as we tugged our
timber along, and what is more remarkable, upon my father holding up a
white pail a man at the stern of the lugger did the same, then altering
her canvas she made a tack (where one was not required), and coming very
close to us dropped overboard a series of black tin cases, which were no
doubt hermetically sealed, to preserve their contents. These cylinders
were so nicely balanced that the rounded sides of them just showed above
the water, and no more. Some more cabalistic signs then passed between
my father and the lugger's skipper, as she stood away on her course, and
in an hour was out of sight round the cape. We made fast the cylinders
(which were attached to a rope) _underneath_ the raft, and standing in
for shore and entered the little port.

"We moored our logs, and my father at once went to the authorities and
reported the finding of _a raft_, and as usual an officer came down to
inspect and put a mark on the timbers. His inspection was finished, and
he was about to go upon other business when a boy who had, with some
companions, been scampering about the raft, fell into the water. At once
a number of men jumped on the raft, which was nearly submerged by the
additional weight; but what was worse the cordage binding the logs
together gave way, and behold, bobbing among the floating men were seen
a series of floating cylinders! The men were hauled out of the water,
and so were the curious tin cases, while with the latter my father was
hauled off to appear before the magistrates on a charge of smuggling."

"A clear case I should say, Alec," I remarked.

"Well, so everyone thought; but, strange to say, my father was
discharged with a caution. The turning point of the case was, did we
pick up separate logs of timber and construct the raft, or did we find
the raft _already made_? Our case was that we had picked up the _whole_
raft at sea, and not having examined it, were not supposed to know what
was hanging beneath it. Beside which, had not M. Ducas gone straight
away and given notice to the proper authorities? We obtained the benefit
of the doubt, but it was a very close squeak."

"It was indeed. Now do you not remember any little adventure of your own
you could tell me?"

"Adventures! I could fill a whole book with them; some of them so
strange that they would appear to most people more like falsehoods than
solid fact."

"But, you know, Alec, it is only a hair line that frequently separates