w Bridge, he
directed us in shore, on the right side, till we came to a garden
sweeping down to the river from a cottage _ornee_, of large dimensions,
about fifty yards from the bank. The water was up to the brick-wall,
which rose from the river about four or five feet. "That will do,
st---, st---, not a word," said he, rising in the stern sheets, and
looking over. After a minute or two reconnoitring, he climbed from the
boat on to the parapet of the wall, and whistled two bars of an air
which I had till then never heard. All was silent. He crouched behind
a lilac bush, and in a minute he repeated the same air in a whistle as
before; still there was no appearance of movement at the cottage. He
continued at intervals to whistle the portion of the air, and at last a
light appeared at an upper window: it was removed, and re-appeared three
times. "Be ready now, my lads," said he. In about two minutes
afterwards, a female, in a cloak, appeared, coming down the lawn, with a
box in her hand, panting with excitement.

"Oh, William, I heard your first signal, but I could not get into my
uncle's room for the box; at last he went out, and here it is."

The gentleman seized the box from her, and handed it to us in the boat.

"Take great care of that, my lads," said he; "and now, Cecilia, we have
no time to lose; the sooner you are in the boat the better."

"How am I to get down there, William?" replied she.

"Oh, nothing more easy. Stop, throw your cloak into the boat, and then
all you have to do is, first to get upon the top of the wall, and then
trust to the watermen below and to me above for helping you."

It was not, however, quite so easy a matter; the wall was four feet high
above the boat, and moreover, there was a trellised work of iron, above
a foot high, which ran along the wall. Still, she made every effort on
her own part, and we considered that we had arranged so as to conquer
the difficulty, when the young lady gave a scream. We looked up and
beheld a third party on the wall. It was a stout, tall, elderly man, as
far as we could perceive in the dark, who immediately seized hold of the
lady by the arm, and was dragging her away. This was resisted by the
young gentleman, and the lady was relinquished by the other, to defend
himself; at the same time that he called out--"Help, help! Thieves,
thieves!"

"Shall I go to his assistance?" said I to Mr Turnbull. "One must stay
in the boat."

"Jump up, t