"I shall try it, at any rate," added the squire.
"No, you needn't," interposed Captain Chinks. "I will make it good myself."
"That will settle the case," replied the squire, who knew that his client had the means to do so.
"If Mrs. Taylor must make good the loss to you, then Colonel Montague must make it good to her, and Mr. Gordon to the colonel. If the payment in stolen money was not legal, there was no sale of the boat, and she still belongs to Mr. Gordon," continued Mr. Hines. "In the mean time the government has seized her for violation of the revenue laws, and the case is decidedly mixed."
"I will pay the squire the five hundred dollars," added the smuggler.
"And lose your boat besides?" queried the squire.
"What's the use? You can't fight against the government. The custom-house officers have the boat and the stuff."
"What stuff?" asked the squire.
"A lot of brandy that I could have sold for over a thousand dollars, which didn't cost me four hundred. It would bring fifteen hundred at retail."
"O ho!" said the squire, opening his eyes.