Devon Boys Part 60

"Now, then, Captain Duncan," he said, "before I go let me tell you that I shall report your conduct at headquarters. I consider that I have been fooled, sir, fooled."

"I had thought of doing the same by you, sir," retorted my father coldly; "but I do not think it worth while to quarrel with an angry disappointed man, nor yet to take further notice of your hasty words."

"What do you mean, sir? What do you mean?" bl.u.s.tered the lieutenant.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I see! Here's a game!" roared Bob Chowne, dancing about in the exuberance of his delight.

"What do you mean, sir? How dare you!" roared the officer turning upon Bob.

"Why, I know," cried Bob. "What a game! Don't you see how it was?"

"Will you say what you mean, you young idiot?" cried the lieutenant.

"Oh, I say, it wasn't me who was the idiot," cried Bob bluntly. "Why, you let smuggler Uggleston dodge back in the night. He was here about twelve or one, and he and his men must have been and fetched all the stuff away again, while you and your sailors were miles away in the dark."

"Sep," cried my father, as the lieutenant stood staring with wrath, "was Jonas Uggleston back here in the night?"

"Yes, father," I replied.

"And you did not tell me?"

"I have had no opportunity, father; and I did not think anything of it.

He was here about one."

"That's it, then," cried my father. "Lieutenant, he has been too sharp for you. I noted that the sand was a good deal trampled. He has been back with his men and cleared out the place in your absence."

The lieutenant stood staring as if he could not comprehend it all for a minute or two, and then flus.h.i.+ng with rage he stamped about.

"The scoundrel! The hound! The thief!" he roared. "I'll have him yet, though, and when I do catch him I'll hang him to the yard-arm, like the dog he is."

"Dog yourself," cried a fierce voice that we did not recognise, it was so changed; and Bigley struck the lieutenant full in the face with the back of his hand. "My father is a better man than you."

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

THE LUGGER'S RETURN.

The lieutenant staggered back from the effects of the blow. But recovering, he whipped out his sword and made at Bigley, who hesitated for a moment and then dashed up the cliff-side, dodging in and out among the rocks, and he was twenty yards away before the lieutenant had gone ten, and gaining at every leap.

Seeing that he could not catch him, the lieutenant drew a pistol from his belt and would have fired, but my father caught his arm.

"Stop, sir," he cried; "he is but a boy."

By this time the c.o.xswain and four men had leaped ash.o.r.e and run to their leader's side.

"Up and bring him back," shouted the lieutenant fiercely, and wresting his arm free he fired at Bigley, but where the bullet went n.o.body could say, it certainly did not go very near Bigley, who knew every rock and crevice on the side of the headland, and wound his way in and out, and higher and higher, leaving his pursuers far behind.

"Forward! Quick!" roared the lieutenant; but it did not seem to me that the sailors got on very quickly, for they kept on losing ground, and it was so hopeless an affair at last that they were called off, and descended to follow their officer to the boat.

He did not come near us where we stood in a group, and we saw him spring into the gig; but all at once he leapt out again and walked swiftly to us.

"Here," he said authoritatively, as if he had forgotten something, and he pointed to the cottage. "Whose house is that?"

"Mine," said my father promptly.

The lieutenant looked disappointed, and turned sharply back again.

"It is my house," said my father as soon as the officer was out of hearing, and as if speaking to himself. "If he had said, 'who lives there?' it would have been a different thing. He would have burnt and destroyed everything."

We stood watching the gig as the lieutenant returned and it was pushed off. It was not long reaching the cutter, whose sails were hoisted rapidly, and, filling as they were sheeted home, the graceful vessel began to glide away from the sh.o.r.e, and soon afterwards was careening over and heading for the west in pursuit of the lugger or luggers, whichever it might be.

"There, my lads," said my father, "you may go and look for your companion. He can come down safely now."

"Will the cutter come back, father?" I said.

"I daresay it will, to see if Uggleston's lugger returns; but I don't think the lugger will, and certainly Uggleston will not dare to return here to live for some time to come."

"Then what's to become of Bigley?" cried Bob Chowne.

"His father must settle that, my lad."

"But till he does, father?" I said. "Will he stay here?"

"Certainly, my boy. Why not? His father rents the cottage, and his son has a perfect right there."

"You will not turn him out, then, because his father is a smuggler?"

"I always try to be a just man, Sep," replied my father quietly.

"Ahoy!" came from high up over our heads, and, looking up there, we could see Bigley standing on the highest part of the headland waving his cap.

"Come down!" shouted Bob and I in a breath, and he heard us, gave his cap another wave, and disappeared.

He was not long in scrambling down to us, my father stopping till he came up looking very much abashed.

"Well, sir," said my father sternly. "What have you to say for yourself for striking one of his majesty's officers?"

Bigley's manner changed directly, his face flushed and he set his teeth as he raised his head boldly.

"He called my father a dog and a thief," cried Bigley fiercely, "and-- and--I don't want to offend you, Captain Duncan, but I couldn't stand by and hear him without doing something."

"And you did do something, my lad," said my father, holding out his hand--"a very risky something. But there, I'm not going to say any more about it. Now, tell me; your father has given you some instructions, I suppose?"

Bigley hesitated a moment.

"Yes, sir; he said that he should not be able to come back here, but he would write to me."