“Have you ever known any smugglers to be here, father?”
“Smugglers? No, Vince,” said the Doctor, smiling. “There’s nothing ever made here that would carry duty, for people to want to get it into England free; and on the other hand, it would not be of any use for smugglers to bring anything here, for there is no one to buy smuggled goods, such as they might bring from Holland or France.”
Somewhere about the same time Mike approached the question at the old manor house.
“Smugglers, Mike?” said Sir Francis. “Oh no, my boy, we’ve never had smugglers here. The place is too dangerous, and perfectly useless to such people, for they land contraband goods only where they can find a good market for them. Now, if you had said pirates, I could tell you something different.”
“Were there ever pirates, then?” cried Mike excitedly. Sir Francis laughed.
“It’s strange,” he said, “what interest boys always have taken in smugglers, pirates, and brigand stories. Why, you’re as bad as the rest, boy! But there, I’m running away from your question. Yes, I believe there were pirates here at one time; but it is over a hundred years ago, and they were a crew of low, ruffianly scoundrels, who got possession of a vessel and lived for years by plundering the outward and inward bound merchantmen; and being on a fast sailing vessel they always escaped by running for shore, and from their knowledge of the rocks and currents they could sail where strangers dared not follow. But the whole history has been dressed up tremendously, and made romantic. It was said that they brought supernatural aid to bear in navigating their craft, and that they would sail right up to the Crag and then become invisible: people would see them one minute and they’d be gone the next.”
“Hah!” ejaculated Mike, and his father smiled. “All superstitious nonsense, of course, my boy; but the ignorant people get hold of these traditions and believe in them. Mr Deane here will soon tell you how in history molehills got stretched up into mountains.”
“Or snowballs grew into historical avalanches,” said the tutor.
“Exactly,” said Sir Francis. “I fancy, Mike, that those people may have had a nest here. One of the men—Carnach I think it was—told me that they had a cave, and only sailed from it at night.”
“Did he know where it was, father?”