158 THE SMUGGLER, 



wonder I have not heard from him. He promised to write as 

 soon as he had any information, and he is not a man to for- 

 get. Well, it is of no use to think of it;" and he went on: 

 " five and six are eleven, and four are fifteen, and six are 

 twenty- one." 



At this interesting point of his calculation, a dragoon, who 

 was stationed at the door, put his head into the room, and 

 said, " Mr. Mowle, sir, wants to speak to you." 



" Let him come in," answered the officer; and, laying down 

 his pen, he looked up with a smile. "Well, Mr. Mowle!" he 

 continued, "what news do you bring? Have you been suc- 

 cessful ?" 



"No very good news, and but very little success, sir," 

 answered the officer of customs, taking a seat to which the 

 other pointed. " We have captured some of their goods, and 

 taken six of the men, but the greater part of the cargo, and 

 the greatest villain of them all, have been got off." 



"Ay, how happened that?" asked the gentleman to whom 

 he spoke. "I gave you all the men you required; and I 

 should certainly have thought you were strong enough." 



"Oh! yes, sir; that was not what we lacked," answered 

 Mowle, in a somewhat bitter tone; " but I'll tell you what we 

 did want: honest magistrates, and good information. Know- 

 ing the way they were likely to take, I cut straight across the 

 country by Aldington, Kings-north, and Singleton Green, to- 

 wards Four Elms " 



" It would have been better, I think, to have gone on by 

 Westhawk," said the young officer; "for though the road is 

 rather hilly, you would by that means have cut them off both 

 from Singleton, Chart Magna, and Gouldwell, towards which 

 places, I think you said, they were tending." 



" Yes, sir," replied the officer of customs, "but we found, 

 on the road, that we were rather late in the day, and that oui' 

 only chance was by hard riding. We came up with four of 

 them, however, who had lagged behind, about Four Elms. 

 Two of these we got, and all their goods; and, from the infor- 

 mation they gave, we galloped on as hard as we could to 

 Rousend." 



"Did you take the road, or across the country?" demanded 

 the young officer. 



"Birchett would take the road," answered Mowle. 



