"But he wahn't lookin' Death in the face, father," replied Luke scornfully, "ain't had his full length o' rope-not yet!

Then they carried the unconscious man away.

CHAPTER VI

CAPTURE OF THE SWEET HOME

HE following morning—that is to say on Friday, October 29th-Luke Kellinack was at sea again, and quickly in the midst of another adventure-one in which Charity Hornbuckle was concerned, and leading to that landing of the Revenue men from the Swallow which Mistress Kellinack had implored Mr. Trevenna's aid in wrecking.

The smugglers of England had devised perhaps the most successful secret society that ever existed. The law of the land-which to them was the law of a king who waged wars, pressed men to fight his battles, defended the rich against the poor-was their enemy wherever it touched upon their rights to work and marry and support their children, or to traffic without hindrance with their friends overseas; and all who sided with the unjust law, therein made themselves enemies of the would-be peaceable fishermen. Yet these, quite as surely, were loyal to the person of their King and ready to fight for their country when required. A braver people never lived; nor a more religious, especially where the Wesleyan revival had penetrated. Their high sense of natural rights, as distinguished from legal, so surely banded them together, that neither the ruthless law, nor its readiness to accept from its agents any evidence-even when obviously perjured-that would bring a smuggler to the gallows, could put an end to the forbidden traffic.1

On the morning of Thursday, November 4th, a King's cruiser-the Swallow brig, Lieutenant Belows in command, convoy to the fishing fleet of Padstow-was seen riding at anchor outside the little harbour of Mullinstow. A lurker-boat promptly rowed out to her. From the shore they saw a man on board the cruiser, the mainsail of the brig being partly hoisted, suddenly leap forward and, being out of view of the officers who were drinking on the quarter deck, jump down to the bobstay and signal to the man in the lurker to drop under the bows. Then he quickly slipped into the boat, which instantly pushed off, the two men rowing lustily. Halfway to the jetty-head a cannon-shot came after them, shattered an oar and so splintered the gunwale that in a minute the boat was under water and the men swimming for their lives. One reached the jetty safely, but the other, wounded in the head by a splinter from his oar, was captured by a cutter sent in pursuit and taken back to the Swallow. But one was enough to carry the news. The man he had helped to escape was young Luke Kellinack.

It appeared that the Sweet Home returning from Alderney laden with tubs of brandy and other contraband goods, had been chased by a press-gang boat. A fine breeze opportunely springing up, Captain Kellinack loosed his topsail and got away. But again the gangboat came up, for a minute took the fishing sloop's wind and was almost within boarding reach, when the fugitive put up her helm, came about and again showed her heels. They got clear away and sank their cargo, but attached to cork floats in smugglers' custom, so that they could hawl the tubs on board again at their convenience.

But, as ill luck had it, no sooner were they safe from the gang-boat, thanks to the sea-fog that had suddenly crept up, than this very safeguard brought them in sight of the Swallow running free with every rag set and fairly leaping at them.

"Hard down with the helm, Luke!" roared Captain Kellinack; and the Sweet Home sprung her luff as if her sweetheart had whistled her. But though the wind threatened to fail, and a cannon shot riddled her mainsail, shattering binnacle and bulwarks, she had escaped but for a second shot cutting through the gear of her mainsail, bringing it down with a run. There was now nothing for it but surrender.

The Sweet Home was boarded. Lieutenant Belows offered to let her go free if they would disclose to him where their tubs were sunk. To this they agreed; having recovered and appropriated the booty, the officer laughed in their faces, saying he would hold them safe from the Revenue officers by retaining their services for his Majesty's Navy. The Sweet Home was manned by a consort cruiser, and sailed into Portsmouth.

Now occurred the adventure that let Charity know her worth was established once and for all time in the heart of the big fisher-lad she adored. In the afternoon Aunt Kellinack, as vigorous at forty-five as at twenty, and even more fiercely identified with her husband's and sons' enterprises since Benjamin had been so foully done to death, devised a plan to get aboard the cruiser. Rowing out to her with the wives of her two married sons who, with two other men and a boy, had comprised the Sweet Home's crew, they were to beg permission to come on board and discover if their husbands were among the prisoners. Cherry was in the Haven that morning, ostensibly to buy fish, probably to get news; and hearing of the venture, volunteered to take the tiller while the other three rowed. Though her family stood above fishermen in the social scale, she was close friends with these women and loved the sea almost as well as little children.

The four women got aboard the cruiser without difficulty, having previously arranged that after some innocent talk with the men about home and children, the

prisoners should seize the boat and make for the shore, leaving the women to get back as best they might. The only fear they had was for Luke. But he, from the moment he was recaptured, had feigned collapse from loss of blood and so had not been put in irons; and, by code and gesture, being instantly advised of the scheme, he remained too faint to take any interest in his visitors until the moment for action came. Then the three husbands slipped overboard by the mainrigging, followed by Luke, who, so instant had been the spring to action, was the only one to be checked. A right hand blow on the jaw from Luke felled the quartermaster. The lieutenant's pistol exploded in the air as he leaped from the quarter-deck, only to find the wounded prisoner safe in the boat, and himself sprawling in the waist of his ship with a lusty and truly lovely young woman sitting upon him, bumping the breath out of him, to the tune of his subordinates' laughter. Quickly the captain's gig was swung from its davits and was racing after the fugitives. Quicker sped the bullets. But, before the naval crew reached the harbour, its jetty was swarming with angry men and women, who, well prepared for the plot, pelted them with stones, so that they dared not land. Captain Kellinack and his two elder sons were immediately lost in the crowd. In the evening the three were out again fishing, but separated in different friends' hospitable boats. Luke, because his wound was now giving real trouble, remained at home-with what consequences has been related.

It appears that the foiled lieutenant was either too good a sportsman or too much ashamed of his defeat by a female, to oppose the women's return to the shore. Indeed, according to Mistress Kellinack's account, Cherry's flaming anger at the terms proposed to her by the treacherous lieutenant, awakened so much real admiration for her that he chivalrously sent them ashore in his gig. But his anger against the men did not abate,