give the gout
to"----the gust choked the remainder of the comparison.

He had probably been accustomed to performances of this order, for his
conjecture was exactly verified. From the spot where we stood, to get,
as he called it, a last peep at "the free-traders bamboozling the
dragoons," we could see cavalry rushing up to the blaze, evidently sure
of having made a capture. A few carts in the ravine below next caught
their eye. Another beacon on another hill soon threw up its flame, and a
party galloped off to examine the new phenomenon. Two or thee more
blazed in succession, and increased their perplexity.

"I must have one shot at them before I go," said Grapnel, "if I die for
it;" and, before I could utter a word to prevent him, he discharged his
pistol. This was an unlucky shot, as it drew the attention of a party of
dragoons, whom we had not before seen, in the hollow beneath. After
returning a shot or two, they darted down upon the rear of the last
convoy, which was silently moving under the shadow of the cliffs, with
the captain and some of its stoutest followers at its head. The business
now began to be serious. The captain and his men, determined not to lose
their venture, made a bold resistance. The dragoons came riding in from
all quarters, but the ground was unfavourable for them, hemmed in as it
was on all sides by the sea, and on the other by the cliff, besides the
encumbrance of the carts and waggons, behind which the cutlasses of the
smugglers were fully a match for the sabre.

If I could have thought of any thing but the hazard of those unfortunate
fellows, the scene from the spot where I stood was sufficiently
striking. The blaze from the tar-barrels showed a long extent of the
Downs, with the troops scattered and galloping among them on all sides.
Long ridges of light were thrown over the waters, while, immediately
below me, the flashes of the smugglers' muskets and the soldiers'
pistols were incessant. It was a battle on a minor scale.

But it is dangerous to be in the way of bullets even as an amateur; for,
as I stood gazing down, I felt a sudden stroke like a shock of
electricity. I staggered, and was on the point of rolling over the
cliff, when Grapnel darted towards me. I just felt myself grasped by
him, and lost all recollection.

On recovering my senses again, I was in Mordecai's villa, where I had
been brought by some fishermen on the morning of the skirmish; and who,
asking no questions