It carried us back to the time when smuggling was prevalent,
and an occasion when the landlord of a country inn near the sea-coast
sent two men with a pony and trap to bring back from the smugglers' den
two kegs of brandy, on which, of course, duty had not been paid, with
strict orders to keep a sharp look-out on their return for the
exciseman, who must be avoided at all costs. The road on the return
journey was lonely, for most people had gone to bed, but as the moon was
full and shining brightly, all went well until the pony suddenly took
fright at a shadow on the road, and bolted. The men, taken by surprise,
lost control of the reins, which fell down on the pony and made matters
worse, for he fairly flew along the road until he reached a point where
it turned over a canal bridge. Here the trap came in contact with the
battlement of the bridge, causing the pony to fall down, and the two
men fell on top of him. Fortunately this saved them from being seriously
injured, but the pony was bruised, and one of the shafts of the trap
broken, while the kegs rolled down the embankment into the canal. With
some difficulty they managed to get the pony and broken trap into a farm
building near the bridge, but when they went to look for the kegs they
saw them floating in the middle of the canal where they could not reach
them.
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