After the men had been rowing for an hour, Bob felt a slight breeze
springing up from off the land, and said:
"You may as well get up the sail. It will help you along a bit."
The sail was a large one, for the size of the boat; and Bob felt a
distinct increase in her pace, as soon as the men began to row
again. He could make out the line of the hills against the sky; and
had, therefore, no difficulty in keeping the course. They were soon
back opposite Marbella, the lights of which he could clearly make
out. Little by little the breeze gathered strength, and the rowers
had comparatively easy work of it, as the boat slipped away lightly
before the wind.
"What do you make it--twelve leagues from Marbella to the Rock?"
"About that," the man replied. "If the wind holds like this, we
shall not be very far from the Rock by daylight. We are going along
about a league an hour."
"Well, stretch out to it, lads, for your own sakes. I have no fear
of a shot from Santa Barbara. The only thing I am afraid of is that
we should be seen by any Spanish boats that may be cruising round
that side, before we get under shelter of the guns of the Rock."
The fishermen needed no warning as to the danger of being caught,
and bent again more strongly to their oars. After they had rowed
two hours longer, Bob told them to pull the oars in.
"You had better have a quarter of an hour's rest, and some supper
and a bottle of wine," he said. "You have got your own basket,
forward. I will take mine out of this by my side."
As their passenger had paid for it, the boatmen had got a very
superior wine to that they ordinarily drank. After eating their
supper--bread, meat, and onions--and drinking half a bottle of
wine, each, they were disposed to look at the situation in a more
cheerful light. Two hundred and fifty dollars was certainly well
worth running a little risk for. Why, it would make them
independent of bad weather; and they would be able to freight their
boat themselves, with fish or fruit, and to trade on their own
account.
They were surprised at the enterprise of this young trader, whom
they supposed to be a native of Gibraltar; for Bob thought that it
was as well that they should remain in ignorance of his
nationality, as they might have felt more strongly that they were
rendering assistance to the enemy, did they know that he was
English.
Hour after hour passed. The wind did not increase in force nor, on
the other hand, did it die away. There was just enough to keep the
sail full, and take much of the weight of the boat off the arms of
the rowers. The men, knowing the outline of the hills, were able to
tell what progress they were making; and told Bob when they were
passing Estepona. Two or three times there was a short pause, for
the men to have a draught of wine. With that exception, they rowed
on steadily.
"It will be a near thing, senor," one of them said, towards
morning. "The current counts for three or four miles against us. If
it hadn't been for that, we should certainly have done it. As it
is, it is doubtful."
"I think we are about a mile off shore, are we not?" Bob asked.
"That is about the distance I want to keep. If there are any
cruisers, they are sure to be further out than that; and as for
Santa Barbara, if they see us and take the trouble to fire at us,
there is not much chance of their hitting such a mark as this, a
mile away. Besides, almost all their guns are on the land side."
The men made no reply. To them, the thought of being fired at by
big guns was much more alarming than that of being picked up by a
cruiser of their own nation; although they saw there might be a
good deal of difficulty in persuading the authorities that they had
taken part, perforce, in the attempt to get fruit into the
beleaguered garrison. Daylight was just beginning to break, when
one of the fishermen pointed out a dark mass inshore, but somewhat
ahead of them.
"That is Santa Barbara," he said.
They had already, for some time, made out the outline of the Rock;
and Bob gazed anxiously seaward but could, as yet, see no signs of
the enemy's cruisers.
"Row away, lads," he said. "They won't see us for some time and, in
another half hour, we shall be safe."
The Spaniards bent to their oars with all their strength, now; from
time to time looking anxiously over their shoulders at the fort.
Rapidly the daylight stole across the sky, and they were just
opposite Santa Barbara when a gun boomed out, and a shot flew over
their heads and struck the water, a quarter of a mile beyond them.
With a yell of fear, the two Spaniards threw themselves at the
bottom of the boat.
"Get up, you fools!" Bob shouted. "You will be no safer, down
there, than if you were rowing. If a shot strikes her she will be
smashed up, whether you are rowing or lying down. If you stay
there, it will be an hour before we get out of range of their guns
while, if you row like men, we shall get further and further away
every minute, and be safe in a quarter of an hour."
It was only, however, after he threatened to shoot them, if they
did not set to work again, that the Spaniards resumed their oars;
but when they did they rowed desperately. Another shot from the
fort struck the water a short distance astern, exciting a fresh
yell of agony from the men.
"There, you see," Bob said; "if you hadn't been sending her faster
through the water, that would have hit us.
"Ah! They are beginning from that sloop, out at sea."
This was a small craft that Bob had made out, as the light
increased, a mile and a half seaward. She had changed her course,
and was heading in their direction.
Retaining his hold of his pistols Bob moved forward, put out a
spare oar, and set to to row. Shot after shot came from the fort,
and several from the sloop; but a boat, at that distance, presents
but a small mark and, although a shot went through the sail, none
struck her. Presently a gun boomed out ahead of them, high in the
air; and a shot fell near the sloop, which at once hauled her wind,
and stood out to sea.
"We have got rid of her," Bob said, "and we are a mile and a half
from the fort, now. You can take it easy, men. They won't waste
many more shot upon us."
Indeed, only one more gun was fired by the Spaniards; and then the
boat pursued her course unmolested, Bob returning to his seat at
the helm.
"They will be on the lookout for us, as we go back," one of the
Spaniards said.
"They won't see you in the dark," Bob replied. "Besides, as likely
as not they will think that you are one of the Rock fishing boats,
that has ventured out too far, and failed to get back by daylight."
Once out of reach of the shot from the fort, the sailors laid in
their oars--having been rowing for more than ten hours--and the
boat glided along quietly, at a distance of a few hundred feet from
the foot of the cliff.
"Which are you going to do?" Bob asked them; "take fifty dollars
for your fish, or sell them for what you can get for them?"
The fishermen at once said they would take the fifty dollars for,
although they had collected all that had been brought in by the
other fishermen--amounting to some five hundred pounds in
weight--they could not imagine that fish, for which they would not
have got more than ten dollars--at the outside--at Malaga, could
sell for fifty at Gibraltar.
As they rounded Europa Point there was a hail from above and,
looking up, Bob saw Captain O'Halloran and the doctor.
"Hulloa, Bob!"
"Hulloa!" Bob shouted back, and waved his hat.
"All right, Bob?"
"All right. I have got thirty boxes!"
"Hurrah!" the doctor shouted, waving his hat over his head. "We
will meet you at the New Mole.
"That is something like a boy, Gerald!"
"It is all very well for you," Captain O'Halloran said. "You are
not responsible for him, and you are not married to his sister."
"Put yourself in the way of a cannonball, Gerald, and I will be
married to her a week after--if she will have me."
His companion laughed.
"It is all very well, Teddy; but it is just as well, for you, that
you did not show your face up at the house during the last three
days. It is not Bob who has been blamed. It has been entirely you
and me, especially you. The moment she read his letter, she said at
once that you were at the bottom of it, and that it never would
have entered Bob's mind to do such a mad thing, if you had not put
him up to it; and of course, when I came back from seeing you, and
said that you admitted that you knew what he was doing, it made the
case infinitely worse. It will be a long time before she takes you
into favour again."
"About an hour," the doctor said, calmly. "As soon as she finds
that Bob has come back again, with the fruit; and that he has as
good as saved the lives of scores of women and children; she will
be so proud of him that she will greet me as part author of the
credit he has gained--though really, as I told you, I had nothing
to do with it except that, when I saw that Bob had made up his mind
to try, whether I helped him or not, I thought it best to help him,
as far as I could, to get away.
"Now, we must get some porters to carry the boxes up to your house,
or wherever he wants them sent.
"Ah! Here is the governor. He will be pleased to hear that Bob has
got safely back."
Captain O'Halloran had, when he found Bob's letter in his room on
the morning after he had left, felt it his duty to go to the town
major's office to mention his absence; and it had been reported to
the general, who had sent for Gerald to inquire about the
circumstances of the lad's leaving. Captain O'Halloran had assured
him that he knew nothing, whatever, of his intention; and that it
was only when he found the letter on his table, saying that he had
made up his mind to get beyond the Spanish lines, somehow, and to
bring in a boatload of oranges, for the use of the women and
children who were suffering from scurvy, that he knew his
brother-in-law had any such idea in his mind.
"It is a very gallant attempt, Captain O'Halloran--although, of
course, I should not have permitted it to be made, had I been aware
of his intentions."
"Nor should I, sir," Captain O'Halloran said. "My wife is,
naturally, very much upset."
"That is natural enough," the governor said. "Still, she has every
reason to be proud of her brother. A man could risk his life for no
higher object than that for which Mr. Repton has undertaken this
expedition.
"How do you suppose he got away?"
"I have no idea, sir. He may have got down by ropes, from the back
of the Rock--the way the deserters generally choose."
"Yes; but if he got down without breaking his neck, he would still
have to pass our line of sentries, and also through the Spaniards."
"He is a very good swimmer, general; and may have struck out, and
landed beyond the Spanish forts. Of course, he may have started
from the Old Mole, and swam across to the head of the bay. He is
sure to have thought the matter well out. He is very sharp and, if
anyone could get through, I should say Bob could. He speaks the
language like a native."
"I have heard of him before," the governor said, smiling. "Captain
Langton told us of the boy's doings, when he was away in that
privateer brig; and how he took in the frigate, and was the means
of the brig capturing those two valuable prizes, and how he had
swam on board a Spanish sloop of war. He said that no officer could
have shown greater pluck, and coolness.
"I sincerely hope that no harm will come to him; but how--even if
he succeeds in getting through the Spanish lines--he can manage,
single handed, to get back here in a boat, is more than I can see.
Well, I sincerely trust that no harm will come to him."
As the governor, with two or three of his staff, now came along,
Captain O'Halloran went up to him.
"I am glad to say, sir," he said, "that young Repton has just
returned, and that he has brought in thirty cases of fruit."
"I am extremely glad to hear it, Captain O'Halloran," the governor
said, warmly. "When it was reported to me, an hour since, that the
Spanish fort and one of their cruisers were firing at a small boat,
that was making her way in from the east, the thought struck me
that it might be your brother-in-law.
"Where is he?"
"He is just coming round to the Mole, sir. Doctor Burke and myself
are going to meet him."
"I will go down with you," the governor said. "Those oranges are
worth a thousand pounds a box, to the sick."
The party reached the Mole before the boat came in; for after
rounding the Point she had been becalmed, and the fishermen had
lowered the sail and betaken themselves to their oars again. Bob
felt a little uncomfortable when, as the boat rowed up to the
landing stairs, he saw General Eliott, with a group of officers,
standing at the top. He was relieved when, on ascending the steps,
the governor stepped forward and shook him warmly by the hand.
"I ought to begin by scolding you, for breaking out of the fortress
without leave; but I am too pleased with the success of your
venture, and too much gratified at the spirit that prompted you to
undertake it, to say a word. Captain O'Halloran tells me that you
have brought in thirty cases of fruit."
"Yes, sir. I have ten cases of oranges, and twenty of lemons. I
propose, with your permission, to send half of these up to the
hospitals, for the use of the sick there. The others I intend for
the use of the women and children of the garrison, and townspeople.
Doctor Burke will see for me that they are distributed where they
will do most good."
"Well, my lad, I thank you most cordially for your noble gift to
the troops; and there is not a man here who will not feel grateful
to you, for the relief it will afford to the women and children. I
shall be very glad if you will dine with me, today; and you can
then tell me how you have managed what I thought, when I first
heard of your absence, was a sheer impossibility.
"Captain O'Halloran, I trust that you and Mrs. O'Halloran will also
give me the pleasure of your company, at dinner, today."
"If you please, sir," Bob said, "will you give these two boatmen a
pass, permitting them to go out after dark, tonight. I promised
them that they should not be detained. It is of the greatest
importance to them that they should get back before their absence
is discovered."
"Certainly," the governor said; and at once ordered one of the
officers of the staff to see that the pass was given; and orders
issued, to the officers of the batteries, to allow the boat to pass
out in the dark, unquestioned.
As soon as the governor walked away, with his staff, Bob was
heartily greeted by Captain O'Halloran and the doctor.
"You have given us a fine fright, Bob," the former said, "and your
sister has been in a desperate way about you. However, now that you
have come back safe, I suppose she will forgive you.
"But what about all those fish? Are they yours? Why, there must be
half a ton of them!"
"No; the men say there are five or six hundred pounds.
"Yes, they are mine. I thought of keeping a few for ourselves, and
dividing the rest between the ten regiments; and sending them up,
with your compliments, to their messes."
"Not with my compliments, Bob; that would be ridiculous. Send them
up with your own compliments. It will be a mighty acceptable
present. But you had better pick out two or three of the finest
fish, and send them up to the governor.
"Now then, let us set to work. Here are plenty of porters but,
first of all, we had better get ten men from the officer of the
guard here; and send one off, with each of the porters with the
fish, to the regiments--or the chances are that these baskets will
be a good bit lighter, by the time they arrive there, than when
they start. I will go and ask the officer; while you are getting
the fish up here, and divided."
In a quarter of an hour the ten porters started, each with about
half a hundredweight, and under the charge of a soldier. The doctor
took charge of the porters with the fifteen boxes of fruit, for the
various hospitals; and then--after Bob had paid the boatmen the two
hundred and fifty dollars due to them, and had told them they would
get the permit to enable them to sail again, as soon as it became
dark--he and Captain O'Halloran started for the house, with the men
in charge of the other fifteen boxes, and with one carrying the
remaining fish--which weighed about the same as the other parcels.
"How did you and the doctor happen to be at Europa Point, Gerald?"
Bob asked, as they went along.
"The doctor said he felt sure that whenever you did come--that is,
if you came at all--you would get here somewhere about daylight;
and he arranged with the officer in charge of the upper battery to
send a man down, with the news, if there was a boat in sight.
Directly he heard that the Spaniards were firing at a boat, he came
over and called me; and we went round to the back of the Rock. We
couldn't be sure that it was you from that height but, as we could
make out the boxes, we thought it must be you; and so walked down
to the Point, to catch you there."
"Does Carrie know that a boat was in sight?"
"No, I wouldn't say anything to her about it. She had only just
dropped off to sleep, when I was called. She woke up, and asked
what it was; but I said that I supposed I was wanted on duty, and
she went off again before I was dressed. I was glad she did, for
she hadn't closed her eyes before, since you started."
Carrie was on the terrace when she saw Bob and Gerald, followed by
a procession of porters, coming up the hill. With a cry of joy she
ran down into the house, and out to meet them.
"You bad boy!" she cried, as she threw her arms round Bob's neck.
"How could you frighten us so? It is very cruel and wicked of you,
Bob, and I am not going to forgive you; though I can't help being
glad to see you, which is more than you deserve."
"You mustn't scold him, Carrie," her husband said. "Even the
governor didn't scold him; and he has thanked him, in the name of
the whole garrison, and he has asked him to dine with him; and you
and I are to dine there too, Carrie. There is an honour for you!
But what is better than honour is that there isn't a woman and
child on the Rock who won't be feeling deeply grateful to Bob,
before the day is over."
"Has he really got some fruit?"
"Yes. Don't you see the boxes, Carrie?"
"Oh, I saw something coming along, but I didn't see anything
clearly but Bob. What are these boxes--oranges?"
"Oranges and lemons--five of oranges and ten of lemons--and there
are as many more that have gone up to the hospital, for the use of
the men.
"There, let us see them taken into the storeroom. You can open two
of them at once, and send Manola off with a big basket; and tell
her to give half a dozen of each, with your love, to each of the
ladies you know. The doctor will take charge of the rest, and see
about their division among all the women on the Rock. It will be
quite a business, but he won't mind it."
"What is all this--fish?"
"Well, my dear, you are to take as much as you want; and you are to
pick out two or three of the best, and send them to the governor,
with your compliments; and the rest you can divide and send out,
with the fruit, to your special friends."
"But how has Bob done it?" Carrie asked, quite overwhelmed at the
sight of all those welcome stores.
"Ah, that he must tell you, himself. I have no more idea than the
man in the moon."
"It has all been quite simple," Bob said. "But see about sending
these things off first, Carrie. Doctor Burke will be here, after he
has seen the others taken safely to the hospital; and I shall have
to tell it all over again, then."
"I am very angry with the doctor," Mrs. O'Halloran said.
"Then the sooner you get over being angry, the better, Carrie. The
doctor had nothing whatever to do with my going; but when he saw
that I had made up my mind to go, he helped me, and I am extremely
obliged to him. Now, you may have an orange for yourself, if you
are good."
"That I won't," Carrie said. "Thanks to our eggs and vegetables we
are perfectly well and, when there are so many people really in
want of the oranges, it would be downright wicked to eat them
merely because we like them."
In a short time Manola--with two of the children from downstairs,
carrying baskets--started, with the presents of fruit and fish, to
all the ladies of Carrie's acquaintance. Soon after she had left,
Doctor Burke arrived.
"I was not going to speak to you, Teddy Burke," Mrs. O'Halloran
said, shaking her head at him. "I had lost confidence in you; but
with Bob back again, and all this fruit for the poor creatures who
want it, I will forgive you."
"I am glad you have grace enough for that, Mrs. O'Halloran. It is
down on your knees you ought to go, to thank me, if I had my
rights. Isn't Bob a hero? And hasn't he received the thanks of the
governor? And hasn't he saved scores of lives, this blessed day?
And although it is little enough I had to do with it, isn't it the
thanks of the whole garrison ought to be given me, for even the
little bit of a share I had in it?"
"We have been waiting for you to come, Teddy," Captain O'Halloran
said, "to hear Bob's story."
"Well then, you will have to wait a bit longer," the doctor said. "I
have sent orderlies from the hospital to all the regiments--including,
of course, the Artillery and Engineers--asking them to send me lists of
the numbers of the women and children of the noncommissioned officers
and privates, and also of officers' wives and families; and to send
with the lists, here, two orderlies from each regiment, with baskets. I
have been down to the town major, and got a list of the number of women
and children in the town. When we get the returns from the regiments,
we will reckon up the totals; and see how many there will be, for each.
I think that each of the boxes holds about five hundred."
The work of counting out the oranges and lemons for the various
regiments, and the townspeople, occupied some time; and it was not
until the orderlies had started, with their supplies, that Bob sat
down to tell his story.
"Nothing could have been easier," he said, when he finished.
"It was easy enough, as you say, Bob," the doctor said; "but it
required a lot of coolness, and presence of mind. Events certainly
turned out fortunately for you, but you took advantage of them.
That is always the point. Nobody could have done it better, and
most people would have done worse. I have been wondering myself a
great deal, since you have been gone, what plan you could possibly
hit on to get the oranges into a boat; and how, when you had got
them in, you would manage to get them here. It seems all easy
enough, now you have done it; but that is all the more creditable
to you, for hitting on a plan that worked so well."
Similar praise was given to Bob when he had again to tell his
story, at the governor's.
"So you managed, you say, to slip out with the reliefs?" the
governor said.
"Yes, sir. I had got a military cloak, and hat."
"Still, it is curious that they did not notice an addition to their
party. I fancy you must have had a friend there?"
"That, general, is a point that I would rather not say anything
about. That is the way that I did go out and, when I took to the
water, I let the coat and hat float away for, had they been found,
it might have been supposed that somebody had deserted."
"I wish you could have brought in a shipload, instead of a
boatload, of fruit, Mr. Repton. They will be of immense benefit to
the sick but, unfortunately, there is scarcely a person on the Rock
that is not more or less affected and, if your thirty boxes were
multiplied by a hundred, it would be none too much for our needs."
The oranges and lemons did, however, for a time have a marked
effect in checking the progress of the scurvy--especially among the
children, who came in for a larger share than that which fell to
the sick soldiers--but in another month the condition of those in
hospital, and indeed of many who still managed to do duty, was
again pitiable.
On the 11th of October, however, some of the boats of the fleet
went out, during a fog, and boarded a Danish craft from
Malaga--laden with oranges and lemons--and brought her in. The
cargo was at once bought by the governor, and distributed.
The beneficial effects were immediate. Cases which had, but a few
days before, appeared hopeless were cured, as if by magic; and the
health of the whole garrison was reestablished. Heavy rains setting
in at the same time, the gardens--upon which, for months, great
attention had been bestowed--came rapidly into bearing and,
henceforth, throughout the siege the supply of vegetables, if not
ample for the needs of the garrison and inhabitants, was sufficient
to prevent scurvy from getting any strong hold again.
A few days after the ship with oranges was brought in, an orderly
came in to Captain O'Halloran with a message that the governor
wished to speak to Mr. Repton. Bob was out at the time, but went up
to the castle as soon as he returned, and was at once shown in to
the governor.
Illustration: Bob receives a Commission from the Governor.
"Mr. Repton," the latter began, "after the spirit you showed, the
other day, I shall be glad to utilize your services still farther,
if you are willing."
"I shall be very glad to be useful in any work upon which you may
think fit to employ me, sir."
"I wish to communicate with Mr. Logie, at Tangiers," the governor
said. "It is a month, now, since we have had any news from him. At
the time he last wrote, he said that the Emperor of Morocco was
manifesting an unfriendly spirit towards us; and that he was
certainly in close communication with the Spaniards, and had
allowed their ships to take more than one English vessel lying
under the guns of the town. His own position was, he said, little
better than that of a prisoner--for he was closely watched.
"He still hoped, however, to bring the emperor round again to our
side; as he had, for years, exercised a considerable influence over
him. If he would grant him an interview, Mr. Logie thought that he
might still be able to clear up any doubts of us that the Spaniards
might have infused in his mind. Since that letter we have heard
nothing from him, and we are ignorant how matters stand, over
there.
"The matter is important; for although, while the enemy's cruisers
are as vigilant as at present, there is little hope of our getting
fresh meat over from there, I am unable to give any directions to
such privateers, or others, as may find their way in here. It makes
all the difference to them whether the Morocco ports are open to
them, or not. Until lately, when chased they could run in there,
wait for a brisk east wind, and then start after dark, and be
fairly through the Straits before morning.
"I am very desirous, therefore, of communicating with Mr. Logie. I
am also anxious, not only about his safety, but of that of several
English families there; among whom are those of some of the
officers of the garrison who--thinking that they would be perfectly
safe in Tangiers, and avoid the hardships and dangers of the
siege--despatched them across the Straits by the native craft that
came in, when first the port was closed.
"Thinking it over, it appeared to me that you would be far more
fitted than most for this mission, if you would accept it. You have
already shown yourself able to pass as a Spaniard and, should you
find that things have gone badly in Tangiers, and that the Moors
have openly joined the Spaniards; you might be able to get a
passage to Lisbon, in a neutral ship, and to return thence in the
first privateer, or ship of war, bound for this port. I would of
course provide you with a document, requesting the officer in
command of any such ship to give you a passage. Should no such
neutral ship come along, I should trust to you to find your way
across to Tarifa or Algeciras; and thence to manage in some way,
which I must leave to your own ingenuity, to make your way in.
"I do not disguise from you that the commission is a very
dangerous, as well as an honourable one; as were you, an
Englishman, detected on Spanish soil, you would almost certainly be
executed as a spy."
"I am ready to undertake the commission, sir, and I am much obliged
to you for affording me the opportunity of being of service. It is
irksome for me to remain here, in idleness, when there are many
young officers of my own age doing duty in the batteries. As to the
risk, I am quite prepared to run it. It will be exactly such an
adventure as I should choose."
"Very well, Mr. Repton. Then I will send you the despatches, this
evening; together with a letter recommending you to all British
officers and authorities. Both will be written on the smallest
pieces of paper possible, so that you may conceal them more easily.
"Now, as to the means. There are many of the fishermen here would
be glad to leave. The firing in the bay has frightened the greater
part of the fish away and, besides, the boats dare not go any
distance from the Rock. I have caused inquiries to be made, and
have given permits to three men to leave the Rock in a boat, after
nightfall, and to take their chance of getting through the enemy's
cruisers. It is likely to be a very dark night. I have arranged
with them to take a passenger across to Tangiers, and have given
them permission to take two others with them. We know that there
are many Jews, and others, most anxious to leave the town before
the enemy begin to bombard it; and the men will doubtless get a
good price, from two of these, to carry them across the Straits.
"You will form an idea, for yourself, whether these boatmen are
trustworthy. If you conclude that they are, you can make a bargain
with them, or with any others, to bring you back direct. I
authorize you to offer them a hundred pounds for doing so.
"Come up here at eight o'clock this evening. I will have the
despatches ready for you then. You will understand that if you find
the Moors have become absolutely hostile, and have a difficulty in
getting at Mr. Logie, you are not to run any risk in trying to
deliver the despatches; as the information you will be able to
obtain will be sufficient for me, without any confirmation from
him."
After further conversation, Bob took his leave of the governor. On
his return home, Carrie was very vexed, when she heard the mission
that Bob had undertaken and, at first, it needed all her husband's
persuasions to prevent her going off to the governor's, to protest
against it.
"Why, my dear, you would make both yourself and Bob ridiculous.
Surely he is of an age, now, to go his own way without petticoat
government. He has already gained great credit, both in his affair
with the privateer, and in fetching in the oranges the other day.
This is far less dangerous. Here he has only got to smuggle himself
in, there he had to bring back something like a ton of oranges. It
is a great honour for the governor to have chosen him. And as to
you opposing it, the idea is absurd!"
"I shall go round to Major Harcourt," Bob said. "Mrs. Harcourt is
terribly anxious about her daughter, and I am sure she will be glad
to send a letter over to her."
"Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said gravely, "I have become a sudden
convert to your opinion regarding this expedition. Suppose that
Bob, instead of coming back, were to carry Amy Harcourt off to
England? It would be terrible! I believe that Mr. Logie, as His
Majesty's consul, could perform the necessary ceremony before they
sailed."
Bob laughed.
"I should doubt whether Mr. Logie would have power to officiate, in
the case of minors. Besides, there is an English church, where the
banns could be duly published. No, I think we must put that off,
Gerald."
Amy Harcourt was the daughter of one of the O'Hallorans' most
intimate friends: and the girl, who was about fifteen years old,
was often at their house with her mother. She had suffered much
from the heat, early in June; and her parents had, at a time when
the Spanish cruisers had somewhat relaxed their vigilance, sent her
across to Tangiers in one of the traders. She was in the charge of
Mrs. Colomb, the wife of an officer of the regiment, who was also
going across for her health. They intended to stay at Tangiers only
for a month, or six weeks; but Mrs. Colomb had become worse, and
was, when the last news came across, too ill to be moved.
Major and Mrs. Harcourt had consequently become very anxious about
Amy, the feeling being much heightened by the rumours of the
hostile attitude of the emperor towards the English. Mrs. Harcourt
gladly availed herself of the opportunity that Bob's mission
offered.
"I shall be glad, indeed, if you will take a letter, Mr. Repton. I
am in great trouble about her. If anything should happen to Mrs.
Colomb, her position would be extremely awkward. I know that Mr.
Logie will do the best he can for her but, for aught we know, he
and all the English there may, at present, be prisoners among the
Moors. I need not say how bitterly her father and I have regretted
that we let her go; and yet, it seemed by far the best thing, at
the time, for she would get an abundance of fresh meat, food and
vegetables.
"Of course, you will see how she is situated, when you get there;
and I am sure you will give her the best advice you can, as to what
she is to do. Not knowing how they are placed there, we can do
literally nothing; and you managed that fruit business so
splendidly that I feel very great confidence in you."
"I am sure I shall be glad to do anything that I can, Mrs.
Harcourt; and if it had been a boy, I daresay we could have managed
something between us--but you see, girls are different."
"Oh, you won't find any difficulty with her. I often tell her she
is as much of a boy, at present, as she is a girl. Amy has plenty
of sense. I shall tell her, in my letter, about your going out to
fetch in the fruit for the women and children. She is inclined to
look up to you very much, already, owing to the share you had in
the capture of those Spanish vessels; and I am sure she will listen
to any advice you give her."
"Well, I will do my best, Mrs. Harcourt," Bob said, meekly; "but I
have never had anything to do with girls, except my sister; and she
gives the advice, always, and not me."
"By what she says, Bob, I don't think you always take it," Mrs.
Harcourt said, smiling.
"Well, not quite always," Bob admitted. "Women are constantly
afraid that you are going to hurt yourself, or something, just as
if a boy had got no sense.
"Well, I will do what I can, Mrs. Harcourt. I am sure I hope that I
shall find them all right, over there."
"I hope so, too," Mrs. Harcourt said. "I will see Captain Colomb.
He will be sure to give you a letter for his wife. I shall talk it
over with him and, if he thinks that she had better go straight
home, if any opportunity offers, I shall tell Amy to go with her;
and stay with my sister, at Gloucester, till the siege is over, and
then she can come out again to us. I will bring you down the
letters, myself, at seven o'clock."
From her, Bob went to Dr. Burke.
"I have just come from your house, Bob. I found your sister in a
despondent state about you. I assured her you had as many lives as
a cat; and could only be considered to have used up two or three of
them, yet, and were safe for some years to come. I hinted that you
had more to fear from a rope than either drowning or shooting. That
made her angry, and did her good. However, it was better for me to
be off; and I thought, most likely, that you would be coming round
for a talk.
"So you are going officially, this time. Well, what disguise are
you going to take?"
"That is what I have been thinking of. What would you recommend,
doctor?"
"Well, the choice is not a very extensive one. You can hardly go as
you are because, if the Moors have joined the Spaniards, you would
be arrested as soon as you landed. Gerald tells me that, probably,
two of the Jew traders will go away with you. If so, I should say
you could not do better than dress in their style. There are many
of them Rock scorpions, and talk Spanish and English equally well;
but I should say that you had better take another disguise."
"That is what I was thinking," Bob said. "The boatman will know
that I have something to do with the governor, and the two Jews
will certainly know that I don't belong to the Rock. If they find
that the Moors have joined the Spaniards, these Jews may try to get
through, themselves, by denouncing me. I should say I had better
get clothes with which I can pass as a Spanish sailor, or
fisherman. There are almost sure to be Spanish ships, in there.
There is a good deal of trade between Tangiers and Spain.
"Then again, I shall want my own clothes if I have to take passage
in a neutral, to Lisbon. So I should say that I had better go down
to the town, and get a sort of trader's suit, and a fisherman's, at
one of the low slop shops. Then I will go as a trader, to start
with; and carry the other two suits in a bag."
"That will be a very good plan, Bob. You are not likely to be
noticed much, when you land. There are always ships anchored there,
waiting for a wind to carry them out. They must be accustomed to
sailors, of all sorts of nationalities, in the streets. However, I
hope you will find no occasion for any clothes, after you land, but
your own. The Moors have always been good friends of ours; and the
emperor must know that the Spaniards are very much more dangerous
neighbours than we are, and I can hardly believe he will be fool
enough to throw us over.
"I will go down with you, to buy these things."
Bob had no difficulty in procuring the clothes he required at a
secondhand shop, and then took the lot home with him. Carrie had,
by this time, become more reconciled to what could not be avoided;
and she laughed when Dr. Burke came in.
"You are like a bad penny, Teddy Burke. It is no use trying to get
rid of you."
"Not the least bit in the world, Mrs. O'Halloran. Fortunately, I
know that, however hard you are upon me, you don't mean what you
say."
"I do mean it, very much; but after you are gone I say to myself,
'It is only Teddy Burke,' and think no more of it."
That evening, at nine o'clock, Bob embarked on board the fishing
boat, at the New Mole. One of the governor's aides-de-camp
accompanied him, to pass him through all the guards; and orders had
been sent, to the officers in command of the various batteries,
that the boat was not to be challenged. It was to show a light from
a lantern, as it went along, in order that it might be known. The
other two passengers and the boatmen had been sitting there since
before gunfire, and they were glad enough when Bob came down and
took his seat in the stern, taking the tiller ropes.
The oars had been muffled, and they put off noiselessly. When they
got past Europa Point they found a light breeze blowing, and at
once laid in their oars, and hoisted sail. A vigilant lookout was
kept. Once or twice they thought they made out the hulls of
anchored vessels, but they gave these a wide berth and, when the
morning broke, were halfway across the Strait, heading directly for
Tangiers. In another six hours they entered the port. There were
half a dozen vessels lying in the harbour. Four of these were
flying Spanish colours, one was a Dane, and the other a Dutchman.
From the time morning broke, Bob had been narrowly examining his
fellow passengers, and the boatmen; and came to the conclusion that
none of them were to be trusted. As soon as he stepped ashore, with
his bag in his hand, he walked swiftly away and, passing through
the principal streets, which were crowded with Moors, held steadily
on, without speaking to anyone, until he reached the outskirts of
the town; and then struck off among the hedges and gardens.