The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-04-30

safe to put in at Receivers or Swale Cliffs.
signals 10 tell us where to 20. and when we
got there We found plenty to help US
ashore with our tub s. one over each shOul-
der. and away they went different roads,
as hard as they cou!d post.
We mover ran short of horses when we
wanted them; took them from the fields OF
got through the stable doors somehow, and
borrowed them for an hour or two without
asking the owner leave. One old chap at
w hitstabie. who couldn't afford to feed his
morse on GATE, used to wonder how little hay
they used during the night time. and where
all the oats cnme from that he found
In the manger when he went to take them
ont next day; also how it came about that
ne left his beasts clean of q night and
lound them spattered with mud in tho
morning. Some of his neighbors could
nave tolc him the reason why the horses
were so fat on so little. but they didn't, a.
tnat might have spoilt business for us all.
An. those were roaring times, Bill Gam
mon. and many q wild gallou we had to.
gether from Reculvers. or FROM the Priest
and Sow. pass To Canterbury, with the
mounted coast guards after us helter-skei-
Ter and the kegs gong spinning over the
walls into the different cabbage gardene,
as We passed the friendly houses. We
knew they could soon be picked up and
kept safe for us, and 1t was generally our
dodge TO ride of when we were spotted by
the ~blookades, with half q dozen kegs at
our saddles so AS TO get them away from
the main cargo. when after We were clear
OF our burden we let them Oyertake US and
laughed at them for their pains. for we
knew that the cargo had been landed or
sunk by the time We let them catch us.
with nothing more than . borrowed horse
TO be accounted for.
But that last landing. af1re we left Eng
land, was the widest Of all our adventures
In the smuggling line. and a good prepara-
tioh for what was TO coIee afterwa ards in
the shape of adventures.
We had shipped n good fargo of the best
brandy at Calais, paying TOR 1t IL shlllings
the four-gallon tub. and had three score
and q half IN the hold when we turned
towards the kentish coast. with o rough
sea on and q murky sky overhead. al
though the moon was well into heS fourth
quarter.
Now. as a rule. smugglers don't half care
for moonlight nights when out at sea. It's
all very we'll on shore with ones sweet
heart, but with the revenue cutter
proving about. and the presentation
men securing the shores, il has it's dIb-
advantages however, we can't always
choose our W nights. and at this time We
had TO risk IL.
However. if it's moonlight that's on.
give me o white fog or q thick rack of
clouds bet US and the light. even al
though the sea be rough 10 proportion.
This night the wind came on after we bad
got free OF Calais harbor in the right quar-
ter for q quick run home. We started IN
good time so as to be at Receivers about
midnight. where we proposed TO land, that
Is down near the sand cliff. Herne bay
side. where we could run MP the pass and
on by the marsh and woods to Canterbury.
We beat up past the FOrelands and round
the corner all right, without being dis
turbed or seeing any sign of the Gutter. al
though the moon broke far of the drift at
times and bore down on the channel like
quicksilver as the swirlIng waves danced
about Us. not as yet toe high to be unDleas-
ant. although. as Bill here remarked, 1.-The
Goodwins would have il their own way
afore morning"
Half way between Blrchington and
Reculvers we saw the warning lights. not
TO touch there. but to 60 straight along to
the Priest and Sow pass this side of
Tankerton. q piece of information which
suited fairly well with the weather and
our own lnclinations, as IL lay nearer home
and more under the shelter of Shepney.
The sister towers at Receivers showed
up well as we passed them, for the moon
broke out at this moment from the bank of
clouds behind which it was sitting. and l
expect also showed US to the blockade
stationed there. as we drove past half
flashing up the sands. and beating WHITLEY
between us and the old towers which had
stood SO many hundreds OF thousands of
tempests since the sea first began to
that they stood eleven miles from
sea at Que time. When we passed that
night they weren't half a mile. Now last
time l was there they was amongst the
waves at high tide.
The moon had como down and the night
was pitch dark by the time we dropped
anchor at Swalecliffe, and we knew uy the
lights ashore that the coaet was oloar, and
our friends were there with the horses ready
for us.
The next quarter of an honr we were
hard at it, getting the kegs ashore and
strapped to the horses; Three Of them
clattered off with their loads towards the
woods. ridden by Roger Harding, Amen
Moss and Ted Kemp. and in another ten
minutes those who hadn't horses were
away on foot with their tubs on their
backs towards their own houses in Whit
stable.
along with three other WhItstable lads.
TO look after the lugRer while we were
away. and with young Jack. Sam Goulden
and myself each OH well-fed horses. ss
fresh as paint. we started Tor the woods
after the others. promising to be back be-
fore daylight.
CHAPTER ia RIDE TO CANTERBURY.
friends. and knew every inch of the way
from Swalecliffe TO Canterbury without
needing to use their eyes.
They were the property of old Steve
Toad. who worked them by day on small
modicums of hay and turned them out to
grass at night, and who wondered to find
them 30 fresh and fiery in the morning, and
SO often mud-splashed and ost- crammed.
They had been we'll fed before our srri-
val in their ~shed-manger, with the best of
oats. so that they made the clods spin
from their heels as they tiew'up the Priest
and Sow road. and, with the denser black
ness of the woods, those horses that
trndged along sedately ty day for their
legitimate master, and galiopped wildly by
night for their lawless friends. the snug
Qlers, / believe that they liked the secret
service with oats d deal better than re-
s~pectability with grass qualified by sprlnk-
lings OF hay. for horses are like dogs and
men. they think little about fatigue when
on the spree.
Bill Cannon was to take the lueger along
TO Wbltsfable with the fish We had taken,
on the outward passage. then bring TO
anchor and go ashore TO the Stsgg Inn.
where we should join him. and be ready
TO give away or sell our stale fish in the
morning Tor Appearances sake; we didn't
EXPECT many buyers. but there was always
lots who would gladly accept what We
conidn't sell.
a wild night that was for riding, with
the wind sweeping through the trees and
sending the branches aud leaves with
,,,ny,Dy strokes like whip iashes across orr