198 THE SMUGGLER. 



great importance to the tale, and Mowle took his leave, after 

 having promised to give the colonel the very first intimation 

 he received of the further proceedings of the smugglers. 



The completion of his own arrangements took the custom- 

 house officer half an hour more, and at the end of that time 

 he returned to his own dwelling, and sat down for a while, to 

 think over the next step. He felt a strong inclination to 

 visit the meeting-place of the smugglers in person. He was, 

 as we have shown, a man 'of a daring and adventurous dispo- 

 sition, strong in nerve, firm in heart, and with, perhaps, too 

 anxious a sense of duty. Indeed, he was rather inclined to 

 be rash than otherwise, from the apprehension of having any- 

 thing like fear attributed to him in the execution of the service 

 he had undertaken; but still he could not shut his eyes to the 

 fact that the scheme he meditated was full of peril to himself. 

 The men amongst whom he proposed to venture were lawless, 

 sanguinary, and unscrupulous; and, if discovered, he had 

 every reason to believe that his life would be sacrificed by 

 them without the slightest hesitation or remorse. He was 

 their most persevering enemy; he had spared them on no 

 occasion; and although he had dealt fairly by them, yet many 

 of those who were likely to be present, had suffered severe pun- 

 ishment at his instigation and by his means. He hesitated a 

 little, and called to mind what the colonel had said regarding 

 the hazard of the act, and the want of sufficient object ; but 

 then, suddenly starting up, he looked forward with a frowning 

 brow, exclaiming, "Why, hang it, I'm not afraid! I'll go, 

 whatever befalls me. It's my duty not to leave any chance 

 for information untried. That young fellow is mighty cool 

 about the business; and if these men get off, it shall not be 

 any fault of mine." 



Thus saying, he lighted a candle, and went into an adjoin- 

 ing room, where, from a large commode, filled with a strange 

 medley of different dresses and implements, he chose out a 

 waggoner's frock, a large pair of leathern leggings, or gaiters, 

 and a straw hat, such as was very commonly used at that 

 time amongst the peasantry of England. After gazing at 

 them for a moment or two, and turning them over once or 

 twice, he put them on, and then, with a pair of sharp scissors, 

 cut away, in a rough and unceremonious fashion, a considerable 

 quantity of his black hair, which was generally left rough and 



