young gen'leman, he being an
officer and me an old Navy man. Make old Ness tell yer. You are good
friends with him, arn't yer?"

"Yes, of course," said Aleck. "No, of course not," he cried, angrily,
for like a flash came the recollection of the scene that morning, when
the gardener had protested against being suspected of having any
dealings with such outlawed men. "Oh, Tom, what an unlucky fellow I
am!"

"Feel like that, sir?"

"Yes."

"That's because you wants yer dinner very bad, Master Aleck. You get
indoors and have your salt beef and biscuit, or whatever your Jane has
stowed away, and you'll feel like a noo man."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

The party from the sloop-of-war came twice, led by the lieutenant, and
had long and patient searches with Aleck in their boat ready to follow
or lead the men into one or other of the openings in the rocks where the
waves ran in with a peculiarly hollow echoing rush at low water, but
which were covered deeply at half tide. These chasms were examined
diligently, for the lieutenant had noted that the tide was very low when
the attack was made. But nothing was discovered.

Aleck noted that the young officer looked very despondent on the second
occasion, and the next morning when the lad went down to the smugglers'
cove to meet the boat, which he had sighted from his look-out place on
the cliff, where with Tom's help he had set up a spar ready for
signalling, he found another officer in command of a fresh set of men.

The lad met them as a matter of course, feeling that his services would
be welcome, but encountered a short, sharp rebuff in the shape of an
enquiry as to who he was, and, upon explaining, he was told sharply to
go about his business.

"Look here, sir," said the officer, "I don't want any natives to lead me
on a false scent."

"Very well," said Aleck, quietly, and he climbed up the cliff again, and
after noting which way the boat's head was turned he went off beyond the
smugglers' cove and reached the great gap, where he descended to the
shelf where he had found the lanthorn and tinder-box.

He had just reached it, when a figure started up and began to hurry
inland, just giving him a glimpse of her face before she disappeared
among the rocks, and he recognised Eben Megg's wife.

"Been looking out to sea, poor thing!" thought Aleck. "I'm afraid
she'll watch for a long time before she sees him coming back."

He forgot the woman again directly in the b