"

"We must hope the lugger will get safely over to France," his companion
said. "Then no great harm will have been done."

"We must hope so," the squire assented moodily. "Confound the young
jackanapes, turning everything upside down, and upsetting us all with
his mad-brain freaks."

Mrs. Walsham was greatly distressed, when the news was broken to her by
Mr. Wilks, and Aggie cried so that the squire, at last, said she must
go straight up to bed unless she stopped, for she would be making
herself ill again. When she was somewhat pacified, the matter was
discussed in every light, but the only conclusion to be arrived at was,
that their sole hope rested in the hugger getting safely off.

"Of course, my dear madam," the squire said, "if they are taken I will
do my best to get a pardon for your son. I am afraid he will have to
stand his trial with the rest; but I think that, with the
representations I will make as to his good character, I may get a
mitigation, anyhow, of a sentence. If they find out that it was he who
gave the alarm, there will be no hope of a pardon; but if that doesn't
come out, one would represent his being there as a mere boyish freak of
adventure, and, in that case, I might get him a free pardon. You must
not take the matter too seriously to heart. It was a foolish business,
and that is the worst that can be said of it."

"I think it was a grand thing," Aggie said indignantly, "for him to
risk being shot, and imprisoned, and all sorts of dreadful things, just
to save other people."

"And I think you are a goose, Aggie," the squire said. "If everyone
were to go and mix themselves up in other people's business, there
would be no end of trouble. I suppose next you will say that, if you
heard me arranging with the constable to make a capture of some
burglars, you would think it a grand thing to put on your hat to run
off to warn them."

"Oh, grandpapa, how can you say such a thing!" the girl said. "Burglars
and smugglers are quite different. Burglars are wicked men, and thieves
and robbers. Smugglers are not, they are only trying to get goods in
without paying duty."

"They try to rob the king, my dear, and in the eyes of the law are just
as criminal as burglars. Both of them are leagued to break the law, and
both will resist and take life if they are interfered with. I allow
that, in general estimation, the smugglers are looked upon in a more
favourable light, and that a great many people, who o