THE SMUGGLERS MAKE A TRIP TO ALGECIRAS
Captain Ringgold, when he realized that the owner of the
Guardian-Mother had been engaged in another adventure, was absolutely
delighted to see the young knight-errant return in safety, and he
continued to press his two hands for a considerable time. He was
certainly the young man's devoted friend, as much for his own sake as
for that of his mother, to whom also he was so devoted that others had
begun to talk a little in whispers.
"I was sure that you would tumble into an adventure of some sort, Sir
Louis," said the commander; "and you have made me a true prophet."
"We have certainly had an adventure, Captain; but I am no more a
knight-errant than my companions. We did not plunge into this affair as
Don Quixote did into the windmill and the wine sacks; but the affair
plunged into us, and we got entangled in it in spite of ourselves,"
protested Louis.
"But I will venture to say that you were the leading spirit in the
enterprise, whatever it was," persisted the captain.
"I must deny even that soft impeachment. Sir George Scott Fencelowe
did vastly more than I, or any other of the fellows, did to bring the
adventure to a happy conclusion, like the last chapter of the novel.
He is the hero of the occasion, though he always called me 'Captain
Belgrave'; and if any fellow is to be lathered with praise, Sir Scott
is the one."
"I shall be my own judge of the merits of the actors in the comedy, for
it does not yet appear to be a tragedy, after I have learned more about
it," added Captain Ringgold.
"I may add that Sir Felix McGavonty and Sir Morris Woolridge did
their full and fair share of the acting in the comedy, as you call
it, though I think the three smugglers who are prisoners in the cabin
and pilot-house will be disposed to regard it as more like a tragedy.
Probably the captain of the schooner in tow will be inclined to take
that view of the occasion."
"Three prisoners?" queried the commander.
"That is the number on board of the little steamer; and the captain of
the vessel astern may be included in the same category."
"Are they men or boys?"
"Men, of course, for small boys don't go out smuggling, as a rule."
"Are they English?"
"Four of them are Spaniards who don't speak a word of English, and
one who seems to be a partner with the captain in the enterprise is a
Scotchman by the name of Gray."
"Is there anything to be done immediately, Sir Louis?"
"I think Sir Felix has put Mr. Boulong in the way of securing the
captain of the schooner, who is on board of her, and Lucio, one of his
men. The others are all made fast to the steamer, with their hands
tied behind them. But, Captain Ringgold, I want you to settle up this
business by deciding what shall be done with the Golondrina and the
prisoners, for you know all about such things, and I know nothing,"
said Louis.
"You know nothing, Sir Louis!" exclaimed the commander. "Will you be so
kind as to tell me what you would have done if the Guardian-Mother and
her captain had not been here?"
"I thought of running into Algeciras, instead of coming over here,
where the gates are all locked after sunset, and giving up the vessel
and the prisoners to the police and the custom-house officers over
there," replied Louis.
"Very likely that is just what I shall do after I have learned more
about the affair. Where did you fall in with these smugglers?"
"They fell in with us at the mouth of the Palmones River."
"That is in Spanish territory, and the offence is doubtless against the
Spanish government. Probably the English authorities would take the
matter in hand, but I don't know where to find the officers at this
time of night, for it is after ten o'clock. Now we will go below and
see what is to be done."
There was a ladder forward, and they descended to the forecastle. The
commander looked in at the pilot-house, and saw that Francisco and
Pedro were not in condition to make any trouble, and the pilot still
kept watch of them.
"Sir Scott Fencelowe, I learn that you have been the hero of the
present adventure, and I commend you, though I know very little about
it," said Captain Ringgold, as he took the hand of the pilot.
"I obeyed the orders of Captain Belgrave; that's all, sir," replied
Scott, with more modesty than he had always been in the habit of
displaying, as he politely touched his cap to the commander.
"We will consider the matter another time," added the captain, as he
led the way aft; and they entered the cabin together.
Captain Ringgold glanced at Gray, tied down to the legs of the divan,
and he wondered that the "big four" had been able to overcome a man
of his weight and apparent strength. Gray immediately appealed to the
commander when Louis called him by name, declared that he was a British
subject, and was the victim of a Yankee trick.
"I can't attend to your case just now, my man," replied the captain.
But Gray persisted in being heard before anything was done, and three
seamen were called into the cabin. The Scotchman was released from the
divan, and the sailors were ordered to take him to the forecastle, and
be sure that he did not escape.
"Now I can give you a quiet hearing, Sir Louis, and you may tell me the
whole story of your cruise on the bay," said the commander, as he and
Louis seated themselves on the divan.
The young knight-errant proceeded to give the narrative in all its
details. While he was doing so, Mr. Boulong required his men to haul
the Golondrina alongside the steamer by the tow-line; and by this time
they had nearly succeeded in doing so. The officer was on the point of
going on board of her when Felix interposed.
"These men are all armed with knives, and they will stick you with no
more conscience than an alligator would bite your head off," said he.
"I will take my chances, Felix," replied Mr. Boulong.
"I'll go along wid ye's to protict ye's, for I have a bit of a
revolver," added the Milesian.
"Don't meddle with the matter, my lad, till I ask you do so, if you
please," said the first officer, laughing. "I don't want you to kill a
man, and then charge it to me. I have been among this sort of fellows,
and I am not particularly alarmed about his toothpick."
He was attended by a couple of seamen, who were sent aft to take charge
of Lucio. Felix kept near Mr. Boulong, but he found no occasion to
use his revolver. Mr. Gaskette, the second officer, who spoke Spanish
fluently, had been sent for, and he had been talking with the prisoners
in the pilot-house. Captain Velazquez, somewhat to the astonishment of
Felix, did not show fight as the first officer approached him. He was
not a fool, and he could see that in the face of a dozen men resistance
was useless.
The captain submitted to have his hands tied behind him, and then his
knife, which was a wicked-looking implement, was taken from him. Lucio
was served in the same manner, and both of them marched on board of
the Salihé, where the whole five of them were placed under a guard of
seamen on the forecastle.
Louis and the commander had a very quiet time in the cabin, and the
former detailed everything that had occurred since the little steamer
left the ship, occasionally answering the questions put to him.
"I suppose I am a knight-errant, but I cannot for the life of me see
in what manner I brought this adventure to pass, or that the rest of
the knights-errant did any more than I did," protested Louis, as he
finished his narrative.
"I am afraid you are making too much of the pleasantries of your
fellow-voyagers, my boy, for every one of them knows that you are not a
Don Quixote. Your adventures all come without seeking them."
"I am entirely satisfied with that statement, Captain Ringgold,"
replied Louis. "As long as you don't really believe that I am not all
the time studying up a chance to get into an adventure, I shall be
perfectly happy."
"We understand each other perfectly, Sir Louis; and, by the way, it
was Uncle Moses, and not I, who gave you that title. But it is getting
late; and if we are to take the schooner over to Algeciras to-night,
it is time we were about it," added the commander, as he looked at his
watch. "But the knights-errant had better go on board of the ship and
turn in, for, after the hard-fought battle of the evening, they must be
fatigued."
"The biggest job we had on our hands was to overcome the Scotchman,
for, as you have seen, he is a powerful man; and it was Sir Scott's
ingenuity as well as his skill in the use of the lasso which carried us
safely through it. He has behaved excellently well; he remembered the
names of most of the places on the bay; and I beg leave to report very
favorably of him. He is ten times the fellow I ever before supposed he
was," added Louis with a gape, indicating that he was in condition to
take the advice of the commander and retire for the night.
"Scott has behaved exceedingly well since he reformed his manners and
his life, and your report of him shall be duly considered, Captain
Belgrave," replied Captain Ringgold, as they left the cabin.
"Captain Belgrave!" exclaimed Louis. "'_Et tu, Brute_,'" as Cæsar said
when the other fellow asked him how many buckwheat cakes he had eaten
for breakfast.
"I only follow Sir Scott's lead. But you can all go on board, and I
will attend to the affairs of the smugglers," added the commander.
The big four all went on board of the Guardian-Mother. The second
engineer of the ship was sent to the engine-room of the steamer, and
Felipe was relieved from further duty. Mr. Gaskette with six seamen was
sent over to Algeciras in charge of the party, and the Salihé departed
with the Golondrina in tow. The occupants of the cabin of the ship had
all retired; and Louis did not find his mother waiting to receive him,
which proved that she had not been suffering from any anxiety.
In fact, she knew nothing at all about the affair, which had only come
to light when the little steamer arrived. At the breakfast table the
next morning the cabin party learned for the first time that the big
four had tumbled into an adventure, which was then related to them in
full. Louis's mother did not make any scene this time, as usual; for
Dr. Hawkes had practically cured her of her nervousness, at least in
his presence. But Louis had been on deck, and happened to be there when
Chickworth and his engineer came for the Salihé.
"Mr. Gaskette reports to me this morning that he found some policemen
on the shore at Algeciras when he arrived, and that they called the
chief of the customs from his bed," Captain Ringgold explained. "He
put his officers in charge of the Golondrina, and the police committed
the smugglers to the jail. The capture of the little steamer was a
felony, and they will be prosecuted for it. You are all wanted as
witnesses over there at three o'clock this afternoon. The officers of
the customs believe that the Salihé was implicated, and they wanted to
detain her; but Mr. Gaskette managed his case so well that he brought
her back with him. Here is the owner of the little steamer," added the
commander, as Chickworth stepped down from the gangway steps.
"Which I 'ave a little bill of two pun ten against you, sir, for the
steam-yacht," said Chickworth, touching his cap to Louis.
"I don't know about that," interposed the commander. "The Salihé is
mixed up with smugglers over on the other side of the bay, and the
customs officers may want her."
"Which it is with smugglers, sir!" exclaimed the owner of the Salihé.
"Precisely so; and your friend Gray, and your other friend Captain
Diego Velazquez, of the Schooner Golondrina, are in prison over there,
and their vessel will be forfeited for smuggling, with her valuable
cargo," added the captain; and he related what had happened to the big
four on their cruise. "But I don't believe your boat can be held. We
shall know more about it this afternoon."
He held the steamer till the matter was decided.