"He must see me," thought Archy. "What a position for an officer to be in!"

"Eh?" exclaimed Shackle, turning sharply round, as if to answer his wife. "Oh yes. Ought to have been here by now."

This gave the midshipman a moment's breathing time; and he had drawn himself up behind the bush by the time the farmer had closed the door, the sudden change from darkness to light preventing Shackle from seeing the spy upon his proceedings.

Just as he was pa.s.sing he stopped short, uttering an e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n; and feeling that he was seen, the midshipman was about to leap up, jump over the low wall, and run, when he heard steps.

He lay still, hoping that this might have drawn forth the exclamation, but for the next few moments he was in agony.

Then came relief.

"That you, Ramillies?"

"Yes, father."

"Well?"

"I think it's all right. Carts are coming, and all the lads are down the roads."

"All?"

"No. Two of 'em's down by the cove, but they won't send anybody from the cutter to-night."

"Not so sure of it, my boy,--not so sure. Can't be too careful.

'Tain't as if we were obliged to move 'em to-night. Landing a cargo's one thing; getting it away another. Well, we'll try. You're sure they're keeping good watch at the cove?"

"Yes, father."

"What sort of an officer did he seem on the cutter?"

"Little, fat, sleepy chap."

"And the others?"

"Don't seem to be no others, only that c.o.c.ky-hoopy middy, who came ash.o.r.e with the men. I should like to ketch him ash.o.r.e some day."

One of Archy's legs gave a twitch at the first remark about him, and the twitch occurred in his right arm at the second.

"Don't chatter. Not very sharp sort of officer, eh?"

"No, father. Sort of chap who'd go to sleep all night."

Archy began wondering. He had thought the boy a dull, stupid-looking b.u.mpkin, and he was finding out how observing he had been.

"Well, we'll risk it, boy. Come along."

Archy's heart gave a bound.

Here was news! He had been growing dull and disheartened, thinking that his expedition was foolish and impossible, and here at once he had learned what he wanted. He knew that now all he had to do was to take advantage of every wall and tree, even to creep along the ground if necessary, and he would be able to follow the smugglers to the place where they had hidden the run cargo, watch them bring it out, and then track them to the fresh hiding-place.

He would thus learn everything, and be able at daybreak to make his way to the cliff, signal for a boat, and a grand capture would be made.

His heart beat high as he thought of the lieutenant's delight, and of the joy there would be amongst the men, for this would mean prize-money, and perhaps the means of deluding the vessel that had brought the cargo into a trap, so that it could be captured, and more prize-money as well as honour be the result.

It did not take him long to think all this; and then he rose cautiously and dropped down again, for the door was re-opened, and the light beamed out so that the watcher felt that he must be seen.

"That my Rammy?" cried Mrs Shackle.

"Yes," growled the farmer; "keep that door shut and your mouth too."

"But do be careful, master. I don't want him took prisoner again."

"It's all right, mother."

"Come along, boy."

Archy heard the departing steps, and began to suffer a fresh agony of suspense. He could not stir, for the farmer's wife stood at the open door, and the slightest movement would have caused a discovery; and all the time he could hear the footsteps growing more and more faint.

"Oh!" he said to himself; "and it's so dark I shan't be able to tell which way they have gone."

What should he do? Start up and run?

If he did the woman was certain to raise an alarm; and, knowing that, he could do nothing but wait till she went in, when he might chance to pick up the clue again.

His heart beat so loudly that he felt as if it must be heard, but Mrs Shackle was too intent upon listening to the departing footsteps, which grew more faint till they died out entirely, and as they pa.s.sed away the midshipman's heart sank.

"Had all my trouble for nothing," he thought. "So near success, and yet to fail!"

"Ah, deary deary me!" said a voice from close at hand, "I'm very sick and tired of it all. I wish he'd be content with his cows and sheep."

Mrs Shackle drew back as she said this, the door closed, and Archy sprang up, darted out of the gateway, and hurried along the path as fast as the darkness would allow, stopping from time to time to listen.

For a long time he could hear nothing. He was descending the slope toward the road leading to the cove, as far as he could tell, for it seemed to him likely that the farmer and his son had gone in that direction; but as he went on and on, and was unable to detect a sound, he felt that he must be wrong, and stopped short, listening intently.

"Bother the woman!" he thought; "it's all through her. They'll go and get all the cargo from the hiding-place, and take it somewhere, and I shall know nothing."

He bit his lip with disappointment, and gave an angry stamp on the gra.s.s.

"I'll go back, and try some other way."

Easy to determine, but hard to carry out in the darkness, and in a place which seemed quite changed at night. There should be a lane or track leading down to the cliff he knew, but where it was he could not say; in fact, at that moment, in his confusion, he could hardly tell for certain that he was on the road leading right away to the cove.

"I may just as well be moving," he said at last despondently. "Oh, if I could only have followed them up!"

His heart gave a bound just then, for plainly on the night air came a dull sound, as of footsteps on gra.s.s. Then there was a whisper, and directly after he knew that a number of people were coming quickly toward him.

A moment or two later he heard a rattling noise, which he recognised as that made by a horse shaking his harness, and once more Archy's heart beat high.

There had not been time for them--if those people coming were the smugglers--to fetch the cargo, and they must be coming in his direction.