THE SMUGGLER. 103 



have some suspicion that you are going to try something, and 

 I doubt that boy very much." 



" Indeed! indeed I'' exclaimed Mr. Radford, evidently under 

 great apprehension. "What have they found out, Harding?" 



"Why, not much, I believe," replied the smuggler; "but 

 merely that there's something in the wind, and that you have 

 a hand in it.'' 



"That's bad enough; that's bad enough," repeated Mr. 

 Radford. "We must put it off, Harding. We must delay it, 

 till this has blown by. 5 ' 



"No, I think not, sir," answered the smuggler. "It seems 

 to me, on the contrary, that we ought to hurry it; and I'll 

 tell you why. You see, the wind changed about five, and if 

 I'm not very much mistaken, we shall have a cloudy sky and 

 dirty weather for the next week at least. That's one thing: 

 but then another is this, the Ramleys are going to make a run 

 this very night. Now, I know that the whole aifair is blown ; 

 and though they may get the goods ashore they won't carry 

 them far. I told them so, just to be friendly; but they 

 wouldn't listen, and you know their rash way. Bill Ramley 

 answered, they would run the goods in broad daylight, if they 

 liked ; that there was not an officer in all Kent who would dare 

 to stop them. Now, I know that they will be caught to-mor- 

 row morning, somewhere up about your place. I rather 

 think, too, your son has a hand in the venture; and if I 

 were you I would do nothing to make people believe that it 

 wasn't my own affair altogether. Let them think what they 

 please; and then they are not so likely to be on the look- 

 out." 



" I see; I see," cried Mr. Radford. " If they catch these 

 fellows, and think that this is my venture, they will never sus- 

 pect another. " It's a good scheme. We had better set 

 about it to-morrow night/' 



" I don't know," answered Harding. " That cannot well 

 be done, I should think. First, you must get orders over to 

 the vessel to stand out to sea; then you must get all your 

 people together, and one half of them are busy upon this 

 other scheme: the Ramleys and young Chittenden, and him 

 they call the major, and all their parties. You must see what 

 comes of that first ; for one half of them may be locked up be- 

 fore to-morrow night." 



