THE SMUGGLER. 59 



exert himself," answered his companion. " I lost fifty thou- 

 sand pounds by the last affair, twenty by the other; but I 

 tell you, Harding, I have more than both upon this, and if 

 this fail " 



He paused, and did not finish the sentence ; but he set his 

 teeth hard, and seemed to draw his breath with difficulty. 



" That's a bad plan," said the smuggler; " a bad plan, in 

 all ways. You wish to make up all at one run ; and so you 

 double the venture ; but you should know by this time, that 

 one out of four pays very well, and we have seldom failed to 

 do one out of two or three'; but the more money people get 

 the more greedy they are of it ; so that because you put three 

 times as much as enough on one freight, you must needs put 

 five times on the other, and ten times on the third, risking a 

 greater loss every time for a greater gain. I'll have to do 

 with no more of these things. Tin contented with little, and 

 don't like such great speculations." 



" Oh! if you are afraid," cried Mr. Eadford, " you can give 

 it up. I dare say we can find some one else to land the goods." 



" As to being afraid, that I am not," answered Harding; 

 " and having undertaken the run, I'll do it. I'm not half so 

 much afraid as you are, for I've not near so much to lose ; only 

 my life or liberty and three hundred pounds. But still, Mr. Bad- 

 ford, I do not like to think that if anything goes wrong you'll 

 be so much hurt ; and it makes a man feel queer. If I have 

 a few hundreds in a boat, and nothing to lose but myself and 

 a dozen of tubs, I go about it as gay as a lark and as cool and 

 quiet as a dog-fish; but if anything were to go wrong now, 

 why it would be " 



" Ruin utter ruin I" said Mr. Radford. 



" I dare say it would," rejoined the smuggler; " but, never- 

 theless, your coming down here every other day, and sending 

 for me, does no good, arid a great deal of harm. It only 

 teazes me, and sets me always thinking about it, when the 

 best way is not to think at all, but just to do the thing and 

 get it over. Besides, you'll have people noticing your being 

 so often down here, and you'll make them suspect something 

 is going on." 



" But it is necessary, my good fellow," answered the other, 

 " that we should settle all our plans. I must have people 

 ready, and horses and help, in case of need." 



