There at first appeared, from the temper of the
roisterers, to be no cause for any very grave apprehension; but the
aspect of affairs soon changed, and I eagerly availed myself of a
suggestion of Dick Redhead's, and gave directions that preparation for
its execution should be instantly and silently commenced. The thought
had struck Dick when perched up there alone, and naturally looking
about for all available means of defence, should he be discovered. Let
me restate my position and responsibilities. It was my duty to rescue
Lee, the agent of the Customs, from the dangerous predicament in which
he was placed; and the question was, how to effect this without loss
of life. It would, no doubt, have been easy enough to have turned up
one or two of the loose planks, and have shot half the smugglers
before they could have made their escape. This, however, was out of
the question, and hence the adoption of Dick's proposal. It was this:
in the loft where we lay, for stand upright we could not, there was,
amongst several empty ones, one full cask, containing illicit spirits
of some kind, and measuring, perhaps, between forty and fifty gallons.
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