The Frenchman looked mightily disappointed when he saw that Hanks was not so easily taken in as he doubtless expected he would be. I happened to look round as we left the cabin, and saw him shrugging his shoulders and making hideous grimaces, and no very complimentary gestures at us. Before this little incident I had thought him the pink of politeness. He wore love-locks and rings in his ears, and was dressed with the most accurate French nautical precision; in fact he looked thoroughly unlike an English seaman. In his manners he was a very mild man, and certainly he had nothing of the ruffian about him. I cannot say as much for his crew, some of whom were very ill-looking dogs. It would have been wiser in Hanks to have handcuffed them all, including the skipper and cook (though we should thereby have gone without a good dinner), and stationed a sentry with a loaded musket over them, with orders to shoot the first who should attempt to escape. The French skipper, when he found that his plan to obfuscate the brains of the knowing old Hanks had totally failed, went and sat himself down forward among his people, apparently in a fit of the sulks. Hanks, who was in high spirits at the success of our enterprise, walked the deck with me, looking out for the high land of the Isle of Wight above the Needle rocks, which we were approaching. The breeze had increased and kicked up a little sea, and we were running fast through the water. "D'Arcy, my boy, this is a fine haul, isn't it?" exclaimed my superior, rubbing his hands. "Credit and prize-money together. Both good things. When I was a youngster I thought something about the first; but now, do you see, Mrs Hanks and I have a fancy for t'other. It keeps the pot boiling, do ye see? I should think your uncle, by this time, was much of my way of thinking, though he's a round number of years younger than I am." "I'm not so sure of that," said I. "My uncle thinks a good deal of gaining honour, and I believe he'd rather take an enemy's frigate after a hard-fought action, than capture a Spanish galleon without a blow." "Well, it's the proper spirit," said Hanks, with a sigh. "The revenue service don't nourish it much, though. Take my advice; get out of it as soon as you can; or," he continued with much feeling, "it will spoil you otherwise, depend on it." We continued walking the deck for some time longer. We then sat down to rest, watching the coast, from which we were about three miles distant. Jack was at the helm, and the rest of our people were giving a hand to the sheets, as the wind had veered a little to the westward. The smugglers were seemingly fast asleep, with the exception of the skipper, who had lighted a cigar to console himself under his mishap. CHAPTER TEN. THE TABLES TURNED--CONSOLE MYSELF WITH THE FIDDLE--SET THE FRENCHMEN DANCING--CAPTAIN DIDOT--MY PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT--ESCAPE--GREATER DANGER--FRIGHTEN MY FRIENDS.