"Run her right alongside, my lad; and you, my men, never mind your oars, the others'll pick them up.
The moment we touch, up with you, out with your cutlashes, and down with any man who does not surrender." "Ay, ay, sir!" cheered the men.
"Now, then," shouted Gurr, "do you surrender ?" A derisive laugh came from the smugglers, who pulled their hardest, pretty closely followed by the king's boat, when, just as they seemed to be coming stem on to the rocks at the foot of the cliff, the four men on the starboard side suddenly plunged their oars down deep, backing water, while the men on the larboard pulled furiously, the result being that the head of the boat swung round, and she glided right out of sight behind a tall rock, which seemed part of the main cliff from a few yards out.
A fierce cry of rage came from the master, but he was quick at giving directions, checking the course of his boat, and then proceeding cautiously; and having no difficulty in following under a low archway for some twenty yards,--a passage evidently only possible at extreme low water,--and directly after they were out again in broad daylight, and at the bottom of a huge funnel-like hollow, from which the rocky cliffs rose up some three hundred feet.
It was a marvellously beautiful spot, but the occupants of the _White Hawk's_ boat had only eyes then for the smugglers, who had run their boat into a nook just across the bottom of the pool, and they had had time to leap on to the rock, and were rapidly climbing a rough zigzag path.
"And us never to have been along here at the right time of the tide to find this hole!" thought Archy, as, in obedience to a sign, he steered the boat across the beautiful transparent pool, and laid her alongside the smugglers boat.
Then oars were thrown down, the men sprang across the smugglers' craft, and, headed by Archy and Gurr, began to climb rapidly after their enemies.
"It's of no use to call upon them to surrender," said Gurr rather breathlessly, as they toiled up the zigzag.
"We'll make them do it later on," cried Archy, whose youth and activity helped him to get on first.
"Steady, my lad, steady!" "But I want to see which way they go." "Right, but keep out of danger, my lad.

If they show fight, keep back." Archy heard, but made no reply, and toiled on up the rugged ascent, straining every nerve as he saw the last smuggler disappear over the top, and, at the next turn he made in the zigzag, he caught a glimpse of the ascent from top to bottom, with the sailors climbing up, and just then there was a fresh cheer, which made him turn swiftly again, to look round and see the second boat gliding through the rocky arch into the pool.
It was rather risky, for he was on a narrow slippery place at one of the turns of the _zigzag_, and nearly lost his footing, but, darting out a hand, he caught at the rock, recovered himself, and climbed on, to reach the top just in time to see Ram's red cap disappearing some four hundred yards away over a rounded eminence due west of where he stood.
He glanced down again, and then, breathless as he was, ran on over the down-like hillside till he reached the spot where he had seen Ram's red cap disappear, and here he stopped, to make sure of Mr Gurr seeing the direction he had taken, standing well up with his sword raised above his head in the bright sunshine.
There was nothing visible but soft green rolling cliff top, and he looked vainly for some sign of the enemy, eager to go on, but taught caution, and not knowing but what Ram might have taken one direction to lure the pursuers away, while the men were in hiding in another.
But, as he waited and scanned the place around, he suddenly caught sight of what seemed to be a rift against the sky in the edge of a cliff which rose up rapidly, and his heart gave a great throb.
"Let Ram play what tricks he likes," he said, "I know where I am now." "Well, my lad, well!" panted Gurr, running up, followed by the men.
"Don't say they've got away!" "No," cried Archy excitedly.

"I think I can lead you to the foxes' hole.

This way." And, as he spoke, there came in rapid succession a couple of dull thuds from seaward, and a cheer from the crew behind, as, led by Archy Raystoke, the men now went over the undulating cliff top at a trot..