As he had expected, she left the house at the same hour at night,this time passing his door without stealth, as if she knew very wellthat he would be watching, and were resolved to brave hisdispleasure. He was quite ready, opened the door quickly, andreached the back door almost as soon as she.
'Then you will go, Lizzy?' he said as he stood on the step besideher, who now again appeared as a little man with a face altogetherunsuited to his clothes.
'I must,' she said, repressed by his stern manner.
'Then I shall go too,' said he.
'And I am sure you will enjoy it!' she exclaimed in more buoyanttones. 'Everybody does who tries it.'
'God forbid that I should!' he said. 'But I must look after you.'
They opened the wicket and went up the road abreast1 of each other,but at some distance apart, scarcely a word passing between them.
The evening was rather less favourable2 to smuggling3 enterprise thanthe last had been, the wind being lower, and the sky somewhat cleartowards the north.
'It is rather lighter,' said Stockdale.
''Tis, unfortunately,' said she. 'But it is only from those fewstars over there. The moon was new to-day at four o'clock, and Iexpected clouds. I hope we shall be able to do it this dark, forwhen we have to sink 'em for long it makes the stuff taste bleachy,and folks don't like it so well.'
Her course was different from that of the preceding night, branchingoff to the left over Lord's Barrow as soon as they had got out ofthe lane and crossed the highway. By the time they reached ChaldonDown, Stockdale, who had been in perplexed4 thought as to what heshould say to her, decided5 that he would not attempt expostulationnow, while she was excited by the adventure, but wait till it wasover, and endeavour to keep her from such practices in future. Itoccurred to him once or twice, as they rambled6 on, that should theybe surprised by the excisemen, his situation would be more awkwardthan hers, for it would be difficult to prove his true motive8 incoming to the spot; but the risk was a slight consideration besidehis wish to be with her.
They now arrived at a ravine which lay on the outskirts9 of Chaldon,a village two miles on their way towards the point of the shore theysought. Lizzy broke the silence this time: 'I have to wait here tomeet the carriers. I don't know if they have come yet. As I toldyou, we go to Lulstead Cove10 to-night, and it is two miles furtherthan Ringsworth.'
It turned out that the men had already come; for while she spoke11 twoor three dozen heads broke the line of the slope, and a company ofthem at once descended13 from the bushes where they had been lying inwait. These carriers were men whom Lizzy and other proprietorsregularly employed to bring the tubs from the boat to a hiding-placeinland. They were all young fellows of Nether-Moynton, Chaldon, andthe neighbourhood, quiet and inoffensive persons, who simply engagedto carry the cargo14 for Lizzy and her cousin Owlett, as they wouldhave engaged in any other labour for which they were fairly wellpaid.
At a word from her they closed in together. 'You had better take itnow,' she said to them; and handed to each a packet. It containedsix shillings, their remuneration for the night's undertaking15, whichwas paid beforehand without reference to success or failure; but,besides this, they had the privilege of selling as agents when therun was successfully made. As soon as it was done, she said tothem, 'The place is the old one near Lulstead Cove;' the men tillthat moment not having been told whither they were bound, forobvious reasons. 'Owlett will meet you there,' added Lizzy. 'Ishall follow behind, to see that we are not watched.'
The carriers went on, and Stockdale and Mrs. Newberry followed at adistance of a stone's throw. 'What do these men do by day?' hesaid.
'Twelve or fourteen of them are labouring men. Some arebrickmakers, some carpenters, some shoe-makers, some thatchers.
They are all known to me very well. Nine of 'em are of your owncongregation.'
'I can't help that,' said Stockdale.
'O, I know you can't. I only told you. The others are more church-inclined, because they supply the pa'son with all the spirits herequires, and they don't wish to show unfriendliness to a customer.'
'How do you choose 'em?' said Stockdale.
'We choose 'em for their closeness, and because they are strong andsurefooted, and able to carry a heavy load a long way without beingtired.'
Stockdale sighed as she enumerated17 each particular, for it provedhow far involved in the business a woman must be who was so wellacquainted with its conditions and needs. And yet he felt moretenderly towards her at this moment than he had felt all theforegoing day. Perhaps it was that her experienced manner and holdindifference stirred his admiration18 in spite of himself.
'Take my arm, Lizzy,' he murmured.
'I don't want it,' she said. 'Besides, we may never be to eachother again what we once have been.'
'That depends upon you,' said he, and they went on again as before.
The hired carriers paced along over Chaldon Down with as littlehesitation as if it had been day, avoiding the cart-way, and leavingthe village of East Chaldon on the left, so as to reach the crest19 ofthe hill at a lonely trackless place not far from the ancientearthwork called Round Pound. An hour's brisk walking brought themwithin sound of the sea, not many hundred yards from Lulstead Cove.
Here they paused, and Lizzy and Stockdale came up with them, whenthey went on together to the verge20 of the cliff. One of the men nowproduced an iron bar, which he drove firmly into the soil a yardfrom the edge, and attached to it a rope that he had uncoiled fromhis body. They all began to descend12, partly stepping, partlysliding down the incline, as the rope slipped through their hands.
'You will not go to the bottom, Lizzy?' said Stockdale anxiously.
'No. I stay here to watch,' she said. 'Owlett is down there.'
The men remained quite silent when they reached the shore; and thenext thing audible to the two at the top was the dip of heavy oars,and the dashing of waves against a boat's bow. In a moment the keelgently touched the shingle21, and Stockdale heard the footsteps of thethirty-six carriers running forwards over the pebbles22 towards thepoint of landing.
There was a sousing in the water as of a brood of ducks plunging23 in,showing that the men had not been particular about keeping theirlegs, or even their waists, dry from the brine: but it wasimpossible to see what they were doing, and in a few minutes theshingle was trampled25 again. The iron bar sustaining the rope, onwhich Stockdale's hand rested, began to swerve26 a little, and thecarriers one by one appeared climbing up the sloping cliff; drippingaudibly as they came, and sustaining themselves by the guide-rope.
Each man on reaching the top was seen to be carrying a pair of tubs,one on his back and one on his chest, the two being slung27 togetherby cords passing round the chine hoops28, and resting on the carrier'sshoulders. Some of the stronger men carried three by putting anextra one on the top behind, but the customary load was a pair,these being quite weighty enough to give their bearer the sensationof having chest and backbone29 in contact after a walk of four or fivemiles.
'Where is Owlett?' said Lizzy to one of them.
'He will not come up this way,' said the carrier. 'He's to bide30 onshore till we be safe off.' Then, without waiting for the rest, theforemost men plunged31 across the down; and, when the last hadascended, Lizzy pulled up the rope, wound it round her arm, wriggledthe bar from the sod, and turned to follow the carriers.
'You are very anxious about Owlett's safety,' said the minister.
'Was there ever such a man!' said Lizzy. 'Why, isn't he my cousin?'
'Yes. Well, it is a bad night's work,' said Stockdale heavily.
'But I'll carry the bar and rope for you.'
'Thank God, the tubs have got so far all right,' said she.
Stockdale shook his head, and, taking the bar, walked by her sidetowards the downs; and the moan of the sea was heard no more.
'Is this what you meant the other day when you spoke of havingbusiness with Owlett?' the young man asked.
'This is it,' she replied. 'I never see him on any other matter.'
'A partnership32 of that kind with a young man is very odd.'
'It was begun by my father and his, who were brother-laws.'
Her companion could not blind himself to the fact that where tastesand pursuits were so akin16 as Lizzy's and Owlett's, and where riskswere shared, as with them, in every undertaking, there would be apeculiar appropriateness in her answering Owlett's standing33 questionon matrimony in the affirmative. This did not soothe34 Stockdale, itstendency being rather to stimulate35 in him an effort to make the pairas inappropriate as possible, and win her away from this nocturnalcrew to correctness of conduct and a minister's parlour in some far-removed inland county.
They had been walking near enough to the file of carriers forStockdale to perceive that, when they got into the road to thevillage, they split up into two companies of unequal size, each ofwhich made off in a direction of its own. One company, the smallerof the two, went towards the church, and by the time that Lizzy andStockdale reached their own house these men had scaled thechurchyard wall, and were proceeding36 noiselessly over the grasswithin.
'I see that Owlett has arranged for one batch37 to be put in thechurch again,' observed Lizzy. 'Do you remember my taking you therethe first night you came?'
'Yes, of course,' said Stockdale. 'No wonder you had permission tobroach the tubs--they were his, I suppose?'
'No, they were not--they were mine; I had permission from myself.
The day after that they went several miles inland in a waggon-loadof manure38, and sold very well.'
At this moment the group of men who had made off to the left sometime before began leaping one by one from the hedge opposite Lizzy'shouse, and the first man, who had no tubs upon his shoulders, cameforward.
'Mrs. Newberry, isn't it?' he said hastily.
'Yes, Jim,' said she. 'What's the matter?'
'I find that we can't put any in Badger's Clump39 to-night, Lizzy,'
said Owlett. 'The place is watched. We must sling40 the apple-treein the orchet if there's time. We can't put any more under thechurch lumber41 than I have sent on there, and my mixen hev alreadymore in en than is safe.'
'Very well,' she said. 'Be quick about it--that's all. What can Ido?'
'Nothing at all, please. Ah, it is the minister!--you two thatcan't do anything had better get indoors and not be zeed.'
While Owlett thus conversed42, in a tone so full of contraband43 anxietyand so free from lover's jealousy44, the men who followed him had beendescending one by one from the hedge; and it unfortunately happenedthat when the hindmost took his leap, the cord slipped whichsustained his tubs: the result was that both the kegs fell into theroad, one of them being stove in by the blow.
''Od drown it all!' said Owlett, rushing back.
'It is worth a good deal, I suppose?' said Stockdale.
'O no--about two guineas and half to us now,' said Lizzy excitedly.
'It isn't that--it is the smell! It is so blazing strong before ithas been lowered by water, that it smells dreadfully when spilt inthe road like that! I do hope Latimer won't pass by till it is goneoff.'
Owlett and one or two others picked up the burst tub and began toscrape and trample24 over the spot, to disperse45 the liquor as much aspossible; and then they all entered the gate of Owlett's orchard46,which adjoined Lizzy's garden on the right. Stockdale did not careto follow them, for several on recognizing him had lookedwonderingly at his presence, though they said nothing. Lizzy lefthis side and went to the bottom of the garden, looking over thehedge into the orchard, where the men could be dimly seen bustlingabout, and apparently47 hiding the tubs. All was done noiselessly,and without a light; and when it was over they dispersed48 indifferent directions, those who had taken their cargoes49 to thechurch having already gone off to their homes.
Lizzy returned to the garden-gate, over which Stockdale was stillabstractedly leaning. 'It is all finished: I am going indoorsnow,' she said gently. 'I will leave the door ajar for you.'
'O no--you needn't,' said Stockdale; 'I am coming too.'
But before either of them had moved, the faint clatter50 of horses'
hoofs broke upon the ear, and it seemed to come from the point wherethe track across the down joined the hard road.
'They are just too late!' cried Lizzy exultingly51.
'Who?' said Stockdale.
'Latimer, the riding-officer, and some assistant of his. We hadbetter go indoors.'
They entered the house, and Lizzy bolted the door. 'Please don'tget a light, Mr. Stockdale,' she said.
'Of course I will not,' said he.
'I thought you might be on the side of the king,' said Lizzy, withfaintest sarcasm52.
'I am,' said Stockdale. 'But, Lizzy Newberry, I love you, and youknow it perfectly53 well; and you ought to know, if you do not, what Ihave suffered in my conscience on your account these last few days!'
'I guess very well,' she said hurriedly. 'Yet I don't see why. Ah,you are better than I!'
The trotting54 of the horses seemed to have again died away, and thepair of listeners touched each other's fingers in the cold 'Good-night' of those whom something seriously divided. They were on thelanding, but before they had taken three steps apart, the tramp ofthe horsemen suddenly revived, almost close to the house. Lizzyturned to the staircase window, opened the casement55 about an inch,and put her face close to the aperture56. 'Yes, one of 'em isLatimer,' she whispered. 'He always rides a white horse. One wouldthink it was the last colour for a man in that line.'
Stockdale looked, and saw the white shape of the animal as it passedby; but before the riders had gone another ten yards, Latimer reinedin his horse, and said something to his companion which neitherStockdale nor Lizzy could hear. Its drift was, however, soon madeevident, for the other man stopped also; and sharply turning thehorses' heads they cautiously retraced57 their steps. When they wereagain opposite Mrs. Newberry's garden, Latimer dismounted, and theman on the dark horse did the same.
Lizzy and Stockdale, intently listening and observing theproceedings, naturally put their heads as close as possible to theslit formed by the slightly opened casement; and thus it occurredthat at last their cheeks came positively58 into contact. They wenton listening, as if they did not know of the singular incident whichhad happened to their faces, and the pressure of each to each ratherincreased than lessened59 with the lapse60 of time.
They could hear the excisemen sniffing61 the air like hounds as theypaced slowly along. When they reached the spot where the tub hadburst, both stopped on the instant.
'Ay, ay, 'tis quite strong here,' said the second officer. 'Shallwe knock at the door?'
'Well, no,' said Latimer. 'Maybe this is only a trick to put us offthe scent62. They wouldn't kick up this stink63 anywhere near theirhiding-place. I have known such things before.'
'Anyhow, the things, or some of 'em, must have been brought thisway,' said the other.
'Yes,' said Latimer musingly64. 'Unless 'tis all done to tole us thewrong way. I have a mind that we go home for to-night withoutsaying a word, and come the first thing in the morning with morehands. I know they have storages about here, but we can do nothingby this owl's light. We will look round the parish and see ifeverybody is in bed, John; and if all is quiet, we will do as Isay.'
They went on, and the two inside the window could hear them passingleisurely through the whole village, the street of which curvedround at the bottom and entered the turnpike road at anotherjunction. This way the excisemen followed, and the amble7 of theirhorses died quite away.
'What will you do?' said Stockdale, withdrawing from his position.
She knew that he alluded65 to the coming search by the officers, todivert her attention from their own tender incident by the casement,which he wished to be passed over as a thing rather dreamt of thandone. 'O, nothing,' she replied, with as much coolness as she couldcommand under her disappointment at his manner. 'We often have suchstorms as this. You would not be frightened if you knew what foolsthey are. Fancy riding o' horseback through the place: of coursethey will hear and see nobody while they make that noise; but theyare always afraid to get off, in case some of our fellows shouldburst out upon 'em, and tie them up to the gate-post, as they havedone before now. Good-night, Mr. Stockdale.'
She closed the window and went to her room, where a tear fell fromher eyes; and that not because of the alertness of the riding-officers.
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1
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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smuggling
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| n.走私 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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amble
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| vi.缓行，漫步 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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enumerated
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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swerve
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| v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离 | |
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slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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hoops
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| n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓 | |
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backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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batch
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| n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量 | |
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manure
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| n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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50
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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51
exultingly
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| 兴高采烈地，得意地 | |
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52
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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55
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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57
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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60
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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61
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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62
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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63
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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64
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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65
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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