The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-04-23

4 w Eh1lh LAlO CCAEllIC3 Clld AAhIhC1 ilNy
keep you company. All ready? j
asked, stepping into tho boat and at
the same time discharging my revol-
yer, as q signal to the c~oastguard of
iicer in the other boat.
Cali right, sir"
"Then pull off," and away we wentin
the wake of the ~smugglers. The chase
was an exciting on. They had got
about twenty yards ahead; but our
boat was the swifter, and we soon
came up with them. "Now we have
them" / exclaimed, as u other boat
came into view, intercepting their
course to the island. They were not
however, to be caught SO easily.
Making a rapid double to the left, our
boat was shot far ahead of them, be-
fore we could turn. / now saw that
the advantage did not lie on our side;
for although We had greater speed and
greater numbers, on the other hand,
the smugglers' boat was so formed as
to twist and turn about with the
greatest rapidity, renderingit very diff
ficult for us to come into quarters
with them. Again we came close up
with them, and again they made a
double towards the mainland, leaving
us still at q distance.
Inow adopted a different mode of
operations. Both our boats were be.
tween the smugglers and Innismurry,
and / directed them to separate about
twenty yards and row close behind
the enemy, keeping the latter always
in front and between the two boats.
This plan was perfectly successful.
The smugglers were now compelled to
'tmove on" before us towards the
mainland, any attempt to turn aside
being prevented by either boat. Their
only escape now was landward, and
they made a squirt TO reach the shore
before us, heading directly for the
~Smugglers' Pier; but their boat had
scarcely touched the gravel when our
men, jumping into water, surrounded
it, and took the occupants in charge
ere they had time to land.
Inow directed my attention to mat
ters on shore. Mickey was still there,
but the constable was nowhere to be
seen. A feeble groan from behind the
rocks led Mickey to explain.
"It's the paler yer honour" said he.
He tux mighty had after you left
'tHas he been to the keg?" | asked.
"Faix, and he has, thin; and it
didn't agree with him."
1t evidently did not. The ground
beside him bore witness to the fact.
"Confound the stuff" growled one
of the boatmen, who had taken the
opportunity to follow the paler's ex-
ample and have a pull at the keg.
He was expectoratin1 at a furious
rate and making horrible ~grimaces.
"Is it poison?" feebly groaned the
policeman.
ePoison? Confound it," said the
boatman; fits water, and as salt as
blazes."s
1t was indeed water, fresh drawn
from the Atlantic. The constable, it
seems, feeling cold alter his immersion,
preached the keg in our absence. and
had taken q good pull at it before he
discovered that it wasn't the 'rale
Innishowen." 1t produced such q
nausea and sickness of stomach that
the poor fellow thought he was
poisoned, and became frightened
into the ludicrous state of dis
tress in which we found him.
Inow examined the contents of an
other keg in the boat. Salt water al
SO. Meanwhile, our three prisoners,
who understood not a word of En-
glish, stood composedly looking on,
seeming quite satisfied with their posi-
ton. Our own position was certain
ly a novel one. There we stood, eight
men in Her Maiesty's service, with
three prisoners in charge-and for
what? For having two kegs OF salt
water in their possession, whilst the
broad Atlantic rolled at our feet. No
one appeared to be able to give any
explanation of our peculiar seizure
and we were about to leave the place
in disgust, when the coastguard drew
my attention to the sound of oars
farther up the shore, and we could
dimly discern a boat putting off
towards the island.
Depend upon st." said he, THAT
boat has just been landing the po-
teen; and this has only been a decoy,
to divert our attention from the real
cuiprits."
This indeed was the true explana-
ton of the mystery, so | discharged
my prisoners, who coolly tossed the
kegs into their boat and pulled off to-
wards Innismurry.
i afterwards learned that Mickey,
with all his apparent simplicity, wasa
shrewd confederate of the smugglers,
and that it was really he who planned
and set us on this wild goose chase"
They expected, it seems, raid made
on them that night, and Mickey was
deputied, under cover OF giving infor-
nation, to learn the mode Of attack,
and, if possible, to thwart it. Iii this
he was but too successful. And al.
though on many subsequent occasions
| had ample revenge for the trick
played on me that night, / must con-