t from my uncle reached my
ears. I tore off the bandage from my eyes, and looking round, I saw him
but a short distance from me, and discovered that we were at the bottom
of a chalk-pit, with all our limbs safe and sound, instead of being both
of us mangled corpses at the foot of High-Peak Cliff. Our position was
not dignified; and certainly, though it was much less romantic and full
of horror than it would have been had the catastrophe we expected really
occurred, and had we figured in the newspapers as the subjects of a
dreadful accident, it was, I must own, far more agreeable to my
feelings.

"Uncle," I sung out, "are you hurt?"

"No, Neil, my boy; but rather wet, from a puddle I've fallen into," he
answered. "So those confounded rascals have been playing us a trick all
the time. However, it's better thus than we expected, and it proves
that they are not as bad as we thought them."

"So I was thinking," I replied, moving up to him. "But, I say, uncle,
how are we to get out of this?"

He was sitting down on a ledge of the chalk rock, endeavouring to
recover from the shock which his nervous system had received.

"Why, as I have not a notion where we are, we had better wait till
daylight, or we shall run a great chance of going over the cliffs in
reality," said he. "The sun will rise in little more than an hour
hence, I hope, and then we shall be able to ascertain whereabouts we
are."

In accordance with his advice, I sat myself down by his side, and
remained silent for some time, while I watched the stars glittering
overhead. At length I remarked, "It is very odd, uncle, that Myers did
not murder us, as he did the poor wretch we found under the cliff."

"I fully expected he would; but, after all, there are several reasons
against such an act," he answered.

"He put the spy to death, both for the sake of vengeance and that he
might not betray any more of his secrets, or show us the smugglers'
hides. Myers, however, knew that if he murdered a king's officer, the
Government authorities would not rest till they had brought him to
punishment. There is also a wild notion of justice among these outlaws;
and as they know we are but doing our duty in pursuing them, they have
not the same bitter feeling towards us as they have towards any of their
companions who turn traitors. Myers, perhaps, might have wished to
secure a friend, in case of need. The fellows who had charge of us,
however, could not resist th