he
chase to notice the direction in which they had gone, and beyond hearing
of the recall shouted by their officers.

The midshipman joined as eagerly in the chase as any of the men,
forgetting at the moment all about discipline, formation, and matters of
that kind, for in one glimpse which he had of the figure, he made
certain that it was Ram, whom they had surprised just leaving the
entrance to the cave; and it was not until he had been joined in the
hunt for about a quarter of an hour, that he felt that the men ought
instantly to have been stopped, and the place around thoroughly
searched.

"How vexatious!" he cried to himself, as he panted on alone, always in
dread of coming suddenly upon the edge of the cliff, and trembling lest
in their excitement the men might go over.

All regrets were vain now, and he kept on following the cries he heard,
first in one direction and then in another, till at last, after a weary
struggle through a great patch of brambles and stones, he found himself
quite alone and left behind.

But his vanity would not accept this last.

"I've quite out-run them," he said, half aloud, as he peered round
through the gloom, listening intently the while, but not a sound could
be heard, and in his angry impatience he stamped his foot upon the short
dry grass.

"What an idiot I am for an officer!" he cried. "Leading men and letting
them bolt off in all directions like this. Suppose the smugglers should
turn upon us now!"

"They would not have any one to turn upon," he added, after a pause.

"Well, it's all over with anything like a surprise," he continued, after
a time, "and we must get back to the place where we started from, if we
can find it."

"I'll swear that was Ram," he said, as he trudged on up a steep
hillside; "and if they have caught him, we'll make him show us the way.
Stubborn brute! He was too much for me in the quarry, but out here with
the men about, I'll make him sing a different tune."

"Where can they be?" he cried, after wandering about for quite half an
hour. "Why! Ah!" he ejaculated. "I can see it all now. It was Ram,
and he was playing peewit. The cunning rascal! Oh, if I only get hold
of him!

"Yes; there's no doubt about it, and he has been too clever for us. He
was watching by the entrance, and just as the men got up, and would have
found it, he jumped up and dodged about, letting the men nearly catch
him, and then running away and leading them farthe