utenant Dillon; as I said to
Sergeant Tanner, your regiment, after this, will always go by the name
of the lady-killers."

"D--n!" exclaimed the lieutenant; "but now I recollect there must be
more there; those who had possession of the cutter and who landed in
her boat."

"Yes, with forty boxes of gold they say; but do you think they would be
such fools as to remain there and allow you to take their money--that
boat started for France yesterday night with all the treasure, and are
now safe at Cherbourg. I know it for a fact, for one of the men's wives
who lives here, showed me a letter to that effect, from her husband, in
which he requests her to follow him. But I must go now, good-bye, Mr
Lady-killer."

The lieutenant repeated what Nancy had told him to the officers, and the
major was so much annoyed, that he went up to the admiral and stated
what the report was, and that there were only women to contend with.

"It is mentioned in the despatches, I believe," observed the admiral,
"that there are only women supposed to be in the cave; but the smugglers
who were on board the cutter--"

"Have left with their specie yesternight, admiral; so that we shall gain
neither honour nor profit."

"At all events, you will have the merit of obeying your orders, Major
Lincoln."

The major made no reply, but went away very much dissatisfied. In the
meantime, the sergeant had communicated with his non-commissioned
officers and the privates ordered on the duty, and the discontent was
universal. Most of the men swore that they would not pull a trigger
against women, if they were shot for it, and the disaffection almost
amounted to mutiny. Nancy, in the meantime, had not been idle, she had
found means to speak with the boats' crews of the _Yungfrau_, stated the
departure of the smugglers with their gold, and the fact that they were
to fight with nothing but women, that the soldiers had vowed that they
would not fire a shot, and that Moggy Salisbury, who was with them,
swore that she would hoist up her smock as a flag, and fight to the
last. This was soon known on board of the _Yungfrau_, and gave great
disgust to every one of the crew, who declared to a man, that they would
not act against petticoats, much less fire a shot at Moggy Salisbury.

What a mountain of mischief can be heaped up by the insidious tongue of
one woman!

After this explanation, it may be supposed that the zeal of the party
despatched was not very great. Th