter's between us and + there, so we shall have a close call to get home. P'raps we + shall not <i>get</i> home—it depends, my son." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI + </h2> + <h3> + THE FRIGATE "LAOCOON" + </h3> + <p> + By this time the other smugglers had become alarmed. The + longboat gun, which worked on a slide abaft all, was cleared, + and the two little cohorns, or hand-swivel guns, which + pointed over the sides, were trained and loaded. A man + swarmed up the mainmast to look around. "The cutter's bearing + up to close," he called out. "I see she's the Salcombe boat." + </p> + <p> + "That shows they have information," said Marah grimly, + "otherwise they'd not be looking for us here. Some one had + been talking to his wife." He hailed the masthead again. + "Have the frigates seen us yet?" + </p> + <p> + For answer, the man took a hurried glance to windward, turned + visibly white to the lips, and slid down a rope to the deck. + "Bearing down fast, under stunsails," he reported. "The + cutter's signalled them with her topsail. There's three + frigates coming down," he added. + </p> + <p> + "Right," said Marah. "I'll go up and see for myself." + </p> + <p> + He went up, and came down again looking very ugly. He + evidently thought that he was in a hole. "As she goes," he + called to the helmsman, "get all you can on the sheets, boys. + Now Jim, you're up a tree; you're within an hour of being + pressed into the Navy. How'd ye like to be a ship's boy, hey, + and get tickled up by a bo'sun's rope-end?" + </p> + <p> + "I shouldn't like it at all," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "You'll like it a jolly sight less than that," said he, "and + it's what you'll probably be. We're ten miles from home. The + cutter's in the road. The frigates will be on us in + half-an-hour. It will be a mighty close call, my son; we + shall have to fight to get clear." + </p> + <p> + At that instant of time something went overhead with a + curious whanging whine. + </p> + <p> + "That's a three-pound ball," said Marah, pointing to a spurt + upon a wave. "The cutter wants us to stop and have breakfast + with 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Whang," went another shot, flying far overhead. "Fire away," + said Marah. "You're more than a mile away; you will not hit + us at that range." + </p> + <p> + He shifted his course a little, edging more towards the + shore, so as to cut transversely across the cutter's bows. We + ran for twenty minutes in the course of the frigates; by that + time the cutter was within half a mile and the frigates + within three miles of us. All the cutter's guns were + peppering at us; a shot or two went through our sails, one + shot knocked a splinter from our fiferail. + </p> + <p> + "They shoot a treat, don't they?" said Marah. "Another minute + and they will be knocking away a spar." + </p> + <p> + Just as he spoke, there came another shot from the cutter; + something aloft went "crack"; a rope unreeved from its pulley + and rattled on to the deck; the mizen came down in a heap: + the halliards had been cut clean through. The men leaped to + repair the damage; it took but a minute or two, but we had + lost way; the next shot took us square amidships and tore off + a yard of our lee side. + </p> + <p> + "We must give them one in return," he said. "Aft to the gun, + boys." + </p> + <p> + The men trained the long gun on the cutter. "Oh, Marah," I + said, "don't fire on Englishmen." + </p> + <p> + "Who began the firing?" he answered. "I'm going to knock away + some of their sails. Stand clear of the breech," he shouted, + as he pulled the trigger-spring. The gun roared and recoiled; + a hole appeared as if by magic in the swelling square + foresail of the cutter. "Load with bar-shot and chain," said + Marah. "Another like that and we shall rip the whole sail + off. Mind your eye. There goes her gun again." + </p> + <p> + This time the shot struck the sea beside us, sending a spout + of water over our rail. Again Marah pulled his + trigger-spring, the gun fell over on its side, and the + cutter's mast seemed to collapse into itself as though it + were wrapping itself up in its own canvas. A huge loose clue + of sail—the foresail's starboard leach—flew up + into the air; the boom swung after it; the gaff toppled over + from above; we saw the topmast dive like a lunging rapier + into the sea. We had torn the foresail in two, and the shot + passing on had smashed the foremast just below the cap. All + her sails lay in a confused heap just forward of the mast. + </p> + <p> + "That's done her," said one of the smugglers. "She can't even + use her gun now." + </p> + <p> + "Hooray!" cried another. "We're the boys for a lark." + </p> + <p> + "Are you?" said Marah. "We got the frigates to clear yet, my + son. They'll be in range in two minutes or less. Look at + them." + </p> + <p> + Tearing after us, in chase, under all sail, came the + frigates. Their bows were burrowing into white heaps of foam; + we could see the red port-lids and the shining gun-muzzles; + we could see the scarlet coats of the marines, and the glint + of brass on the poops. A flame spurted from the bows of the + leader. She was firing a shot over us to bid us heave to. The + smugglers looked at each other; they felt that the game was + up. Bang! Another shot splashed into the sea beside us, and + bounded on from wave to wave, sending up huge splashes at + each bound. A third shot came from the second frigate, but + this also missed. Marah was leaning over our lee rail, + looking at the coast of France, still several miles away. + "White water," he cried suddenly. "Here's the Green Stones. + We shall do them yet." + </p> + <p> + I could see no green stones, but a quarter of a mile away, on + our port-hand, the sea was all a cream of foam above reefs + and sands just covered by the tide. If they were to help us, + it was none too soon, for by this time the leading frigate + was only a hundred yards from us. Her vast masts towered over + us. I could look into her open bow ports; I could see the men + at the bow guns waiting for the word to fire. I have often + seen ships since then, but I never saw any ship so splendid + and so terrible as that one. She was the <i>Laocoon</i>, and + her figurehead was twined with serpents. The line of her + ports was of a dull yellow colour, and as all her ports were + open, the port-lids made scarlet marks all along it. Her + great lower studdingsail swept out from her side for all the + world like a butterfly-net, raking the top of the sea for us. + An officer stood on the forecastle with a speaking-trumpet in + his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Stand by!" cried Marah. "They're going to hail us." + </p> + <p> + "Ahoy, the lugger there!" yelled the officer. "Heave to at + once or I sink you. Heave to." + </p> + <p> + "Answer him in French," said Marah to one of the men. + </p> + <p> + A man made some answer in French; I think he said he didn't + understand. The officer told a marine to fire at us. The + bullet whipped through the mizen. "Bang" went one of the + main-deck guns just over our heads. We felt a rush and shock, + and our mizen mast and sail went over the side. + </p> + <p> + Marah stood up and raised his hand. "We surrender, sir!" he + shouted; "we surrender! Down helm, boys." + </p> + <p> + We swung round on our keel, and came to the wind. We saw the + officer nod approval and speak a word to the sailing-master, + and then the great ship lashed past us, a mighty, straining, + heaving fabric of beauty, whose lower studding-sails were wet + half-way to their irons. + </p> + <p> + "Now for it!" said Marah. He hauled his wind, and the lugger + shot off towards the broken water. "If we get among those + shoals," he said, "we're safe as houses. The frigate's done. + She's going at such a pace they will never stop her. Not till + she's gone a mile. Not without they rip the masts out of her. + That officer ought to have known that trick. That will be a + lesson to you, Mr Jim. If ever you're in a little ship, and + you get chased by a big ship, you keep on till she's right on + top of you, and then luff hard all you know, and the chances + are you'll get a mile start before they come round to go + after you." + </p> + <p> + We had, in fact, doubled like a hare, and the frigate, like a + greyhound, had torn on ahead, unable to turn. We saw her + lower stunsail boom carry away as they took in the sail, and + we could see her seamen running to their quarters ready to + brace the yards and bring the ship to her new course. The + lugger soon gathered way and tore on, but it was now blowing + very fresh indeed, and the sea before us was one lashing + smother of breakers. Marah seemed to think nothing of that; + he was watching the frigates. One, a slower sailer than the + other, was sailing back to the fleet; the second had hove to + about a mile away, with her longboat lowered to pursue us. + The boat was just clear of her shadow; crowding all sail in + order to get to us. The third ship, the ship which we had + tricked, was hauling to the wind, with her light canvas clued + up for furling. In a few moments she was braced up and + standing towards us, but distant about a mile. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly both frigates opened fire, and the great + cannon-balls ripped up the sea all round us. + </p> + <p> + "They'll sink us, sure," said one of the smugglers with a + grin. + </p> + <p> + The men all laughed, and I laughed too; we were all so very + much interested in what was going to happen. The guns fired + steadily one after the other in a long rolling roar. The men + laughed at each shot. + </p> + <p> + "They couldn't hit the sea," they said derisively. "The navy + gunners are no use at all." + </p> + <p> + "No," said Marah, "they're not. But if they keep their course + another half-minute they'll be on the sunk reef, and a lot of + 'em'll be drowned. I wonder will the old <i>Laocoon</i> take + a hint." + </p> + <p> + "Give 'em the pennant," said Gateo. + </p> + <p> + "Ay, give it 'em," said half-a-dozen others. "Don't let 'em + wreck." + </p> + <p> + Marah opened the flag-locker, and took out a blue pennant (it + had a white ball in the middle of it), which he hoisted to + his main truck. "Let her go off," he cried to the helmsman. + </p> + <p> + For just a moment we lay broadside on to the frigate, a fair + target for her guns, so that she could see the pennant + blowing out clear. + </p> + <p> + "You see, Jim?" asked Marah. "That pennant means 'You are + standing in to danger.' Now we will luff again." + </p> + <p> + "I don't think they saw it, guv'nor," said one of the sailors + as another shot flew over us. "They'll have to send below to + get their glasses, those blind navy jokers." + </p> + <p> + "Off," said Marah, quickly; and again we lay broadside on, + tumbling in the swell, shipping heavy sprays. + </p> + <p> + This time they saw it, for the <i>Laocoon's</i> helm was put + down, her great sails shivered and threshed, and she stood + off on the other tack. As she stood away we saw an officer + leap on to the taffrail, holding on by the mizen backstays. + "Tar my wig," said Marah, "if he isn't bowing to us!" + </p> + <p> + Sure enough the officer took off his hat to us and bowed + gracefully. + </p> + <p> + "Polite young man," said Marah. "We will give them the other + pennant." Another flag, a red pennant, was hoisted in place + of the blue. "Wishing you a pleasant voyage," said Marah. + "Now luff, my sons. That longboat will be on to us." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the longboat had crept to within six hundred yards of + us; it was time we were moving, though the guns were no + longer firing on us from the ships. + </p> + <p> + "Mind your helm, boys," said Marah as he went forward to the + bows. "I've got to con you through a lot of bad rocks. You'll + have to steer small or die." + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII + </h2> + <h3> + BLACK POOL BAY + </h3> + <p> + I shall not describe our passage through the Green Stones to + Kermorvan, but in nightmares it comes back to me. We seemed + to wander in blind avenues, hedged in by seas, and broken + water, awful with the menace of death. For five or six hours + we dodged among rocks and reefs, wet with the spray that + broke upon them and sick at heart at the sight of the + whirlpools and eddies. I think that they are called the Green + Stones because the seas break over them in bright green + heaps. Here and there among them the tide seized us and swept + us along, and in the races where this happened there were + sucking whirlpools, strong enough to twist us round. How + often we were near our deaths I cannot think, but time and + time again the backwash of a breaker came over our rail in a + green mass. When we sailed into Kermorvan I was only half + conscious from the cold and wet. I just remember some one + helping me up some steps with seaweed on them. + </p> + <p> + We stayed in Kermorvan for a week or more, waiting for our + cargo of brandy, silk, and tobacco, and for letters and + papers addressed to the French war-prisoners in the huge + prison on Dartmoor. + </p> + <p> + I was very unhappy in Kermorvan, thinking of home. It would + have been less dismal had I had more to do, but I was + unoccupied and a prisoner, in charge of an old French woman, + who spoke little English, so that time passed slowly indeed. + At last we set sail up the coast, hugging the French shore, + touching at little ports for more cargo till we came to + Cartaret. Here a French gentleman (he was a military spy) + came aboard us, and then we waited two or three days for a + fair wind. At last the wind drew to the east, and we spread + all sail for home on a wild morning when the fishermen were + unable to keep the sea. + </p> + <p> + At dusk we were so near to home that I could see the Start + and the whole well-known coast from Salcombe to Dartmoor. In + fact I had plenty of time to see it, for we doused our sails + several miles out to sea, and lay tossing in the storm to a + sea-anchor, waiting for the short summer night to fall. When + it grew dark enough (of course, in that time of year, it is + never very dark even in a storm) we stole in, mile by mile, + to somewhere off Flushing, where we showed a light. We showed + it three times from the bow, and at the last showing a red + light gleamed from Flushing Church. That was the signal to + tell us that all was safe, so then we sailed into Black Pool + Bay, where the breakers were beating fiercely in trampling + ranks. + </p> + <p> + There were about a dozen men gathered together on the beach. + We sailed right in, till we were within ten yards of the + sands, and there we moored the lugger by the head and stern, + so that her freight could be discharged. The men on the beach + waded out through the surf (though it took them up to the + armpits), and the men in the lugger passed the kegs and boxes + to them. Waves which were unusually big would knock down the + men in the water, burden and all, and then there would be + laughter from all hands, and grumbles from the victim. I + never saw men work harder. The freight was all flung out and + landed and packed in half an hour. It passed out in a + continual stream from both sides of the boat; everybody + working like a person possessed. And when the lugger was + nearly free of cargo, and the string of workers in the water + was broken on the port side, it occurred to me that I had a + chance of escape. It flashed into my mind that it was dark, + that no one in the lugger was watching me, that the set of + the tide would drive me ashore (I was not a good swimmer, but + I knew that in five yards I should be able to touch bottom), + and that in another two hours, or less, I should be in bed at + home, with all my troubles at an end. + </p> + <p> + When I thought of escaping, I was standing alone at the + stern. A lot of the boat's crew were in the water, going + ashore to "run" the cargo, on horseback, to the wilds of + Dartmoor. The others were crowded at the bow, watching them + go, or watching the men upon the beach, moving here and there + by torchlight, packing the kegs on the horses' backs. It was + a wild scene. The wind blew the torches into great red fiery + banners; the waves hissed and spumed, and glimmered into + brightness; you could see the horses shying, and the men + hurrying to and fro; and now and then some one would cry out, + and then a horse would whinny. All the time there was a good + deal of unnecessary talk and babble; the voices and laughter + of the seamen came in bursts as the wind lulled. Every now + and then a wave would burst with a smashing noise, and the + smugglers would laugh at those wetted by the spray. I saw + that I had a better chance of landing unobserved on the port + side; so I stole to that side, crawled over the gunwale, and + slid into the sea without a splash. + </p> + <p> + The water made me gasp at first; but that only lasted a + second. I made a gentle stroke or two towards the shore, + trying not to raise my head much, and really I felt quite + safe before I had made three strokes. When you swim in the + sea at night, you see so little that you feel that you, in + your turn, cannot be seen either. All that I could see was a + confused mass of shore with torchlights. Every now and then + that would be hidden from me by the comb of a wave; and then + a following wave would souse into my face and go clean over + me; but as my one thought was to be hidden from the lugger, I + rather welcomed a buffet of that sort. I very soon touched + bottom, for the water near the beach is shallow. I stood up + and bent over, so as not to be seen, and began to stumble + towards the shelter of the rocks. The business of lading the + horses was going steadily forward, with the same noisy hurry. + I climbed out of the backwash of the last breaker, and dipped + down behind a rock, high and dry on the sands. I was safe, I + thought, safe at last, and I was too glad at heart to think + of my sopping clothes, and of the cold which already made me + shiver like an aspen. Suddenly, from up the hill, not more + than a hundred yards from me, came the "Hoo-hoo" of an owl, + the smuggler's danger signal. The noise upon the beach ceased + at once; the torches plunged into the sand and went out: I + heard the lugger's crew cut their cables and hoist sail. + </p> + <p> + A voice said, "Carry on, boys. The preventives are safe at + Bolt Tail," and at that the noise broke out as before. + </p> + <p> + Some one cried "Sh," and "Still," and in the silence which + followed, the "Hoo-hoo" of the owl called again, with a + little flourishing note at the end of the call. + </p> + <p> + A man cried out, "Mount and scatter." + </p> + <p> + Some one else cried, "Where's Marah?" and as I lay crouched, + some one bent over me and touched me. + </p> + <p> + "Sorry, Jim," said Marah's voice. "I knew you'd try it. You + only got your clothes wet. Come on, now." + </p> + <p> + "Hoo-hoo" went the owl again, and at this, the third summons, + we distinctly heard many horses' hoofs coming at a gallop + towards us, though at a considerable distance. + </p> + <p> + "Marah! Come on, man!" cried several voices. + </p> + <p> + "Come on," said Marah, dragging me to the horses. "Off, + boys," he called. "Scatter as you ride," Many horses moved + off at a smart trot up the hill to Stoke Fleming. Their + horses' feet were muffled with felt, so that they made little + noise, although they were many. + </p> + <p> + Marah swung me up into the saddle of one of the three horses + in his care. He himself rode the middle horse. I was on his + off side. The horse I mounted had a keg of spirits lashed to + the saddle behind me; the horse beyond Marah was laden like a + pack-mule. + </p> + <p> + "We're the rearguard," said Marah to me. "We must bring them + clear off. Ride, boys—Strete road," he called; and the + smugglers of the rearguard clattered off by the back road, or + broken disused lane, which leads to Allington. Still Marah + waited, the only smuggler now left on the beach. The + preventive officers were clattering down the hill to us, less + than a quarter of a mile away. "It's the preventives right + enough," he said, as a gust of wind brought the clatter of + sabres to us, above the clatter of the hoofs. "We're in for a + run to-night. Some one's been blabbing. I think I know who. + Well, I pity him. That's what. I pity him. Here, boy. You + ought not to ha' tried to cut. You'll be half frozen with the + wet. Drink some of this." + </p> + <p> + He handed me a flask, and forced me to take a gulp of + something hot; it made me gasp, but it certainly warmed me, + and gave me heart after my disappointment. I was too cold and + too broken with misery to be frightened of the preventives. I + only prayed that they might catch me and take me home. + </p> + <p> + We moved slowly to the meeting of the roads, and there Marah + halted for a moment. Our horses stamped, and then whinnied. A + horse on the road above us whinnied. + </p> + <p> + One of the clattering troop cried, "There they are. We have + them. Come along, boys." + </p> + <p> + Some one—I knew the voice—it was Captain Barmoor, + of the Yeomanry—cried out, "Stand and surrender." And + then I saw the sabres gleam under the trees, and heard the + horses' hoofs grow furious upon the stones. Marah stood up in + his stirrups, and put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled + a long, wailing, shrill whistle. Then he kicked his horses + and we started, at a rattling pace, up the wretched twisting + lane which led to Allington. + </p> + <p> + Now, the preventives, coming downhill at a tearing gallop, + could not take the sharp turn of the lane without pulling up; + they got mixed in some confusion at the turning, and a horse + and rider went into the ditch. We were up the steep rise, and + stretching out at full tilt for safety, before they had + cleared the corner. Our horses were fresh; theirs had trotted + hard for some miles under heavy men, so that at the first + sight the advantage lay with us; but their horses were better + than ours, and in better trim for a gallop. Marah checked the + three horses, and let them take it easy, till we turned into + the well-remembered high road which leads from Strete to my + home. Here, on the level, he urged them on, and the pursuit + swept after us; and here in the open, I felt for the first + time the excitement of the hunt. I wanted to be caught; I + kept praying that my horse would come down, or that the + preventives would catch us; and at the same time the hurry of + our rush through the night set my blood leaping, made me cry + aloud as we galloped, made me call to the horses to gallop + faster. There was nothing on the road; no one was travelling; + we had the highway to ourselves. Near the farm at the bend we + saw men by the roadside, and an owl called to us from among + them, with that little flourish at the end of the call which + I had heard once before that evening. We dashed past them; + but as Marah passed, he cried out, "Yes. Be quick." And + behind us, as we sped along, we heard something dragged + across the road. The crossways lay just beyond. + </p> + <p> + To my surprise, Marah never hesitated. He did not take the + Allington road, but spurred uphill towards the "Snail's + Castle," and the road to Kingsbridge. As we galloped, we + heard a crash behind us, and the cry of a hurt horse, and the + clatter of a sword upon the road. Then more cries sounded; we + could hear our pursuers pulling up. + </p> + <p> + "They're into a tree-trunk," said Marah. "Some friends put a + tree across, and one of them's gone into it. We shall + probably lose them now," he added. "They will go on for + Allington. Still, we mustn't wait yet." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the delay was only momentary. The noise of the horses + soon re-commenced behind us; and though they paused at the + cross-roads, it was only for a few seconds. Some of the + troopers took the Allington road. Another party took the road + which we had taken; and a third party stopped (I believe) to + beat the farm buildings for the men who had laid the tree in + the road. + </p> + <p> + We did not stop to see what they were doing, you may be sure; + for when Marah saw that his trick had not shaken them off, he + began to hurry his horses, and we were soon slipping and + sliding down the steep zigzag road which leads past "Snail's + Castle." I had some half-formed notion of flinging myself off + my horse as we passed the door, or of checking the horse I + rode, and shouting for help. For there, beyond the corner, + was the house where I had been so happy, and the light from + the window lying in a yellow patch across the road; and there + was Hoolie's bark to welcome us. Perhaps if I had not been + wet and cold I might have made an attempt to get away; and I + knew the preventives were too close to us for Marah to have + lingered, had I done so. + </p> + <p> + But you must remember that we were riding very fast, that I + was very young, and very much afraid of Marah, and that the + cold and the fear of the preventives (for in a way I was + horribly frightened by them) had numbed my brain. + </p> + <p> + "Don't you try it," said Marah, grimly, as we came within + sight of the house. "Don't you try it." He snatched my rein, + bending forward on his horse's neck, calling a wild, queer + cry. It was one of the gipsy horse-calls, and at the sound of + it the horses seemed to lose their wits, for they dashed + forward past the house, as though they were running away. It + was as much as I could do to keep in the saddle. What made it + so bitter to me was the opening of the window behind me. At + the sound of the cry, and of those charging horses, some + one—some one whom I knew so well, and loved + so—ran to the window to look out. I heard the latch + rattling and the jarring of the thrown-back sash, and I knew + that some one—I would have given the world to have + known who—looked out, and saw us as we swept round the + corner and away downhill. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII + </h2> + <h3> + IN THE VALLEY + </h3> + <p> + We turned down the valley, along the coast-track, splashing + through the little stream that makes it so boggy by the gate, + and soon we were on the coach-road galloping along the + straight two miles towards Tor Cross. + </p> + <p> + Our horses were beginning to give way, for we had done four + miles at good speed, and now the preventives began to gain + upon us. Looking back as we galloped we could see them on the + straight road, about two hundred yards away. Every time we + looked back they seemed to be nearer, and at last Marah leant + across and told me to keep low in my saddle, as he thought + they were going to fire on us. A carbine shot cracked behind + us, and I heard the "zip" of the bullet over me. + </p> + <p> + A man ran out suddenly from one of the furze-bushes by the + road, and a voice cried, "Stop them, boys!" The road seemed + suddenly full of people, who snatched at our reins, and hit + us with sticks. I got a shrewd blow over the knee, and I + heard Marah say something as he sent one man spinning to the + ground. "Crack, crack!" went the carbines behind us. Some one + had hold of my horse's reins, shouting, "I've got <i>you</i>, + anyway!" Then Marah fired a pistol—it all happened in a + second—the bullet missed, but the flash scorched my + horse's nose; the horse reared, and knocked the man down, and + then we were clear, and rattling along to Tor Cross. + </p> + <p> + Looking back, we saw one or two men getting up from the road, + and then half-a-dozen guns and pistols flashed, and Marah's + horse screamed and staggered. There was a quarter of a mile + to go to Tor Cross, and that quarter-mile was done at such a + speed as I have never seen since. Marah's horse took the bit + in his teeth, and something of his terror was in our horses + too. + </p> + <p> + In a moment, as it seemed, we were past the houses, and over + the rocks by the brook-mouth; and there, with a groan, + Marah's horse came down. Marah was evidently expecting it, + for he had hold of my rein at the time, and as his horse fell + he cleared the body. "Get down, Jim," he said. "We're done. + The horses are cooked. They have had six miles; another mile + would kill them. Poor beast's heart's burst. Down with you." + He lifted me off the saddle, and lashed the two living horses + over the quarters with a strip of seaweed. He patted the dead + horse, with a "Poor boy," and dragged me down behind one of + the black rocks, which crop up there above the shingle. + </p> + <p> + The two horses bolted off along the strand, scattering the + pebbles, and then, while the clash of their hoofs was still + loud upon the stones, the preventives came pounding up, their + horses all badly blown and much distressed. Their leader was + Captain Barmoor. I knew him by his voice. + </p> + <p> + "Here's a dead horse!" he cried. "Sergeant, we have one of + their horses. Get down and see if there's any contraband upon + him. After them, you others. We shall get them now. Ride on, + I tell you! What are you pulling up for?" + </p> + <p> + The other preventives crashed on over the shingle. Captain + Barmoor and the sergeant remained by the dead horse. Marah + and I lay close under the rock, hardly daring to breathe, and + wondering very much whether we made any visible mark to the + tall man on his horse. Shots rang out from the preventives' + carbines, and the gallopers made a great clash upon the + stones. We heard the sergeant's saddle creak, only a few + yards away, and then his boots crunched on the beach as he + walked up to the dead horse. + </p> + <p> + "No. There be no tubs here, sir," he said, after a short + examination. "Her be dead enough. Stone dead, sir. There's an + empty pistol-case, master." + </p> + <p> + "Oh," said Captain Barmoor. "Any saddlebag, or anything of + that kind?" + </p> + <p> + The man fumbled about in the gear. "No, there was nothing of + that kind—nothing at all." + </p> + <p> + "Bring on the saddle," said the captain. "There may be papers + stitched in it." We heard the sergeant unbuckling the girth. + "By the way," said the captain, "you're sure the third horse + was led?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the sergeant. "Two and a led horse there was, + sir." + </p> + <p> + "H'm," said the captain. "I wonder if they have dismounted. + They might have. Look about among the rocks there." + </p> + <p> + I saw Marah's right hand raise his horse-pistol, as the + sergeant stepped nearer. In another moment he must have seen + us. If he had even looked down, he could not have failed to + see us: but he stood within six feet of us, looking all round + him—looking anywhere but at his feet. Then he walked + away from us, and looked at the rocks near the brook. + </p> + <p> + "D'ye see them?" snapped the captain. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir. Nothin' of 'em. They ben't about here, sir. I think + they've ridden on. Shall I look in the furze there, sir, + afore we go?" + </p> + <p> + "No," said the captain. "Well, yes. Just take a squint + through it." + </p> + <p> + But as the sergeant waddled uneasily in his sea-boots across + the shingle, the carbines of the preventives cracked out in a + volley about a quarter of a mile away. A shot or two followed + the volley. + </p> + <p> + "A shotgun that last, sir," said the sergeant. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the captain. "Come along. There's another. Come, + mount, man. They're engaged." + </p> + <p> + We heard the sergeant's horse squirming about as the sergeant + tried to mount, and then the two galloped off. Voices sounded + close beside us, and feet moved upon the sand. "Still!" + growled Marah in my ear. Some one cried out, "Further on. + They're fighting further on. Hurry up, and we shall see it." + </p> + <p> + About a dozen Tor Cross men were hurrying up, in the chance + of seeing a skirmish. The wife of one of them—old Mrs. + Rivers—followed after them, calling to her man to come + back. "I'll give it to 'ee, if 'ee don't come back. Come + back, I tell 'ee." They passed on rapidly, pursued by the + angry woman, while more shots banged and cracked further and + further along the shore. + </p> + <p> + We waited till they passed out of hearing, and then Marah got + up. "Come on, son," he said. "We must be going. Lucky your + teeth didn't chatter, or they'd have heard us." + </p> + <p> + "I wish they had heard us," I cried, hotly. "Then I'd have + gone home to-night. Let me go, Marah. Let me go home." + </p> + <p> + "Next trip, Jim," he said kindly. "Not this. I want you to + learn about life. You will get mewed up with them ladies + else, and then you will never do anything." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," I said. "But if you don't let me go I'll scream. Now + then. I'll scream." + </p> + <p> + "Scream away, son," said Marah, calmly. "There's not many to + hear you. But you'll not get home after what you have seen + to-night. Come on, now." + </p> + <p> + He took me by the collar, and walked me swiftly to a little + cove, where one or two of the Tor Cross fishers kept their + boats. I heard a gun or two away in the distance, and then a + great clatter of shingle, as the coastguards' horses trotted + back towards us, with the led horse between two of them, as + the prize of the night. They did not hear us, and could not + see us, and Marah took good care not to let me cry out to + them. He just turned my face up to his, and muttered, "You + just try it. You try it, son, and I'll hold you in the sea + till you choke." + </p> + <p> + The wind was blowing from the direction of the coastguards + towards us, and even if I had cried out, perhaps, they would + never have heard me. You may think me a great coward to have + given in in this way; but few boys of my age would have made + much outcry against a man like Marah. He made the heart die + within you; and to me, cold and wet from my ducking, + terrified of capture in spite of my innocence (for I was not + at all sure that the smugglers would not swear that I had + joined them, and had helped them in their fights and + escapades), the outlook seemed so hopeless and full of misery + that I could do nothing. My one little moment of mutiny was + gone, my one little opportunity was lost. Had I made a dash + for it—But it is useless to think in that way. + </p> + <p> + Marah got into the one boat which floated in the little + artificial creek, and thrust me down into the stern sheets. + Then he shoved her off with a stretcher (the oars had been + carried to the fisher's house, there were none in the boat), + and as soon as we were clear of the rocks, in the rather + choppy sea, he stepped the stretcher in the mast-crutch as a + mast, and hoisted his coat as a sail. He made rough sheets by + tying a few yards of spun-yarn to the coat-skirts, and then, + shipping the rudder, he bore away before the wind towards the + cave by Black Pool. + </p> + <p> + We had not gone far (certainly not fifty yards), when we saw + the horses of the coastguards galloping down to the sea, one + of the horses shying at the whiteness of the breaking water. + </p> + <p> + A voice hailed us. "Boat ahoy!" it shouted; "what are you + doing in the boat there?" + </p> + <p> + And then all the horsemen drew up in a clump among the rocks. + </p> + <p> + "Us be drifting, master," shouted Marah, speaking in the + broad dialect of the Devon men; "us be drifting." + </p> + <p> + "Come in till I have a look at you," cried the voice again. + "Row in to the rocks here." + </p> + <p> + "Us a-got no o-ars," shouted Marah, letting the boat slip on. + "Lie down, son," he said; "they will fire in another minute." + </p> + <p> + Indeed, we heard the ramrods in the carbines and the loud + click of the gun-cocks. + </p> + <p> + "Boat ahoy!" cried the voice again. "Row in at once! D'ye + hear? Row in at once, or I shall fire on you." + </p> + <p> + Marah did not answer. + </p> + <p> + "Present arms!" cried the voice again after a pause; and at + that Marah bowed down in the stern sheets under the gunwale. + </p> + <p> + "Fire!" said the voice; and a volley ripped up the sea all + round us, knocking off splinters from the plank and + flattening out against the transom. + </p> + <p> + "Keep down, Jim; you're all right," said Marah. "We will be + out of range in another minute." + </p> + <p> + Bang! came a second volley, and then single guns cracked and + banged at intervals as we drew away. + </p> + <p> + For the next half-hour we were just within extreme range of + the carbines and musketoons. During that half-hour we were + slowly slipping by the long two miles of Slapton sands. We + could not go fast, for our only sail was a coat, and, though + the wind was pretty fresh, the set of the tide was against + us. So for half an hour we crouched below that rowboat's + gunwale, just peeping up now and then to see the white line + of the breakers on the sand, and beyond that the black + outlines of the horsemen, who slowly followed us, firing + steadily, but with no very clear view of what they fired at. + I thought that the two miles would never end. Sometimes the + guns would stop for a minute, and I would think, "Ah! now we + are out of range," or, "Now they have given us up." And then, + in another second, another volley would rattle at us, and + perhaps a bullet would go whining overhead, or a heavy chewed + slug would come "plob" into the boat's side within six inches + of me. + </p> + <p> + Marah didn't seem to mind their firing. He was too pleased at + having led the preventives away from the main body of the + night-riders to mind a few bullets. "Ah, Jim," he said, + "there's three thousand pounds in lace, brandy, and tobacco + gone to Dartmoor this night. And all them redcoat fellers got + was a dead horse and a horse with a water-breaker on him. And + the dead horse was their own, <i>and</i> the one they took. I + stole 'em out of the barrack stables myself." + </p> + <p> + "But horse-stealing is a capital offence," I cried. "They + could hang you." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said; "so they would if they could." Bang! came + another volley of bullets all round us. "They'd shoot us, + too, if they could, so far as that goes; but so far, they + haven't been able. Never cross any rivers till you come to + the water, Jim. Let that be a lesson to you." + </p> + <p> + I have often thought of it since as sound advice, and I have + always tried to act upon it; but at the time it didn't give + much comfort. + </p> + <p> + At the end of half an hour we were clear of Slapton sands, + and coming near to Strete, and here even Marah began to be + uneasy. He was watching the horsemen on the beach very + narrowly, for as soon as they had passed the Lea they had + stopped firing on us, and had gone at a gallop to the beach + boathouse to get out a boat." + </p> + <p> + "What are they doing, Marah?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Getting out a boat to come after us," he answered. "Silly + fools! If they'd done that at once they'd have got us. They + may do it now. There goes the boat." + </p> + <p> + We heard the cries of the men as the boat ground over the + shingle. Then we heard shouts and cries, and saw a light in + the boathouse. + </p> + <p> + "Looking for oars and sails," said Marah, "and there are + none. Good, there are none." + </p> + <p> + Happily for us, there were none. But we heard a couple of + horses go clattering up the road to O'Farrell's cottage to + get them. + </p> + <p> + "We shall get away now," said Marah. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes we were out of sight of the beach. Then one + of the strange coast currents caught us, and swept us along + finely for a few minutes. Soon our boat was in the cave, + snugly lashed to the ring-bolts, and Marah had lifted me up + the stairs to the room where a few smugglers lay in their + hammocks, sleeping heavily. Marah made me drink something and + eat some pigeon pie; and then, stripping my clothes from me, + he rubbed me down with a blanket, wrapped me in a pile of + blankets, and laid me to sleep in a corner on an old sail. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV + </h2> + <h3> + A TRAITOR + </h3> + <p> + The next day, when I woke, a number of smugglers had come + back from their ride. They were sitting about the cave, in + their muddy clothes, in high good spirits. They had been + chased by a few preventives as far as Allington, and there + they had had a brisk skirmish with the Allington police, + roused by the preventives' carbine fire. They had beaten off + their opponents, and had reached Dartmoor in safety. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah; "all very well. But we have been blabbed + on. We had the cutter on us on our way out, and here we were + surprised coming home. It was the Salcombe cutter chased us, + and it was the Salcombe boys gave the preventives the tip + last night. Otherwise they'd have been in Salcombe all last + night, watching Bolt Tail, no less. 'Stead of that, they came + lumbering here, and jolly near nabbed us. Now, it's one of + us. There's no one outside knows anything: and only + half-a-dozen in Salcombe knew our plans. Salcombe district + supplies North Devon; we supply to the east more. Who could + it be, boys?" + </p> + <p> + Some said one thing, some another. And then a man suggested + "the parson"; and when he said that it flashed across my mind + that he meant Mr Cottier, for I knew that sailors always + called a schoolmaster a parson, and I remembered how Mrs + Cottier had heard his voice among the night-riders on the + night of the snow-storm just before Christmas. + </p> + <p> + "No; it couldn't be the parson," said some one. "No one + trusts the parson." + </p> + <p> + "I don't know as it couldn't be," said the man whom they + called Hankie. "He is a proper cunning one to pry out." + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said another smuggler. "And, come to think of it, we + passed him the afternoon afore we sailed. I was driving with + the Captain. I was driving the Captain here from + Kingsbridge." + </p> + <p> + "He knows the Captain," said Marah grimly. "He might have + guessed—seeing him with you—that you were coming + to arrange a run. Now, how would he know where we were + bound?" + </p> + <p> + "Guessed it," said Hankie. "He's been on a run or two with + the Salcombe fellers. Besides, he couldn't be far out" + </p> + <p> + "No," said Marah, musingly; "he couldn't. And a hint would + have been enough to send the cutter after us." + </p> + <p> + "But how did he put them on us last night?" said another + smuggler. "We had drawed them out proper to Bolt Tail to look + for a cargo there. Properly we had drawed them. Us had a boat + and all, showing lights." + </p> + <p> + "Well, if it was the parson who done it, he'd easily find a + way," said Marah. "We had better go over and see about it" + </p> + <p> + Before they went they left me in charge of the old Italian + man, who taught me how to point a rope, which is one of the + prettiest kinds of plaiting ever invented. The day passed + slowly—oh! so slowly; for a day like that, so near + home, yet so far away, and with so much misery in prospect, + was agonising. I wondered what they would do to Mr Cottier; I + wondered if ever I should get home again; I wondered whether + the coastguards would have sufficient sense to arrest Marah + if they saw him on the roads. In wondering like this, the day + slowly dragged to an end; and at the end of the day, just + before a watery sunset, Marah and the others returned, + leading Mr Cottier as their prisoner. + </p> + <p> + It shows you what power the night-riders had in those days. + They had gone to Salcombe to Mr Cottier's lodgings; they had + questioned him, perhaps with threats, till he had confessed + that he had betrayed them to the preventives; then they had + gagged him, hustled him downstairs to a waiting closed + carriage, and then they had quietly driven him on, + undisturbed, to their fastness in the cliff. It was sad to + see a man fallen so low, a man who had been at the + University, and master of a school. It was sad to see him, + his flabby face all fallen in and white from excess of fear, + and to see his eyes lolling about from one to another man, + trying to find a little hope in the look of the faces in the + fast-darkening cave. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said surlily at last; "you have got me. What are + you going to do to me?" + </p> + <p> + "What d'ye think you deserve?" said Marah. "Eh? You'd have + had us all hanged and glad, too. You'll see soon enough what + we're going to do to you." He struck a light for his pipe, + and lit a candle in a corner of the cave near where I lay. + "You'll soon know <i>your</i> fate," he added. "Meanwhile, + here's a friend of yours one—you might like to talk to. + You'll not get another chance." + </p> + <p> + At this the man grovelled on the cave floor, crying out to + them to let him live, that he would give them all his money, + and so on. + </p> + <p> + "Get up," said Marah; "get up. Try and act like a man, even + if you aren't one." + </p> + <p> + The man went on wailing, "What are you going to do to + me?—what are you going to do to me?" + </p> + <p> + "Spike your guns," said Marah, curtly. "There's your friend + in the corner. Talk to him." + </p> + <p> + He left us together in the cave; an armed smuggler sat at the + cave entrance, turning his quid meditatively. + </p> + <p> + "Mr Cottier," I said, "do you remember Jim—Jim Davis?" + </p> + <p> + "Jim!" cried Mr Cottier; "Jim, how did you come here?" + </p> + <p> + "By accident," I said; "and now I'm a prisoner here, like + you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim," he cried, "what are they going to do to me? You + must have heard them. What are they going to do to me? Will + they kill me, Jim?" + </p> + <p> + I thought of the two coastguards snugly shut up in France, in + one of the inns near Brest, living at free-quarters, till the + smugglers thought they could be sure of them. When I thought + of those two men I felt that the traitor would not be killed; + and yet I was not sure. I believe they would have killed him + if I had not been there. They were a very rough lot, living + rough lives, and a traitor put them all in peril of the + gallows. Smugglers were not merciful to traitors (it is said + that they once tied a traitor to a post at low-water mark, + and let the tide drown him), and Marah's words made me feel + that Mr Cottier would suffer some punishment: not death, + perhaps, but something terrible. + </p> + <p> + I tried to reassure the man, but I could say very little. And + I was angry with him, for he never asked after his wife, nor + after Hugh, his son: and he asked me nothing of my prospects. + The thought of his possible death by violence within the next + few hours kept him from all thought of other people. Do not + blame him. We who have not been tried do not know how we + should behave in similar circumstances. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by the men came back to us. We were led downstairs, + and put aboard the lugger. Then the boat pushed off silently, + sail was hoisted, and a course was set down channel, under a + press of canvas. Mr Cottier cheered up when we had passed out + of the sight of the lights of the shore, for he knew then + that his life was to be spared. His natural bullying vein + came back to him. He sang and joked, and even threatened his + captors. So all that night we sailed, and all the next day + and night—a wild two or three days' sailing, with spray + flying over us, and no really dry or warm place to sleep in, + save a little half-deck which they rigged in the bows. + </p> + <p> + I should have been very miserable had not Marah made me work + with the men, hauling the ropes, swabbing down the decks, + scrubbing the paintwork, and even bearing a hand at the + tiller. The work kept me from thinking. The watches (four + hours on, four hours off), which I had to keep like the other + men, made the time pass rapidly; for the days slid into each + other, and the nights, broken into as they were by the + night-watches, seemed all too short for a sleepy head like + mine. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of the passage, when the weather had grown + brighter and hotter, I began to wonder how much further we + were going. Then, one morning, I woke up to find the lugger + at anchor in one of the ports of Northern Spain, with dawn + just breaking over the olive-trees, and one or two large, + queer-looking, lateen-rigged boats, xebecs from Africa, lying + close to us. One of them was flying a red flag, and I noticed + that our own boat was alongside of her. I thought nothing of + it, but drew a little water from the scuttle-butt, and washed + my face and hands in one of the buckets. One or two of the + men were talking at my side. + </p> + <p> + "Ah!" said one of them, "that's nine he did that + way—nine, counting him." + </p> + <p> + "A good job, too," said another man. "It's us or them. I'd + rather it was them." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said another fellow; "and I guess they repent." + </p> + <p> + The others laughed a harsh laugh, turning to the African boat + with curious faces, to watch our boat pulling back, with + Marah at her steering oar. + </p> + <p> + I noticed, at breakfast (which we all ate together on the + deck), that Mr Cottier was no longer aboard the lugger. I had + some queer misgivings, but said nothing till afterwards, when + I found Marah alone. + </p> + <p> + "Marah," I said, "where is Mr Cottier? What have you done to + him?" + </p> + <p> + He grinned at me grimly, as though he were going to refuse to + tell me. Then he beckoned me to the side of the boat. "Here," + he said, pointing to the lateen-rigged xebec; "you see that + felucca-boat?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said. + </p> + <p> + "Well, then," Marah continued, "he's aboard her—down in + her hold: tied somewhere on the ballast. That's where Mr + Cottier is. Now you want to know what we have done to him? + Hey? Well, we've enlisted him in the Spanish Navy. That + felucca-boat is what they call a tender. They carry recruits + to the Navy in them boats. He will be in a Spanish man-of-war + by this time next week. They give him twenty dollars to buy a + uniform. He's about ripe for the Spanish Navy." + </p> + <p> + "But, Marah," I cried, "he may have to fight against our + ships." + </p> + <p> + "All the better for us," he answered. "I wish all our enemies + were as easy jobs." + </p> + <p> + I could not answer for a moment; then I asked if he would + ever get free again. + </p> + <p> + "I could get free again," said Marah; "but that man isn't + like me. He's enlisted for three years. I doubt the war will + last so long. The free trade will be done by the time he's + discharged. You see, Jim, we free-traders can only make a + little while the nations are fighting. By this time three + years Mr Cottier can talk all he's a mind." + </p> + <p> + I had never liked Mr Cottier, but I felt a sort of pity for + him. Then I felt that perhaps the discipline would be the + making of him, and that, if he kept steady, he might even + rise in the Spanish Navy, since he was a man of education. + Then I thought of poor Mrs Cottier at home, and I felt that + her husband must be saved at all costs. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Marah," I cried, "don't let him go like that. Go and buy + him back. He doesn't deserve to end like that." + </p> + <p> + "Rot!" said Marah, turning on his heel. "Hands up anchor! + Forward to the windlass, Jim. You know your duty." + </p> + <p> + The men ran to their places. Very soon we were under sail + again, out at sea, with the Spanish coast in the distance + astern, a line of bluish hills, almost like clouds. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV + </h2> + <h3> + THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE + </h3> + <p> + We had rough weather on the passage north, so that we were + forced to go slowly creeping from port to port, from Bayonne + to Fecamp, always in dread of boats of the English frigates, + which patrolled the whole coast, keeping the French + merchantmen shut up in harbour. + </p> + <p> + As we stole slowly to the north, I thought of nothing but the + new Spanish sailor. He would be living on crusts, so the + smugglers told me; and always he would have an overseer to + prod him with a knife if, in a moment of sickness or + weariness, he faltered in his work, no matter how hard it + might be. But by this time I had learned that the smugglers + loved to frighten me. I know now that there was not a word of + truth in any of the tales they told me. + </p> + <p> + At Etaples we were delayed for nearly a fortnight, waiting, + first of all, for cargo, and then for a fair wind. There were + two other smugglers' luggers at Etaples with us. They were + both waiting for the wind to draw to the south or southeast, + so that they could dash across to Romney Sands. + </p> + <p> + As they had more cargo than they could stow, they induced + Marah to help them by carrying their surplus. They were a + whole day arguing about it before they came to terms; but it + ended, as we all knew that it would end, by Marah giving the + other captains drink, and leading them thus to give him + whatever terms he asked. + </p> + <p> + The other smugglers in our boat were not very eager to work + with strangers; but Marah talked them over. Only old Gateo + would not listen to him. + </p> + <p> + "Something bad will come of it," he kept saying. "You mark + what I say: something bad will come of it." + </p> + <p> + Then Marah would heave a sea-boot at him, and tell him to + hold his jaw; and the old man would mutter over his quid and + say that we should see. + </p> + <p> + We loaded our lugger with contraband goods, mostly lace and + brandy, an extremely valuable cargo. The work of loading kept + the men from thinking about Gateo's warnings, though, like + most sailors, they were all very superstitious. + </p> + <p> + Then some French merchants gave us a dinner at the inn, to + wish us a good voyage, and to put new spirit into us, by + telling us what good fellows we were. But the dinner was + never finished; for before they had begun their speeches a + smuggler came in to say that the wind had shifted, and that + it was now breezing up from the southeast. So we left our + plates just as they were. The men rose up from their chairs, + drank whatever was in their cups at the moment, and marched + out of the inn in a body. + </p> + <p> + To me it seemed bitterly cold outside the inn, I shivered + till my teeth chattered. + </p> + <p> + Marah asked me if I had a touch of fever, or if I were ill, + or "what was it, anyway, that made me shiver so?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was cold. + </p> + <p> + "Cold!" he said. "Cold? Why, it's one of the hottest nights + we have had this summer. Here's a youngster says he's cold!" + </p> + <p> + One or two of them laughed at me then; for it was, indeed, a + hot night. They laughed and chaffed together as they cast off + the mooring ropes. + </p> + <p> + For my part, I felt that my sudden chilly fit was a warning + that there was trouble coming. I can't say why I felt that, + but I felt it; and I believe that Marah in some way felt it, + too. Almost the last thing I saw that night, as I made up my + bed under the half-deck among a few sacks and bolts of + canvas, was Marah scowling and muttering, as though uneasy, + at the foot of the foremast, from which he watched the other + luggers as they worked out of the river ahead of us. + </p> + <p> + "He, too, feels uneasy," I said to myself. + </p> + <p> + Then I fell into a troubled doze, full of dreams of + sea-monsters, which flapped and screamed at me from the foam + of the breaking seas. + </p> + <p> + I was not called for a watch that night. In the early + morning, between one and two o'clock, I was awakened by a + feeling that something was about to happen. I sat up, and + then crept out on to the deck, and there, sure enough, + something was about to happen. Our sails were down, we were + hardly moving through the water, the water gurgled and + plowtered under our keel, there was a light mist fast fading + before the wind. It was not very dark, in fact it was almost + twilight. One or two stars were shining; there were clouds + slowly moving over them; but the sky astern of us was grey + and faint yellow, and the land, the Kentish coast, lay clear + before us, with the nose of Dungeness away on our port bow. + It was all very still and beautiful. The seamen moved to and + fro about the lugger. Dew dripped from our rigging; the decks + were wet with dew, the drops pattered down whenever the + lugger rolled. The other boats lay near us, both of them to + starboard. Their sails were doused in masses under the mast. + I could see men moving about; I could hear the creaking of + the blocks, as the light roll drew a rope over a sheave. + </p> + <p> + The boats were not very close to the shore; but it was so + still, so very peaceful, that we could hear the waves + breaking on the beach with a noise of hushing and of slipping + shingle, as each wave passed with a hiss to slither back in a + rush of foam broken by tiny stones. A man in the bows of the + middle lugger showed a red lantern, and then doused it below + the half-deck. He showed it three times; and at the third + showing, we all turned to the shore, to see what signal the + red light would bring. The shore was open before us. In the + rapidly growing light, we could make out a good deal of the + lie of the land. From the northern end of the beach an + answering red light flashed; and then, nearer to us, a dark + body was seen for a moment, kindling two green fires at a + little distance from each other. Our men were not given to + nervousness, they were rough, tough sailors; but they were + all relieved when our signals were answered. + </p> + <p> + "It's them," they said. "It's all right. Up with the + foresail. We must get the stuff ashore. It'll be dawn in a + few minutes, and then we shall have the country on us." + </p> + <p> + "Heave ahead, boys!" cried one of the men in the next lugger + as she drove past us to the shore. + </p> + <p> + "Ay! Heave ahead," said Marah, eyeing the coast. + </p> + <p> + He took the tiller as the lugger gathered way under her + hoisted foresail. While we slipped nearer to the white line + of the breakers along the sand, he muttered under his breath + (I was standing just beside him) in a way which frightened + me. + </p> + <p> + "I dunno," he said aloud. "But I've a feeling that there's + going to be trouble. I never liked this job. Here it is, + almost daylight, and not an ounce of stuff ashore. I'd never + have come this trip if the freights hadn't been so good. + Here, you," he cried suddenly to one of the men. "Don't you + pass the gaskets. You'll furl no sails till you're home, my + son. Pass the halliards along so that you can hoist in a + jiffy." Then he hailed the other luggers. "Ahoy there!" he + called. "You mind your eyes for trouble." + </p> + <p> + His words caused some laughter in the other boats. In our + boat, they caused the men to look around at Marah almost + anxiously. He laughed and told them to stand by. Then we saw + that the beach was crowded with men and horses, as at Black + Pool, a week or two before. In the shallow water near the + beach, we dropped our killick. The men from the beach waded + out to us, our own men slipped over the side. The tubs and + bales began to pass along the lines of men, to the men in + charge of the horses. Only one word was spoken; the word + "Hurry." At every moment, as it seemed to me (full as I was + of anxiety), the land showed more clearly, the trees stood + out more sharply against the sky, the light in the east + became more like a flame. + </p> + <p> + "Hurry," said Marah. "It'll be dawn in a tick." + </p> + <p> + Hurry was the watchword of the crews. The men worked with a + will. Tub after tub was passed along. Now and then we heard a + splash and an oath. Then a horse would whinny upon the beach, + startled by a wave, and a man would tell him to "Stand back," + or "Woa yer." I caught the excitement, and handed out the + tubs with the best of them. + </p> + <p> + I suppose that we worked in this way for half an hour or a + little more. The men had worked well at Black Pool, where the + run had been timed to end in darkness. Now that they had to + race the daylight they worked like slaves under an overseer. + One string of horses trotted off, fully loaded, within twenty + minutes. A second string was led down; in the growing light I + could see them stamping and tossing; they were backed right + down into the sea, so that the water washed upon their hocks. + </p> + <p> + "Here, Jim," said Marah suddenly, stopping me in my work, + "come here to me. Look here," he said, when I stood before + him. "It's getting too light for this game. We may have to + cut and run. Take this hatchet here, and go forward to the + bows. When I say 'cut,' you cut, without looking round. Cut + the cable, see? Cut it in two, mucho pronto. And you, + Hankin—you, Gateo. Stand by the halliards, stretch them + along ready to hoist. No. Hoist them. Don't wait. Hoist them + now." + </p> + <p> + One or two others lent their hands at the halliards, and the + sails were hoisted. The men in the other luggers laughed and + jeered. + </p> + <p> + "What are you hoisting sail for?" they cried. + </p> + <p> + "Sail-drill of a forenoon," cried another, perhaps a deserter + from the navy. + </p> + <p> + "Shut up," Marah answered. "Don't mind them, boys. Heave + round. Heave round at what you're doing. Over with them tubs, + sons! My hat! Those fellows are mad to be playing this game + in a light like this. There's a fort within three miles of + us." + </p> + <p> + He had hardly finished speaking, when one of the men at the + side of the lugger suddenly looked towards the beach, as + though he had caught sight of something. + </p> + <p> + "Something's up," he said sharply. + </p> + <p> + The beach and the shore beyond were both very flat in that + part; nothing but marshy land, overgrown with tussock-grass, + and a few sand-dunes, covered with bents. It was not a + country which could give much cover to an enemy; but in that + half-light one could not distinguish very clearly, and an + enemy could therefore take risks impossible in full day. + </p> + <p> + "A lot of cattle there," said the smuggler who had spoken. + "It's odd there being so many." + </p> + <p> + "Don't you graze many cattle here?" said Marah, looking + ashore. + </p> + <p> + "What! in the marsh?" said the man. "Not much." + </p> + <p> + "Them's no cattle," said Marah, after a pause, "Them's not + cows. Them's horses. Sure they're horses. Yes, and there's + men mounting them. They have crawled up, leading their + horses, and now we're done. Look out, boys!" he shouted. + "Look out! Get on board." + </p> + <p> + Even as he spoke the whole shore seemed to bristle with + cavalry. Each slowly moving horse stopped a moment, for his + rider to mount. There were fifty or sixty of them: they + seemed to spread all along the edge of the bay except at the + northern end, where the line was not quite closed. + </p> + <p> + "Sentries asleep," said Mafah. "This is the way they carry on + in Kent. Yes. There's the sentry. Asleep on the sand-dune. + Oh, yes. Time to wake up it is. You Mahon ape. Look at him." + </p> + <p> + We saw the sentry leap to his feet, almost under the nose of + a horse. He was too much surprised even to fire his pistol. + He just jumped up, all dazed, holding up his hands to show + that he surrendered. We saw two men on foot secure his hands. + That was our first loss. + </p> + <p> + It all happened very, very quickly. We were taken by + surprise, all unready, with our men ashore or mixed among the + horses, or carrying tubs in the water. The troops and + preventives were over the last dune and galloping down the + sand to us almost before Marah had finished speaking; yet + even then in all the confusion, as a captain shouted to us to + "surrender in the name of the King," the smugglers were not + without resource. A young man in a blue Scotch bonnet jumped + on one of the horses, snatching another horse by the rein; + half-a-dozen others did the same; the second string, + half-loaded, started as they were up the sand and away at + full gallop for the north end of the bay, where no soldiers + showed as yet. + </p> + <p> + It was done in an instant of time; drilled horsemen could not + have done it; the little man in the blue bonnet saw the one + loophole and dashed for it. There was no shouting. One or two + men spoke, and then there it was—done. Practically all + the horses were lashing along the beach, going full tilt for + safety: they galloped in a body like a troop of cavalry. Two + preventives rode at them to stop them, but they rode slap + into the preventives, tumbled them over, horse and man and + then galloped on, not looking back. A trooper reined in, + whipped up his carbine and fired, and that was the beginning + of the fight. Then there came a general volley; pistols and + carbines cracked and banged; a lot of smoke blew about the + beach and along the water; our men shouted to each other; the + soldiers cheered. + </p> + <p> + In another ten seconds a battle was going on in the water all + round us. The horsemen urged their horses right up to the + sides of the luggers. + </p> + <p> + The men in the water hacked at the horses' legs with their + hangers; the horses screamed and bit. I saw one wounded horse + seize a smuggler by the arm and shake him as a dog shakes a + rat; the rider of the horse, firing at the man, shot the + horse by accident through the head. I suppose he was too much + excited to know what he was doing—I fancy that men in a + battle are never quite sane. The horse fell over in the + water, knocking down another horse, and then there was a + lashing in the sea as the horse tried to rise. The smugglers + cut at him in the sea and all the time his rider was half + under water trying to get up and pulling at the trigger of + his useless, wetted pistol. + </p> + <p> + It all happened so quickly, that was the strange thing. In + one minute we were hard at work at the tubs, in the next we + were struggling and splashing, hacking at each other with + swords, firing in each other's faces. Half-a-dozen horsemen + tried to drag the lugger towards the shore, but the men beat + them back, knocked them from their saddles, or flogged the + horses over the nose with pistol-butts. + </p> + <p> + All this time the guns were banging, men were crying out, + horses were screaming; it was the most confused thing I ever + saw. + </p> + <p> + Marah knocked down a trooper with a broken cleat and shouted + to me to cut the cable—which I did at once. One or two + men ran to trim sail, and Marah took the tiller. At that + moment a trooper rode into the sea just astern of us—I + remember to this day the brightness of the splash his horse + made; Marah turned at the noise and shot the horse; but the + man fired too, and Marah seemed to stagger and droop over the + tiller as though badly hit. Seeing that, I ran aft to help + him. It seemed to me as I ran that the side of the lugger was + all red with clambering, shouting soldiers, all of them + firing pistols at me. + </p> + <p> + Marah picked himself up as I got there. "Out of the way, + boy," he cried. Two or three smugglers rallied round him. + There were more shots, more cries. Half-a-dozen redcoats came + aft in a rush; someone hit me a blow on the head, and all my + life seemed to pass from me in a stream of fire out at my + eyes. The last thing which I remember of the tussle was the + face of the man who hit me. He was a pale man with wide eyes, + his helmet knocked off, his stock loose at his throat; I just + saw him as I fell, and then everything passed from my sight + in a sound of roaring, like the roaring of waters in a spate. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI + </h2> + <h3> + DRIFTING + </h3> + <p> + When I recovered consciousness, the sun had risen; it was + bright daylight all about us. That was really the first thing + which I saw—the light of the sun on the deck. I + struggled up to a sitting position, feeling great pain in my + head. Marah lying over the tiller was the next thing which I + saw; he was dead, I thought. Then I realised what had + happened; we had had a fight. We were not under control; we + were drifting with the tide up and down, with our sails + backing and filling; up and down the deck there were wounded + men, some of them preventives, some of them + smugglers—poor Hankin was one of them. When I stood up + I saw that I was the only person on his feet in the boat: it + was not strange, perhaps. + </p> + <p> + Some of our men had gone with the horses, others had been in + the water when the horsemen first charged them; probably all + of those who had been in the water were either killed or + taken. We had had four men aboard during the attack: of these + one was badly hurt, another (Marah) was unconscious, the + remaining two were drinking under the half-deck, having + opened a tub of spirits. When I had stood up I felt a little + stronger; I heard Marah moan a little. I tottered to the + scuttle-butt, where we kept our drinking water; I splashed + the contents of a couple of pannikins over my head and then + drank about a pint and a half; that made me feel a different + being. I was then able to do something for the others. + </p> + <p> + First of all I managed to help Marah down from his perch over + the tiller: he had fallen across it with his head and hands + almost touching the deck. I helped him, or rather, lifted + him—for he could not help himself—to the deck; it + was as much as I could do, he was so big and heavy. I put a + tub under his head as a pillow, then I cut his shirt open and + saw that he had been shot in the chest. I ran forward with a + pannikin, drew some water, and gave him a drink. He drank + greedily, biting the tin, but did not recognise me; all that + he could say was "Rip-raps, Rip-raps," over and over again. + The Rip-raps was the name of a race or tideway on the + Campeachy coast; he had often told me about it, and I had + remembered the name because it was such a queer one. I bathed + his wound with the water. + </p> + <p> + After I had done what I could for Marah, I did the same for + the wounded soldier. He thanked me for my trouble in a + little, low, weak voice, infinitely serious—he seemed + to think that I didn't believe him. "I say, thank you; thank + you," he repeated earnestly, and then he gave a little gasp + and fainted away in the middle of his thanks. + </p> + <p> + At that, I stood up and began to cry. I had had enough of + misery, and that was more than I could bear. Between my sobs + I saw—I did not observe, I just saw—that the + lugger was drifting slowly northward, clear of Little Stone + Point, as the smugglers had called it. I didn't much care + where we drifted, but having seen so much, it occurred to me + to see where the other luggers were. + </p> + <p> + One of them, I saw, was on her course for France, a couple of + miles away already; the other was going for Dungeness, no + doubt to pick up more hands somewhere on the Dunge Marsh. It + was like them, I thought, to go off like that, leaving us to + have the worst of the fight and every chance of being taken; + they only thought of their own necks. When I saw that they + had deserted us without even pausing to put a helmsman aboard + us, I knew that there was no honour among thieves. There is + not, in spite of what the proverb says. We were left + alone—a boy, two drunkards, and some wounded men, + within half a mile of the shore. + </p> + <p> + I looked for the preventives, but I could not see them. Most + of them had gone after the horses across Romney Marsh. I did + not know till long afterwards that the smugglers had beaten + off the rest of the party, killing some and about twenty + horses, and wounding nearly every other man engaged. It had + been, in fact, a very determined battle, one of the worst + ever fought between the smugglers and the authorities on that + coast. As soon as the fight was over, the luggers got out + from the shore, and the troops made off with their wounded to + report at the fort, and to signal the Ness cutter to go in + chase. At the moment when I looked for them they must, I + think, have been rallying again. I could not see them, that + was enough for me. Years afterwards I talked with one of the + survivors, an old cavalryman. He told me how the fight had + seemed to him as he rode in at us. + </p> + <p> + "And d'ye know, sir," he said, "they had a boy forward ready + with an axe to cut the cable, so I fired at him" ("Thank + you," I thought); "and just as I pulled the trigger one of + their men hit my gee a welt, and down he came in the water, + and so, of course, I missed. But for that, sir, we'd have got + them." + </p> + <p> + I wondered which of the men had saved my life by hitting that + "gee a welt" I wondered if he had been killed or taken, or + whether he had got aboard us afterwards, or whether one of + the other luggers had saved him. Well, I shall never know on + this side of the grave. But it is odd, is it not, that one + should have one's life saved and never know that it was in + danger till twenty years afterwards, when the man who saved + it was never likely to be found? But I am getting away from + my story. + </p> + <p> + I soon saw that the current was slowly setting us ashore. + Marah, with his great manliness, had steered the lugger out + to sea for some six hundred yards before he had collapsed. + Then his fellows, seeing him, as they supposed, dead, turned + to drinking. The lugger, left to herself, took charge, and + swung round head to wind. Since then she had drifted, + sometimes making a stern-board, sometimes going ahead a + little, but nearly always drifting slowly shoreward, flogging + her gear, making a great clatter of blocks. If the soldiers + had been half smart they would have seen that she was not + under command, and ridden to Dymchurch, taken boat, and come + after us. But they had had a severe beating, many of them + were wounded, and they had watched our start feeling that we + had safely escaped from them. I have never had much opinion + of soldiers. Boys generally take their opinions ready made + from their elders. I took mine from Marah, who, being a + sailor, thought that a soldier was something too silly for + words. + </p> + <p> + As we drifted I went back to Marah to bathe his head with + water and to give him drink. He was not conscious; he had + even ceased babbling; I was afraid that he could not live for + more than a few hours at the most. I had never really liked + the man—I had feared him too much to like him—but + he had looked after me for so long, and had been, in his + rough way, so kind to me, that I cried for him as though he + were my only friend. He was the only friend within many miles + of me, and now he lay there dying in a boat which was + drifting ashore to a land full of enemies. + </p> + <p> + It was a hateful-looking land, flat and desolate, dank and + dirty-looking. The flat, dull, dirty marsh country seemed to + be without life; the very grass seemed blighted. And we were + drifting ashore to it, fast drifting ashore to the tune of + the two drunkards: + </p> + <p> + <br> + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame:<br> + Away, ho! Rise and shine.<br> + There was a ship, and a ship of fame,<br> + So rise and shine, my buck o boy." + </p> + <p> + A ship manned by such a crew was hardly a ship of fame, I + thought. Then it occurred to me that if she went ashore I + might escape from her, might even get safely home, or at + least get to London (I had no notion how far London might + be), where I thought that the Lord Mayor, of whom I had often + heard as a great man, would send me home. I had a new + half-crown in my pocket; that would be enough to keep me in + food on the road, I thought. And then, just as I thought + that, a little coast-current spun us in very rapidly, helped + by the wind, for about two hundred yards. This brought us + very close to the shore, but not quite near enough for me, + who had no great wish to start my journey wet through. + </p> + <p> + I gave Marah a last sip of water, left a bucket of fresh + water and a pannikin close to him, in case he should recover + (I never thought he would), and then began to make up a + little parcel of things to take with me. I was wearing the + clothes of a ship's boy, canvas trousers, thick blucher + shoes, a rough check shirt, and a straw hat. My own + clothes—the clothes which I had worn when I scrambled + down the fox's earth—were forward, under the half deck. + I went to fetch them, and got them safely, though the + drunkards tried to stop me, and said that they only wanted me + to sing them a song to be as happy as kings. However, I got + away from them, and carried my belongings aft. I then took + the tarpaulin boat-rug, which covered our little Norwegian + pram or skiff, on its chocks between the masts. It was rather + too large for my purpose, so I cut it in two, using the one + half as a bundle-cover. The other half would make a sort of + cape or cloak, I thought, and to that end I folded it and + slung it over my shoulder. I gave my knife a few turns upon + the grindstone, pocketed some twine from one of the lockers, + lashed my bundle in its tarpaulin as tightly as I could, and + then went aft to the provision lockers to get some stores for + the road. I took out a few ship's biscuits, a large hunk of + ham, some onions, and the half of a Dutch cheese. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that I ought to eat before + </p> + <p> + I started, as I did not know what might befall upon the road. + When I sat down upon the deck to begin my meal, I saw, to my + horror, that we were drifting out again. While I had been + packing, we had been swept off shore; by this time we were + three hundred yards away, still drawing further out to sea. + Looking out, I saw that we were drifting into a "jobble" or + tide-race, which seemed to drift obliquely into the shore. + This made me feel less frightened, so I turned to my food, + ate heartily, and took a good swig at the scuttle-butt by way + of a morning draught. Then I undid my parcel, packed as much + food into it as I possibly could, and lashed it up again in + its tarpaulin. I found a few reins and straps in one of the + lockers, so I made shoulder-straps of them, and buckled my + package to my shoulders. My last preparation was to fill a + half-pint glass flask (every man aboard carries one or two of + these). Just as I replaced its stopper, we swept into the + jobble; the lugger filled on one tack, and lay over, and the + spray of a wave came over us. Then we righted suddenly, came + up into the wind with our sails slatting, and made a + stern-board. + </p> + <p> + Nearer and nearer came the land; the shore, with its bent + grass, seemed almost within catapult shot. I heard the wash + of the sea upon the beach, I could see the pebbles on the + sands shining as the foam left them. And then, suddenly, the + lugger drove ashore upon a bank, stern first. In a moment she + had swung round, broadside on to the shoal, heaving over on + her side. Every wave which struck her lifted her further in, + tossing her over on her starboard side. I could see that the + tide was now very nearly fully in, and I knew that the lugger + would lie there, high and dry, as soon as it ebbed. + </p> + <p> + I made Marah as comfortable as I could, and called to the + drunkards to come with me. I told them that a revenue cutter + was within six miles of us (there was, as it happened, but + she was at anchor off Dymchurch), and that they had better be + going out of that before they got themselves arrested. For + answer they jeered and made catcalls, flinging a + marline-spike at me. I tried a second time to make them come + ashore, but one of them said, "Let's do for him," and the + other cheered the proposal with loud yells. Then they came + lurching aft at me, so I just slipped over the side, and + waded very hurriedly ashore. The water was not deep (it was + not up to my thighs in any place), so that I soon reached the + sand without wetting my package. Then I looked back to see + the two smugglers leaning over the side, watching my + movements. One of them was singing—<br> + <br> + "There was a ship, and a ship of fame:<br> + Away, ho! Rise and shine"<br> + <br> + in a cracked falsetto. The other one was saying, "You + come back, you young cub." + </p> + <p> + But I did not do as they bid. I ran up the beach and as far + across the wet grassland as I could without once stopping. + When I thought that I was safe, I sat down under some bushes, + took off my wet things, and dressed myself in my own clothes. + I wrung the water from the wet canvas, repacked my parcel, + and seeing a road close to me, turned into it at once, + resolved to ask the way to London at the first house. I + suppose that it was five o'clock in the morning when I began + my journey. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII + </h2> + <h3> + THE "BLUE BOAR" + </h3> + <p> + As I stepped out, the adventure, the fight, Marah's wound, + all the tumult of the battle, seemed very far away, and as + though they had happened to some one else who had told me of + them. If my head had not ached so cruelly from the blow which + the soldier gave me, I should not have believed that they had + really occurred, and that I had seen them and taken part in + them. It seemed to me that I was close to my home, that I + should soon come to the combe country, where the Gara runs + down the valley to the sea, passing the slate quarry, so grey + against the copse. The road was good enough, though I was not + in good trim for walking, after so many days cooped up in the + lugger. I stepped forward bravely along a lonely countryside + till I saw before me the houses of a town. + </p> + <p> + I thought that I had better skirt the town, lest I should + tumble on the coastguards and rouse their suspicions. It was + too early in the morning for a boy to be abroad, and I had no + very satisfactory account to give of myself in case anybody + questioned me. I knew that if I said that I had been among + the smugglers I should be sent to prison. I felt that the + magistrate would be too angry to listen to my story, and that + they would perhaps send to me prison at once if they ever got + hold of me. Magistrates in those days had a great deal of + power. They were often illiterate, and they bullied and + hectored the people whom they tried. I had seen one or two + bad magistrates at home, and I knew how little chance I + should stand if I told my unlikely story to a bench in a + court-house before such men as they were. So I turned up a + small road to the right, avoiding the town, where, as I could + see, a good deal of bustle was stirring; indeed, the streets + were full of people. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by, as the sun rose higher, I began to meet people. A + few labouring men came past me, one of them carrying a + pitchfork. I noticed that they looked at me curiously. One of + them spoke, and said, "You have been in the wars, master!" So + I said, "Yes," and passed on, wondering what he meant. After + I had passed, the man stopped to look back at me. I even + heard him take a few steps towards me, before he thought + better of it, and went on upon his way. This set me wondering + if there were anything strange about my appearance; so, when + I came to the little brook or river, which crossed the road a + little further on, I went down to a pool where the water was + still, and looked at my image in the water. Sure enough, I + had an odd appearance. The blow which the soldier gave me had + broken the skin of my scalp, not badly, but enough to make an + ugly scar. You may be sure that I lost no time in washing my + face and head, till no stains showed. I rebuked myself for + not having done this while aboard the lugger, when I had + splashed my head at the scuttle-butt. I felt all the better + for the wash in the brook; but when I took to the road again + I had a great fear lest the labourers should hear of the + battle, and give out that they had seen a wounded boy going + along the road away from the beach. + </p> + <p> + After a mile of lane, I came to a highroad, past a church and + houses, all very peaceful and still. I passed these, and + wandered on along the highroad, thinking that I had gone many + miles from the sea, though, of course, I had only gone a + little distance. When one walks a new road, one finds it much + longer than it really is. I sat down by the roadside now and + then to think of plans. I felt that my best plan would be to + go to London, and see the Lord Mayor, who, I felt sure, would + help me to get home. But I had not much notion of where + London was, and I knew that if I went into a house to ask the + road to London, people would suspect that I was running away, + and so, perhaps, find out that I had been with the smugglers. + I knew that many people there must be smugglers themselves; + but then, suppose that I asked at a house where they were + friends of the preventives? The smugglers had signs among + themselves by which they recognised each other. + </p> + <p> + They used to scratch the left ear with the left little + finger, and then bite the lower lip, before shaking hands + with anybody. I thought that I would go into an inn and try + these signs on somebody (on the landlord if possible) and + then ask his advice. An inn would be a good place, I thought, + because the landlord would be sure to buy from the smugglers; + besides, in inns there are generally maps of the country, + showing the coaching houses, and the days of the fairs. A map + of the kind would show me my road, and be a help to me in + that way, even if the landlord did not recognise my signs. + And yet I was half afraid of trying these signs. I did not + want to get back among the smugglers. + </p> + <p> + I only wanted to get to London. I had that foolish belief + that the Lord Mayor would help me. I was too young to know + better; and besides, I was afraid that my being with the + smugglers would, perhaps, get me hanged, if I were caught by + one of those magistrates, whom I so much feared. + </p> + <p> + Presently I came to another little village, rather larger + than the last. There was an inn in the main street (the "Blue + Boar"), so I went into the inn-parlour, and looked about me. + One or two men were talking earnestly, in low voices, to a + sad-faced, weary-looking woman behind the bar. She looked up + at me rather sharply as I entered, and the men turned round + and stared at me, made a few more remarks to the woman, and + went quickly out. I looked at the woman, scratched my left + ear with my left little finger, and bit my lower lip. She + caught her breath sharply and turned quite white; evidently + she knew that sign extremely well. + </p> + <p> + "What is it?" she said, "what's the news? There's been + fighting. Where's Dick?" + </p> + <p> + I said I didn't know where Dick was, but that there had been + fighting, sure enough; and the preventives had been beaten + off. + </p> + <p> + "Ah," she said, "and the stuff? Did they get the stuff off?" + </p> + <p> + I said I believed that it had got off safely. + </p> + <p> + "I believe everybody's bewitched to-day," she said, bursting + into tears. "Oh, Dick, come back to me. Come back to me. Oh, + why did I ever marry a man like you?" + </p> + <p> + She cried bitterly for a few minutes. Then she asked me a lot + of questions about the fight. One question she repeated many + times: "Was there a grey horse in the second string?" + </p> + <p> + But this I could not answer certainly. All the time that we + were talking, she was crying and laughing by turns. Whenever + a person entered (even if it were only the milkman) she + turned white and shook, as though expecting the police. + </p> + <p> + "It's the palpitation," she would explain. "That and the + sizzums." + </p> + <p> + Then she would go on laughing and crying by turns until some + one else came in. + </p> + <p> + Presently the landlady looked at me rather hard. "Here," she + said, "you are not one of them. You've run away from home, + you have. What are you doing here?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was on my way to London. + </p> + <p> + "To London," she said. "What's a boy like you going to London + for? How are you going?" + </p> + <p> + I said that I was going to walk there, to see the Lord Mayor. + </p> + <p> + "To—see—the—Lord Mayor," she repeated. "Is + the boy daft, or what?" + </p> + <p> + I blushed, and hung my head, for I did not like to be laughed + at. + </p> + <p> + "What are you going to see the Lord Mayor for?" she asked + with a smile. + </p> + <p> + I answered that he would send me home to my friends, as he + was always generous to people in distress. She laughed very + heartily when I had said this: but still, not unkindly. Then + she asked me a lot of questions about my joining the + smugglers, about my friends at home (particularly if they + were well off), and about the money I had to carry me to + London. When I had told her everything, she + said,—"Well, why don't you write to your friends from + here? Surely that's a more sensible plan than going to + London—why, London's seventy miles. Write to your + friends from here. They will get the letter in three or four + days. They will be here within a week from now. That's a + wiser thing to do than going to London. Why, you'd die in a + ditch before you got half-way." + </p> + <p> + "I shouldn't," I answered hotly. + </p> + <p> + "Well, if you didn't you'd get taken up. It's all the same," + she answered. "You stop here and write to your friends. I + will see that the letter goes all right. I suppose," she + continued, "I suppose your friends wouldn't let me be a loser + by you? They'd pay for what you ate and that?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said, "of course they will." + </p> + <p> + "What's your name?" she said sharply. + </p> + <p> + I told her. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she said. "Jim—Jim Davis. Let's see that shirt of + yours, to see if it's got your name on. I been taken in once + or twice before. One has to look alive, keeping an inn." + </p> + <p> + Luckily my name was upon my shirt and stockings, so that she + accepted my story without further talk, especially as the + contents of my package showed her that I told her the truth + about the lugger. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what Dick will say," she said. "But now you + come up, and I'll dress your head. You'll have to lie low, + remember. It won't do for a smuggler like you to be seen + about here. So till your friends come, you'll keep pretty + dark, remember." + </p> + <p> + She led me upstairs to plaster my wound. Then she put me into + a little bedroom on one of the upper floors, and told me to + stay there till she called me. There were one or two books + upon the shelf, including a funny one with woodcuts, a + collection of tales and ballads, such as the pedlers used to + sell in those days. With this book, and with a piece of paper + and a pencil, I passed the morning more happily than I can + say. + </p> + <p> + My head felt quite easy after it had been dressed and + bandaged. My troubles were nearly over, I thought. In a week + my friends would be there to fetch me away. In three days + they would get my letter and hear all about my adventures; so + as I wrote I almost sang aloud; I was so happy at the thought + of my sorrows being ended. Mrs Dick (I never learned her real + name till some years afterwards) brought me some bread and + cheese at midday. As I ate, she sealed and addressed my + letter for me, and took it over to the post-house, so that + the postman could carry it to meet the mail, as it drove past + from Rye towards London. + </p> + <p> + After my midday meal I felt strangely weary; perhaps all my + excitements had been too much for me. When Mrs Dick came back + to say that she had posted my letter I was almost asleep; but + her manner was so strange that it roused me. She could hardly + speak from anxiety and terror. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she cried, "they have raised the whole country. My + Dick'll be taken. He will. He will. They're riding all + through the land arresting everybody. And they're going to + hang them all, they say, as soon as they can give them their + trials." + </p> + <p> + She cried and cried as though her heart would break. I did + what I could to comfort her, but still she cried + hysterically, and for all that afternoon she sobbed and + laughed in the little upper bedroom, only going out at rare + intervals, to peep into the bar, where her servant served the + guests. + </p> + <p> + Towards five o'clock, the servant came running upstairs to + say that a lot of the smugglers had been taken. "A whole + boatload," the girl said, so that now it would "all come out, + and master would be hanged." Mrs Dick told her not to talk in + that way of her master, but to find out if any of the men had + peached. + </p> + <p> + When the girl had gone she seemed to collect herself. She + became a different woman in a minute. + </p> + <p> + "Well, if he's taken," she said, "they'll be here. That's + very sure. They'll search the premises. They mustn't find you + here, Mr Jim. If they find you, they'll question you, and you + know too much by a long way." + </p> + <p> + "Shall I go?" I asked. "I'm willing to clear out, if you + wish." + </p> + <p> + "Go?" she said. "Go? I will turn no poor boy out into the + road. I have a boy of my own, somewhere walking the world. + No, I'll put you in the drawing-room. Come with me, and don't + make a noise." + </p> + <p> + She led me downstairs to the foot of the lowest staircase, + which was rather broad, with high steps of stout old oak. + </p> + <p> + "Look," she said, as she stepped away from me—I suppose + to touch some secret spring—"this is the drawing-room." + </p> + <p> + As she spoke, the two lowest stairs suddenly rolled back upon + a sort of hinge, showing a little room, not much bigger than + a couple of barrels, arranged underneath them. There were + blankets and a mattress upon the floor of this little room, + besides several packages like those which I had seen in the + lugger. + </p> + <p> + "You'll have to stay here, Jim," she said kindly. "But first + of all I must get together Dick's papers and that. Come on + and help me." + </p> + <p> + Very soon she had gathered together a few papers and packets + of tobacco and lace, which might have brought Dick into + trouble. She laid these away in the recesses of the secret + room, and told me to get inside, and go to sleep, and above + all things to keep very still if people came along upon the + stairs. I crept inside, rather frightened, and lay down among + the blankets, to get some rest. Then Mrs Dick swung the two + stairs back in to their place, a spring clicked, and I was a + prisoner in the dark, shut up in the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII + </h2> + <h3> + TRACKED + </h3> + <p> + It was very dark in the drawing-room under the stairs, and + rather stuffy, for the only light and air admitted came + through a little narrow crack, about six inches long, and + half an inch across at its broadest. There was a strong smell + of mice, among other smells; and the mice came scampering all + over me before I had lain there long. I lay as still as I + could, because of what Mrs Dick had said, and by-and-by I + fell asleep in spite of the mice, and slept until it was + dark. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened by the rolling back of the stairs. As I + started up, thinking that I was captured, I saw Mrs Dick + standing over me with a candle in her hand. + </p> + <p> + "Hush, Jim," she said. "Get out quickly. Don't ask any + questions. Get out at once. You can't stay here any longer." + </p> + <p> + "What has happened?" I asked. "Where is your husband? Has + your husband come home?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes," she said. "And you must go. They're coming after you. + You were seen in the lugger with an axe in your hands. A man + who passed you on the road after, saw you in the lugger. He + was with the soldiers, and now he's given an information. + Mary, the girl, heard it down at the magistrate's, where the + inquest is. And so you must go. Besides, I want the + drawing-room for my Dick. He has come back, and they'll be + after him quite likely. He was seen, they say. So he must lie + low till we've arranged the alibi, as they call it. Everybody + has to have an alibi. And so my Dick'll have one, just to + make sure. Mind your head against the stair." + </p> + <p> + I crawled out, rubbing my eyes. + </p> + <p> + "Where shall I go to?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," she said. "Until we find out, you had better go in the + stable, in among the feed in the box, or covered up in the + hay." + </p> + <p> + When she had settled her husband safely into the + drawing-room, she bustled me out of doors into the stable, + which stood in the yard at the back of the inn. She put me + into a mass of loose hay, in one of the unused stalls. + </p> + <p> + "There," she said. "They'll never look for you there. Don't + get hay-fever and begin to sneeze, though. Here's your parcel + for you. It wouldn't do to leave that about in the house, + would it?" + </p> + <p> + She wished me good night and bustled back to the inn, to + laugh and jest as though nothing was happening, and as though + she had no trouble in the world. + </p> + <p> + I lay very quietly in my warm nest in the hay, feeling lonely + in that still stable after my nights in the lugger among the + men. The old horse stamped once or twice, and the stable cat + came purring to me, seeking to be petted. The church clock + struck nine, and rang out a chime. Shortly after nine I heard + the clatter of many horses' hoofs coming along the road, and + then the noise of cavalry jingling and clattering into the + inn yard. A horse whinnied, the old horse in the stable + whinnied in answer. A curt voice called to the men to + dismount, and for some one to hold the horses. I strained my + ears to hear any further words, but some one banging on a + door (I guessed it to be the inn door) drowned the orders. + </p> + <p> + Then some one cried out, "Well, break it in, then. Don't come + asking me." + </p> + <p> + After that there was more banging, an excited cry from a + woman, and a few minutes of quiet. + </p> + <p> + I crept from my hiding-place to the window, so that I might + see what was happening. The whole yard was full of cavalry. A + couple of troopers were holding horses quite close to the + door. By listening carefully, I could hear what they were + saying. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said one of them; "I got a proper lick myself. I + shan't mind if they do get caught. They say there's some of + them caught in a boat." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said his mate; "three. And they do say we shall find a + boy here as well as the other fellow. There was a boy aboard + all night. And he's been tracked here. He's as good as + caught, I reckon." + </p> + <p> + "I suppose they'll all be hanged?" said the first. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the other. "Won't be no defence for them. Neck or + nothing. Hey?" + </p> + <p> + Then they passed out of earshot, leading their horses. I was + so horribly scared that I was almost beside myself. What + could I do? Where could I go? Where could I hide? The only + door and window opened on to the courtyard. The loft was my + only chance. I snatched up my parcel, and ran to the little + ladder (nailed to the wall) which led to the loft, and + climbed up as though the hounds were after me. + </p> + <p> + Even in the loft I was not much better off. There was a heap + of hay and a few bundles of straw lying at one end, and two + great swing-doors, opening on to the courtyard, through which + the hay and straw had been passed to shelter. It was plainly + useless to lie down in the straw. That would be the first + place searched. I should be caught at once if I hid among the + straw. Then it occurred to me that the loft must lead to a + pigeon-house. I had seen a pigeon-house above and at one end + of the stable, and I judged that the loft would communicate + with it. It was not very light, but, by groping along the end + wall, I came to a little latched door leading to another + little room. This was the pigeon-house, and as I burst into + it, closing the door behind me, the many pigeons rustled and + stirred upon their nests and perches. It was darker in the + pigeon-house than in the loft, but I could see that the place + was bigger than the loft itself, and this gave me hope that + there would be an opening at the back of it away from the + yard. I had not much time, I knew, because the troopers were + already trying to open the stable-door below me. I could hear + them pounding and grumbling. Just as I heard them say, + "That's it. The bar lifts up. There you are"—showing + that they had found how to open the door—I came to a + little door at the back, a little rotten door, locked and + bolted with rusty cobwebbed iron. Very cautiously I turned + the lock and drew the bolts back. The latch creaked under my + thumb for the first time in many years. I was outside the + door on a little, rotten, wooden landing, from which a flight + of wooden steps led downward. I saw beyond me a few + farm-buildings, a byre, several pigsties, and three disused + waggons. Voices sounded in the stable as I climbed down the + steps. I heard a man say, "He might be in the loft. We might + look there." And then I touched the ground, and scurried + quickly past the shelters to the outer wall. + </p> + <p> + Happily for me, the wall was well-grown with ivy, so that I + could climb to the top. There was a six-foot drop on the far + side into a lane; but it was now neck or nothing, so I let + myself go. I came down with a crack which made my teeth + rattle, my parcel spun away into a bed of nettles, and I got + well stung in fishing it out. Then I strapped it on my back + and turned along the lane in the direction which (as I + judged) led me away from the sea. As I stepped out on my + adventures, I heard the ordered trample of horses leaving the + inn-yard together to seek elsewhere. The lane soon ended at a + stile, which led into a field. I saw a barn or shed just + beyond the stile, and in the shed there was a heap of hay, + which smelt a little mouldy. I lay down upon it, determined + to wake early, and creep back to the inn before anybody + stirred in the village. + </p> + <p> + "Ah, well," I said to myself before I fell asleep, "in a + week's time they will be here to take me home. Then my + troubles will be over." + </p> + <p> + I remember that all my fear of the troops was gone. I felt so + sure that all would be well in the morning. So, putting my + parcel under my head as a pillow, I snuggled down into the + hay, and very soon fell asleep. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened in the morning by the entrance of an old + cart-horse, who came to smell at the hay. It was light enough + to see where I was going, so I opened my knapsack and made a + rough breakfast before setting out. Overnight I had planned + to go back to the inn. In the cool of the morning that plan + did not seem so very wise as I had thought it. I was almost + afraid to put it into practice. However, I went back along + the lane. With some trouble, I got over the tall brick wall + down which I had dropped the night before. Then I climbed up + to the pigeon-house, down the loft-ladder, into the inn-yard, + to the broken back door of the tavern. The door hung from one + hinge, with its lower panels kicked in just as the soldiers + had left it. The inn was open to anybody who cared to enter. + </p> + <p> + I entered cautiously, half expecting to find a few soldiers + billeted there. But the place was empty. I went from room to + room, finding no one; Mrs. Dick seemed to have disappeared. + One of the rooms was in disorder. A few broken glasses were + on the floor; a chair lay on its side under the table. I went + upstairs. I tapped at the outside of the drawing-room. No + answer there; all was still there. I listened attentively for + some sound of breathing; none came. No one was inside. I went + all over the house. No one was there. I was alone in the + "Blue Boar," the only person in the house. I could only guess + that Mr and Mrs Dick had been arrested. To be sure, they + might have run away together during the night. I did not + quite know what to think. + </p> + <p> + In my wanderings, I came to the bar, which I found in great + disorder; the bench was upset, jugs and glasses were + scattered on the floor, and the blinds had not been pulled + up. Although I had some fear of being seen from outside, I + pulled up the blinds to let in a little light, so that I + might look at the coaching-map which hung at one end of the + bar. When I passed behind the bar to trace out for myself the + road to London, I saw an open book lying on a shelf among the + bottles. It was a copy of Captain Johnson's <i>Lives of the + Highwaymen and Pirates</i>, lying open at the life of Captain + Roberts, the famous pirate Whydah. Some one must have been + reading it when the soldiers entered. + </p> + <p> + I looked at it curiously, for it was open at the portrait of + Roberts. Underneath the portrait were a few words written in + pencil in a clumsy scrawl. I read them over, expecting some + of the ordinary schoolboy nonsense. + </p> + <p> + "Captain Roberts was a bad one. <i>Jim</i>. Don't come back + here. The lobsters is around." That was all the message. But + I saw at once that it was meant for me; that Mrs Dick, + knowing that I should come back, had done her best to leave a + warning for me. "Lobsters," I knew, was the smugglers' slang + for soldiers; and if the lobsters were dangerous to me it was + plain that I was wanted for my innocent share in the fight. I + looked through the book for any further message; but there + was no other entry, except a brief pencilled memorandum of + what some one had paid for groceries many years before, at + some market town not named. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX + </h2> + <h3> + THE ROAD TO LONDON + </h3> + <p> + You may be sure that I lost no time in leaving the inn. I + merely noted the way to London from the coaching-map and + hurried out, repeating the direction so that I should not + forget. It was a bright, cool morning: and I walked very + briskly for a couple of hours, when I sat down to rest by the + roadside, under a patch of willows, which grew about a little + bubbling brook. Presently I saw that a little way ahead of me + were three gipsy-looking people (a boy with his father and + mother), sitting by the road resting. They got up, after I + had been there for twenty minutes or so, and came along the + road towards me, bowed under their bundles. I got up, too, + intending to continue my journey; but when I was about to + pass them, the man drew up in front of me. + </p> + <p> + "Beg your pardon, young master," he said; "but could you tell + me the way to Big Ben?" "But that's in London," I said. + "That's in London, at the House of Parliament." + </p> + <p> + "What!" he cried. "You don't mean to tell me that us have + come the wrong road?' + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I said. "You're going the wrong way for London." + </p> + <p> + "Then take that," cried the man, giving me a shove, just as + the woman flung her shawl over my head. I stepped back, for + the shove was no light one; but just behind me the boy had + crouched on all fours (he had evidently practised the trick), + so that I went headlong over him, and had a nasty fall into + the road. + </p> + <p> + "Stop his mouth, Martha," said the man: and stop it she did, + with her ragged old shawl, in which she had evidently carried + the provisions of the gang. + </p> + <p> + "What's he got on him?" said the woman, as the man rummaged + through my pockets. + </p> + <p> + "Only a prince and a chive," said the man, disgustedly, + meaning my half-crown and a jack-knife. + </p> + <p> + "Well," said the woman, "his jacket's better than Bill's, and + we'll have his little portmanteau, what's more." + </p> + <p> + In another minute they had my suit stripped from me; and I + had the sight of dirty little Bill, the tramper's boy, + putting on my things. + </p> + <p> + "Here," said the woman. "You put on Bill's things. They're + good enough for you. And don't you dare breathe a word of + what we done." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said the man, as Bill buttoned up his jacket, and took + my little bundle in his hand. "You keep your little jaw shut + or <i>I</i>'ll come after you." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Mother," said Bill. "Don't I look a young swell, + neither?" + </p> + <p> + For answer, his mother grabbed him by the arm, and the three + hurried away from me in the direction from which I had come. + The man looked back and made a face at me, shaking his fist. + I was left penniless in the road. A milestone told me that I + was seventy miles from London. + </p> + <p> + I was now at the end of my resources; almost too miserable to + cry. I did not know what was to become of me. I could only + wander along the road, in a dazed sort of way, wishing for + Marah. I was wretched and faint, and Marah was so strong and + careless. Then I said to myself that Marah was dead, and that + I should soon be dead, for I had neither food nor money. The + smugglers had talked of shipwrecks once or twice. I had heard + them say that a man could live for three days without food or + drink, in fair weather; and that without food, drinking + plenty of water, he could live for three weeks. They were + very wild talkers, to be sure; but I remembered this now and + got comfort from it. Surely, I thought, I shall be able to + last for a week, and in a week I ought to be near London. + Besides, I can eat grass; and perhaps I shall find a turnip, + or a potato, or a partridge's nest with young ones still in + it; and perhaps I shall be able to earn a few coppers by + opening gates, or holding horses. + </p> + <p> + I plucked up wonderfully when I thought of all these things; + though I did not at all like wearing Bill's clothes. I felt + that I looked like a dirty young tramp, and that anybody who + saw me would think that I was one. Besides, I had always + hated dirt and untidiness, and the feeling that I carried + both about me was hateful. + </p> + <p> + But Bill's clothes were to be a great help to me before noon + that day. As I wandered along the road, wondering where I + could get something to eat (for I was now very hungry), I + came to a turnpike. The turnpike-keeper was cleaning his + windows, outside his little house. When he saw me, he just + popped his head inside the door, and said something to some + people inside. His manner frightened me; but I was still more + frightened when two Bow Street runners (as we called + detectives then) and a yeomanry officer came out of the + house, and laid hold of me. + </p> + <p> + "That's your boy, sir," said the turnpike-keeper. + </p> + <p> + "Come on in here," said the officer, "and give an account of + yourself." + </p> + <p> + They led me into the room, where they were eating some bread + and cheese. + </p> + <p> + "He doesn't answer the description," said one of the men, + glancing at a paper. + </p> + <p> + "I'm not so sure about that," said the officer. "He's the + exact height, and that's the same coloured hair." + </p> + <p> + "Now I come to think of it," said the keeper, "I believe I + saw that boy pass along here this morning, along with two + trampers. That coat with the pocket torn. Yes, and red lining + showing. I thought I'd seen them." + </p> + <p> + "Well, boy," said the officer, "what's your name?" + </p> + <p> + "Jim Davis," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "What were you doing with the two trampers, Jim?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Please, sir," I said, "I wasn't doing anything with them." + </p> + <p> + "Ah," said one of the runners. "These young rogues is that + artful, they never do nothing anywhere." + </p> + <p> + "You'll live to be hanged, I know," said the other runner. + </p> + <p> + "What were you doing with the smugglers?" asked the officer + suddenly, staring hard at my face, to watch for any change of + expression. + </p> + <p> + But I was ready for him. A boy is often better able to keep + his countenance than a grown man. With masters, and aunts, + and game-keepers all down upon him, he lives a hunted life. + He gets lots of practice in keeping his countenance. A grown + man often gets very little. + </p> + <p> + "What smugglers, sir?" I asked as boldly as I could. + </p> + <p> + "The men you sailed with from Etaples," said the officer. + </p> + <p> + "Sailed with?" I asked, feeling that I was done for. + </p> + <p> + "Didn't the horses splash about, when you cut the cable?" + said the officer, with a smile. + </p> + <p> + This time I thought I had better not answer. I looked as + puzzled as I could, and looked from one face to the other, as + though for enlightenment. + </p> + <p> + "Now, Jim," said one of the runners. "It's no good. Tell us + all about the smugglers, and we'll let you go." + </p> + <p> + "We know you're the boy we want," said the captain. "Make a + clean breast of it, and perhaps you will get off with + transportation." + </p> + <p> + "Now don't look so innocent," said the other runner. "Tell us + what we want to know, or we'll make you." + </p> + <p> + Now somewhere I had read that the police bullied suspected + persons in this way. If you make a guilty person believe that + you know him to be guilty, you can also get him to confess if + you startle him sufficiently. It occurred to me that this was + what these men were doing, especially as they had not been + sure of me when I came into the room. + </p> + <p> + I had some twenty or thirty seconds in which to think of an + answer, for the three men spoke one after the other, without + giving me a chance to speak. I shook my head, putting on a + puzzled look. + </p> + <p> + "I beg your pardon, sir," I said, speaking rather roughly, in + the accent which Bill had used. "I think there's some + mistake." + </p> + <p> + "Oh, I think not," said the officer. "Suppose I tell you how + many men were in the lugger?" + </p> + <p> + But here we were stopped by the arrival of a chaise outside. + A man entered hurriedly. + </p> + <p> + "It's all right, Gray," the newcomer called to the officer. + "We have the boy. We caught him back there, along the road, + with a couple of gipsies. There can be no doubt about it. The + clothes and bundle are just as they're described in the + advertisement. Who have you here?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, a boy we brought in on suspicion," said the officer. + "Shall we let him go?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, who is he?" asked the new arrival. "Eh, boy? Who are + you?" + </p> + <p> + "A poor boy," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "How do you make a living?" he asked. "Little boys, like you, + oughtn't to be about on the roads, you know. What d'ye do for + a living?" + </p> + <p> + I am afraid it was rather a bold statement; but I cried out + that I could sing ballads. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Jim. So you sing ballads, do you?" said the officer. + "Get on to that chair and sing us a ballad." + </p> + <p> + But I was cunning and wary. "Please, sir," I said, "I'm very + hungry. I don't sing, except for my dinner and a sixpence." + </p> + <p> + "So you defy the law already, do you?" said the newcomer. + "Well. Eat some bread and cheese, and I will give you + sixpence for a song." + </p> + <p> + So I sat down very thankfully, and made a good dinner at the + table. I pretended to pay no attention to the officers; but + really I listened very eagerly to all that they said. I + gathered that the newcomer was a coastguard naval captain, of + the name of Byrne, and I felt that he half-suspected and + half-liked me, without thinking very much about me one way or + the other. When I had finished my dinner—and I ate + enough to last me till the night—I got upon my chair, + without being pressed, and sang the ballad of "The White + Cockade," then very popular all over the West country. My + voice was not bad in those days, and I was used to singing; + indeed, people sang more then than they do now. Everybody + sang. + </p> + <p> + Captain Byrne seemed puzzled by my voice, and by my + cultivated accent. "Who taught you to sing?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + So I answered that I had been in the village choir at home; + which was true enough. + </p> + <p> + "And where was that?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + For a moment I thought that I would trust him, and tell him + everything. Then, very foolishly, I determined to say + nothing, so I said that it was a long way away, and that I + had come from thence after my father had died. He whispered + something to Mr. Gray, the other officer; and they looked at + me curiously. They both gave me a sixpenny piece for my + ballad; and then they went out. Captain Byrne stopped at the + door. "Look here," he said, "you take my advice and go home. + You will come to no good, leading this wandering life." + </p> + <p> + When they had gone, I went out also, and watched their chaise + disappear. The last that I saw of them was the two top-hats + of the runners, sticking up at the back of the conveyance, + like little black chimneys. + </p> + <p> + I felt very glad that Bill was taken up, evidently in mistake + for me. It seemed a fitting reward. But at the same time I + knew that the mistake might be found out at any moment; and + that I should be searched for as soon as Bill had cleared + himself. I walked slowly away from the turnpike, so that the + keeper might not suspect me, and then I nipped over a stile, + and ran away across country, going inland, away from the sea, + as fast as I could travel. I could tell my direction by the + sun, and I kept a westerly course, almost due west, for three + or four hours, till I was tired out. + </p> + <p> + It was a lonely walk, too; hardly anything but wild, rather + marshy country, with few houses, few churches, and no bigger + town than the tiniest of villages. At about six o'clock that + afternoon, when I had gone some sixteen miles since daybreak, + I felt that I could go no further, and began to cast about + for a lodging-place. + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX + </h2> + <h3> + THE GIPSY CAMP + </h3> + <p> + I plodded on till I came to a sort of copse or little wood, + where I expected to find shelter. Supper I had resolved to do + without; I wished to keep my shilling for dinner and + breakfast the next day. As I came up to the copse hedge I saw + that some gipsies were camped there. They had a fine + travelling waggon drawn up on some waste ground near at hand; + they had also pitched three or four beehive huts, made of + bent poles, covered with sacks. They were horse-dealers and + basket-makers, as one could see from the drove of lean horses + and heap of wicker-work near the waggon. Several children + were playing about among the huts. Some women were at their + basket-making by the waggon. A middle-aged man, smoking a + pipe, stood by the hedge, mending what looked like an + enormous butterfly net. In spite of my adventure on the road, + I was not at all frightened by these gipsies, because I liked + their looks, and I knew now that I had only my shilling to + lose, and that I could earn a dinner at any time by singing a + ballad. + </p> + <p> + The middle-aged man looked rather hard at me as I came near, + and called out in a strange language to his people in the + tents. They came about me at the call, and stared at me very + strangely, as though I was a queer beast escaped from a + menagerie. Then, to my great surprise, the man pointed to my + forehead, and all the gipsies stared at my forehead, + repeating those queer words which Marah had used so long + before in the gorse-clump—"Orel. Orel. Adartha Cay." + They seemed very pleased and proud; they clapped their hands + and danced, as though I was a little prince. All the time + they kept singing and talking in their curious language. Now + and then one of them would come up to me and push back my cap + to look at my hair, which was of a dark brown colour, with a + dash of reddy gold above my forehead. + </p> + <p> + I learned afterwards that gipsies held sacred all boys with + hair like mine. They call the ruddy tinge over the forehead + "the cross upon crutches"; for long ago, they say, a great + gipsy hero had that mark upon his brow in lines of fire; and + to this day all people with a fiery lock of hair, they + believe, bring luck to them. + </p> + <p> + When the gipsies had danced for some twenty minutes, the + elderly man (who seemed to be a chief among them) begged me + (in English) with many profound bows and smiles, to enter + their waggon. I had heard that the gipsies stole little + children; but as I had never heard of them stealing a boy of + my age I did not fear them. So I entered the waggon as he + bade me, and very neat and trim it was. Here a man produced a + curious red suit of clothes, rather too small for me; but + still a lot better than Bill's rags. He begged me to put it + on, which I did. I know now that it was the red magical suit + in which the gipsies dress their magical puppets on St. + John's Eve; but as I did not then know this, I put it on + quite willingly, wishing that it fitted better. + </p> + <p> + Then we came out again among the huts, and all the other + gipsies crowded round me, laughing and clapping their hands; + for now, they thought, their tribe would have wonderful luck + wherever they went. The women put a pot upon the fire, ready + for supper. Everybody treated me (very much to my annoyance) + as though I were a fairy child. Whenever I spoke, they bowed + and laughed and clapped their hands, crying out in their wild + language, till I could have boxed their ears. + </p> + <p> + When supper was ready, they brought me to the place of honour + by the fire, and fed me with all the delicacies of the gipsy + race. We had hedgehog baked in a clay cover—though I + did not much like him—and then a stew of poultry and + pheasant (both stolen, I'm afraid) with bread baked in the + ashes; and wonderful tea, which they said cost eighteen + shillings a pound. They annoyed me very much by the way in + which they bowed and smirked, but they really meant to be + kind, and I had sense enough to know that while I was with + them I should be practically safe from the runners and + yeomanry. After supper they made me up a bed in the waggon. + The next morning before daybreak we started off, horses, + waggon, and all, away towards the west; going to Portsmouth + Fair, the man said, to sell their horses. + </p> + <p> + I had not been very long among the gipsies when I discovered + that I was as much a prisoner as a pet. They would never let + me out of their sight. If I tried to get away by myself, one + of the children, or a young woman would follow me, or rather, + come in the same direction, and pretend not to be following + me; but all the time noting where I went, and heading me off + carefully if I went too far from the caravan. Before the end + of the first day I was wondering how it would all finish, and + whether they meant to make a gipsy of me. They were very + careful not to let me be seen by other travellers. When the + road was clear, they would let me follow the caravan on foot; + but when people drove past us, and whenever we came to a + village (they always avoided the big towns), they hurried me + into the waggon, and kept me from peeping out. At night, when + we pitched our camp, after a long day's journey of sixteen or + seventeen hours, they gave me a bed inside the caravan; and + the elderly chief laid his blankets on the waggon floor, + between my bed and the door, so that I should not get out. I + lived with the gipsies in this way for three whole days. + </p> + <p> + I did not like it any better as time went on. I kept thinking + of how I should escape, and worrying about the anxiety at + home, now that my letter must have reached them. I did not + think any more about the police. I felt that they would give + me no more trouble; but my distress at not being able to get + away from these gipsies was almost more than I could bear. On + the afternoon of the third day I made a dash for freedom, but + the chief soon caught me and brought me back, evidently very + much displeased, and muttering something about stealing the + red coat. + </p> + <p> + About midday on the fourth day, as we were passing through a + village, it chanced that a drove of sheep blocked up the + road. The caravan stopped and I managed to get down from the + waggon, with my gaoler, to see what was happening in the + road. The sheep were very wild, and the drover was a boy who + did not know how to drive them. The way was blocked for a + good ten minutes, so that I had time to look about me. While + we waited, a donkey-cart drove up, with two people inside it, + dressed in the clothes of naval sailors—white trousers, + blue, short, natty jackets (with red and green ribbons in the + seams), and with huge clubbed pigtails under their black, + glazed hats. One of them was evidently ill, for he lay back + against the backboard and did not speak. I noticed also that + he had not been to sea for a long time, as his beard was long + and unkempt. The other, who drove the cart, was a one-legged + man, very short and broad, with a thick black stubble on his + cheeks. He was a hearty person with a voice like a lion's + roar. They had rigged up Union Jacks on the donkey's + blinkers, they had a pilot jack upon the shaft, and a white + ensign on a flagpole tied to the backboard. The body of the + cart was all sprigged out with streamers of ribbon as thick + as horses' tails, and there were placards fixed to the sides + of the donkey's collar. They were clumsily scrawled as + follows:—<br> + <br> + Pity the Braiv English Seamen,<br> + Wonded in the Wars,<br> + Help them as cannot help theirselves,<br> + We have Bled for our nativland.<br> + Nelson and Bronte.<br> + + </p> + <p> + This wonderful conveyance pulled up among the sheep. The + one-legged man stood upright in the cart, called for three + cheers, and at once began to roar out the never-ending ballad + of the battle of Belle Isle:— + </p> + <p> + <br> + At the battle of Belle Isle,<br> + I was there all the while, etc., etc.<br> + + </p> + <p> + Everybody clustered round to listen, and to admire the + turnout. + </p> + <p> + I could not get very near to the cart, because of the press; + but I noticed quite suddenly that the sick man was staring + rather hard at me from under the rim of his glazed hat, which + was jammed down over his eyes. The eyes seemed familiar. + There was something familiar in the figure, covered up, as it + was, with the rough beard, and with a ship's boat-cloak. It + reminded me of Marah, somehow, and yet it could not possibly + be Marah; and yet the man was staring hard at me. + </p> + <p> + A countryman came out of an inn with a mug of drink for the + singer, who checked his song at about the + hundred-and-fiftieth stanza, to take the mug with a "Thank + ye, mate," and hand it to his sick friend. The sick man took + the mug with his left hand, opening the fingers curiously, + and still looking hard at me. My heart gave a great jump, for + there were three blue rings tattooed on one of the fingers. + The man waved his mug towards me. "Hoo, hoo, hoo," he cried, + imitating an owl with his weak voice. "Hoo, hoo, hoo." Then + he clapped his right hand across his mouth to warn me to be + silent, and drank, with a bow to the giver. + </p> + <p> + It <i>was</i> Marah, after all. At this moment the caravan + started, and the man urged me to enter the waggon again. I + did so; but as I turned away, Marah smiled in an absurd + manner at me, and bowed three times, making everybody laugh. + That made me feel sure that he would help me to escape, and + to get home again. I could not help laughing at his trick of + dressing up as "a braiv English seaman, wonded in the war." + Had the people known in what wars he had been wounded, they + would not have been so free with their kindness, perhaps. + </p> + <p> + It occurred to me that Marah had made the owl's cry (or night + signal) to show me that I might expect him at night. So when + the gipsies went to bed that night I lay awake among them, + pretending to be fast asleep. It was very dark, shut up in + the waggon. The gipsies slept heavily, and I could hear the + horses outside, cropping on the grass and snorting. Once or + twice I heard a clock strike very far away. Then I fell + asleep, I think, in spite of my excitement. I woke with a + start, because just outside the waggon came the wild crying + of an owl: and then, at that instant, a banging of guns and + pistols. A voice cried out: "The horses. Save the horses." + Some one screamed "Help! help!" in a falsetto. More guns + banged and cracked, and I heard a rush of hoofs as the drove + of horses stampeded. The gipsies in the waggon rushed out as + one man to save the precious horses. I rushed out after them, + and there was Marah with his one-legged friend, crouched + under the waggon, waiting for me. + </p> + <p> + "Well, Jim," he said; "nip this way, quick. We have a suit of + clothes all ready for you." + </p> + <p> + So they hurried me away to their little cart, where I found a + boy's suit, which I was glad to put on, as of course I never + wore the precious red suit in bed. + </p> + <p> + "Those were good fire-crackers," said Marah's friend. "They + made the horses run." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Marah. "I knew we could clear the gipsies out of + the way and get Jim clear. Well, Jim, my son, I'm not strong + enough to talk much. I reckon I have done with night-riding + since I got this slug in my chest. But here we are again, + bound home, my son, with not much shot in the locker." + </p> + <p> + "You be quiet," said his friend; "you'll be getting your + wound bad. Get up, Neddy." + </p> + <p> + We trotted off to a little inn which stood at some distance + from the gipsies' camp. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, after a comfortable night in bed; I asked + Marah how he had escaped. He told me that when the lugger + drove ashore, one or two smugglers who had hidden in the + dunes, crept down to her and carried him ashore. The two + others, the drunkards, were too noisy to bring off. They were + captured, and condemned to serve in the Navy. Marah's wound + was not very severe; but he had had a great shock, and would + not be able to exert himself for many weeks. An old smuggler + (the one-legged man) had dressed his wound for him, and had + then disguised him as I saw him, with a beard and naval + clothes. One of the many Captains Sharp had advanced money + for the journey home; but to avoid suspicion they had rigged + up their donkey-cart; and worked their way as poor sea-ballad + singers. + </p> + <p> + "And now," said Marah, "I heard tell in Kent that you'd + written home by the mail-coach, a full five days ago. Well, + Jim, we're near the coach-road here. I reckon your friends'll + be coming to see you by to-day's coach. If we go out into the + road, to the 'Bold Sawyer' yonder, where they change horses + and wait, I reckon you'll be able to save them some of their + journey. Hey, Sally," he cried to the waitress, "what time + does the Plymouth mail pass by?" + </p> + <p> + "At eleven o'clock," said Sally. + </p> + <p> + "At six bells, Jim," said Marah, "you'll see your folk again. + On that I'll wager my best new silver buttons." + </p> + <p> + The clock struck ten. + </p> + <p> + It was a fair sunny summer's day, with a brisk wind blowing, + when we ranged ourselves across the road outside the "Bold + Sawyer." The coach-horn, sounding in the distance, was + drawing rapidly nearer; we could hear the rhythm of the + sixteen hoofs. Presently the horses swung round the corner; + we saw the coachman flick his leaders so that he might dash + up to the inn in style. Then as they galloped up I saw two + well-known figures sitting outside, well muffled up. + </p> + <p> + They were Hugh and Mrs Cottier. We had flags in our hands, so + we waved them and shouted. The one-legged man roared out his + doings at the battle of Belle Isle. I heard Hugh shouting at + the top of his voice, "Look, Mother. It's Jim. It's Jim." We + had a great dinner at the "Bold Sawyer" at one o'clock that + day. We had hardly finished at half-past three, when the + mail-coach stopped for us, to take us on our first stage + home. + </p> + <p> + I need only add a few words. Hugh became a "parson fellow," + as Marah had put it; while I, in time, went to Jamaica as a + planter. Marah and the one-legged man took the Gara Mill + together, and did very well at it. Mr Cottier is now a + Captain in the Portuguese Navy. Mrs Cottier keeps house for + me here on the Gara. We are all a good deal older; but we + keep well. Marah and I are planning a new adventure; for old + Van Horn's treasure is still among the coral, and some day we + are going to try for it. + </p> + <p> + THE END + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + <p> + + </p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jim Davis, by John Masefield + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIM DAVIS *** + +This file should be named jmdvs10h.htm or jmdvs10h.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, jmdvs11h.htm +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, jmdvs10ah.htm + +Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Eric Casteleijn, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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