Sentence:  It is said that the <WSD>King's man</WSD>, John Silver (you couldn't make this up), caught Symonds red-handed one day and had his head cut off with a cutlass. [...] the coast was less closely monitored by the customs officers than the secluded coves of the south; anyway, the customs men were often in cahoots with the smugglers and wreckers. Despite this, there were few run-ins between smugglers and customs men[...] 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A customs officer, or other officer appointed by the English Crown.