88 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE. 



But none was given. The captain's civilitj was redoubled : 

 "Anywhere else would they like to look — in the coal 

 cellar, the hold, the engine room^ — all was open to them, 

 if they would only say." " Confound the Englishman !" — 

 they were done then, — done, too, at their own weapons. 

 ^' Bah ! un autre jour, monsieur. Bon jour." And they 

 came on shore again, looking quite different from the 

 swaggering heroes who had boarded with so much ardour 

 an hour before ; Jack, too, lounging over the side, and 

 leering most waggishly the while, as if saying, " Do tell 

 me." 



But French bile v/as not to be stirred up for nothing ; 

 so the next time their own boat came in they pounced 

 upon her, rummaged as before, and with the result of finding 

 in the cabin of the chief engineer (an Englishman) about 

 a quarter of a pound of powder, as they said, hidden 

 there. But this he stoutly denied ; he said he had it for 

 his own use, and it was on his own shelf open to the eyes 

 of all ; and as to hiding, he scorned it. All this, well said 

 and stuck to with English perseverance before the court, 

 prevailed, and he was acquitted. Then they got hold of 

 another Englishman, who was said to have imported about 

 a hundred- weight of the forbidden fruit, but could prove 

 nothing except in a general way. In this instance I am 

 bound to say they had the " right pig by the ear " but 

 they could not hold him. Then he talked provokingly 

 about it; " he could tell a good deal if he liked — many a 

 gentleman had had English powder, lie dared say : people 

 said the maire was one, and Monsieur A. another," and so 

 on. They were done again, and the thing was finally 



