When Mr. Polwhele and the dragoons were seen riding in the direction of Redruth, they were really proceeding to a sheltered spot on the coast whence they could watch for the flare which was to signal the approach of the _Isaac and Jacob_ to Lunnan Cove. Mr. Mildmay’s cutter was lurking behind a headland not far away. As soon as the blue light was seen, the riding-officer galloped to the spot, and saw, a little distance out at sea, a dark shape, which from its size he knew to be the lugger. Igniting another blue light, he was surprised to find that the vessel was making no effort to escape, nor was there the bustle on board that might have been expected. There were no tub-carriers in sight; no doubt, thought he, they had scattered on seeing the flare. He reined up on the beach, and waited for the cutter to appear. In a few minutes he heard Mr. Mildmay hail the lugger, and by the aid of another light he saw the cutter run alongside, and a rummaging crew spring aboard the _Isaac and Jacob_, without opposition. Lamps were lit on deck, and the figures of the lieutenant’s men could be seen descending into the hold. Immediately afterwards there was a burst of rough laughter, mingled with a volley of curses; the sailors emerged from the hatchway one by one, and Mr. Mildmay’s quarter-deck voice was heard abusing something or somebody. Then he and his men returned to the cutter, which headed for the shore, while the lugger set her sails and stood out towards the harbour. "Fooled again, Polwhele!" cried the lieutenant, when he came within hailing distance. "The hold is empty, and Jake Tonkin, young Pendry, Pennycomequick, and half a dozen more are grinning their heads off." "Confusion seize ’em!" exclaimed Mr. Polwhele. "I see it! That rascal has betrayed us, in the hope of redeeming himself with Tonkin. Well, we deserve it for joining in with such a scoundrel. Depend upon it, they’ve made their run somewhere else, and are laughing in their sleeves." The crestfallen officer dismissed the dragoons, who were chuckling at his discomfiture, and rode home. When Jake Tonkin escaped from Mr. Polwhele’s house, he took the shortest cut over the cliffs to the harbour, and reached the shore just as the four men were running to gain the lugger by way of the reef. He joined them, and on meeting his father told him in a few words about Doubledick’s treachery. Tonkin immediately sent a man back to countermand the order to await him at Lunnan Cove, and to arrange secretly with the tub-carriers to assemble at the spot previously chosen, the creek five miles to the north. He had then run out to sea, and, taking advantage of the mist, made a circuit that brought him astern of the cutter, which was then returning to the harbour. He sunk his cargo near the mouth of the creek, stepped with one man into the small boat he had taken in tow, and sent the rest out to sea again in the lugger, instructing them to make for Lunnan Cove at the appointed time.