The Hickman courier., 1876-07-28
A sMUGGLER's STORY.

| The years that turned your tresses tray
| Has given you back your youth to-day
A SMCGGLER'S STORY.
One November evening last year found
me, an elderly London lawyer, standing
at the end of one of the two long pier'
which form the entrance to an important
packet port on the south coast. While
| was peering intently into the darkness
man came up and stood beside me and
| looked out to the sea. Atthe same instant
enc of those sudden squalls which are
so common at that time of the year came
racing past us, and the binding rain
beat upon our faces.
''You had better come into our watch
house for a bit, sir, said my friend "its
close by. Pm a custom-house officer.
And walking rapidly on he brought me
to neat looking small house, built just
where the pier began to branch off from
the harbor into the sea. Opening the
door he showed me into a good-sized
room lighted with gas, and with CAPT
tai fire blazing in the CRATE. On benches
round the fire were three or four men
dressed in uniform like my friend, and
in bed-birth hard by another man was
snoring away in happy Peacefulness, re-
cruiting himself for his turn of night
duty.
"a fine night for smuggling, I should
fancy ?'' suggested.
Well, sir, in old times it would have
been," said one "but there's no smug>
Cling nowadays to speak of-just little
trumpery bit of baccy now and then,
hardly worth taking-is there Frank ?"
addressing the man opposite.
Frank, with infinite disgust, agreed to
this.
"They're clever fellows sometimes,
sir, said another man, "and it isn't a
10 be taken in by chem. D,yOu
mind" said another man, ''that affair at
Brinemouth some years ago?'
"Ah. that was start, SAID one
of them. q You must know, sir" he
went on, that Brinemouth harbor is
something like this one. 1t has two
long piers running out from the
harbor, which is a good large piece Of
water. These piers are pretty close to-
gether, and the customs has a watch
house ON each pier and men always on
the lookout, so that it was impossible for
the smallest craft to get into the harbor
without being seen. Well, sir, the col
lector got an anonymous letter to say
t@at the Sally, well known smuggler,
was somewhere Off the coast with lot of
tubs on board, and that they would GER
tainly be run somewhere near. The
coastguard were all warned, and we had
double watches On the piers and you
may depend upon it that we didn't go to
sleep, for if we got those tubs it would
be a jolly Christmas box apiece. A day
or two afterwards the collector got an
other bit of note, saying the tubs would
certainly be run that night. 1t was a
darkish right, with good bit of rain !;
very much such another as this, only
not so squally. We walked up and down
the piers and stared out to sea, and moth
ing whatever did we see until just after
the town-hall clock had struck twelve,
when we distinctly heard the beat OF
oars, and after few minutes a four
Dared boat pulled in between the piers,
and being hailed, came up to the steps
under the watch house. One of the men
told us that she belonged to the bark
Esther, of Newcastle, from Sulina, with
a cargo of wheat, which was lying out in
the bay wind bound. One of their men
had got himself hurt and they'd come
ashore for doctor. They'd find one
wouldn't they, in Bank street? Did ht
know Brinemouth He should think so
had lived here years ago. They'd bette
row right across the harbor 20 the STEPS
| 1t would be better to do so than to wall
round Good night While he'd beel
speaking, two of our men searched ever
( inch of the boat, took up her foorin,
boards, pricked her timbers all round t,
see that there was no skin, searched al
| the men, but with no result whatever
A nice chatting they got all the time,
can tell you sir. 81 say, governor, w,
got mighty big holler tooth; hadn'
you better have look into it % and 5,
on. Well, we came to the conclusion
that she was what they said she was, ant
we wished them good night, and the,
pulled away across the harbor and wer
soon lost to sight and hearing in tb
darkness. About an hour after the boa
went out again with the doctor, for W
saw another man in the stern. Nothin,
more did we see that night, and we wen
home in the morning grumbling at ou
ill-luck, and wondering why the dicken
the doctor didn't come back.
That day young gent who lived
fast kind of life came in to see our col
lector, with whom he was acquainted
Says he, Il saw a queer thing las
night
"What was that ?" said the collecto,
pairing his nails.
g" Why, / was coming along Hill stree
about quarter of two, and l saw abou
forty men, walking one after the otbe,
and each with couple of little tubs o,
his shoulders
"' The deuce p said the collector
jumping up and ringing the bell. Sen,
Mr.. Dawson directly said he to tn
messenger.
| Dir. Dawson was our tide suryeyo
] who helped to rummage the boat.