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Show good fiiends who would tip ire off, and sometimes I have been forced to drive ten or fifteen miles cut of my way to evade th?m. One night when two of them got after me nnd amy horse was tired out, I saw that I was bound to be overhauled. I dlrove into the ditch, slipped' my straps and. dropped' the keg, and then I jogged along waiting- to be overtaken. On cnon-e the -two officers with their 'horse blowing heavily. "'Halt, now, shouted or-e of them, 'or -we will shoot. We've got you this time. "'What do you mean?' I answered, stopping my horse. "The officers drew up alongside, examined ex-amined my 'gig and pockets, and then the spokesman said: " 'That's all right. You can go-ahead. We were just fooling.' "I told them that they could go ahead and I would follow when I got good and ready. Off they drove swearing tt "Three miles down the road and jurt after I had crossed the line I heard a horse galloping behind mc. I knew it was Dart, and that he would overhaul me unless I could reach a fork a mi!; , ahead and confuse him as to which road I had taken. I whipped up my mane and we flew. As I looked over her head into the darkness I saw a light that was evidently a lantern just about where t lie? forks of the road were. Dart had cornered cor-nered mc. I knew It. As soon as I saw that lantern 1 knew that, revenue officers offi-cers were with It. I couldn't slip my keg because the straps were tangled up. In an instant 1 had made up my mind what to do. There was a. fairly level Held on ray left with no fence on I!:-? road. Without stopping- ray marc'.i speed I turned into it. M3 gig bumped tlean oil the ground. It was rough riding, but I realized that it was my" . only chance. The noise that I made go-in?- across that field warned Dart and that smuggling" was all right, and it never occurred to me that I was a thief. I haven't done nny of it shure. Coming through this region has brought back some of the old experiences. There were then, and I have -heard that there are now, imany stores built ulong the line, so that one-half should be in Canada and theother in-New YoYkstate. Thlymade it easy -to smuggle in small articles, but at the same time the customs officers hod to watch these stores closely or lose their jobs. "I worked n better scheme than that. When I was 16 years old my father, whose farm was in the neighborhood, gave ?ne a fast mare. She was very fast for those dVays, though she wouldn't be worth talking about now. I built a light two-wheeled gig for her, aud I defied every officer along" the line to catch me. They all knew that I was smuggling", but none of them could get the proof. My method was simple. I would leave hcme about dusk in my gig and dtrive leisurely a cross the line to a little stone hotel, where I received my liquor. The piace was known to he n depot for smugglers, and suspicion was always directed -toward any man who frequented it. The .proprietor was a French-CanadEan and as shifty as an Indian. On the g-round floor of his house was a dingy dining-room and opening into it a very respectable bar-jroom bar-jroom for 'Lower Canada. The bar it-sclf it-sclf ' wajPcf mahogany,' and back 6T' T stood an imposing array of ale kega. The proprietor's name was Dumas, a!t2 his imagination was as fertile as that of his illustrious namesake. It pleased him to fool the customs officers, and he d!:d it in many different ways. Dumas ; kept the -liquors in long, ova-i -shaped i kegs in his cellar. There was no reason why he -should a' t have as big a stock on hand as he chose, and whenever inquisitive in-quisitive customs -officers came over the line in spying? expeditions Dumas was ready to take thcan into his cellar and exhibit his stock. Not until five years after I had left the smuggling business did the officers discover that one big cask in Dumas' cellar was sirhipily a ' blind that concealed the entrance to a J tunnel that rati to the barn 'CO or 40 feet back from the "house. "That was tthc keynote of the rmr.-g-glir-g scheme. T'jme and) again I have sat in Dumas' barroom drinking ale with fellows whom I knew to be spot- j ters sent to krep tab on me, while Du- j mas' man, Madore, has softly rolled my keg of liquor through the tunnel and into the barn. My gig was fitted up with three heavy straps, so arranged that a keg could be held-by them dose up under the sea.t. Dy slipping the straps clear to one side 1 could easily drop the keg if I were closely pressed. When everything had been arranged Madore would come Into the barroom whistling. That was my cue to order my horse hitched up. When that was done I would saunter out to the bant, get irto my gig and drive out by a back road-. Once started 1 knew that no customs cus-toms officer could- catch me. The customs cus-toms spotters who knew that Dumas Kept his -liqncr3 in his cellar, and who had watched me all the time anc had Efen nothing taker- from the cellar, concluded that I ihad been bluffed out. Time and again I worked that game and many a long dark ride I had taken to land my stuff safely. If the officers ' decided to ruard a certain read I had I the other officers- what had happened, aud they yelled to me to stop. I didn't, and then followed a dozen or more shots from their revolvers. The balls whistled over my head. I don't knew how I got to the woods. I found a score of old wood roads, and selecting one of them, I walked my horse in and waited. I heard those, fellows beating ' the bush around mc for two hours. I had slipped the keg out and concealed It, but I didn.'t want to be captured, -even thoucfh 'ihey had -no. evidence . against me!" The officers gavet up, and T drove home at daylight minus tho keg. My mare was used up, and a friend cf mine tipped me off that the game wa.'i up. Dart was a tpecial agent, and he was going to dog me until he got evidence evi-dence enough to arrest me. I thought it oil over, and I concluded that If I stayed so near the Canadian line the temptation to smuggle a bit would be 0 strong that I should weaken, and probably end by being captured. I ha:-! caved a snug little sum, and with it 1 went to New York. I have lived there-6tnce, there-6tnce, and I am heartily ashamed of my early smuggling. "Dart is connected with the secret rerrice, and a few years ago I met him in the Hoffman house in New York. Dumas' place had been closed, and Dart, after we had a drink together, in remembrance re-membrance of Dumas old ale, said: " 'Were you smugglin or not the night we chased you into the fields?' " 'That question is outlawed,' I nr.-rwered, nr.-rwered, 'and you didn't catch me. "Let's ta'k about something eilse.' "Coming ever this railroad, where I orcc drove with my smuggled goodr, has brought it all back to ire. That's all." N. Y. Sun. themselves and at me. and as soon as J they were out of hearing I drove back, picked up my'kegand landed it safely. "The government knew well enough that there .was smuggling going on up here, and they tent along a special agent to spy it out. lie was n smooth one, and -he nearly -get me. This. Jel-low Jel-low Ms name w'as Dart went direct to Dumas' place and said that he had got into a little trouble in the 6tates, and he wanted Dumas- to take, care cf "him. kntil it' blew' over. ThatflqtterVji. .Dumas pricfc, and the' old nxih took him in and made much of him. Dart and Dumas became great chums. They went duck hunting together, they fished and drank together. As toon as I saw Dart I suspected him, and he wasn't slow in guessing what brought me to see Dumas ro regulai ly. Dart tried to pump me by being hall fellow and by cursing the customs officers-. I was only a hoy, bi:t I wasn't fo ensilj-caught ensilj-caught ns all that. 1 defended the customs cus-toms men nnd condemned smuggling. Dart jufct winked his left eye in-a knowing know-ing ort cf way. Fortunately, as it turned out, Dumas dldm't give away his tunnel. He admitted to Dart that his place was a headquarters for smugglers, smug-glers, but he didn't commit himself any further. "I had made three successful trips while Dart was staying with Dumas, and I guers that my success had made me a bit careless. My fourth trip was tine last smuggling expedition that I ever engaged in, and it came 0 near being be-ing my finish in all ways that it thoroughly frightened me. It was a cold, nasty night in- October, and I reached Dumas place about eight o'clock. Dart was sitting in the barroom, and I joined him. We drank more thai, the usual quantity of nle,,and when Madore came in whistling, to Indicate that my keg was stropped on the gig 1 said: " 'Well, Dart, I'm going ju6t as soon as Madore can- hitch up.' "I think I'll take a little horseback ride myself, he answered, 'and see if I ean't- ckar my head of this ale.' "This disturbed mc, for I couleln't say anything for fear he might get on to the right track and suspect my gig. I have since thought that Dart suspected that I picked up my goods somewhere alor,g the road, and he expected to detect mc in the act, I hurried out to the barn and drove out .lust as Dart came out of the barroom to get his horse saddled. . . I A SMUGGLERS LASi"lRIP. ! a 0 The Turning: Point for a Young: Man e IN THE smoking compartment of a Montreal sleeper bound for .New ork one night were half a dozen men discussing politics, the service of the road, and the possible annexation of Canadb. As the train ran across the line into the United States one of the men looked out of the window with the interest in-terest of a man seeking famiLiar scenes. There was just light enough for him to see that the long" ditch-marked farms of Canada, with their stone' houses, had-been had-been left behind', and that the less picturesque pic-turesque farms of the states stretcthed out frcon tihe "track. Settling himself back in his seat and including the other trmo'kers in his audience, he said: "This country hasn't changed- in 25 years, except for the introduction of this railroad. I was born in this neighborhood, neigh-borhood, audi although it sounds like a queer admission, tip to. the time I was 12 years old I spent much of my time In smuggling whisky, brandy and alcohol al-cohol across the line. For various rea-rons rea-rons there isn't much gt this sort of thing done now. TroD-ably the chief reason is that it dcesn't pay, and then again, it is not looked upon as respectable. respecta-ble. My father was engaged In tihe satmc business "before me, and several of our neighbors, good churchmen, were in it up to their eyes, and it is not strange that my conscience did- not begin be-gin to work on this subject umtil one of the respected citizens of a near-by town was convicted and sent to prison for fcmugigiinig. The government made an example of him, and although all of lis acquaintances regretted it at the t;iwc, it has proved a good thing. "Didn't the customs officers interfere? Wo 11, some of them lfd conscientiously wi'ien they got a chance, and (Jicre were plenty of -them all along this line who culy made a biuffcf interfering that de-t. de-t. ivvd no one except the government. I Knew one officer who was in the business busi-ness himself. As a voungmaa I thought |