GOOD INTENTIONS--BLIND JANET--POOR FAITHFUL SHOT--A TRYING MOMENT--
DICK'S ANGER--DESIRE OF REVENGE--A DANGEROUS SPEECH--THREATENING TO
SHOOT--THE CONSEQUENCES--TEMPTED--INDIGNATION OF THE FARMER'S SON--A
SORROWFUL DUTY--GRIEF OF THE BLIND GIRL--A SCHEME OF MR GOOCH--DICK'S
FEARS OF ARREST--RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME--AT THE SMUGGLER'S COTTAGE--ON
BOARD THE NANCY--SAFE FOR THE PRESENT.
Dick Hargrave kept to his resolution of trying to avoid meeting with
Lord Reginald. Should he do so it would not be his fault, and should he
fall in with him, he would endeavour to retain his temper, should his
lordship speak to him in his former style. He likewise refrained from
going to Keyhaven, or any other place where he was likely to meet any of
his associates engaged in smuggling, although it was difficult to say
who was not, more or less, implicated in the lawless proceedings so
general at that time along the south coast. He assisted his father on
the farm, and occasionally took Janet out for a short walk, as,
notwithstanding the doctor's expectations, she was able to get up again
the very day after she had appeared to be so ill.
She declared that it was owing to the nice fish Dick had brought her.
Again, however, she was confined to her room. As she could not take out
Faithful, she begged that Dick would give him a run. "The poor dog sits
so quietly at my feet all day, and if he sees me moving, I hear his tail
thumping on the floor, and he begins to scamper about, fancying I am
going to take him out. It is very dull for him, poor dog, and he
deserves some amusement," she said.
Dick promised to follow her wishes, and the next morning, saying that he
would try to shoot a rabbit, and summoning Faithful, who bounded after
him, he set off with his gun in his hand. With the assistance of the
dog, he soon shot a couple of rabbits, with which he was about to return
home. Faithful, however, highly delighted at finding himself abroad,
went ranging wildly over the fields. Dick called to him, but the dog
was too eager in the chase or too far off to hear his voice, and did
not, as usual, return. Some minutes passed, when Dick heard a shot
coming from the direction in which Faithful had disappeared. He hurried
on, fearing that one of the keepers had caught sight of him; but then
they all knew Janet's dog, and the most surly would not have had the
heart to fire at the honest brute, even though he might have been
infringing the game laws by scampering for amusement after a hare or
rabbit. Dick looked out anxiously, hoping to see the dog return; but
though he shouted, "Faithful! Faithful!" and whistled shrilly, the
animal did not make its appearance. Wondering what could have become of
it, he went on calling its name. At last he saw it crawling towards
him, dragging its limbs along in evident pain. At length the poor dog,
unable to get further, sank to the ground. Dick, darting forward to
where it lay, stooped down to ascertain how it was hurt. Its lacerated
side, which bled profusely, showed that it had been shot.
"What villain has dared to hurt you, my poor Faithful?" exclaimed Dick.
The dog's only reply, true to its name, was to lick his hand and
endeavour to rise, but again it fell back, and after a few convulsive
struggles, expired.
"Poor, poor Faithful! Janet will miss you, that she will! She will
never find so trusty an animal to lead her about; but I'll be revenged
on the fellow, whoever he is. He ought to have known that you never
poached, though you did love to run after a hare, for the fun of the
thing. If I can meet the savage brute I'll shoot him, as sure as my
name is Richard Hargrave."
"What's that you say, you young ruffian?" exclaimed a voice near him.
Dick had not observed three persons who had approached. Looking up, he
saw Lord Reginald and his brother midshipman, attended by a keeper.
"I do say that the heartless fellow who shot this dog deserves to be
shot himself," exclaimed Dick, looking boldly up.
"I shot the dog; it deserved to be killed for chasing hares on my
father's property," answered the young lord. "You yourself must have
set him on to drive the hares towards you. You are a poacher; we must
have you up before the magistrates and punish you accordingly."
"I did not set him on," answered Dick, rising to his feet, "and I had no
intention of killing any hares on the Elverston property. These rabbits
I shot on my father's farm, and I had a perfect right to kill them. The
dog belongs to my blind sister. As she is ill, I took the poor brute
out for a run."
"A very likely story!" exclaimed Lord Reginald. "You have a gun in your
hand and rabbits over your shoulder, and you had sent your dog
scampering over the fields in search of more. I know your name, and
shall report you to my father, so you may expect to take up your
quarters in prison before many days are over."
"The lad speaks the truth, my lord, about the dog," observed the keeper,
who had stepped forward and examined poor Faithful. "I have seen it
many a time leading Farmer Hargrave's blind daughter about, though
whether he shot the rabbits on his father's farm or not is another
matter. We have never found him poaching before, so that part of the
story may be true also."
"I am sorry to have shot the dog, if it was useful to his blind sister,"
said Lord Reginald; "and, I say, Jackson, I wish you'd look out for
another to give the poor girl, instead of this one; she'll not find out
the difference."
"I wouldn't let her receive it if you should give her one!" exclaimed
Dick, his anger in no way pacified by the young lord's expressions of
regret. "No dog could be found to equal Faithful; but I myself will
look after a dog to take its place."
"Really, my dear Oswald, I cannot stand by to see you thus insulted by
this ungrateful young ruffian," said Voules. "He has threatened to
shoot you, and he looks like a fellow capable of doing what he says.
The sooner he is taken up and sent to prison the better."
"I have not been poaching! If you lay hands on me it will be the worse
for you," said Dick, grasping his gun.
"Come, come, Master Dick, do you go to your home, and do not be so
foolish as to threaten mischief. It is dangerous to use such words, and
you'll be sorry for them by-and-by," said the keeper, wisely interposing
between the exasperated young men. "I know where to find you if you are
wanted; but I don't suppose the marquis will be hard upon you, when he
hears how it was your sister's dog was shot. If, my lord, you'll please
to let the lad go, I'll undertake that he shall not come into the park
again. His father is not the man to allow him to do anything against
the law."
Lord Reginald, who really much regretted having shot the dog, willingly
listened to the keeper's advice, and Voules, who had no object to gain
in irritating him further against Dick Hargrave, said no more on the
subject.
"Well, Hargrave, I will try to forget your threats, and I again assure
you that had I known the dog was your sister's, I would not have shot
it," said Lord Reginald, turning aside; and without waiting for an
answer he led the way, followed by Voules and the keeper, in the
direction of the hall, leaving Dick still standing by the side of his
dog.
"I do not trust his fair words," said Dick, looking after the party;
"but I am obliged to Jackson for speaking a word in my favour, for if it
had not been for him, matters would have become worse. Poor Faithful!
I don't know how I shall ever have the heart to tell Janet what has
happened," and stooping down he again examined the dog, to assure
himself that it was really dead. Of this he was soon convinced. "I'll
not let you lie here, my poor dog!" he exclaimed, and taking it up in
his arms, he walked away with it towards his home. He was crossing the
road from Keyhaven, when a voice hailed him, and looking round he saw
Ben Rudall approaching.
"What hast thou got there, Dick?" asked Ben. "Your sister's dog--and
killed, too! How did that happen?"
Dick told him, describing what had occurred.
"And thee wouldst trust the chaps, would thee?" said Ben, speaking in
the Hampshire dialect. "No, no; don't be doin' that. Measter Jackson
may have spoken fair enough, but he knows that he's got his thumb on
thee, an' can come down on thee when he loiks. Now, just listen to what
I have got to say. I was going to look for thee. The _Nancy_ is
expected in before many days are over, an' she'll be sailing again the
next morning. If thee'll come down to Keyhaven, there'll be a good
chance of taking a trip, an' 'twill be safer for thee to be out of the
way in case the young lord should change his mind an' have thee up for
poachin'. When the marquis hears of it, it's my belief that he won't
let thee off, for he's wonderfully strict about the matter, and if he
had his will he'd be sending half the people hereabouts to prison."
Dick had not forgotten his mother's advice to keep clear of Ben Rudall,
and he knew well enough that even though he should only go as a
passenger, he would be committed to whatever was done by her crew.
"You mean kindly, Ben, I know," he said; "but I cannot leave Janet,
she's so ill; and if she gets better, there'll be no one except mother
and me to walk out with her, now poor Faithful's gone; but if I hear
there's a chance of my being had up for poaching, maybe it's the best
thing I can do."
Ben laughed scornfully. "They'll not let thee know what they intend to
do; but thee would find thyself carried off to Winchester jail some fine
morning, so just don't be a fool, Dick, an' come along with me."
Dick, however, was firm in his resolution not to go off without seeing
his mother and sister, and Ben was obliged to be content with his
promise that he would come down to Keyhaven to talk the matter over. He
would have been wiser had he not given that promise.
Ben returned the way he had come, and Dick, carrying the body of his
dog, continued on towards his home.
On reaching the cottage, he carried the dog to a corner of the garden,
while he went in for a spade to dig its grave. While he was searching
for one in the outhouse, his mother saw him.
"What has happened, Dick?" she exclaimed, observing the blood on his
clothes.
He at once narrated what had occurred, for although he had many faults,
he was truthful to her.
"I am very sorry for what has happened. Poor dear Janet will almost
break her heart. She said that she should like to take a stroll
to-morrow with Faithful, if you were not able to accompany her.
However, we must bear with it. From what you say, the young lord would
not have shot the dog if he had known whose it was, and if he gives
Janet another, she may become as fond of it as she was of Faithful."
"I should not like her to become fond of Lord Reginald's dog," answered
Dick. "If he sends one, I shall have a mind to shoot it, or send it
back to him with a kettle tied to its tail."
"That would not be a right thing to do," observed Mrs Hargrave. "We
should not harbour ill feelings towards others, though they have done us
wrong. Come in now, and let me wash the blood off your coat. It looks
bad, and if your father were to return, it would frighten him, as it did
me. We'll just break the news gently to Janet, and don't say you won't
receive another dog if the young lord sends one. Remember how kind his
mother and sisters are, and I dare say he is not so bad at heart, though
he has more than once fallen out with you."
"He has an abusive tongue in his head, and that shows what sort of heart
he has got," answered Dick, not inclined to agree with his mother about
Lord Reginald. "You tell me the ladies speak so sweetly, but, as Ben
Rudall says, that's all outside show, and I would not trust them."
"That's because you have never been at home when they have called, or
you would have agreed with me, if you had," observed Mrs Hargrave.
"Stay here while I get a sponge and some hot water; I can't let you go
about as you are; I cannot tell what people would say. If you were
seen, there would be all sorts of tales about you."
"I don't care what is said, and I should just like them to know that
Lord Reginald is a brute. That's what I call him."
"Hush! hush, Dick!" said his mother. "Sit you down here, until I have
taken off those blood stains, for although poor Janet cannot see them,
some one else may come in, and ask what has happened."
Dick seated himself on a bench to which his mother pointed, and she
quickly returned with soap and water. It was no easy operation,
however, to get rid of the stains, and Dick declared that before he came
in he must bury the dog. To this Mrs Hargrave consented, as she
thought it would be a good opportunity to tell Janet of the loss of her
favourite.
Dick, taking up the spade, and having selected a spot for Faithful's
grave, began digging away. More than once he stopped and gazed at the
animal, feeling unwilling to put it so soon out of sight; then he went
on more energetically than before. Having just completed his task, he
leaned on his spade, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, as he
thought he should never see his dog again. The wind had begun to blow
strong, and dark clouds were gathering in the sky. The gloomy aspect of
Nature suited his feelings. On looking up, he saw his mother and Janet
approaching.
"Mother has told me, Dick, what has happened," said his sister, as she
came up. "I want to stroke Faithful's head once more before you put him
into his grave." She stooped down by the side of the dog. "Oh! He
doesn't feel my hand now," she said. "I am very sorry; but, Dick, I
want you to promise me not to nourish anger against the young lord. He
would not have fired had he known the dog was so useful to me. He told
you as much. If I forgive him, you must."
"I may forgive, but I do not forget," said Dick. "If he keeps to his
word, I'll believe that he did not intend to do the cruel act. However,
we must put poor Faithful in his grave, and if I do not make a vow to be
revenged on Lord Reginald, it is because you are here to prevent me,
Janet."
"I would that you had a higher motive than that," said Mrs Hargrave.
"Now, Janet, you must return to the house; I promised you'd stop but one
minute; Dick will soon have finished his task, and then he'll come in to
supper. Father will soon be home, Dick, so don't delay."
Dick, having at length brought himself to place the dog in its grave,
hastily shovelled in the earth, muttering as he did so, "He'd better not
cross me again; if he does he'll have to repent it. Lie there, poor
dog!" he added, as he finished the work. "I've a mind to put up a
tombstone, and write on it, `Wantonly killed by Lord Reginald Oswald.'"
On entering the cottage, he found that his father, having come in, had
heard what had happened. He was thankful at all events that he had not
had to break the news to Janet. Farmer Hargrave said what he thought
would pacify his son, and declared his belief that the young lord had
not killed the dog with any malicious intent.
Dick pressed his lips together and made no reply. He could not trust
himself. They were just finishing supper when a knock was heard at the
door, and Dick, opening it, Mr Gooch the bailiff entered.
"Good evening, farmer; good evening, dame; somewhat stormy weather," he
said, throwing back his wet coat, and placing his dripping hat on the
floor, as he took the seat offered him. "I didn't think it was coming
on to be so bad, until just before sunset. It blows hard enough now,
and the rain is coming down in torrents, but I wanted to talk over that
affair between us, so I came out in spite of the weather."
"What have you got to say, Mr Gooch?" asked the farmer. "You know as
well as I do that I have no wish to leave this farm. It will be a heavy
loss to me to give it up, and I am determined to abide by my rights."
"Very good, Mr Hargrave, very good," said the bailiff, in a bland tone.
"His lordship doesn't want to be hard upon you, and if you have the
right to remain, he would be the last man to ask you to turn out, but as
I before told you, you have not the right, and if you go to law you'll
be worsted. Now, a little piece of information has come to my knowledge
which may make you see that it would not be wise to go to law, even
supposing there was a chance of your winning. I have not communicated
with my lord on the subject, so I act on my own responsibility. This
lad here, your son, has put himself in an awkward position. He has been
poaching--not for the first time, either. I have just heard all about
it from Jackson, the keeper, and from a young gentleman who is staying
at the hall. They can give evidence, not only that he was poaching, but
that he threatened the life of Lord Reginald Oswald--a very serious
business, let me tell you. Had he fired, as he threatened to do, he
would have been hung to a certainty, and as it is, I see every
probability that he will be sentenced to seven years' penal servitude.
Now, of course, his lordship has it in his power to overlook the
offence, and if I can tell him that you will yield to his wishes and
consent to give up the farm, I am pretty sure that you will hear no more
about the matter, only you must restrain your son from poaching in
future, or from associating with smugglers, as I have evidence that he
is in the habit of doing."
The farmer listened to all the bailiff said, while Dick sat clenching
his hands, with his eyes to the ground, every now and then giving a look
at his mother.
Ben was right, then, in warning him. Had he accompanied the old
smuggler at once, and got out of the way, Mr Gooch would not have been
able to obtain the upper hand of his father.
When the bailiff had finished, Mr Hargrave replied, "I have before
given you my answer. I believe the marquis to be a just man. If he
finds I have the right to continue in the farm, he would not wish to
dispossess me. In regard to Dick, the provocation he received by having
his dog killed would excuse any thoughtless words he might have uttered.
So I cannot offer to give up my rights for fear of the consequences,
and I will never believe that Lord Elverston would act as you suggest."
"Then you dare to say that you doubt my word, Farmer Hargrave?"
exclaimed the bailiff, in a tone of indignation, rising from his seat.
"I'll give you until to-morrow to think over the matter; but you'll take
the consequences if you have the same answer ready for me. And dame, I
would advise you to persuade your husband to act as I recommend, or,
whether you go out of the farm or not, that lad of yours, before many
days are over, will be lodged in Winchester jail, and be sent to Botany
Bay, if he doesn't get the chance of entering on board a king's ship.
Perhaps they won't give him his choice, for threatening to shoot a lord
is a serious matter."
"Oh, Mr Gooch, you would not be so cruel as to wish to send our Dick to
prison!" exclaimed Janet, who had been listening to what was said.
"All your father has to do is to agree to what I propose, and he is safe
enough," answered the bailiff. "I can stay no longer. I called in to
give some friendly advice. If not taken, it is not my fault; so good
night to all. I hope that you'll settle the matter between you!"
Mr Gooch got up to go. Dick opened the door, having no wish to detain
him. Looking out, he saw that the account given of the weather was not
exaggerated.
"Is is plaguey dark, Mr Gooch!" he observed. "You'd better take a
lantern, sir."
"No, no; I know my way as well in the dark as in the daylight," was the
reply, and Mr Gooch stepping out, was soon lost to sight.
No sooner was the door closed than Dick exclaimed, "Don't give in,
father. I'd sooner go to prison, or Botany Bay, or be sent to sea, or
be hung, for that matter, rather than that you should yield up your
rights and be turned out of this farm."
"I will not give up the farm if I have a right to keep it, but if the
law is against me, go I must; still, I would not have you suffer, Dick,
unless you deserve it, and if it is proved that you were poaching, and
that you threatened to shoot the young lord, you must, as the bailiff
says, take the consequences, though it would well-nigh break my heart to
see you punished. But I have not much fear on the score either way. It
is my belief that the marquis does not know much about the matter of the
farm, and from beginning to end it is all the doing of Mr Gooch. What
he cares for is to please his master, and as he knows that his lordship
has a fancy for extending the park, he wants to get me to turn out, and
now that he thinks he has got hold of you, he fancies that he can
frighten me to do so. In regard to your affair, Dick, when the marquis
hears of the provocation you received, I don't think he will be hard
upon you."
The farmer made these remarks to tranquillise as far as he could the
mind of his wife. Perhaps he did not feel so confident himself. So
Dick at all events thought. The family soon afterwards separated for
the night.
Dick went to his room, but could not sleep. The storm itself, though it
whistled and howled around the cottage, would not have kept him awake.
He thought over all that had happened, what he himself had said, and how
Lord Reginald had looked and replied. "Whatever the gamekeeper may say,
that other young fellow is against me, and if they take me before the
magistrate, Mr Jackson will be upon his oath, and compelled to
corroborate the midshipman's statement. It all depends on what they
choose to do. There is no doubt I did threaten to shoot Lord Reginald,
and I felt wonderfully inclined to do it, too. There's only one way I
can see to get out of it and save father, and that is to take advantage
of Ben Rudall's offer and to keep out of the way until the affair is
blown over; I won't tell father or mother or they may be wishing to stop
me; but I'll write a letter just to wish them and Janet good-bye for a
short time, without saying where I am going, for that would spoil the
whole thing. Ben says I shall like the life on board the lugger; so I
shall, though I would not have gone if there had not been this good
reason. I cannot fancy that either father or mother will be really
sorry when they find that I am safe out of the way." So said Dick to
himself, and having come to this resolution, he at length fell asleep.
It was not a wise one, for it was like falling out of the frying-pan
into the fire. There was a very remote risk of his being summoned
before the magistrates, and if summoned, of his being committed for
trial, whereas, in addition to the dangers of the sea, if captured on
board the lugger, he would to a certainty be condemned as a smuggler and
be sent to jail, if even worse did not come of it. For a lad to be sent
to jail in those days was a fearful punishment, for there was no
separation of prisoners, and should Dick go there he would be herded
with ruffians of every description, and could scarcely fail to come out
again without being very much the worse for his incarceration. Just
then, however, he only thought how he could best keep out of the way of
Mr Gooch, and thus prevent him from inducing his father to yield up his
rights, which he might do, notwithstanding his resolutions to the
contrary, should he be thus able to save his son from punishment.
Dick awoke just as the light of the early dawn made its way into the
room. The storm had ceased, and the clouds were fast disappearing,
giving promises of a fine day. He had been a good penman at school, so
that he had no difficulty in writing his letter. He had bade an
affectionate good night to them all, and he would not run the risk of
being hindered in his project by remaining for breakfast. His letter
was brief.
"Dear father," it ran, "don't give up the farm. I shall be all safe,
though I don't want you or any one else to find me until the matter is
settled, but I have made up my mind that they shall not make a cat's paw
of me. Love to mother and Janet. So no more from your affectionate
son, Dick."
Leaving the letter on the table, with a bundle of clothes and a few
other articles in his hand, he slipped silently downstairs, thankful to
find that his father was not yet stirring. Filling his pocket with some
bread and cheese from the larder, he hurried out by the back door, which
was not likely to be opened for some time, and made his way by by-paths
in the direction of Keyhaven. He felt, it must be confessed, somewhat
like a culprit escaping from justice. Every now and then he looked back
to ascertain if he was followed; then again he ran on. He wished, if
possible, to avoid meeting any one who might question him as to where he
was bound at that early hour. The labourers would be going to work, but
a considerable portion of the country through which he passed was still
uncultivated. Twice when he saw people coming, he turned aside and hid
himself behind a hedge until the men had passed. He thus reached Ben
Rudall's cottage, without, as he supposed, being seen by any one who
knew him. Ben was not at home; but Susan asked him to come in and sit
down.
"He has been out nearly all night, Master Richard, but I am hoping to
see him back safe every minute," she said. "He got notice that the
_Nancy_ was standing in for the coast, and went out to lend a helping
hand. I don't mind telling you, as I know that you are not one of those
who side with the revenue people, or would go and give information--"
"Which would injure any of my friends," put in Dick. "No, indeed, I
would not. To say the truth, your husband promised me a trip on board
the _Nancy_, which I have come to accept."
"He'll be main glad, for he has agreed to go himself the next trip, and
he told me that he thought the lugger would be away again to-night or
to-morrow at furthest. She's not likely to be long away, though, and I
don't mind his going as much as I used to do. Sometimes he has been
from home for six weeks or two months at a time, either looking out for
a cargo or waiting for a good chance to run across and land one on the
English coast." Mrs Rudall did not hesitate to describe the doings of
the smugglers to Dick, though she would have been wonderfully reticent
to a stranger; yet she showed her anxiety by frequently going to the
door and looking round the corner in the direction she expected her
husband to appear. "Here he comes! here he comes!" she cried at length,
and Ben, with a sou'wester on his head, a thick flushing coat on his
back, and his legs encased in high boots, made his appearance.
"All right, Susan!" he said, as he reached the cottage. "We've done the
job neatly, and the goods are twenty miles inland by this time. We'd a
famous night for it, couldn't have had a better, got the revenue men
away on the wrong scent, and had the coast clear long enough to land a
dozen cargoes. If we get such another night for the next run, we shall
do well."
"I am thankful," said poor Susan, who thought more of her husband's
safety than probably of his share of the profits. "Now, come in; here's
a visitor you'll be glad to see."
Ben put out his hand and shook Dick's, but before asking questions he
kissed his children, who came jumping up round him.
"Now, let's have breakfast, for I am main hungry, and I dare say our
friend here is," he exclaimed. "Have you taken my advice, and made up
your mind for a trip on board the _Nancy_?" he asked, turning to Dick.
Dick replied in the affirmative, and described the visit Mr Gooch had
paid them the previous evening.
"The sooner you get on board and out of his way the better, for they'll
not think of looking for you there, and before to-morrow morning the
_Nancy_ will be away again across the Channel," said Ben. Breakfast was
just over, and Ben was smoking his pipe in front of his cottage door,
when, looking to the southward, he exclaimed, "There she comes; she is a
beauty!" and he pointed to a fine lugger, which, under all sail, having
rounded Hurst Point, was standing towards Yarmouth.
Ben having put up a few articles, led the way down to his boat,
accompanied by Dick, and followed by his elder children, one carrying a
boat-hook, another the oars, while he himself bore the boat's mast and
sails on his broad shoulders. The children stood on the beach, watching
them as they pulled away. The breeze being favourable, Ben soon stepped
the mast and hoisted the sail, when he came aft with the mainsheet, and
told Dick to steer.
"You should never lose the chance of learning to be handy in a boat," he
observed; "you don't know when it may come in useful. You are very well
as it is, but you are not like one born to it. Howsumdever, you'll pick
up something on board the _Nancy_, and we shall have you turning out a
prime seaman one of these days."
Dick really steered very well, and Ben every now and then gave him an
approving nod. Being perfectly familiar with the surrounding scenery,
he scarcely noticed it, occupied as his thoughts were just then by the
position in which he was placed. Away to the right were the white
Needle rocks, their pointed heads standing high up out of the sea, with
chalky cliffs rising high above them; wide, smooth downs extending
eastward; below which were cliffs of varied colour, with a succession of
bays and rocky reefs; while ahead were the picturesque heights of
Freshwater, covered by green trees, amid which several villas and
cottages peeped out. Further east still, appeared the little seaport
town of Yarmouth, with its old grey castle and grey stone houses, their
gardens extending down to the water; on the starboard quarter was Hurst
beach, with its massive round castle and tall, red lighthouse; while to
the northward, extended a wood-covered shore, on which could be
distinguished numerous residences, some of considerable size, and the
town of Lymington running up the side of a steep hill.
Ben was proud of his boat, though to the outward eye there was nothing
to admire, as the paint with which she had once been bedecked had been
worn off, her sails were patched, and her rigging knotted in several
places.
"I look at what she can do!" he observed; "and a better sea-boat or a
faster is not to be found between Hurst and Spithead. It must blow a
precious hard gale before I should be afraid to be out in her night or
day."
That she was fast was proved by the speed with which she ran across the
Channel. In a short time she was alongside the lugger, which had
brought up close in shore, her crew evidently fearless of the revenue
men, two or three of whom stood watching her.
All on board knew Ben, and gave him a hearty welcome. "I have brought a
fresh hand, Jack!" he said, addressing the skipper in a familiar tone.
"I have long promised him a trip, and as it happens, it is as well that
he should keep out of the way of the big-wigs over there." Ben then
briefly explained the danger Dick was in for threatening to shoot the
son of the Marquis of Elverston.
This announcement gained him a warm reception from the smugglers, who,
engaged in lawless pursuits themselves, were naturally inclined to
approve of such an act, and would possibly have looked upon him with
still greater respect had he fired as he had threatened.
"Glad to see you, my lad," said John Dore, putting out his hand. "Make
yourself at home on board the _Nancy_. We'll give you work when work
has to be done, and now, if you're tired, you can turn into my berth and
go to sleep till the evening, when, unless the wind shifts round to the
southward, we shall be at sea again."
"The best thing you can do," observed Ben. "I must go to Keyhaven to
get a hand to take my boat back and look after her while I am away."
Dick, wishing to escape the notice of any one who might visit the lugger
from the shore, accepted the skipper's offer. As he had closed his eyes
but a very short time during the previous night, he was soon fast
asleep.