"There may be," Granfer Cole allowed, "but I never heard tell of 'em. A few casks of brandy, and bundles of silks, and dress goods which would be rotten by now would be about the extent of what you'd find there, I reckon!"
"Sometimes one hears of jewels and money hidden away in places like that," Lionel said; "we mean to find the secret passage if we possibly can! I am sorry you cannot tell us anything that would assist us in our search. Are you sure your father never hinted to you where the passage was?"
"Quite sure, sir. I mind when I was a little chap hearing him tell tales of the smugglers; but he died when I was only eight years old. My memory of him is faint after so long. He was a cautious man, was my father; and perhaps he had reason to be, for I've often thought he must have had something to do with smuggling himself, he knew so much about it and how it was managed. He certainly used to tell of a secret passage; but he never let on where it was."
"What a pity!" cried Dick. "I wonder why he didn't tell you all about it? It is so very strange that no one should know where it is!"
"They who did know, most of them came to violent deaths," Granfer Cole said, lowering his voice to a mysterious whisper; "there was a fight on the sea-shore one night with the custom-house officers, and the smugglers preferred to fight to the death rather than be taken prisoners. They were desperate men, these smugglers!"
"Did the custom-house officers know about the secret passage?" Lionel inquired.
"They might have known there was such a place, but not where it was!"
After that the conversation veered into another channel. Granfer Cole was a most interesting person to talk to, he knew so much about boating, and fishing, and the wonders of the sea. He entertained his visitors with stories of all the wrecks he remembered; and being fond of recounting the experiences of his youth, he was delighted to find two such attentive listeners. Like most men of his class, accustomed to see God's wonders in the deep, he possessed a firm faith in the great Creator, and was a simple-hearted, pious soul, who had never doubted the wisdom and goodness of Him in whom he trusted. He was fond of assuring people he had much to be thankful for, and was perfectly contented and happy in the peaceful evening of his days.
"What a lot you remember!" Lionel exclaimed, after Granfer Cole had come to the end of a story about the capturing of a whale not a mile from land. "It is marvellous you should have such a memory!"
"I sit here and think of all the people I've known during my long life, and all the wonderful adventures I've had, and the sights I've seen," the old man said, turning his almost sightless eyes upon the boys. "I can picture the sun rising above the sea in the rosy sky as I've watched it many and many a time; and then I think how the grandest sight here on earth is not to be compared to what we shall see in the presence of God!"