But it was pointed out that it was a foolish and unsafe course for the Mary to steer between the Daedalus and the Grain Island, especially as it was a dark night without any moon, and blowing very hard.  But on going aboard, the coastguard was not surprised to detect a strong smell of gin, as if spirits had quite recently been removed from the smack.  And after making a search there was nothing found on board except that she was in a great state of confusion.  None the less it was deemed advisable to place a couple of officers on board her to accompany her up to Rochester.  This was on the Friday night, and she arrived at Rochester the same day.

On the Sunday it occurred to the officers to search for the spirits which they were sure the Mary had on board, so they proceeded to that spot by the Daedalus where the Mary had luffed round and met the coastguard boat.  After sweeping for half-an-hour they found 115 tubs slung together to a rope in the usual manner.  At each end of the rope was an anchor, and between these anchors was a number of tubs, and in between each pair of tubs were stones.  So the Mary had gone into that little bight in order that she might throw her tubs overboard, which would be sunk by the stones, and the two anchors would prevent them from being drifted away by the tide.  The warp, it was thought, had been in the first instance fastened to the tub-rail in the manner we have already described, and at the third gun the stop-ropes were cut, and the whole cargo went with a splash into the water, and the vessel sailed over the tubs as they sank to the muddy bottom.

[Illustration:  Methods employed by Smugglers for Anchoring tubs thrown Overboard.]

The usual way to get these tubs up was of course by means of grapnels, or, as they were called, “creepers.”  But the spot chosen by the Mary was quite close to the moorings of the Daedalus, so that method would only have fouled the warship’s cables.  Therefore the following ingenious device was used.  A large heavy rope was taken, and at each end was attached a boat.  The rope swept along the river-bed as the boats rowed in the same direction stretching out the rope.  Before long the bight of this rope found the obstructing tubs, stones, warp, and anchor, and that having occurred, the two boats rowed close together, and a heavy iron ring was dropped over the two ends of the rope, and thus sank and gripped the rope at the point where it met with the obstruction.  All that now remained, therefore, was to pull this double rope till the obstruction came up from the bottom of the water.  And in this manner the articles which the Mary had cast overboard were recovered.

She was obviously a smuggler, as besides this discovery she was found to be fitted with concealments, and fourteen tholes were found on board “muffled” with canvas and spun yarn, so as to be able to row silently.  Her skipper, William Evans, was duly prosecuted and found guilty; and it was during the course of this trial that the interesting dialogue occurred between counsel and the coastguard as to whether the first warning gun fired was always shotted or not.  As we have already discussed this point, we need not let it detain us now.