st I had ever spoken.

The clinking noise came nearer. There were long pauses between each
repetition of the noise, as though the bearers were advancing
cautiously, intending, when they got within easy distance of the pit,
to carry the position with a final rush. Now on either side of us they
appeared to be close at hand; the fateful moment had surely arrived,
and my heart seemed to stop beating. The rascal at my side had
loosened his jagged stone, and was clutching it with murderous intent;
while the rest of the gang crouched, ready to spring to action at a
signal from their leader.

Then suddenly the man named Nat broke out into a roar of hoarse
laughter. The noise was, I think, more of a shock to the overstrained
nerves of his comrades than a dozen pistol-shots. They sprang to their
feet with a perfect howl of pent-up excitement. The next instant I
fully expected their pursuers would leap down upon us, and the pit
become the scene of a fierce conflict. Instinctively I shrank back
under the overhanging bushes; but, to my surprise, nothing happened.

"Ho, ho!" burst out the voice of Nat above the confusion; "it's not the
'screws,' it's only some of those sheep! They chain them together out
here on the coast, to prevent them straying."

"Keep quiet, you fool!" cried Rodwood. "D'you want to wake up every
man in Rockymouth with your bull's roaring? Silence, you noisy hound,
or I'll crack your skull with the butt of this pistol!"

However much inclined other members of the gang might have been to
relieve their overstrung nerves with a laugh, Rodwood's threat was
enough to force them into silence. One man sprung out of the hollow,
and returned a moment later confirming Nat's statement regarding the
sheep; and then, for the first time, I remembered having seen the
animals on the cliffs, during my summer rambles with Miles, grazing in
couples fastened together with collars and a chain, to hamper their
movements and prevent their wandering.

It was certainly a ludicrous ending to what had seemed a tragic
situation, but for my own part I was little inclined to laugh; and as
the man beside me flung down his piece of rock, I could but feel
thankful that the disturbance had proved a false alarm.

Once more the gang settled down to await the return of Lewis, who at
length appeared with the intelligence that all was quiet in the
village. With Rodwood and the old smuggler leading, and the rest of
the party followi