tants, would bring him down almost in front of his own house.

The night was dark, the sky lowering and cloudy. Not a sound was to be
heard, not a soul had he seen, and already Adam was discussing with
himself how best, without making an alarm, he should awaken Joan and
obtain admittance. Usually bars and bolts were unknown, doors were left
unfastened, windows often open; but now all would be securely shut, and
he would have to rely on the possibility of his signal being heard by
some one who might chance to be on the watch.

Suddenly a noise fell upon his ear. Surely he heard the sound of
footsteps and the hum of voices. It could never be that the surprise
they deemed a possibility had turned out a certainty. Adam crouched
down, and under the shadow of the wall glided silently along until he
came opposite the corner where the house stood. It was as he feared.
There was no further doubt. The shutters were flung back, the door was
half open, and round it, easing their tired limbs as best they might,
stood crowded together a dozen men, the portion of a party who had
evidently spread themselves about the place.

Fortunately for Adam, the steps which led up to the wooden orrel or
balcony--at that time a common adornment to the Polperro
houses--afforded him a tolerably safe retreat, and, screened here, he
remained a silent watcher, hearing only a confused murmur and seeing
nothing save an occasional movement as one and the other changed posts
and passed in and out of the opposite door. At length a general parley
seemed to take place: the men fell into rank and at a slow pace moved
off down the street in the direction of the quay. Adam looked cautiously
out. The door was now closed. Dare he open it? Might he not find that a
sentinel had been left behind? How about the other door? The chances
against it were as bad. The only possible way of ingress was by a
shutter in the wall which overlooked the brook and communicated with the
hiding-place in which his father lay secreted. This shutter had been
little used since the days of press-gangs. It was painted in so exact an
imitation of the slated house-wall as to defy detection, and to mark the
spot to the initiated eye a root of house-leek projected out below and
served to further screen the opening from view. The contrivance of this
shutter-entrance was well known to Adam, and the mode of reaching it
familiar to him: therefore if he could but elude observation he was
certain of