nine, the explanation
being that the others had been sent out with the tub-boat. But the
rest of the cargo had evidently been hurriedly thrown overboard when
the _Tartar_ appeared, and because these casks were thrown over so
quickly, fifty-nine of them had come to the surface and were
subsequently recovered. But besides these, 154 casks were also found
on one sling at the bottom of the sea close to where the _Diane_ had
been arrested, for at the time when this occurrence had taken place
the _Tartar's_ men had been careful at once to take cross bearings
and so fix their position.

One of the most interesting of these smuggling events was that which
occurred in the Medway. About eight o'clock on the evening of March
27, 1839, a smack called the _Mary_ came running into the river from
outside. At this time it was blowing very hard from the N.E., and the
tide was ebbing, so that of course wind would be against tide and a
certain amount of sea on. But it was noticed by the coastguard at
Garrison Point, which commands the entrance to this river, that the
_Mary_ had got far too much sail up--whole mainsail as well as
gaff-topsail. Considering it was a fair wind and there was a good deal
of it, there was far more canvas than was necessary, even allowing for
the tide.

It was a rule that all vessels entering the Medway should bring-to off
Garrison Point, and allow themselves to be boarded and searched, if
required by certain signals. In order to compel the _Mary_ so to do,
the coastguard at this point fired a shot and rowed off to meet her.
But the smack held on. She was steering straight for the Isle of
Grain, and showed no intention of starboarding her helm so as to get
on a proper course up the Medway. Another shot was fired, and yet she
held on. Now there were some of her Majesty's ships lying near the
Grain, which is on the starboard hand as you pass up the river, viz.
the _Daedalus_ and the _Alfred_. These vessels were of course swung
with the tide, and between the _Daedalus_ and the Isle of Grain the
smack manoeuvred.

[Illustration: "Another shot was fired."]

A third shot now came whizzing by from the boat that was rowing hard
against the tide, and the smack came round between the _Alfred_ and
_Daedalus_. The coastguard then boarded the _Mary_, and the master said
he was from Brightlingsea. He pretended that he thought the firing was
not from the coastguard, but from a ship at the Little Nore, which is
the channel