a great risk to go any nearer, and it might result in capture,
perhaps in being knocked down; but he determined to go on, especially as
it grew darker every minute, the stars being completely blotted out by a
curtain of cloud that came sweeping over the sky.

He hesitated for a few moments, and then crept on, listening intently
the while.

The smugglers were still some distance off, down towards the edge of the
lower cliff; and he crept nearer and nearer, till to his horror he found
that the clearness of the part about him was only due to the cessation
of the carrying for a few minutes, and now a party seemed to be coming
up from the cliff edge, apparently loaded, while, when he turned to
retreat, he found by the sound of voices that another party was coming
down.

His manifest proceeding then was to get out of the track, but, to his
horror, he found that he was down in a rift between two high walls of
rock, and his first attempt to climb up resulted in a slip back,
scratching his hands, and tearing his clothes.

Before he could make a second attempt he was seized by a pair of strong
arms and forced down upon his knees; and dimly in the gloom he could
make out that he was pretty well surrounded by rough-looking men.

"Caught you, have I?" said a deep voice.

Hilary remained silent. It was of no avail to struggle, and he reserved
his strength for a better opportunity to escape.

He thought of shouting aloud to the boats, which he hoped were now well
on their way; but he restrained himself, as he felt that the success of
their approach depended upon their secrecy, so he merely hung down his
head, without offering the slightest resistance.

He had his reward.

"Get up, you lazy, skulking lubber!" cried his captor, "or I'll
rope's-end you." This, by the way, was rather cool language, especially
after forcing the captive down upon his knees.

"Here are we to work like plantation niggers at the oars, rowing night
and day, and you 'long-shore idlers leave us to do all the work."

"Why, he takes me for one of their party," thought Hilary; and, dark
though it was, he felt astonished at the man's stupidity, for it did not
occur to him then that he was hatless, that his hair was rough, his face
and hands anything but clean, and his old uniform shrunken by his
immersion, and so caked with mud and dirt, and withal so torn and
ragged, that even by broad daylight anyone would have strongly doubted
that he was a king's