212 THE SMUGGLER. 



lighted the one at Tolsford, but I've nothing to do with the 

 others, and don't know who lighted them." 



"Then you saw the rockets?" demanded the young gentle- 

 man. 



" Quite clear, sir," replied Hazelwood; "I got upon the 

 highest point that I could find, and kept looking out over the 

 sea, thinking I should see nothing; for though it was quite 

 clear up so high, and the stars shining as bright as possible, 

 yet all underneath was like a great white cloud rolled about ; 

 but suddenly, as I was looking over this way, I saw something 

 like a -star shoot up from the cloud and burst into a thousand 

 bright sparks, making quite a blaze all round it; and then 

 came another, and then another. So, being quite sure that it 

 was Jack Harding at sea, I ran clown as hard as I could to 

 where I had left Peter by the pile of wood and the two old 

 barrels, and taking the candle out of his lantern, thurst it in. 

 As soon as it was in a blaze, I got on my horse and gal- 

 loped down ; for he could not be more than two or three miles 

 out when I saw the rockets." 



" Then he must be close in now," answered Richard Rad- 

 ford; "and we had better get all the men down, and spread 

 out." 



" There will be time enough, sir, I should think," observed 

 the man on foot, " for he'll get the big boats in, as near as he 

 can, before he loads the little ones." 



" I will fire a pistol, to let him know where we are," an- 

 swered young Radford ; and drawing one from his belt, he had 

 cocked it, when the man on foot stopped him, saying, " There 

 are two officers in Dymchurch, you know, sir, and they may 

 send off for troops." 



"Pooh, nonsense!" replied Richard Radford, firing the pistol 

 in the air; " do you think we would have left them there, if 

 we were not sure of them?" 



In somewhat less than a minute, a distinct cheer was heard 

 from the sea; and at the sound of the pistol, a crowd of men 

 and horses, which in the mist and darkness seemed innumer- 

 able, began to gather down upon the shore, as near to the 

 water's edge as they could come. A great many lanterns were 

 produced, and a strange and curious sight it was to see the 

 number of wild-looking faces which appeared by that dim, un- 

 certain light. 



