One by one the "Otters" were lowered. Finally the Scoutmaster descended, and the little party, eight all told, proceeded along the path leading to the caves.
"Funny name, sir," said Phillips. "Why do they call them Tea Caves—because the place is shaped like the letter T?"
"No, merely another reminder of smuggling days."
"Did they used to smuggle tea?" asked Everest.
"Yes; in the eighteenth century there used to be a very heavy tax on tea in this country; hence smuggling tea was almost as paying a game as smuggling spirits and lace if the run came off successfully. Here is the main entrance; do you notice anything peculiar about the roof?"
"Yes, sir," replied several of the lads. "There looks as if there's a deep notch cut across it."
"That is where the smugglers used to hang a painted canvas curtain from to deceive the revenue people. Viewed from seaward it was almost impossible to detect the mouth of the cave."
"But how was the tea carried there? There is no place for a boat to land at the foot of the cliffs."
"That was another smugglers' ruse. The contraband goods were brought ashore at the same place as where we first landed on Seal Island. Wines and spirits were usually taken to Dollar Cove, and hidden in the cave we explored this morning. The chests of tea were carried across the Island, lowered over the cliff, taken along the path we have just traversed, and stored in these caves.