200 THE SMUGGLER. 



town whom he knew well, but who only replied to the awk- 

 ward nod of the head which he gave them by saying, "Good 

 night, my man," and walked on, evidently unconscious that 

 they were passing an acquaintance. 



As he advanced, however, the night grew darker and more 

 dark ; and a fog began to rise, though not so thick as that of 

 the night before. Mowle muttered to himself, as he observed 

 it creeping up the hill from the side of the valley, "Ay, this 

 is what the blackguards calculated upon, and they are always 

 sure to be right about the weather; but it will serve my turn 

 as well as theirs;" and on he went in the direction of the 

 castle, keeping the regular road by the side of the hill, and 

 eschewing especially the dwelling of Galley Ray and her 

 grandson. 



Born in that part of the country, and perfectly well pre- 

 pared, both to find his way about every part of the ruins, and 

 to speak the dialect of the county in its broadest accent, if he 

 should be questioned, the darkness was all that he could de- 

 sire ; and it was with pleasure that he found the obscurity so 

 deep that even he could not see the large stones which at 

 that time lay in the road, causing him to stumble more than 

 once as he approached the castle. He was in some hope, in- 

 deed, of reaching the ruins before the smugglers began to as- 

 semble, and of finding a place of concealment whence he could 

 overhear their sayings and doings; but in this expectation he 

 discovered, as he approached the walls, that he should be dis- 

 appointed ; for in the open road between the castle and the 

 village, he found a number of horses tied, and two men watch- 

 ing. He trudged on past them, however, with a slow step 

 and a slouching gait; and when one of the men called out, "Is 

 that you, Jack?" he answered, "Ay, ayl" without stopping. 



At the gate of the court he heard a good many voices talk- 

 ing within ; and, it must be acknowledged, that although as 

 brave a man as ever lived, he was not without a strong sense 

 of the dangers of his situation. But he suffered it not to 

 master him in the least; and advancing resolutely, he soon got 

 the faint outline of several groups of men, amounting in the 

 whole to about thirty, assembled on the green between the 

 walls and the keep. Walking resolutely up to one of these 

 little knots, he looked boldly amongst the persons it comprised, 

 as if seeking for somebody. Their faces could scarcely be dis- 



