Dad he married a French
girl out o' Boulogne, and French she stayed till her dyin' day. She
was an Aurette, of course. We Lees mostly marry Aurettes.
Haven't you ever come across the saying:
'Aurettes and Lees,
Like as two peas.
What they can't smuggle,
They'll run over seas'?
'Then, are you a smuggler?' Una cried; and, 'Have you
smuggled much?'said Dan.
Mr Lee nodded solemnly.
'Mind you,' said he, 'I don't uphold smuggling for the generality
o' mankind - mostly they can't make a do of it - but I was
brought up to the trade, d'ye see, in a lawful line o' descent on' -
he waved across the Channel -'on both sides the water. 'Twas all
in the families, same as fiddling. The Aurettes used mostly to run
the stuff across from Boulogne, and we Lees landed it here and ran
it up to London Town, by the safest road.'
'Then where did you live?' said Una.
'You mustn't ever live too close to your business in our trade.
We kept our little fishing smack at Shoreham, but otherwise we
Lees was all honest cottager folk - at Warminghurst under Washington
- Bramber way - on the old Penn estate.'
'Ah!' said Puck, squatted by the windlass.
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