ds in the place she told
him. He wanted her to go with him to the officer of the station, but she
said that she would never do that, for if it got to be known that she
had peached about it, it would be as much as her life was worth. Well, a
boy who was watching saw the revenue chap go off, as soon as she was out
of sight, straight to the coast-guard station, and ten minutes later the
officer in charge there set off for Weymouth.

"The boy followed and he saw him go on board the _Boxer_. Directly
afterwards Captain Downes came ashore with him and had a long talk with
the chief of the coast-guard there; then he went on board again, and we
all chuckled when we saw the _Boxer_ get up her anchor, set all sail,
make out to Portland, and go round the end of the rock. Two hours later
a look-out on the hills saw her bearing out to sea to the southwest,
meaning, in course, to run into the bay after it was dark. On shore the
officer at Weymouth got a horse and rode along the cliffs to the
eastward. He stopped at each coast-guard station, right on past
Lulworth, and soon afterwards three parts of the men at each of them
turned out and marched away west.

"We thought that we had fooled them nicely, and that evening half a
dozen of our boats sailed into Lulworth harbour and anchored there
quiet. One of them rowed ashore and landed two hands to look round. They
brought back news as there were only two or three revenue men left at
the station, and it would be easy enough to seize them and tie them up
till it was all over. In course, everything worked for a bit just as we
thought it would. The lugger we were expecting showed her light in the
offing and was signalled that the coast was clear. It was a dark night,
and the two revenue men on duty in the cove were seized and tied up by
some of the shore band without a blow being struck. Two or three chaps
were placed at the door of the station, so that if the two men left
there turned out they would be gagged at once. Everything was ready, and
a big lot of carts came down to the water's edge. The lugger anchored
outside the cove; we got up our kedges and rowed out to her, and a dozen
shoreboats did the same. As soon as we got alongside they began to
bundle the kegs in, when not three hundred yards away came a hail, 'What
craft is that?'

"It struck us all into a heap, and you could have heard a pin drop. Then
came the hail again, 'If you don't answer I will sink you,' whereupon
the skipp