start up at once.'

A voice on the beach under the cliff began to sing:

'The moon she shined on Telscombe Tye--
On Telscombe Tye at night it was--
She saw the smugglers riding by,
A very pretty sight it was!'

Feet scrabbled on the flinty path. A dark, thin-faced man in very neat
brown clothes and broad-toed shoes came up, followed by Puck.

'Three Dunkirk boats was standin' in!'

the man went on.

'Hssh!' said Puck. 'You'll shock these nice young people.'

'Oh! Shall I? Mille pardons!' He shrugged his shoulders almost up to his
ears--spread his hands abroad, and jabbered in French. 'No comprenny?'
he said. 'I'll give it you in Low German.' And he went off in another
language, changing his voice and manner so completely that they hardly
knew him for the same person. But his dark beady-brown eyes still
twinkled merrily in his lean face, and the children felt that they did
not suit the straight, plain, snuffy-brown coat, brown knee-breeches,
and broad-brimmed hat. His hair was tied in a short pig-tail which
danced wickedly when he turned his head.

'Ha' done!' said Puck, laughing. 'Be one thing or t'other,
Pharaoh--French or English or German--no great odds which.'

'Oh, but it is, though,' said Una quickly. 'We haven't begun German yet,
and--and we're going back to our French next week.'

'Aren't you English?' said Dan. 'We heard you singing just now.'

'Aha! That was the Sussex side o' me. Dad he married a French girl out
o' Boulogne, and French she stayed till her dyin' day. She was an
Aurette, of course. We Lees mostly marry Aurettes. Haven't you ever come
across the saying:

'Aurettes and Lees,
Like as two peas.
What they can't smuggle,
They'll run over seas?'

'Then, are you a smuggler?' Una cried; and, 'Have you smuggled much?'
said Dan.

Mr. Lee nodded solemnly.

'Mind you,' said he, 'I don't uphold smuggling for the generality o'
mankind--mostly they can't make a do of it--but I was brought up to the
trade, d'ye see, in a lawful line o' descent on'--he waved across the
Channel--'on both sides the water. 'Twas all in the families, same as
fiddling. The Aurettes used mostly to run the stuff across from
Boulogne, and we Lees landed it here and ran it up to London town, by
the safest road.'

'Then where did you live?' said Una.

'You mustn't ever live too close to your business in _our_ trade. We
kept our little fishing smack at Shoreham, but other