ficantly.

"But is it not all?" I queried. "Your father told me that this was all
he required."

"Do you think you could gain enough by smuggling? Bill Lurgy has been
with my father for years; does he look like one who could buy back
Pennington?"

"He is but a paid man," I replied. "Your father has promised that I
shall have shares in his profits."

A look of scorn flashed from her eyes, which I could not understand, and
she seemed to be about to say some words which caused her much feeling,
when her eyes looked straight into mine, and I saw the blood course up
into her face, until her very brow became crimson. Her hands trembled,
too, while her lips twitched so that she was unable to speak.

Now, I could not understand this, especially as a few seconds before she
had been so eager to talk.

"Would you advise me to ask your father to release me of my promise,
then?" I asked. "I cannot go at once without his consent, for I have
given my word I will stay with him for one month."

For answer she caught my hands eagerly. "No, no, stay!" she said. "I
will see to it that you are fairly treated. You must not go away!"

This puzzled me much, but I had no time to ask her what she meant, for
just then her father and several of his men came into the room.

There was great carousing that night at Cap'n Jack's house. A great
deal of grog was drunk, and many strange things said, and yet I could
not help feeling that a kind of reserve was upon the party. I noticed
that when some story was being told Cap'n Jack coughed, whereupon the
eyes of the story-teller were turned upon me, and the yarn remained
unfinished. I could see, too, that many of the men did not like me, and
I grew uneasy at the ugly looks they gave me. Moreover, I could not help
remembering that in spite of all I was a Pennington, and was no fit
company for such as they. And yet I could not escape, for I was hemmed
in on every side.

At the end of a month I began to feel more at home among my
surroundings, and up to that time was not asked to do anything
particularly objectionable. It is true I helped to bring several cargoes
of smuggled goods ashore, but that did not trouble me. Moreover, I
learnt many things about the coast of which I had hitherto been
ignorant. At the end of two months I knew the coast from Gurnard's Head
to Kynance Cove, and had also spent a good deal of time in learning
navigation, which Cap'n Jack assured me would be essential to my gett