“Bravo, sergeant, you’ll carry all before you.”

“Why, I hope so, Mistress Corbett, especially as we are to have the assistance of the cutter’s crew.”

“Better and better still,” replied Nancy, ironically.  “I wish you joy of your laurels, sergeant, ha, ha, ha.”

“Why do you laugh, Mistress Corbett, and what is that you have heard at the admiral’s office?”

“What you may hear yourself, and what I know to be true; there is not a single smuggler in the cave.”

“No!” exclaimed the sergeant.  “What, nobody there?”

“Yes, there is somebody there, the cave has been chosen by the smugglers to land their goods in.”

“But some of them must be there in charge of the goods.”

“Yes, so there are, but they are all women, the smugglers’ wives, who live there; what an expedition!  Let me see:—­one gallant major, one gallant captain, two gallant lieutenants, eight gallant non-commissioned officers, and a hundred gallant soldiers of the Buffs, all going to attack, and rout, and defeat a score of old women.”

“But you’re joking, Mistress Nancy.”

“Upon my life I’m not, sergeant, you’ll find it true; the admiral’s ashamed of the whole affair, and the cutter’s crew swear they won’t fire a single shot.”

“By the god of war!” exclaimed the sergeant, “but this is cursed bad news you bring, Mistress Corbett.”

“Not at all; your regiment will become quite the fancy, you’ll go by the name of the lady-killers, ha, ha, ha.  I wish you joy, sergeant, ha, ha, ha.”

Nancy Corbett knew well the power of ridicule, she left the sergeant, and was accosted by one of the lieutenants; she rallied him in the same way.

“But are you really in earnest, Nancy?” said Lieutenant Dillon, at last.

“Upon my soul I am; but, at the same time I hear, that they will fight hard, for they are well-armed and desperate, like their husbands, and they swear that they’ll all die to a woman, before they yield; so now we shall see who fights best, the women or the men.  I’ll back my own sex for a gold Jacobus, lieutenant:  will you take the bet?”

“Good God, how very annoying!  I can’t, I won’t order the men to fire at women; I could not do so if they were devils incarnate; a woman is a woman still.”

“And never the worse for being brave, Lieutenant Dillon; as I said to Sergeant Tanner, your regiment, after this, will always go by the name of the lady-killers.”

“D—­n!” exclaimed the lieutenant; “but now I recollect there must be more there; those who had possession of the cutter and who landed in her boat.”

“Yes, with forty boxes of gold they say; but do you think they would be such fools as to remain there and allow you to take their money—­that boat started for France yesterday night with all the treasure, and are now safe at Cherbourg.  I know it for a fact, for one of the men’s wives who lives here, showed me a letter to that effect, from her husband, in which he requests her to follow him.  But I must go now, good-bye, Mr Lady-killer.”