ght flash back in answer to the one which had been waved from
the shore; the seaward light was simply like the ordinary mast-head
lantern of a fishing-boat; but the coastguard noticed that it was waved
three times, as if in answer to a set signal. He did not quite like the
look of things, so he got out a pony from the stables at the Hall and
galloped around till he was near the place from which he guessed that
the flashes had come. He lay down amongst the long grass and waited in
an agony of expectation for something that might help him to solve the
puzzle. It turned out that a set of fellows had determined to go back to
the old ways, and the flash that the coastguard saw from the sea was
shown from an ordinary herring-boat which now lay perilously close to
the beach. He saw the black hull wavering like a shadow amid the
uncertain gloom and the solemn water. Presently a hand touched him, and
a terrible thrill of momentary terror shook his nerves. The man that
touched him gave a sharp cry and recoiled; before he could utter another
sound the coastguard was upon him, and the muzzle of a great
horse-pistol was clapped to his face. The coastguard said: "Tell me
where they are going to land?"

The prostrate man hesitated; whereupon his stern assailant said: "I'll
give you until I count three!"

The frightened lout stammered: "They are coming past this way."

A few long minutes went by, and then the coastguard heard a sound of
laboured breathing; this sound came from a horse which was dragging a
large hay-cart through the heavy sand. Two men walked, one on each side
of the horse, and a third pushed the cart from behind. The coastguard
man had only two shots to spare, and he did not know in the least
whether the men opposed to him were armed or not. His decision had to be
made swiftly. He was a kind man, fond of dumb animals, and averse to
hurting anything in the world; but he saw that there was only one way of
preventing the cargo from being safely carried inland. It went sorely
against him to take an innocent life; but just as the horse passed him,
he fired, aiming a little behind the near shoulder. The horse gave a
convulsive stagger and fell dead in the shafts. There was then left one
man with a pistol against four, who might or might not be armed. Luckily
it happened that the smugglers only carried bludgeons. The coastguard
saw that he could not hope to catch any of them, so he said quietly: "I
have another shot here, a