s.

"What sort of a cargo do you generally carry, Captain Long?" I asked.

"That depends on what we stow away in the hold," he answered, with a
knowing wink. "Silks, satins, and ribbons, sometimes; and at others
tobacco and brandy, a few cases of gloves or lace, and such articles as
English ladies are fond of, and are glad to get without paying duty."

"Then you acknowledge yourself to be a smuggler, captain?"

"I intend to be as long as I can make an honest living by it," he
answered, laughing. "I'm not ashamed of it. It is fair play, you see.
If I'm caught I lose my goods and vessel, and am sent to prison, or
serve His Majesty on board a man-of-war. If I land my cargo, as I
generally contrive to do, I make a good profit."

As he was thus open I argued the point, trying to show that the
Government must have a revenue to pay their expenses, and that his
proceedings were lawless.

"That's their business, not mine," he answered, not in the least degree
moved by my observations. "The Government could not think very ill of
us," he remarked; "for if they want information about what is going on
in France, or have to send over anybody secretly, they are ready enough
to apply to me, and pay well too. Why, in the war time, if it hadn't
been for us smugglers, they couldn't have managed to send a messenger
across Channel. Bless you! I've carried over a queer lot of characters
now and then. But you must be getting hungry, young gentleman, and it's
time for dinner. Come below."

I found a plentiful repast, which, though somewhat roughly cooked, I did
ample justice to. The skipper produced a bottle of claret and another
of cognac, and pressed me to drink, but he himself, I observed, was very
moderate in his potations.

"If I did not keep a cool head on my shoulders, the _Saucy Bet_ would
soon get into trouble," he remarked; "still, that need not stop you from
making yourself happy if you like."

He seemed very much surprised when I told him that I had no fancy for
making myself happy in that fashion.

In the afternoon the wind fell, and we lay becalmed, floating down
Channel with the ebb. The smugglers swore terribly at the delay, as
they were in a hurry to get over to the French coast.

In the evening I walked the deck some time with the skipper, who was
full of anecdotes. In the war time he had commanded a privateer, which
had been tolerably successful, but his vessel had been captured at last,
and he had