oung fisherman was
looking in their direction, or away; from them; but a movement on the
part of the lad set this at rest directly after, and they saw him go
slowly on, helping himself by clutching at the saw-like row of jagged
stones which divided one slope from the other; and, satisfied that they
had not been seen, they recommenced their crawl, till they reached the
cover of a pile of the loose rocks, which were pretty well covered with
growth.

Placing this between them and the lad, now far away upon the ridge, they
made for the cover of the stunted oaks, and there breathed freely.

Mike was the first to speak, and he began just as if his companion had
the moment before made his impatient remarks about the adventure not
being worth the trouble.

"I don't know," he said. "This is the first time we have had any
bother, and I don't see why we should give such a jolly place up just
because that thick-headed old Lobster came watching us."

"Ah! but that isn't all," said Vince. "We can't go down there any more,
on account of the smugglers."

"But I don't believe you are right. Those things looked new, I know;
but they must be as old as old, for if any smuggling had been going on
here we must have seen or heard of it."

"But the sand--the sand! Those footprints must be new."

"I don't see it," said Mike, rather stubbornly. "Because the wind blows
into one cave and drifts the light sand all over, that's no reason why
it should do so in another cave, which may be regularly sheltered."

"It's no good to argue with you," said Vince sourly, for he was weary
and put out. "You can have it your own way, only I tell you this,--
smugglers don't stand any nonsense; they'll shoot at any one who tries
to stop them or find out where they land cargoes, and we should look
nice if they suddenly came upon us."

"People don't come suddenly on you when they've been dead a hundred
years," replied Mike. "Now, just look here: we must do it as if we took
no interest in it, but you ask your father to-night, and I'll ask mine,
whether they ever heard of there being smugglers in the Crag."

"Well, I will," said Vince; "but you must do the same."

"Of course I shall; and we shall find that it must have been an enormous
time ago, and that we've as good a right to those things as anybody, for
they were brought there and then forgotten."

"Well, we shall see," said Vince; and that night, at their late tea, he
started the subject with