Oor ain folk times

6 THE SMUGGLER AND THE GAUGES,
cleverly evaded the minion of the law, who, acting upon
information received, had ridden up the Glen, full of
high hope that he was about to make an important
capture.
Geordie had been long suspected; but his pre-
cautions had always been so well taken, that no overt act
had ever been proved against him. Indeed the author-
ities more than half suspected that under the influence
of a judicious, occasional ' tip,' the resident gauger saw
fit to wink at some of Geordie's ongoings, and that he
might have succeeded, had he done his duty, in
bringing the smuggler within the punitive provisions of
the act.
It had accordingly been deemed advisable that a
change should be made, and a new exciseman, burning
with zeal and full of officiousness, had but lately come to
the Glen. He was anxious to distinguish himself, and
determined if possible to capture the redoubtable
Geordie White, the leader of the gang of illicit distillers,
whose operations had for years been on a large scale,
and who indeed supplied nearly every household with
potent usquebaugh for many miles around.
The new gauger had received what he considered
reliable and trustworthy information from a hereditary
enemy of the White faction that, were he to proceed
by a certain route so as to take Geordie's house in
flank, on a certain day, he would detect him in his
illegal occupation, and find conclusive proof sufficient to
ensure a conviction. As a matter of fact the informa-
tion was correct, and at the time when the gauger set
out on his mission, Geordie's still was in full operation,
and he and his son were busily engaged in distilling as