poor fellows. Every house is being searched for last night's work: it
seems they surprised the coastguards at the Cross and tied them up in
their barracks, before they landed their goods, and now the whole
country is being searched by troops. And here are we three innocents,"
she went on, smiling, drawing us both to her, "all conspiring against
the King's peace--I expect we shall all be transported. Well, I shall
be transported, but you'd have to serve in the Navy. So now we won't
talk about it any more; I've had enough smuggling for one day. Let's
go out and build a real snow-house, and then Jim will be a Red Indian
and we will have a fight with bows and arrows."



CHAPTER V

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE "SNAIL"


It was during the wintry days that Mrs Cottier decided to remove us
from the school at Newton Abbot. She had arranged with the Rector at
Strete for us to have lessons at the Rectory every morning with young
Ned Evans, the Rector's son; so when the winter holidays ended we were
spared the long, cold drive and that awful "going back" to the school
we hated so.

Winter drew to an end and the snow melted. March came in like a lion,
bringing so much rain that the brook was flooded. We saw no more of
the night-riders after that day in the snow, but we noticed little
things now and then among the country people which made us sure that
they were not far off. Once, when we were driving home in the evening