[Illustration:  “Taken completely by surprise.”]

That time there had been no capture, and the smugglers had got clean away.  But the following night Lieutenant Smith went afloat with his men soon after dark, and about half-past ten observed a signal blazed off just as on the previous evening.  Knowing that this was a warning that the smuggling vessel should not approach the shore, Smith pulled straight out to sea, hoping, with luck, to fall in with the smuggling craft.  Happily, before long he discovered her in the darkness.  She appeared to be cutter-rigged, and he promptly gave chase.  At a distance of only two miles from the shore he got up to her, for the night was so dark that the cutter did not see the boat until it got right alongside, whereupon the smugglers suddenly slipped a number of heavy articles from her gunwale.  Taken completely by surprise, and very confused by the sudden arrival of the coastguard’s boat, Lieutenant Smith was able to get on board their ship and arrest her.  It was now about 11.15 P.M.

But, having noticed these heavy splashes in the water, the lieutenant was smart enough instantly to mark the place with a buoy, and then was able to devote his attention entirely to his capture.  He soon found that this was the Georges of Cherbourg.  She was manned by three Frenchmen, and there were still hanging from the gunwale on either quarter a number of heavy stones slung together, such as were employed for sinking the tubs.  There can be no doubt that the Georges’ intention had been to come near enough to the shore to send her tubs to the beach in her tub-boat, as she had almost certainly done the night before.  But hearing the coastguard galley approaching, and being nervous of what they could not see, the tubs were being cast into the sea to prevent seizure.

Although no tubs were found on board, yet it was significant that the tub-boat was not on board, having evidently been already sent ashore with a number of casks.  There was a small 12-feet dinghy suspended in the rigging, but she was obviously not the boat which the Georges was accustomed to use for running goods.  Lieutenant Smith for a time stood off and on the shore, and then ran along the coast until it was day, hoping to fall in with the tub-boat.  Just as he had captured the Georges another coastguard boat, this time from the Beer station, came alongside, and so the officer sent this little craft away with four hands to search diligently up and down the coast, and to inform the coastguards that the tub-boat had escaped.  When it was light, Smith took the Georges into Lyme Cobb, and her crew and master were arrested.  She had evidently changed her skipper since the time when she was seen off the Hampshire shore, for the name of her present master was Clement Armel.  They were landed, taken before the magistrates, and remanded.  But subsequently they were tried, and sentenced to six months’ hard labour each in Dorchester gaol, but after serving two months of this were released by order of the Treasury.