The Smugglers: Picturesque Chapters in the Story of an Ancient CraftHarper, Charles G. (Charles George)
History
The Smugglers: Picturesque Chapters in the Story of an Ancient Craft
Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)
Smuggling -- Great Britain
Mrs. Payne’s other son then entered, bringing with him four more
smugglers: William Steel, Samuel Downer, _alias_ Samuel Howard, _alias_
“Little Sam,” Edmund Richards, and Henry Sheerman, _alias_ “Little
Harry.”
After a while Jackson took Chater aside into the yard, and asked him
after Diamond; whereupon the simple-minded man let fall the object of his
and his companion’s journey.
While they were talking, Galley, suspecting Chater would be in some way
indiscreet, came out and asked him to rejoin them; whereupon Jackson,
with a horrible oath, struck him a violent blow in the face, knocking him
down.
Galley then rushed into the house, Jackson following him. “I am a King’s
officer,” exclaimed the unfortunate Galley, “and cannot put up with such
treatment.”
“You a King’s officer!” replied Jackson, “I’ll make a King’s officer of
you; and for a quartern of gin I’ll serve you so again!”
The others interposed, one of the Paynes exclaiming, “Don’t be such a
fool; do you know what you are doing?”
Galley and Chater grew very uneasy, and again wanted to be going; but the
company present, including Jackson, pressed them to stay, Jackson
declaring he was sorry for what had passed. The entire party then sat
down to more drink, until Galley and Chater were overcome by drunkenness
and were sent to sleep in an adjoining room. Thomas Austin and Mr.
Jenkes were by this time also hopelessly drunk; but as they had no
concern with the smugglers, nor the smugglers with them, they drop out of
this narrative.
When Galley and Chater lay in their drunken sleep the compromising
letters in their pockets were found and read, and the men present formed
themselves into a kind of committee to decide what should be done with
their enemies, as they thought them. John Race and Richard Kelly then
came in, and Jackson and Carter told them they had got the old rogue, the
shoemaker of Fordingbridge, who was going to give an information against
John Diamond the shepherd, then in custody at Chichester.
They then consulted what was best to be done to their two prisoners, when
William Steel proposed to take them both to a well, a little way from the
house, and to murder them and throw them in. Less ferocious proposals
were made—to send them over to France; but when it became obvious that
they would return and give the evidence after all, the thoughts of the
seven men present reverted to murder. At this juncture the wives of
Jackson and Carter, who had entered the house, cried, “Hang the dogs, for
they came here to hang us!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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