But "Smoker" was still at large even though "Stoney" was a prisoner.
It was in April of 1777, when Captain Mitchell had fallen in with him
off Robin Hood's Bay. A month later the Collector of Hull wrote up to
the Board to say that a large lugger had been seen off Whitby, and
well armed. She was described as "greatly an overmatch" for any of the
Revenue cruisers, "or even for a joint attack of two of them": and
that as long as she and the armed cutter commanded by Browning,
_alias_ "Smoker" continued so daringly to "insult" the coasts, there
was little prospect of success. For six months past the Revenue
cruisers had not been able to make any seizures, because these
smuggling craft not only brought over vast quantities themselves, but
protected the smaller ones from the attempts of the Revenue cruisers.
A year later, and we find that Mitchell was every bit as slack as
before. This is made quite clear from a letter which the Collector of
Hull was compelled on November 12 (1778) to write. In this epistle he
informs Mitchell that either he or his mate, one of them, must remain
on board the _Swallow_ at night, when lying in the Humber. For it
appeared that two days earlier both were ashore. The mariner who had
the midnight watch on board the cruiser saw a vessel, supposed to be a
privateer, come right up the Humber into Hull Roads, sail around the
naval tender there lying, then sail round the _Swallow_, and finally
down the river again. Although there were twelve or fourteen men on
the supposed privateer's deck, yet the _Swallow's_ watchman did not
even hail her, Mitchell and his mate being ashore all the while.

Such incidents as the above show that there undoubtedly was cause for
the complaints of the Customs Board that the commanders of their
cruisers were not doing all that might have been done towards
suppressing the evil at hand. On the other hand, it was equally true