e landed, and preparations are
made accordingly. Lewis gets a number of men, farm labourers and
others, to act as what are termed 'carriers,' and these meet and lie
hidden somewhere close to the place on the coast where the run is to
take place. The tubs are all fastened to a long rope, so that, as soon
as ever the lugger brings to, the end of this rafting line can be
conveyed to the beach, and the whole 'crop' dragged on shore. With the
same cords by which the tubs are fastened to the ropes they are then
tied together in such a way that the carriers can sling them over their
shoulders. Each man takes two ankers, and then they scatter, and dash
off inland to some meeting-place already agreed upon. In this way,
when the men are up to their work, it takes only a few minutes for the
lugger to discharge her cargo, while the carriers get clear of the
beach and disappear."

I must own to being rather shocked at the careless and even jocular
tone in which my companion described a traffic which I had always heard
spoken of as a crime.

"But, Miles," I began, "it's against the law!"

"Oh, of course it is!" he answered, laughing; "but who's going to
interfere with a few poor men turning a penny now and then? The only
result is that people round about get better brandy than they otherwise
would have done, and a good bit cheaper. Of course people like us
don't have any share in the business, but when we know anything is
happening we just look the other way."

The weak points in my comrade's arguments may be patent enough to the
present-day reader of this story; but it is due to him to say that in
those times, especially along the coast, defrauding the revenue was
hardly looked upon as a crime, and in the still earlier times of "free
trade" this idea had an even greater hold on the minds of the common
people, who were always ready to regard the smuggler as a hero, and the
exciseman as a villain. Old ideas die hard in country places, and
Miles had listened to the talk of the fisher folk since childhood, and
had been accustomed to regard the matter from their point of view.

I had always imagined the smuggler as a picturesque sort of villain,
sailing the seas in a saucy craft, with a belt stuck full of knives and
pistols, and I must own to something like a feeling of disappointment
when brought face to face with the original.

"Don't they ever have fights with the coast-guards?" I asked.

"Not if they can help it," was