The men passed on, and I heard them discussing the situation as they trudged in the direction of St. Austell; but this was all that came to me distinctly. I had heard enough, however, to confirm my suspicions. My plan now was to send two men back with the news, and then to ride on to Chapel Point, a spot some distance farther north. Half an hour later I was near enough to Chapel Point to see the ruddy glow of a beacon light, and I became sadly afraid lest Hugh Boscawen would not be able to send men in time to extinguish the fire before it was seen by the Pretender. Indeed, so much did my fears possess me that I could not remain inactive, and so, foolishly, I crept nearer and nearer the danger signal. I was drawn on by a kind of fatal fascination, and so excited did I become that I recked nothing of the danger by which I was surrounded. It soon became plain to me that the spot was well chosen. A huge fire was lit on the slope of a hill, and thus the blaze, while hidden from the neighbourhood of Veryan Bay, could be plainly seen by any who sailed down the Channel. In the ruddy glow, too, I could see many forms; and as I thought how much depended on extinguishing the blaze before it could be seen by the rebels, I had difficulty in restraining myself from rushing thitherward single-handed. Indeed I did, in order to watch their actions more closely, leave the men who accompanied me, and this, as events will show, almost led to my undoing. I had not been away from my companions more than a few minutes when I was roughly seized, and even before I had time to cry out I was dragged away into the darkness. How far I was hurried on I scarcely know; but presently when I was allowed to stop, I found myself surrounded by a dozen or more men, amongst whom I detected Otho Killigrew and Uncle Anthony. I could plainly see them, for the light from the fire threw a ruddy glare upon us. We stood in a hollow, however, and were partially sheltered. "Ah, Roger Trevanion," said Otho Killigrew, and his voice was husky with savage joy. "I did not think we should meet again so soon." "No," I replied as coolly as I was able, "and you would not care to meet me now if you were not surrounded by a dozen of your followers." "I always like playing a safe game," he replied slowly as was his wont. "Even although you have to be a coward; this morning you ran away from me like a whipped schoolboy." "I had matters of more importance to perform than to kill a ruffian," he replied. "Apparently," I said, with a laugh I little felt, "but you miserably bungled your matters." My words evidently stung him.