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HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
ME. HENTY'S HISTOEICAL TALES. 
 
 Crown Svo, Cloth elegant, Olivine edges. Illustrated. 
 
 The Cat op Bubastes : A Story of Ancient Egypt. 5s. 
 The Young C arthaOtINIAN : A Story of the Times of Hannibal. 6s. 
 For the Temple : A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. 6s. 
 Beric the Briton : A Story of the Roman Invasion. 6s. 
 The Dragon and the Raven : Or, The Days of King Alfred. 5s. 
 WULF THE Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest. 6s. 
 A Knight op the White Cross : The Siege of Rhodes. 6s. 
 The Lion of St. Mark : A Story of Venice in the 1 4th Century. 6s. 
 The Lion of the North : A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus. 6s. 
 St. Bartholomew's Eve : A Tale of the Huguenot Wars. 6s. 
 In Freedom's Cause : A Story of Wallace and Bruce. 6s. 
 St. George for England : A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 5s. 
 By Right of Conquest : Or, With Cortez in Mexico. 6s. 
 By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. 6s. 
 By England's Aid : Or, The Freeing of the Netherlands. 6s. 
 Under Drake's Flag : A Tale of the Spanish Main. 6s. 
 Orange and Green : A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. 5s. 
 A Jacobite Exile : In the Service of Charles XII. 5s. 
 Bonnie Prince Charlie : A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 6s. 
 When London Burned : A Story of the Great Fire. 6s. 
 The Bravest of the Brave: Or, With Peterborough in Spain. 5s. 
 With Wolfe in Canada : Or, The Winning of a Continent. 6s. 
 With Clive in India : Or, The Beginnings of an Empire. 6s. 
 Through the Sikh War : A Tale of the Punjaub. 6s. 
 True to the Old Flag. The American War of Independence. 6s. 
 In the Reign of Terror. The French Revolution. 5s. 
 Held Fast for England : A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 5s. 
 Through Russian Snows : A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from 
 
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 One of the 28th : A Story of Waterloo. 5s. 
 In Greek Waters : A Story of the Grecian War (1S21). 6s. 
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 Through the Fray : A Story of the Luddite Plots. 6s. 
 Maori and Settler : A Story of the New Zealand War. 5s. 
 By Sheer Pluck : A Tale of the Ashanti War. 5s. 
 For Name and Fame : Or, Through Afghan Passes. 5s. 
 With Lee in Virginia : A Story of the American Civil War. 6s. 
 The Dash for Khartoum : A Tale of the Nile Expedition. 6s. 
 Condemned as a Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia. 5s. 
 
 London: BLACKIE & SON, Limited; Glasgow and Dublin. 
 
HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND 
 
 A TALE OF THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR 
 (1779-83). 
 
 1^-° 
 
 'J 
 
 BY 
 
 G. A. HENTY, 
 
 Author of " With Clive in India; " " By Right of Conquest; " "By England's Aid; 
 " The Dash for Khai-toum;" " One of the 28th;" " In the Reign of Terror;" &c. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY GORDON' BROWNE. 
 
 ,* 
 
 LONDON: 
 BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C. 
 
 GLASGOW, AND DUBLIN. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Siege of Gibraltar stands almost alone in the 
 annals of warfare, alike in its duration and in the immense 
 preparations made by the united powers of France and 
 Spain for the capture of the fortress. A greater number of 
 guns were employed than in any operation up to that time; 
 although in number, and still more in calibre, the artillery 
 then used have in modern times been thrown into the shade 
 by the sieges of Sebastopol and Paris. Gibraltar differs, 
 however, from these sieges, inasmuch as the defence was a 
 successful one, and indeed at no period of the investment 
 was the fortress in any danger of capture save by hunger. 
 At that period England was not, as she afterwards became, 
 invincible by sea ; and as we were engaged at the same time 
 in war with France, Spain, Holland, and the United States, 
 it was only occasionally that a fleet could be spared to bring 
 succour and provisions to the beleaguered garrison. Scurvy 
 was the direst enemy of the defenders. The art of preserving 
 meat in tins had not been discovered, and they were forced 
 to subsist almost entirely upon salt meat; during the first 
 year of the siege the supply of fresh vegetables was scanty 
 in the extreme, and the garrison consequently suffered so 
 severely from scurvy that at one time scarcely half of the 
 men of the garrison were strong enough to carry a firelock 
 and perform their duty. The providential capture of a vessel 
 laden with oranges and lemons checked the ravages of the 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 scourge, and the successful efforts of the garrison to raise 
 vegetables prevented it from ever afterwards getting a firm 
 hold upon them. In such a siege there was but little scope 
 for deeds of individual gallantry. It was a long monotony 
 of hardship and suffering, nobly endured, and terminating 
 in one of the greatest triumphs ever recorded in the long roll 
 of British victories. 
 
 G. A. HENTY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. Page 
 
 I. "Something like an Adventure," ...... 11 
 
 II. A Great Change, 32 
 
 III. An Unexpected Journey, 52 
 
 IV. Preparations for a Voyage, 72 
 
 V. A French Privateer, 92 
 
 VI. The Eock Fortress, - 112 
 
 VII. Troubles Ahead, 131 
 
 VIII. The Siege Begins, 150 
 
 IX. The "Antelope," 170 
 
 X. A Cruise in a Privateer, 189 
 
 XI. Cutting out a Prize, 208 
 
 XII. A PacH Prize, 229 
 
 XIII. Oranges and Lemons 248 
 
 XIV. A Welcome Cargo, 268 
 
 XV. Bob's Mission, 289 
 
 XVI. A Cruise in the "Brilliant," 316 
 
 XVII. The Floating Batteries, . 335 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 Bob receives a Commission from the Governor, . Frontis. 281 
 
 Bob and his Companions surprise the Burglars, ... 25 
 
 The Professor gets excited, 153 
 
 "The old gentleman is a brick," exclaimed Gerald, . 182 
 
 Bob swims off to the Spanish Warship, 200 
 
 " They found the two Spanish Mates playing at cards," 217 
 
 They find Boxes of Silver in the Lazaretto, . . . 230 
 
 View of Gibraltar from the Mediterranean, 115 
 
 View of Gibraltar from the Bay, 115 
 
 The Rock and Bay of Gibraltar, . 306 
 
HELD FAST FOE ENGLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 "SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 
 
 AD Mr. Tulloch, the head-master and proprietor 
 of a large school at Putney, been asked which 
 was the most troublesome boy in his school, he 
 would probably have replied, without hesitation, 
 "Bob Repton;" but, being a just and fair-minded man, he 
 would have hastened to qualify this remark by adding, 
 "Most troublesome, but by no means the worst boy; you 
 must understand that. He is always in scrapes, always in 
 mischief. In all my experience I have never before come 
 across a boy who had such an aptitude for getting into trouble; 
 but I have nothing else to say against him. He is straight- 
 forward and manly. I have never known him to tell a lie 
 to screen himself. He is an example to many others in that 
 way. I like the boy in spite of the endless trouble he gives, 
 and yet there is scarcely a day passes that I am not obliged 
 to cane him, and even that does him no good as far as I can 
 see, for he seems to forget it five minutes after it is over. I 
 wonder sometimes if he has really got hardened and doesn't 
 feel it. He is sharp, and does his lessons well; I have no 
 difficulty with him on that score, but he is a perfect imp of 
 mischief." 
 
 With such characteristics it need hardly be said that Bob 
 Repton was one of the most popular boys at Tulloch's school. 
 
12 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 School-life was in those days (for it was in August, 1778, 
 that Bob was at Tulloch's) a very different thing to what it 
 is at present. Learning was thrashed into boys. It was 
 supposed that it could only be instilled in this manner; and 
 although some masters were of course more tyrannical and 
 brutal than others, the cane was everywhere in use, and 
 that frequently. Lads then had far less liberty and fewer 
 sports than at present; but as boys' spirits cannot be alto- 
 gether suppressed even by the use of the cane, they found 
 vent in other ways, and there was much more mischief and 
 more breaking out of bounds than now take place. Boys 
 were less trusted and more harshly treated; in consequence 
 of which there was a kind of warfare between the masters 
 and the boys, in which the masters, in spite of their canes, 
 did not always get the best of it. 
 
 Bob Repton was nearly fifteen. He was short rather than 
 tall for his age, but squarely built and strong. His hair 
 could never be got to lie down, but bristled aggressively 
 over his head. His nose was inclined to turn up, his gray 
 eyes had a merry mischievous expression, and his lips were 
 generally parted in a smile. A casual observer would have 
 said that he was a happy-go-lucky, merry, impudent-looking 
 lad; but he was more than this. He was shrewd, intelli- 
 gent, and exceptionally plucky, always ready to do a good 
 turn to others, and to take more than his fair share of blame 
 for every scrape he got into. He had fought many battles, 
 and that with boys older than himself, but he had never 
 been beaten. 
 
 The opinion generally among the boys was that he did 
 not feel pain, and, being caned so frequently, such punish- 
 ment as he got in a fight was a mere trifle to him. He 
 was a thorn in the side of Mr. Purfleet, the usher who was 
 generally in charge of the playground, who had learned by 
 long experience that whenever Bob Repton was quiet he 
 was certain to be planning some special piece of mischief. 
 
 The usher was sitting now on a bench with a book in his 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 13 
 
 hand, but his attention was at present directed to a group of 
 four boys who had drawn together in a corner of the play- 
 ground. 
 
 " There is Eepton again," he said to himself. " I wonder 
 what he is plotting now. That boy will be the death of 
 me. I am quite sure it was he who put that eel in my bed 
 last week, though of course I could not prove it." 
 
 Mr. Purfleet prided himself on his nerve. He had been 
 telling the boys some stories he had read of snakes in India, 
 among them, one of an officer who, when seated at table, had 
 felt a snake winding itself round his leg, and who sat for 
 several minutes without moving, until some friends brought 
 a saucer of milk and placed it near, when the snake un- 
 curled itself and went to drink. 
 
 " It must have required a lot of nerve, Mr. Purfleet," Bob 
 Eepton had said, " to sit as quiet as that." 
 
 "Not at all, not at all," the usher replied confidently; "it 
 was the natural thing to do. A man should always be calm 
 in case of sudden danger, Bob. The first thought in his 
 mind should be, 'What is this?' the second, 'What had best 
 be done under the circumstances?' and these two things being 
 decided, a man of courage will deal coolly with the danger. 
 I should despise myself if I were to act otherwise." 
 
 It was two nights later that the usher, having walked 
 down between the two rows of beds in the dormitory, and 
 seeing that all the boys were quiet and apparently asleep, 
 proceeded to his own bed, which was at the end of the room 
 and partly screened off from the rest by a curtain. No 
 sooner did he disappear behind this than half a dozen heads 
 were raised. An oil-lamp burned at the end of the room, 
 affording light for the usher to undress, and enabling him, 
 as he lay in bed, to command a general if somewhat faint 
 view of the dormitory. Five minutes after Mr. Purfleet had 
 disappeared behind the curtain, the watching eyes saw the 
 clothes at the end of the bed pulled down, and caught a 
 partial view of Mr. Purfleet as he climbed in. A second 
 
14 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 later there was a yell of terror, and the usher leapt from the 
 bed. Instantly the dormitory was in an uproar. 
 
 "What is it, Mr. Purfleet, — what is the matter, sir 1 ?" and 
 several of the boys sprang from their beds and ran towards 
 him, the only exceptions to the general excitement being 
 the four or five who were in the secret. These lay shaking 
 with suppressed laughter, with the bed-clothes or the corner 
 of a pillow thrust into their mouths to prevent them from 
 breaking out into screams of delight. 
 
 "What is it, sir?" 
 
 It was some time before the usher could recover himself 
 sufficiently to explain. 
 
 " There is a snake in my bed," he said. 
 
 "A snake!" the boys repeated in astonishment, several 
 of the more timid at once making off to their beds. 
 
 " Certainly, a snake," Mr. Purfleet panted. " I put my 
 legs down, and they came against something cold, and it 
 began to twist about. In a moment, if I had not leapt out, 
 I should no doubt have received a fatal wound." 
 
 "Where did it come from?" "What is to be done?" and a 
 variety of other questions burst from the boys. 
 
 " I will run down and get three or four hockey sticks, Mr. 
 Purfleet," one of the elder boys said. 
 
 "That will be the best plan, Mason. Quick, quick! 
 There, do you see it moving under the clothes?" 
 
 There was certainly something wriggling, so there was a 
 general movement back from the bed. 
 
 "We had better hold the clothes down, Mr. Purfleet," 
 Bob Repton said, pushing himself forward. "If it were to 
 crawl out at the top and get on to the floor it might bite a 
 dozen of us. I will hold the clothes down tight on one 
 side if someone will hold them on the other." 
 
 One of the other boys came forward, and the clothes were 
 stretched tightly across the bed by the pillow. In a minute 
 or two Mason ran up with four hockey sticks. 
 
 "Now, you must be careful," Mr. Purfleet said, "because 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 15 
 
 if it should get out the consequences might be terrible. 
 Now, then, four of you take the sticks, and all hit together 
 as hard as you can — now." 
 
 The sticks descended together; there was a violent writh- 
 ing and contortion beneath the clothes, but the blows rained 
 down fast, and in a very short time all movement ceased. 
 
 " It must be dead now," Bob Eepton said. " I think we 
 can look at it now, sir." 
 
 " Well, draw the clothes down very gently, boys, and be 
 ready to strike again if you see the least movement." 
 
 The clothes were drawn down till the creature was 
 visible. 
 
 " It must be a cobra," the usher said, looking at it from 
 a distance. "It is thick and short; it must have escaped 
 from somewhere. Be very careful, all of you." 
 
 Mason approached cautiously to get a nearer view, and 
 then exclaimed, "Why, sir, it is an eel!" 
 
 There was a moment's silence, and then a perfect yell of 
 laughter from the boys. For a moment the usher was dumb- 
 founded; then he rallied. 
 
 " You will all go to your beds at once," he said. " I shall 
 report the matter to Mr. Tulloch in the morning." 
 
 The boys retired laughing to their beds, but above the 
 din the usher heard the words in a muffled voice, "A man 
 should always be calm in sudden danger." Another voice, 
 equally disguised, said : " Yes, he should first ask himself 
 'What is this 1 ?' then 'What had best be done under the cir- 
 cumstances?'" A third voice then took it up: "It follows 
 that a man of courage will deal coolly with the danger." 
 Then there was a chorus of half a dozen voices, " I should 
 despise myself if I were to act otherwise." 
 
 "Silence!" the usher shouted, rushing down the line be- 
 tween the beds. " I will thrash the first boy who speaks." 
 As Mr. Purfleet had one of the hockey sticks in his hand, 
 the threat was sufficient to ensure silence. 
 
 To the relief of the two or three boys engaged in the 
 
16 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 affair, Mr. Purfleet made no report in the morning. Mr. 
 Tulloch by no means spared the cane, but he always inquired 
 before he flogged; and as the usher felt sure that the snake 
 story would be brought forward by way of excuse for the 
 trick played upon him, he thought it better to drop it, 
 making a mental note, however, that he would get even 
 with Bob Eepton another time; for he made sure that he 
 was at the bottom of the matter, especially as he had been 
 one of those who had listened to the snake story. 
 
 Mr. Purfleet was held in but light respect by the boys. 
 He was a pale young man, and looked as if he had been 
 poorly fed as a boy. He took the junior classes, and the 
 belief was that he knew nothing of Latin. 
 
 Moffat, who took the upper classes, was much more 
 severe, and sent up many more boys to be caned than did 
 the junior usher; but the boys did not dislike him. Caning 
 they considered their natural portion, and felt no ill-will on 
 that account, while they knew that Mr. Moffat was a capital 
 scholar, and though strict was always scrupulously just. 
 Above all, he was not a sneak. If he reported them he 
 reported them openly, but brought no accusation against 
 them behind their back; while Mr. Purfleet was always 
 carrying tittle-tattle to the head-master. There was, there- 
 fore, little gratitude towards him for holding his tongue as 
 to the eel, for the boys guessed the real reason of his silence, 
 and put it down to dread of ridicule and not to any kindli- 
 ness of feeling. 
 
 " Purfleet would give sixpence to know what we are talk- 
 ing about, Bob," one of the group talking in the corner of 
 the playground said. 
 
 "It is worth more than that, Jim; still we shall have to 
 be extra careful. He suspects it was our lot who played him 
 the trick about the eel, and he will do his best to catch us 
 out in something. Well, as I was saying, Johnny Gibson 
 has got a first-rate dog for rabbits, and he says there are 
 lots of them up on the Common. I told him that I would 
 
 (680) 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 17 
 
 come, and I expected two or three more, and we would 
 meet him at the top of the hill at four o'clock to-morrow 
 morning. It will be getting light by that time. Of course 
 we shall get out in the usual way, and we can be back by 
 half-past six, and no one will be any the wiser. Old 
 Thomas never comes down till a quarter to seven, I have 
 heard him a dozen times; he just comes down in time to 
 ring the bell for us to get up." 
 
 " Oh, I ain't afraid of Thomas," one of the others said; 
 "but I am afraid of Purfleet." 
 
 " There need be no fear about him. He never wakes till 
 the bell rings, and sleeps like a top. Why, he didn't wake the 
 other morning when we had a scrimmage and you tumbled 
 out of bed. Besides, we all sleep at the other end of the 
 room, and even if he did wake up in the night he wouldn't 
 notice that we had gone, especially if we shoved something 
 in the bed to make a lump. My only fear is that we sha'n't 
 wake. We ought to keep watch till it's time to get up, but 
 I am sure we shouldn't keep awake. We must all make up 
 our minds to wake at three, then one of us will be sure to 
 do it. And mind, if one wakes he must promise not to go 
 to sleep again before he hears the hall clock strike, and 
 knows what time it is. If it is before three he can go off 
 to sleep again; that way one of us is sure to be awake 
 when it strikes three." 
 
 " I say, sha'n't we just be licked if we are found out, Bob?" 
 
 "Of course we shall; but as we get licked pretty well 
 every day that won't make much difference, and we shall 
 have had awful fun. Still, if any of you fellows don't like 
 it don't you go. I am going, but I don't want to persuade 
 any of you." 
 
 " Of course we are going if you are going, Bob. What 
 are we going to do with the rabbits?" 
 
 "Oh, I settled Johnny Gibson should keep them. He 
 is going to bring his dog, you know; besides, what could 
 we do with them? We can't cook them, can we?" 
 
 Or k <680) B 
 
 LQ 
 
18 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 As it was clear to all the party that this could not be 
 managed, no objection was raised to this disposal of their 
 game. 
 
 Bob Repton slept but little that night. They went to 
 bed at eight, and he heard every hour strike after nine, 
 dozing off occasionally, and waking up each time convinced 
 that the clock would strike three next time. At last he 
 heard the three welcome strokes, and at once got up and 
 went to the beds of the other three boys. They were all 
 sound asleep, and required some shaking before they could 
 be convinced that it was time to get up. Then each boy 
 put his bolster in his bed, rolled up his night shirt into a 
 ball and laid it on the pillow, and then partly covered it up 
 with the clothes. Then they slipped on their shirts, breeches, 
 and stockings, and, taking their jackets and shoes in their 
 hand, stole out of the door at their end of the room and 
 closed it behind them. They then crept downstairs to the 
 room where their caps were kept, put on these and their 
 jackets, and each boy got a hockey stick out of the cupboard 
 in the corner in which they were kept. Then they very 
 cautiously unfastened the shutter, raised the window, and 
 slipped out. They pulled the shutter to behind them, 
 closed the window, and then put on their shoes. 
 
 "That is managed first-rate," Bob said, "there wasn't the 
 least noise. I made sure Wharton would have dropped his 
 shoes." 
 
 "Why should I drop them more than anyone else 1 ?" 
 Wharton asked in an aggrieved voice. 
 
 "I don't know, Billy. The idea occurred to me. I didn't 
 think anyone else would do it, but I quite made up my 
 mind that you would." 
 
 " Well, I wish you wouldn't be so fast about making up 
 your mind, then," Wharton grumbled. " I ain't more clumsy 
 than other people." 
 
 " You are all right," Jim Sankey put in. " Bob's only 
 joking." 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 19 
 
 'Well, he might as well joke with somebody else, Jim. 
 I don't see any joke in it." 
 
 "No, that is where the joke is, Billy," Bob said. "If 
 you did see the joke there wouldn't be any joke in it. 
 Well, never mind, here is the walnut-tree. Now, who will 
 get over first?" 
 
 The walnut-tree stood in the playground near the wall, 
 and had often proved useful as a ladder to boys at Tulloch's. 
 One of its branches extended over the wall, and from this 
 it was easy to drop down beyond it. The return was more 
 difficult, and was only to be accomplished by means of an 
 old ivy which grew against the wall at some distance off. 
 By its aid the wall could be scaled without much difficulty, 
 and there was then the choice of dropping twelve feet into 
 the playground, or of walking on the top of the wall until 
 the walnut-tree was reached. Tulloch's stood some little 
 distance along the Lower Bichmond Boad. There were 
 but one or two houses standing back from the road between 
 it and the main road up the hill, and there was little fear of 
 anyone being abroad at that time in the morning. There 
 was as yet but a faint gleam of daylight in the sky, and it 
 was dark in the road up the hill, as the trees growing in the 
 grounds of the houses on either side stretched far over it. 
 
 "I say," Jim Sankey said, "won't it be a go if Johnny 
 Gibson isn't there after all?" 
 
 "He will be up there by four," Bob said confidently. 
 " He said his father would be going out in his boat to fish 
 as soon as it began to be daylight, because the tide served 
 at that hour, and that he would start as soon as his father 
 shoved off the boat. My eye, Jim, what is that ahead of 
 us? It looks to me like a coach." 
 
 "It is a coach or a carriage or something of that sort." 
 
 "No, it isn't, it is a light cart. What can it be doing 
 here at this hour? Let us walk the other side of the road." 
 
 They crossed to the left as they got abreast of the cart. 
 A man whom they had not noticed before said sharply : 
 
20 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " You are about early." 
 
 " Yes, we are off to work," Bob replied, and they walked 
 steadily on. 
 
 " He couldn't see what we were like," Jim Sankey said 
 when they had got a hundred yards further. 
 
 " Not he," Bob said. " I could not make out his figure 
 at all, and it is darker on this side of the road than it is on 
 the other. I say, you fellows, I think he is up to no good." 
 
 " What do you mean, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 " "Well, what should a cart be standing on the hill for at 
 this time in the morning? That's Admiral Langton's, I 
 know; the door is just where the cart was stopping." 
 
 "Well, what has that got to do with it, Bob? The cart 
 won't do him any harm." 
 
 " No, but there may be some fellows with it who may be 
 breaking into his house." 
 
 " Do you think so, Bob?" 
 
 " Well, it seems likely to me it may be his house or one 
 of the others." 
 
 "Well, what are we to do, Bob?" 
 
 " I vote we see about it, Jim. We have pretty nearly 
 half an hour to spare now before Johnny Gibson will come 
 along. We have got our hockey sticks, you know." 
 
 "But suppose there shouldn't be any men there, Bob, 
 and we should be caught in the grounds, they would think 
 we were going to steal something." 
 
 "That would be a go," Bob said; "but there isn't likely 
 to be anyone about at half-past three, and if there were I 
 don't suppose he would be able to catch us. But we must 
 risk something anyhow. It will be a bit of fun, and it will 
 be better than waiting at the top of the hill with nothing 
 to do till Johnny Gibson comes." 
 
 They were now past the wall in front of Admiral Lang- 
 ton's, and far out of sight of the man in the cart. 
 
 "There is some ivy on this wall," Bob said; "we can 
 climb over it by that. Then we will make our way along 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 21 
 
 until we can find some place where we can climb over into 
 the admiral's garden." 
 
 "Perhaps there are some dogs about," Wharton objected. 
 
 " Well, if there are they are most likely chained up. We 
 must risk something. Well, here goes. If you don't like 
 it, Wharton, you can stay behind." So saying he put his 
 hockey stick between his teeth, and then proceeded to 
 climb up the wall by means of the ivy. 
 
 The wall was but nine feet high, and as soon as he gained 
 the top Bob said: 
 
 " Come on, you fellows. I am going to drop down." 
 
 In two minutes he was joined by the other three. 
 
 "There is a path just beyond," Bob said; "let us go by 
 that. Don't you fellows say a word. As Wharton says, 
 there may be some dogs about." 
 
 Quietly they stole along the path, which ran parallel to 
 the road, until it turned off at right angles. 
 
 "Now, the first tree that grows against the wall we will 
 get over by," Bob whispered. 
 
 After going twenty yards he stopped. " This tree will 
 do." 
 
 " But what are you going to do if there should be some 
 men 1 ?" Wharton asked, in a tone that showed he objected 
 altogether to the proceeding. 
 
 "It depends upon how many of them there are," Bob 
 replied. " Of course the admiral has got some men in the 
 house, and they will wake up and help us if we give the 
 alarm. Anyhow, we ought to be able to be a match for 
 two men with these sticks, especially if we take them by 
 surprise. What do you say, Jim 1 ?" 
 
 "I should think so," Jim replied. "Anyhow, if you are 
 game to go on, I am. What do you say, Fullarton 1 ?" 
 
 "Oh, I am ready," Fullarton, who was a boy of few 
 words, replied. " Only, if there is anyone, Bob, and we get 
 into a row with them, of course it will all come out about 
 us, and then sha'n't we get it just!" 
 
22 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "I suppose we shall," Bob admitted; "but I don't see we 
 can help that. Well, we are in for it now;" and he began 
 to climb the tree, and, working along a limb which extended 
 over the wall, he dropped down into the garden. The others 
 soon joined, Wharton being more afraid of staying behind 
 by himself than of going with the rest. 
 
 "Now, what are we to do next?" 
 
 " I should say we ought to find out whether anyone has 
 got into the house, that is the first thing. Then, if they 
 have, we have got to try to wake up the people, and to 
 frighten the men inside. Have you got some string in your 
 pockets?" 
 
 "I have got some." They all had string. 
 
 "What do you want string for, Bob?" 
 
 " String is always useful, Jim. We may want to tie their 
 hands. But what I was thinking was, we might fasten it 
 across the stairs or some of the passages, and then set up 
 a sudden shout, and they would think the watchmen had 
 come and would make a bolt, and when they got to the 
 string over they would go, and then we would drop on 
 them with these hockey sticks before they could get up. 
 Well, come on. There mayn't be anyone here after all. 
 Now we will go up to the house and creep round." 
 
 The house stood thirty or forty yards away, and, stepping 
 as noiselessly as they could, the boys crossed the lawn and 
 moved along the front. Suddenly Tom Fullarton caught 
 hold of Bob's arm. 
 
 "Look, Bob, there is a light in that room! Do you see — 
 through the slit in the shutters?" 
 
 " So there is. Well, there is no mistake now, there must 
 be some fellows belonging to that cart inside. That must 
 be the drawing-room or dining-room, and they would never 
 have lights there at this time of night. Now, let us find 
 out where they got in. This is something like fun, it beats 
 rabbit-hunting all to nothing. Now mind, you fellows, if we 
 do come upon them and there is a fight, you remember the 
 
"something like an adventure.*' 23 
 
 best place to hit, to begin with, is the ankle. You have only- 
 just got to fancy that it is a bung, and swipe at it with all 
 your might. Anyone you hit there is sure to go down, and 
 if he wants it you can hit him over the head afterwards. 
 Now, come along, I expect they got in at the back of the 
 house." 
 
 They soon came upon a door at the side of the house. It 
 was open. 
 
 " That looks as if they had been let in," Bob whispered. 
 "See, there is a light in there somewhere! Come on. Now 
 let us take our shoes off." The others were thoroughly 
 excited now, and followed Bob without hesitation. 
 
 "Bob, is the key in the door?" Jim whispered. 
 
 " Yes, on the inside. They have been let in. I wish I 
 dare lock it and take the key away. Let me see if it 
 turns easy." Very gently he turned the key, and found the 
 bolt shot noiselessly. It had doubtless been carefully oiled. 
 He turned it again, shut the door, locked it, and put the 
 key in his pocket. 
 
 Then they crept on tiptoe along the passage. At the 
 end were two large chests strengthened with iron bands. A 
 lighted lantern stood upon them. Bob peered round the 
 corner into the hall. No one was to be seen, but he heard 
 a noise through an open door, from which came a stream of 
 light. Motioning the others to stand still, he crept forward 
 noiselessly till he could look into the room. A man was 
 occupied in packing some articles of massive plate, clocks, 
 and other valuables into a sack. He was alone. Bob made 
 his way back to the others. 
 
 "There's only one fellow there," he said; "if there are 
 any more they are upstairs. Let us have this one first — his 
 back is to the door. Now, Wharton, you hold our hand- 
 kerchiefs and the string ; if he don't look round, I will jump 
 on his back and have him down. The moment he is down 
 you two throw yourselves on him, and you shove the hand- 
 kerchiefs into his mouth, Wharton. In the surprise he won't 
 
24 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 know that we are only boys, and we will tie his hands before 
 he has time to resist. Now, come on." 
 
 They were all plucky boys, for Wharton, although less 
 morally courageous than the others, was no coward phy- 
 sically. Their stockinged feet made no sound, and the man 
 heard nothing until Bob sprang on to his back, the force 
 sending him down on to his face. Bob's arm was tightly 
 round his throat, and the other two threw themselves upon 
 him, each seizing an arm, while Wharton crammed two 
 handkerchiefs into his mouth. The man's hands were 
 dragged behind his back as he lay on his face, and his 
 wrists tied firmly together. He was rendered utterly help- 
 less before he had recovered from the first shock of sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "Tie his ankles together with the other two handker- 
 chiefs," Bob said, still lying across him. "That is right. 
 You are sure they are tight 1 ? There, he will do now; I must 
 lock him in." This was done. "Now, then, let's go upstairs. 
 Now fasten this last piece of string across between the bani- 
 sters six or eight steps up. Make haste," he added, as a 
 faint cry was heard above. 
 
 It did not take a second to fasten the string at each end, 
 and then grasping their sticks the boys sprang upstairs. On 
 gaining the landing they heard voices proceeding from a 
 room along a corridor, and as they crept up to it they heard 
 a man's voice say angrily: "Now we ain't going to waste 
 any more time; if you don't tell us where your money is, 
 we will knock you and the girl on the head. No, you 
 can't talk, but you can point out where it is. We know 
 that you have got it. Very well, Bill, hit that young 
 woman over the head with the butt of your pistol; don't 
 be afraid of hurting her. Ah ! I thought you would change 
 your mind. So it is under the bed. Look under, Dick, 
 What is there?" 
 
 "A square box," another voice said. 
 
 " Well, haul it out." 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE.' 25 
 
 " Come on," Bob Eepton whispered to the others; " the 
 moment we are in, shout." 
 
 He stood for a moment in the doorway. A man was 
 standing with his back to him holding a pistol in his hand; 
 another similarly armed stood by the side of a young 
 woman, who, in a loose dressing-gown, sat shrinking in an 
 arm-chair, into which she had evidently been thrust; a third 
 was in the act of crawling under the bed. An elderly man 
 in his night-shirt was standing up. A gag had been thrust 
 into his mouth, and he was tightly bound by a cord round 
 his waist to one of the bed-posts. Bob sprang forward whirl- 
 ing his hockey stick round his head, and giving a loud shout 
 of "Down with the villains!" the others joining at the top 
 of their voices. 
 
 Before the man had time to turn round, Bob's stick fell 
 with all the boy's strength upon his ankle, and he went 
 down as if he had been shot, his pistol exploding as he fell. 
 Bob raised his stick again, and brought it down with a 
 swinging blow on the robber's head. The others had made 
 a rush together towards the man standing by the lady. 
 Taken utterly by surprise, he discharged his pistol at ran- 
 dom and then sprang towards the door. Two blows fell 
 on him, and Sankey and Fullarton tried to grapple with 
 him, but he burst through them and rushed out. 
 
 Bob and Wharton sprang on the kneeling man before he 
 could gain his feet, and rolled him over, throwing them- 
 selves upon him. He was struggling furiously, and would 
 soon have shaken them off, when the other boys sprang to 
 their assistance. 
 
 "You help them, Jim. I will get this cord off," Fullarton 
 said, and running to the bed began to unknot the cord that 
 bound the admiral. The ruffian on the ground was a very 
 powerful man, and the three boys had the greatest difficulty 
 in holding him down, till Fullarton slipped a noose round 
 one of his ankles, and then jumping on the bed hauled upon 
 it with all his strength, the admiral giving his assistance. 
 
26 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Get off him, he is safe!" he shouted; but the others had 
 the greatest difficulty in shaking themselves free from the 
 man, who had fortunately laid his pistol on the bed before 
 he crawled under it to get at the box. Jim Sankey was the 
 first to shake himself free from him, and seeing what Ful- 
 larton was doing he jumped on to the bed and gave him 
 his assistance, and in half a minute the ruffian's leg was 
 lashed to the bed-post, at a height of five feet from the 
 ground. Just as this was done there was a rush of feet 
 outside, and three men, one holding a cutlass and the other 
 two armed with pokers, ran into the room. It was for- 
 tunate they did so, for the man whom Bob had first felled was 
 just rising to his feet; but he was at once struck down again 
 by a heavy blow over the head with the cutlass. By this 
 time the admiral had torn off the bandage across his mouth. 
 
 "Another of them ran downstairs, Jackson. Give chase. 
 We can deal with these fellows." 
 
 The three men rushed off. 
 
 "Well, I don't know who you are," the admiral "went on, 
 turning to the boys, "but you turned up at the nick of time, 
 and I am deeply indebted to you, not only for saving my 
 money, although I should not have liked to lose that, but 
 for having captured these pirates. That villain has not hurt 
 you much, I hope 1" for both Bob and Jim Sankey were bleed- 
 ing freely from the face from the heavy blows the robber 
 had dealt them. 
 
 "No, sir; we are not hurt to speak of," Bob said. "We 
 belong to Tulloch's school." 
 
 "To the school!" the admiral exclaimed. "What on 
 earth are you doing here at four o'clock in the morning 1 ? 
 But never mind that now. What is it, Jackson, has he got 
 away?" 
 
 "No, sir; he was lying in a heap at the bottom of the 
 stairs. There was a lanyard fastened across." 
 
 " We tied a string across, sir, as we came up," Bob ex- 
 plained. 
 
"something like an adventure/' 27 
 
 " Well done, lads ! Are there any more of them, Jackson V 
 
 "Don't see any signs of any more, admiral. There are 
 the two plate chests in the passage, as if they had been 
 brought out from the butler's strong room in readiness to 
 take away." 
 
 "Where is the butler? He must have heard the pistol 
 shots!" the admiral exclaimed angrily. 
 
 " He is not in his room, admiral. We looked in to bring 
 him with us. The door was open, but he isn't there." 
 
 "There is another man in the drawing-room tied up," 
 Bob said. " He was putting a lot of things into a sack." 
 
 " The scoundrel! Perhaps that is the butler," the admiral 
 said. "Well, Emma, you had better go back to bed again. 
 Jackson, you stand guard over these two villains here, and 
 split their heads open if they venture to move. Now let 
 us go and see to this other fellow." 
 
 The admiral proceeded downstairs, followed by the boys. 
 The other two servants were standing beside the third 
 robber, who was still insensible. "You keep watch over 
 him, John," the admiral said. "William, you come with 
 us; there is another man in the drawing-room, but he is tied 
 up." 
 
 "There is the key, sir," Bob said, producing it. "We 
 thought it safest to lock him up." 
 
 "Upon my word, young gentlemen, you seem to have 
 thought of everything. If I were in command of a ship I 
 should like to have you all as midshipmen." 
 
 The door was opened; the man was still lying on the 
 ground, but had rolled some distance from where they had 
 left him. He had succeeded in getting his feet loosened 
 from the handkerchief, but the whip-cord round his wrists 
 had resisted all his efforts to break or slacken it. He was 
 panting heavily from the exertions he had made. 
 
 " It is Harper," the admiral said in a tone of indignation 
 and disgust. "So, you treacherous scoundrel, it was you who 
 let these men in, was it? Well, it is a hanging matter, my 
 
28 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 lad; and if any fellow deserves the rope, you do. You had 
 better go and get some more cord, Williams, and tie all these 
 four fellows up securely. Let Jackson see to the knots. 
 
 "Where did the scoundrels get in 1 ?" he asked, turning to 
 the boys. 
 
 "At the door at the end of the passage, sir, where the 
 plate chests are standing. We found it open; here is the 
 key of it. We locked it after we came in, so as to prevent 
 anyone from getting away. There is another man with a 
 cart in the road." 
 
 " We will see to him directly we have got the others all 
 tied up safely," the admiral said. " That is the first thing 
 to see to." 
 
 In five minutes the four men were laid side by side in 
 the hall, securely bound hand and foot. 
 
 " Now, Williams, you keep guard over them. Jackson, do 
 you and John sally out. There is a cart standing outside the 
 gate and a fellow in it, bring him in and lay him alongside 
 the others." The boys followed the two men to see the 
 capture. The light had broadened out over the sky, and 
 it was almost sunrise as they sallied out. They went quietly 
 along until they reached the gate, which stood ajar, then 
 they flung it open and rushed out. To their disappointment 
 the cart was standing about fifty yards lower down the hill. 
 The man was in it, with his whip in one hand and the reins 
 in another, and was looking back, and the moment he saw 
 them he struck the horse and drove off at the top of his 
 speed. The pace was such that it was hopeless for them to 
 think of following him. 
 
 " I expect he heard the pistol shots," Jackson said, " and 
 sheered off a bit so as to be able to cut and run if he found 
 his consorts were in trouble. Well, we cannot help it; we 
 have taken four prizes out of the five, and I call that pretty 
 fair." 
 
 " I think we had better go now," Bob said. *' We have 
 got a friend waiting for us." 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTURE." 29 
 
 "Then he must wait a bit longer," Jackson said; "the 
 admiral will want to ask you some more questions. But if 
 your friend is anywhere near, one of you might run and tell 
 him to back and fill a bit till you come to him " 
 
 "Tell him to do what?" Jim Sankey asked. 
 
 " Tell him to wait a bit, lad." 
 
 " I will run up," Wharton said. " Shall I tell him we 
 sha'n't want him at all to-day, Bob?" 
 
 "I think so, Wharton. You see it is four o'clock now, 
 and we mayn't be able to get away for half an hour, and it 
 will be too late then. Besides, Jim and I have been knocked 
 about too much to care for rabbit-hunting now. You tell 
 him we will go some other day." 
 
 " You needn't tell him that, Wharton," Fullarton put in. 
 " It will be some time before we get a chance, you may be 
 sure." 
 
 "All right! tell him to go home then, Wharton. Tell 
 him I will make it all right with him for losing his morn- 
 ing's work. Of course you will come in here when you 
 come down the hill again." 
 
 Wharton nodded, and started at a run up the hill, while 
 his companions accompanied the two men into the house. 
 The admiral was down in the hall again. He had now had 
 time to add to his former scanty costume. 
 
 "Get the shutters of the drawing-room open, Jackson," 
 he said, after hearing the report of the man's escape, "and 
 tell the maids — I suppose they are all up — to light a fire 
 and get some coffee ready at once, and something to eat. 
 Now, young gentlemen, sit down and tell me all about this 
 business. Now, which of you will be spokesman?" 
 
 Jim nodded to Bob. 
 
 "It's his doing, sir; I mean about our coming in here. 
 We should never have thought anything about the cart if it 
 hadn't been for Bob, and we didn't much like coming; only 
 he pretty well made us, and he arranged it all." 
 
 " That's all rot," Bob said. " We were just all in it to- 
 
30 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 gether, sir, and this is how it was." And he told the whole 
 story of what had taken place. 
 
 "Well, you couldn't have done better if you had been 
 officers in His Majesty's service," the admiral said. " You 
 have saved me the loss of my two plate-chests, of all the 
 plate in this room, and that couldn't be counted in money, 
 for they were most of the things given me at different times 
 on service, and of £500 I had in that box upstairs — alto- 
 gether at least £2000 in money value. More than that, 
 you prevented my being captured, and it would have been 
 a sorer blow to me than the loss of the money if those 
 scoundrels had had their way and had got off scot free. 
 But you haven't told me yet how you happened to be going 
 up the hill at half-past three o'clock in the morning. What 
 on earth were you doing there 1 ? Surely your master does 
 not allow you to ramble about in the middle of the night." 
 
 "Well, no, sir; that is the worst of it," Bob said. "You 
 see I had arranged with one of the fishermen's boys, who 
 has got a first-rate dog, that we could meet him upon the 
 Common, and do some rabbit-hunting. We slipped out from 
 Tulloch's, and meant to have been back before anyone was 
 up. And now I expect we shall get it nicely, because I 
 suppose it must all come out." 
 
 The admiral laughed. "You are four nice young scamps !" 
 he said, for Wharton had rejoined them before Bob had 
 finished the story; "but it is not for me to blame you. It 
 will certainly have to be told, lads, because you will have to 
 appear as witnesses at the trial of these fellows; but I will 
 go down myself the first thing in the morning and speak to 
 your master." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," Bob said, " it won't make any differ- 
 ence about the thrashing; we are bound to get that. But 
 we sha'n't mind that, we are pretty well accustomed to it. 
 Still, if you speak for us, I expect we shall get off with 
 that, otherwise I don't know what Tulloch would have done 
 when he found out that we had been slipping out at night." 
 
"SOMETHING LIKE AN ADVENTUKE." 31 
 
 "I expect it is not the first time you have done it?" 
 
 " Well, no, it is not, sir. We have been out two or three 
 times with one of the fishermen in his boat." 
 
 " I expect you are nice young pickles," the admiral said. 
 "Well, what time does school begin 1 ?" 
 
 "Half-past seven, sir." 
 
 "Very well, then. I will be there at that hour, lads, and 
 do my best for you. You see, with those faces of yours you 
 would be sure to be noticed anyhow, and I hope you wouldn't 
 in any case have been mean enough to screen yourselves by 
 lying." 
 
 " That we shouldn't," Bob said. " I don't think there is a 
 boy in the school who would tell a lie to Tulloch." 
 
 "That is right, lads. A gentleman will never tell a lie 
 to screen himself when he has got into a scrape. I wouldn't 
 keep the smartest young officer in the service on board a ship 
 of mine if I caught him telling a lie, for I should know that 
 he would not only be a blackguard but a coward. Cowardice 
 is at the bottom of half the lying of the world. I would 
 overlook anything except lying. Upon my word, I would 
 rather that a boy were a thief than a liar. Well, here is 
 breakfast. Now sit down and make yourselves at home, 
 while I go up and see how my daughter is after the fright 
 she has had." 
 
 Half an hour later, after eating a hearty breakfast, the four 
 boys started for school. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A GREAT CHANGE. 
 
 IT was just striking six when they again climbed over the 
 wall and descended by the tree. They had had a dis- 
 cussion whether they should wait until the doors were opened 
 and walk quietly in, or return as they left. They adopted 
 the latter plan, because they thought that if the matter was 
 reported to Mr. Tulloch he might proceed to administer 
 punishment before the admiral arrived to give his version 
 of the affair. The door was still ajar. As they opened it 
 they gave an exclamation of surprise, for there, sitting on 
 a chair in the passage, was Mr. Purfleet. He smiled un- 
 pleasantly. " So here you are. You have had a pleasant 
 ramble, no doubt, but I don't quite know what view Mr. 
 Tulloch may take of it." 
 
 " It was very good of you to sit up for us, Mr. Purfleet," 
 Bob said quietly; " but you see we had left the door open, 
 and could have got in by ourselves. I hope you will not 
 have caught cold sitting there only in a dressing-gown." 
 
 "You are an impudent young scamp!" Mr. Purfleet said 
 in a rage. " You will laugh with the other side of your mouth 
 presently. You and Sankey are nice-looking figures, ain't 
 you, with your faces all cut and swollen." 
 
 " We have been a little in the wars," Bob replied. 
 
 " I don't want to hear anything about it," the usher re- 
 plied. "You will have to explain matters to Mr. Tulloch." 
 
 "So I suppose, Mr. Purfleet. Well, Jim, we'll go and 
 have a good wash. The bell will be ringing in half an hour." 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 33 
 
 So saying, Bob went into the lavatory, followed by his 
 companions, while the usher returned upstairs. He was 
 certainly disappointed. Quietly as the boys had dressed, 
 the slight noise they had made in closing the door had woke 
 him. He thought little of it, but just as he was going off to 
 sleep again he heard the bolts of the door below withdrawn. 
 He at once got up and walked to the other end of the dor- 
 mitory, and discovered that the four boys were missing. 
 Chuckling to himself that he should now be able to repay 
 the grudge he owed to Bob, he put on his dressing-gown and 
 went downstairs, and had sat there for three hours momently 
 expecting their return. He had certainly felt chilly, but 
 had borne it patiently, comforted by the joyful expectation 
 of the utter dismay that would be felt by the culprits when 
 they saw him. The meeting had not passed off at all as he 
 had anticipated, and he could only console himself by think- 
 ing that his turn would come when he made his report to 
 Mr. Tulloch. 
 
 The four boys did not return to the dormitory, but after 
 they had washed strolled about in the playground. There 
 was quite a ferment in the dormitory when their absence 
 was perceived, and the others noticed the four made-up 
 figures in their place. The operation of dressing was got 
 through with much greater alacrity than usual, and when 
 they went downstairs and saw the four missing boys in the 
 playground, these were at once surrounded by an excited 
 throng. They refused, however, to answer any questions. 
 
 " You will hear it all in good time," Bob said. "We have 
 been out, and we have been caught; that is all I am going 
 to tell you." 
 
 At the usual hour the bell rang, and the boys assembled 
 in the school-room. The two ushers were in their places. 
 They waited three or four minutes for Mr. Tulloch to ap- 
 pear, then the door opened and the man-servant entered, 
 and, walking up to Mr. Moffat, said a word or two. The 
 latter nodded. 
 
 (680) c 
 
34 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Lessons will begin at once," he said in a loud voice. 
 " The first class will come up to me." 
 
 The boys of this class, who occupied the senior dormitory, 
 at once began their lessons, while Mr. Purfleet took the 
 lower class. The second class, including Bob and his friends, 
 remained in their places. In a quarter of an hour the door 
 opened and Mr. Tulloch entered, accompanied by Admiral 
 Langton. Mr. Tulloch was looking very serious, while the 
 admiral looked hot and angry. 
 
 " We are going to catch it," Bob whispered to Jim Sankey, 
 " I knew the admiral wouldn't be able to get us off." 
 
 "I wish all the boys to return to their places, Mr. Moffat. 
 I have something to say," Mr. Tulloch said in a loud voice. 
 
 When the boys were all seated he went on: "Admiral 
 Langton has been telling me that four of my boys were out 
 and about soon after three o'clock this morning. The four 
 boys in question will stand up. I do not say that this is 
 the first time that such a serious infraction of the rules of 
 the school has taken place. It has happened before. It 
 may, for aught I know, have happened many times without 
 my knowledge; but upon the occasions when it has come to 
 my knowledge the offenders have been most severely pun- 
 ished. They must be punished now. Admiral Langton 
 has been telling me that the boys in question have behaved 
 with very great courage, and have been the means of saving 
 him from the loss of a large sum of money and plate, and 
 of capturing four burglars." 
 
 A buzz of surprise passed round the school. 
 
 " That this conduct does them great credit I am fully 
 prepared to admit. Had they been aware that this burglary 
 was about to be committed, and had they broken out of the 
 house in the middle of the night for the purpose of prevent- 
 ing it, I allow that it might have been pleaded as an excuse 
 for their offence; but this was not so. It was an accident 
 that occurred to them when they were engaged in breaking 
 the rules, and cannot be pleaded as a set-off against punish- 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 35 
 
 ment. Admiral Langton has pleaded with me very strongly 
 for a pardon for them, but I regret that I am unable to com- 
 ply with his request. The admiral, as a sailor, is well aware 
 that discipline must be maintained, and I am quite sure that 
 when he was in command of a ship he would not have per- 
 mitted his judgment to be biased by anyone. I have put it 
 to him in that way, and he acknowledges that to be so. The 
 two matters stand distinct. The boys must be punished for 
 this gross breach of the rules. They may be thanked and 
 applauded for the courage they have shown and the valuable 
 service they have rendered to Admiral Langton. I have, 
 however, so far yielded to his entreaties, that while I must 
 administer a severe caning for the gross breach of the rules, 
 I shall abstain from taking any further steps in the matter, 
 and from writing to the boys' parents and guardians request- 
 ing them to remove their sons from the school at once, as 
 I certainly otherwise would have done. At the same time, 
 I am willing to hear anything that these boys may have to 
 urge in explanation or defence of their conduct. I have 
 already been informed by Admiral Langton that their object 
 in so breaking out was to hunt rabbits up on the Common." 
 
 " I wish to say, sir," Bob said in a steady voice, " that it 
 was entirely my doing. I made the arrangements and per- 
 suaded the others to go, and I think it is only right that 
 they should not be punished as severely as I am." 
 
 " We were all in it together, sir," Jim Sankey broke in. 
 " I was just as keen on it as Bob was." 
 
 " So was I," Fullarton and Wharton said together. 
 
 " Well, lads," Admiral Langton said, taking a step for- 
 ward and addressing the boys in general, " as your master 
 says, discipline is discipline; this is his ship, and he is on his 
 own quarter-deck; but I wish to tell you all that in my 
 opinion you have every reason to be proud of your school- 
 fellows. They behaved with the greatest pluck and gal- 
 lantry, and were I again in command of a ship I should be 
 glad to have them serving me. I am only sorry that I 
 
36 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 cannot persuade Mr. Tulloch to see the matter in the same 
 light as I do. Good-bye, lads!" and he walked across and 
 shook hands with the four boys. " I shall see you again 
 soon;" and the admiral turned abruptly and walked out of 
 the school-room. 
 
 Mr. Tulloch at once proceeded to carry his sentence into 
 effect, and the four boys received as severe a caning as ever 
 they had had in their lives; and even Bob, case-hardened as 
 he was, had as much as he could do to prevent himself from 
 uttering a sound while it was being inflicted. Lessons were 
 then continued as usual until eight o'clock, when the boys 
 went in to breakfast. After that was over they went into 
 the playground until nine, and the four culprits gave the 
 rest a full account of the events of the night. 
 
 "I don't mind the thrashing," Bob said, "although Tul- 
 loch did lay it on hot. It was well worth it, if it had only 
 been to see that sneak Purrleet's face when the admiral told 
 the story. I was watching him when Tulloch came in, and 
 saw how delighted he was at the tale he was going to tell, 
 and how satisfied he was that he should get no end of credit 
 for sitting three hours in his dressing-gown in order to catch 
 us when we came in. It was an awful sell for him when he 
 saw that the admiral had come out with the whole story, 
 and there was nothing whatever for him to tell." 
 
 When they went into school again Mr. Tulloch said: 
 "Boys, I hear that four of your number have behaved with 
 great gallantry. They have prevented a serious robbery, 
 and arrested the men engaged in it. I shall therefore give 
 you a holiday for the remainder of the day. The four boys 
 in question will proceed at once to Admiral Langton's, as 
 they will be required to accompany him to Kingston, where 
 the prisoners will be brought up before the magistrates." 
 
 There was a general cheer from the boys, and then Bob 
 and his companions hurried upstairs to put on their best 
 clothes, and ran off to the admiral's. 
 
 "Well, boys, is it all over?" he asked as they entered. 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 37 
 
 " All over, sir," they replied together. 
 
 "Well, boys, I think it was a shame, but I suppose disci- 
 pline must be maintained in school as well as on board a ship; 
 but it vexes me amazingly to think that I have been the 
 means of bringing you into it." 
 
 "It is just the other way, sir,'' Bob said; " and it is very 
 lucky for us that we came in here, sir, instead of going up 
 to the Common as we intended. One of the ushers found 
 out that we had gone, and sat up until we came back; and 
 if it had not been for you we should not only have got a 
 thrashing, but should all have been expelled; so it is the 
 luckiest thing possible that we came in here." 
 
 " Well, I am very glad to hear that, boys. It has taken 
 a load off my mind, for I have been thinking that if you had 
 not come in to help me you would have got back without 
 being noticed. Emma, these are the four lads who did us 
 such good service last night. They caught sight of you 
 before, but you were hardly in a state to receive them 
 formally " 
 
 The young lady laughed as she came forward and shook 
 hands with them. 
 
 " You need not have mentioned that, papa. Well, I am 
 very much obliged to you all, for I have no doubt they 
 meant to have my watch and jewels as well as papa's money." 
 
 " Now, it is time for us to be off," the admiral said. " My 
 carriage is at the door, and a fly. You two who have been 
 knocked about had better come with my daughter and my- 
 self. The others can either ride inside the fly, or one can 
 go on the box of each vehicle, as you like." 
 
 Wharton and Fullarton both said that they should prefer 
 going outside, and in a few minutes they were on their way, 
 the three men-servants riding inside the fly. The prisoners 
 had been sent off two hours before in a cart under the 
 charge of the two local constables. The case lasted but an 
 hour, the four men being all committed for trial. The 
 party then returned to Putney, the admiral insisting upon 
 
38 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 the boys stopping to lunch with him. After the meal was 
 over, he inquired what they were going to do on leaving 
 school, and what profession they intended to adopt. 
 
 Bob was the first cpiestioned. 
 
 " I am going to be a wine-merchant, sir," he said. " I 
 have got no choice about it. I lost my father and mother 
 years ago, and my guardian, who is an uncle of mine, is in 
 the wine trade, and he says I have got to go in too. I think 
 it is horrid, but there is no good talking to him. He is an 
 awfully crusty old chap. I should like to be a soldier or a 
 sailor, but of course it is of no use thinking of it. My 
 guardian has been very kind to me even though he is so 
 crusty, and it wouldn't be right not to do as he tells me; and 
 I don't suppose the wine business is so very bad when one 
 is accustomed to it." 
 
 "Has your uncle any sons, lad?" 
 
 " No, sir, he is an old bachelor, and he says that some day 
 I am to have his business." 
 
 " Then you can't do better than stick to it, lad," the 
 admiral said. " A boy who has before him the prospect of 
 a solid, substantial living on shore is simply a fool if he goes 
 to sea. It is a rough life and a hard one, and if you don't 
 get shot or drowned you may get laid on the shelf with the 
 loss of a limb, and a pension that won't find you in grog and 
 tobacco. It is a pity, for you would have made a good 
 officer; but you will be vastly better off in all respects at 
 home, and I can tell you there is not one sailor out of five 
 who would not jump at a berth on shore if he could get the 
 chance." 
 
 Sankey's father was a country clergyman, and at present 
 Jim had no particular prospect. 
 
 "Would you like to go to sea, boy?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; I should like it of all things." 
 
 "Very well; give me your father's name and address and 
 I will write to him about it." 
 
 Fullarton's father was a landed proprietor in Somerset- 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 39 
 
 shire, and he was the eldest son. Wharton was to be a 
 lawyer, and was to begin in his father's office in a year or 
 two. Admiral Langton took notes of the addresses of the 
 boys' relatives. When he had done that he said to them : 
 " Now, lads, I know you would rather be off. I remember 
 when I was a midshipman I was always glad enough to 
 escape when I had to dine with the captain." 
 
 A week later a young man came down from a city watch- 
 maker's with four handsome gold watches and chains for the 
 boys, with an inscription stating that they had been pre- 
 sented to them by Admiral Langton in remembrance of 
 their gallant conduct on the night of August 6th, 1778. 
 They were immensely delighted with the gift, for watches 
 were in those days far more expensive luxuries than at 
 present, and their use was comparatively rare. With the 
 watches were four short notes from the admiral, inviting them 
 to come up on the following Saturday afternoon. They had 
 by this time received letters from their friends, who had 
 each received a communication from the admiral expressing 
 his warm commendation of their conduct, and his thanks for 
 the services that the boys had rendered. 
 
 Jim Sankey's father wrote saying that the admiral had 
 offered to procure him a berth as a midshipman at once, 
 and that he had written thankfully accepting the offer, as 
 he knew that it was what Jim had been most earnestly 
 wishing; though, as he had no interest whatever among 
 naval men, he had hitherto seen no chance of his being 
 able to obtain such an appointment. This communication 
 put Jim into a state of the wildest delight, and rendered 
 him an object of envy to his school-fellows. Fullarton's 
 father wrote his son a hearty letter congratulating him on 
 what he had done, and saying that he felt proud of the 
 letter he had received from the admiral. Wharton's father 
 wrote to him sharply, saying that thief-taking was a busi- 
 ness that had better be left to constables, and that he did 
 not approve of freaks of that kind. 
 
40 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Mr. Bale wrote an irascible letter to Bob. "My dear 
 nephew," he began, "I am astonished and most seriously 
 displeased at contents of communication I have received 
 from a person signing himself J. Langton, admiral. I gather 
 from it that instead of pursuing your studies you are wan- 
 dering about at night engaged in pursuits akin to poaching. 
 I say akin, because I am not aware whether the wild animals 
 upon the common are the property of the lord of the manor 
 or whether they are at the mercy of vagabonds. It appears 
 to me that there can be no proper supervision exercised by 
 your masters. I spoke to you when you were here six 
 weeks ago as to your school reports, which, although fairly 
 satisfactory as to your abilities, said there was a great want 
 of steadiness in your general conduct. I am convinced 
 that you are doing no good for yourself, and that the sooner 
 you settle down to a desk in my office the better. I have 
 therefore written this morning informing Mr. Tulloch that 
 I shall remove you at Michaelmas. 
 
 "Your sister has been here with her husband to-day. I 
 am sorry to say that they do not view your wild and lawless 
 conduct in the same light that I do, and that they are 
 unable to see there is anything positively disreputable in 
 your being mixed up in midnight adventures with burglars. 
 I am glad to gather from Admiral Langton's letter that 
 Mr. Tulloch has seen your conduct in the proper light, and 
 has inflicted a well-merited punishment upon you. All 
 this is a very bad preparation for your future career as a 
 respectable trader, and I am most annoyed to hear that you 
 will be called on to appear as a witness against the men 
 who have been captured. I have written to Admiral Lang- 
 ton acknowledging his letter, and expressing my surprise 
 that a gentleman in his position should give any counte- 
 nance whatever to a lad who has been engaged in breaking 
 the rules of his school, and in wandering at night like a 
 vagabond through the country." 
 
 Bob looked rather serious as he read through the letter 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 41 
 
 for the first time, but after going through it again he burst 
 into a shout of laughter. 
 
 "What is it, Bob?" Tom Fullarton asked. 
 
 " Bead this letter, Tom. I should like to have seen the 
 admiral's face as he read my uncle's letter. But it is too 
 bad. You see I have regularly done for myself. I was to 
 have stopped here till a year come Christmas, and now I 
 have to leave at Michaelmas. I call it a beastly shame." 
 
 It was some consolation to Bob to receive next morning 
 a letter from his sister, saying she was delighted to hear how 
 he had distinguished himself in the capture of the burglars. 
 "Of course it was very wrong of you to get out at night; 
 but Gerald says that boys are always up to tricks of that 
 sort, and so I suppose that it wasn't so bad as it seems to 
 me. Uncle John pretends to be in a terrible rage about it, 
 but I don't think he is really as angry as he makes himself 
 out to be. He blew me up and said that I had always 
 encouraged you, which of course I haven't; and when 
 Gerald tried to say a good word for you, he turned upon 
 him and said something about fellow-feeling making men 
 wondrous kind. 
 
 "Gerald only laughed, and said he was glad my uncle had 
 such a good opinion of him, and that he should have liked to 
 have been there to lend a hand in the fight; and then uncle 
 said something disagreeable, and we came away. But I feel 
 almost sure that Uncle John is not really so angry as he 
 seems; and I believe that if Gerald and I had taken the 
 other side, and had said that your conduct had been very 
 wicked, he would have defended you. It was stupid of us 
 not to think of it, for you know uncle always likes to dis- 
 agree with other people — there is nothing he hates more 
 than their agreeing with him. His bark is much worse 
 than his bite, and you must not forget how good and kind 
 he has been to us all. 
 
 "You know how angry he was with my marriage, and he 
 said I had better have drowned myself than have married 
 
42! HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 a soldier, and I had better have hung myself than have 
 married an Irishman — specially when he had intended all 
 along that I should marry the son of an old friend of his, a 
 most excellent and well-conducted young man with admir- 
 able prospects. But he came round in a month or two, and 
 the first notice of it was a letter from his lawyer saying 
 that, in accordance with the instruction of his client, Mr. 
 John Bale, he had drawn up and now inclosed a post-nuptial 
 settlement, settling on me the sum of £5000 consols, and 
 that his client wished him to say that, had I married the 
 person he had intended for me, that sum would have been 
 doubled. 
 
 " The idea, when I never even saw the man ! And when 
 I wrote thanking him, he made no allusion to what he had 
 said before, but wrote that he should be glad at all times to 
 see my husband and myself whenever we came to town, but 
 that, as I knew, his hours were regular and the door always 
 locked at ten o'clock — just as if Gerald was in the habit of 
 coming in drunk in the middle of the night! Fortunately 
 nothing puts Gerald out, and he screamed over it; and we 
 went and stopped a week with uncle a month afterwards, 
 and he and Gerald got on capitally together considering. 
 Gerald said it was like a bear and a monkey in one cage; 
 but it was really very funny. So I have no doubt he will 
 come round with you. Do try and not vex him more than 
 you can help, Bob. You know how much we all owe him." 
 
 This was true. Bob's father had died when he was only 
 three years old, he being a lawyer with a good business at 
 Plymouth; but he had made no provision for his early 
 death, and had left his wife and two children almost penni- 
 less. Mr. Bale had at once taken charge of them, and had 
 made his sister an allowance that enabled her to live very 
 comfortably. She had remained in Plymouth, as she had 
 many friends there. Her daughter Carrie, who was six 
 years older than Bob, had four years before married Gerald 
 O'Halloran, who was then a lieutenant in the 58th Regi- 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 43 
 
 ment, which was in garrison there. He had a small income 
 derived from an estate in Ireland, besides his pay, but the 
 young couple would have been obliged to live very econo- 
 mically had it not been for the addition of the money settled 
 on her by her uncle. Her mother had died a few months 
 after the marriage, and Mr. Bale had at once placed Bob at 
 the school at Putney, and had announced his intention of 
 taking him in due time into his business. 
 
 The boy always spent one-half of his holidays with his 
 uncle, the other with his sister. The former had been a trial 
 both to him and to Mr. Bale. They saw but little of each 
 other; for Mr. Bale, who like most business men of the time 
 lived over his offices, went downstairs directly he had finished 
 his breakfast, and did not come up again until his work was 
 over, when, at five o'clock, he dined. The meal over, he 
 sometimes went out to the houses of friends or to the halls 
 of one or other of the city companies to which he belonged. 
 While Bob was with him he told off one of the foremen in 
 his business to go about with the boy. The days, therefore, 
 passed pleasantly, as they generally went on excursions by 
 water up or down the river, or sometimes, when it was not 
 otherwise required, in a light cart used in the business, to 
 Epping or Hainault Forest. 
 
 Bob was expected to be back to dinner; and, thanks to 
 the foreman, who knew that his employer would not tolerate 
 the smallest unpunctuality, he always succeeded in getting 
 back in time to wash and change his clothes for dinner. 
 The meal was a very solemn one, Mr. Bale asking occasional 
 questions, to which Bob returned brief answers. Once or 
 twice the boy ventured upon some lively remark, but the 
 surprise and displeasure expressed in his uncle's face at this 
 breach of the respectful silence then generally enforced upon 
 the young in the presence of their elders, deterred him from 
 often trying the experiment. 
 
 Mr. Bale was as much bored as was Bob by these meals, 
 and the evenings that sometimes followed them. He would 
 
44 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 have been glad to have chatted more freely with his nephew, 
 but he was as ill at ease with him as he would have been 
 with a young monkey. There was nothing in common be- 
 tween them, and the few questions he asked were the re- 
 sult of severe cogitation. He used to glance at the boy from 
 under his eyebrows, wonder what he was smiling to himself 
 about, and wish that he understood him better. It did not 
 occur to him that if he had drawn him out and encouraged 
 him to chatter as he liked, he should get underneath the 
 surface, and might learn something of the nature hidden 
 there. It was in sheer desperation at finding nothing to 
 say that he would often seize his hat and go out when he 
 had quite made up his mind to stay indoors for the evening. 
 Bob put up as well as he could with his meals and the dull 
 evenings, for the sake of the pleasant time he had during 
 the day; but he eagerly counted the hours until the time 
 when he was to take his place on the coach for Canterbury, 
 where the 58th were now quartered. He looked forward 
 with absolute dread to the time when he would have to 
 enter his uncle's office. 
 
 "What is the use of being rich, Carrie," he would say to 
 his sister, "if one lives as uncle does? I would rather work 
 in the fields." 
 
 "Yes, Bob; but you see when you get to be rich you 
 needn't live in the same way at all. You could live as some 
 traders do, in the country at Hampstead, Dulwich, or 
 Chelsea, and ride in to business; and you can, of course, 
 marry and enjoy life. One needn't live like a hermit all 
 alone because one is a trader in the city." 
 
 The one consolation Bob had was that his uncle had once 
 said that he considered it was a great advantage to any 
 young man going into the wine trade to go over to Spain or 
 Portugal for two or three years, to learn the whole routine 
 of business there, to study the different growths, and know 
 their values, and to form a connection among the growers 
 and shippers. Bob had replied gravely that he thought this 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 45 
 
 would certainly be a great advantage, and that he hoped his 
 uncle would send him over there. 
 
 "I shall see when the time comes, Robert. It will, of 
 course, depend much upon the relations between this coun- 
 try and Spain and Portugal, and also upon yourself. I could 
 not, of course, let you go out there until I was quite assured 
 of your steadiness of conduct. So far, although I have 
 nothing to complain of myself, your schoolmaster's reports 
 are by no means hopeful on that head. Still, we must hope 
 that you will improve." 
 
 It was terrible to Bob to learn that he was to go fifteen 
 months sooner than he had expected to his uncle's, but he 
 was somewhat relieved when, upon his arrival at the house 
 at Philpot Lane, his uncle, after a very grave lecture on the 
 enormity of his conduct at school, said : 
 
 "I have been thinking, Robert, that it will be more 
 pleasant both for you and for me that you should not at 
 present take up your abode here. I am not accustomed to 
 young people. It would worry me having you here, and, 
 after your companionship with boys of your own age, you 
 might find it somewhat dull. I have therefore arranged 
 with Mr. Medlin, my principal clerk, for you to board with 
 him. He has, I believe, some boys and girls of about your 
 own age. You will, I hope, be able to make yourself com- 
 fortable there." 
 
 "Thank you, uncle," Bob said, suppressing his impulse 
 to give a shout of satisfaction, and looking as grave as pos- 
 sible. "I think that would be a very nice arrangement." 
 
 "Mr. Medlin is a very trustworthy person," Mr. Bale 
 went on. " He has been with me for upwards of twenty 
 years, and I have the greatest confidence in him. You had 
 better sit down here and take a book. At five o'clock come 
 down into the counting-house, Mr. Medlin will leave v at 
 that hour." 
 
 Bob had hitherto avoided the counting-house. He had 
 occasionally on previous visits slipped down to his friend 
 
46 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 the foreman, and had wandered through the great cellars 
 and "watched the men at work bottling, and gazed in sur- 
 prise at the long tiers of casks stacked up to the roof of the 
 cellar, and the countless bottles stowed away in the bins. 
 Once or twice he had gone down into the counting-house 
 with his uncle, and waited there a few minutes until the 
 foreman was disengaged. He had noticed Mr. Medlin at 
 work at his high desk in one corner, keeping, as it seemed 
 to him, his eye upon two young clerks who sat on high 
 stools at opposite sides of the desk on the other side of the 
 office. Mr. Medlin had a little rail round the top of his 
 desk, and curtains on rods that could be drawn round it. 
 He was a man of six- or seven-and-thirty, with a long face 
 smooth shaven. He always seemed absorbed in his work, 
 and when spoken to by Mr. Bale, answered in the fewest 
 possible words in an even, mechanical voice. It had seemed 
 to Bob that he had been entirely oblivious to his presence, 
 and it did not appear to him now, as he sat with a book 
 before him waiting for the clock on the mantel to strike 
 five, that existence at Mr. Medlin's promised to be a lively 
 one. Still, as there were boys and girls, it must be more 
 amusing than it would be at his uncle's, and, at any rate, 
 the clerk would not be so formidable a personage to deal 
 with as Mr. Bale. 
 
 At one minute to five he went down, so as to open the 
 counting-house door as the clock struck. As he went in 
 through the outer door his uncle came out from the inner 
 office. 
 
 "Ah! there you are, Bobert. Mr. Medlin, this is my 
 nephew, who, as we have arranged, will take up his residence 
 with you. I am afraid you will find him somewhat head- 
 strong and troublesome. I have already informed you why 
 it has been necessary to remove him from school. However, 
 I trust that there will be no repetition of such follies, and 
 that he will see the necessity of abandoning school-boy 
 pranks and settling clown to business." 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 47 
 
 " Yes, sir," Mr. Medlin replied, seeing that his employer 
 expected an answer. 
 
 Bob had noticed that although the clerk's eyes were 
 directed upon him, there appeared to be no expression of 
 interest or curiosity in them, but that they might as well 
 have been fixed upon a blank wall. 
 
 " Your boxes have already been sent round in the cart to 
 Mr. Medlin's, Eobert. I don't know that there is anything 
 else to say. Mr. Medlin will, of course, put you in the way 
 of your duties here, but if you have anything to say to me, 
 any questions to ask, or any remarks, connected with the 
 business or otherwise, you wish to make, I shall always be 
 ready to listen to you if you will come into the counting- 
 house at half-past four." 
 
 So saying Mr. Bale retired into his private room again. 
 Mr. Medlin placed his papers inside his desk, locked it, took 
 off his coat and hung it, on a peg, put on another coat and 
 his hat, and then turned to Bob. "Beady 1 ?" 
 
 " Quite ready." 
 
 Mr. Medlin led the way out of the counting-house, and 
 Bob followed. Mr. Medlin walked fast, and Bob had to 
 step out to keep up with him. The clerk appeared scarcely 
 conscious of his presence until they were beyond the more 
 crowded thoroughfare, then he said: 
 
 "Two miles out Hackney way. Not too far 1 ?" 
 
 " Not at all," Bob replied. " The farther the better." 
 
 " No burglars there. Wouldn't pay." And Bob thought 
 that the shadow of a smile passed across his face. 
 
 " We can do without them," Bob said. 
 
 "Hate coming here, I suppose 1 ?" 
 
 " That I do," Bob said cordially. 
 
 Mr. Medlin nodded. " Not so bad as it looks," he said, 
 and then walked on again in silence. Presently there was 
 a break in the houses. They were getting beyond the con- 
 fines of business London. 
 
 "Do you see this little garden?" Mr. Medlin asked sud- 
 
48 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 denly, in a tone so unlike that in which he had before 
 spoken that Boh quite started. The lad looked at the little 
 patch of ground with some stunted shrubs, but could see 
 nothing remarkable in it. 
 
 " Yes, I see it, sir," he said. 
 
 " That, Bob," Mr. Medlin went on, " for I suppose you 
 are called Bob, marks the end of all things." 
 
 Bob opened his eyes in astonishment, and again examined 
 the little garden. 
 
 "It marks, Bob, the delimitation between London and 
 country, between slavery and freedom. Here every morning 
 I leave myself behind, here every evening I recover myself, 
 or at least a considerable portion of myself; at a further 
 mark half a mile on, I am completely restored. I suppose 
 you used to find just the same thing at the door of the 
 school-room 1 ?" 
 
 "A good deal, sir," Bob said in a much brighter tone 
 than he had used since he said good-bye to the fellows at 
 Tulloch's. 
 
 " I am glad you feel like that. I expect you will get like 
 that as to the city in time; but mind, lad, you must always 
 find yourself again. You stick to that. You make a mark 
 somewhere, leave yourself behind in the morning, and pick 
 yourself up again when you come back. It is a bad thing for 
 those who forget to do that. They might as well hang them- 
 selves — better. In there," and he jerked his thumb back 
 over his shoulder, "we are all machines, you know. It isn't 
 us, not a bit of it. There is just the flesh, the muscle, the 
 bones, and a frozen bit of our brains, the rest of us is left be- 
 hind. If, as we come out, we forget to pick it up, we lose our- 
 selves altogether before long, and then there we are, machines 
 to the end of our lives. You remember that, Bob. Keep it 
 always in mind." 
 
 "It is a pity that my uncle didn't get the same advice 
 forty years ago, Mr. Medlin." 
 
 "It is a pity my employer did not marry. It is a pity 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 49 
 
 my employer lives in that dull house in that dull lane all by 
 himself," Mr. Medlin said angrily. "But he has not got 
 rid of himself altogether. He is a good deal frozen up, but 
 he thaws out sometimes. What a man he would be if he 
 would but live out somewhere, and pick himself up regularly 
 as I do every day! This is my second mark, Bob, this tree 
 growing out in the road. Now, you see, we are pretty well 
 in the country. Can you run?" 
 
 "Yes, I can run pretty well, Mr. Medlin." 
 
 " Very well, Bob. You see that tree growing out beyond 
 that garden wall about four hundred yaxds on. It is four 
 hundred and twenty, for I have measured it. Now, then, 
 you walk on fifty yards, and then run for your life. See if 
 I don't catch you before you are there." 
 
 Bob, wondering as he went along at the astounding 
 change that had come over his companion, took fifty long 
 steps, then he heard a shout of "Now!" and went off at the 
 top of his speed. He was still a hundred yards from the 
 mark when he heard steps coming rapidly up behind him, 
 and then the clerk dashed past him and came in fully 
 twenty yards ahead. 
 
 " You don't run badly," he said as Bob stopped, panting. 
 " My Jack generally comes to meet me, and I always give 
 him seventy yards, and only beat him by about as much as 
 I do you. He couldn't come this afternoon. He is busy 
 helping his mother to get things straight. I expect we shall 
 meet him presently. Well, what are you laughing at?" 
 
 " I was just thinking how astonished my uncle would be 
 if he were to see us." 
 
 Mr. Medlin gave a hearty laugh. " Not so much as you 
 would think, Bob. Five years ago my employer suddenly 
 asked me, just as we were shutting up one afternoon, if I 
 was fond of fishing. I said that I used to be. He said, 'I 
 am going down for a fortnight into Hampshire. I have no 
 one to go with, suppose you come with me.' I said, { I will.' 
 He said, ' Coach to-morrow morning, eight o'clock, Black 
 
 (680) D 
 
50 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Horse Yard.' I was there. As we went over London Bridge 
 I found myself as usual, and he found himself. I explained 
 to him that I could not help it. He said he didn't want me 
 to help it. We had a glorious fortnight together, and we 
 have been out every year since. He never alludes to it 
 between times, no more do I. He is stiffer than usual for 
 a bit, so am I. But we both know each other. You do not 
 suppose that he would have sent you to me if he hadn't 
 known that I have got another side to me?" 
 
 " Well, I should not have thought," Bob said, " from the 
 way he talked when he introduced me to you, that he ever 
 had such an idea in his mind." 
 
 " He was obliged to talk so," Mr. Medlin said laughing. 
 " We were just machines at the time, both of us. But he 
 talked in quite a different way when we were down fishing 
 together three weeks ago. He said then you were rather a 
 pickle, and that he didn't think you would do yourself any 
 good where you were, so that he was going to bring you up 
 to business. ' I don't want him to turn out a dull block- 
 head,' he said, 'and so I propose that you should take 
 charge of him, and teach him to keep himself young. I 
 wish I had done it myself.' And so it was settled. There is 
 no better employer in the city than your uncle. There is 
 not a man or boy about the place who isn't well paid and 
 contented. I used to think myself a lucky man before we 
 went out fishing together for the first time; but six months 
 after that he gave me a rise that pretty well took my breath 
 away. Ah! here come the young uns." 
 
 A couple of minutes later four young people ran up. 
 There was a boy about Bob's age, a girl a year younger, a 
 boy and another girl in regular steps. They greeted their 
 father with a joyous shout of welcome. 
 
 " So you have got everything done," he said. " I thought 
 you would meet me somewhere here. This is Bob Bepton, 
 my employer's nephew and future member of the firm. 
 Treat him with all respect and handle him gently. He is a 
 
A GREAT CHANGE. 51 
 
 desperate fellow though he doesn't look it. This is the 
 young gentleman I told you of, who made a night expedi- 
 tion and captured four burglars." 
 
 After this introduction Bob was heartily shaken by the 
 hand all round, and the party proceeded on their way, the 
 two girls holding their father's hand, the boys walking 
 behind with Bob, who was so surprised at the unexpected 
 turn affairs had taken, that for a time he almost lost his 
 usual readiness of speech. 
 
 ^W?^** 
 
 -ffc 
 
CHAPTEE III 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 
 
 HAWTHORNE COTTAGE, Mr. Medlin's abode, was a 
 pretty little house standing detached in a good-sized 
 garden surrounded by a high wall. 
 
 " Here we are, mother," the clerk said, as he led the way 
 into a cozy room where tea was laid upon the table, while a 
 bright fire blazed in the grate. A very pleasant-faced lady, 
 who did not look to Bob more than thirty, although she 
 must have been four or five years older, greeted her husband 
 affectionately. 
 
 "My dear," he said, "in the exuberance of your feelings 
 you forget that I have brought you home a visitor. This is 
 Mr. Robert Repton. While he is resident in the house he 
 may be greeted as Bob. We had a race, and he runs faster 
 than Jack; fifty yards in four hundred and twenty is the 
 utmost I can give him." 
 
 " What nonsense you do talk, Will ! " his wife said, laugh- 
 ing. "I am sure Master Repton must think you out of 
 your mind." 
 
 " It is a very jolly way of being out of his mind, Mrs. 
 Medlin. You don't know how pleased I am." 
 
 " He thought I was an ogre, my dear, and that you were 
 an ogress. Now let the banquet be served; for I am hungry, 
 and I expect Bob is too. As for the children, they are 
 always hungry; at least it seems so." 
 
 It was a merry meal, and Bob thought he had never en- 
 joyed one as much, except at his sister's. After tea they had 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 53 
 
 music, and he found that Mr. Medlin performed admirably 
 on the violin, his wife played the spinet, Jack the cla- 
 rionet, and Sophy, the eldest girl, the piccolo. 
 
 " She is going to learn the harp presently," Mr. Medlin 
 explained; "but for the present, when we have no visitors, 
 and I don't count you one after this evening, she plays the 
 piccolo. She is a little shy about it, but shyness is the failing 
 of my family." 
 
 "It is very jolly," Bob said. "I wish I could play an 
 instrument." 
 
 " We will see about it in time, Bob. We want a French 
 horn, but I don't see at present where you are to practise." 
 
 "Has uncle ever been here?" Bob asked late in the even- 
 ing. 
 
 "Yes; he came here the evening we got back from our 
 fishing expedition. He wanted to see the place before he 
 finally settled about you coming here. My wife was a little 
 afraid of him; but there was no occasion, and everything 
 went off capitally, except that Sophy would not produce her 
 piccolo. I walked back with him till he came upon a hackney 
 coach. He said as he got in, ' I have spent a most pleasant 
 evening, Medlin. You are a very lucky fellow.' I went 
 back to work the next morning, and we both dropt into the 
 old groove, and nothing more was said until yesterday, 
 when he informed me that you would come to-day." 
 
 "Oh, dear!" Bob said, as he started with the clerk at eight 
 o'clock on the following morning. "Now I am going to 
 begin at that wretched counting-house." 
 
 " No, you are not, Bob. You are not coming in there at 
 present. When your uncle and I were talking — when we 
 were fishing, you know — he said that he saw no use in your 
 going in there at present, and thought it would be quite 
 time for you to learn how the books are kept in another 
 three or four years, and that till then you could go into 
 the cellar. You will learn bottling, and packing, and blend- 
 ing, and something about the quality and value of wines. 
 
54 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 You will find it much more pleasant than being shut up in 
 a counting-house making out bills and keeping ledgers." 
 
 "A great deal," Bob said joyfully. "I sha'n't mind that 
 at all." 
 
 Bob observed a noticeable change in his companion's de- 
 meanour when he arrived at the tree, and on passing the 
 last garden his face assumed a stolid expression, his brisk 
 springy walk settled down into a business pace, his words 
 became few, and he was again a steady and mechanical clerk. 
 
 A fortnight later Bob was summoned to the counting- 
 house. 
 
 "Mr. Bale wishes to see you," Mr. Medlin said. Bob 
 entered, wondering what he was wanted for. 
 
 "I received a subpoena a week ago, Robert, for you to 
 attend as a witness at Kingston to-morrow. These inter- 
 ruptions to business are very annoying. I did not mention 
 it to you before, for if I had clone so, you would be thinking 
 of nothing else. This morning I have received a letter 
 from Admiral Langton requesting me to allow you to go 
 down by the stage this afternoon and to sleep at his house. 
 He will take you over in the morning, and you will sleep 
 there again to-morrow night, and come back by the early 
 stage. I trust that you will endeavour to curb your exu- 
 berance of spirits. This is a very grave matter, and anything 
 like levity would be altogether out of place. The letter 
 says that the stage leaves the Bell Tavern at four o'clock." 
 
 Bob replied gravely that he would be there in time, and 
 went off to his work again until twelve o'clock. 
 
 When he arrived at the admiral's at a quarter to six a lad 
 in midshipman's uniform came rushing out into the hall. 
 
 "Halloa, Bob!" 
 
 "Why, Jim! — but no, I suppose I ought to say, Mr. James 
 Sankey to an officer of your importance. How comes it, 
 sir, that you are so soon attired in His Majesty's uniform?" 
 
 "I will punch your head, Bob, if you go on with that 
 nonsense. But I say, isn't it jolly? The very afternoon 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 55 
 
 after you left came down a big letter with a tremendous seal, 
 and therein I was informed that I was appointed to His 
 Majesty's ship Brilliant, and was ordered to join immediately. 
 Of course I did not know what to do, so I came up here, and 
 who do you think I found here 1 — Captain Langton, the ad- 
 miral's son, who is in command of the Brilliant. Of course 
 it was he who had got me the appointment. He was very 
 kind, and told me that I could not join until after this trial, 
 so that I could go down home and stop there till to-day; 
 and the admiral sent me straight off to be measured for my 
 uniform. When I started next day he gave me a letter to 
 my father, an awfully nice letter it was, saying that he in- 
 tended to present me with my first outfit. I got here about 
 an hour ago, and have been putting on my uniform to see 
 how it fitted." 
 
 "You mean to see how you looked in it, Jim 1 ? It looks 
 first-rate. I wish I was in one too, and was going with you 
 instead of sticking in Philpot Lane." 
 
 "I am awfully sorry for you, Bob. It must be beastly." 
 
 "Well, it is not so bad as I expected, Jim; and uncle is 
 turning out much better; and I don't live there, but with 
 the head clerk out at Hackney. He is an awfully jolly sort 
 of fellow, you never saw such a rum chap. I will tell you 
 all about it afterwards. I suppose I ought to go in and see 
 the admiral." 
 
 " He is out at present, Bob. He will be back at eight 
 o'clock to supper, so you can come up and tell me all about 
 it. Captain Langton is here too." 
 
 Captain Langton spoke very kindly to Bob when the two 
 boys came down to supper, and told him that if at any time 
 he changed his mind, and there was a vacancy for a mid- 
 shipman on board his ship, he would give him the berth. "I 
 should be very glad to have you with me," he said, "after 
 the service you rendered my father and sister." 
 
 On the following morning Fullarton and Wharton came 
 up from the school, and two carriages conveyed the witnesses 
 
56 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 over to Kingston. The prisoners, Bob heard, were notorious 
 and desperate criminals, whom the authorities had long 
 been anxious to lay hands on. The butler was one of the 
 gang, and had obtained his post by means of a forged char- 
 acter. The trial only occupied two hours, for, taken in the 
 act as the men were, there was no defence whatever. All 
 four were sentenced to be hung, and the judge warmly com- 
 plimented the four boys upon their conduct in the matter. 
 The next morning Bob returned to his work in the city. 
 
 For the next three months his existence was a regular 
 one. On arriving in the cellar he took off his jacket and 
 put on a large apron that completely covered him, and from 
 that time until five o'clock he worked with the other boys 
 bottling, packing, storing the bottles away in the bins, or 
 taking them down as required. He learned from the fore- 
 man something of the localities from which the wine came, 
 their value and prices, but had not begun to distinguish them 
 by taste or boucpaet. Mr. Bale, the foreman said, had given 
 strict orders that he was not to begin tasting at present. 
 Three days before Christmas one of the clerks brought him 
 down word that Mr. Bale wished to see him in the office at 
 five o'clock. 
 
 During the three months he had scarcely spoken to his 
 uncle. The latter had nodded to him whenever he came 
 into the cellar, and had regularly said, " Well, Robert, how 
 are you getting on?" to which he had as regularly replied, 
 "Very well, uncle." He supposed that the present meeting 
 was for the purpose of inviting him to dine at Philpot Lane 
 on Christmas-day, and although he knew that he should 
 enjoy the festivity more at Hackney, he was prepared to 
 accept it very willingly. 
 
 "I have sent for you, Robert," Mr. Bale said, when he 
 entered his office, "to say that your sister has written to 
 ask me to go down to spend Christmas with her at Ports- 
 mouth. As her husband's regiment is on the point of going 
 abroad, I have decided on accepting her invitation, and for 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 57 
 
 the same reason I shall take you down with me. You will 
 therefore have your box packed to-night. I shall send down 
 a cart to fetch it to-morrow. You will sleep here to-morrow 
 night, and we start the next morning." 
 
 " Thank you very much, uncle," Bob said in delight; and 
 then seeing that nothing further was expected of him he 
 ran off to join Mr. Medlin, who was waiting for him outside. 
 
 "What do you think, Mr. Medlin? I am going down to 
 spend Christmas at my sister's." 
 
 "Ah!" the clerk said in a dull unsympathetic voice. 
 " Well, mind how you walk, Mr. Eobert. It does not look 
 well coming out from a place of business as if you were 
 rushing out of school." 
 
 Bob knew well enough that it was no use whatever try- 
 ing to get his companion to take any interest in matters 
 unconnected with business at present, so he dropped into his 
 regular pace, and did not open his lips again until they had 
 passed the usual boundary. 
 
 Then Mr. Medlin said briskly, " So you are going down 
 to your sister's, Bob?" 
 
 "Yes, that will be first-rate, won't it? Of course I went 
 down in the summer to Canterbury and hardly expected to 
 go again this year. As I have only been three months here, 
 I did not even think of going. It will be the last holiday I 
 shall have for some time. You know Carrie said when she 
 wrote to me a month ago that the regiment expected to be 
 ordered abroad soon, and uncle said it is on the point of 
 going now. He is coming down with me." His voice fell 
 a little at this part of the announcement. 
 
 " He is, eh? You think you will have to be on your best 
 behaviour, Bob?" 
 
 "Before you told me about him, Mr. Medlin, I should 
 have thought it would quite spoil the holiday. But I do 
 not feel it so bad now." 
 
 " He will be all right, Bob. You have never seen him 
 outside the city yet. Still, I shouldn't be up to any tricks 
 
58 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 with him, you know, if I were you — shouldn't put cobbler's 
 wax on his pigtail, or anything of that sort." 
 
 "As if I should think of such a thing, Mr. Medlin!" 
 
 " Well, I don't know, Bob. You have made Jack pretty 
 nearly as wild as you are yourself. You are quite a scandal 
 to the neighbourhood, you two. You nearly frightened those 
 two ladies next door into fits last week by carrying in that 
 snow man and sticking it up in their garden when you knew 
 they were out. I thought they were both going to have 
 fits when they rushed in to tell me there was a ghost in 
 their garden." 
 
 " I believe you suggested it yourself, Mr. Medlin," Bob 
 said indignantly. " Besides, it served them right for com- 
 ing in to complain that we had thrown stones and broken 
 their window when we had done nothing of the sort." 
 
 " It was rather lucky for you that they did so, Bob; for you 
 see we were all so indignant then that they didn't venture 
 to accuse you of the snow-man business, though I have no 
 doubt they were convinced in their own minds that it was 
 you. But that is only one out of twenty pranks that you 
 and Jack have been up to." 
 
 "Jack and I and someone else, Mr. Medlin. We carry 
 them out, but I think someone else always suggests them." 
 
 "Not suggest, Bob; far from it. If I happen to say that 
 it would be a most reprehensible thing if anyone were to 
 do something, somehow or other that is the very thing 
 that Jack and you do. It was only last week I said that it 
 would be a very objectionable trick if anyone was to tie 
 paper bands round the neck of the clergyman's black cat 
 who is always stealing our chickens, and to my surprise the 
 next morning when we started for business there was quite 
 a crowd outside his house watching the cat calmly sitting 
 over the porch with white bands round its neck. Now, 
 that is an example of what I mean." 
 
 "Quite so, Mr. Medlin, that is just what I meant too; 
 and it was much better than throwing stones at him. It is 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 59 
 
 a savage beast though it does look so demure, and scratched 
 Jack's hand and mine horribly when we were tying on the 
 bands." 
 
 At the tree the others met them, and they laughed and 
 chatted all the way back, the young ones expressing much 
 regret, however, that Bob was to be away at Christmas. 
 
 At the appointed time Mr. Bale and Bob took their places 
 on the coach. The latter felt a little oppressed, for his uncle 
 had the evening before been putting him through a sort of 
 examination as to the value of wines, and had been exceed- 
 ingly severe when Bob had not acquitted himself to his 
 satisfaction, but had mixed up Malaga with Madeira and 
 had stated that a French wine was grown near Cadiz. 
 
 " I expect I shall know them better when I get to taste 
 them," Bob had urged in excuse. "When you don't know 
 anything about the wines it is very difficult to take an in- 
 terest in them. It is like learning that a town in India is 
 on the Ganges. You don't care anything about the town, 
 and you don't care anything about the Ganges, and you are 
 sure to mix it up next time with some other town on some 
 other river." 
 
 " If those are your ideas, Bobert, I think you had better 
 go to bed," Mr. Bale had said sternly; and Bob had gone to 
 bed, and had thought what a nuisance it was that his uncle 
 was going down to Portsmouth just when he wanted to be 
 jolly with Carrie and her husband for the last time. 
 
 Little had been said at breakfast, and it was not until 
 the coach was rattling along the high-road and the last house 
 had been left behind him that Bob's spirits began to rise. 
 There had been a thaw a few days before, and the snow had 
 disappeared, but it was now freezing sharply again. 
 
 "The air is brisk. Do you feel it cold, Robert]" Mr. 
 Bale said, breaking silence for the first time. 
 
 " I feel cold about the toes and about the ears and nose, 
 uncle," Bob said, " but I am not very likely to feel cold any- 
 where else." 
 
60 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 His uncle looked down at the boy, who was wedged in 
 between him and a stout woman. "Well, no," he agreed; 
 " you are pretty closely packed. You had better pull that 
 muffler over your ears more. It was rather different weather 
 when you went down to Canterbury in the summer." 
 
 " That it was," Bob replied heartily. " It was hot and 
 dusty just, and there were a man and woman sitting opposite 
 who kept on drinking out of a bottle every five minutes. 
 She had a baby with her too, who screamed almost all the 
 way. I consider I saved that baby's life." 
 
 "How was that, KoberU" 
 
 "Well, you see, uncle, they had finished their bottle by 
 the time we got to Sevenoaks, and we all got down for dinner 
 there, and before we sat down the man went to the bar and 
 got it filled up again. A pint of gin filled up with water; I 
 heard him order it. He put it in the pocket of his coat, 
 and hung the coat up on a peg when he sat down to dinner 
 I was not long over my dinner, and finished before they 
 did, and I took the bottle out and ran out to the yard and 
 emptied it, and filled it up with water, and put it back in 
 the pocket again without his noticing it. You should have 
 seen what a rage he was in when he took his first sip from the 
 bottle after we had started. He thought the man at the inn 
 had played him a trick, and he stood up and shouted to the 
 coachman to turn back again; but of course he wasn't going 
 to do that, and every one laughed except the woman. I 
 think she had had more than was good for her already, and 
 she cried for about an hour. The next two places where 
 we changed horses we did it so quick that the man hadn't 
 time to get down. The third place he did, and, though the 
 guard said we shouldn't stop a minute, he went into the 
 public-house. The guard shouted, but he didn't come out, 
 and off we went without him. Then he came out running, 
 and waving his arms, but the coachman wouldn't stop; the 
 woman got down with the child at the next place we 
 changed horses, and I suppose they went on next day; and 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 61 
 
 if they started sober they did perhaps get to Dover all 
 right." 
 
 " That was a very nasty trick," the woman who was sitting 
 next to Bob said sharply. 
 
 Bob had noticed that she had already opened a basket on 
 her lap, and had partaken of liquid refreshment. 
 
 " But, you see, I saved the baby, ma'am," Bob said humbly. 
 " The woman was sitting at the end, and if she had taken 
 her share of the second bottle the chances are she would 
 have dropped the baby. It was a question of saving life, you 
 see." 
 
 Bob felt a sudden convulsion in his uncle's figure. 
 
 "It is all very well to talk in that way," the woman said 
 angrily. " It was just a piece of impudence, and you ought 
 to have been flogged for it. I have no patience with such 
 imperent doings. A-wasting of good liquor too." 
 
 "I don't think, madam," Mr. Bale said, "it was as much 
 wasted as it would have been had they swallowed it, for at 
 least it did no harm. I cannot see myself why, because 
 people get outside a coach they should consider it necessary 
 to turn themselves into hogs." 
 
 " I will trouble you to keep your insinuations to yourself," 
 the woman said in great indignation. " You ought to be 
 ashamed of yourself at your age encouraging a boy in such 
 ways. There is them as can stand the cold and there's 
 them as can't, and a little good liquor helps them wonderful. 
 I am sich myself." And she defiantly took out her bottle 
 from her basket and applied it to her lips. 
 
 "I was not speaking personally, my good woman," Mr. 
 Bale said. 
 
 "I would have you to know," the woman snapped, "that 
 I ain't your good woman. I wouldn't demean myself to the 
 like. I will ask this company if it is right as a unprotected 
 female should be insulted on the outside of one of His Ma- 
 jesty's mails?" 
 
 The other passengers, who had been struggling with their 
 
62 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 laughter, endeavoured to pacify her with the assurance that 
 no insult had been meant; and as Mr. Bale made no reply, 
 she subsided into silence, grumbling occasionally to herself. 
 
 "I am a-going down," she broke out presently, "to meet 
 my husband, and I don't mind who knows it. He is a 
 warrant officer, he is, on board the Latona, as came in last 
 week with two prizes. There ain't nothing to be ashamed 
 of in that. And I will thank you, boy," she said, turning 
 sharply upon Bob, "not to be a-scrouging me so. I pay 
 for my place, I do." 
 
 "I think you ought to pay for two places," Bob said. 
 "I am sure you have got twice as much room as I have. 
 And if there is any scourging, it isn't me." 
 
 "Would you have any objection, sir," the woman said 
 majestically to a man sitting on the other side of her, " to 
 change places with me 1 I ain't a-going to bear no longer 
 with the insults of this boy and of the person as calls him- 
 self a man a-sitting next to him." 
 
 The change was effected, to Bob's great satisfaction. 
 
 "You see, Bobert, what you have brought down upon 
 me," Mr. Bale said. "This comes of your telling stories 
 about bottles when there is a woman with one in her basket 
 next to you." 
 
 " I really was not thinking of her when I spoke, uncle. 
 But I am glad now, for I really could hardly breathe before. 
 Why, uncle, I had no idea you smoked!" he added, as Mr. 
 Bale took a cigar-case from his pocket. 
 
 "I do not smoke when I am in the city, Robert; but I 
 see no harm in a cigar, in fact I like one, at other times. 
 I observed a long pipe on the mantel-piece at Mr. Medlin's, 
 and indeed I have seen that gentleman smoke when we 
 have been out together, but I have never observed him in- 
 dulging in that habit in the city." 
 
 "Oh, yes! he smokes at home," Bob said. 
 
 "I have great confidence in Mr. Medlin, Robert. You 
 have been comfortable with him, I hope?" 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 63 
 
 "Could not be more comfortable, sir." 
 
 " An excellent man of business, Kobert, and most trust- 
 worthy. A serious-minded man." Bob was looking up, and 
 saw a little twinkle in Mr. Bale's eye. " You don't find it 
 dull, I hope?" 
 
 " Not at all dull, sir. Mr. Medlin and his family are very 
 musical." 
 
 "Musical, are they, Robert?" Mr. Bale said in a tone of 
 surprise. "As far as I have seen in the counting-house I 
 should not have taken him to be musical." 
 
 "No; I don't think you would, uncle. Just the same 
 way as one wouldn't think it likely that you would smoke 
 a cigar." 
 
 " Well, no, Robert. You see one must not always go by 
 appearances." 
 
 " No, sir; that is just what Mr. Medlin says," Bob replied 
 smiling. 
 
 " Oh, he says that, does he ? I suppose he has been telling 
 you that we go out fishing together?" 
 
 "He did mention that, sir." 
 
 " You must not always believe what Medlin says, Robert." 
 
 " No, sir ? I thought you told me he was perfectly trust- 
 worthy?" 
 
 "In some points, boy; but it is notorious that from all 
 times the narratives of fishermen must be received with a 
 large amount of caution. The man who can be trusted 
 with untold gold cannot be relied upon to give with even 
 an approach to accuracy the weights of the fish he has caught, 
 and indeed all his statements with reference to the pursuit 
 must be taken with a large discount. You were surprised 
 when you heard that I went fishing, Robert?" 
 
 " Not more surprised than I was when you lit your cigar, 
 sir." 
 
 "Well, you know what Horace said, Robert. I forget 
 what it was in the Latin, but it meant, 'He is a poor soul 
 who never rejoices.' The bow must be relaxed, Robert, or 
 
64 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 it loses its stiffness and spring. I myself always bear this 
 in mind, and endeavour to forget that there is such a place 
 as the city of London, or a place of business called Philpot 
 Lane, directly I get away from it." 
 
 " Don't you think that you could forget, too, uncle, that 
 the name I am known by in the city is Eobert, and that my 
 name at all other times is Bob?" 
 
 "I will try to do so, if you make a point of it," Mr. Bale 
 said gravely; "but at the same time it appears to me that 
 Bob is a name for a short-tailed sheep-dog rather than for a 
 boy." 
 
 " I don't mind who else is called by it, uncle. Besides, 
 sheep-dogs are very useful animals." 
 
 "They differ from boys in one marked respect, Bob." 
 
 "What is that, uncle?" 
 
 " They always attend strictly to business, lad. They are 
 most conscientious workers. Now this is more than can be 
 said for boys." 
 
 "But I don't suppose the sheep-dogs do much while they 
 are puppies, uncle." 
 
 " Humph ! I think you have me there, Bob. I suppose we 
 must make allowances for them both. Well, we shall be at 
 Guildford in half an hour, and will stop there for dinner. 
 I shall not be sorry to get down to stamp my feet a bit; it 
 is very cold here, in spite of these rugs." 
 
 It was seven o'clock in the evening when the coach drew 
 up at the George Hotel in Portsmouth. Captain O'Halloran 
 was at the door to meet them. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Bale, you have had a coldish drive down 
 to-day. How are you, Bob?" 
 
 " At present I am cold," Bob said. " The last two hours 
 have been bitter." 
 
 " I have taken bed-rooms here for you, Mr. Bale. There 
 is no barrack accommodation at present, for everyone is 
 back from leave. Any other time we could have put you up. 
 Now, if you will point out your baggage my man will see it 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 65 
 
 taken up to your rooms, and you can come straight on to me. 
 Carrie has got supper ready, and a big fire blazing. It is not 
 three minutes' walk from here." 
 
 They were soon seated at table, and after the meal was 
 over they drew round the fire. 
 
 " So you have really become a man of business, Bob," his 
 sister said. " I was very glad to hear from your letter that 
 you liked it better than you expected." 
 
 " But it will be a long while yet before he is a man of 
 business, niece. It is like having a monkey in a china shop. 
 The other day I went down to the cellar just in time to see 
 him put down a bottle so carelessly that it tumbled over. 
 Unfortunately there was a row of them he had just filled, 
 and a dozen went down like nine-pins. The corks had not 
 been put in, and half the contents were lost before they 
 could be righted. And the wine was worth eighty shillings a 
 dozen." 
 
 "And what can you expect of him, Mr. Bale?" Gerald 
 O'Halloran said. "Is it a spalpeen like that you would 
 trust with the handling of good wine] I would as soon set 
 a cat to bottle milk." 
 
 "He is young for it yet," Mr. Bale agreed. " But when 
 a boy amuses himself by breaking out of school at three 
 o'clock in the morning and fighting burglars, what are you 
 to do with him?" 
 
 "I should give him a medal for his pluck, Mr. Bale, and 
 let him do something where he would have a chance of 
 showing his spirit." 
 
 "And make him as wild and harum-scarum as you are 
 yourself, O'Halloran, and then expect him to turn out a 
 respectable merchant afterwards 1 ? I am sure I don't wish 
 to be troubled with him till he has got rid of what you call 
 his spirits; but what are you to do with such a pickle as this? 
 There have been more bottles broken since he came than 
 there ordinarily are in the course of a year; and I suspect 
 him of corrupting my chief clerk, and am in mortal appre- 
 
 (680) E 
 
66 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 hension that he will be getting into some scrape at Hackney 
 and make the place too hot for him. I never gave you 
 credit for much brains, Carrie, but how it was you let your 
 brother grow up like this is more than I can tell." 
 
 Although this all sounded serious, Bob did not feel at 
 all alarmed. Carrie, however, thought that her uncle was 
 greatly vexed, and tried to take up the cudgels in his defence. 
 
 " I am sure Bob does not mean any harm, uncle." 
 
 "I did not say that he did, niece; but if he does harm it 
 comes to the same thing. Well, we need not talk about 
 that now. So I hear that you are going out to the Mediter- 
 ranean 1 " 
 
 "Yes, uncle; to Gibraltar. It is a nice station everyone 
 says, and I am very pleased. There are so many places 
 where there is fighting going on now that I think we are 
 most fortunate in going there. I was so afraid the regiment 
 might be sent either to America or India." 
 
 "And I suppose you would rather have gone where there 
 was fighting, O'Halloran?" 
 
 " I would," the officer said promptly. " What is the use 
 of your going into the army if you don't fight?" 
 
 "I should say, What is the use of going into the army 
 at all?" Mr. Bale said testily. "Still, I suppose someone 
 must go." 
 
 "I suppose so, sir," Captain O'Halloran said, laughing. 
 " If it were not for the army and navy, I fancy you trading 
 gentlemen would very soon find the difference. Besides, 
 there are some of us born to it. I should never have 
 made a figure in the city, for instance." 
 
 "I fancy not," Mr. Bale said dryly. "You will under- 
 stand, O'Halloran, that I am not objecting in the slightest 
 to your being in the army. My objection solely lies in the 
 fact that you, being in the army, should have married my 
 niece, and that instead of coming to keep house for me com- 
 fortably, she is going to wander about Avith you to the ends 
 of the earth." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY 67 
 
 Carrie laughed. "How do you know someone else would 
 not have snapped me up if he hadn't, uncle?" 
 
 " That is right, Carrie. You would have found her twice 
 as difficult to manage as Bob, Mr. Bale. You would never 
 have kept her in Philpot Lane if I hadn't taken her. There 
 are some people can be tamed down, and there are some 
 who can't, and Carrie is one of the latter. I should pity 
 you from my heart if you had her on your hands, Mr. Bale. 
 If ever I get to be a colonel, it is she will command the 
 regiment." 
 
 "Well, it is good that one of us should have sense, 
 Gerald," his wife said, laughing. " And now you had better 
 put the whisky on the table, unless uncle would prefer some 
 mulled port wine." 
 
 " Neither one nor the other, my dear. Your brother is 
 half asleep now, and it is as much as I can do to keep my 
 eyes open. After the cold ride we have had, the sooner we 
 get back to the 'George' the better. We will breakfast there, 
 Carrie. I don't know what your hours are, but when I am 
 away on a holiday I always give myself a little extra sleep. 
 Besides, your husband will, I suppose, have to be on duty; 
 and I have no doubt it will suit you as well as me, for us to 
 breakfast at the 'George.'" 
 
 "Perhaps it will be better, uncle, if you don't mind. 
 Gerald happens to be orderly officer for the day, and will 
 have to get his breakfast as he can, and will be busy all the 
 morning; but I shall be ready for you by ten." 
 
 At that hour Bob appeared alone. " Uncle won't come 
 round till one o'clock, Carrie. He said he should take a 
 quiet stroll round by himself and look at the ships, and that 
 no doubt we should like to have a talk together." 
 
 "Is he very cross with you, Bob?" she asked anxiously. 
 " You know he really is kind at heart, very kind, but I am 
 afraid he must be very hard as a master." 
 
 "Not a bit, Carrie. I expected he was going to be so, 
 but he isn't the least like that. He is very much liked by 
 
68 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 every one there. He doesn't say much, and he certainly 
 looks stiff and grim enough for anything; but he isn't so 
 really, not a bit." 
 
 "Didn't he scold you dreadfully about your upsetting 
 those twelve bottles of wine 1 ?" 
 
 " He never said a word about it, and I did not know at 
 the time he had seen me. John, the foreman, the one who 
 used to take me out in the holidays, would not have said 
 anything about it; he said of course accidents did happen 
 sometimes with the boys, and when they did he himself 
 blew them up, and there was no occasion to mention it to 
 Mr. Bale when it wasn't anything very serious. But, of 
 course, I could not have that, and said that either he must 
 tell uncle or I should. It really happened because my fingers 
 were so cold I could not feel the bottle. Of course the 
 cellar is not cold, but I had been outside taking in a wag- 
 gon-load of bottles that had just arrived, and counting 
 them, and my fingers got regularly numbed. So John 
 went to the counting-house and told him about the wine 
 being spilt. He said I wished him to tell him, and how it 
 had happened." 
 
 "What did uncle say, Bob?" 
 
 " He said he was glad to hear that I told John to tell him, 
 but that he knew it already, for he had just come down to the 
 cellar when the bottles went over, and as he didn't wish to 
 interfere with the foreman's work, had come back to the 
 counting-house without anyone noticing he had been there. 
 He said of course boys could not be trusted like men, and 
 that as he had chosen to put me there he must put up 
 with accidents. He never spoke about it to me till last 
 night." 
 
 "Well, he seemed very vexed about it, Bob, and made a 
 great deal of it." 
 
 "He didn't mean it, Carrie; and he knew I knew he 
 didn't mean it. He knows I am beginning to understand 
 him." 
 
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. 69 
 
 That evening Mr. Bale sent Bob back to the hotel by 
 himself. 
 
 "I thought I would get him out of the way," he said 
 when Bob had left. " I wanted to have a chat with you 
 about him. You see, Carrie, I acted hastily in taking him 
 away from school; but it seemed to me that he must be 
 getting into a very bad groove to be playing such pranks 
 as breaking out in the middle of the night. I was sorry 
 afterwards; partly because it had upset all my plans, partly 
 because I was not sure that I had done the best thing by 
 him. 
 
 "I had intended that he should have stopped for an- 
 other year at school; by that time he would be between 
 sixteen and seventeen, and I thought of taking him into 
 the office for six months or so to begin with, for him to 
 learn a little of the routine. Then I had intended to send 
 him out to Oporto for two years, and then to Cadiz for 
 two years, so that he would have learnt Portuguese and 
 Spanish well, got up all there was to learn about the 
 different growths, and established friendly relations with 
 my agents. 
 
 " Now, as it happens, all these plans have been upset. My 
 agent at Oporto died a month ago, his son succeeds him; 
 he is a young man, and not yet married. In the first place, 
 I don't suppose he would care about being bothered with 
 Bob; and, in the second place, boys of Bob's age are not 
 likely to submit very quietly to the authority of a foreigner. 
 Then, too, your brother is full of mischief and fun, and I 
 don't suppose foreigners would understand him in the least, 
 and he would get into all manner of scrapes. 
 
 " My correspondent at Cadiz is an elderly man without a 
 family, and the same objection would arise in his case: and, 
 moreover, from what I hear from him and from other Spanish 
 sources, there is a strong feeling against England in Spain; 
 and now that we are at war with France and have troubles 
 in America, I think it likely enough they will join in against 
 
70 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 us. Of course my correspondent writes cautiously, but in 
 his last letter he strongly advises me to buy largely at once, 
 as there is no saying about the future, and several of my 
 friends in the trade have received similar advice. I have 
 put the boy into the cellar, for at the moment I could see 
 nothing else to do with him. But, really, the routine he 
 is learning is of little importance, and there is no occasion 
 for him to learn to do these things himself. He would pick 
 up all he wants to know there when he came back, in a very 
 short time." 
 
 "Then what are you thinking of doing, uncle 1 ?" Carrie 
 asked after a pause, as she saw that Mr. Bale expected her 
 to say something. 
 
 " It seems to me that a way has opened out of the diffi- 
 culty. I don't want him to go back to school again. He 
 knows quite as much Latin as is required in an importer of 
 wines. I want him to learn Spanish and Portuguese, and 
 to become a gentleman and a man of the world. I have 
 stuck to Philpot Lane all my life, but there is no reason 
 why he should do so after me. Things are changing in the 
 city, and many of our merchants no longer live there, but 
 have houses in the country, and drive or ride to them. Some 
 people shake their heads over what they call new-fangled 
 notions. I think it is good for a man to get right away 
 from his business when he has clone work. But this is not 
 the point. Bob is too young to begin to learn the business 
 abroad. Two years too young at least. But there is no rea- 
 son why he should not begin to learn Spanish. Now, I 
 thought if I could find someone I could intrust him to, 
 where his home would be bright and pleasant, he might go 
 there for a couple of years. Naturally I should be prepared 
 to pay a fair sum, say £200 a year, for him , for of course 
 no one is going to be bothered with a boy without being 
 paid for it." 
 
 Carrie listened for something further to come. Then her 
 husband broke in: "I see what you are driving at, Mr. Bale, 
 
An unexpected joukney. 71 
 
 and Carrie and myself would be delighted to have him. Don't 
 you see, Carrie 1 Your uncle means that Bob shall stop with 
 us and learn the language there." 
 
 "That would be delightful!" Carrie exclaimed enthusias- 
 tically. "Do you really mean that, uncle?" 
 
 " That is really what I do mean, niece. It seems to me 
 that that is the very best thing we could do with the young 
 scamp." 
 
 "It would be capital!" Carrie went on. "It is what I 
 should like above everything." 
 
 " A nicer arrangement couldn't be, Mr. Bale ; it will suit 
 us all. Bob will learn the language, he will be a companion 
 to Carrie when I am on duty, and we will make a man of 
 him. But he won't be able to go out with us, I am afraid. 
 Officers' wives and families get their passages in the trans- 
 ports, but I am afraid it would be no use to ask for one 
 for Bob. Besides, we sail in four days." 
 
 " No, I will arrange about his passage, and so on. Well, 
 I am glad that my proposal suits you both. The matter 
 has been worrying me for the last three months, and it is a 
 comfort that it is off my mind. I will go back to my hotel 
 now; I will send Bob round in the morning, and you can 
 tell him about it." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 
 
 BOB went round to the barracks at half-past nine. 
 "Uncle says you have a piece of news to tell me, Carrie." 
 
 "My dear Bob," Captain O'Halloran said, " your uncle is 
 a broth of a boy. He would do credit to Galway; and if 
 anyone says anything to the contrary I will have him out 
 to-morrow morning." 
 
 "What has he been doing V Bob asked. "I told you, 
 Carrie, yesterday, he wasn't a bit like what he seemed." 
 
 "Well, Bob, you are not going to stay at his place of 
 business a,ny longer." 
 
 " No ! Where is he going to send me — to school again 1 
 I am not sure I should like that, Carrie. I didn't want to 
 leave, but I don't think I should like to go back to Csesar 
 and Euclid and all those wretched old books again." 
 
 "Well, you are not going, Bob." 
 
 "Hurry up, Carrie!" her husband said. "Don't you see 
 that you are keeping the boy on thorns 1 Tell him the news 
 without beating about the bush." 
 
 " Well, it is just this, Bob. You are to come out for two 
 years to live with us at Gibraltar, and learn Spanish." 
 
 Bob threw his cap up to the ceiling with a shout of de- 
 light, executed a wild dance, rushed at his sister and kissed 
 her violently, and shook hands with her husband. 
 
 "That is glorious!" he said when he had sufficiently re- 
 covered himself for speech. "I said uncle was a brick, 
 didn't I? but I never dreamt of such a thing as this." 
 
PKEPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 73 
 
 " He is going to pay very handsomely while you are with 
 us, Bob; so it will be really a great help to us, besides we 
 will like to have you with us. But you will have to work 
 hard at Spanish, you know." 
 
 " Oh, I will work hard," Bob said confidently. 
 
 " And be very steady," Captain O'Halloran said gravely. 
 
 " Of course," Bob replied. " But who are you going to 
 hire to teach me that 1 ?" 
 
 " You are an impudent boy, Bob," his sister said, while 
 Captain O'Halloran burst out laughing. 
 
 "Sure, he has us both there, Carrie. I wonder your 
 uncle did not make a proviso that we were to get one of the 
 padres to look after him." 
 
 "As if I would let a Spanish priest look after me!" Bob 
 said. 
 
 " I didn't mean a Spanish priest, Bob. I meant one of 
 the army chaplains. We always call them padres. That 
 would be worth thinking about, Carrie." 
 
 " Oh, I say," Bob exclaimed in alarm, " that would spoil 
 it altogether !" 
 
 " Well, we will see how you go on, Bob. We may not 
 find it necessary, you know; but you will find you have to 
 mind your P's and Q's at Gib. It is a garrison place, you 
 know, and they won't stand nonsense there. If you played 
 any tricks they would turn you outside the lines, or send 
 you up to one of the caverns to live with the apes." 
 
 "Are there apes'?" Bob asked eagerly. "They would be 
 awful fun, I should think. I have seen them at Exeter 
 'Change." 
 
 "There are apes, Bob; but if you think you are going to 
 get near enough to put salt on their tails you are mistaken." 
 
 "But am I going out with you?" Bob asked. "Why, 
 to-morrow is Christmas-day, and you sail two days after, 
 don't you? and I shouldn't have time even to go up to town 
 and down to Putney to say good-bye to the fellows. I 
 should like to do that, and tell them that I am going abroad." 
 
74 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " You are not going with us, Bob, and you will have time 
 for all that. We could not take you in the transport, and 
 uncle will arrange for a passage for you in some ship going 
 out. Of course he knows all about vessels trading with 
 Spain." 
 
 "Well, we sha'n't have to say good-bye now," Bob said. 
 "I haven't said much about it, but I have been thinking 
 a lot about how horrid it would be, after being so jolly here, 
 to have to say good-bye, knoAving that I shouldn't see you 
 again for years and years. Now that is all over." 
 
 A few minutes later Mr. Bale came in. He had assumed 
 his most business-like expression, but Bob rushed up to 
 him. 
 
 "Oh, uncle, I am so obliged to you! It is awfully kind." 
 
 " I thought the arrangement would be a suitable one," Mr. 
 Bale began. 
 
 " No, no, uncle," Bob broke in. " You would say that 
 if you were in Philpot Lane. Now you know you can say 
 that you thought it would be the very j oiliest thing that 
 was ever heard of." 
 
 " I am afraid, niece, that the sentiment of respect for his 
 elders is not strongly developed in Bob." 
 
 "I am afraid not, uncle; but, you see, if elders set an 
 example of being double-faced to their nephews, they must 
 expect to forfeit their respect." 
 
 " And it is a lot better being liked than being respected, 
 isn't it, uncle ? " 
 
 " Perhaps it is, Bob; but the two things may go together." 
 
 "So they do, uncle. Only I keep my respect for Philpot 
 Lane, and it is all liking here." 
 
 They spent two more delightful days at Portsmouth; 
 visited some of the ships of war and the transport in which 
 the 58th was to sail, and went over the dockyard. The 
 next morning Mr. Bale and Bob returned by the early coach 
 to London, as the boxes and trunks and the portable furni- 
 ture had to be sent off early on board. »Mr. Medlin was less 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. ?5 
 
 surprised at hearing that Bob was going to leave than the 
 latter had expected. 
 
 " You know, Bob, I was away one day last week. Well, 
 1 didn't tell you at the time where I was, because I was 
 ordered not to; but your uncle said to me the evening before, 
 ' I am going to drive down by coach to Windsor, Mr. Med- 
 lin, and shall be glad if you will accompany me.' I guessed 
 he wanted to talk about things outside the business; and so 
 it was. We had a capital dinner down there, and then we 
 had a long talk about you. I told him frankly that though 
 I was very glad to have you with me, I really did not see 
 that it was of any use your being kept at that work. He 
 said that he thought so too, and had an idea on which he 
 wanted my opinion. He was thinking of accepting your 
 sister's invitation to go down and spend Christmas with her, 
 and intended to ask her if they would take charge of you 
 for a couple of years, in order that you might learn Spanish. 
 Of course I said that it was the very best thing in the world 
 for you, and would not be any loss of time, because if you 
 could speak Spanish well you would learn the business much 
 more quickly when you went to Cadiz, and need not be so 
 long abroad then." 
 
 "I shall be awfully sorry to go away from you, Mr. 
 Medlin, and from Mrs. Medlin and the others. It has been 
 so jolly with you, and you have all been so kind." 
 
 " Yes, it has been very comfortable all round, Bob, and 
 we shall all be sorry that you are going; but I did not ex- 
 pect we should have you long with us. I felt sure your 
 uncle would see he had made a mistake in taking you into 
 the place so young; and when he finds out he has made a 
 mistake he says so. Some people won't ; but I have known 
 him own up he has been wrong after blowing up one of the 
 boys in the cellar for something he hadn't done. Now, there 
 is not one employer in a hundred who would do that. Yes, 
 T felt sure that he would change his mind about you, and 
 either send you back to school again or make some other 
 
76 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 arrangement; so I wasn't a bit surprised when he spoke to 
 me last week. Still, we shall all be sorry, Bob." 
 
 Another fortnight passed without Bob hearing more, ex- 
 cept that he was taken by Mr. Medlin to various shops, and 
 a large outfit was ordered. 
 
 "You will bear in mind two things, Mr. Medlij," his 
 employer had said. "In the first place, that my nephew 
 will grow in the next two years. Therefore order some of 
 his things to fit him now, and some to be made larger and 
 in more manly fashion. Give instructions that when these 
 are finished they are to be put in tin cases and soldered 
 down, so as to be kept distinct from the others. In the 
 second place, you will bear in mind that clothes which would 
 be perfectly right and suitable for him here will not be at 
 all suitable for him there. He will be living with an officer, 
 and associating entirely with military men, and there must 
 therefore be a certain cut and fashion about his things. Of 
 course I don't want him to look like a young fop; but you 
 understand what I want. There will be no boys out there, 
 it is therefore better that he should look a little older 
 than he is. Besides, I think that boys, and men too, to some 
 extent, live up to their clothes. I do not think that I have 
 anything else to say, Mr. Medlin, except that, as he will not 
 be able to replace any clothes he may destroy out there, 
 and as he is sure to be climbing about and destroying them 
 in one way or another, it is necessary that an ample supply 
 should be laid in." 
 
 Mr. Medlin had scrupulously carried out all these instruc- 
 tions, and Bob was almost alarmed at the extent of the 
 wardrobe ordered. 
 
 " I know what I am doing, Mr. Robert," for they were in 
 the city when Bob made his protest; "I am quite sure that my 
 employer will make no objection to my ordering largely, but 
 he would certainly be much displeased if I did not order 
 what he conceived to be sufficient." 
 
 At the end of the fortnight Mr. Bale informed Bob that 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 77 
 
 he had arranged for his passage to Gibraltar in the brig 
 Antelope. " She is bound to Valencia for fruit. She is a fast 
 sailer and is well armed. There will be no other passengers 
 on board ; but as I am acquainted with the captain, who has 
 several times brought over cargoes for me from Cadiz and 
 Oporto, he has agreed to take you. I would rather you 
 had gone in a ship sailing with a convoy, but as there was 
 a very strong one went at the time the transports sailed 
 there may not be another for some time. These small ves- 
 sels do not wait for convoys, but trust to their speed. You 
 can now discontinue your work here, as you will probably 
 wish to go down to Putney to say good-bye to your friends 
 there. The brig will sail next Monday, but you will go 
 down on Saturday by coach to Southampton, where she now 
 is; I shall request Mr. Medlin to see you on board. He tells 
 me that your outfit is completed, and your trunks, with the 
 exception of what will be required upon the voyage, will 
 be sent off by the carrier- waggon on Wednesday. On 
 Thursday afternoon you will leave Mr. Medlin's and stay 
 here till you start." 
 
 The week passed quickly. Bob enjoyed his day at Put- 
 ney, where, after saying good-bye to his old school-fellows, 
 he called upon Admiral Langton, who was very glad to hear 
 of the change in his prospects. 
 
 " It will do you good," he said, " to go out into the world 
 and see a little of life. It was a dull thing for a lad of your 
 age and spirits to be couped up in a counting-house in the 
 city; but now that you are going to Gibraltar, and after- 
 wards to Cadiz and Oporto, and will not return to settle 
 down to business until you are one-and-twenty or so, I think 
 that the prospect before you is a very pleasant one, and I am 
 glad that your uncle has proved altogether different to your 
 anticipations of him. Well, you are sure to see my son 
 at Gibraltar sometimes. I shall write to him and tell him 
 that you are there, and as your friend Sankey is on board 
 the Brilliant, it will be pleasant for both of you. Only don't 
 
78 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 lead him into scrapes, Bob; midshipmen are up to mischief 
 enough on their own account." 
 
 " Everyone always seems to think I am getting into 
 scrapes, admiral. I don't think I get into more than other 
 fellows." 
 
 "I rather think you do, Bob. Mr. Tulloch certainly 
 intimated to me that you had a remarkable talent that way 
 if in no other. Besides, your face tells its own story. Pickle 
 is marked upon it as plainly as if it were printed. Now you 
 must have supper with us at seven o'clock and catch the 
 eight o'clock stage. You can stay until then, I hope V 
 
 "Yes, sir. I told Mr. Medlin that I might not come 
 back until the last stage." 
 
 At parting the admiral placed a case in Bob's hands. 
 "There, my lad, are a brace of pistols. You won't have 
 any use for them for some years to come, I hope; but if 
 you stay out in Spain and Portugal they may prove use- 
 ful. Those fellows are very handy with their knives, and 
 it is always well to be armed if you go about at night among 
 them. I should advise you to practise shooting whenever 
 you get an opportunity. A pistol is an excellent weapon if 
 you really know how to use it, but is of no use at all if you 
 don't. Another thing is, you may get involved in affairs of 
 honour. I consider duelling to be a foolish practice, but it 
 is no use one person standing up against a crowd. It is the 
 fashion in our days to fight duels, and therefore it is almost 
 a necessity for a gentleman to be able to shoot straight; 
 besides, although you might be able to avoid fighting a duel 
 with any of your countrymen, there is no possibility of 
 getting out of it if you become involved in a quarrel with 
 a foreigner. In that case an Englishman who showed the 
 white feather would be a disgrace to his country. 
 
 "Another advantage of being a good shot, I mean a really 
 good shot, is that if you get forced into an affair, and are 
 desirous of giving a lesson but no more to an opponent, 
 you have it in your power to wing him; whereas if you are 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 79 
 
 only a tolerably good shot, you can't pick your spot, and 
 may, to your lasting regret, kill him. But all this is in the 
 future, Bob. I have fought several duels myself with those 
 very pistols, and I am happy to say I have never killed my 
 man, and shall be glad to believe, Bob, that they will always 
 be used in the same spirit." 
 
 Bob's last two evenings before sailing were more pleasant 
 than he had expected. Mr. Bale seemed to forget that he 
 was still in Philpot Lane, and chatted with him freely and 
 confidentially. " I hope that I am doing the best for you, 
 Bob. I know this is an experiment, and I can only trust 
 that it will turn out well. I believe you have plenty of 
 sound sense somewhere in your head, and that this asso- 
 ciation with a number of young military men will not have 
 any bad effect upon you, but that, after four or five years 
 abroad, you will not be less but rather more inclined to 
 settle down to business. I regard you as my son, and have 
 indeed no relations whom I care for in any way except you 
 and your sister. I trust that when you come back you 
 will apply yourself to business without becoming, as I have 
 done, a slave to it. 
 
 " I might, if I chose, make you altogether independent 
 of it; but I am sure that would not be for your good. 
 There is nothing more unfortunate for a young man belong- 
 ing to the middle classes than to have no fixed occupation. 
 The heir to large estates is in a different position. He has all 
 sorts of responsibilities, he has the pursuits of a country 
 gentleman, and the duties of a large land-owner; but the 
 young man of our class, who does not take to business, is 
 almost certain to go in for reckless dissipation or gambling. 
 I have seen numbers of young men, sons of old friends of 
 my own, who have been absolutely ruined by being left the 
 fortunes their fathers had made, simply because they had 
 nothing with which to occupy their minds. It is for this 
 reason, Bob, that I chiefly wish you to succeed me in my 
 business. It is a very good one. I doubt whether any 
 
80 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 other merchant imports such large quantities of wines as 
 I do. 
 
 " During the next few years I shall endeavour to give up 
 as far as I can what I may call private husiness, and deal 
 entirely with the trade. I have been doing so for some time, 
 but it is very difficult to give up customers who have dealt 
 with me and my father before me. However, I shall cur- 
 tail the business in that direction as much as I can, and you 
 will then find it much more easily managed. Small orders 
 require just as much trouble in their execution as large ones, 
 and a wholesale business is in all respects more satisfactory 
 than one in which private customers are supplied as well as 
 the trade. I am entering into arrangements now with 
 several travellers for the purpose of extending my dealings 
 with the trade in the provinces, so that when it comes into 
 your hands you will find it more compact, and at the same 
 time more extensive than it is now. 
 
 "lam glad that I have had you here for the past four months. 
 I have had my eye upon you more closely than you suppose, 
 and I am pleased to see that you have worked well and 
 willingly; far more so than I expected from you. This has 
 much encouraged me in the hope that you will in time 
 settle down to business here, and not be contented to lead 
 a purposeless and idle life. The happiest man, in my opinion, 
 is he who has something to do, and yet not too much; who 
 can, by being free from anxieties regarding it, view his busi- 
 ness as an occupation and a pleasure, and who is its master 
 and not its slave. I am thinking of giving Mr. Medlin a 
 small interest in the business. I mean to make a real effort 
 to break a little loose from it, and I have seen enough of 
 him to know that he will make a very valuable junior. He 
 is a little eccentric, perhaps, a sort of exaggeration of myself, 
 but I shall signify to him that when he comes into the firm 
 I consider that it will be to its advantage that he should 
 import a little of what we may call his extra-official manner 
 into it. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 81 
 
 "In our business, as I am well aware, although I do not 
 possess it myself, a certain cheerfulness of disposition and 
 a generally pleasing manner are of advantage. Buyers 
 are apt to give larger orders than they otherwise would 
 do under the influence of pleasant and genial relations, 
 and Mr. Medlin can, if he chooses, make up for my de- 
 ficiencies in that way. But I am taking the step rather in your 
 interest than in my own. It will relieve you of a consider- 
 able portion of the burden of the business, and will enable 
 you to relax somewhat when you are disposed if you have 
 a partner in whom you can place thorough confidence. I 
 do not wish you to mention this matter to him, I would 
 rather open it to him myself. We will go on another fish- 
 ing expedition together, and I think we can approach it 
 then on a more pleasant footing than we could here. He has 
 modelled himself so thoroughly upon me, that the matter 
 could only be approached in so intensely a business-like way 
 here that I feel sure we should not arrive at anything like 
 such a satisfactory arrangement as we might do elsewhere." 
 
 In the course of the week Captain Lockett of the Antelope 
 had called at the office, and Bob had been introduced to 
 him by Mr. Bale. He was a hearty and energetic-looking 
 man of some five-and-thirty years of age. 
 
 " I shall want you to go to Cadiz for me next trip, 
 Captain Lockett," Mr. Bale said. "I am having an unusu- 
 ally large cargo prepared for me; enough, I fancy, to fill up 
 your brig." 
 
 " All the better, sir," the sailor said. " There is nothing 
 like having only one shipper, it saves time and trouble; but 
 I should advise you to insure it for its full value, for the 
 channel swarms with French privateers at present, and the 
 fellows are building them bigger, and mounting heavier 
 guns than they used to do. I am mounting a long eighteen 
 as a swivel-gun this voyage, in addition to those I carried 
 before. But even with that there are some of these French 
 craft might prove very awkward customers if they fell in 
 
 ( 680 ) F 
 
82 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 with us. You see, their craft are crowded with men, and gen- 
 erally carry at least twice as many hands as ours. It is 
 just the same with their fishing-boats. It takes about three 
 Frenchmen to do the work of an Englishman." 
 
 "Well, don't get caught this time, Captain Lockett. I 
 don't want my nephew to learn to speak French instead of 
 Spanish, for there is very little trade to be done in that 
 quarter at present, and what there is is all carried on by 
 what I may call irregular channels." 
 
 " I fancy there is a great deal of French wine comes into 
 this country still, sir, in spite of the two nations being at war. 
 It suits both governments to wink at the trade. We want 
 French wine, and they want English money." 
 
 "That's so, Captain Lockett; but at any rate we can't send 
 English buyers out there, and must take what they choose 
 to send." 
 
 On Saturday morning Bob said good-bye to his uncle, 
 with an amount of feeling and regret he would have con- 
 sidered impossible four months previously. Mr. Medlin 
 accompanied him to Southampton, and the journey was a 
 very lively one. 
 
 " Good-bye, Bob," the clerk said, as they shook hands on 
 the deck of the Antelope. " You will be a man when I see 
 you again, that is, if you don't come home for a bit before 
 going to the people at Cadiz and Oporto. You will be 
 coming into the firm then, and will be Mr. Bobert always." 
 
 "Not if we go out fishing expeditions together," Bob 
 said and laughed. 
 
 "Ah! well, perhaps that will be an exception. Well, 
 good-bye, a pleasant voyage to you, and don't get into more 
 scrapes than you can help." 
 
 " Oh, I am growing out of that, Mr. Medlin!" 
 
 " Not you, Bob. They may be different sorts of scrapes 
 in the future, but scrapes there will be, or I am a Dutch- 
 man." 
 
 "Well, youngster, are you a good sailor?" the captain 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 83 
 
 asked, as the Antelope with all sail set ran down South- 
 ampton water. 
 
 "I hope I am, captain, but I don't know yet. I have 
 gone out sailing in boats at Plymouth several times in rough 
 weather, and have never felt a bit ill; but I don't know 
 how it will be in a ship like this." 
 
 " If you can sail in rough water in a boat without feeling 
 ill, you ought to be all right here, lad. She is an easy craft 
 as well as a fast one, and makes good weather of it in any- 
 thing short of a gale. There is eight bells striking, that 
 means eight o'clock and breakfast. You had better lay in 
 as good a store as you can. We shall be outside the Needles, 
 if the wind holds, by dinner-time, and you may not feel so 
 ready for it then." 
 
 The second-mate breakfasted in the cabin with the captain 
 and Bob, the first-mate remaining on deck. The second- 
 mate was a young man of three- or four-and-twenty, a cousin 
 of the captain. He was a frank, pleasant-faced young sailor, 
 and Bob felt that he should like him. 
 
 " How many days do you expect to be in getting to Gibral- 
 tar, captain?" 
 
 "About ten, if we have luck; twenty if we haven't. 
 There is never any saying." 
 
 " How many men do you carry?" 
 
 " Twenty-eight seamen, the cook, the steward, two mates, 
 and myself, and there are three boys. Thirty-six all 
 told." 
 
 " I see you have eight guns besides the pivot-gun." 
 
 "Yes. We have plenty of hands for working them if 
 we only have to fight one side at once, but we shouldn't be 
 very strong-handed if we had to work both broadsides. 
 There are four sixteen-pounders, four twelves, and the pivot, 
 so that gives three men to a gun, besides officers and idlers. 
 Three men is enough for the twelves, but it makes rather slow 
 work with the sixteens. However, we may hope that we 
 sha'n't have to work both broadsides at once. We carry a 
 
84 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND 
 
 letter of marque, so that in case of our having the luck to 
 fall in with a French trader we can bring her in. But that 
 is not our business; we are peaceful traders, and don't want 
 to show our teeth unless we are interfered with." 
 
 To Bob's great satisfaction he found that he was able to 
 eat his dinner with unimpaired appetite, although the 
 Antelope was clear of the island, and was bowing deeply to 
 a lively sea. The first-mate, a powerful-looking man of 
 forty, who had lost one eye, and whose face was deeply 
 seamed by an explosion of powder in an engagement with 
 a French privateer, came down to the meal, while the 
 second-mate took the duty on deck. Bob fo ind some 
 difficulty in keeping his dish before him, for the Antelope 
 was lying well over with a northerly wind abeam. 
 
 "She is travelling well, Probert," the captain said. "We 
 have got her in capital trim this time. Last time we Avere 
 too light, and could not stand up to our sails. If this wind 
 holds we shall make a fast run of it. We will keep her well 
 inshore until we get down to the Scillys, and then stretch 
 across the bay. The nearer we keep to the coast the less 
 fear there is of our running against one of those French 
 privateers." 
 
 The wind held steady, and Bob enjoyed the voyage im- 
 mensely as the brig sailed along the coast. After passing 
 Portland Bill they lost sight of land, until, after eight hours' 
 run, a bold headland appeared on the weather-beam. 
 
 "That is the Start," the captain said. "When I get 
 abeam of it we shall take our bearings, and then shape our 
 course across the bay. If this wind does but hold Ave shall 
 make quick Avork of it." 
 
 Presently the tiller Avas put up, and as the brig's head 
 paid off the yards were braced square, and she ran rapidly 
 along towards the south-west with the wind nearly dead aft. 
 The next morning when Bob went on deck he found that 
 the wind had dropped, and the brig was scarcely moving 
 through the water. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 85 
 
 "This is a change, Mr. Probert," he said to the first-mate, 
 who was in charge of the deck. 
 
 " Yes, and not a pleasant one," the officer replied. " I 
 don't like the look of the sky either. I have just sent down 
 to the captain to ask him to step on deck." 
 
 Bob looked round. The sky was no longer bright and 
 clear. There Avas a dull, heavy look overhead, and a smoky 
 haze seemed to hang over the horizon all round. Bob 
 thought it looked dull, but wondered why the mate should 
 send for the captain. The latter came up on deck in a 
 minute or two. 
 
 " I don't much like the look of the sky, sir," the mate 
 said. " The wind has died suddenly out this last half-hour, 
 and the swell has got more kick in it than it had. I fancy 
 the wind is going round to the south-west, and that when it 
 does come it will come hard." 
 
 " I think you are right, Mr. Probert. I glanced at the 
 glass as I came up, and it has fallen half an inch since I 
 was up on deck in the middle watch. I think you had 
 better begin to take in sail at once. Call the watch up 
 from below. It is not coming yet, but we may as well strip 
 her at once." 
 
 The mate gave the order to the boatswain, whose shrill 
 whistle sounded out, followed by the shout of " All hands 
 to take in sail!" The watch below tumbled up. 
 
 "Take the royals and topgallant sails off her, Mr. Probert; 
 double reef the topsails, and get in the courses." 
 
 Bob watched the men as they worked aloft, and mar- 
 velled at the seeming carelessness with which they hung on, 
 where the slip of a foot or hand would mean sudden death, 
 and wondered whether he could ever attain such steadiness 
 of head. Three quarters of an hour's hard work and the 
 mast was stripped, save for the reduced topsails. 
 
 " Get in two of the jibs and brail up the spanker." 
 
 This was short work. When it was done the second- 
 mate, who had been working forward, looked to the captain 
 
86 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 for further orders. The latter had again gone below, but 
 was now standing on the poop talking earnestly with the 
 first-mate. 
 
 " Yes, I think you are right," Bob heard the captain say. 
 " The glass is still falling, and very likely it will be some 
 time before we want these light sj>ars again. There is 
 nothing like being snug." 
 
 "Aloft again, lads!" the mate sung out, "and send down 
 the yards and topgallant masts." 
 
 " Now she is ready for anything," the captain said, when 
 the men again descended to the deck. 
 
 Bob, who had been so intently watching the men that 
 he had not looked round at the sky since they first went 
 aloft, now had time to do so, and was startled with the 
 change that had come over the sea and sky. There was not 
 a breath of wind. There was a dull, oily look on the water, 
 as it heaved in long regular waves, unbroken by the slightest 
 ripple. Black clouds had banked up from the south-west, 
 and extended in a heavy arch across the sky but little ahead 
 of the brig. From its edge ragged fragments seemed to 
 break off suddenly and fly out ahead. 
 
 "It is going to blow and no mistake," the captain said. 
 "It is lucky that we have had plenty of time to get 
 her into fighting trim. You had better get hold of some- 
 thing, lad, and clutch it tight. It will begin with a heavy 
 squall, and like enough lay her pretty well over on her beam 
 ends when it strikes her." 
 
 Higher and higher the threatening arch rose, till its edge 
 stood over the mainmast. Then the captain cried: "Here 
 it comes, lads; hold on every one!" 
 
 Looking ahead Bob saw a white line. It approached 
 with wonderful rapidity, and with a confused rushing sound. 
 Then in a moment he felt himself clinging as if for life to 
 the stanchion of which he had taken hold. The wind 
 almost wrenched him from his feet, while at the same 
 moment a perfect deluge of water came down upon him. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 87 
 
 He felt the brig going further and further over, till the 
 deck beneath his feet seemed almost perpendicular. The 
 captain and first-mate had both grasped the spokes of the 
 wheel, and were aiding the helmsman in jamming it down. 
 Bob had no longer a hold for his feet, and was hanging by 
 his arms. Looking down, the sea seemed almost beneath 
 him, but with a desperate effort he got hold of the rail with 
 one hand and then hauled himself up under it, clinging 
 tight to the main-shrouds. Then he saw the second-mate 
 loose the jib halliards, while one of the sailors threw off the 
 fore-staysail sheet, and the spanker slowly brought the 
 brig's head up into the wind. 
 
 As it did so she righted gradually, and Bob regained his 
 place on deck, which was still, however, lying over at a very 
 considerable angle. The captain raised his hand and pointed 
 to the main-topsail, and the second-mate at once made his 
 way aft with some of the men, and laying out on the 
 weather rigging made his way aloft. The danger seemed 
 to Bob so frightful that he dared not look up. He could 
 hear through the pauses of the blast the mate shout to the 
 men above him, and in a few minutes they again descended 
 to the deck. Even Bob could feel how much the brig was 
 relieved when the pressure of the topsail was taken off. The 
 lower planks of the deck rose from the water, and although 
 this still rushed in and out through the scupper holes, and 
 rose at times to the level of the bulwark rail, he felt that 
 the worst was over. 
 
 One of the men was called to assist at the helm, and the 
 captain and mate came forward to the poop rail. 
 
 "That was touch and go, youngster!" the former shouted 
 to Bob. 
 
 " It was," Bob said. " More go than touch, I should say, 
 for I thought she had gone altogether." 
 
 "You had better go below and change your things. Tell 
 the steward to bring me my oilskins out of my cabin. You 
 had better keep below until this rain has stopped." 
 
88 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND 
 
 Bob thought the advice was good, so he went down and 
 got into dry clothes and then lay down on the cabin sofa to 
 leeward; he could not have kept his place on the other side. 
 The rain was still falling so heavily on deck that it sounded 
 like a waggon passing overhead, and mingled with this noise 
 was the howl of the wind and the swashing of the water 
 against the ship's side. Gradually the motion of the vessel 
 became more violent, and she quivered from bow to stern 
 as the waves struck her. Although it was early in the after- 
 noon it became almost as dark as night in the cabin. The 
 steward had brought him a glass of hot grog as soon as he 
 had changed his clothes, and in spite of the din he presently 
 fell off to sleep. When he woke the rain had ceased; but 
 the uproar caused by the howling of the wind, the creaking 
 of the spars, and the dashing of the waves was as loud as before. 
 He soon made his way up on deck and found that a tre- 
 mendous sea was running. The fore-topsail had been got off 
 the ship, the weather sheets of the jib and fore-staysail 
 hauled across, and the vessel was making comparatively 
 little way through the water. She was, in fact, although 
 Bob did not know it, lying to under these sails and the 
 spanker. It all looked so terrible to him that he kept his 
 place but a few minutes, and was then glad to return to the 
 sofa below. In a short time the captain came down. 
 
 " How are you getting on, lad ? All in the dark, eh 1 
 Steward, light the lamp and bring me a tumbler of hot 
 grog. Keep the water boiling; the other officers will be 
 down directly. Well, what do you think of it, young gen- 
 tleman?" 
 
 " I don't like it at all," Bob said. " I thought I should 
 like to see a storm, but I never want to see one again." 
 
 "I am not surprised at that," the captain said with a laugh. 
 " It is all very well to read about storms, but it is a very 
 different thing to be caught in one." 
 
 "Is there any danger, sir?" 
 
 " There is always more or less danger in a storm, lad; but 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 89 
 
 I hope and think the worst is over. We are in for a heavy 
 gale, but now that the brig has got through the first burst 
 there is not much fear of her weathering it. She is a capital 
 sea boat, well found and in good trim, and we were fortunate 
 enough in having sufficient warning to get her snug before 
 the first burst came. That is always the most dangerous 
 point. When a ship has way on her she can stand almost 
 any gale, but when she is caught by a heavy squall when 
 she is lying becalmed }^ou have to look out. However, she 
 got through that without losing anything; and she is lying 
 to now under the smallest possible canvas, and if all goes 
 well there is no reason whatever for anxiety." 
 
 " What do you mean by 'if all goes well,' captain 1 ?" 
 
 " I mean as long as one of her masts isn't carried away, 
 or anything of that sort. I daresay you think it rough 
 now, but it is nothing to what it will be by to-morrow 
 morning. I should advise you to turn in at once. You 
 could see nothing if you went up, and would run the risk of 
 being washed overboard or of getting a limb broken." 
 
 Bob's recollections of his position as the ship heeled over 
 when the storm struck her were still far too vivid for him 
 to have any desire for a repetition of it, and he accordingly 
 took the captain's advice and turned in at once. When he 
 got up in the morning, and with some difficulty made his 
 way on deck, he found that, as the captain predicted, the 
 sea was far heavier than the night before. Great ridges of 
 water bore down upon the ship, each seeming as if it would 
 overwhelm her, and for the first few minutes Bob expected 
 to see the brig go head-foremost and sink under his feet. 
 It was not till he reflected that she had lived through it for 
 hours that he began to view the scene with composure. Al- 
 though the waves were much higher than when he had left 
 the deck on the previous afternoon, the scene was really less 
 terrifying. 
 
 The sky was covered with masses of gray cloud, ragged 
 and torn, hurrying along with great velocity, apparently but 
 
90 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 a short distance above the masthead. When the vessel rose 
 on a wave, it seemed to him that the clouds in places almost 
 touched the water, and mingled with the masses of spray 
 caught up by the waves. The scud, borne along by the wind, 
 struck his face with a force that caused it to smart, and for 
 a time he was unable to face the gale even for a minute. 
 The decks were streaming with water. The boats had dis- 
 appeared from the davits, and a clean sweep seemed to 
 have been made of everything movable. Forward was a big 
 gap in the bulwark, and as the brig met the great waves 
 masses of green water poured in through this and swept 
 along the deck waist-deep. The brig was under the same 
 sail as before, except that she now showed a closely reefed 
 fore-topsail. When he became a little accustomed to the 
 sea and to the motion, he watched his time and then made 
 a rush across from the companion to the weather bulwark, 
 and got a firm hold of one of the shrouds. The captain and 
 the second-mate were on the poop near the wheel. The 
 former made his way to him. 
 
 "Good-morning, Master Eepton! Managed to get some 
 sleep?" 
 
 " Yes, I have slept all night, captain. I say, isn't this 
 tremendous 1 ? I did not think anything could be like this. 
 It is splendid, you know, but it takes one's breath away. 
 I don't think it is blowing quite so hard, is it 1 ?" 
 
 " Every bit as hard, but it is more regular, and you are 
 accustomed to it." 
 
 "But I see you have got up some more sail." 
 
 " Yes, that's to steady her. You see when she gets into 
 the trough between these great waves the lower sails are 
 almost becalmed, and we are obliged to show something 
 above them to keep a little way on her. We are still lying 
 to, you see, and meet the waves head on. If her head was 
 to fall off a few points and one of these waves took her on 
 the beam, she would go down like a stone. Yes, the brig 
 is doing very handsomely. She has a fine run, more like a 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE. 91 
 
 schooner than a brig, and she meets the waves easily and 
 rises to them as lightly as a feather; she is a beauty ! If you 
 are going to stay here, lad, you had better lash yourself, for 
 it is not safe standing as you are." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 
 
 AS he became more accustomed to the scene around him, 
 and found that the waves were more terrible in appear- 
 ance than reality, Bob began to enjoy it, and to take in its 
 grandeur and wildness. The bareness of the deck had struck 
 him at once, and he now saw that four of the cannon were 
 gone — the two forward guns on each side; and he rightly 
 supposed that these must have been run out and tumbled 
 overboard to lighten the ship forward, and enable her to 
 rise more easily to the waves. An hour later the second- 
 mate came along. 
 
 " You had better come down and get some breakfast," 
 he said. " I am going down first." 
 
 Bob threw off the rope and followed the mate clown into 
 the cabin. Mr. Probert had just turned out. He had been 
 lying down for two or three hours, having gone down as 
 daylight broke. 
 
 " The captain says you had better take something before 
 you go on deck, Mr. Probert," the second-mate said. " He 
 will come down afterwards and turn in for an hour or two." 
 
 "No change, I suppose?" 
 
 " No. She goes over it like a duck. The seas are more 
 regular now, and she is making good weather of it." 
 
 Bob wondered in his own mind what she would do if she 
 was making bad weather. 
 
 The meal was an irregular one. The steward brought in 
 three large mugs half filled with coffee, a basket of biscuits, 
 
A FEENCH PRIVATEER. 93 
 
 and a ham. From this he cut off some slices, which he laid 
 on biscuits, and each of them ate their breakfast, holding 
 their mugs in one hand and their biscuits and ham in the 
 other. As soon as they had finished, the two officers went 
 on deck, and directly afterwards the captain came down. 
 Bob chatted with him until he had finished his breakfast, 
 and then went up on deck again for two or three hours. 
 At the end of that time he felt so completely exhausted 
 from the force of the wind and the constant change of the 
 angle at which he was standing, that he was glad to go below 
 and lie down again. There was no regular dinner, the officers 
 coming below by turns and taking a biscuit and a chunk of 
 cold meat standing. But at tea-time the captain and second- 
 mate came down together, and Bob, who had again been 
 up on deck for a bit, joined them in taking a large bowl of 
 coffee. 
 
 " I think the wind is blowing harder than ever," he said 
 to the captain. 
 
 "Yes, the glass has begun to rise a little; and that is 
 generally a sign you are getting to the worst of it. I expect 
 it is a three-days' gale, and we shall have it at its worst 
 to-night. I hope by this time to-morrow we shall be begin- 
 ning to shake out our reefs. You had better not go up any 
 more. It will be dark in half an hour, and your bunk is the 
 best place for you." 
 
 Bob was not sorry to obey the order, for he felt that the 
 scene would be a very terrible one after dark. The night, 
 however, seemed to him to be a miserably long one, for 
 he was only able to doze off occasionally, the motion being 
 so violent that he had to jam himself in his berth to 
 prevent himself from being thrown out. The blows with 
 which the waves struck the ship were tremendous, and so 
 deeply did she pitch that more than once he thought that 
 she would never come up again, but go down head-fore- 
 most. Once he thought he heard a crash, and there were 
 orders shouted on the deck above him; but he resisted the 
 
94 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 desire to go up and see what it was, for he knew that he 
 could do nothing, and that in the darkness he could see but 
 little of what was going on. 
 
 With the first gleam of daylight, however, he got out of 
 the bunk. He had not attempted to undress, having taken 
 off his shoes only when he lay down. Having put these on 
 again he went up. There was but little change since the 
 previous morning, but looking forward he saw that the bow- 
 sprit was gone, and the fore-topmast had been carried away. 
 The sea was as high as ever, but patches of blue sky showed 
 overhead between the clouds, and the wind was blowing 
 somewhat less violently. 
 
 " We have been in the wars, you see, youngster," the 
 captain said when Bob made his way aft; "but we may 
 thank God it was no worse. We have had a prett} r close 
 squeak of it, but the worst is over now; the wind is going 
 down, and the gale will have blown itself out by this even- 
 ing. It was touch-and-go several times during the night, 
 and if she had had a few more tons of cargo in her she 
 would never have risen from some of those waves; but I 
 think now we shall see Oporto safely, which was more than 
 I expected about midnight." 
 
 For some hours Bob himself had considerable doubts as to 
 this, so deeply did the brig bury herself in the waves; but 
 after twelve o'clock the wind fell rapidly, and although the 
 waves showed no signs of decreasing in height, their surface 
 was smoother, and they seemed to strike the vessel with 
 less force and violence. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Probert," said the captain, " do you and Joe 
 turn in till first watch; I will take charge of the deck. 
 After that you can set regular watches again." 
 
 The main-topsail was already on her, and at six o'clock 
 the captain had two of its reefs shaken out, and the other 
 reef was also loosed when Mr. Probert came up and took 
 charge of the first watch at eight bells. That night Bob 
 lay on the floor, for the motion was more violent than 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 95 
 
 before, the vessel rolling gunwale under; for the wind no 
 longer pressed upon her sails and kept her steady, and he 
 would have found it impossible to maintain his position in 
 his berth. In the morning he went up. The sun was rising 
 in an unclouded sky; there was scarce a breath of wind; 
 the waves came along in high glassy rollers — smooth mounds 
 of water which extended right and left in deep valleys and 
 high ridges. The vessel was rolling tremendously, the lower 
 yards sometimes touching the water. Bob had to wait some 
 time before he could make a rush across to the bulwark, and, 
 when he did so, found it almost impossible to keep his feet. 
 He could see that the men forward were no longer crouch- 
 ing for shelter under the break of the fo'castle, but were 
 holding on by the shrouds or stays smoking their pipes, and 
 laughing and joking together. Until the motion abated 
 somewhat it was clearly impossible to commence the work 
 of getting things in order. 
 
 "Did the bowsprit and mast both go together?" Bob 
 asked Joe Lockett, who was holding on to the bulwark near 
 him. 
 
 " Yes, the bowsprit went with the strain when she rose, 
 having buried herself half-way up the waist, and the top- 
 mast snapped like a carrot a moment later. That was the 
 worst dive we made. There is no doubt that getting rid of 
 the leverage of the bowsprit right up in her eyes eased her 
 a good bit; and as the topmast was a pretty heavy spar too, 
 that also helped." 
 
 " How long will it be before the sea goes down 1 ?" 
 " If you mean goes down enough for us to get to work — 
 a few hours; if you mean goes down altogether, it will be 
 five or six days before this swell has quite flattened down, 
 unless a wind springs up from some other quarter." 
 " I meant till the mast can be got up again." 
 " Well, this afternoon the captain may set the men at 
 work; but I don't think they would do much good, and 
 there would be a good chance of getting a limb broken. As 
 
96 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 long as this calm holds there is no hurry one way or the 
 
 other." 
 
 • " You mean because Ave couldn't he sailing even if we had 
 
 everything set 1 ?" 
 
 "Well, yes, that is something, but I didn't mean that. I 
 am not thinking so much of our sailing as of other people's; 
 we are not very fit as we are now either for fighting or 
 running, and I should be sorry to see a French privateer 
 coming along; but as long as the calm continues there is no 
 fear of that, and I expect there have been few ships out in 
 this gale who have not got repairs to do as well as we have." 
 
 After dinner an effort was made to begin the work, but 
 the captain soon ordered the men to desist. 
 
 " It is of no use, Mr. Probert, we shall only be getting 
 some of the men killed; it wouldn't be possible to get half 
 done before dark, and if the sea goes down a bit to-night 
 they will get as much done in an hour's work in the morning 
 as they would if they were to work from now to sunset. 
 The carpenter might get some canvas, and nail it so as to 
 hide those gaps in the bulwark. That will be something 
 done. The boys can give it a coat of paint in the morning. 
 But as for the spar, we must leave it." 
 
 All hands were at work next morning with the first gleam 
 of daylight. The rollers were still almost as high as the 
 day before, but there was now a slight breath of wind, 
 which sufficed to give the vessel steerage-way. She was 
 put head to the rollers, changing the motion from the 
 tremendous rolling when she was lying broadside to them 
 for a regular rise and fall that interfered but little with 
 the work. A spare spar was fitted in the place of the bow- 
 sprit, the stump of the topmast was sent down and the top- 
 gallant mast fitted in its place, and by mid-day the light 
 spars were all in their places again and the brig Avas show- 
 ing a fair spread of canvas, and a casual observer would 
 at a distance have noticed but slight change in her appear- 
 ance. 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 97 
 
 " That has been a good morning's work," the captain said 
 as they sat down to dinner. " We are a little short of head- 
 sail, but that will make no great difference in our rate of sail- 
 ing, especially if the wind is aft. We are ready to meet with 
 another storm again if it should come, which is not likely; we 
 are ready for anything, in fact, except a heavily-armed priva- 
 teer. The loss of four of our guns has crippled us. But 
 there was no choice about the matter; it went against my 
 heart to see them go overboard, but it was better to lose 
 four guns than to lose the ship. I hope we shall meet with 
 nothing till we get through the Straits. I may be able to 
 pick up some guns at Gibraltar; prizes are often brought in 
 there and condemned, and there are sales of stores, so I 
 hope to be able to get her into regular fighting trim again 
 before I clear out from there. I should think you won't 
 be sorry when we drop anchor off the Mole, youngster 1 ?" 
 
 " I am in no hurry now," Bob said. " I would have given 
 a good deal, if I had had it, two days ago to have been on 
 dry land, but now that we are all right again I don't care 
 how long we are before we get there. It is very warm and 
 pleasant, a wonderful change after what it was when we 
 sailed. Whereabouts are we, captain?" 
 
 " We are a good bit farther to the east than I like," the 
 captain replied. " We have been blown a long way into the 
 bay; there is a great set of current in here; we have drifted 
 nearly fifty miles in since noon yesterday. We are in 
 4"50 west longitude, and 45° latitude." 
 
 "I don't think that means anything to me." 
 
 "No, I suppose not," the captain laughed. "Well, it 
 means we are nearly due west of Bordeaux, and about one 
 hundred miles from the French coast, and a little more than 
 eighty north of Santander, on the Spanish coast. As the 
 wind is sou'-sou'-west we can lay our course for Cape Ortegal, 
 and once round there we shall feel more comfortable." 
 
 "But don't you feel comfortable at present, captain?" 
 
 "Well, not altogether. We are a good deal too close 
 
 (6S0) G 
 
98 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 in to the French coast, and we are just on the track of any 
 privateer that may be making for Bordeaux from the west 
 or south, or going out in those directions. So, although I 
 can't say I am absolutely uncomfortable, I shall be certainly 
 glad when we are back again on the regular track of our 
 own line of traffic for the Straits or Portugal. There are 
 English cruisers on that line, and privateers on the look- 
 out for the French, so that the sound of guns might bring 
 something up to our assistance, but there is not much chance 
 of meeting with a friendly craft here, unless it has like our- 
 selves been blown out of its course." 
 
 A look-out had already been placed aloft. Several sails 
 were seen in the distance in the course of the afternoon, 
 but nothing that excited suspicion. The wind continued 
 light, and although the brig had every sail set she was not 
 making more than five and a half knots an hour through 
 the water. In the evening the wind dropped still more, 
 and by nine o'clock the brig had scarcely steerage-way. 
 
 "It is enough to put a saint out of temper," the captain 
 said, as he came down into the cabin and mixed himself a 
 glass of grog before turning in. " If the wind had held we 
 should have been pretty nearly off Finisterre by morning. 
 As it is, we haven't made more than forty knots since we 
 took the observation at noon." 
 
 Bob woke once in the night, and knew by the rippling 
 sound of water and by the slight inclination of his berth 
 that the breeze had sprung up again. When he woke again 
 the sun was shining brightly, and he got up and dressed 
 leisurely; but as he went into the cabin he heard some 
 orders given in a sharp tone by the captain on deck, and 
 quickened his pace up the companion to see what was 
 going on. 
 
 "Good morning, Mr. Lockett!" he said to the second-mate, 
 who was standing close by looking up at the sails. 
 
 "Good morning, Master Repton!" he replied, somewhat 
 more shortly than usual. 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 99 
 
 "There is a nice breeze this morning," Bob went on. 
 " We seem going on at a good rate." 
 
 "I wish she were going twice as fast," the mate said. 
 "There is a gentleman over there who seems anxious to 
 have a talk with us, and we don't want to make his ac- 
 quaintance." 
 
 Bob looked round, and saw over the quarter a large lugger 
 some three miles away. 
 
 " What vessel is that?" he asked. 
 
 "That is a French privateer, at least there is very little 
 doubt about it. We must have passed each other in the 
 dark, for when we first made him out he was about four 
 miles away, sailing north-east. He apparently sighted us 
 just as we made him out, and hauled his wind at once. He 
 has gained about a mile on us in the last two hours. We 
 have changed our course, and are sailing as you see north- 
 west, so as to bring the wind on our quarter, and I don't 
 think that fellow has come up much since. Still he does 
 come up. We feel the loss of our sail now." 
 
 It seemed to Bob, looking up, that there was already an 
 immense amount of canvas on the brig. Stunsails had been 
 set on her, and she was running very fast through the 
 water. 
 
 "We seem to have more canvas set than that vessel behind 
 us," he said. 
 
 " Yes, we have more; but those luggers sail like witches. 
 They are splendid boats, but they want very big crews to 
 work them. That is the reason why you scarcely ever see 
 them with us except as fishing craft or something of that sort. 
 I daresay that lugger has a hundred men on board, eighty 
 anyhow ; so it is no wonder we sometimes get the worst of it. 
 They always carry three hands to our two, and very often 
 two to our one. Of course we are really a trader, though 
 we do carry a letter of marque. If we were a regular priva- 
 teer we should carry twice as many hands as we do." 
 
 Walking to the poop rail, Bob saw that the men were 
 
100 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 bringing up shot and putting them in the racks by the guns. 
 The breech covers had been taken off. The first officer was 
 overlooking the work. 
 
 "Well, lad," Captain Lockett said, coming up to him, 
 " you see that unlucky calm has got us into a mess after 
 all, and unless the wind drops again we are going to have 
 to fight for it." 
 
 "Would the wind dropping help us, sir?" 
 
 " Yes; we have more canvas on her than the lugger carries, 
 and, if the breeze were lighter, should steal away from her. 
 As it is, she doesn't gain much; but she does gain, a7id in an- 
 other two or three hours she will be sending a messenger to 
 ask us to stop." 
 
 "And what will you do, captain?" 
 
 " We shall send another messenger back to tell her to 
 mind her own business. Then it will be a question of good 
 shooting. If we can knock out one of her masts we shall 
 get off; if we can't, the chances are we shall see the inside of 
 a French prison. If she once gets alongside, it is all up 
 with us. She can carry us by boarding, for she can throw 
 three times our strength of men on to our deck." 
 
 There was but little talking on board the brig. When 
 the men had finished their preparations they stood waiting 
 by the bulwarks watching the vessel in chase of them, and 
 occasionally speaking together in low tones. 
 
 " You may as well pipe the hands to breakfast, Mr. Pro- 
 bert. I have told the cook to give them an extra good 
 meal. After that I will say a few words to them. Now, 
 Master Repton, we may as well have our meal, we mayn't 
 get another good one for some time; but I still hope that 
 we shall be able to cripple that fellow. I have great faith 
 in that long eighteen. The boatswain is an old man-o'- 
 war's-man, and is a capital shot. I am a pretty good one 
 myself, and as the sea is smooth, and we have a good steady 
 platform to fire from, I have good hope we shall cripple that 
 fellow before he comes up to us." 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 101 
 
 There was more talking than usual at breakfast. Captain 
 Lockett and the second-mate both laughed and joked over 
 the approaching fight. Mr. Probert was always a man of 
 few words, and he said but little now. 
 
 " The sooner they come up the better," he growled. " I 
 hate this running away, especially when you can't run 
 fastest." 
 
 "The men will all do their best, I suppose, Probert'? 
 You have been down among them." 
 
 The first-mate nodded. "They don't want to see the 
 inside of a prison, captain, no more than I do. They will 
 stick to the guns, but I fancy they know well enough it will 
 be no use if it comes to boarding." 
 
 "No use at all, Probert. I quite agree with you there. 
 If she comes up alongside we must haul down the flag. It 
 is of no use throwing away the men's lives by fighting 
 against such odds as that. But we mustn't let her get 
 up." 
 
 " That is it, sir. We have got to keep her off if it can 
 be done. We shall have to haul our wind a little when we 
 begin, so as to get that eighteen to bear on her." 
 
 " Yes, we must do that," the captain said. " Then we 
 will get the other four guns over on the same side." 
 
 After breakfast was over the captain went up and took 
 his station at the poop rail. The men had finished their 
 breakfast, and on seeing that the captain was about to 
 address them, moved aft. 
 
 "My lads," he said, "that Frenchman behind will be 
 within range in the course of another hour. What we have 
 got to do is to knock some of her spars out of her, and as 
 she comes up slowly we shall have plenty of time to do it. 
 I daresay she carries a good many more guns than we do, 
 but I do not suppose that they are heavier metal. If she 
 got alongside of us she would be more than our match, but 
 I don't propose to let her get alongside; and, as I don't 
 imagine any of you wish to see the inside of a French 
 
102 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 prison, I know you will all do your best. Let there be no 
 hurrying in your fire. Aim at her spars, and don't throw a 
 shot away. The chances are all in our favour, for we can 
 fight all our guns, while she can fight only her bow-chasers; 
 at any rate, until she bears up. She doesn't gain on us 
 much now, and when she comes to get a few shot holes in 
 her sails it will make the difference. I shall give ten guineas 
 to be divided among the men at the first gun that knocks 
 away one of her spars, and five guineas besides to the man 
 who lays the gun." 
 
 The men gave a cheer. 
 
 " Get the guns all over to the port side. I shall haul her 
 wind a little as soon as we are within range." 
 
 By five bells the lugger was within a mile and a half. 
 The men were already clustered round the pivot-gun. 
 
 " Put her helm down a little," the captain ordered. "That 
 is enough. Now, boatswain, you are well within range. Let 
 us see what you can do. Fire when you have got her well 
 on your sights." 
 
 A few seconds later there was a flash and a roar. All 
 eyes were directed on the lugger, which the captain was 
 watching through his glass. There was a shout from the 
 men. The ball had passed through the great foresail a 
 couple of feet from the mast. 
 
 " Very good," the captain said. " Give her a trifle more 
 elevation next time. If you can hit the yard it will be just 
 as good as hitting the mast. Ah! there she goes!" 
 
 Two puffs of white smoke broke out from the lugger's bow. 
 One shot struck the water nearly abreast of the brig at a 
 distance of ten yards, the other fell short. 
 
 "Fourteens!" the captain said. "I thought she wouldn't 
 have eighteens so far forward." 
 
 Shot after shot was fired, but so far no serious damage 
 had been caused by them. The brig had been hulled once, 
 and two shots had passed through her sails. The captain 
 went himself to the pivot-gun, and laid it carefully. Eob 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 103 
 
 stood watching the lugger intently, and gave a shout as he 
 saw the foresail run rapidly down. 
 
 "It is only the slings cut," the second-mate, who was 
 standing by him, said. " They will have it up again in a 
 minute. If the shot had been the least bit lower it would 
 have smashed the yard." 
 
 The lugger came into the wind, and as she did so eight 
 guns flashed out from her side, while almost at the same 
 moment the four broadside guns of the Antelope were for 
 the first time discharged. Bob felt horribly uncomfortable 
 for a moment as the shot hummed overhead, cutting one of 
 the stunsail booms in two and making five fresh holes in 
 the sails. 
 
 "Take the men from the small guns, Joe, and get that 
 sail in," the captain said. " Its loss is of no consequence." 
 
 In half a minute the lugger's foresail again rose, and she 
 continued the chase, heading straight for the brig. 
 
 " He doesn't like this game of long bowls, Probert," the 
 captain said. " He intends to come up to board instead of 
 trusting to his guns. Now, boatswain, you try again." 
 
 The brig was now sailing somewhat across the lugger's 
 bows, so that her broadside guns, trained as far as possible 
 aft, could all play upon her, and a steady fire was kept up, 
 to which she only replied by her two bow-chasers. One of 
 the men had been knocked down and wounded by a splinter 
 from the bulwark, but no serious damage had so far been 
 inflicted, while the sails of the lugger were spotted with 
 shot holes. Bob wished heartily that he had something to 
 do, and would have been glad to have followed the first- 
 mate's example, that officer having thrown off his coat and 
 taken the place of the wounded man in working a gun, 
 but he felt that he would only be in the way did he try to 
 assist. Steadily the lugger came up until she was little more 
 than a quarter of a mile behind them. 
 
 "Now, lads," the captain shouted, "double-shot the guns; 
 this is your last chance. Lay your guns carefully, and all 
 
104 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 fire together when I give the word. Now, are you all ready 1 ? 
 Fire!" 
 
 The five guns flashed out together, and the ten shot sped 
 on their way. The splinters flew from the lugger's fore- 
 mast in two places, but a cry of disappointment rose as it 
 was seen that it was practically uninjured. 
 
 " Look, look!" the captain shouted. " Hurrah, lads !" and 
 a cloud of white canvas fell over to leeward of the lugger. 
 Her two masts were nearly in line, and the shot that had 
 narrowly missed the foremast and passed through the fore- 
 sail, had struck the mainmast, and brought it and its sail 
 overboard. The crew of the brig raised a general cheer. 
 A minute before a French prison had stared them in the 
 face, and now they were free. The helm was instantly put 
 up, and the brig bore straight away from her pursuer. 
 
 "What do you say, Probert? Shall we turn the tables 
 now and give her a pounding?" 
 
 "I should like to, sir, nothing better; but it would be 
 dangerous work. Directly she gets free of that hamper she 
 will be under command, and will be able to bring her broad- 
 side to play on us, and if she had luck and knocked away 
 one of our spars she would turn the tables upon us; besides, 
 even if we made her strike her colours, we could never take 
 her into port. Strong-handed as she is, we should not dare 
 to send a prize crew on board." 
 
 "You are right, Probert; though it does seem a pity to 
 let her go scot-free when we have got her almost at our 
 mercy." 
 
 " Not quite, sir. Look there." 
 
 The lugger had managed to bring her head sufficiently up 
 into the wind for her broadside guns to bear, and the shot 
 came hurtling overhead. The yard of the main-topsail was 
 cut in sunder and the peak halliard of the spanker severed, 
 and the peak came down with a run. They could hear a 
 faint cheer come across the water from the lugger. 
 
 "Leave the guns, lads, and repair damages!" the captain 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 105 
 
 shouted. "Throw off the throat halliards of the spanker, 
 get her down, and send a hand up to reef a fresh rope through 
 the blocks, Mr. Prohert. Joe, take eight men with you 
 and stow away the topsail. Send the broken yard down. 
 Carpenter, see if you have got a light spar that will do 
 instead of it. If not, get two small ones and lash them so 
 as to make a splice of it." 
 
 In a minute the guns of the lugger spoke out again, but 
 although a few ropes were cut away and some more holes 
 made in the sails no serious damage was inflicted, and before 
 they were again loaded the spanker was rehoisted. The 
 lugger continued to fire, but the brig was now leaving her 
 fast. As soon as the sail was up the pivot-gun was again 
 set to work, and the lugger was hulled several times; but 
 seeing that her chance of disabling the brig was small, she 
 was again brought before the wind. In half an hour a new 
 topsail-yard was ready, and that sail was again hoisted. The 
 Antdope, had now got three miles away from the lugger. As 
 the sail sheeted home, the second-mate shouted from aloft: 
 "There is a sail on the weather-bow, sir! She is close- 
 hauled, and sailing across our head." 
 
 " I see her," the captain replied. " We ought to have 
 noticed her before, Mr. Probert. We have all been so busy 
 that we haven't been keeping a look-out. What do you 
 make her to be, Joe?" he said to the second-mate. 
 
 "I should say she was a French frigate, sir." 
 
 The captain ascended the shrouds with his glass, remained 
 there two or three minutes watching the ship, and then re- 
 turned to the deck. 
 
 " She is a frigate certainly, Mr. Probert, and by the cut 
 of her sails I should say a Frenchman. We are in an awk- 
 ward fix. She has got the weather-gage of us. Do you 
 think if we put up helm and ran due north we should come 
 out ahead of her?" 
 
 The mate shook his head. 
 
 " Not if the wind freshens, sir, as I think it will. I 
 
106 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 should say we had hest haul our wind, and make for one of 
 the Spanish ports. We might get into Santander." 
 , " Yes, that would be our best chance. All hands 'bout 
 ship!" 
 
 The vessel's head was brought up into the wind and payed 
 off on the other tack, heading south, the frigate being now on 
 her weather-quarter. This course took the brig within a mile 
 and a half of the lugger, which fired a few harmless shots at 
 her. When she had passed beyond the range of her guns 
 she shaped her course south-east by east for Santander, the 
 frigate being now dead astern. The men were then piped 
 to dinner. 
 
 "Is she likely to catch us, sir?" Bob asked as they sat 
 down to table. 
 
 " I hope not, lad. I don't think she will, unless the wind 
 freshens a good deal. If it did, she would come up hand 
 over hand. I take it she is twelve miles off now. It is 
 four bells, and she has only got five hours' daylight at most. 
 However fast she is, she ought not to gain a knot and a half 
 an hour in this breeze, and if we are five or six miles ahead 
 when it gets dark we can change our course. There is no 
 moon." 
 
 They were not long below. 
 
 " The lugger is under sail again, sir," the second-mate, 
 who was on duty, said as they gained the deck. 
 
 " They haven't been long getting up a jury-mast," Captain 
 Lockett said, " that is the best of a lug rig. Still, they have 
 a smart crew on board." He directed his glass towards the 
 lugger, which was some five miles away. "It is a good- 
 sized spar," he said, " nearly as lofty as the foremast. She is 
 carrying her mainsail with two reefs in it, and with the wind 
 on her quarter is travelling pretty nearly as fast as she did 
 before. Still, she can't catch us, and she knows it. Do you 
 see, Mr. Probert, she is bearing rather more to the north. 
 She reckons, I fancy, that after it gets dark we may try to 
 throw the frigate out and may make up that way, in which 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 107 
 
 case she would have a good chance of cutting us off. That 
 is awkward, for the frigate will know that, and will guess 
 that instead of wearing round that way we shall he more 
 likely to make the other." 
 
 " That is so," the mate agreed. " Still we shall have the 
 choice of either hauling our wind and making south by west, 
 or of running on, and she can't tell which we shall choose." 
 
 " That is right enough. It is just a toss up. If we run 
 and she runs she will overtake us, if we haul up close into 
 the wind and she does the same she will overtake us again; 
 but if we do one thing and she does the other, we are safe. 
 Then, again, we may give her more westing after it gets 
 dark, and bear the same course the lugger is taking. She 
 certainly won't gain on us, and I fancy we shall gain a bit 
 on her. Then in the morning, if the frigate is out of sight, 
 we can make for Santander, which will be pretty nearly 
 due south of us then; or if the lugger is left well astern we 
 can make a lea; north, and then get on our old course aa;ain 
 for Cape Ortegal. The lugger would see it was of no use 
 chasing us any further." 
 
 "Yes, I think that is the best plan of the three, captain. 
 I see the frigate is coming up; I can just make out the line 
 of her hull. 'She must be a fast craft." 
 
 The hours passed on slowly. Fortunately the wind did 
 not freshen, and the vessels maintained their respective 
 positions towards each other. The frigate was coming up, 
 but when it began to get dusk she was still some six miles 
 astern. The lugger was five miles away on the lee-quarter, 
 and three miles north-east of the frigate. She was still pur- 
 suing a line that would take her four miles to the north of 
 the brig's present position. The coast of Spain could be 
 seen stretching along to the southward. Another hour and 
 it was perfectly dark, and even with the night-glasses the 
 frigate could no longer be made out. 
 
 " Starboard your helm," the captain said to the man at 
 the wheel. "Lay her head due east." 
 
108 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " I fancy the wind is dying away, sir," Mr. Probert said. 
 
 " So long as it don't come a stark calm, I don't care," the 
 captain replied. " That would be the worst thing that could 
 happen, for we should have the frigate's boats after us; but 
 a light breeze would suit us admirably." 
 
 Two hours later the wind had almost died out. 
 
 "We will take all the sails off her, Mr. Probert. If the 
 frigate keeps on the course she is steering when we last saw 
 her, she will go two miles to the south of us, and the lugger 
 will go more than that to the north. If they hold on all 
 night they will be hull down before morning, and Ave shall 
 be to windward of them, and with the wind light the frigate 
 would never catch us, and we know the lugger wouldn't with 
 her reduced sails." 
 
 In a few minutes all the sails were lowered, and the brig 
 lay motionless. For the next two hours the closest watch 
 was kept, but nothing was seen of the pursuing vessels. 
 
 " I fancy the frigate must have altered her course more to 
 the south," the captain said, " thinking that, as the lugger 
 was up north, we should be likely to haul our wind in that 
 direction. We will wait another hour, and then get up sail 
 again and lay her head for Cape Ortegal." 
 
 When the morning broke the brig was steering west. No 
 sign of the lugger was visible, but from the tops the upper 
 sails of the frigate could be seen close under the land, away 
 to the south-east. 
 
 " Just as I thought," the captain said, rubbing his hands 
 in high glee. " She hauled her wind as soon as it was dark 
 and stood in for the coast, thinking we should do the same. 
 We are well out of that scrape." 
 
 Two days later the brig dropped her anchor in the Tagus, 
 where three English ships of war were lying. A part of the 
 cargo had to be discharged here, and the captain at once 
 went ashore to get a spar to replace the topmast carried 
 away in the gale. 
 
 " We may fall in with another Frenchman before we are 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 109 
 
 through the Straits," he said, " and I am not going to put to 
 sea again like a lame duck." 
 
 Bob went ashore with the captain, and was greatly amused 
 at the scenes in the streets of Lisbon. 
 
 " You had better keep with me, as I shall be going on 
 board in an hour. To-morrow you can come ashore and see 
 the sights, and spend the day. I would let Joe come with 
 you, but he will be too busy to be spared, so you will have 
 to shift for yourself." 
 
 Before landing in the morning the captain advised him 
 not to go outside the town. 
 
 " You don't know the lingo, lad, and might get into 
 trouble. You see there are always sailors going ashore from 
 our ships of war, and they get drunk and have sprees, and 
 I don't fancy they are favourites with the lower class here, 
 although the shopkeepers of course are glad enough to have 
 their money; but I don't think it would be safe for a lad like 
 you, who can't speak a word of the language, to wander 
 about outside the regular streets. There will be plenty for 
 you to see without going further." 
 
 As Bob was a good deal impressed with the narrow escape 
 he had had from capture, he was by no w ?ans inclined to 
 run any risk of getting into a scrape and perhaps missing 
 his passage out. He therefore strictly obeyed the captain's 
 instructions, and when, just as he was going down to the 
 landing-stage where the boat was to come ashore for him, 
 he came upon a party of half-drunken sailors engaged in 
 a vigorous fight with a number of Portuguese civil guards, 
 he turned down a side street to avoid getting mixed up in 
 the fray, repressing his strong impulse to join in by the side 
 of his countrymen. On his mentioning this to the captain 
 when he reached the brig, the latter said: 
 
 " It is lucky that you kept clear of the row. It is all 
 nonsense talking about countrymen; it wasn't an affair of 
 nationality at all. Nobody would think of interfering if he 
 saw a party of drunken sailors in an English port fighting 
 
110 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 with the constables. If he did interfere, it ought to be on 
 the side of the law. Why, then, should anyone take the 
 part of drunken sailors in a foreign port against the guar- 
 dians of the peace 1 To do so is an act of the grossest folly. 
 In the first place, the chances are in favour of getting your 
 head laid open with a sword-cut. These fellows know they 
 don't stand a chance against Englishmen's fists, and they 
 very soon whip out their swords. In the second place, you 
 would have to pass the night in a crowded lock-up, where 
 you would be half smothered before morning. And lastly, 
 if you were lucky enough not to get a week's confinement 
 in jail, you would have a smart fine to pay. There is plenty 
 of fighting to be done in days like these ; but people should 
 see that they fight on the right side, and not be taking the 
 part of every drunken scamp who gets into trouble simply 
 because he happens to be an Englishman. 
 
 " You showed plenty of pluck, lad, when the balls were 
 flying about the other day; and when I see your uncle I am 
 sure he will be pleased when I tell him how well you be- 
 haved under fire; but I am equally certain he would not 
 have been by any means gratified at hearing that I had had 
 to leave you behind at Lisbon, either with a broken head or 
 in prison, through getting into a street row, in which you had 
 no possible concern, between drunken sailors and the Portu- 
 guese civil guards." 
 
 Bob saw that the captain was perfectly right, and said so 
 frankly. " I see I should have been a fool indeed if I had 
 got into the row, captain, and I shall remember what you 
 say in future. Still, you know, I didn't get into it." 
 
 "No, I give you credit for that, lad; but you acknow- 
 ledge your strong impulse to do so. Now, in future you 
 had better have an impulse just the other way, and when 
 you find yourself in the midst of a row in which you have 
 no personal concern, let your first thought be how to get 
 out of it as quickly as you can. I got into more than one 
 scrape myself when I was a young fellow from the conduct 
 
A FRENCH PRIVATEER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of messmates who had got too much liquor in them; but it 
 did them no good, and did me harm. So take my advice : 
 fight your own battles, but never interfere to fight other 
 people's unless you are absolutely convinced that they are in 
 the right. If you are, stick by them as long as you have a 
 leg to stand upon." 
 
 •s: 
 
 : *r 
 
 **• 
 
CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE ROCK FORTRESS. 
 
 ON the third day after her arrival at Lisbon the Antelope's 
 anchor was hove up, and she dropped down the river. 
 Half an hour later a barque and another brig came out and 
 joined her, the three captains having agreed the day before 
 that they would sail in company, as they were all bound 
 through the Straits. Captain Lockett had purchased two 
 14 -pounder guns at Lisbon, and the brig, therefore, now 
 carried three guns on each side besides her long 18-pounder. 
 The barque carried fourteen guns, and the other brig ten; so 
 that they felt confident of being able to beat off any French 
 privateer they might meet on the way. One or two suspicious 
 sails were sighted as they ran down the coast, but none of 
 these approached within gun - shot, the three craft being 
 evidently too strong to be meddled with. Rounding Cape 
 St. Vincent at a short distance they steered for the mouth 
 of the Straits. After the bold cliffs of Portugal, Bob was 
 disappointed with the aspect of the Spanish coast. 
 
 " Ah ! it is all very well," the first-mate replied when he 
 expressed his opinion. " Give me your low samby shores, 
 and let those who like have what you call the fine bold rocks. 
 Mind, I don't mean coasts with sand-banks lying off them, 
 but a coast with a shelving beach and pretty deep water 
 right up to it. If you get cast on a coast like that of 
 Portugal it is certain death. Your ship will get smashed 
 up like an egg-shell against those rocks you are talking of, 
 and not a soul gets a chance of escape; while if you are 
 blown on a flat coast you may get carried within a ship's 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 113 
 
 length of the beach before you strike, and it is hard if you 
 can't get a line on shore; besides, it is ten to one the ship 
 won't break up for hours. No; you may get a landsman to 
 admire your bold cliffs, but you won't get a sailor to agree 
 with him." 
 
 " We seem to be going along fast, although tbere is not 
 much wind." 
 
 " Yes, there is a strong current. You see, the rivers that 
 fall into the Mediterranean ain't sufficient to make up for 
 the loss by evaporation, and so there is always a current 
 running in here. It is well enough for us going east, but it 
 is not so pleasant when you want to come out. Then you 
 have got to wait till you can get a breeze from somewhere 
 about east to carry you out. I have been kept waiting 
 sometimes for weeks, and it is no unusual thing to see two 
 or three hundred ships anchored, waiting for the wind to 
 change." 
 
 "Are there are any pirates over on that side 1 ?" Bob asked, 
 looking across at the African coast. 
 
 " Not about here. Ceuta lies over there. They are good 
 friends with us, and Gibraltar gets most of its supplies from 
 there. But once through the Straits we give that coast a 
 wide berth, for the Algerine pirates are nearly as bad as ever, 
 and would snap up any ship becalmed on their coast, or that 
 had the bad luck to be blown ashore. I hope some clay we 
 shall send a fleet down and blow the place about their ears. 
 It makes one's blood boil to think that there are hundreds 
 and hundreds of Englishmen working as slaves among the 
 Moors. There, do you see that projecting point with a fort 
 on it, and a town lying behind'? That is Tarifa. That 
 used to be a great place in the time when the Moors were 
 masters in Spain." 
 
 "Yes," the captain, who had just joined them, said. 
 " Tarif was a great Moorish commander, I have heard, and 
 the place is named after him. Gibraltar is also named after 
 a Moorish chief called Tarik ibn Zeyad." 
 
 (680) H 
 
114 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Bob looked surprised. " I don't see that it is much like 
 his name, captain." 
 
 " No, Master Repton, it doesn't sound much like it now. 
 The old name of the place was Gebel Tarik, which means 
 Tarik's Hill, and it is easy to see how Gebel Tarik got 
 gradually changed into Gibraltar." 
 
 In another two hours the Straits were passed, and the 
 Rock of Gibraltar appeared rising across a bay to the left. 
 
 "There is your destination, lad," the captain said. "It is 
 a strong-looking place, isn't it 1 ?" 
 
 " It is, indeed, Captain," Bob said, taking the captain's 
 glass from the top of the skylight and examining the Rock. 
 
 "You see," the captain went on, "the Rock is divided 
 from the mainland by that low spit of sand. It is only a 
 few hundred yards wide, and the sea goes round at the back 
 of the Rock and along the other side of that spit, though you 
 can't see it from here ; so anything coming to attack it must 
 advance along the spit under the fire of the guns. There, do 
 you see that building standing up on the hill above the 
 town 1 That is the old Moorish castle, and there are plenty 
 of modern batteries scattered about near it, though you can't 
 see them. You see, the Rock rises sheer up from the spit, 
 and it is only on this side, close to the water's edge, that the 
 place can be entered. The weak side of the place is along 
 this sea face. On the other side the Rock rises right out of 
 the water, but on this side, as you see, it slopes gradually 
 down. 
 
 "There are batteries all along by the water's edge; but if 
 the place were attacked by a fleet strong enough to knock 
 those batteries to pieces, and silence their guns, a landing 
 could be effected. At the southern end you see the rocks 
 are bolder, and there is no landing there. That is called 
 Europa Point, and there is a battery there, though you can't 
 make it out from here." 
 
 The scene was a very pretty one, and Bob watched it with 
 the greatest interest. A frigate and two men-of-war brigs 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 115 
 
 were anchored at some little distance from the Eock, and 
 around them were some thirty or forty merchantmen waiting 
 for a change in the wind to enable them to sail out through 
 the Straits. White-sailed boats were gliding about among 
 them. At the head of the bay were villages nestled among 
 trees, while the country behind was broken and hilly. On 
 the opposite side of the bay was a town of considerable size, 
 which the captain told him was Algeciras. It was, he said, 
 a large town at the time of the Moors, very much larger and 
 more important than Gibraltar. 
 
 The ground rose gradually behind it, and was completely 
 covered with foliage, orchards, and orange groves. The cap- 
 tain said: "You see that rock rising at the end of the bay from 
 among the trees, lad? That is called 'the Queen of Spain's 
 Chair.' It is said that at a certain siege when the Moors were 
 here the then Queen of Spain took her seat on that rock and 
 declared she would never go away till Gibraltar was taken. 
 She also took an oath never to change her linen until it 
 surrendered. I don't know how she managed about it at 
 last, for the place never did surrender. I suppose she got 
 a dispensation, and was able to get into clean clothes again 
 some day. I have heard tell that the Spaniards have a colour 
 that is called by her name — a sort of dirty yellow; it came 
 out at that time. Of course it would not have been etiquette 
 for other ladies to wear white when her majesty was obliged 
 to wear dingy garments; so they all took to having their 
 things dyed so as to match hers, and the tint has borne her 
 name ever since." 
 
 "It is a very nasty idea," Bob said; "and I should think 
 she took pretty good care afterwards not to take any oaths. 
 It is hot enough now, and I should think in summer it must 
 be baking here." 
 
 "It is pretty hot on the Eock in summer. You know 
 they call the natives of the place Eock scorpions. Scorpions 
 are supposed to like heat, though I don't know whether they 
 do. You generally find them lying under pieces of loose 
 
116 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 rock, but whether they do it for heat or to keep themselves cool 
 I can't say. Now, Mr. Probert, you may as well take some 
 of the sail off her. We will anchor inside those craft close 
 to the New Mole. They may want to get her alongside to 
 unload the government stores we have brought out, and the 
 nearer we are in the less trouble it will be to warp her 
 alongside to-morrow morning. Of course, if the landing- 
 place is full they will send lighters out to us." 
 
 The sails were gradually got off the brig, and she had but 
 little way on when her anchor was dropped a cable's length 
 from the end of the Mole. Scarcely had she brought up 
 when a boat shot out from the end of the pier. 
 
 "Hooray!" Bob shouted. "There are my sister and 
 Gerald." 
 
 "I thought as much," the captain said. "We hoisted 
 our number as soon as we came round the point, and the 
 signal station on the top of the Rock would send down the 
 news directly they made out our colours." 
 
 "Well, Bob, it gave me quite a turn," his sister said 
 after the first greetings were over, " when we saw how the 
 sails were all patched, and everyone said that the ship 
 must have been in action. I was very anxious till I saw 
 your head above the bulwarks." 
 
 " Yes, we have been in a storm and a fight, and we came 
 pretty near being taken. Did you get out all right?" 
 
 " Yes, we had a very quiet voyage." 
 
 The captain then came up and was introduced. " I have 
 a box or two for you, madam, in addition to your brother's 
 kit. Mr. Bale sent them down a couple of days before we 
 sailed. At one time it didn't seem likely that you would 
 ever see their contents, for we had a very close shave of it. 
 In the first place, we had about as bad a gale as I have met 
 with in crossing the bay, and were blown into the bight 
 with the loss of our bowsprit, fore-top-mast and four of our 
 guns that we had to throw overboard to lighten her. Then a 
 French lugger, that would have been a good deal more than 
 
THE EOCK FORTRESS. 1 1 7 
 
 a match for her at any time, came up. We might have out- 
 sailed her if we could have carried all our canvas, but with 
 only a jury-topmast she was too fast for us. As you may 
 see by our sails, we had a smart fight; but, by the greatest 
 good fortune, we knocked the mainmast out of her. Then 
 we were chased by a French frigate with the lugger to help 
 her. However, we gave them the slip in the night, and 
 here we are. I am afraid you won't get your brother's 
 boxes till to-morrow; nothing can go ashore till the port 
 officer has been on board and the usual formalities gone 
 through. I don't know yet whether we shall discharge into 
 lighters or go alongside, but I will have your boxes all put 
 together in readiness for you the first thing in the morning 
 whichever way it is." 
 
 "We shall be very glad if you will dine with us to- 
 morrow," Captain O'Halloran said. "We dine at one 
 o'clock, or if that would be inconvenient for you, come to 
 supper at seven." 
 
 " I would rather do that, if you will let me," Captain 
 Lockett replied. " I shall be pretty busy to-morrow, and 
 you military gentlemen do give us such a lot of trouble in 
 the way of papers, documents, and signatures that I never 
 like leaving the ship till I get rid of the last bale and box 
 with the government brand on it." 
 
 "Very well, then; we shall expect you to supper." 
 
 "I shall come down first thing in the morning, captain," 
 Bob said, "so I need not say good-bye to anyone now." 
 
 "You had better bring only what you may want with 
 you for the night, Bob," his sister put in, as he was about to 
 run below. " The cart will take everything else up together 
 in the morning." 
 
 "Then I shall be ready in a minute," Bob said, running 
 below, and it was not much more before he reappeared with 
 a small hand-bag. 
 
 " I shall see you again to-morrow, Mr. Probert. I shall 
 be here about our luggage;" and he took his place in the 
 
118 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 boat beside the others, who had already descended the 
 ladder. 
 
 "And you have had a pleasant voyage, Bob?" Captain 
 O'Halloran asked. 
 
 "Very jolly, Gerald; first-rate. Captain Lockett was as 
 kind as could be; and the first-mate was very good too, 
 though I did not think he would be when I first saw him ; 
 and Joe Lockett, the second-mate, is a capital fellow." 
 
 "But how was it that you did not take that French 
 privateer, Bob? With a fellow like you on board, the 
 capturer of a gang of burglars and all that sort of thing, I 
 should have thought that instead of running away you would 
 have gone straight at her, that you would have thrown 
 yourself on her deck at the head of the boarders, would 
 have beaten the Frenchmen below, killed their captain in 
 single combat, and hauled down their flag." 
 
 "There is no saying what I might have done," Bob laughed, 
 "if it had come to boarding; but as it was, I did not feel 
 the least wish for a closer acquaintance with the privateer. 
 It was too close to be pleasant as it was, a good deal too 
 close. It is a pity you were not there to have set me an 
 example." 
 
 " I am going to do that now, Bob, and I hope you will 
 profit by it. Now, then, you jump out first and give Carrie 
 your hand. That is it." And having settled with the 
 boatman, Captain O'Halloran followed the others' steps. 
 
 It was a busy scene. Three ships were discharging their car- 
 goes, and the wharf was covered with boxes and bales, piles 
 of shot and shell, guns, and cases of ammunition. Fatigue 
 parties of artillery and infantry men were piling the goods 
 or stowing them in hand-carts. Goods were being slung 
 down from the ships, and were swinging in the air or run 
 down to the cry of "Look below!" 
 
 "Mind how you go, Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said, "or 
 you will be getting what brains you have knocked out." 
 
 " If that is all the danger, Gerald," she laughed, " you are 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 119 
 
 safe, anyhow. Now, Bob, do look out!" she broke off, as 
 while glancing round he tripped over a hawser and fell. 
 "Are you hurt 1 ?" 
 
 " Never mind him, Carrie, — look out for yourself. A boy 
 never gets hurt. Now, keep your eyes about you, Bob! 
 You can come and look at all this any day." 
 
 At last they got to the end of the Mole, then they passed 
 under an archway with a massive gate at which stood a 
 sentry, then they found themselves in a sort of yard sur- 
 rounded by a high wall, on the top of which two cannon 
 were pointed down upon them. Crossing the yard, they 
 passed through another gateway. The ground here rose 
 sharply, and a hundred yards further back stood another 
 battery, completely commanding the Mole and the defences 
 through which they had passed. The ground here was com- 
 paratively level, rising gradually to the foot of the rock, 
 which then rose steeply up. A few houses were scattered 
 about, surrounded by gardens. Hedges of cactus lined the 
 road. Parties of soldiers and sailors, natives with carts, and 
 women in picturesque costumes passed along. The vegeta- 
 tion on the low ground was abundant, and Bob looked with 
 delight at the semi-tropical foliage. Turning to the right 
 they followed the road, passed under an archway in a strong 
 wall, and were in the town itself. 
 
 "We are not living in barracks," Carrie said. "For- 
 tunately there was no room there, and we draw lodging 
 allowance, and have taken the upper portion of a Spanish 
 house. It is much more pleasant. Besides, if we had had 
 to live in quarters we should have had no room for you." 
 
 " The streets are steep," Bob said. " I can't make out 
 how these little donkeys keep their feet on the slippery 
 stones with those heavy loads. Oh! I say, there are two 
 rum-looking chaps. What are they — Moors?" 
 
 " Yes. You will see lots of them here, Bob. They come 
 across from Ceuta, and there are some of them established 
 here as traders. What with the Moors, and Spaniards, and 
 
120 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Jews, and the sailors from the shipping, you can hear pretty 
 nearly every European language spoken in one walk through 
 the streets." 
 
 "Oh, I say, isn't this hot!" Bob exclaimed, mopping his 
 face; "and isn't there a glare from all these white walls and 
 houses! How much higher is it 1 ?" 
 
 "About another hundred yards, Bob. There, you see, 
 we are getting beyond the streets now." 
 
 They had now reached a flat shoulder, and on this the 
 houses were somewhat scattered, standing in little inclosures 
 with hedges of cactus and geranium, and embowered in 
 shrubs and flowers. 
 
 " This is our house," Carrie said, stopping before a rickety 
 wooden gateway, hung upon two massive posts of masonry. 
 " You see we have got a flight of steps outside, and we are 
 quite cut off from the people below." 
 
 They ascended the stairs. At the top there was a sort 
 of wide porch with a wooden roof, which was completely 
 covered with creepers growing from two Avooden tubs. 
 Four or five plants covered with blossoms stood on the low 
 walls, and two or three chairs showed that the little terrace 
 was used as an open-air sitting-room. 
 
 " In another hour, when the sun gets lower, Bob, we can 
 come and sit here. It is a lovely view, isn't it?" 
 
 "Beautiful!" Bob said, leaning on the wall. Below them 
 lay the sea front with its gardens and bright foliage and 
 pretty houses, with Europa Point and the sea stretching 
 away beyond it. A little to the right were the African hills, 
 and then, turning slightly round, the Spanish coast with 
 Algeciras nestled in foliage, and the bay with all its shipping. 
 The head of the bay was hidden, for the ground behind 
 was higher than that on which the house stood. 
 
 "Come in, Bob," Captain O'Halloran said. "You had 
 better get out of the sun. Of course it is nothing to what 
 it will be; but it is hot now, and we are none of us acclima- 
 tized yet." 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 121 
 
 The rooms were of a fair size, but the light-coloured walls 
 gave them a bare appearance to Bob's eyes. They were, 
 however, comfortably furnished, matting being laid down 
 instead of carpets. 
 
 "It is cooler and cheaper," Carrie said, seeing Bob looking 
 at them. "This is your room, and this is the kitchen," and 
 she opened the door into what seemed to Bob a tiny place 
 indeed. Across one end was a mass of brickwork rather 
 higher than an ordinary table. Several holes a few inches 
 deep were scattered about over this. In some of these small 
 charcoal fires were burning, and pots were placed over them. 
 There were small openings from the front leading to these 
 tiny fireplaces, and a Spanish girl was driving the air into 
 one of these with a fan when they entered. 
 
 " This is my brother, Manola," Mrs. O'Halloran said. 
 
 The girl smiled and nodded, and then continued her work. 
 
 "She speaks English?" Bob said as they went out. 
 
 " She belongs to the Bock, Bob. Almost all the natives 
 here talk a little English." 
 
 "Where do these steps lead to? I thought we were at 
 the top of the house." 
 
 " Come up and see," Carrie said, leading the way. 
 
 Following her, Bob found himself on a flat terrace ex- 
 tending over the whole of the house. Several orange-trees 
 in tubs, and many flowers and small shrubs in pots stood 
 upon it, and three or four light cane-work lounging-chairs 
 stood apart. 
 
 " Here is where we come when the sun is down, Bob. 
 There is no finer view, we flatter ourselves, anywhere in 
 Cib. Here we receive our guests in the evening. We have 
 only begun }^et, but we mean to make a perfect garden of it." 
 
 "It is splendid!" Bob said, as he walked round by the 
 low parapet and gazed at the view in all directions; "and we 
 can see what everyone else is doing on their roofs, and no 
 one can look down on us except from the rock over there 
 behind us, and there are no houses there." 
 
122 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "No, the batteries commanding the neutral ground lie 
 over that crest, Bob. We are quite shut in on two sides, 
 but we make up for it by the extent of our view on the 
 others. We are very lucky in getting the place. A regi- 
 ment went home in the transport that brought us out. 
 Gerald knew some of the officers, and one of them had been 
 staying here and told Gerald of it, and we took it at once. 
 The other officers' wives are all quite jealous of me, and 
 though some of them have very nice quarters, it is admitted 
 that as far as the view goes this is by far the best. Besides, 
 it is a great thing being out of the town, and it does not 
 take Gerald more than three or four minutes longer to get 
 down to the barracks. But now let us go downstairs. I 
 am sure you must want something to eat, and we sha'n't 
 have supper for another three hours." 
 
 " I dined at twelve," Bob said, " just before we rounded 
 the point, and I could certainly hold on until supper- time. 
 Still, I daresay I could eat something now." 
 
 "Oh, it is only a snack! it is some stewed chicken and 
 some fruit. That won't spoil your supper, Bob?" 
 
 "You will be glad to hear, Bob," Captain O'Halloran 
 said as the lad was eating his meal, " that I have secured 
 the services of a Spanish professor for you. He is to begin 
 next Monday." 
 
 Bob's face fell. " I don't see that there was need for such 
 a hurry," he said ruefully, laying down his knife and fork. 
 " I don't see there was need for any hurry at all. Besides, 
 of course, I want to see the place." 
 
 " You will be able to see a good deal of it in four days, 
 Bob, and your time won't be entirely occupied when you do 
 begin. The clays are pretty long here, everyone gets up 
 early? He is to come at seven o'clock in the morning. You 
 have a cup of coffee and some bread-and-butter and fruit 
 before that. He will go at nine, then we have breakfast. 
 Then you will have your time to yourself till dinner at half- 
 past two. The assistant surgeon of our regiment, he is a 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 123 
 
 Dublin man, will come to you for Latin, and what I may 
 call general knowledge, for two hours. That is all, except 
 I suppose that you will work a bit by yourself of an evening. 
 That is not so bad, is it?" 
 
 "What sort of man is the assistant surgeon?" Bob replied 
 cautiously. " It all depends how much he is going to give 
 me to do in the evening." 
 
 "I don't think he will give you anything to do in the 
 evening, Bob. Of course the Spanish is the principal thing, 
 and I told him that you will have to work at that." 
 
 "I don't think you need be afraid, Bob," his sister laughed. 
 " You won't find Dr. Burke a very severe kind of instructor. 
 Nobody but Gerald would ever have thought of choosing 
 him." 
 
 "Sure, and didn't you agree with me, Carrie," her hus- 
 band said, in an aggrieved voice, " that as we were not going 
 to make the boy a parson, and as it was too much to expect 
 him to learn Spanish and a score of other things at once, 
 that we ought to get someone who would make his lessons 
 pleasant for him, and not be worrying his soul out of his 
 body with all sorts of useless balderdash?" 
 
 "Yes, we agreed that, Gerald; but there was a limit, and 
 when you told me you had spoken to Teddy Burke about 
 it, and arranged the matter with him, I thought you had 
 gone beyond that limit altogether." 
 
 " He is just the man for Bob, Carrie. That boy will find 
 it mighty dull here after a bit, and will want someone to 
 cheer him up. I promised the old gentleman I would find 
 him someone who could push Bob on in his humanities, and 
 Teddy Burke has taken his degree at Dublin, and I will 
 venture to say will get him on faster than a stiff starched man 
 will do. Bob would always be playing tricks with a fellow 
 like that and be getting into rows with him. There will 
 be no playing tricks with Teddy Burke, for he is up to the 
 whole thing himself." 
 
 " I should think he is, Gerald. Well, we will see how 
 
124 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 it works, anyhow. Go on with your fowl, Bob. You will 
 see all about it in good time." 
 
 Bob felt satisfied that the teacher his brother-in-law had 
 chosen for him was not a very formidable personage, and 
 his curiosity as to what he would be like was satisfied that 
 evening. After he had finished his meal, he went for a 
 stroll with Captain O'Halloran through the town and round 
 the batteries at that end of the Rock, returning to supper. 
 After the meal was over they went up to the terrace above. 
 There was not a breath of wind, and a lamp on a table 
 there burned without a flicker. They had scarcely taken 
 their seats when Manola announced Dr. Burke, and a 
 minute later an officer in uniform made his appearance on 
 the terrace. He wore a pair of blue spectacles, and advanced 
 in a stiff and formal manner. " I wish you a good evening, 
 Mrs. O'Halloran. So this is our young friend! You are 
 well, I hope, Master Repton, and are none the worse for the 
 inconveniences I hear you have suffered on your voyage 1 ?" 
 
 Carrie, to Bob's surprise, burst into a fit of laughter. 
 
 "What is the matter, Mrs. O'Halloran?" Dr. Burke asked, 
 looking at her with an air of mild amazement 
 
 " I am laughing at you, Teddy Burke. How can you be 
 so ridiculous '?" 
 
 The doctor removed his spectacles. 
 
 "Now, Mrs. O'Halloran," he said, with a strong brogue. 
 "Do you call that acting fairly by me 1 ? Didn't you talk to 
 me yourself half an hour yesterday, and impress upon me 
 that I ought to be grave and steady now that I was going 
 to enter upon the duties of a pedagogue, and ain't I trying 
 my best to act up to your instructions, and there you burst 
 out laughing in my face and spoil it all entirely 1 ? 
 
 "Gerald said to me, 'Now mind, Teddy, it is a responsible 
 affair. The boy is up to all sorts of divarsions, and divil a 
 bit will he attend to ye if he finds that you are as bad, if not 
 worse, than he is himself.' 'But,' said I, 'it's Latin and such 
 like that you are wanting me to teach him, and not manners 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 125 
 
 at all, at all.' And he says, 'It is all one; it is quiet and well 
 behaved that you have got to be, Teddy. The missis has 
 been houlding out about the iniquity of taking a spalpeen 
 like yourself, and it is for you to show her that she is mis- 
 taken altogether.' So I said, 'You trust me, Gerald, I will be 
 as grave as a doctor of divinity.' So I got out these glasses, 
 which I bought because they told me that they would be 
 wanted here to keep out the glare of the sun, and I came 
 here and spoke as proper as might be, and then, Mrs. 
 O'Halloran, you burst out laughing in my face and destroy 
 the whole effect of these spectacles and all. 
 
 "Well, we must make the best of a bad business; and we 
 will try for a bit, anyhow. If he won't mind me Gerald 
 must go to the chaplain as he intended to, and I pity the 
 boy then. I would rather be had up before the colonel any 
 day than have any matter in dispute with him." 
 
 "You are too bad, Teddy Burke," Mrs. O'Halloran said, 
 still laughing. " It was all very well for you to try and look 
 sensible, but to put on that face was too absurd. You 
 know you could not have kept it up for five minutes. No, 
 I don't think it will do;" and she looked serious now. "I 
 always thought that it was out of the question, but this 
 bad beginning settles it." 
 
 But Bob, who had been immensely amused, now broke in. 
 "Why not, Carrie 1 ? I am sure I should work better for 
 Dr. Burke than I should for anyone who was very strict 
 and stiff. One is always wanting to do something with a 
 man like that: to play tricks with his wig or pig-tail, or 
 something of that sort. You might let us try, anyhow; and 
 if Dr. Burke finds that I am not attentive and don't mind 
 him, then you can put me with somebody else." 
 
 "Sure, we shall get on first-rate, Mrs. O'Halloran. Gerald 
 says the boy is a sensible boy, and that he has been work- 
 ing very well under an old uncle of yours. He knows for 
 himself that it's no use his having a master if he isn't going 
 to try his best to get on. When I was at school I used to 
 
126 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 get larrupped every day, and used to think to myself what 
 a grand thing it would be to have a master just like what Dr. 
 Burke, M.D., Dublin, is now, and I expect it is just about 
 the same with him. We sha'n't work any the worse because 
 maybe we will joke over it sometimes." 
 
 " Very well, then, we will try, Teddy; though I know the 
 whole regiment will think Gerald and I have gone mad 
 when they hear about it. But I shall keep my eye upon you 
 both." 
 
 "The more you keep your eye upon me the better I shall 
 be plazed, Mrs. O'Halloran, saving your husband's presence," 
 the doctor said insinuatingly. 
 
 "Do sit down and be reasonable, Teddy. There are 
 cigars in that box on the table." 
 
 " The tobacco here almost reconciles one to living outside 
 Ireland," Dr. Burke said, as he lit a cigar and seated him- 
 self in one of the comfortable chairs. "Just about a quarter 
 the price they are at home, and brandy at one shilling per 
 bottle. It is lucky for the country that we don't get them 
 at that price in Ireland, for it is mighty few boys they would 
 get to enlist if they could get tobacco and spirits at such 
 prices at home." 
 
 " I have been telling Gerald that it will be much better 
 for him to drink claret out here," Mrs. O'Halloran said. 
 
 " And you are not far wrong," the doctor agreed; " but the 
 native wines here are good enough for me, and you can get 
 them at sixpence a quart. I was telling them at mess yester- 
 day that we must not write home and tell them about it, 
 or faith there would be such an emigration that the Bock 
 wouldn't hold the people, not if you were to build houses 
 all over it. Sixpence a quart, and good sound tipple ! Sure, 
 and it was a mighty mistake of Providence that Ireland was 
 not dropped down into the sea off the coast of Spain. What 
 a country it would have been!" 
 
 "I don't know, Teddy," Captain O'Halloran said. "As 
 the people don't kill themselves with overwork now, I doubt 
 
THE ROCK FORTRESS. 127 
 
 if they would ever work at all if they had the excuse of a 
 hot climate for doing nothing." 
 
 "There would not have been so much need, Gerald. 
 They needn't have bothered about the thatch when it only 
 rains once in six months or so; while, as for clothes, it is 
 little enough they would have needed. And the bogs would 
 all have dried up, and they would have had crops without 
 more trouble than just scratching the ground and sowing in 
 the seed, and they would have grown oranges instead of 
 praties. Oh, it would have been a great country entirely!" 
 
 The doctor's three listeners all went off into a burst of 
 laughter at the seriousness with which he spoke. 
 
 "But you would have had trouble with your pigs," Mrs. 
 O'Halloran said. " The Spanish pigs are wild, fierce-looking 
 beasts, and would never be content to share the cottages." 
 
 "Ah! but we would have had Irish pigs just the same 
 as now. Well, what do you think — " and he broke off 
 suddenly, sitting upright, and dropping the brogue alto- 
 gether — " they were saying at mess that the natives declare 
 there are lots of Spanish troops moving down in this direc- 
 tion, and that a number of ships are expected with stores 
 at Algeciras." 
 
 " Well, what of that?" Mrs. O'Halloran asked. " We are 
 at peace with Spain. What does it matter where they 
 move their troops or land stores?" 
 
 ' That is just the thing. We are at peace with them sure 
 enough, but that is no reason why we should be always at 
 peace. You know how they hate seeing our flag flying over 
 the Rock, and they may think that, now we have got our 
 hands full with France and the American colonists, it will 
 be the right time for them to join in the scrimmage, and 
 see if they can't get the Eock back again." 
 
 " But they would never go to war without any ground of 
 complaint?" 
 
 "I don't know, Mrs O'Halloran. When one wants to 
 pick a quarrel with a man it is always a mighty easy thing 
 
128 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 to do so. You can tread on his toe and ask him what he 
 put it there for, or sit down on his hat and swear that he 
 put it on the chair on purpose, or tell him that you do not 
 like the colour of his hair, or that his nose isn't the shape 
 that pleases you. It is the easiest thing in the world to 
 find something to quarrel about when you have a mind for 
 it." 
 
 "Are you quite serious, Teddy?'' 
 
 " Never more serious in my life. Have you heard about 
 it, Gerald?" 
 
 " I heard them saying something about it when we were 
 waiting for the colonel on parade this morning, but I did not 
 think much of it. 
 
 "Well, of course, it mayn't be true, Gerald; but the 
 colonel and major both seemed to think that there was 
 something in it. It seems from what they said that the 
 governor has had letters that seemed to confirm the news 
 that several regiments are on the march south, and that 
 stores are being collected at Cadiz and some of the other 
 seaports. There is nothing, as far as we know, specially 
 said about Gibraltar; but what else can they be getting 
 ready for, unless it is to cross the Straits and attack the 
 Moors, and they are at peace with them at present, just as 
 they are with us? I mean to think that they are coming 
 here, till we are downright sure they are not. The news is 
 so good 1 mean to believe that it is true as long as I can." 
 
 " For shame, Teddy !" Mrs. O'Halloran said. " You can't 
 be so wicked as to hope that they are going to attack us?" 
 
 " And it is exactly that point of wickedness I have arrived 
 at," the doctor said, again dropping into the brogue. "In 
 the first place, sha'n't we need something to kape us from 
 dying entirely of nothing to do at all, at all, in this weari- 
 some old place? We are fresh to it, and we are not tired 
 yet of the oranges and the wine and the cigars, and the 
 quare people you see in the streets; but the regiments that 
 have been here some time are just sick of their lives. Then, 
 
THE ROOK FORTRESS. 129 
 
 in the second place, how am I going to learn my profession 
 if we are going to stop here quiet and peaceful for years? 
 Didn't I come into the army to study gun-shot wounds, and 
 barring duels divil a wound have I seen since I joined. It's 
 getting rusty I am entirely; and there is the elegant case of 
 instruments my aunt gave me that have never been opened. 
 By the same token I will have them out and oil them in the 
 morning." 
 
 " Don't talk in that way, Teddy You ought to be ashamed 
 of yourself. It seems to me that you are making a great to- 
 do about nothing. Some soldiers have been marched some- 
 where in Spain, and all this talk is made up about it. They 
 must know very well they can't take the Rock. They tried 
 it once, and I should have thought they would not be in a 
 hurry to try it again. I shall believe in it when I see it. 
 You need not look so delighted, Bob. If there should be 
 any trouble — and it seems nonsense even to think about such 
 a thing — but if there should be any, we should put you on 
 board the very first vessel sailing for England, and get you 
 off' our minds." 
 
 Bob laughed. 
 
 " I should go down and ship as a powder-monkey on one 
 of the ships of war, or enlist as a drummer in one of the 
 regiments, and then I should be beyond your authority 
 altogether." 
 
 " I begin to think you are beyond my authority already, 
 Bob. Gerald, I am afraid we did a very foolish thing in 
 agreeing to have this boy out here." 
 
 " Well, we have got him on our hands noAv, Carrie, and it 
 is early yet for you to find out your mistake. Well, if there 
 should be a siege — " 
 
 " You know there is no chance of it, Gerald." 
 
 " Well, I only say if, and we are cut off from all the world, 
 he will be a companion to you, and keep you alive while I 
 am in the batteries." 
 
 "I won't hear such nonsense talked any more, Gerald; 
 
 (680) I 
 
130 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND, 
 
 and if Teddy Burke is going to bring us every bit of absurd 
 gossip that may be picked up from the peasants, he can stay 
 away altogether." 
 
 " Except when he comes to instruct his pupil, Mrs. 
 O'Halloran." 
 
 "Oh, that is not likely to last long, Dr. Burke!" 
 " That is to be seen, Mrs. O'Halloran. It is a nice ex- 
 ample you are setting him of want of respect for his instructor. 
 1 warn you that before another six months have passed you 
 will have to confess that it has been just the very best ar- 
 rangement that could have been made, and will thank } r our 
 stars that Dr. Edward Burke, M.D., of Dublin, happened to 
 be here ready to your hand." 
 
 -n$r- 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TROUBLES AHEAD. 
 
 WHEN Dr. Burke had left, Bob broke into an Indian 
 war-dance expressive of the deepest satisfaction, and 
 Captain O'Halloran burst into a shout of laughter at the 
 contrast between the boy's vehement delight, and the dis- 
 satisfaction expressed in his wife's face. 
 
 " I am not at all pleased, Gerald, not at all, and I don't 
 see that it is any laughing matter. I never heard a more 
 ridiculous thing. Uncle intrusted Bob to our care, believing 
 that we should do what was best for him, and here you go 
 and engage the most feather-headed Irishman in the garrison 
 (and that is saying a good deal), Gerald, to look after him." 
 
 It was so seldom that Carrie took matters seriously that 
 her husband ceased laughing at once. 
 
 " Well, Carrie, there is no occasion to put yourself out 
 about it. The experiment can be tried for a fortnight, and 
 if at the end of that time you are not satisfied, we will get 
 someone else. But I am sure it will work well." 
 
 " So am I, Carrie," Bob put in. " I believe Dr. Burke 
 and I will get on splendidly. You see I have been with 
 two people, both of whom looked as grave as judges, and 
 one of them as cross as a bear, and yet they were both first- 
 rate fellows. It seems to me that Dr. Burke is just the 
 other way. He turns everything into fun, but I expect he 
 will be just as sharp when he is at lessons as anyone else. 
 At any rate, you may be sure that I will do my best with 
 him, so as not to get put under some stiff old fellow instead 
 of him." 
 
132 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Well, we shall see, Bob. I hope that it will turn out 
 well, I am sure." 
 
 " Of course it will turn out well, Carrie. Why, didn't 
 your uncle at first think I was the most harum-scarum fellow 
 he ever saw, and now he sees that I am a downright model 
 husband, with only one fault, and that is that I let you have 
 your own way altogether." 
 
 " It looks like it on the present occasion, Gerald," his wife 
 laughed. " I will give it, as you say, a fortnight's trial. I 
 only hope that you have made a better choice for Bob's 
 Spanish master." 
 
 "I hope so, my dear; that is, if it is possible. The pro- 
 fessor, as I call him, has been teaching his language to 
 officers here for the last thirty years. He is a queer, 
 wizened-up little old chap, and has got out of the way of 
 bowing and scraping that the seiiors generally indulge in; 
 but he seems a cheery little old soul, and he has got to un- 
 derstand English ways, and at any rate there is no fear of 
 his leading Bob into mischief. The Spaniards don't under- 
 stand that; and if you were to ruffle his dignity he would 
 throw up teaching him at once, and I have not heard of 
 another man on the Rock who would be likely to suit." 
 
 On the following Monday Bob began work with the pro- 
 fessor, who called himself on his card Don Diaz Martos. He 
 spoke English very fairly, and after the first half-hour Bob 
 found that the lessons would be much more pleasant than 
 he expected. The professor began by giving him a long sen- 
 tence to learn by heart thoroughly, and when Bob had done 
 this parsed each word with him, so that he perfectly under- 
 stood its meaning. Then he made the lad say it after him a 
 scoi-e of times, correcting his accent and inflection; and when 
 he was satisfied with this, began to construct fresh sentences 
 out of the original one, again making Bob repeat them, and 
 form fresh ones himself. Thus by the time the first lesson 
 was finished, the lad, to his surprise, found himself able 
 without difficulty to frame sentences from the words he had 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 133 
 
 learned. Then the professor wrote clown thirty nouns and 
 verbs in common use. 
 
 " You will learn them this evening,'" he said, " and in the 
 morning we shall be able to make up a number of sentences 
 out of them, and by the end of a week you will see we shall 
 begin to talk to each other. After that it will be easy. 
 Thirty fresh words every day will be ample. In a month 
 you will know seven or eight hundred, and seven or eight 
 hundred are enough for a man to talk with on common 
 occasions." 
 
 " He is first-rate," Bob reported to his sister, as they sat 
 down to dinner at one o'clock. " You would hardly believe 
 that I can say a dozen little sentences already, and can 
 understand him when he says them. He says in a week 
 we shall be able to get to talk together. I wonder they 
 don't teach Latin like that. Why, I shall know in two or 
 three months as much Spanish, and more, ever so much 
 more, than I do Latin, after grinding away at it for the last 
 seven or eight years." 
 
 " Well, that is satisfactory. I only hope the other will 
 turn out as well." 
 
 As Mrs. O'Halloran sat that evening with her work in 
 her hand on the terrace, with her husband smoking a cigar 
 beside her, she paused several times as she heard a burst 
 of laughter. 
 
 "That doesn't sound like master and pupil," she said 
 sharply, after an unusually loud laugh from below. 
 
 "More the pity, Carrie. Why on earth shouldn't a 
 master be capable of a joke? Do you think one does not 
 learn all the faster when the lecture is pleasant? I know 
 I would myself. I never could see why a man should look 
 as if he was going to an execution when he wants to instil 
 knowledge." 
 
 "But it is not usual, Gerald," Carrie remonstrated, no 
 other argument occurring to her. 
 
 "But that doesn't prove that it's wrong. Why a boy 
 
134 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 should be driven worse than a donkey, and thrashed until 
 his life is a burden to him, and he hates his lessons and 
 hates his master, beats me entirely. Some day they will 
 go more sensibly to work. You see, in the old times, 
 Carrie, men used to beat their wives, and you don't think 
 the women were any the better for it, do you 1 ?" 
 
 "Of course they weren't," Carrie said indignantly. 
 
 "But it was usual, you know, Carrie, just as you say 
 that it is usual for masters to beat boys ; as if they would 
 do nothing without being thrashed. I can't see any differ- 
 ence between the two things." 
 
 "I can see a great deal of difference, sir." 
 
 "Well, what is the difference, Came?" 
 
 But Carrie disdained to give any answer. Still, as she 
 sat sewing and thinking the matter over, she acknowledged 
 to herself that she really could not see any good and efficient 
 reason why boys should be beaten any more than women. 
 
 "But women don't do bad things like boys," she said, 
 breaking silence at last. 
 
 "Don't they, Carrie 1 ? I am not so sure of that. I have 
 heard of women who are always nagging their husbands, 
 and giving the in no peace of their lives; I have heard of 
 women who think of nothing but dress, and who go about 
 and leave their homes and children to shift for themselves; 
 I have heard of women who spend all their time spreading 
 scandal; I have heard of — " 
 
 "There, that is enough," Carrie broke in hastily. "But 
 you don't mean to say that they would be any the better 
 for beating, Gerald?" 
 
 "I don't know, Carrie; I should think perhaps they 
 might be sometimes. At any rate, I think that they deserve 
 a beating quite as much as a boy does for neglecting to 
 learn a lesson or for playing some prank, which comes just 
 as naturally to him as mischief does to a kitten. For any- 
 thing really bad I would beat a boy as long as I could stand 
 over him. For lying, or thieving, or any mean, dirty trick 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 135 
 
 I would have no mercy on him. But that is a very different 
 thing to keeping the cane always going at school as they do 
 now. But here comes Bob. Well, Bob, is the doctor gone ] 
 Didn't you ask him to come up and have a cigar 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes; but he said he had got two or three cases at the 
 hospital he must see, and would wait until this evening." 
 
 " How have you got on, Bob 1 " 
 
 "Splendidly. I wonder why they don't teach at school 
 like that." 
 
 " It didn't sound much like teaching," Carrie said severely. 
 
 " I don't suppose it did, Carrie, but it was teaching for 
 all that. Why, I have learned as much this evening as I 
 did in a dozen lessons in school. He explains everything 
 so that you seem to understand it at once, and he puts things 
 sometimes in such a droll way, and brings in such funny 
 comparisons, that you can't help laughing. But you under- 
 stand it for all that, and are not likely to forget it. Don't 
 you be afraid, Carrie, if Dr. Burke teaches me for the two 
 years that I am going to be here, I shall know more than I 
 should have done if I had stopped at Tulloch's till I was 
 an old man. I used to learn lessons there and get through 
 them somehow, but I don't think I ever understood why 
 things were so: while Dr. Burke explains everything so that 
 you seem to understand all about it at once. And he 
 is pretty sharp, too. He takes a tremendous lot of pains 
 himself, but I can see he will expect me to take a tremendous 
 lot of pains too." 
 
 At the end of a fortnight Carrie made no allusion to the 
 subject of a change of masters. The laughing downstairs 
 still scandalized her a little; but she saw that Bob really 
 enjoyed his lessons, and although she herself could not test 
 what progress he was making, his assurances on that head 
 satisfied her. 
 
 The Brilliant had sailed on a cruise the morning after 
 Bob's arrival, but as soon as he heard that she had again 
 dropped anchor in the bay, he took a boat and went out 
 
136 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 to her, and returned on shore with Jim Sankey, who had 
 obtained leave for the afternoon. The two spent hours in 
 rambling about the Rock and talking of old times at Tulloch's. 
 Both agreed that the most fortunate thing that ever hap- 
 pened had been the burglary at Admiral Langton's, which 
 had been the means of Jim's getting into the navy, and 
 Bob's coming out to Gibraltar to his sister. Jim had lots 
 to tell of his shipmates and his life on board the Brilliant. 
 He was disposed to pity Bob spending half his day at lessons, 
 and was astonished to find that his friend really enjoyed it, 
 and still more that he should already have begun to pick up 
 a little Spanish. 
 
 "You can't help it with Don Diaz," Bob said. "He 
 makes you go over a sentence fifty times until you say it in 
 exactly the same voice he does; I mean the same accent. 
 He says it slow at first so that I can understand him, and 
 then faster and faster till he speaks in his regular voice; 
 then I have to make up another sentence in answer. It is 
 good fun, I can tell you; and yet one feels that one is getting 
 on very fast. I thought it would take years before I should 
 be able to get on anyhow in Spanish; but he says if I keep 
 on sticking to it, I shall be able to speak pretty nearly like 
 a native in six months' time. I quite astonish Manola — 
 that is our servant — by firing off sentences in Spanish at 
 her. My sister Carrie says she shall take to learning with 
 the Don too." 
 
 "Have you had any fun since you landed, Bob?" 
 
 "No; not regular fun, you know. It has been very jolly. 
 I go down with Gerald — Carrie's husband, you know — to 
 the barracks, and I know most of the officers of his regiment 
 now, and I walk about a bit by myself, but I have not gone 
 beyond the Rock yet." 
 
 " You must get a long day's leave, Bob, and we will go 
 across the neutral ground into Spain together." 
 
 " Gerald said that as I was working so steadily I might 
 have a holiday sometimes, if I did not ask for it too often. 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 137 
 
 I have been three weeks at it now. I am sure I can go for a 
 day when I like, so it will depend on you." 
 
 " I sha'n't be able to come ashore for another four or five 
 days after having got away this afternoon. Let us see, this 
 is Wednesday, I will try to get leave for Monday." 
 
 " Have you heard, Jim, there is a talk about Spanish 
 troops moving down hei'e, and that they think Spain is 
 going to join France and try to take this place?" 
 
 "No, I haven't heard a word about it," Jim said, opening 
 his eyes. "You don't really mean if?" 
 
 " Yes, that is what the officers say. Of course they don't 
 know for certain, but there is no doubt the country people 
 have got the idea into their heads, and the natives on the 
 Rock certainly believe it." 
 
 "Hooray! that would be fun," Jim said. "We have all 
 been grumbling on board the frigate at being stuck down 
 here without any chance of picking up prizes, or of falling 
 in with a Frenchman except we go on a cruise. Wiry, you 
 have seen twice as much fun as we have, though you only 
 came out in a trader. Except that we chased a craft that 
 we took for a French privateer, we haven't seen an enemy 
 since we came out from England; and we didn't see much 
 of her, for she sailed right away from us. While you have 
 had no end of fighting, and a very narrow escape of being 
 taken to a French prison." 
 
 "Too narrow to be pleasant, Jim. I don't think there 
 would be much fun to be got out of a French prison." 
 
 " I don't know, Bob. I suppose it would be dull if you 
 were alone, but if you and I were together I feel sure we 
 should have some fun, and should make our escape some- 
 how." 
 
 " Well, we might try," Bob said doubtfully. " But, j^ou 
 see, not many fellows do make their escape; and as sailors 
 are up to climbing ropes, and getting over walls, and all 
 that sort of thing, I should think they would do it if it could 
 be managed anyhow." 
 
138 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Upon the following day, when Bob was in the ante-room 
 of the mess with Captain O'Halloran, looking at some papers 
 that had been brought by a ship that had come in that 
 morning, the colonel entered accompanied by Captain Lang- 
 ton. The officers all stood up, and the colonel introduced 
 them to Captain Langton, who was, he told them, going 
 to dine at the mess that evening. After he had done 
 this Captain Langton's eye fell upon Bob, who smiled and 
 made a bow. 
 
 " I ought to know you," the captain said. " I have cer- 
 tainly seen your face somewhere." 
 
 " It was at Admiral Langton's, sir. My name is Bob 
 Repton." 
 
 " Of course it is," the officer said, shaking him cordially 
 by the hand. "But what on earth are you doing here? I 
 thought you had settled down somewhere in the city; with 
 an uncle, wasn't it?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; but I have come out here to learn Spanish." 
 
 "Have you seen your friend Sankey?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. I went on board the frigate to see him yes- 
 terday afternoon, and he got leave to come ashore with me 
 for two or three hours." 
 
 " He ought to have let me know that you were here," the 
 captain said. "Who are you staying with, lad?" 
 
 "With Captain O'Halloran, sir, my brother-in-law," Bob 
 said, indicating Gerald, who had already been introduced to 
 Captain Langton. 
 
 " I daresay you are surprised at my knowing this young 
 gentleman," he said, turning to Colonel Cochrane, " but he 
 did my father the admiral a great service. He and three 
 other lads, under his leadership, captured four of the most 
 notorious burglars in London when the}^ were engaged in 
 robbing my father's house. It was a most gallant affair, I 
 can assure you, and the four burglars swung for it a couple 
 of months later. I have one of the lads as a midshipman 
 on board my ship, and I offered a berth to Repton, but very 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 139 
 
 wisely he decided to remain on shore, where his prospects 
 were good." 
 
 " Why, O'Halloran, you never told me anything about 
 this," the colonel said. 
 
 "No, sir. Bob asked me not to say anything about it. 
 I think he is rather shy of having it talked about, and it 
 is the only thing of which he is shy as far as I have dis- 
 covered." 
 
 "Well, we must hear the story," the colonel said. "I 
 hope you will dine at mess this evening, and bring him with 
 you. He shall tell us the story over our wine. I am curious 
 to know how four boys can have made such a capture." 
 
 After mess that evening Bob told the story as modestly 
 as he could. 
 
 "There, colonel," Captain Langton said when he had 
 finished. " You see that if these stories I hear are true, 
 and the Spaniards are going to make a dash for Gibraltar, 
 you have got a valuable addition to your garrison." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," the colonel laughed. " We will make a 
 volunteer of him. He has had some little experience of 
 standing fire, for O'Halloran told me that the brig he came 
 out in had fought a sharp action with a privateer of superior 
 force, and indeed when she came in here her sails were 
 riddled with shot holes." 
 
 " Better and better," Captain Langton laughed. " Well, 
 Repton, remember whenever you are disposed for a cruise 
 I shall be glad to take you as passenger. Sankey will make 
 you at home in the midshipmen's berth. If the Spaniards 
 declare war with us we shall have stirring times at sea as 
 well as on shore, and though you won't get any share in 
 any prize-money we may win while you are on board, you 
 will have part of the honour; and, you see, making captures 
 is quite in your line." 
 
 The next day Captain O'Halloran and Bob dined on 
 board the Brilliant. Captain Langton introduced the lad to 
 his officers, telling them that he wished him to be considered 
 
140 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 as being free on board the ship whether he himself happened 
 to be on board or not when he came off. "But you must 
 keep an eye on him, Mr. Hardy, while he is on board," he 
 said to the first lieutenant. "Mr. Sankey," and he nodded 
 at Jim, who was among those invited, "is rather a pickle, 
 but from what I hear Eepton is worse. So you will have 
 to keep a sharp eye upon them when they are together, 
 and if they are up to mischief do not hesitate to masthead 
 both of them. A passenger on board one of His Majesty's 
 ships is amenable to discipline like anyone else." 
 
 " I will see to it, sir," the lieutenant said laughing. 
 " Sankey knows the way up already." 
 
 " Yes. I think I observed him taking a view of the 
 shore from that elevation this morning." 
 
 Jim coloured hotly. 
 
 "Yes, sir," the lieutenant said. "The doctor made a 
 complaint that his leeches had got out of their bottle and 
 were all over the ship, and I fancy one of them got into his 
 bed somehow. He had given Mr. Sankey a dose of physic 
 in the morning, and remembered afterwards that while he 
 was making up the medicine Sankey had been doing some- 
 thing in the corner where his bottles were. When I ques- 
 tioned Sankey about it he admitted that he had observed 
 the leeches, but declined to criminate himself farther. So 
 I sent him aloft for an hour or two to meditate upon the 
 enormity of wasting His Majesty's medical stores." 
 
 " I hope, Captain O'Halloran," the captain said, " that 
 you have less trouble with your brother-in-law than we 
 have with his friend." 
 
 "Bob hasn't had much chance yet," Captain O'Halloran 
 said laughing. " He is new to the place as yet, and, besides, 
 he is really working hard and hasn't much time for mischief; 
 but I don't flatter myself that it is going to last." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Sankey, you may as well take your friend 
 down and introduce him formally to your messmates," the 
 captain said; and Jim, who had been feeling extremely 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 141 
 
 uncomfortable since the talk had turned on the subject of 
 mastheading, rose and made his escape with Bob, leaving 
 the elders to their wine. 
 
 The proposed excursion to the Spanish lines did not come 
 off, as the Brilliant put to sea again on the day fixed for it. 
 She was away a fortnight, and on her return the captain 
 issued orders that none of the junior officers when allowed 
 leave were to go beyond the lines, for the rumours of ap- 
 proaching troubles had become stronger, and as the peasan- 
 try were assuming a somewhat hostile attitude, any act of 
 imprudence might result in trouble. Jim often had leave 
 to come ashore in the afternoon, and as this was the time 
 that Bob had to himself, they wandered together all over 
 the Rock, climbed up the flagstaff, and made themselves ac- 
 quainted with all the paths and precipices. Their favourite 
 place was the back of the Rock, where the cliff in many 
 places fell sheer away for hundreds of feet down into the 
 sea. They had many discussions as to the possibility of 
 climbing up on that side, though both agreed that it would 
 be impossible to climb down. 
 
 " I should like to try awfully," Bob said one day early in 
 June, as they were leaning on a low wall looking down to 
 the sea. 
 
 " But it would never do to risk getting into a scrape here, 
 it wouldn't indeed, Bob. They don't understand jokes at 
 Gib. One would be had up before the big wigs and court-mar- 
 tialled, and goodness knows what. Of course it is jolly being 
 ashore, but one never gets rid of the idea that one is a sort of 
 prisoner. There are the regulations about what time you may 
 come off and what time the gate is closed, and if you are a 
 minute late there you are until next morning. Whichever 
 way one turns there are sentries, and you can't pass one way 
 and you can't go back another w&y, and there are some of 
 the batteries you can't go into without a special order. It 
 never would do to try any nonsense here. Look at that 
 sentry up there. I expect he has got his eye on us now, 
 
142 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 and if he saw us faying to get down he would take us for 
 deserters and fire. There wouldn't be any fear of his hitting 
 us, but the nearest guard would turn out, and we should be 
 arrested and reported, and all sorts of things. It wouldn't 
 matter so much for you, but I should get m} r leave stopped 
 altogether, and should get into the captain's black books. 
 No, no. I don't mind running a little risk of breaking my 
 neck, but not here on the Eock. I would rather get into 
 ten scrapes on board the frigate than one here." 
 
 "Yes, I suppose it can't be done," Bob agreed; "but I 
 should have liked to swing myself down to one of those 
 ledges. There would be such a scolding and shrieking among 
 the birds." 
 
 " Yes, that would be fun; but as it might bring on the 
 same sort of row among the authorities, I would rather leave 
 it alone. I expect we shall soon get leave to go across the 
 lines again. There doesn't seem to be any chance of a row 
 with the dons ; I expect it was all moonshine from the first. 
 Why, they say Spain is trying to patch up the quarrel 
 between us and Fiance. She would not be doing that if 
 she had any idea of going to war with us herself." 
 
 " I don't know, Jim. Gerald and Dr. Burke were talking 
 it over last night, and Gerald said just what you do; and 
 then Dr. Burke said, 'You are wrong entirely, Gerald. That 
 is just the dangerous part of the affair. Why should Spain 
 want to put a stop to the war between us and the frog- 
 eaters? Sure, wouldn't she look on with the greatest plea- 
 sure in life while we cut each other's throats and blew up 
 each other's ships, and put all the trade of the Mediterranean 
 into her hands'? Why, it is the very thing that suits her 
 best.' 
 
 " ' Then, what is she after putting herself forward for, 
 Teddy?' Gerald said. 
 
 " ' Because she wants to have a finger in the pie, Gerald. 
 It wouldn't be dacent for her to say to England, It is in a 
 hole you are at present wid your hands full, and so I am 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 143 
 
 going to take the opportunity of pitching into you. So she 
 begins by stipping forward as the dear friend of both parties, 
 and she says, What are you breaking each other's heads for, 
 boys'? Make up your quarrel, and shake hands. Then she 
 sets to and proposes terms, which she knows mighty well 
 we shall never agree to, for the letters we had the other 
 day said that it was reported that the proposals of Spain 
 were altogether unacceptable — and then when we refuse she 
 turns round and says you have put yourself in the wrong 
 entirely. I gave you a chance of putting yourself in the 
 right, and it is a grave insult to me for you to refuse to accept 
 my proposals. So there is nothing for me to do now but 
 just to join with France and give you the bating you de- 
 sarve.' 
 
 "That is Teddy Burke's idea, Jim; and though he is so 
 full of fun he is awfully clever, and has got no end of sense, 
 and I'd take his opinion about anything. You see how he has 
 got me on in these four months in Latin and things. Why, 
 I have learnt more with him than I did all the time I was 
 at Tulloch's. He says most likely the negotiations will be 
 finished one way or the other by the middle of this month, 
 and he offered to bet Gerald a gallon of whisky that there 
 would be a declaration of war by Spain before the end of 
 the month." 
 
 "Did he 1 ?" Jim said in great delight. "Well, I do hope 
 he is right. We are all getting precious tired, I can assure 
 you, of broiling down there in the harbour. The decks are 
 hot enough to cook a steak upon. When we started to-day 
 we didn't see a creature in the streets. Everyone had gone 
 off to bed for two or three hours, and the shops were all 
 closed as if it had been two o'clock at night instead of two 
 o'clock in the day. Even the dogs were all asleep in the 
 shade. I think we shall have to give up our walks till 
 August is over. It is getting too hot for anything in the 
 afternoon." 
 
 " Well, it is hot," Bob agreed. " Carrie said I was mad 
 
144 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 coming out in it to-day, and should get sunstroke and all 
 sort of things; and Gerald said at dinner that if it were not 
 against the regulations he would like to shave his head in- 
 stead of plastering it all over with powder." 
 
 "I call it disgusting," Jim said heartily. "That is the 
 one thing I envy you in. I shouldn't like to be grinding 
 away at books as you do, and you don't have half the fun I 
 do, on shore here without any fellows to have larks with, 
 but not having to powder your hair almost makes up for it. 
 I don't mind it in winter, because it makes a sort of thatch 
 for the head, but it is awful now. I feel just as if I had 
 got a pudding crust all over my head." 
 
 "Well, that is appropriate, Jim," Bob laughed; and then 
 Jim chased him all along the path till they got within sight 
 of a sentry in a battery; and then his dignity as midship- 
 man compelled them to desist, and the pair walked gravely 
 down into the town. 
 
 That evening, after lessons were over, Dr. Burke as usual 
 went up on to the terrace to smoke a cigar with Captain 
 O'Halloran. 
 
 " It is a pity altogether, Mrs. O'Halloran," he said as he 
 stood by her side looking over the moonlit bay, with the 
 dark hulls of the ships and the faint lights across at Alge- 
 ciras, " that we can't do away with the day and have nothing 
 but night of it for four or five mouths in the year. I used 
 to think it must be mighty unpleasant for the Esquimaux, 
 but faith I envy them now. Fancy five or six months with- 
 out catching a glimpse of that burning old sun!" 
 
 "I don't suppose they think so," Mrs. O'Halloran laughed; 
 "but it would be pleasant here. The heat has been dreadful 
 all day, and it is really only after sunset that one begins to 
 enjoy life." 
 
 "You may well say that, Mrs. O'Halloran. Faith, I Avish 
 they would let me take off my coat and do my work in my 
 shirt-sleeves down at the hospital. Sure, it is a strange idea 
 these military men have got in their heads, that a man isn't 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 145 
 
 fit for work unless he is buttoned so tightly up to the chin 
 that he is red in the face. If nature had meant it, we should 
 have been born in a suit of scale-armour like a crocodile. 
 Well, there is one consolation, if there is a siege I expect 
 there will be an end of hair-powder and cravats. It's the 
 gineral rule on a campaign, and it is worth standing to be 
 shot at to have a little comfort in one's life." 
 
 "Do you think that there is any chance at all of the 
 Spaniards taking the place if they do besiege us 1 ?" Bob 
 asked as Dr. Burke took his seat. 
 
 "None of taking the place by force, Bob. It has been 
 besieged over and over again, and it is pretty nearly always 
 by hunger that it has fallen. That is where the pinch will 
 come if they besiege us in earnest : it's living on mice and 
 grass you are like to be before it is over." 
 
 " But the fleet will bring in provisions surely, Dr. Burke?" 
 
 " The fleet will have all it can do to keep the sea against 
 the navies of France and Spain. They will do what they 
 can, you may be sure; but the enemy well know that it is 
 only by starving us out that they can hope to take the 
 place, and I expect they will put such a fleet here that it 
 will be mighty difficult for even a boat to find its way in 
 between them." 
 
 "Do you know about the other sieges?" Mrs. O'Halloran 
 asked. " Of course I know something about the last siege, 
 but I know nothing about the history of the Rock before 
 that, and of course Gerald doesn't know." 
 
 "And why should I, Carrie? You don't suppose that 
 when I was at school at Athlone they taught me the history 
 of every bit of rock sticking up on the face of the globe 1 
 1 had enough to do to learn about the old Romans, bad 
 cess to them! and all their bothering doings." 
 
 " I can tell you about it, Mrs. O'Halloran," Teddy Burke 
 said. " Bob's professor, who comes to have a talk with me 
 for half an hour every day, has been telling me all about it, 
 and if Gerald will move himself and mix me a glass of grog 
 
 ( 680 ) k 
 
146 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 to moisten my throat I will give you the whole story of it. 
 You know, no doubt, that it was called Mount Calpe by 
 Gerald's friends the Romans, who called the hill opposite 
 there Mount Abyla, and the two together the Pillars of 
 Hercules. But beyond giving it a name they don't seem to 
 have concerned themselves with it; nor do the Phoenicians 
 or Carthaginians, though all of them had cities out in the 
 low country. It was when the Saracens began to play their 
 games over here that we first hear of it. Roderic, you 
 know, was king of the Goths, and seems to have been a 
 thundering old tyrant; and one of his nobles, Julian, who 
 had been badly treated by him, went across with his family 
 into Africa and put up Mousa, the Saracen governor of the 
 province across there, to invade Spain. 
 
 "They first of all made a little expedition, that was in 
 711, with one hundred horse and four hundred foot. They 
 landed over there at Algeciras, and after doing some plun- 
 dering and burning sailed back again with the news that the 
 country could be conquered. So next year twelve thousand 
 men, under a chief named Tarik, crossed and landed on the flat 
 between the Eock and Spain. He left a party here to build 
 the castle, and then marched away, defeated Roderic and 
 his army at Xeres, and soon conquered the whole of Spain 
 except the mountains of the north. We don't hear much 
 more of Gibraltar for another six hundred years. Algeciras 
 had become a fortress of great strength and magnificence, 
 and Gibraltar was a mere sort of outlying post. Ferdinand 
 IV. of Spain besieged Algeciras for years and could not 
 take it, but a part of his army attacked Gibraltar and cap- 
 tured it. 
 
 " The African Moors came over to help their friends, and 
 Ferdinand had to fall back; but the Spaniards still held 
 Gibraltar, a chap named Vasco Paez de Meira being in 
 command. In 1333 Abomelique, son of the Emperor of 
 Fez, came across with an army and besieged Gibraltar. 
 Vasco held out for five mouths, and was then starved into 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 147 
 
 surrender, just as Alonzo XI. was approaching to his assis- 
 tance. He arrived before the town five clays after it sur- 
 rendered and attacked the castle; but the Moors encamped 
 on the neutral ground in his rear and cut him off from his 
 supplies, and he was obliged at last to negotiate, and was 
 permitted to retire. He was not long away. Next time he 
 attacked Algeciras, which after a long siege he took in 1343. 
 
 "In 1349 there were several wars in Africa, and he took 
 advantage of this to besiege Gibraltar. He was some months 
 over the business, and the garrison were nearly starved out, 
 when pestilence broke out in the Spanish camp, by which 
 the king and many of his soldiers died and the rest retired. 
 It was not until sixty years afterwards, in 1410, that there 
 were fresh troubles, and then they were what might be 
 called family squabbles. The Africans of Fez had held the 
 place till then, but the Moorish king of Grenada suddenly 
 advanced upon it and took it. A short time afterwards 
 the inhabitants rose against the Spanish Moors and turned 
 them out, and the Emperor of Morocco sent over an army 
 to help them; but the Moors of Grenada besieged the place, 
 and took it by famine. 
 
 "In 1435 the Christians had another slap at it; but Henry 
 de Guzman, who attacked by sea, was defeated and killed. 
 In 1462 the greater part of the garrison of Gibraltar was 
 withdrawn to take part in some civil shindy that was going 
 on at Grenada; and in their absence the place was taken by 
 John de Guzman, duke of Medina-Sidonia, and son of the 
 Henry that was killed. In 1540 Gibraltar was surprised 
 and pillaged by one of Barossa's captains, but as he was 
 leaving some Christian galleys met him, and the corsairs 
 were all killed or taken. This was really the only affair 
 worth speaking of between 1462, when it fell into the hands 
 of the Spaniards, and 1704, when it was captured by us. 
 Sir George Rooke, who had gone out with a force to attack 
 Cadiz, finding that there was not much chance of success in 
 that direction, resolved, with Prince George of Hesse and 
 
148 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Darmstadt, who commanded the troops on board the fleet, 
 to make an attack on Gibraltar. 
 
 , "On the 21st of July, 1800, the English and Dutch 
 landed on the neutral ground, and at daybreak on the 23d, 
 the fleet opened fire. The Spaniards were driven from their 
 guns on the Molehead Battery; the boats landed and seized 
 the battery, and held it in spite of the Spaniards springing 
 a mine, which killed two lieutenants and about forty men. 
 The Marquis de Salines, the governor, was then summoned, 
 and capitulated. So you see we made only a day's work of 
 taking a place which the Spaniards thought that they had 
 made impregnable. The professor made a strong point of it 
 that the garrison consisted only of a hundred and fifty men; 
 which certainly accounts for our success, for it is no use 
 having guns and walls if you haven't got soldiers to man 
 them. The Prince of Hesse was left as governor, and it was 
 not long before his mettle was tried; for in October the 
 Spanish army, with six battalions of Frenchmen, opened 
 trenches against the town. Admiral Sir John Leake threw 
 in reinforcements and six months' provisions. At the end 
 of the month a forlorn hope of five hundred Spanish volun- 
 teers managed to climb up the Rock by ropes and ladders 
 and surprised a battery, but were so furiously attacked 
 that they were all killed or taken prisoners. 
 
 " A heavy cannonade was kept up for another week, when 
 a large number of transports with reinforcements and sup- 
 plies arrived, and the garrison being now considered strong 
 enough to resist any attack the fleet sailed away. The 
 siege went on till the middle of March, when Sir John Leake 
 again arrived, drove away the French fleet and captured 
 or burnt five of them, and the siege was then discontinued, 
 having cost the enemy ten thousand men. So, you see, there 
 was some pretty hard fighting over it. 
 
 "The place was threatened in 1720, and in the beginning 
 of 1727 twenty thousand Spaniards again sat down before 
 it. The fortifications had been made a good deal stronger 
 
TROUBLES AHEAD. 149 
 
 after the first siege, and the garrison was commanded by 
 Lieutenant-governor Clayton. The siege lasted till May, 
 when news arrived that the preliminaries of a general peace 
 had been signed. There was a lot of firing, but the Span- 
 iards must have shot mighty badly, for we had only three 
 hundred killed and wounded. You would think that that 
 was enough; but when I tell you that the cannon were so 
 old and rotten that seventy cannon and thirty mortars burst 
 during the siege, it seems to me that everyone of those 
 three hundred must have been damaged by our own cannon, 
 and that the Spaniards did not succeed in hitting a single 
 man. That is mighty encouraging for you, Mrs. O'Halloran, 
 for I don't think that our cannon will burst this time ; and if 
 the Spaniards do not shoot better than they did before, it is 
 little work enough that is likely to fall to the share of the 
 surgeons." 
 
 "Thank you," Mrs. O'Halloran said. "You have told 
 that very nicely, Teddy Burke. I did not know anything 
 about it before, and I had some idea that it was when the 
 English were besieged here that the Queen of Spain sat on 
 that rock which is called after her; but I see now that it 
 was Ferdinand's Isabella, and that it was when the Moors 
 were besieged here hundreds of years before. Well, I am 
 glad I know something about it. It is stupid to be in a place 
 and know nothing of its history. You are rising in my 
 estimation fast, Dr. Burke." 
 
 " Mistress O'Halloran," the doctor said, rising and making 
 a deep bow, "you overwhelm me entirely; and now I must 
 say good-night, for I must look in at the hospital before I 
 turn in to my quarters." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SIEGE BEGINS. 
 
 ON the 19th of June General Eliott, accompanied by 
 several of his officers, paid a visit to the Spanish lines 
 to congratulate General Mendoza, who commanded there, on 
 the promotion that he had just received. The visit lasted 
 but a short time, and it was remarked that the Spanish 
 officer seemed ill at ease. Scarcely had the party returned 
 to Gibraltar than a Swedish frigate entered the bay, having 
 on board Mr. Logie, H.M. Consul in Barbary, who had come 
 across in her from Tangier. He reported that a Swedish 
 brig had put in there. She reported that she had fallen 
 in with the French fleet, of twenty-eight sail of the line, off 
 Cape Finisterre, and that they were waiting there to be 
 joined by the Spanish fleet from Cadiz. 
 
 The news caused great excitement; but it was scarcely 
 believed, for the Spanish general had given the most amicable 
 assurances to the governor. On the 21st, however, the 
 Spaniards at their lines across the neutral ground refused 
 to permit the mail to pass, and a formal notification was 
 sent in that intercourse between Gibraltar and Spain would 
 no longer be permitted. This put an end to all doubt and 
 discussion. War must have been declared between Spain 
 and England, or such a step would never have been taken. 
 In fact, although the garrison did not learn it until some 
 time later, the Spanish ambassador in London had presented 
 what was virtually a declaration of war on the 16th. A 
 messenger had been sent off on the same day from Madrid, 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 151 
 
 ordering the cessation of intercourse with Gibraltar, and had 
 he not been detained by accident on the road he might have 
 arrived during General Eliott's visit to the Spanish lines, a 
 fact of which Mendoza had been doubtless forewarned, and 
 which would account for his embarrassment at the governor's 
 call. 
 
 Captain O'Halloran brought the news home when he re- 
 turned from parade. "Get ready your sandbags, Carrie; 
 examine your stock of provisions; prepare a store of lint 
 and plaster." 
 
 "What on earth are you talking about, Gerald?" 
 
 " It is war, Carrie. The Dons have refused to accept our 
 mail, and have cut off all intercourse with the mainland." 
 
 Carrie turned a little pale. She had never really thought 
 that the talk meant anything, or that the Spaniards could 
 be really intending to declare war without having any ground 
 for quarrel with England. 
 
 "And does it really mean war, Gerald?" 
 
 "There is no doubt about it. The Spaniards are going 
 to fight, and as their army can't swim across the Bay of 
 Biscay, I take it it is here they mean to attack us. Faith, 
 we are going to have some divarshun at last." 
 
 "Divarshun! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, 
 Gerald." 
 
 "Well, my dear, what have I come into the army for? 
 To march about for four hours a day in a stiff stock, and 
 powder and pig -tail and a cocked hat, and a red coat? 
 Not a bit of it. Didn't I enter the army to fight, and here 
 have I been without a chance of smelling powder for the 
 last ten years. It is the best news I have had since you 
 told me that you were ready and willing to become Mrs. 
 O'Halloran." 
 
 "And ta. think that we have got Bob out here with us!" 
 his wife said, without taking any notice of the last words. 
 "What will uncle say?" 
 
 " Faith and it makes mighty little difference what he says, 
 
152 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Carrie, seeing that he is altogether beyond shouting distance. 
 As for Bob, he will be just delighted. Why, he has been 
 working till his brain must all be in a muddle ; and it is the 
 best thing in the world for him, or he would be mixing up 
 the Spaniards and the Romans, and the x's and y's and the 
 tangents, and all the other things into a regular jumble, and 
 it is a nice business that would have been. It is the best 
 thing in the world for him, always supposing that he don't 
 get his growth stopped for want of victuals." 
 
 "You don't mean really and seriously, Gerald, that we 
 are likely to be short of food 1 " 
 
 " And that is exactly what I do mean. You may be sure 
 that the Dons know mighty well that they have no chance 
 of taking the place on the land side. They might just as 
 well lay out their trenches against the moon. It is just 
 starvation that they are going to try, and when they get the 
 eighteen French sail of the line that Mr. Logie brought 
 news of, and a score or so of Spanish men-of-war in the 
 bay, you will see that it is likely you won't get your mutton 
 and your butter and vegetables very regularly across from 
 Tangier." 
 
 "Well, it is very serious, Gerald." 
 
 "Very serious, Carrie." 
 
 " I don't see anything to laugh at at all, Gerald." 
 
 " I didn't know that I was laughing." 
 
 " You were looking as if you wanted to laugh, which is 
 just as bad. I suppose there is nothing to be done, Gerald?" 
 
 " Well, yes, I should go down to the town and lay in a 
 store of things that will keep. You see, if nothing comes 
 of it we should not be losers. The regiment is likely to 
 be here three or four years, so we should lose nothing by 
 laying in a big stock of wine and so on; while, if there is a 
 siege, you will see everything will go up to ten times its 
 ordinary price. That room through ours is not used for 
 anything, and we might turn that into a store-room. I don't 
 mean that there is any hurry about it to-day; but we ought 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 153 
 
 certainly to lay in as large a store as we can of things that 
 will keep. Some things we may get cheaper in a short 
 time than we can now. A lot of the Jew and native traders 
 will be leaving if they see there is really going to be a siege, 
 for you see the town is quite open to the guns of batteries 
 on the other side of the neutral ground. It was a mighty 
 piece of luck we got this house. You see that rising ground 
 behind will shelter us from shot. They may blaze away as 
 much as they like, as far as we are concerned. Ah! there 
 is Bob coming out of his room with the professor." 
 
 " Well, take him out and tell him, Gerald. I want to sit 
 down and think; my head feels quite in a whirl." 
 
 Bob was of course greatly surprised at the news, and the 
 professor himself was a good deal excited. " We have been 
 living here for three hundred years," he said, "my fathers 
 and grandfathers. When the English came and took this 
 place seventy-five years ago, my grandfather became a British 
 subject, like all who remained here. My father, who was 
 then but a boy, has told me that he remembers the great 
 siege, and how the cannons roared night and day. It was 
 in the year when I was born that the Spaniards attacked the 
 Rock again, and a shell exploded in the house and nearly 
 killed us all. I was born a British subject, and shall do my 
 duty in what way I can if the place is attacked. They call 
 us Rock scorpions. Well, they shall see we can live under 
 fire, and will do our best to sting if they put their finger on 
 us. Ha, ha ! " 
 
 "The little man is quite excited," Captain O'Halloran 
 said, as the professor turned away and marched off at a 
 brisk pace towards his home. "It is rather hard on these 
 Rock people. Of course, as he says, they are British sub- 
 jects, and were born so. Still, you see, in race and language 
 they are still Spaniards, and their sympathies must be 
 divided, at any rate at present. When the shot and shell 
 come whistling into the town and knocking their houses 
 about their ears, they will become a good deal more decided 
 
154 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 in their opinions than they can be now. Come along, Bob, 
 and let us get all the news. I came off as soon as I heard 
 that our communication with Spain was cut off, and there- 
 fore it was certain war was declared. There will be lots of 
 orders out soon. It is a busy time we shall have of it for 
 the next month or two." 
 
 There were many officers in the ante-room when they 
 entered. 
 
 "Any fresh news'?" Captain O'Halloran asked. 
 
 "Lots of it, O'Halloran. All the Irish officers of the 
 garrison are to be formed into an outlying force to occupy 
 the neutral ground; it is thought their appearance will be 
 sufficient to terrify the Spaniards." 
 
 "Get out with you, Grant! If they were to take us at 
 all, it would be because they knew that we were the boys 
 to do the fighting." 
 
 "And the drinking, O'Halloran," another young officer 
 put in. 
 
 "And the talking," said another. 
 
 " Now, drop it, boys, and be serious. What is the news, 
 really?" 
 
 "There is a council of war going on at the governor's, 
 O'Halloran. Boyd, of course, and De la Motte, Colonel 
 Green, the admiral, Mr. Logie, and two or three others. 
 They say the governor has been gradually getting extra 
 stores across from Tangier ever since there was first a talk 
 about this business, and of course that is the most import- 
 ant question at present. I hear that Green and the Engineers 
 have been marking out places for new batteries for the last 
 month, and I suppose fatigue work is going to be the order 
 of the day. It is too bad of them choosing this time of the 
 year to begin, for it will be awfully hot work. Everyone 
 is wondering what will become of the officers who are living 
 out with their families at San Rocpie and the other villages 
 across the Spanish lines; and, besides, there are a lot of 
 officers away on leave in the interior. 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 155 
 
 "Of course they won't take them prisoners, that would 
 he a dirty trick. But it is likely enough they may ship 
 them straight back to England, instead of letting them 
 return here. Well, it is lucky that we have got a pretty 
 strong garrison. We have just been adding up the last 
 field state. These are the figures — officers, non-commis- 
 sioned officers, and men — artillery, 485; 12th Regiment, 599; 
 39th, 586; 56th, 587; 58th, 605; 72d, 1046; the Hano- 
 verian Brigade of Hardenberg's, Reden's, and De la Motte's 
 regiments, 1352; and 122 Engineers under Colonel Green; 
 which makes up altogether 5382 officers and men. That is 
 strong enough for anything, but it would have been better 
 if there had been five hundred more artillerymen; but I 
 suppose they will be able to lend us some sailors to help 
 work the heavy guns. They will turn you into a powder- 
 monkey, Repton." 
 
 " I don't care what they turn me into," Bob said, " so 
 long as I can do something." 
 
 " I think it is likely," Captain O'Halloran said gravely, 
 "that all women and children will be turned out of the 
 place before fighting begins; except, of course, wives and 
 children of officers." 
 
 There was a general laugh at Bob. ''Well," he said 
 quietly, "it will lessen the ranks of the subalterns, for there 
 must be a considerable number who are not many months 
 older than I am. I am just sixteen, and I know there are 
 some not older than that." 
 
 This was a fact, for commissions were in those days given 
 in the army to mere lads, and the ensigns were often no 
 older than midshipmen. Late in the afternoon a proces- 
 sion of carts was seen crossing the neutral ground from the 
 Spanish lines, and it was soon seen that these were the 
 English officers and merchants from San Roque and the 
 other villages. They had that morning received peremptory 
 orders to leave before sunset. Some were fortunate enough 
 to be able to hire carts to bring in their effects, but several 
 
156 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 were compelled from want of carriage to leave everything 
 behind them. The guards had all been reinforced at the 
 northern batteries, pickets had been stationed across the 
 neutral ground, the guard at the work known as the Devil's 
 Tower were warned to be specially on the alert, and the 
 artillery in the battery on the rock above it were to hold 
 themselves in readiness to open fire upon the enemy should 
 they be perceived advancing towards it. 
 
 It was considered improbable in the extreme that the 
 enemy would attack until a great force had been collected, 
 but it was possible that a body of troops might have been 
 collected secretly somewhere in the neighbourhood, and that 
 an attempt would be made to capture the place by surprise 
 before the garrison might be supposed to be taking pre- 
 cautions against attack. The next morning orders were 
 issued, and large working parties were told off to go on with 
 the work of strengthening the fortifications; and notice 
 was issued that all empty hogsheads and casks in the town 
 would be bought by the military authorities. These were 
 to be filled with earth, and to take the places of fascines, for 
 which there were no materials available on the Eock. Parties 
 of men rolled or carried these up to the heights. Other 
 parties collected earth, and piled it to be carried up in sacks 
 on the back of mules, there being no earth on the rocks where 
 the batteries would be established, a fact which added very 
 largely to the difficulties of the Engineers. 
 
 On the 24th, the Childers sloop of war brought in two 
 prizes from the west, one of which, an American, she had 
 captured in the midst of the Spanish fleet. Some of the 
 Spanish men-of-war had made threatening demonstrations 
 as if to prevent the sloop from interfering with her, but they 
 had not fired a gun, and it was supposed that they had not 
 received orders to commence hostilities. Two English fri- 
 gates had been watching the fleet, and it was supposed to 
 be on its way to join the French fleet off Cape Finisterre. 
 The Spaniards were seen now to be at work dragging down 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 157 
 
 guns from San Roque to arm their two forts, St. Philip and 
 St. Barbara, which stood at the extremities of their lines — 
 St. Philip on the bay and St. Barbara upon the sea-shore on 
 the eastern side of the neutral side. In time of peace only 
 a few guns were mounted in these batteries. Admiral Duff 
 moved the men-of-war under his command, consisting of the 
 Panther, of sixty guns, three frigates, and a sloop, from their 
 usual anchorage off the Water Port, where they were exposed 
 to the fire of the enemy's forts, to the New Mole more to the 
 southward. 
 
 Bob would have liked to be out all day watching the 
 busy preparations, and listening to the talk of the natives, 
 who were greatly alarmed at the prospect of the siege, 
 knowing that the guns from the Spanish forts, and espe- 
 cially from Fort St. Philip, could throw their shot and shell 
 into the town. But Captain O'Halloran agreed with his 
 wife that it was much better he should continue his lessons 
 with Don Diaz of a morning, for that it would be absurd 
 for him to be standing about in the sun the whole day. 
 The evening lessons were, however, discontinued from the 
 first, as Dr. Burke had his hands full in superintending the 
 preparations making at the hospitals for the reception of 
 large numbers of wounded. 
 
 Bob did not so much mind this, for he had ceased to re- 
 gard the time spent with the professor as lessons. After he 
 had once mastered the conjugation of the verbs, and had 
 learned an extensive vocabulary by heart, books had been 
 laid aside altogether, and the three hours with the professor 
 had for the last two months been spent simply in conversa- 
 tion. They were no longer indoors, but sat in the garden 
 on the shady side of the house, or when the sky happened 
 to be clouded and the morning was cool, walked together 
 out to Europa Point, and would sit down there looking over 
 the sea, but always talking. Sometimes it was history — 
 Roman, English, or Spanish, sometimes Bob's school-days 
 and life in London, sometimes general subjects. It mattered 
 
158 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 little what they talked about, so that the conversation was 
 kept up. 
 
 Sometimes when it was found that topics failed them, 
 the professor would give Bob a Spanish book to glance 
 through, and its subject would serve as a theme for talk on 
 the following day; and as it was five months since the lad 
 had landed, he was now able to speak in Spanish almost 
 as fluently as in English. As he had learnt almost entirely 
 by ear, and any word mispronounced had had to be gone 
 over again and again until Don Diaz was perfectly satisfied, 
 his accent was excellent, and the professor had told him a 
 few days before the breaking out of the war that in another 
 month or two he should discontinue his lessons. 
 
 " It would be well for you to have one or two mornings 
 a week to keep up your accent. You can find plenty of 
 practice talking to -the people. I see you are good at mak- 
 ing friends, and are ready to talk to labourers at work, to 
 boys, to the market-women, and to anyone you come across, 
 but their accent is bad, and it would be well for you to 
 keep on with me. But you speak at present much better 
 Spanish than the people here, and if you were dressed up 
 as a young Spaniard, you might go about Spain without 
 anyone suspecting you to be English." 
 
 Indeed, by the professor's method of teaching, assisted by 
 a natural aptitude, and three hours' daily conversation for 
 five months, Bob had made surprising progress, especially 
 as he had supplemented his lesson by continually talking 
 Spanish with Manola, with the Spanish woman and children 
 living below them, and with everyone he could get to talk 
 to. 
 
 He had seen little of Jim since the trouble began, as leave 
 was, for the most part, stopped, the ships of war being in 
 readiness to proceed to sea at a moment's notice to engage 
 an enemy, or to protect merchantmen coming in, from the at- 
 tacks of the Spanish ships and gunboats across at Algeciras. 
 
 Bob generally got up at five o'clock now and went out 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 159 
 
 for two or three hours before breakfast, for the heat had 
 become too great for exercise during the day. He greatly 
 missed the market, for it had given him much amusement 
 to watch the groups of peasant women with their baskets 
 of eggs, fowls, vegetables, oranges, and fruit of various 
 kinds, bargaining with the towns-people, and joking and 
 laughing with the soldiers. The streets were now almost 
 deserted, and many of the little traders in vegetables and 
 fruit had closed their shops. The fishermen, however, still 
 carried on their work, and obtained a ready sale for their 
 catch. There had, indeed, been a much greater demand than 
 usual for fish, owing to the falling off in the fruit and vege- 
 table supplies. 
 
 The cessation of trade was already beginning to tell upon 
 the poorer part of the population; but employment was 
 found for all willing to labour, either at- collecting earth for 
 the batteries, or out on the neutral ground, where three 
 hundred of them were employed by the Engineers in level- 
 ling sand hummocks and other inequalities in the ground 
 that might afford any shelter to an enemy creeping up to 
 assault the gates by the water-side. Dr. Burke came in 
 with Captain O'Halloran to dinner ten days after the gates 
 had been closed. 
 
 "You are quite a stranger, Teddy,'' Mrs. O'Halloran 
 said. 
 
 "I am that," he replied; "but you are going to be 
 bothered with me again now; we have got everything in 
 apple-pie order, and are ready to take half the garrison 
 under our charge. There has been lots to do. All the 
 medical stores have been overhauled, and lists made out 
 and sent home of everything that can be required — medi- 
 cines and comforts, and lint and bandages, and splints and 
 wooden legs, and goodness knows what besides. We hope 
 they will be out in the first convoy. There is a privateer 
 going to sail to-morrow, so if you want to send letters home 
 or to order anything to be sent out to you, you had better 
 
160 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 take the opportunity. Have you got everything you want 
 for the next two or three years'?" 
 
 "Two or three years!" Carrie repeated in tones of alarm. 
 " You mean two or three months." 
 
 "Indeed and I don't. If the French and the Dons have 
 made up their mind to take this place, and once set to fairly 
 to do it, they are bound to stick to it for a bit. I should 
 say you ought to provide for three years." 
 
 "But that is downright nonsense, Teddy. Why, in three 
 months there ought to be a fleet here that would drive all 
 the French and Spaniards away." 
 
 " Well, if you say there ought to be, there ought," the 
 doctor said; "but where is it to come from 1 ? I was talking 
 to some of the naval men yesterday, and they all say it will 
 be a long business if the French and Spanish are in earnest. 
 The French navy is as strong as ours, and the Spaniards 
 have got nearly as many ships as the French. We have 
 got to protect our coasts and our trade, to convoy the East 
 Indian fleets, and to be doing something all over the world, 
 and they doubt whether it would be possible to get together 
 a fleet that could hope to defeat the French and Spanish 
 navies combined. Well, have you been laying in stores, 
 Mrs. O'Halloranr 
 
 "Yes, we have bought two sacks of flour and fifty pounds 
 of sugar, ten pounds of tea, and a good many other 
 things." 
 
 " If you will take my advice," the doctor said earnestly, 
 "you will lay in five times as much. Say ten sacks of flour, 
 two hundredweight of sugar, and everything else in pro- 
 portion. Those sort of things haven't got up in price yet, 
 but }'ou will see everything will rise as soon as the blockade 
 begins in earnest." 
 
 "No, the prices of those things have not gone up much; 
 but fruit is three times the price it was a fortnight ago, and 
 chickens and eggs are double, and vegetables are hardly to 
 be bought." 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS 161 
 
 "That is the worst of it," the doctor said. "It's the 
 vegetables that I am thinking of." 
 
 " Well, we can do without vegetables," Mrs. O'Halloran 
 laughed, "as long as we have plenty of bread." 
 
 "It is just that you can't do. You see we shall be cut off 
 from Tangier; maybe to-morrow, maybe a fortnight hence, 
 but we shall be cut off. A ship may run in sometimes at 
 night, but you can't count upon that; and it is salt meat 
 that we are going to live upon, and if you live on salt meat 
 you have got to have vegetables or fruit to keep you in 
 health. 
 
 "Now, I tell you what I should do, Gerald, and I am not 
 joking with you. In the first place I would make an 
 arrangement Avith the people downstairs, and I would hire 
 their garden from them. I don't suppose they would want 
 much for it, for they make no use of it except to grow a 
 few flowers. Then I would go down the town, and I would 
 buy up all the chickens I could get. There are plenty of 
 them to be picked up if you look about for them, for most 
 of the people who have got a bit of ground keep a few 
 fowls. Get a hundred of them if you can, and turn 
 them into the garden. Buy up twenty sacks, if you like, of 
 damaged biscuits. You can get them for an old song. The 
 commissariat have been clearing out their stores, and there 
 are a lot of damaged biscuits to be sold by auction to- 
 morrow. You would get twenty sacks for a few shillings. 
 That way you will get a good supply of eggs if the siege 
 lasts ever so long, and you can fence off a bit of the garden 
 and raise fowls there. That will give you a supply of fresh 
 meat, and any eggs and poultry you can't eat yourselves 
 you can sell for big prices. You could get a chicken three 
 weeks ago at threepence. Never mind if you have to pay 
 a shilling for them now, they will be worth five shillings 
 before long. If you can rent another bit of garden any- 
 where near I would take it; if not, I would hire three or 
 four men to collect earth and bring it up here. This is a 
 
 ( 680 ) L 
 
162 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 good big place; I suppose it is thirty feet by sixty. Well, 
 I would just leave a path from the door there up to this 
 end, and a spare place here for your chairs, and I would 
 cover the rest of it with earth nine inches or a foot deep, 
 and I would plant vegetables." 
 
 "Do you mane we are to grow cabbages here, Teddy]" 
 Captain O'Halloran asked, with a burst of laughter. 
 
 "No, I wouldn't grow cabbages; I would just grow mus- 
 tard and cress and radishes. If you eat plenty of them they 
 will keep off scurvy, and all you don't want for yourselves 
 I will guarantee you will be able to sell at any price you 
 like to ask for them, and if nobody else will buy them the 
 hospitals will. They would be the saving of many a man'a 
 life." 
 
 " But they would want watering," Captain O'Halloran 
 said more sei'iously, for he saw how much the doctor was 
 in earnest. 
 
 " They will that. You will have no difficulty in hiring a 
 man to bring up water, and to tend to them and to look 
 after the fowls. Men will be glad enough to work for 
 next to nothing. I tell you, Gerald, if I wasn't in the ser- 
 vice I should hire every bit of land I could lay hands on, 
 and employ as many labourers as it required, and I should 
 look to be a rich man before the end of the siege. I was 
 speaking to the chief surgeon to-day about it, and he is 
 going to put the convalescents to work on a bit of spare 
 ground there is at the back of the hospital, and to plant 
 vegetables. I was asking down the town yesterday, and I 
 found that at Blount's store you can get as much vegetable 
 seed as you like. You lay in a stock to-day of mustard and 
 cress and radish. Don't be afraid of the expense — get 
 twenty pounds of each of them. You will be always able 
 to sell what you don't want at ten times the price you give 
 for it now. If you can get a piece more garden-ground take 
 it at any price and raise other vegetables, but keep the top 
 of the house here for what I tell you. Well, I said nine 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 163 
 
 inches deep of earth; that is more than necessary. Four 
 and a half will do for the radishes, and two is enough for 
 the mustard and cress. That will grow on a blanket; it is 
 really only water that it wants." 
 
 "What do you think, Carrie?" Captain O'Halloran asked. 
 
 " Well, Gerald, if you really believe the siege is going to 
 last like that, I should think that it would be really worth 
 while to do what Teddy Burke advises. Of course you will 
 be too busy to look after things, but Bob might do so." 
 
 " Of course I would," Bob broke in. " It will give me 
 something to do." 
 
 " Well, we will set about it at once then. I will speak 
 to the man downstairs. You know he has got two or three 
 horses and traps down in the town, and lets them to people 
 driving out across the lines; but of course he has nothing 
 to do now, and I should think that he would be glad enough 
 to arrange to look after the fowls and the things up here. 
 The garden is a good size. I don't think anything could 
 get out through that' prickly-pear hedge; but, anyhow, any 
 gaps there are can be stopped up with stakes. "I think 
 it is a really good idea, and if I can get a couple of hun- 
 dred fowls, I will. I should think there was plenty of 
 room for them in the garden. I will set up as a poultry 
 merchant." 
 
 " You might do worse, Gerald. I will bet you a gallon 
 of whisky they will be selling at ten shillings a couple 
 before this business is over, and there is no reason in the 
 world why you should not turn an honest penny; it will be 
 a novelty to you." 
 
 "Well, I will go down the town at once," Gerald said, 
 "and get the seeds and the extra stores you advise, Teddy; 
 and to-morrow I will go to the commissariat sale and buy 
 a ton or two of those damaged biscuits. We will take 
 another room from them downstairs as a store-room for 
 that and the eggs, and I will get a carpenter to come up 
 and put a fence and make some runs and a bit of a shelter 
 
164 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 for the sitting hens and the chickens. Bob shall do the 
 purchasing. You had better get a boy with a big basket to 
 go with you, Bob ; and go round to the cottages to buy up 
 fowls. Mind, don't let them sell you nothing but cocks — 
 one to every seven or eight hens is quite enough; and don't 
 let them foist off old hens on you — the younger they are the 
 better. I should say that at first you had better take Manola 
 with you, if Carrie can spare her, then you won't get taken 
 in, and you will soon learn to tell the difference between an 
 old hen and a young chicken." 
 
 " When you are buying the seed, O'Halloran," said Dr. 
 Burke, "you would do well to get a few cucumbers, and 
 melons, and pumpkins; they will grow on the roof splen 
 didly. And you can plant them near the parapet where 
 they will grow down over the sides, so they won't take up 
 much room, and you can pick them with a ladder. The 
 pumpkin is a good vegetable, and the fowls will thank you 
 for a bit to pick when you can spare one. They "will all 
 want manure, but you get plenty of that from the fowl-yard." 
 
 " Why, Teddy, there seems no end to your knowledge," 
 Mrs. O'Halloran said; "first of all you turn out to be a 
 schoolmaster, and now you are a gardener and poultry- 
 raiser. And to think I never gave you credit for knowing 
 anything except medicine." 
 
 " You haven't got to the bottom of it yet, Mrs. O'Halloran; 
 my head is just stored with knowledge, only it isn't always 
 that I have a chance of making it useful. I would be just 
 the fellow to be cast on a desert island; there is no saying 
 what I wouldn't do towards making myself comfortable 
 there. But I do know about scurvy, for I made a voyage 
 in a whaler before I got His Majesty's commission to kill 
 and slay in the army, and I know how necessary vegetables 
 are. I only wish we had known what the Spaniards were 
 up to a month since, we would have got a cargo of oranges 
 and lemons; they would have been worth their weight in 
 silver." 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 165 
 
 " But they wouldn't have kept, Teddy." 
 
 "No, not for long; but we would have squeezed them, 
 and put sugar into the juice and bottled it off. If the 
 general had consulted me that is what he would have been 
 after, instead of seeing about salt meat and biscuits. We 
 shall get plenty of them from ships that run in, I have no 
 fear of that; but it is the acids will be wanting." 
 
 As soon as dinner was over Captain O'Halloran went 
 downstairs, and had no difficulty in arranging with the man 
 below for the entire use of his garden. An inspection was 
 made of the hedge, and the man agreed to close up all gaps 
 that fowls could possibly creep through. He was also 
 quite willing to let off a room for storage, and his wife 
 undertook to superintend the management of the young 
 broods and sitting hens. Having arranged this, Captain 
 O'Halloran went down into the town to make his purchases. 
 A quarter of an hour later Bob started with Manola, carry- 
 ing a large basket, and both were much amused at their 
 errand. Going among the cottages scattered over the hill 
 above the town, they had no difficulty in obtaining chickens 
 and fowls, the former at about fivepence apiece, the latter at 
 sevenpence — such prices being more than double the usual 
 rates. Manola's basket was soon full, and while she was 
 taking her purchases back to the house Bob hired two boys 
 with baskets, and before evening nearly a hundred fowls 
 were running in the garden. 
 
 The next day Bob was considered sufficiently experienced 
 to undertake the business alone, and in two more days the 
 entire number of two hundred had been made up. Three 
 of the natives had been engaged in collecting baskets of 
 earth among the rocks, and in a week the terrace was con- 
 verted into a garden ready for the seeds. As yet vegetables, 
 although very dear, had not risen to famine prices, for 
 although the town had depended chiefly upon the produce 
 of the mainland, many of the natives had grown small 
 patches of vegetables in their gardens for their own use, 
 
166 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 and these they now disposed of at prices that were highly 
 satisfactory to themselves. O'Halloran's farm, as they called 
 it as soon as they heard from him what he was doing, 
 became quite a joke in the regiment, but several of the 
 other married officers who had similar facilities for keeping 
 fowls adopted the idea to some extent, and started with a 
 score or so of fowls. 
 
 " I wonder you didn't think of pigs, O'Halloran," one of 
 the captains said laughing, as they were talking over the 
 farm in the mess ante-room; "pigs and potatoes. The idea 
 of you and Burke, both from the sod, starting a farm and 
 not thinking first of the two chief national products." 
 
 "There is not room for praties, Sinclair; and as for pigs, 
 there are many reasons against it. In the first place, I 
 doubt whether I could buy any; in the second, there isn't 
 room for them; in the third, what should I give them to 
 keep them alive 1 in the fourth, pigs are illigant bastes, but 
 in a hot country like this I should not care for a stye of 
 them under my drawing-room window ; in the fifth — " 
 
 "That will do, that will do, O'Halloran; we give way. 
 We allow that you could not keep pigs, but it is a pity." 
 
 "It is that, Sinclair; there is nothing would please me 
 better than to see a score of nice little pigs with a nate stye, 
 and a magazine of food big enough to keep them, say for a 
 year." 
 
 " Three months, O'Halloran, would be ample." 
 
 "Well, we shall see, Sinclair. Teddy Burke says three 
 years, but I do hope it is not going to be as long as that." 
 
 "Begorra!" another Irish officer, Captain O'Moore, ex- 
 claimed; "if it is three years we are going to be here 
 we had best be killed and buried at once. I have been all 
 the morning in the Queen's Battery, where my company 
 has been slaving like haythens, with the sun coming down 
 as if it would fry your brain in your skull-pan; and if that 
 is to go on day after day for three years, I should be dead 
 in a month." 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS 167 
 
 "That is nothing, O'Moore; if the siege goes on they say 
 the officers will have to help at the work." 
 
 " I shall protest against it. There is not a word in the 
 articles of war about officers working. I am willing enough 
 to be shot by the Spaniards, but not to be killed by inches. 
 No, sir, there is not an O'Moore ever did a stroke of work 
 since the flood, and I am not going to demean myself by 
 beginning. What are you laughing at, young Repton?" 
 
 "I was only wondering, Captain O'Moore, how your 
 ancestors got through the flood. Unless, indeed, Noah was 
 an O'Moore." 
 
 "There is reason to believe that he was," the captain 
 said seriously. "It must have been that, if he hadn't a 
 boat of his own or found a mountain that the water didn't 
 cover. I have got the tree of the family at home, and an 
 old gentleman who was learned in these things came to the 
 house when I was a boy, and I remember right well that he 
 said to my father, after reckoning them up, that the first of 
 the house must have had a place there in Ireland well-nigh 
 a thousand years before Adam. I don't think my father 
 quite liked it, but for the life of me I couldn't see why. It 
 was just what I should expect from the O'Moores. Didn't 
 they give kings to Ireland for generations, and what should 
 they want to be doing out among those rivers in the East 
 when there xvas Ireland ready to receive them." 
 
 Captain O'Moore spoke so seriously that Bob did not 
 venture to laugh, but listened with an air of gravity equal 
 to that of the officer. 
 
 "You will kill me altogether, Phelim!" Captain O'Halloran 
 exclaimed amid a great shout of laughter, in which all the 
 others joined. The O'Moore looked round, speechless with 
 indignation. 
 
 "Gentlemen," he said, "I shall expect satisfaction for 
 this insult. The word of an O'Moore has never been doubted. 
 Captain O'Halloran, my friend will call upon you first." 
 
 "He may call as often as he likes, O'Moore, and I shall 
 
168 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 be happy to converse with any friend of yours, but at present 
 that is all the satisfaction you will get out of me. Duelling 
 is strictly forbidden on the Rock, and there is no getting 
 across the Spanish lines to fight, unless, indeed, you can per- 
 suade the governor to send out a flag of truce with us. So 
 we must let the matter rest till the siege is over, and then if 
 both of us are alive and you have the same mind we will 
 talk about it." 
 
 "I think, O'Moore," Dr. Burke, who had entered the 
 room two or three minutes before, said persuasively, "you 
 will see that you are the last man who ought to maintain 
 that the first of your race lived here as far back as Adam. 
 You see, we are all direct descendants of Adam — I mean all 
 the rest of us." 
 
 " No doubt you are," Captain O'Moore said stiffly. 
 
 " And one has just as much right as another to claim that 
 he is the heir in a direct line." 
 
 " I suppose so, Burke," the officer said, " though for the 
 life of me I can't see what you are driving at." 
 
 " What I mean is this. Suppose Adam and the O'Moore 
 started at the same time, one in Ireland and the other in 
 Eden, and they had an equal number of children, as was 
 likely enough, half the people in the world would be 
 descendants of Adam and the other half of the O'Moore; 
 and, you see, instead of your being the O'Moore, the genuine 
 descendant in the direct line from the first of the family, 
 half the world would have an equal claim to the title." 
 
 Captain O'Moore reflected for a minute or two. 
 
 " You are right, Dr. Burke," he said. " I never saw it in 
 that light. It is clear enough that you are right, and that 
 the less we say about the O'Moores before the first Irish 
 king of that name, the better. There must have been some 
 mistake about that tree I spoke of. Captain O'Halloran, I 
 apologize; I was wrong." 
 
 The two officers shook hands, and peace was restored 
 but Captain O'Moore was evidently a good deal puzzled and 
 
THE SIEGE BEGINS. 1G9 
 
 mortified by the problem the doctor had set before him, 
 and after remaining silent for some time evidently in deep 
 thought, he left the room. Some of the others watched him 
 from the window until he had entered the door of his own 
 quarters, and then there was a general shout of laughter. 
 
 "The O'Moore will be the death of me!" Teddy Burke 
 exclaimed, as he threw himself back in a chair exhausted. 
 " He is one of the best fellows going, but you can lead him 
 on into anything. I don't suppose he ever gave a thought 
 to the O'Moores anywhere further back than those kings. 
 He had a vague idea that they must have been going on, 
 simply because it must have seemed to him that a world 
 without an O'Moore in it would be necessarily imperfect. It 
 was Bob Repton's questions as to what they were doing at 
 the time of the flood that brought him suddenly up, then he 
 didn't hesitate for a moment in taking them back to Adam 
 or before him. Just on the ancestry of the O'Moores 
 Phelim has got a tile a little loose, but on all other points 
 he is as sensible as anyone in the regiment." 
 
 "I wonder you didn't add, 'and that is not saying much,' 
 doctor," one of the lieutenants said. 
 
 " I may have thought it, youngster; but, you see, I must 
 have made exceptions in favour of myself and the colonel, 
 so I held my tongue. The fact that we are all here under a 
 sun hot enough to cook a beef-steak, and that for the next 
 two or three years we are going to have to work like niggers, 
 and to be shot at by the Spaniards, and to be pretty well if 
 not quite starved, speaks for itself as to the amount of sense 
 we have got between us. There go the drums! Now, 
 gentlemen, you have got the pleasure of a couple of hours' 
 drill before you, and I am due at the hospital." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE "ANTELOPE." 
 
 ON the 3d ot July a hundred and eighty volunteers from 
 the infantry joined the artillery, who were not numerous 
 enough to work all the guns of the batteries, and two days 
 later a Spanish squadron of two men-of-war, five frigates, 
 and eleven smaller vessels hove in sight from the west, and 
 lay to off the entrance to the bay. Three privateers came 
 in, and one of the Spanish schooners stood across to recon- 
 noitre them, and a shot was fired at her from the batteries 
 on Europa Point. The Enterprise frigate had gone across 
 to Tetuan to bring Mr. Logie over again. On her return 
 she was chased by the enemy's squadron, but succeeded in 
 giving them the slip in the dark. As she neared the Rock 
 the captain, fearing to be discovered by the eneury, did not 
 show the usual lights, and several shots were fired at the 
 ship, but fortunately without effect. On the following day 
 letters were received from England with the official news 
 that hostilies had commenced between Great Britain and 
 Spain, and the same evening a proclamation was published 
 authorizing the capture of Spanish vessels, and letters of 
 marque were given to the privateers in the bay, permitting 
 them to capture Spanish as well as French vessels. Among 
 the privateers was the Antelope, which was one of those that 
 had come in on the previous afternoon. Bob had not heard 
 of her arrival when he ran against Captain Lockett in the 
 town next morning. They had not met since Bob had 
 landed six months before. 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 171 
 
 " Well, Master Repton," the captain said after they had 
 shaken hands, "I was coming up to see you after I had 
 managed my business. I have letters from Mr. Bale for you 
 and Mrs. O'Halloran." 
 
 "You are all well on board, I hope, captain?" 
 
 "Joe is well. He is first-mate now. Poor Probert is on 
 his back in hospital at Portsmouth. We had a sharp brush 
 with a French privateer, but we beat her off. We had five 
 men killed, and Probert had his leg taken off by an eighteen- 
 pound shot. We clapped on a tourniquet, but he had a 
 very narrow escape of bleeding to death. Fortunately it 
 was off Ushant, and the wind being favourable we got into 
 Portsmouth on the following morning, and the doctors think 
 that they will pull him round. You have grown a good bit 
 since I saw you last." 
 
 " Not much, I am afraid," Bob replied dolefully, for his 
 height was rather a sore point with him. " I get wider, but 
 I don't think I have grown half an inch since I came here." 
 
 "And how goes on the Spanish?" 
 
 ".First-rate. I can get on in it almost as well as in 
 English." 
 
 "So you are in for some more fighting?" 
 
 "So they say," Bob replied; "but I don't think I am 
 likely to have as close a shave of a Spanish prison as I had 
 of a French one coming out here." 
 
 "No; we had a narrow squeak of it that time." 
 
 " Was war declared when you came away 1 " 
 
 "No; the negotiations were broken off, and everyone 
 knew that war was certain, and that the proclamation might 
 be issued at any hour. I have not had a very fast run, and 
 expected to have learned the news when I got here, but you 
 are sure to hear it in a day or two. That was why I came 
 here. Freights were short, for with the ports of France and 
 Spain both closed there was little enough doing, so the 
 owners agreed to let me drop trading and make straight for 
 Gibraltar, so as to be ready to put out as soon as we get the 
 
172 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 declaration of war. There ought to be some first-rate pick- 
 ings along the coast. It isn't here as it is with France, 
 where they have learned to be precious cautious, and 
 where one daren't risk running in close to their coast on 
 the chance of picking up a prize, for the waters swarm 
 with their privateers. The Spaniards are a very slow 
 set, and there is not much fear of their fitting out many 
 privateers for months to come, and the coasters will be a 
 long time before they wake up to the fact that Spain is at 
 war with us, and will go lumbering along from port to port 
 without the least fear of being captured. So it is a rare 
 chance of making prize-money. If you like a cruise I shall 
 be very happy to take you with me. I have seen you under 
 fire, you know, and know that you are to be depended 
 upon. " 
 
 "I should like to go above all things," Bob said; "but I 
 don't know what my sister would say. I must get at her 
 husband first. If I can get him on my side I think I shall 
 be able to manage it with her. Well, will you come up to 
 dinner?" 
 
 " No, I shall be busy all day. Here are the letters I was 
 speaking of." 
 
 "Well, we have supper at seven. Will you come then?" 
 
 " With pleasure." 
 
 "Will Joe be able to come too?" 
 
 "No; it wouldn't do for us both to leave the brig. The 
 Spanish fleet may be sending in their boats to try and cut 
 some of our vessels out, and I should not feel comfortable if 
 we were both ashore; but he will be very glad to see you 
 on board. We are anchored a cable-length from the Water 
 Port. You are pretty sure to see one of our boats alongside. 
 The steward came off with me to buy some soft tack and 
 fresh meat. I saw him just before I met you. He told me 
 he had got some bread, but that meat was at a ruinous 
 price. I told him that he must get it whatever price it 
 was, and I expect by this time he has done so; so if you 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 173 
 
 look sharp you will get to the boat before it puts off with 
 him." 
 
 The steward was in the act of getting into the boat as 
 Bob ran down. " Glad to see you, Mister Eepton," the man 
 said, touching his hat. "Have you seen the captain, sir?" 
 
 "Yes, I have just left him. He told me I should catch 
 you here." 
 
 "Thinking of having another cruise with us, sir?" 
 
 "I am thinking about it, Parker, but I don't know whether 
 I shall be able to manage it." 
 
 They were soon alongside the Antelope. 
 
 "I thought it was you, Mister Repton, when I saw you run 
 down to the boat," Joe Lockett said as he shook hands 
 with Bob. 
 
 " I am glad to see you again, Joe, and I am glad to hear 
 you are first-mate now; though, of course, I am sorry for 
 Mr. Probert." 
 
 "Yes, a bad job for him, a very bad job; but it won't be 
 so bad in his case as in some. He has been talking for the 
 last two or three voyages of retiring. An old uncle of his 
 died and left him a few acres of land down in Essex, and he 
 has saved a bit of money out of his pay and his share of the 
 prizes we have made, and he talked about giving up the sea 
 and settling down on shore. So now he will do it. He said 
 as much as that the night he was wounded. ' Well,' he said, 
 ' there won't be any more trouble about making up my 
 mind, Joe. If I do get over this job, I have got to lay up 
 as a dismantled hulk for the rest of my life. I have been 
 talking of it to j r ou, but I doubt whether I should ever 
 have brought myself to it if it had not been for them 
 Frenchmen's shot.' Well, will you come into the cabin and 
 take something?" 
 
 "No, thank you, Joe." 
 
 "Have they got the news about the declaration of war 
 yet, Mister Repton?" 
 
 " No, it hasn't arrived yet." 
 
174 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " I expect we shall get some good pickings along the coast 
 directly it comes. We have been trading regularly this last 
 year, and we all of us want the chance of earning a bit of 
 prize-money. So I can tell you we were very glad when 
 we heard that we were going to take to that again for 
 a bit." 
 
 " Yes, the captain was telling me about it, and he has 
 asked me to go for a trip with you." 
 
 " Well, I hope that you will be able to come, Mister 
 Eepton." 
 
 "I hope so, Joe. But there is one thing, if I do come 
 you must call me Bob; I hate being called Mister Repton." 
 
 "Well, it would be different if you come with us like 
 that," the young mate said. "You see you were a passenger 
 before, but if you came like this you will be here as a friend 
 like. So it will come natural to call you Bob. And how do 
 you like the place 1 " 
 
 " Oh, I like it well enough ! I have been working very 
 hard — at least pretty hard — so I haven't had time to feel it 
 dull; and of course I know all the officers in my brother-in- 
 law's regiment. But I shall be very glad indeed of a cruise, 
 especially as we are likely presently, by all they say, to be 
 cut off here, some say for months, some say for years." 
 
 "But still I expect there will be some lively work," the 
 mate said, "if the Spaniards really mean to try and take this 
 place." 
 
 "They will never take it," Bob said, "unless they are able 
 to starve us out; and they ought not to be able to do that. 
 Ships ought to be able to run in from the east at any time, 
 for the Spaniards dare not come across within range of the 
 guns, and if the wind was strong, they could not get out 
 from their side of the bay. 
 
 "That is true enough, and I expect you will find fast- 
 sailing craft, privateers and such like, will dodge in and out; 
 but a merchantman won't like to venture over this side of 
 the Straits, but will keep along the Moorish coasts. You 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 175 
 
 see they can't keep along the Spanish side without the risk 
 of being picked up by the gunboats and galleys with the 
 blockading fleet. There are a dozen small craft lying over 
 there now with the men-of-war. Still I don't say none of 
 them will make their way in here, because I daresay they will. 
 They well know they will get big prices for their goods if 
 they can manage to run the blockade. We are safe to pick 
 up some of the native craft and bring them in, and so will 
 the other privateers. I expect there will be a good many 
 down here before long. The worst of it is, there won't be 
 any sale for the craft we capture." 
 
 " Except for firewood, Joe. That is one of the things 1 
 have heard we are sure to run very short of if there is a 
 long siege." 
 
 " Well, that will be something, and of course any prizes 
 we take laden with things likely to be useful and sell here 
 we shall bring in; but the rest we shall have to send over 
 to the other side, so as to be out of sight of their fleet, and 
 then take them straight back to England. You see we have 
 shipped twice as many hands as we had on the voyage 
 when you were with us. We had only a trader's crew then, 
 now we have a privateer's. Look there ! There is a craft 
 making in from the south. It is like enough she has got 
 the despatches on board. There are two or three of those 
 small Spanish craft getting under sail to cut her off, but they 
 won't do it. They could not head her without getting 
 under the fire of the guns of those batteries on the point." 
 
 " Well, I will go ashore now, Joe, if you will let me have the 
 boat. The captain is going to have supper with us to-night. 
 I wanted you to come too, but he said you could not both 
 come on shore together. I hope we shall see you to-morrow." 
 
 On landing Bob made his way to the barrack, so as to 
 intercept Gerald when he came off duty. 
 
 "Look here, Gerald," he said when Captain O'Halloran 
 came out of the -orderly-room, "I want you to back me up." 
 
 "Oh, you do? Then I am quite sure that you are up to 
 
176 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 some mischief or other, Bob, or you wouldn't want me to 
 help you with Carrie." 
 
 " It is not mischief at all, Gerald. The Antelope came in 
 last night, and I saw Captain Lockett this morning, and I 
 have asked him to come to supper." 
 
 " "Well, that is all right, Bob. We have plenty of food 
 at present." 
 
 " Yes, but that is not it, Gerald. He has invited me to 
 go for a cruise with him. He is going to pick up some 
 prizes along the Spanish coast." 
 
 "Oh, that is it, is it 1 ? Well, you know very well Carrie 
 won't let you go." 
 
 "Well, why shouldn't I, Gerald 1 ? You know that I have 
 been working very well here, and I am sure I have learnt 
 as much Spanish in six months as uncle expected me to 
 learn in two years, besides lots of Latin and other things 
 from the doctor. Now, I do think that I have earned a 
 holiday. A fellow at school always has a holiday. I am 
 sure I have worked as hard as I did at school. I think it 
 only fair that I should have a holiday. Besides, you see, I 
 am past sixteen now, and being out here I think I ought to 
 have the chance of any fun there is, especially as we may 
 be shut up here for ever so long." 
 
 " Well, there may be something in that, Bob. You cer- 
 tainly have stuck at it well; and you have not got into a 
 single scrape since you came out, which is a deal more than 
 I expected of you." 
 
 " Besides, you see, Gerald, if I had not made up my mind 
 to stick to uncle's business I might have been on . board 
 the Brilliant now with Jim Sankey, and I think after my 
 giving up that chance it would be only fair that I should be 
 allowed to have a cruise, now that there is such a splendid 
 opportunity." 
 
 " Well, Bob, I will do my best to persuade Carrie to let 
 you go; but as far as you are concerned, you know, she is 
 commanding officer." 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 177 
 
 Bob laughed, for he knew well enough that not only in 
 that but in all other matters his sister generally had her 
 own way. 
 
 " Well, I am very much obliged to you, Gerald. I am 
 sure I should enjoy it awfully." 
 
 " Don't thank me too soon, Bob. You have your sister 
 to manage yet." 
 
 "Oh, we ought to be able to manage her between us!" 
 Bob said confidently. "Look how you managed to have 
 Dr. Burke for me, and you know how well that turned out." 
 
 " Yes, that was a triumph, Bob. Well, we will do our 
 best." 
 
 "Why, Bob, where have you been all the morning 1 ?" his 
 sister said. " The professor came at ten o'clock. He said 
 he had arranged with you that he should be an hour later 
 than usual, as he had another engagement early." 
 
 "I forgot all about him, Carrie; he never came into 
 my mind once since breakfast. I met Captain Lockett 
 down in the town as soon as I went out, and I wanted him 
 to come here to dinner. I knew you would be glad to see 
 him, for you said you liked him very much; but he said he 
 should be too busy, but he is coming up to supper at seven. 
 Then I went on board the Antelope and had a chat with his 
 cousin Joe, who is first-mate now." 
 
 When dinner was finished Bob said : " Don't you think, 
 Carrie, I am looking pale 1 ? What with the heat, and what 
 with my sticking in and working so many hours a day, I 
 begin to feel that it is too much for me." 
 
 His sister looked anxiously at him. " Well, Bob, you are 
 looking a little pale, but so is everybody else; and no wonder, 
 with this heat. But I have not been noticing you particu- 
 larly. What do you feel, Bob 1 " 
 
 " I think Bob feels as if he wants a holiday," Captain 
 O'Halloran put in. 
 
 "Well, then, we must tell the professor that we don't 
 want him to come for a bit. Of course Teddy Burke has 
 
 (680) M 
 
178 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 given up coming already. But if you have a holiday, Bob, 
 what will you do with yourself?" 
 
 "I don't think I shall get any better here, Carrie. I 
 think I want change of air." 
 
 "Nonsense, Bob! You can't be as bad as all that, and 
 you never said anything about it before. If he is not 
 well you must ask Teddy Burke to come up to see him, 
 Gerald. Besides, how can he have change of air? The 
 only place he could go to would be Tetuan, and it would 
 be hotter there than it is here." 
 
 "I think, Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said, "I can pre- 
 scribe for him without calling Teddy Burke in. I fancy the 
 very thing that would get Bob set up would be a sea voy- 
 age." 
 
 " A sea voyage ! " his wife repeated. " Do you mean that 
 he should go back to England ? I don't see anything serious 
 the matter with him. Surely there cannot be anything 
 serious enough for that." 
 
 " No, not so serious as that, Carrie. Just a cruise for a 
 bit, on board the Antelope for example." 
 
 Mrs. O'Halloran looked from one to the other, and then, 
 catching a twinkle in Bob's eye, the truth flashed across 
 her. 
 
 " You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Gerald," she said, 
 laughing in spite of herself. " You have quite frightened 
 me. I see now. Captain Locket has invited Bob to go for 
 a cruise with him, and all this about his being ill is nonsense 
 from beginning to end. You don't mean to say that you 
 have been encouraging Bob in this ridiculous idea?" 
 
 "I don't know about encouraging, Carrie; but when he 
 put it to me that he had been working very steadily for 
 the last six months, and that he had got into no scrapes, 
 and that he had really earned a holiday, and that this would 
 be a very jolly one, I did not see any particular reason why 
 he shouldn't have it." 
 
 "No particular reason! Why, the Antelope is a privateer; 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 179 
 
 and if she is going to cruise about, that means that she is 
 going to fight, and he may get shot." 
 
 " So he may here, Carrie, if a ball happens to come the 
 right way. I think Bob certainly deserves a reward for the 
 way he has stuck to his lessons. You know you never 
 expected he would do as he has done; and I am sure his 
 uncle would be delighted if he heard how well he speaks 
 Spanish. As to his health the boy is well enough, but 
 there is no denying that this hot weather we are having 
 takes it out of us all, and that it would be a mighty good 
 thing if every soul on the Eock had the chance of a month's 
 cruise at sea to set him up. But seriously, Carrie, I don't 
 see any reason whatever why he should not go. We didn't 
 bring the boy out here to make a mollycoddle of him. He 
 has got to settle down some day in a musty old office, and 
 it seems to me that he ought to have his share in any fun 
 and diversion that he has a chance of getting at now. 
 As to danger, sure you are a soldier's wife; and why shouldn't 
 he have a share of it just the same as if he had gone into 
 the navy 1 You wouldn't have made any hullabaloo about 
 it if he had done that. This is Bob's good time, let him 
 enjoy it. You are not going to keep a lad of his age tied 
 to your apron strings. He has just got the chance of having 
 two or three years of fighting and adventure. It will be 
 something for him to talk about all his life; and my opinion 
 is, that you had best let him go his own way. There are 
 hundreds and hundreds of lads his age knocking about the 
 world, and running all sorts of risks, without having elder 
 sisters worrying over them." 
 
 "Very well, Gerald, if you and Bob have made up your 
 minds about it, it is no use my saying no. I am sure 
 I don't want to make a mollycoddle, as you call it, of 
 him. Of course uncle will blame me if any harm comes 
 of it." 
 
 " No he won't, Carrie. Your uncle wants the boy to be a 
 gentleman and a man of the world. If you had said that a 
 
180 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 year ago I would have agreed with you; but we know him 
 better now, and I will be bound he will like him to see as 
 much life as he can during this time. He has sent him out 
 into the world. I will write to your uncle myself, and tell 
 him it is my doing entirely, and that I think it is a good 
 thing Bob should take every chance he gets, and that I will 
 answer for it that he won't be any the less ready when the 
 time comes for buckling to at business." 
 
 " Well, if you really think that, Gerald, I have nothing 
 more to say. You know I should like Bob to enjoy himself 
 as much as he can, only I seem to have the responsibility of 
 him." 
 
 " I don't see why you worry about that, Carrie. If he 
 had gone out to Cadiz or Oporto, as your uncle intended, 
 you don't suppose the people there would have troubled 
 themselves about him. He would just have gone his own 
 way. You went your own way, didn't you 1 ? and it is 
 mighty little you troubled yourself about what your uncle 
 was likely to say when you took up with an Irishman in a 
 marching regiment, and I don't see why you should trouble 
 now. The old gentleman means well with the boy, but, 
 after all, he is not either his father or his mother. You are 
 his nearest relation, and though you are a married woman, 
 you are not old enough yet to expect that a boy of Bob's 
 age is going to treat you as if you were his mother instead 
 of his sister, there is not one boy in fifty would have minded 
 us as he has done." 
 
 "Well, Bob, there is nothing more for me to say after 
 that," Carrie said half laughing, though there were tears in 
 her eyes. 
 
 "No, no, Carrie; I won't go if you don't like," Bob said 
 impetuously. 
 
 " Yes, you shall go, Bob. Gerald is quite right. It is 
 better you should begin to think for yourself, and I am sure 
 I should like you to see things, and to enjoy yourself as 
 much as you can. I don't know why I should fidget about 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 181 
 
 you, for you showed you had much more good sense than 
 I credited you with, when you gave up your chance of 
 going to sea and went into uncle's office. I am sure I am 
 the last person who ought to lecture you, after choosing to 
 run about all over the world, and to take the risk of being 
 starved here," and she smiled at her husband. " You do as 
 you like, Bob," she went on, "I won't worry about you in 
 future; only if you have to go back to England without a 
 leg or an arm, don't blame me; and be sure you tell uncle 
 that I made as good a fight against it as I could." 
 
 And so it was settled. 
 
 "By the way," Bob exclaimed presently, "I have got a 
 letter from uncle to you in my pocket, and one for myself 
 also. Captain Lockett gave them to me this morning, but I 
 forgot all about them." 
 
 "Well, you are a boy!" his sister exclaimed. "This is 
 a nice sample, Gerald, of Bob's thoughtfulness. Well, give 
 me the letter. Perhaps he writes saying you had better be 
 sent home by the first chance that offers itself." 
 
 Bob's face fell. He had indeed himself had some mis- 
 giving ever since the troubles began that his uncle might be 
 writing to that effect. 
 
 "Well, look here, Carrie," he said, "here is the letter, 
 but I think you had better not open it till I have started 
 on this cruise. Of course, if he says I must go back, I 
 must, but I may as well have this trip first." 
 
 Carrie laughed. "What do you think, Gerald, shall I 
 leave it till Bob has gone?" 
 
 "No, open it at once, Carrie. If he does say, send 
 Bob on by the first vessel, there is not likely to be one 
 before he goes in the Antelope. Besides, that is all the 
 more reason why he should go for a cruise before he starts 
 back for that grimy old place in Philpot Lane. We may as 
 well see what the old gentleman says." 
 
 "I won't open mine till you have read yours, Carrie," 
 Bob said. "I mean to go the cruise anyhow; but if he says 
 
182 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 I must go after that, I will go. If lie had been the old bear 
 I used to think him, I would not mind it a snap, but he has 
 been so kind that I shall certainly do what he wants." 
 
 Bob sat with his hands deep in his pockets watching his 
 sister's face with the deepest anxiety as she glanced through 
 the letter, Gerald standing by and looking over her shoulder. 
 
 "The old gentleman is a brick!" Gerald, who was the 
 first to arrive at the end, exclaimed. " I wish I had had 
 such a sensible old relative myself; but barring an aunt who 
 kept three parrots and a cat, and who put more store on 
 the smallest of them than she did on me, never a relative 
 did I have in the world." 
 
 "Oh, tell me that afterwards!" Bob broke in. "Do tell 
 me what uncle says, Carrie." 
 
 His sister turned to the beginning again and read aloud: 
 "My dear niece — " 
 
 "Where does he write from?" Bob interrupted. "Is it 
 from Philpot Lane or from somewhere else?" 
 
 "He writes from Matlock, Derbyshire." 
 
 "That is all right," Bob said. "I thought by what 
 Gerald said he could not have written from Philpot Lane." 
 
 "My dear niece," Carrie began again, "I duly received 
 your letter saying that Bob had arrived out safely, and also 
 his more lengthy epistle giving an account of the incidents 
 of the voyage. I should be glad if you would impress upon 
 him the necessity of being more particular in his punctuation, 
 as also in the crossing of his t's and the dotting of his i's. 
 I have also received your letter bearing date June 1st, and 
 note with great satisfaction your statement that he has been 
 most assiduous in his studies, and that he is already able to 
 converse with some fluency in Spanish. Since that time 
 the state of affairs between the two countries has much 
 occupied my attention, both from its commercial aspect, 
 which is serious, and in connection with Bob. 
 
 " As the issue of a declaration of war is hourly expected 
 as I write, the period of uncertainty may be considered as 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 183 
 
 over, and the two countries may be looked upon as at war. 
 I have reason to congratulate myself upon having followed 
 the advice of my correspondent, and of having laid in a very 
 large supply of Spanish wine, from which I shall, under the 
 circumstances, reap considerable profits. I have naturally 
 been debating with myself whether to send for Bob to return 
 to England, or to proceed to Lisbon and thence to Oporto 
 to the care of my correspondent there. I have consulted in 
 this matter my junior partner, Mr. Medlin, who is staying 
 with me here for a few days, and I am glad to say that his 
 opinion coincides with that at which I had finally arrived, 
 namely, to allow him to remain with you. 
 
 " His conduct when with me, and the perseverance with 
 which, as you report, he is pursuing his studies, has shown 
 me that he will not be found wanting in business qualities 
 when he enters the firm. I am therefore all the more willing 
 that he should .use the intervening time in qualifying him- 
 self generally for a good position in the city of London; 
 especially for that of the head of a firm in the wine trade, 
 in which an acquaintance with the world and the manners of 
 a gentleman, if not of a man of fashion — a matter in which 
 my firm has been very deficient heretofore — are specially 
 valuable. It is probable from what I hear that Gibraltar will 
 be besieged, and the event is likely to be a memorable one. 
 It will be of advantage to him, and give him a certain stand- 
 ing to have been present on such an occasion. And if he 
 evinces any desire to place an y services he is able to render, 
 either as a volunteer or otherwise, at the disposal of the 
 military authorities — and I learn from Mr. Medlin that it is 
 by no means unusual for the civil inhabitants of a besieged 
 town to be called upon to aid in its defence — I should re- 
 commend that you should place no obstacle in his way. 
 
 "As a lad of spirit he would naturally be glad of any 
 opportunity to distinguish himself. I gathered from him 
 that one of his school-fellows was serving as a midshipman 
 in a ship of war that would not improbably be stationed at 
 
184 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Gibraltar, and Bob would naturally dislike remaining in- 
 active when his school-fellow, and many other lads of the 
 same age, were playing men's parts in an historical event 
 of such importance. Therefore you will fully understand 
 that you have my sanction beforehand to agree with any 
 desire he should express in this direction if it seems rea- 
 sonable and proper to you and Captain O'Halloran. As 
 it is probable that the prices of food and other articles will 
 be extremely high during the siege, I have written by this 
 mail to Messrs. James & William Johnston, merchants of 
 Gibraltar, with whom I have had several transactions, 
 authorizing them to honour drafts duly drawn by Captain 
 O'Halloran upon me to the extent of £500, such sum being 
 of course additional to the allowance agreed upon between 
 us for the maintenance and education of your brother. — 
 I remain, my near niece, your affectionate uncle, John 
 Bale." 
 
 " Now I call that being a jewel of an uncle," Captain 
 O'Halloran said, while Bob was loud in his exclamations of 
 pleasure. "Now you see what you brought on yourself, 
 Bob, by your forgetfulness. Here we have had all the 
 trouble in life to get Carrie to agree to your going, while, had 
 she read this letter first, she would not have had a leg to 
 stand upon, at least metaphorically speaking, practically no 
 one would doubt it for a minute." 
 
 " Practically you are a goose, Gerald; metaphorically uncle 
 is an angel. But I am very, very glad. That has relieved 
 me from the responsibility altogether, and you know at 
 heart I am just as willing that Bob should enjoy himself as 
 you are. Now, what does your uncle say to you, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 Bob opened and read his uncle's letter, and then handed 
 it to his sister. "It is just the same sort of thing, Carrie. 
 I can see Mr. Medlin's hand in it everywhere. He says that 
 for the time I must regard my connection with the firm as 
 of secondary importance, and take any opportunity that 
 offers to show the spirit of an English gentleman by doing 
 
THE "ANTELOPE. 185 
 
 all in my power to uphold the dignity of the British flag, 
 and taking any becoming part that may offer in the defence 
 of the town. Of course he says he has heard with pleasure 
 of my progress in Spanish, and that he and his junior 
 partner look forward with satisfaction to the time when I 
 shall enter the firm. ' 
 
 "My dear Carrie,'" Captain O'Halloran said, "I will get 
 a bottle of champagne from the mess, and this evening at 
 supper we will drink your excellent uncle's health with all 
 the honours. I will ask Teddy Burke to come up and join 
 us." 
 
 "Then I think, Gerah 1 ," his wife said smiling, "that as 
 Captain Lockett will be here too, one bottle of champagne 
 will not go very far." 
 
 "I put it tentatively, my dear; we will say two bottles, 
 and we will make the first inroad on our poultry-yard. We 
 had twenty eggs this morning, and the woman downstairs 
 reports that two of the hens want to sit, though how they 
 explained the matter to her is more than I know; anyhow, 
 we can afford a couple of chickens." 
 
 It was a very jovial supper, especially as it was known that 
 the news of the proclamation of war had been brought in 
 by the ship that had arrived that morning. 
 
 "By the way, Mrs. O'Halloran," Captain Lockett said, 
 "I have a consignment for you. I will land it the first 
 thing in the morning, for I shall sail in the evening. We 
 are to get our letters of marque authorizing the capture of 
 Spanish vessels at ten o'clock in the morning." 
 
 "What is the consignment, captain?" 
 
 " It is from Mr. Bale, madam. I saw him in town a week 
 before I sailed, and told him I was likely to come on here 
 direct, and he sent off at once three cases of champagne and 
 six dozen of port directed to you, and an eighteen-gallon 
 cask of Irish whisky for Captain O'Halloran." 
 
 " My dear," Captain O'Halloran said solemnly, " I believe 
 that you expressed to-day the opinion that your uncle was 
 
186 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 metaphorically an angel. I beg that the word metaphori- 
 cally be omitted. If there was ever an angel in a pig-tail 
 and a stiff' cravat that angel is Mr. John Bale of Philpot 
 Lane." 
 
 "It is very good of him," Carrie agreed. "We could 
 have done very well without the whisky, but the port-wine 
 and the champagne may be very useful if this siege is going 
 to be the terrible thing you all seem to fancy." 
 
 " A drop of the craytur is not to be despised, Mrs. O'Hal 
 loran," Dr. Burke said; "taken with plenty of water it is a 
 fine digestive, and when we run short of wine and beer you 
 will not be despising it yourself." 
 
 "I did not know, Teddy Burke, that you had any expe- 
 rience whatever of whisky mixed with plenty of water." 
 
 "You are too hard on me altogether," the doctor laughed. 
 "There is no soberer man in the regiment than your 
 humble servant." 
 
 "Well, it Avill do you all good if you get on short allow- 
 ance of wine for a time. I can't think why men want to 
 sit after dinner and drink bottle after bottle of port-wine. 
 It is all very well to say that everyone does it, but that is 
 a very poor excuse. Why should they do it? Women 
 don't do it, and 1 don't see why men should. I hope the 
 time will come when it is considered just as disgraceful for 
 a man to drink as it is for a woman. And now, Captain 
 Lockett, about Bob. What time must he be on board 1 ?" 
 
 " He must be on board before gun-fire, Mrs. O'Halloran, 
 unless you get a special order from the town-major. I was 
 obliged to get one myself for this evening. The orders are 
 strict now; all the gates are closed at gun-fire." 
 
 "Yes, and mighty strict they are," Captain O'Halloran 
 said. "There was Major Corcoran of the 72d and the 
 doctor of the regiment were out fishing yesterday, and the 
 wind fell, and the gun went just as they were landing, and 
 divil a bit could they get in. The major is a peppery little 
 man, and I would have given anything to have seen him. 
 
THE "ANTELOPE." 187 
 
 One of the Hanoverian regiments furnished the guard at 
 the water-hatteries, and the sentry told him if he came a 
 foot nearer in the boat they would fire, and in the end he 
 and the doctor had to cover themselves up with a sail and 
 lie there all night. I hear the major went to lodge a com- 
 plaint when he landed, but of course the men were only 
 doing their duty, and I hear Eliott gave him a wigging for 
 endeavouring to make them disobey orders." 
 
 "I will be on board before gun-fire, Captain Lockett. 
 There is no fear of my missing it." 
 
 "How long do you expect to be away, Captain Lockett 1 ?" 
 Mrs. O'Halloran asked. 
 
 " That depends on how we get on. If we are lucky and 
 pick up a number of prizes we may bring them in in a week, 
 if not we may be three weeks, especially if this calm 
 weather lasts." 
 
 " I am sure I hope you won't be too lucky at first captain," 
 Bob put in. " I don't want the cruise to finish in a week." 
 
 " Oh, I sha'n't consider the cruise is finished merely be- 
 cause we come in, Bob!" the captain said. "We shall be 
 going out again, and only put in here to bring in our prizes. 
 The cruise will last as long as Captain O'Halloran and your 
 sister will allow you to remain on board. I expect that 
 I shall be able to make you very useful. I shall put you 
 down in the ship's books as third-mate. You won't be able 
 to draw prize-money as an officer, because the number of 
 officers entitled to prize-money was entered when the crew 
 signed articles; but if I put you down as supercargo you 
 will share with the men in any prizes we take while you are 
 away with us." 
 
 "That will be jolly, captain; not because of the money, 
 you know, but because it will give one more interest in the 
 cruise. Besides, I shall like something to do." 
 
 " Oh, I will give you something to do ! I shall put you 
 in Joe's watch, and then you will learn something. It is 
 always as well to pick up knowledge when you get a chance; 
 
188 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 and if we do take any prizes it will be your duty as super- 
 cargo to take an inventory of what they have on board." 
 
 The next morning Bob packed his trunks the first thing, 
 then he went round to the professor's and told him that he 
 was going away for a fortnight or so for a cruise, then he 
 went down to the port and met Joe Lockett when he 
 landed and brought him up to breakfast, as had been arranged 
 with the captain the night before. After that he went with 
 him up the Rock to look at the Spaniards, whose tents were 
 a good deal more numerous than they had been, and who 
 were still at work arming the forts. 
 
 "If I were the general," Joe said, "I would go out at 
 night with two or three regiments, and spike all those guns 
 and blow up the forts. The Dons wouldn't be expecting it, 
 and it would be a good beginning, and would put the men 
 in high spirits. Do you see, the Spanish fleet has drifted 
 away almost out of sight to the east. I thought what it 
 would be at sunset yesterday when I saw that they did not 
 enter the bay, for the current Avould be sure to drive them 
 away if the wind didn't spring up. Well, I hope we shall 
 get a little this evening. And now I must be going down, 
 for there is a good deal to do before we sail." 
 
 ' T= 5fStP r ' 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 
 
 BOB was on board the Antelope a quarter of an hour 
 before gun-fire. No movement was made until after 
 sunset, for some of the gun-boats over at Algeciras might 
 have put out had they seen any preparations for making 
 sail; but as soon as it became dark the anchor was hove, 
 the sails dropped and sheeted home, and the brig began to 
 move slowly through the water. As she breasted Europa 
 Point her course was altered to east by north, and the Kock 
 faded from sight in the darkness. The first-mate was on 
 watch, and Bob walked up and down the deck with him. 
 
 " There is no occasion for you to keep up," Joe Lockett 
 said; " you may just as well turn in." 
 
 "Oh no, I mean to keep the watch with you!" Bob said. 
 " The captain said that I was to be in your watch, and I 
 want you to treat me just the same way as if I were a mid- 
 shipman under you." 
 
 " Well, if you were a midshipman there wouldn't be any- 
 thing for you to do now, still if you like to keep up of 
 course you can do so, I shall be glad of your company, and 
 you will help keep a sharp look-out for ships." 
 
 "There is no chance of our coming across any Spanish 
 traders to-night, I suppose, Joe?" 
 
 " Not in the least; they would keep a deal farther out than 
 we shall if they were bound either for Algeciras or through 
 the Straits. We are not likely to meet anything till we 
 get neai Malaga. After that of course we shall be in the 
 
190 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 line of coasters. There are Almeria, and Cartagena, and 
 Alicante, and a score of small ports between Alicante and 
 Valencia." 
 
 " We don't seem to be going through the water very fast, 
 Joe." 
 
 " No, not more than two or two and a half knots an hour. 
 However, we are in no hurry. With a light wind like this 
 we don't want to get too close to the shore, or we might have 
 some of their gun-boats coming out after us. I expect that 
 in the morning, if the wind holds light, the captain will take 
 in our upper sails, and just drift along. Then after it gets 
 dark he will clap on everything, and run in so as to strike 
 the coast a few miles above Malaga. Then we will take in 
 sail, and anchor as close in as we dare. Anything coming 
 along then will take us for a craft that has come out from 
 Malaga." 
 
 At midnight the second-mate, whose name was Crofts, 
 came up to relieve watch, and Bob, who was beginning to 
 feel very sleepy, was by no means sorry to turn in. It 
 hardly seemed to him that he had closed an eye when he 
 was aroused by a knocking at the cabin door. 
 
 " It's two bells, sir, and Mr. Lockett says you are to turn 
 out. 
 
 Bob hurried on his things and went up, knowing that he 
 was an hour late. 
 
 " I thought you wanted to keep watch, Bob. You ought 
 to have been on. deck at eight bells." 
 
 " So I should have been if I had been woke," Bob said 
 indignantly. " I am not accustomed to wake up just after I 
 go to sleep; it doesn't seem to me that I have been in bed 
 five minutes. If you wake me to-morrow morning, you will 
 see I will be up sharp enough. There is hardly any wind." 
 
 " No, we have been only crawling along all night. There 
 is Gib, you see, behind us." 
 
 " Why, it doesn't look ten miles off," Bob said in surprise. 
 
 "It is twice that; it is two- or three- and-twenty, I should 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 191 
 
 say. Now, the best thing you can do is to go down to the 
 waist, slip off your togs, and have a few buckets of water 
 poured over you. That will wake you up, and you will 
 feel ever so much more comfortable afterwards. I have 
 just told the steward to make us a couple of cups of coffee, 
 they will be ready by the time you have had your wash." 
 
 Bob followed the advice, and after a bath, a cup of coffee, 
 and a biscuit, he no longer felt the effects from the shortness 
 of the night. The sun had already risen, and there was not 
 a cloud upon the sky. " What are those over there 1 " he 
 asked, pointing to the south-east; "they look like sails." 
 
 " They are sails. They are the upper sails of the Spanish 
 fleet. I expect they are trying to work back into the bay 
 again, but they won't do it unless they get more wind. 
 You see I have taken the topgallant sails off the brig so as 
 not to be seen. There is the Spanish coast, you see, twelve 
 or fourteen miles away to port. If you like you can take 
 the glass and go up into the main-top, and see if you can 
 make anything out on shore." 
 
 Bob came down in half an hour. " There are some fish- 
 ing boats," he said, "at least they look like fishing-boats, 
 close inshore just abreast of us." 
 
 "Yes, there are two or three little rivers on this side 
 of Malaga. There is not water in them for craft of any 
 size, but the fishing-boats use them. There is a heavy 
 swell sets in here when the wind is from the east with a bit 
 south in it, and they run up there for shelter." 
 
 Captain Lockett now came up on deck. " Good-morning, 
 Bob ! I did not see you here when watch was changed." 
 
 "No, sir, I wasn't woke; but I mean to be up another 
 morning." 
 
 " That is right, Bob. Joe and I agreed to give you an 
 extra hour this morning. Four hours are very short mea- 
 sure to one who is not accustomed to it; but you will soon 
 find that you can turn in and get a sleep when your watch 
 is over whatever the time of day." 
 
192 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " It seems to me that this watch has the worst of it, Cap- 
 tain Lockett. We had from eight to twelve, and now from 
 four to eight, and the other had only four hours on deck." 
 
 " Yours is considered the best watch, Bob ; the middle 
 watch, as the one that comes on at twelve o'clock is called, 
 is always the most disliked You see at eight bells you go 
 off and have your breakfast comfortably, and can then turn 
 in till twelve o'clock, and you can get another caulk from 
 five or six till eight in the evening. Of course if there is 
 anything to do, bad weather or anything of that sort, both 
 watches are on deck all day." 
 
 " Well, I am almost sure I should like the other watch 
 best," Bob said. 
 
 " You are wrong, lad, especially in summer. You see it 
 is not fairly dark till nine, and you wouldn't turn in till 
 ten anyhow, so that really you are only kept two hours 
 out of your bunk at that watch. It is getting light when 
 you come up at four, and at five we begin to wash decks, 
 and there is plenty to occupy you, so that it doesn't seem 
 long till eight bells. The others have to turn out at 
 twelve o'clock, just when they are most sleepy, and to be 
 on watch for the four dark hours, and then go down just as 
 it is getting light. On a cold night in winter in the chan- 
 nel I think perhaps the advantage is the other way. But, 
 in fact, men get so accustomed to the four hours in and the 
 four hours out, that it makes very little difference to them 
 how it goes." 
 
 All day the brig kept on the same course, moving very 
 slowly through the water, and passing the coast as much by 
 aid of the current as by that of her sails. 
 
 " We are pretty well off Malaga," Captain Lockett said 
 in the afternoon. " If there had been any wind we should 
 have had a chance of picking up something making from 
 there to the Straits; but there is no chance of that to-day. 
 People like making quick voyages when there is a risk of 
 falling in with an enemy, and they won't be putting out 
 
A CKUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 193 
 
 from port until there is some change in the weather. How- 
 ever, it looks to me as if there is a chance of a little breeze 
 from the south when the sun goes down. I have seen a 
 flaw or two on the water that way." 
 
 " Yes, it seems to me darker over there," the mate said. 
 " I will go up and have a look round. Yes, sir, there is cer- 
 tainly a breeze stirring down to the south," he shouted from 
 aloft. 
 
 " That will just suit us," the captain said. " We must 
 be twenty miles off the coast at least, and even if they had 
 noticed us from above the town, we are too far off for them 
 to make us out at all, so it will be safe for us to run in to 
 the land. We shall rely upon you, Bob, if we are hailed." 
 
 " I will do my best to throw dust in their eyes, captain. 
 You must tell me beforehand all particulars, so that I can 
 have the story pat." 
 
 " We will wait till we see what sort of craft is likely to 
 hail us. A tale may be good enough for the skipper of a 
 coaster, that might not pass muster with the captain of a 
 gun-boat." 
 
 "What are the coasters likely to be laden with]" 
 
 "There is never any saying. Mostly fruit and wine, 
 grain and olives. Then some of them would be taking goods 
 from the large ports to the small towns and villages along 
 the coast. Some of the coasters are well worth picking up; 
 but of course the craft we shall be chiefly on the look-out 
 for will be those from abroad. Some of these have very 
 valuable cargoes. They bring copper and lead, and some- 
 times silver from the mines of Mexico and South America. 
 Some of them carry a good lot of silver, but it is too much 
 to hope that we should run across such a prize as that. They 
 bring over hides too; they are worth money. Then of 
 course there are ships that have been trading up the Medi- 
 terranean with France and Italy or the Levant. So you see 
 there is a considerable variety in the chances of what we may 
 light upon. Coasters are of course the staple, so to speak. 
 
 ( 6S0 ) N 
 
194 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 If we have anything like luck we shall not do badly with 
 them. The others we must look upon as the prizes in the 
 lottery." 
 
 Before the sun set the breeze came up to them, and the 
 brig was at once headed for the land. At ten o'clock the 
 lights of Malaga were made out on the port-beam, and the 
 brig bore away a little to the east. Two hours later the land 
 was looming not far ahead. Sail was got off her, and a 
 man placed in the chains and soundings taken. This was 
 continued until the water shoaled to eight fathoms, when 
 the brig was brought up head to wind, and the anchor let 
 go. Then an anchor watch of four men was set, and the 
 rest of the crew allowed to turn in. At daybreak the officers 
 were out again, and it was found that the brig was lying 
 within a quarter of a mile of the land in a slight indentation 
 of the coast. The wind had died aAvay, and the sails were 
 loosed and suffered to fall against the masts. 
 
 "It could not be better," Captain Lockett said. "We 
 look now as if we had been trying to make up or down the 
 coast, and had been forced to come to anchor here. Fortu- 
 nately there don't seem to be any villages near, so we are 
 not likely to have anyone coming out to us." 
 
 "How far do you think we are from Malaga, captain?" 
 "About ten miles I should say, Bob. Why do you ask?" 
 " I was only thinking whether it would be possible for 
 me to make my way there and find out what vessels there 
 are in harbour, and whether any of them are likely to be 
 coming this way. But if it is ten miles I am afraid it is too 
 far. I should have to pass through villages, and I might be 
 questioned where I came from and where I was going. I 
 don't know that my Spanish would pass muster if I were 
 questioned like that. I should be all right if I were once 
 in a seaport. No one would be likely to ask me any ques- 
 tions. Then I could stroll about and listen to what was 
 said, and certainly I could talk quite well enough to go in 
 and get a meal and all that sort of thing." 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 195 
 
 " I couldn't let you do that, Bob," the captain said. " It 
 is a very plucky idea, but it wouldn't be right to let you 
 carry it out. You would get hung as a spy if you were 
 detected." 
 
 " I don't think there is the least fear in the world of my 
 being detected in a seaport," Bob said, "and I should think 
 it great fun; but I shouldn't like to try to cross the country. 
 Perhaps we may have a better chance later on." 
 
 The captain shook his head. 
 
 " You might go on board some ship if one brings up at 
 anchor anywhere near us, Bob. If you got detected there 
 we would take her and rescue you. But that is a different 
 thing to letting you go ashore." 
 
 Presently the sails of two fishing-boats were seen coming 
 out from beyond a low point three miles to the east. 
 
 " I suppose there is a fishing village there," the mate said. 
 "I am glad they are no nearer." He examined the boats 
 with a glass. " They are working out with sweeps. I expect 
 they hope to get a little wind when they are in the offing." 
 
 Just as they were at breakfast the second-mate, who was 
 on deck, called down the sky-light: 
 
 "There are three craft to the west, sir. They have just 
 come out from behind the point there. They are bringing 
 a little breeze with them." 
 
 "What are they like, Mr. Crofts?" 
 
 " One is a polacre, another a xebec, and the third looks 
 like a full-rigged craft; but as she is end-on I can't say for 
 certain." 
 
 " All right, Mr. Crofts ! I will be up in five minutes. We 
 can do nothing until we get the wind anyhow." 
 
 Breakfast was speedily finished, and they went on deck. 
 The Spanish flag was already flying from the peak. The 
 three craft were about two miles away. 
 
 "How are they sailing, Mr. Crofts'?" 
 
 " I fancy the xebec is the fastest, sir. She was astern 
 just now, and she is abreast of the polacre now, as near as I 
 
196 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 can make out. The ship or brig, whichever it is, seems to 
 me to be dropping astern." 
 
 " Heave away at the anchor, Joe. Get in all the slack, 
 so as to be ready to hoist as soon as the breeze reaches us. 
 I don't want them to come up to us. The line they are 
 taking now will carry them nearly half a mile outside us, 
 which is fortunate. Run in six of the guns, and throw a 
 tarpaulin over the eighteen-pounder. Three guns on each 
 side are about enough for us to show." 
 
 The breeze caught them when the three Spanish craft 
 were nearly abeam. 
 
 "They have more wind out there than we shall have 
 here," the captain said; "which is an advantage, for I don't 
 want to run away from them. Now get up the anchor, 
 Joe. Don't take too many hands." 
 
 The watch below had already been ordered to sit down 
 on the deck, and half the other watch were now told to do 
 the same. 
 
 "Twelve or fourteen hands are quite enough to show," 
 the captain said. 
 
 "The anchor's up, sir," Joe shouted. 
 
 " Let it hang there; we will get it aboard presently. Now 
 haul that fore-staysail across, ease off the spanker-sheet. 
 Now, as she comes round, haul on the braces and sheets one 
 by one. Do it in as lubberly a way as you can." 
 
 The brig, which had been riding with her head to the 
 west, came slowly round, the yards being squared in a 
 slow fashion, in strong contrast to the active way in which 
 they were generally handled. The captain watched the other 
 craft carefully. 
 
 " The xebec and polacre are gaining on us, but we are 
 going as fast through the water as the three-master. When 
 we get the wind a little more we shall have the heels of them 
 all. Get a sail overboard, Joe, and tow it under her port- 
 quarter. Don't give her too much rope, or they might catch 
 sight of it on board the ship. That will bring us down to 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 197 
 
 her rate of sailing. I want to keep a bit astern of them. 
 We dare not attack them in the daylight, they mount too 
 many guns for us altogether. That big fellow has got 
 twelve on a side, the polacre has eight, and the xebec six, so 
 between them they have fifty-two guns. We might try it 
 if they were well out at sea, but it would never do here; 
 There may be galleys or gun-boats within hearing, so we 
 must bide our time. I think we are in luck this time, Joe. 
 That ship must have come foreign, at least I should say so 
 by her appearance; though she may be from Cadiz. As to 
 the other two, they may be anything. The xebec, no doubt, 
 is a coast trader; the polacre may be one thing or another, 
 but I should hardly think she has come across the Atlantic. 
 Likely enough she is from Bilbao or Santander. The ship 
 is the fellow to get hold of, if we get a chance. I shall be 
 quite content to leave the others alone." 
 
 " I should think so," Joe agreed. " The ship ought to 
 be a valuable prize wherever she comes from. If she is 
 sound and pretty new she would fetch a good sum, if we 
 can get her into an English port." 
 
 The wind continued to hold light, and the four vessels 
 made but slow progress through the water. The two leaders, 
 however, gradually improved their position. They were 
 nearly matched in point of sailing, and their captains 
 were evidently making a race of it, hoisting every stitch of 
 canvas they were able to show. By the afternoon they were 
 fully two miles ahead of the ship, which was half a mile on 
 the starboard-bow of the brig. The wind died away to 
 nothing as the sun set The three Spanish vessels had all 
 been edging in towards shore, and the polacre anchored just 
 before sunset. 
 
 The ship held on for another hour, but was a mile astern 
 of the other two when she also dropped her anchor. The 
 sail that had been towing overboard from the brig had been 
 got on board again when the wind began to drop, and she 
 had come up to within little more than a quarter of a mile 
 
198 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 of the ship. The anchor was let go as soon as it was seen 
 that the crew of the ship were preparing to anchor, so that 
 the brig should be first to do so. Whether there had been 
 any suspicions on board the Spaniards as to the character 
 of the brig, they could not tell; but watching her closely, 
 Captain Lockett saw that the order to anchor was counter- 
 manded as soon as it was seen that the brig had done so. A 
 few minutes after the men again went forward, and the 
 anchor was dropped, for the vessel was making no way 
 whatever through the water. 
 
 "Well, Joe, there we are close to her now. The ques- 
 tion is, what are we to do next 1 ? If there was any wind it 
 would be simple enough. We would drop alongside in the 
 middle watch, and carry her by boarding before the Dons 
 had time to get out of their hammocks; but as it is that 
 is out of the question, and of course we can't think of tow- 
 ing her up ; on such a still night as this will be, they Avould 
 hear the slightest noise." 
 
 " We might attack her in the boats," the mate said. 
 
 " Yes, that would be possible; but their watch would hear 
 the oars the instant we began to row. You see by the 
 number of guns she carries she must be strongly manned." 
 
 "I expect most of them are small," Joe said, "and meant 
 for show rather than use. It is likely enough she may 
 have taken half of them on board at Cadiz or Malaga, so as 
 to give her a formidable appearance in case she should fall 
 in with any craft of our description. If she has come across 
 the Atlantic she would never have carried anything like 
 that number of guns, for Spain was not at war with any- 
 one." 
 
 " No; but craft flying the black flag are still to be found in 
 those waters, Joe, and she might carry her guns for defence 
 against them. But it is not a question of guns at present, 
 it is a question of the crew. It isn't likely that she carries 
 many more than we do, and if .we could but get alongside 
 her there would be no fear about it at all ; but I own I don't 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 159 
 
 like the risk of losing half my men in an attack on a craft 
 like that, unless we can have the advantage of a surprise." 
 
 " What do you say to my swimming off to her as soon as 
 it gets quite dark, captain?" Bob said. "I am a very good 
 swimmer. We used to bathe regularly at Putney where I 
 was at school, and I have swum across the Thames and back 
 lots of times. There is sure to be a little mist on the water 
 presently, and they won't be keeping a very sharp look-out 
 till it gets later. I can get hold of a cable and climb up, 
 and get in over the bow if there is no look-out there, and 
 see what is going on. There is no danger in the thing, 
 for if I am discovered I have only got to dive and swim 
 back again. There is no current to speak of here, and 
 there wouldn't be the least chance of their hitting me in 
 the dark. I should certainly be able to learn something by 
 listening to their talk." 
 
 " It would be a very risky thing, Bob," Captain Lockett 
 said, shaking his head. " I shouldn't like to let you do it, 
 though of course it would be a great thing if we could learn 
 something about her. I own I don't like her appearance, 
 though I can't say why. Somehow or other I don't think 
 she is all right. Either all those guns are a mere pretence 
 and she is weak-handed, or she must carry a very big crew." 
 
 " Well, I don't see there can be any possible harm in my 
 trying to get on board her, captain. Of course if I am 
 hailed as I approach her I shall turn and come back again. 
 The night will be dark, but I shall have no difficulty in 
 finding her from the talking and noise on board. 
 
 "Well, Joe, what do you think?" the captain said 
 doubtfully. 
 
 " I think you might let Bob try," Joe said. " I should 
 not mind trying at all, but as I can't speak Spanish I should 
 be able to learn nothing. They are not likely to be setting 
 a watch and keeping a sharp look-out for some time, and 
 I should think that he might possibly get on board unob- 
 served. If they do make him out he has only to keep on 
 
200 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 diving, and in the dark there would be little chance of their 
 hitting him. Besides, they certainly couldn't make out that 
 it was a swimmer; if they noticed a ripple in the water, 
 they would be sure to think it was a fish of some sort." 
 
 Bob continued to urge that he should be allowed to try 
 it, and at last Captain Lockett agreed to his doing so. It 
 was already almost dark enough for the attempt to be made, 
 and Bob prepared at once for the swim. He took off his 
 coat, waistcoat, and shirt, and put on a dark knitted jerse} r , 
 fastened a belt tightly round his waist over his breeches, 
 and took off his shoes. 
 
 "If I am seen," he said, "you are sure to hear them 
 hailing or shouting, and then please show a lantern over 
 the stern;" for slight as the current was it sufficed to make 
 the vessel swing head to west. A rope was lowered over 
 the side, and by this he slipped down quietly into the water, 
 which was perfectly warm. Then he struck off noise- 
 lessly in the direction of the ship. He kept the two masts 
 of the brig in one as long as he could make them out, but 
 owing to the mist on the water he soon lost sight of her; 
 but he had no difficulty in keeping a straight course, as he 
 could plainly hear the sound of voices ahead of him. Taking 
 the greatest pains to avoid making the slightest splash, and 
 often pausing to listen, Bob swam on until he saw a dark 
 mass looming up in front of him. He now did little more 
 than float, giving a gentle stroke occasionally and drifting 
 towards it until he grasped the cable. He now listened in- 
 tently. There were voices on the fo'castle above him, and 
 he determined, before trying to climb up there, to swim 
 round the vessel, keeping close to her side, so that he could 
 not be seen unless someone leaned far over the bulwark. 
 
 Half-way along he came upon a projection, and, looking 
 up, saw that slabs of wood three inches wide were fixed 
 against the side at intervals of a foot apart, so as to form an 
 accommodation ladder when it was not considered necessary 
 to lower a gangway. Two hand-ropes hung by the side of 
 
BOB SWIMS OFF TO THE SPANISH WARSHIP. 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 201 
 
 it. His way was now easy. He drew himself out of the 
 water by the ropes and ascended the ladder, then crawled 
 along outside the bulwark until he came to a port-hole, from 
 which a gun projected; then he crawled in there, and lay 
 under the cannon. Two or three lanterns were suspended 
 above the deck, and by their light Bob could at once see 
 that he was on board a ship of war. Groups of sailors were 
 sitting on the deck among the guns, and he saw that most 
 of these were run in and that they were of heavy calibre, 
 several of them being 32-pounders. 
 
 As the captain and Joe had both agreed that the guns 
 were only 14-pounders, Bob had no difficulty in arriving at 
 the fact that these must have been mere dummies thrust 
 out of the port-holes to deceive any stranger as to her 
 armament. He lay listening for some time to the talk of 
 the sailors, and gathered that the ship had been purposely 
 disguised before putting out from Malaga, in order to de- 
 ceive any English privateers she might come across as 
 to her strength. He learned also that considerable doubts 
 were entertained as to the brig, and that the xebec and pol- 
 acre had been signalled to go on ahead so as to induce the 
 brig, if she should be an enemy, to make an attack. 
 
 The reason why she had not been overhauled during the 
 day was that the captain feared she might escape him 
 in a light wind, for the watch had been vigilant, and had 
 made out that she was towing something to deaden her way. 
 It was considered likely that, taking the ship for a mer- 
 chantman, an attack would be made in boats during the 
 night, and the men joked as to the surprise their assailants 
 would get. Boarding-pikes were piled in readiness, shot 
 had been placed in the racks ready to throw down into the 
 boats as they came alongside, and the ship's boats had been 
 swung out in readiness for lowering, as it was intended to 
 carry the brig by boarding after the repulse and destruction 
 of her boats. 
 
 " We have had a narrow escape of catching a tartar," 
 
202 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Bob said to himself. " It is very lucky I came on board to 
 reconnoitre; the Spaniards are not such duffers as we thought 
 them. We fancied we were taking them in, and very nearly 
 fell into a trap ourselves." 
 
 Very quietly he crawled back under the port-hole, made 
 his way along outside the bulwark until his hand touched 
 the rope, and then slid down by it into the water. As he 
 knew there was more chance of a sharp watch being kept in 
 the eyes of the ship than elsewhere, he swam straight out 
 from her side until she became indistinct, and theu headed 
 for the brig. The lights on board the Spaniard served as a 
 guide to him for some time, but the distance seemed longer 
 to him than it had before, and he was beginning to fancy 
 he must have missed the brig when he saw her looming up 
 on his right. In three or four minutes he was alongside. 
 
 "The brig there!" he hailed. "Drop me a rope over- 
 board." 
 
 There was a stir overhead at once. 
 
 "Where are you, Bob?" Captain Lockett asked, leaning 
 over the side. 
 
 "Just below you, sir." 
 
 A rope was dropped. Bob grasped it, and was hauled up. 
 
 "Thank God you are back again!" the captain said. "I 
 have been blaming myself ever since you started, though, as 
 all was quiet, we felt pretty sure they hadn't made you out. 
 Well, have you any news'? Did you get on board?" 
 
 "You will get no prize-money this time, captain. The 
 Spaniard is a ship of war mounting twenty-four guns, none 
 of them smaller than eighteens, and ten of them thirty- 
 twos." 
 
 " Impossible, Bob! We could not have been so mistaken. 
 Joe and I were both certain that they were fourteens." 
 
 "Yes, sir; but those things you saw were dummies. The 
 guns themselves are almost all drawn in; all the thirty- 
 twos are, and most of the eighteens. She has been specially 
 disguised at Malaga in hopes of tempting a craft like yours 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 203 
 
 to attack her, and, what is more, she has a shrewd sus- 
 picion of what you are;" and he related the whole of the 
 conversation he had heard, and described the preparations 
 for repulsing a boat attack and in turn carrying the brig in 
 the ship's boats. 
 
 Captain Lockett was thunderstruck. "The Spanish officer 
 who commands her must be a smart fellow," he said, " and 
 we have had a narrow escape of running our head into a 
 noose. Thanks to you, Bob; for Joe and I had quite made 
 up our minds to attack her in the middle watch. Well, the 
 only thing for us to do is to get away from here as soon as 
 we can. If she finds we don't attack her to-night she is 
 sure to send a boat to us in the morning, and then if we 
 have an engagement we could hardly hope to get off with- 
 out losing some of our spars, even if we were not sunk, 
 with such heavy metal as she carries. We should have the 
 other two craft down on us too, and our chances of getting 
 away would be worth nothing. Well, I suppose, Joe, our 
 best plan will be to tow her away 1 ?" 
 
 " I should think so, sir. When they hear us at it they 
 may send their boats out after us, but we can beat them off; 
 and I should hardly think that they would try it, for they 
 will be sure that if we are a privateer we have been playing 
 the same game as they have, and hiding our guns, and will 
 guess that we carry a strong crew." 
 
 "Send the crew aft, Joe; I will tell them how matters 
 stand. We have had a narrow escape of catching a tartar, 
 my lads," he said when the men went aft. "You all know 
 Mr. Eepton swam off an hour ago to try and find out what 
 the ship was like. Well, he has been on board, and brings 
 back news that she is no trader, but a ship of war disguised, 
 and that she carries twenty-four guns, eighteen-pounders and 
 thirty-twos. If we met while out at sea we might make a 
 fight of it, but it would never do here, especially as her two 
 consorts would be down upon us. She suspects what we 
 are. although she is not certain, and everything is in readi- 
 
204 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 ness to repel a boat attack, her captain's intention being, if 
 we tried, to sink or cripple the boats and then to attack us 
 with her guns. So you may thank Mr. Eepton that you 
 have had a narrow escape of seeing the inside of a Spanish 
 prison. 
 
 " Now, what I propose to do is to tow her out. Get the 
 four boats in the water as quietly as you can; we have 
 greased the falls already. We will tow her straight ahead, at 
 any rate for a bit. That craft won't be able to bring any guns 
 to bear upon us, except perhaps a couple of bow-chasers; and 
 as she won't be able to see us, there is not much chance of 
 our being hit. Pass the hawser along from boat to boat 
 and row in a line ahead of her, the hull will shelter you. 
 Then lay out heartily, but be ready if you are hailed to 
 throw off the hawser and get back on board again as soon 
 as you can, for they may send their boats out after us. We 
 shall get a start anyhow, for when they hear you rowing 
 they will think you are putting off to attack them, and it 
 will be some minutes before they will find out their mistake. 
 Joe, do you go in charge of the boats; I will take the helm. 
 You must cut the cable, they would hear the clank of the 
 windlass." 
 
 The operation of lowering boats was conducted very 
 silently. Bob had taken his place at the taffrail, and stood 
 listening for any sound that would show that the Spaniards 
 had heard what was doing. The oars were scarcely dipped 
 in the water when he heard a sudden lull in the distant 
 talking. A minute later it broke out again. 
 
 "They have orders to pay no attention to the noises," 
 Captain Lockett said, "so as to lead us to think that we 
 shall take them unawares. There she is moving now," he 
 added as he looked clown into the water. 
 
 Four or five minutes elapsed, and then in the stillness of 
 the evening they could hear a loud hail in Spanish: "What 
 ship is that 1 ? Cease rowing or we will sink you!" 
 
 "Don't answer," Captain Lockett said. "They have 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 205 
 
 nothing but the confused sound of the oars to tell them where 
 we are." 
 
 The hail was repeated, and a minute later there was the 
 flash of a gun in the darkness, and a shot hummed through 
 the air. 
 
 "Fire away!" the captain muttered. "You are only wast- 
 ing ammunition." 
 
 For some minutes the Spaniard continued to fire her two 
 bow guns. Then after a pause there was a crash, and twelve 
 guns were discharged together. 
 
 " We are getting farther off every minute," the captain 
 said, "and unless an unlucky shot should strike one of her 
 spars we are safe." The broadside was repeated four times, 
 and then all was silent. " We are a mile away from them 
 now, Bob, and though I daresay they can hear the sound of 
 the oars it must be mere guesswork as to our position." 
 
 He went forward to the bows, and hailed the boats. 
 
 "Take it easy now, Mr. Lockett; I don't think she will 
 fire any more. When the men have got their wind, row on 
 again. I shall head her out now. We must give her a good 
 three miles offing before we stop." 
 
 The men in the four boats had been exerting themselves 
 to their utmost, and it was five minutes before they began 
 rowing again. For an hour and a half they continued their 
 work, and then Captain Lockett said to the second-mate: 
 " You can go forward and hail them to come on board. I 
 think we have been moving through the water about two 
 knots an hour, so we must be three miles seaward of him." 
 
 As soon as the men came on board a tot of grog was 
 served out all round. Then the watch below turned in. 
 
 "You won't anchor, I suppose, captain]" 
 
 " No, there is a considerable depth of water here and a 
 rocky bottom. I don't want to lose another anchor, and it 
 would take us something like half an hour to get it up again; 
 besides, what current there is will drift us eastward. There 
 is more of it here than we had inshore. I should say there 
 
206 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 must be nearly a knot an hour, which will take us a good 
 distance away from those gentlemen before morning. Now, 
 Bob, you had better have a glass of grog and then turn in. 
 Joe will excuse you keeping watch to-night." 
 
 "Oh, I feel all right!" Bob said. "The water was quite 
 warm, and I slipped down and changed my clothes directly 
 they left off firing." 
 
 "Never mind, you turn in as you are told. You have 
 done us good service to-night, and have earned your keep 
 on board the brig if you were to stop here till she fell to 
 pieces of old age." 
 
 When Bob went up in the morning at five o'clock the 
 three Spanish vessels were still lying at anchor under the 
 land, seven or eight miles away. 
 
 " There is a breeze coming," Joe said, " and it is from 
 the south, so we shall get it long before they do. We shall 
 see no more of them." 
 
 As soon as the breeze reached them the sails were braced 
 aft, and the brig kept as close to the wind as she would 
 sail, lying almost directly off from the land. 
 
 " I want them to think that we are frightened," Captain 
 Lockett said, in answer to a question from Bob as to the 
 course, " and that we have decided to get away from their 
 neighbourhood altogether. I expect they are only going as 
 far as Alicante. We will run on till we are well out of 
 sight, then hold on for the rest of the day east, and in the 
 night head for land again beyond Alicante. It would never 
 do to risk those fellows coming upon us again when we are 
 quietly at anchor. AVe might not be so lucky next time." 
 
 An hour later the look-out in the top hailed the deck, and 
 said that there was a sail in sight. 
 
 " What does she look like, HalketU" Joe Lockett shouted, 
 for the captain was below. 
 
 "As far as I can make out she is a two-master — I should 
 say a brig." 
 
 "How is she heading 1 ?" 
 
A CRUISE IN A PRIVATEER. 207 
 
 " About north-east, sir. I should say if we both hold on 
 our courses she will pass ahead of us." 
 
 The captain was now on deck, and he and the first-mate 
 went up to the top. "Starboard your helm a bit!" the 
 captain shouted, after examining the distant sail through 
 his telescope. " Keep her about east." 
 
 "What do you think she is, captain?" Bob asked when 
 the two officers came down again to the poop. 
 
 " I should say that she was a craft about our own size, 
 Bob, and I fancy she has come through the Straits, keeping 
 well over the other side so as to avoid our cruisers from 
 Gib, and is now heading for Alicante. Now we are on our 
 course again, parallel to the coast, there is no reason why 
 she shoidd suspect us of being anything but a trader. If 
 she doesn't take the alarm I hope we shall be alongside her 
 in a few hours." 
 
 f^' 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 
 
 THE distant sail was anxiously watched from the Antelope. 
 She closed in with them fast, running almost before 
 the wind. In two hours her hull could be seen from the 
 deck. Efforts had been made, by slacking the ropes and 
 altering the set of the sails, to give the brig as slovenly 
 an appearance as possible. The guns had been run in and 
 the port-holes closed, and as the Spaniard approached, the 
 crew, with the exception of five or six men, were ordered 
 to keep below the bulwarks. The course that the Spaniard 
 was taking would have brought her just under the stern of 
 the Antelope, when suddenly she was seen to change her 
 course and to bear up into the wind. 
 
 "Too late, my lady," the captain said; "you have blun- 
 dered on too long. There is something in our cut that she 
 doesn't like. Haul down that Spanish flag and run the 
 Union Jack up. Open ports, lads, and show them our 
 teeth. Fire that bow gun across her forefoot!" 
 
 The guns were already loaded, and as soon as they were 
 run out a shot was fired as a message to the Spaniard to heave 
 to. A minute later, as she paid no attention, a broadside 
 followed. Three of the shots went crashing into the side of 
 the Spaniard, and one of her boats was smashed. A moment 
 later the Spanish flag fluttered down, and a hearty cheer 
 broke from the crew of the Antelope. The Spaniard was 
 thrown up into the wind, and in a few minutes the brig 
 ranged up alongside within pistol shot. The gig was lowered, 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 209 
 
 and the captain rowed alongside her, taking Bob with him 
 as interpreter. 
 
 The prize proved to be a brig of about the same tonnage 
 as the Antelope. She was from Cadiz, bound first to Ali- 
 cante and then to Valencia. She carried only six small 
 guns and a crew of eighteen men; her cargo consisted of 
 grain and olive-oil. 
 
 "Not a bad prize," Captain Lockett said, as Bob read 
 out the items of her bill of lading. "It is a pity that 
 it is not full up instead of only half laden. Still it is not 
 a bad beginning, and the craft herself is of a handy size, 
 and if she won't sell at Gibraltar will pay very well to take 
 on to England. I should say she was fast." 
 
 An hour later the two brigs parted company, the second- 
 mate and twelve hands being placed on board the Spaniard. 
 There was some discussion as to the prisoners, but it was 
 finally agreed to leave them on board their ship. 
 
 "Keep them down in the hold, Mr. Crofts; see that you 
 don't leave any knives with them. Keep a couple of sentries 
 over the hatchway. If the wind holds you will be in the 
 bay by to-morrow evening. Keep pretty well inshore, and 
 slip in as close to the point as you can. If you do that you 
 need not have much fear of their gun-boats. I don't suppose 
 the authorities will want to keep the prisoners, but of course 
 you will report them on your arrival, and can give them one 
 of the boats to land across the bay if they are not wanted. 
 If the governor wants to buy the cargo for the garrison let 
 him have it at once; don't stand out for exorbitant terms, 
 but take a fair price. It is just as well to be on good terms 
 with the authorities; we might have to put in to refit, and 
 want spars, &c, from the naval yard. If the governor 
 doesn't want the cargo don't sell it to anyone else till we 
 return; there is no fear of prices going down, the longer we 
 keep it the more we shall get for it." 
 
 " Hadn't I better bring the ship's papers on board with 
 us, Captain Lockett 1 ?" 
 
 (680) o 
 
210 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "What for, Bob? I don't see that they would be any use 
 to us, and the bills of lading will be useful for selling the 
 cargo. " 
 
 " I can copy them, sir, for Mr. Crofts. What I thought 
 was this: the brig is just our own size, and if we should 
 get becalmed anywhere near the shore and a boat put off, 
 we might possibly be able to pass with her papers." 
 
 "That is a capital idea, Bob; capital! I will have a bit 
 of canvas painted ' Alonzo, Cadiz,' in readiness to nail over 
 our stern should there be any occasion for it. Well, good- 
 bye Mr. Crofts, and a safe journey to you! I needn't tell 
 you to keep a sharp look-out." 
 
 "You may trust us for that, sir; we have no desire to 
 rot in one of their prisons till the end of the war." 
 
 The captain's gig took him back to the Antelope, the 
 weather-sheets of the fore-staysail were eased off, and the 
 square sails swung round; as they drew the two brigs got 
 under way, heading in exactly opposite directions. Before 
 nightfall the captain pronounced that they were now abreast 
 of Alicante, and under easy sail the vessel's head was turned 
 towards the land, and the next morning she was running 
 along the shore at a distance of three miles. Beyond fish- 
 ing-boats and small craft hugging the land, nothing was 
 met with until they neared Cartagena. Then the sound of 
 firing was heard ahead, and on rounding a headland they 
 saw a vessel of war chasing some five or six craft nearer 
 inshore. 
 
 "That is a British frigate," the captain exclaimed; "but 
 I don't think she will get them. There is Cartagena only 
 three or four miles ahead, and the frigate will not be able 
 to cut them off before they are under the guns of the 
 batteries." 
 
 " They are not above a mile ahead of her," the first-mate 
 said; " if we could knock away a spar with our long eighteen 
 we might get one of them." 
 
 " We shouldn't make much prize-money if we did, Joe, 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 211 
 
 for the frigate would share; and as she has five or six 
 times as many men and officers as we have got, it is not 
 much we should get out of it. Hallo!" he broke out, as a 
 shot came ricochetting along the water; "she is trying. a 
 shot at us. I forgot we had the Spanish colours up. Get 
 that flag down and run up the Union Jack, Joe." 
 
 " One moment, captain," Bob said. 
 
 "Well, what is it, Bob?" 
 
 " Well, it seems to me, sir, that if we keep the Spanish 
 flag up — " 
 
 " We may be sunk," the captain broke in. 
 
 "We might, sir, but it is very unlikely, especially if we 
 run in more to the shore; but you see if we are fired at by 
 the frigate it will never enter the minds of the Spaniards 
 that we are anything but what we seem, and if we like we 
 can anchor right under their batteries in the middle of their 
 craft. It will be dark by the time we get in, and we might 
 take our pick of them." 
 
 "That is a splendid idea, Bob! This boy is getting too 
 sharp for us altogether, Joe; he is as full of ideas as a ship's 
 biscuit is of weevils. Keep her off, helmsman; that will do." 
 Again and again the frigate fired, but she was two miles 
 away, and though the shot went skipping over the water 
 near the brig, none of them struck her. The men, unable 
 to understand why they were running the gauntlet of the 
 frigate's fire, looked inquiringly towards the poop. 
 
 "It is all right, lads," the captain said; "there is not 
 much fear of the frigate hitting us, and it is worth risking 
 it. The Spaniards on shore will never dream that we are 
 English, and we can bring up in the thick of them." 
 
 There was a good deal of laughing and amusement among 
 the men as they understood the captain's motive in allowing 
 the brig to be made a target of. As she drew in towards 
 shore the frigate's fire ceased, and her course was changed 
 off shore. 
 
 " No nearer," the captain said to the helmsman. " Keep 
 
212 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 her a little farther off shore. There is not much water here, 
 Joe;" for a man had been heaving the lead ever since they 
 had changed their course. "We have not got a fathom 
 under her keel. You see the frigate did not like to come 
 any closer. She would have cut us off if there had been 
 deep water right up." 
 
 An hour later the brig dropped anchor off Cartagena, at 
 little more than a quarter of a mile from one of the batteries 
 that guarded the entrance to the port, and close to two or 
 three of the craft that had been first chased by the frigate. 
 These, as they were going on in the morning, had not 
 entered the harbour with their consorts, for it was already 
 getting dusk. 
 
 "Not much fear of their coming to ask any questions this 
 evening," Joe Lockett said. "The Spaniards are not given 
 to troubling themselves unnecessarily, and as we are outside 
 the port we are no one's business in particular." 
 
 At this moment a hail came from the vessel anchored 
 ahead of them. Bob went to the bulwark. The brig had 
 swung head to wind, and was broadside on with the other craft. 
 
 " You have not suffered from the fire of that accursed 
 ship, I hope?" the captain of the barque shouted. 
 
 "No, senor; not a shot struck us." 
 
 " You were fortunate. We were hulled twice, and had a 
 man killed by a splinter. This is a rough welcome home to 
 us. We have just returned from Lima, and have heard 
 nothing about the war till we anchored off Alicante yester- 
 day. We heard some firing as we came through the Straits, 
 but thought it was only one of the ships or forts practising 
 at a mark. It was lucky we put in at Alicante, or we should 
 have had no suspicion, and should have let that frigate sail 
 up alongside of us without trying to escape." 
 
 "You were fortunate indeed," Bob shouted back. "We 
 had ourselves a narrow escape of being captured by a ship 
 of war near Malaga. The Alonzo is only from Cadiz with 
 grain and olive-oil " 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 213 
 
 " Do you think there is any fear of that rascally English- 
 man trying to cut us out with his boats to-night?" 
 
 "Not the slightest," Bob replied confidently. "They 
 would never venture on that. Those batteries on shore 
 would blow them out of the water, and they would know 
 very well they would not have a shadow of chance of 
 taking us out; for even if they captured us the batteries 
 would send us to the bottom in no time. Oh, no ! you are 
 perfectly safe from the frigate here." 
 
 The Spanish captain raised his hat, Bob did the same, 
 and both left the side of their ships. 
 
 "Well, what does he say, Bob 1 ?" the captain asked. 
 
 " I think you are in luck this time, captain, and no 
 mistake." 
 
 "How is that, Bob?" 
 
 " She is from Lima." 
 
 "You don't say so!" the captain and Joe exclaimed 
 simultaneously. " Then she is something like a prize. She 
 has got hides, no doubt; but the chances are she has a lot 
 of lead too, and maybe some silver. Ah ! he is getting one 
 of his boats in the water. I hope he is not coming off here. 
 If he does, Joe, Bob must meet him at the gangway and 
 take him into the cabin. As he comes in you and I will 
 catch him by the throat, gag and bind him, and then Bob 
 must go and tell the men to return to their ship, that the 
 captain is going to spend the evening with us, and that we 
 will take him back in our boat." 
 
 " That would be the best thing that could happen," Joe 
 said, "for in that way we could get alongside without 
 suspicion." 
 
 " So we could, Joe. I didn't think of that. Yes, I hope 
 he is coming now." 
 
 They saw, however, the boat row to a large polacre lying 
 next to the Spaniard on the other side. It remained there 
 two or three minutes, and then rowed away towards the 
 mouth of the harbour. 
 
214 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " Going to spend the evening on shore," the captain ob- 
 served. " I am not surprised at that. It is likely enough 
 they have been six months on their voyage from Lima. It 
 is unlucky, though; I wish he had come here. Well, Bob, 
 as you have got the best head among us, what scheme do 
 you suggest for our getting on board that craft?" 
 
 " I think we could carry out Joe's idea, though in a dif- 
 ferent way," Bob said. " I should say we had better get a 
 boat out, and put say twenty men on board. It is getting 
 dark, but they might all lie down in the bottom except six 
 oarsmen. Then we should pull in towards the mouth of 
 the harbour just as they have done, and lay up somewhere 
 under the rocks for a couple of hours, then row off again 
 aud make for the barque. Of course they would think it 
 was the captain returning. Then ten of the men should 
 spring on board, and they ought to be able to silence any 
 men on deck before they could give the alarm. Directly the 
 ten men got out, the boat would row across to the polacre, as 
 there is no doubt her captain went ashore with the other. 
 They would take her in the same way." 
 
 " You ought to be made Lord High Admiral of the Fleet, 
 Bob ! That will succeed if anything will, only we must be 
 sure to put off again before the Spaniards do. 
 
 "Well, Joe, you had better take charge of this expedi- 
 tion. You see, however quietly it is done there is almost 
 sure to be some shouting, and they will take the alarm at 
 the batteries, and when they make out three of us suddenly 
 getting up sail they will be pretty certain that something is 
 wrong, and will open fire on us. That, of course, we must 
 risk; but the thing to be really afraid of is their gun-boats. 
 They are sure to have a couple of them in the port. They 
 may be some little time in getting out, but they will come 
 out. The wind has died away now, but the land-breeze is 
 just springing up; but we shall hardly get off before the gun- 
 boats can come to us, they row a lot of oars, you know. 
 You must clap on all sail on the prizes, and I shall hang 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 215 
 
 behind a bit and tackle the gun-boats. You will see what 
 guns there are on board the prizes, and may perhaps be able 
 to lend me a hand; but that you will see. Of course you 
 will take Bob with you to answer the hails from the two 
 Spaniards. Be careful when you bring up ashore. Let the 
 men row very gently after they once get away, so as not 
 to attract any attention. Let them take cutlasses, but no 
 pistols. If a shot were fired the batteries would be sure at 
 once there was some mischief going on. A little shouting 
 won't matter so much; it might be merely a quarrel. Of 
 course the instant you are on board you will cut the cables 
 and get up sail. You will remain on board the barque, 
 Joe. Bob will have command of the party that attack 
 the polacre. You had better take the jolly-boat, and pick 
 out twenty active fellows. Tell them to leave their shoes 
 behind them, the less trampling and noise there is the 
 better. Tell them not to use their cutlasses unless driven 
 to it. There are not likely to be above four or five men on 
 deck; they ought to be able to knock them down and bind 
 them almost before they know what has happened." 
 
 In a few minutes the boat was lowered and manned, and 
 rowed away for the shore. As soon as they got well past 
 the ships the men were ordered to row as quietly and noise- 
 lessly as possible. Joe had brought with him six strips of 
 canvas, and handed these to the men, and told them to wrap 
 them round the oars so as to muffle them in the rowlocks. 
 This was done, and the boat glided along silently. Keeping in 
 the middle of the channel, they passed through the passage 
 between the shore and the rocky island that protects the 
 harbour, and then, sweeping round, stole up behind the 
 latter and lay-to close to the rocks. 
 
 "So far so good," Joe said in a low voice. "I don't 
 think the sharpest eyes could have seen us. Now the ques- 
 tion is how long to wait here. The longer we wait the more 
 of the Spaniards will have turned into their bunks; but, 
 upon the other hand, there is no saying how long the cap- 
 
216 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 tains will remain on shore. There is a heavy dew falling, 
 and that will help to send the sailors below. I should think 
 an hour would be about the right time; the Dons are not 
 likely to be off again before that. It is some distance up 
 the harbour to the landing-place, and they would hardly 
 have taken the trouble to go ashore unless they meant to 
 stay a couple of hours. What time is it now, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 Bob opened his watch-case and felt the hands. " It is 
 just a quarter past nine." 
 
 " Well, we will move at ten," Joe said. 
 
 The three-quarters of an hour passed very slowly, and 
 Bob consulted his watch several times before the minute- 
 hand got to twelve. 
 
 "Ten o'clock," he said at last. 
 
 The oars had not been got in, so the boat glided off 
 again noiselessly out through the entrance. There were 
 lights burning at the sterns of the two Spanish ships as a 
 guide to the boat coming off, and when the boat had tra- 
 versed half the distance Joe ordered the oars to be un- 
 muffled, and they rowed straight for the barque. There was 
 no hail at their approach, but a man appeared at the top of 
 the ladder. As the boat came alongside ten of the men 
 rose noiselessly from the bottom of the boat and followed 
 the first-mate up the ladder. As he reached the top Joe 
 sprang on the Spanish sailor and seized him by the throat. 
 The two sailors following thrust a gag into the man's mouth, 
 bound his arms, and laid him down. 
 
 This was effected without the slightest noise. The other 
 sailors had by this time clambered up from the boat and 
 scattered over the deck. A group of seven or eight Spaniards 
 were seated on the deck forward, smoking by the light of 
 a lantern which hung above the fo'castle. They did not 
 notice the approach of the sailors with their naked feet, and 
 the latter sprang upon them, threw them down, bound 
 and gagged them, without a sound save a few short excla- 
 mations of surprise being uttered. Three or four of the 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 217 
 
 sailors now coiled a rope against the fo'castle door to prevent 
 its being opened. In the meantime Joe with two men 
 entered the cabin aft, where they found the two Spanish 
 mates playing at cards. The sudden apparition of three 
 men with drawn cutlasses took them so completely by 
 surprise that they were captured without any attempt at 
 resistance, and were, like the rest, bound and gagged. 
 
 " You take the helm, Halkett," Joe said, and then 
 hurried forward. "Have you got them all?" he asked as he 
 reached the fo'castle. 
 
 " Every man-Jack," one of the sailors said. 
 
 "Is there nobody on watch in the bows'?" 
 
 " No, sir, not a man." 
 
 " Very well. Now then to work. Cut the cable, Thomp- 
 son. The rest of you let fall the sails." 
 
 As these had only been loosely furled when the vessel 
 came to anchor, this was done in a very short time, and the 
 vessel began to move through the water before the light 
 breeze, which was dead aft. 
 
 The capture of the polacre had not been effected so silently. 
 Bob had allowed the boatswain, who accompanied him, to 
 mount the ladder first; but the man at the top of the gang- 
 way had a lantern, and as its light fell upon the sailor's face 
 he uttered an exclamation of surprise, which called the atten- 
 tion of those on deck, and as the sailors swarmed up the 
 ladder shouts of alarm were raised. But the Spaniards 
 could not withstand the rush of the English, who beat them 
 to the deck before they had time to seize their arms. The 
 noise, however, alarmed the watch below, who were just 
 pouring up from the hatchway when they were attacked by 
 the sailors with drawn cutlasses, and were speedily beaten 
 below and the hatches secured over them. Bob had posted 
 himself with two of the men at the cabin door, and as the 
 officers rushed out on hearing the noise they were knocked 
 down and secured. As soon as this was effected Bob looked 
 round over the side. 
 
218 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Hurrah!" he said, "the barque is under way already. 
 Get the sails on her, lads, and cut the cable." 
 
 While this was being done Bob mounted the poop, placed 
 one of the sailors at the helm, and then turned his eyes towards 
 the battery astern. He heard shouts, and had no doubt 
 that the sound of the scuffle had been heard. Then lights 
 appeared in several of the casemates; and just as the sails 
 were sheeted home, and the polacre began to move through 
 the water, a rocket whizzed up from the battery and burst 
 overhead. By its light Bob saw the Antelope and the 
 Spanish barque two or three hundred yards ahead, with 
 their crews getting up all sail rapidly. 
 
 A minute later twelve heavy guns flashed out astern, one 
 after another. They were pointed too high and the shot flew 
 overhead, one or two passing through the sails. The boat- 
 swain's voice was heard shouting: "Never mind the shot, 
 lads ! Look alive ! Now, then, up with those topgallant sails ! 
 The quicker you get them up the quicker we shall be out of 
 range !" Another battery higher up now opened fire, but the 
 shot did not come near them. Then rocket after rocket was 
 sent up, and the battery astern again fired. One of the 
 shot cut away the main -topsail yard, another struck the 
 deck abreast of the foremast, and then tore through the 
 bulwarks; but the polacre was now making good way. They 
 felt the wind more as they got farther from the shore, and 
 had decreased their distance from the craft ahead. The 
 boatswain now joined Bob upon the poop. 
 
 "We have got everything set that will draw now," he 
 said; "she is walking along well. Another ten minutes 
 and we shall be safe, if they don't knock away a spar. She 
 is a fast craft, Mr. Repton; she is overhauling the other 
 two hand over hand." 
 
 " We had better bear away a bit, boatswain. The captain 
 said we were to scatter as much as we could so as to divide 
 their fire." 
 
 "All right, sir!" and the boatswain gave the orders 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 219 
 
 to the helmsman, and slightly altered the trim of the 
 sails. 
 
 "I suppose we can do nothing with that broken yard, 
 boatswain?" 
 
 " No, sir; and it don't matter much, going pretty nearly 
 before the wind as we are. The sails on the foremast draw 
 all the better, so it don't make much difference. Look out, 
 below!" he shouted as there was a crash above and the 
 mizzen-mast was cut in sunder by a shot that struck it just 
 above the topsail blocks, and the upper part came toppling 
 down, striking the bulwark and falling overboard. 
 
 "Lay aft, lads, and out knives!" the boatswain shouted. 
 " Cut away the wreck ! It is lucky it wasn't two feet lower," 
 he said to Bob, "or it would have brought the topsail down, 
 and that would have been a serious loss now the main-top- 
 sail is of no use." 
 
 He sprang to assist the men, when a round shot struck 
 him, and almost carried off his head. Bob caught at the 
 knife that fell from his hand, and set to work with the 
 men. 
 
 "That is it, lads, cut away!" he shouted. "We sha'n't 
 have many more of them on board, we are a good mile 
 away now." 
 
 Just as the work of getting rid of the wreck was accom- 
 plished, one of the men said, as a rocket burst overhead, 
 " There are two of their gun-boats coming out of the har- 
 bour, sir." 
 
 " We had better close with the others, then," Bob said. 
 " The brig will engage them when they come up. We shall 
 be well beyond reach of the batteries before they do. Now, 
 lads, see what guns she carries. Break open the magazine 
 and get powder and ball up. We must lend the captain a 
 hand if we can." 
 
 The polacre mounted eight guns, all 14-pounders, and in 
 a few minutes these were loaded. The batteries continued 
 to fire, but their shooting was no longer accurate, and in 
 
220 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 another ten minutes ceased altogether. The craft had now 
 closed to within hailing distance of the brig. 
 
 "Hallo, the polacre!" Captain Lockett shouted. "What 
 damages?" 
 
 " The boatswain is killed, sir, " Bob shouted back, " and 
 we have lost two spars; but, in spite of that, I think we 
 are sailing as fast as you." 
 
 "What guns have you got 1 ?" 
 
 "Eight fourteen-pounders, sir. We are loaded and ready." 
 
 " Keep a little ahead of me," the captain shouted. " I 
 am going to shorten sail a bit. We have got to fight those 
 gun-boats." 
 
 As he spoke a heavy gun boomed out from the bow of 
 one of the gun-boats, and the shot went skipping between 
 the two vessels. Directly after, the other gun-boat fired, 
 and the shot struck the quarter of the brig. Then there 
 was a creaking of blocks as the sheets were hauled upon, 
 and as the yards swung round she came up into the wind, 
 and a broadside was fired at the two gun-boats. Then the 
 helm was put down, and she payed off before the wind again. 
 
 The gun-boats ceased rowing for a minute. The discharge 
 had staggered them, for they had not given the brig credit 
 for carrying such heavy metal. Then they began to row 
 again. The swivel-gun of the brig kept up a steady fire on 
 them. Two of the guns of the polacre had been by this 
 time shifted to the stern, and these opened fire, while the 
 first-mate's crew on board the barque were also at work. 
 A fortunate shot smashed many of the oars of one of the 
 gun-boats, and while she stopped rowing in disorder, the 
 brig was again rounded to and opened a steady fire with her 
 broadside guns upon them. As the gun-boats were now 
 little more than a quarter of a mile away, the effect of the 
 brig's fire, aided by that of the two prizes, was very severe, 
 and in a short time the Spaniards put round and rowed 
 towards the shore, while a hearty cheer broke from the 
 brig and her prizes. 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 221 
 
 There had been no more casualties on board the polacre, 
 the fire of the gun-boats having been directed entirely upon 
 the brig, as the Spaniards knew that if they could but destroy 
 or capture her they would be able to recover the prizes. 
 The polacre was soon brought close alongside of the brig. 
 
 "Have you suffered much, Captain Lockett?" 
 
 " I am sorry to say we have had six men killed and five 
 wounded. We have got a dozen shot in our stern. They 
 were evidently trying to damage the rudder, but beyond 
 knocking the cabin fittings to pieces, there is no more harm 
 done than the carpenter can repair in a few hours' work. 
 You have not been hit again, have you 1 ?" 
 
 "No, sir; none of their shots came near us." 
 
 "Well, examine the papers and have a talk with the 
 officers you made prisoners, and then come on board to re- 
 port. I shall want you to go on board the barque with me 
 and see what she is laden with." 
 
 Bob went below. The two Spanish mates were unbound. 
 "I am sorry, seiiors," Bob said, "that we were obliged to 
 treat you rather roughly, but you see we were in a hurry, 
 and there was no time for explanations. I shall be obliged 
 if you will show me which is the captain's cabin, and hand 
 me over the ship's papers and manifesto. What is her 
 name 1 " 
 
 "The Braganza." 
 
 "Where are you from 1 ? and what do you carry?" 
 
 "We are from Cadiz, and are laden principally with wine. 
 We were bound for Barcelona. You took us in nicely, senor. 
 Who could have dreamt that you were English when that 
 frigate chased you under the guns of the battery?" 
 
 " She thought we were Spanish as you did," Bob said. 
 
 By this time the other Spaniard had brought the papers 
 out of the captain's cabin. Bob ran his eye down over the 
 bill of lading, and was well satisfied with the result. She 
 contained a very large consignment of wine. 
 
 " I am going on board the brig," he said, as he put the 
 
222 HELD EAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 papers together. " I must ask you to give me your parole 
 not to leave the cabin until I return. I do not know whether 
 my captain wishes you to remain here or will transfer you 
 to his own craft. " 
 
 "Well, Master Bob, what is your prize?" the captain 
 asked. 
 
 " It is a valuable one, sir. The polacre herself is, as I 
 see by her papers, only two years old, and seems a fine craft. 
 She is laden with wine from Cadiz to Barcelona." 
 
 "Capital, Bob; we are in luck indeed! How many 
 prisoners have you got] 
 
 "The crew is put down at eighteen, sir, and there are the 
 two mates." 
 
 " You had better send them on board here presently. 
 Where are they now 1 ?" 
 
 " They are in the cabin, captain. They gave me their 
 promise not to leave it till I return; but I put a man on 
 sentry outside, so as to make sure of them." 
 
 " Well, perhaps you had better go back again now, and we 
 will shape our course for Gibraltar at once. All this firing 
 would have attracted the attention of any Spanish war-vessel 
 there might be about. We must leave the barque's mani- 
 festo till the morning. As you have lost the boatswain, I 
 will send one of my best hands back with you to act as your 
 first-mate. He must get that topsail yard of yours repaired 
 at once. It does not matter about the mizzen-mast, but the 
 yard is of importance. We may meet with Spanish cruis- 
 ers outside the Rock and may have to show our heels." 
 
 " Yes, I shall be glad of a good man, captain. You see I 
 know nothing about it, and don't like giving any orders. It 
 was all very well getting on board and knocking down the 
 crew, but when it comes to sailing her, it is perfectly ridi- 
 culous my giving orders when the men know that I don't 
 know anything about it." 
 
 "The men know you have plenty of pluck, Bob, and they 
 know that it was entirely due to your swimming off to that 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 223 
 
 Spanish ship that we escaped being captured before, and they 
 will obey you willingly as far as you can give them orders. 
 Still, of course, you do want somebody with you to give 
 orders as to the setting and taking in of the sails." 
 
 As soon as the last gun had been fired the three vessels had 
 been laid head to wind, but when Bob's boat reached the side 
 of the polacre they were again put on their course and headed 
 south-west, keeping within a short distance of each other. 
 Bob's new first mate, an old sailor named Brown, at once 
 set the crew to work to get up a fresh spar in place of the 
 broken yard. The men all worked with a will. They were 
 in high spirits at the captures they had made, and the news 
 which Brown gave them that the polacre was laden with 
 wine, assured to each of them a substantial sum in prize- 
 money. 
 
 Before morning the yard was in its place and the sail set, 
 and except for the shortened mizzen and a ragged hole 
 through the bulwark forward, the polacre showed no signs 
 of the engagement of the evening before. Two or three 
 men were slung over the stern of the brig, plugs had been 
 driven through the shot holes, and over these patches of 
 canvas were nailed and painted black. Nothing, however, 
 could be done with the sails, which were completely riddled 
 with holes. The crew were set to work to shift some of the 
 worst, cutting them away from the yards and getting up 
 spare sails from below. Bob had put a man on the look-out 
 to give him notice if any signal was made to him from the 
 brig, which was a quarter of a mile ahead of him, the 
 polacre's topgallant sails having been lowered after the main- 
 topsail had been hoisted, as it was found that with all sail 
 set she sailed considerably faster than the brig. 
 
 Presently the man came aft and reported that the captain 
 was waving his hat from the taffrail. 
 
 " We had better get up the main-topgallant sail, Brown, 
 and run up to her," Bob said. The sail was soon hoisted, 
 and in a quarter of an hour they were alongside the brig. 
 
224 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "That craft sails like a witch," Captain Lockett said, as 
 they came abreast of him. 
 
 " Yes, sir, she seems very fast." 
 
 "It is a pity she is rigged as she is," the captain said. 
 "It is an outlandish fashion; if she were barque-rigged I 
 should be tempted to shift on board her. We will leave 
 the barque alone at present, Mr. Repton ; our curiosity must 
 keep a bit. I don't want to lose any of this breeze. We 
 will keep right on as long as it lasts; if it drops we will 
 overhaul her." 
 
 The barque was the slowest craft of the three, and Joe 
 Lockett had every stitch of canvas set to enable him to 
 keep up with the others. At noon a large craft was seen 
 coming off from the land. Bob examined her with the 
 telescope, and then handed the glass to Brown. " She is a 
 frigate," the sailor said. " It's the same that blazed away at 
 us yesterday; it's the Brilliant, I think." 
 
 "You are sure she is the same that chased us yester- 
 day?" 
 
 "Quite sure." 
 
 Captain Lockett was evidently of the same opinion, as no 
 change was made in the course he was steering. "We may 
 as well speak the captain again," Bob said; and the polacre 
 closed again with the brig. "Brown says that is the same 
 frigate that fired at us yesterday, Captain Lockett," Bob 
 said when they were within hailing distance. 
 
 " Yes, there is no doubt about that. I don't want to lose 
 time or I would stand out and try our speed with her." 
 
 "Why, sir?" 
 
 " Because I am afraid she will want to take some of our 
 hands. Those frigates are always short of hands. Still she 
 may not, as we have got twelve men already away in a prize 
 and ten in each of these craft." 
 
 " I don't think you need be uneasy, sir. I know the 
 captain of the Brilliant and all the officers. If you like I 
 will keep the polacre on that side, so that they will come up 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 225 
 
 to us first, and will go on board and speak to the captain. 
 I don't think then he would interfere with us." 
 
 "Very well, Mr. Repton; we will arrange it so." 
 
 The polacre had now taken its place to leeward of the 
 other two vessels, and they held on in that order until the 
 frigate was within half a mile, when she fired a gun across 
 their bows as signal for them to heave to. The brig was 
 now flying the British colours, her prizes the British colours 
 with the Spanish underneath them. At the order to heave 
 to they were all thrown up into the wind. The frigate re- 
 duced her sail as she came up, and as she neared the polacre 
 the order was shouted, "Send a boat alongside!" The boat 
 was already prepared for lowering ; four seamen got into her 
 and rowed Bob alongside the frigate. The first person he 
 encountered as he stepped on to the deck was Jim Sankey, 
 who stared at him in astonishment. 
 
 " Hullo, Bob! What in the world are you doing here?" 
 
 "I am in command of that polacre, Mr. Sankey," Bob 
 replied. 
 
 "Eh — what?" Jim stammered in astonishment, when the 
 captain's voice from the quarter-deck came sharply down: 
 
 "Now, Mr. Sankey, what are you waiting for? Bring 
 that gentleman here." 
 
 Jim led the way up to the poop. Bob saluted, " Good- 
 morning, Captain Langton." 
 
 "Why, it's Repton!" the captain exclaimed in surprise. 
 "Why, where do you spring from, and what craft are 
 these?" 
 
 " I am in command at present, sir, of the polacre, which, 
 with the barque, is a prize of the brig the Antelope, pri- 
 vateer." 
 
 "But what are you doing on board, Repton? and how is 
 it that you are in command?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I was out on a cruise in the Antelope. The 
 second-mate was sent with a prize crew back to Gibraltar in 
 a craft we picked up off Malaga. We cut out the other two 
 
 (680) p 
 
226 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 prizes from under the guns of Cartagena. The first mate 
 was in command of the party that captured the barque; 
 and as there was no one else to send, the captain put me in 
 command of the party that captured the polacre." 
 
 "But how on earth did you manage it?" the captain 
 asked. " I see the brig has been cut up a good deal about 
 the sails and rigging. You don't mean to say that she sailed 
 right into Cartagena 1 ? Why, they would have blown her 
 out of the water!" 
 
 "We didn't go in, sir; we anchored outside the port. 
 We were not suspected, because one of His Majesty's frigates 
 fired at us as we were going in; and the consequence was 
 the Dons never suspected that we were anything but a 
 Spanish trader." 
 
 "Why, you don't mean to say," the captain exclaimed, 
 "that this was the brig flying Spanish colours which we 
 chased in under the guns of Cartagena yesterday?" 
 
 "It is, sir," Bob said smiling. "You did us a very good 
 turn, although your intentions were not friendly. We were 
 under Spanish colours when you made us out, and it struck 
 us that running the gauntlet of your fire for a little 
 while would be an excellent introduction for us to the 
 Spaniards. So it proved. We brought up close to those 
 other two vessels, and I had a talk with the captain of one 
 of them. The two captains both went ashore after dark; so 
 we put twenty men into a boat and rowed in to the mouth 
 of the port, waited there for a bit, and then rowed straight 
 out to the ships. They thought, of course, it was their 
 own officers returning; so we took them by surprise and 
 captured them pretty easily. Unfortunately there was some 
 noise made, and they took the alarm on shore. However, 
 we were under way before the batteries opened. It was 
 rather unpleasant for a bit, but we got safely out. Two 
 gun-boats came out after us, but the brig beat them off, and 
 we helped as well as we could. The brig had five men 
 killed, we had one, and there are several wounded." 
 
CUTTING OUT A PRIZE. 227 
 
 "Well, it was a very dashing affair," the captain said; 
 " very creditable indeed. I hope you will get a share of the 
 prize-money." 
 
 " I only count as a hand," Bob said laughing; "and I am 
 sure that is as much as I deserve. But here comes the 
 captain, sir; he will tell you more about it." 
 
 Captain Lockett now came on board, and Bob, seeing 
 that he was not farther required, went off with Jim down to 
 the cockpit. The captain had a long talk with Captain 
 Lockett. When the latter had related in full the circum 
 stances of his capture of his two prizes he said : 
 
 " There is a Spanish ship of war, sir, somewhere off Ali- 
 cante at present. She is got up as a merchantman and took 
 us in thoroughly, and we should probably have been caught 
 if it had not been for Mr. Repton," and he then related 
 how Bob had swum on board and discovered the supposed 
 merchantman to be a ship of war. 
 
 " Thank you, Captain Lockett. I will go in and have a 
 look after her. It is fortunate that you told me, for if I had 
 seen her lying at anchor under the land I might have sent 
 some boats in to cut her out, and might, as you nearly did, 
 have caught a tartar. He is an uncommonly sharp young fel- 
 low, that Repton. I offered him a midshipman's berth here 
 when I first came out, but he refused it. By what you say 
 he must be a good officer lost to the service." 
 
 "He would have made a good officer, sir; he has his wits 
 about him so thoroughly. It was his doing our keeping the 
 Spanish flag flying when you came upon us. I had ordered 
 the colours to be run down, when he suggested our keeping 
 them up and running boldly in to Cartagena." 
 
 "I suppose you can't spare us a few hands, Captain 
 Lockett?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I shall be very short as it is. You see I have 
 a score away in a prize, I have had six killed, and some 
 of the wounded won't be fit for work for some time, and I 
 mean to take these two prizes back with me to England. 
 
228 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 They are both valuable, and I should not get anything like 
 a fair price for them at Gibraltar. I don't want to run 
 the risk of their being picked up by privateers on the way 
 back, so I shall convoy them; and I certainly sha'n't have 
 a man too many to fight my guns when I have put crews 
 on board them." 
 
 "No, I suppose not," the captain said. "Well, I must 
 do without them, then. Now, as I suppose you want to be 
 on your way, I will not detain you any longer." 
 
 Bob was sent for. 
 
 " Captain Lockett has been telling me that you were the 
 means of preventing his getting into a nasty scrape with 
 that Spanish man-of-war, Mr. Eepton. I consider there is 
 great credit due to you. It is a pity you didn't come on to 
 my quarter-deck." 
 
 " I should not have got the chances then, sir," Bob said. 
 
 "Well, no; I don't, know that you would, lad; there 
 is something in that. Well, good-bye. I shall write and 
 tell the admiral all about it. I know he Avill be glad to 
 hear of your doings." 
 
 A few minutes later the privateer and her prizes were on 
 their way towards Gibraltar, while the frigate was standing 
 inshore again to search for the Spanish ship of war. 
 
 •^ffttf 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A. RICH PRIZE. 
 
 IN the evening the wind died away, and the three vessels 
 were becalmed. Captain Lockett rowed to the polacre 
 and examined his prize, and then taking Bob in his boat 
 rowed to the barque. 
 
 " Well, Joe, have you made out what you have got on 
 board V the captain said, when he reached the deck. 
 
 " No, sir. Neither of the officers can speak a word of 
 English. I have opened the hatches and she is chock-full 
 of hides, but what there is underneath I don't know." 
 
 "Come along, Bob, we will overhaul the papers," the 
 captain said, and going to the cabin they examined the 
 bill of lading. 
 
 " Here it is, sir," Bob said triumphantly. " Two hundred 
 tons of lead." 
 
 "Splendid!" the captain exclaimed. "That is a prize 
 worth having. Of course that is stowed away at the bottom, 
 and then she is filled up with hides, and they are worth a lot 
 of money; but the lead alone is worth six thousand pounds, 
 at twenty pounds per ton. Is there anything else, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. There are fifty boxes; it doesn't s?y what is 
 in them." 
 
 " You don't say so, Bob ! Perhaps it is silver. Let us 
 ask the officers." 
 
 The Spanish first-mate was called down. " Where are 
 these boxes'?" Bob asked; "and what do they contain?" 
 
 " They are full of silver," the man said sullenly. " They 
 are stowed in the lazaretto under this cabin." 
 
230 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " We will have one of them up and look into it," the 
 captain said. "Joe, call a couple of hands down." 
 
 The trap-door of the lazaretto was lifted; Joe and the 
 two sailors descended the ladder, and with some difficulty 
 one of the boxes was hoisted up. 
 
 " That weighs over two hundredweight, I'm sure," Joe said. 
 
 The box was broken open, and it was found to be filled 
 with small bars of silver. 
 
 "Are they all the same size, Joe?" the captain asked. 
 
 " Yes, as far as I can see." 
 
 The captain took out his pocket-book and made a rapid 
 calculation. 
 
 "Then they are worth between thirty-two and thirty- 
 three thousand pounds, Joe. Why, lad, she is worth forty 
 thousand pounds without the hides or the hull. That is 
 something like a capture," and the two men shook hands 
 warmly. 
 
 "The best thing to do, Joe, will be to divide these 
 boxes between the three ships; then even if one of them 
 gets picked up by the Spaniards or French, we shall still be 
 in clover." 
 
 " I think that would be a good plan," Joe agreed. 
 
 " We will do it at once. There is nothing like making 
 matters safe. Just get into the boat alongside and row to 
 the brig, and tell them to lower the jolly-boat and send it 
 alongside. We will get some of the boxes up by the time 
 you are back." 
 
 In an hour the silver was divided between the three ships, 
 and the delight of the sailors was great when they heard 
 how valuable had been the capture. 
 
 "How do you divide 1 ?" Bob asked Captain Lockett, as 
 they were watching the boxes lowered into the boat. 
 
 "The ship takes half," he said. "Of the other half I 
 take twelve shares, Joe eight, the second -mate six, the 
 boatswain three, and the fifty hands one share each. So you 
 may say there are eighty shares ; and if the half of the prize 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 231 
 
 is worth twenty thousand pounds, each man's share will be 
 two hundred and fifty. It will be worth having, Bob; 
 though it is a great shame you should not rate as an officer." 
 
 "I don't want the money," Bob laughed. "I should 
 have no use for it if I had it. My uncle has taken me in 
 hand, and I am provided for." 
 
 " Yes, I understand that," the captain said. " If it were 
 not so I should have proposed to the crew that they should 
 agree to your sharing the same as the second officer. I am 
 sure they would have agreed willingly, seeing that it is due 
 to you that we were not captured ourselves in the first 
 place, and entirely to your suggestion that we should keep 
 the Spanish flag flying and run into Cartagena, that we 
 owe the capture of the prizes." 
 
 " Oh, I would much rather not, captain. I only came for 
 a cruise, and it has been a splendid one; and it seems to be 
 quite absurd that I should be getting anything at all. Still, 
 it will be jolly, because I shall be able to make Carrie and 
 Gerald nice presents with my own money, and to send some 
 home to Mr. Medlin and his family, and something to uncle 
 too, if I can think of anything he would like." 
 
 "Yes, it is all very well, Bob, for you; but I feel that it 
 is not fair. However, as you really don't want the money 
 and are well satisfied, we will say nothing more about it 
 now." 
 
 The ships lay becalmed all night, but a brisk breeze from 
 the east sprang up in the morning, and at noon the Bock was 
 visible in the distance. They held on for four hours, and 
 then lay to till after midnight. After that, sail was again 
 made, and soon after daybreak they passed Europa Point, 
 without having been seen by any of the Spanish cruisers. 
 They were greeted by a hearty cheer from the vessels 
 anchored near the new Mole as they brought up amongst 
 them with the British flags flying above the Spanish on 
 board the prizes. As soon as the morning gun was fired 
 and the gates opened, Bob landed and hurried up to his 
 
232 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 sister's. She and her husband were just partaking of their 
 early coffee. 
 
 "Hallo, Bob!" Captain O'Halloran exclaimed. "What, 
 back again? Why, I didn't expect you for another fort- 
 night. You must have managed very badly to have brought 
 your cruise to an end so soon." 
 
 "Well, I am very glad you are back, Bob," his sister 
 said. "I have been fidgetting about you ever since you 
 were away." 
 
 "I am as glad to see you as your sister can be," Gerald 
 put in. " If she has fidgetted when you had only gone a 
 week, you can imagine what I should have to bear before 
 the end of a month. I should have had to move into 
 barracks. Life would have been insupportable here." 
 
 " I am sure I have said very little about it, Gerald," his 
 wife said indignantly. 
 
 " No, Carrie, you have not said much, but your aspect 
 has been generally tragic. You have taken but slight interest 
 in your fowls, and there has been a marked deterioration 
 in the meals. My remarks have been frequently unanswered, 
 and you have got into a Sister Anne sort of way of going 
 upon the roof and staring out to sea. Your sister is a most 
 estimable woman, Bob, I am the last person who would 
 deny it, but I must admit that she has been a little trying 
 during the last week." 
 
 Carrie laughed. "Well, it is only paying you back a 
 little in your own coin, Gerald. But what has brought you 
 back so soon, Bob ? We heard of you three days ago ; for 
 Gerald went on board a brig that was brought in, as he 
 heard that it was a prize of the Antelope's, and the officer 
 told him about your cruise up to when he had left you." 
 
 "Well, there wasn't much to tell up till then," Bob said, 
 " except that I was well and my appetite was good. But 
 there has been a good lot since. We have come in with two 
 more good prizes this morning, and the brig is going to 
 convoy them back to England." 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 233 
 
 " Oh, that is all right/ Carrie said in a tone of pleasure. 
 So far she had been afraid that Bob's return was only a 
 temporary one, and that he might be setting out again in a 
 day or two. 
 
 " Well, let us hear all about it, Bob," her husband said. 
 " I could see Carrie was on thorns lest you were going off 
 again. Now that she is satisfied, she may be able to listen 
 to you comfortably." 
 
 " Well, we really had some adventures, Gerald. We had 
 a narrow escape from being captured by a Spanish ship of 
 war ever so much stronger than we were. She was got up 
 as a merchantman, and regularly took us in. We anchored 
 close to her, intending to board her in the dark. I thought 
 I would swim off and reconnoitre a bit before we attacked 
 her, and, of course, I saw at once what she was, and we cut 
 our cable and were towed out in the dark. She fired away 
 at us, but didn't do us any damage. The next day, late in 
 the afternoon, we came upon the Brilliant chasing some 
 Spanish craft into Cartagena, and as we had Spanish colours 
 up she took us for one of them, and blazed away at us." 
 
 "But why didn't you pull down the Spanish colours at 
 once, Bob? I never heard of anything so silly," Carrie said 
 indignantly. 
 
 " Well, you see, Carrie, they were some distance off, and 
 weren't likely to damage us much, and we ran straight in 
 and anchored with the rest under the guns of the battery 
 outside Cartagena. Seeing us fired at, of course they never 
 suspected we were English. Then at night we captured the 
 two vessels lying next to us and put out to sea. The batteries 
 blazed away at us, and it was not very pleasant till we got 
 outside their range. They did not do us very much 
 damage. Two gun-boats came out after us, but the brig 
 beat them back, and we helped." 
 
 "Who were we?" Captain O'Halloran asked. 
 
 " We were the prizes, of course. I was in command of 
 one." 
 
234 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Hooray, Bob!" Gerald exclaimed with a great laugh, 
 while Carrie uttered an exclamation of horror. 
 
 " Well, you see, the second mate had been sent off in the 
 first prize, and there was only Joe Lockett and me ; so he 
 took the biggest of the two ships we cut out, and the captain 
 put me in command of the men that took the other. I had 
 the boatswain with me, and, of course, he was the man who 
 really commanded in getting up the sails and all that sort of 
 thing. He was killed by a shot from the battery, and 
 was the only man hit on our vessel, but there were five 
 killed on board the brig in the fight with the gun-boats. 
 We fell in with the Brilliant on the way back, and I Avent 
 on board; and you should have seen how Jim Sankey 
 opened his eyes when I said that I was in command of the 
 prize. They are awfully good prizes too, I can tell you. 
 The one I got is laden with wine; and the big one was a 
 barque from Lima, with hides, and two hundred tons of 
 lead and fifty boxes of silver — about thirty-three thousand 
 pounds' worth. Just think of that! The captain said she 
 was worth altogether at least forty thousand pounds. That 
 is something like a prize, isn't it 1 ?" 
 
 "Yes, that is. What do you think, Carrie? I propose that 
 I sell my commission, raise as much as I can on the old 
 place in Ireland, and fit out a privateer. Bob will, of 
 course, be captain, you shall be first-mate, and I will be 
 content with second-mate's berth; and we will sail the salt 
 ocean, and pick up our forty- thousand-pound prizes." 
 
 "Oh, what nonsense you do talk, to be sure, Gerald! 
 Just when Bob's news is so interesting too." 
 
 "I have told all my news, Carrie; now I want to hear 
 yours. The Spaniards haven't began to batter down the 
 Kock yet?" 
 
 "We have been very quiet, Bob. On the 11th a great 
 convoy of about sixty sail, protected by five xebecs of 
 from twenty to thirty guns each, came along. They must 
 have come out from Malaga the very night you passed there. 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 235 
 
 They were taking supplies for the use of the Spanish fleet; 
 and the privateers captured three or four small craft, and 
 the Panther, the Enterprise, and the Childers were kept at 
 their anchor all day. Why, no one but the admiral could 
 say. We were all very much disappointed, for everyone 
 expected to see pretty nearly all the Spanish vessels brought 
 in." 
 
 "Yes," Captain O'Halloran said, "it has caused a deal of 
 talk, I can tell you. The navy were furious. There they 
 were, sixty vessels all laden with the very things we wanted, 
 pretty well becalmed, not more than a mile off Europa 
 Point, with our batteries banging away at them, and nothing 
 in the world to hinder the Panther and the frigates from 
 fetching them all in. Half the town were out on the hill, 
 and every soul who could get off duty at the Point, and 
 there was the admiral wasting the whole mortal day in 
 trying to make up his mind. If you had heard the bad 
 language that was used in relation to that old gentleman, 
 it would have made your hair stand on end. Of course, 
 just as it got dark the ships of war started, and equally of 
 course the convoy all got away in the dark, except six 
 bits of prizes which were brought in in the morning. We 
 have heard since, that it was on purpose to protect this 
 valuable fleet that the Spanish squadron arrived before you 
 went away; but as it didn't turn up the squadron went off 
 again, and we had nothing to do but just to pick it up." 
 
 After breakfast Captain O'Halloran went off with Bob to 
 the Antelope. He found all hands busy bending on sails in 
 place of those that had been damaged, taking those of the 
 brig first captured for the purpose. 
 
 "They fit very well," Joe Lockett said, "and we have 
 not time to lose. We sail again this afternoon. The captain 
 says there is nothing to prevent our going out now, and as 
 the Spanish squadron may be back any day, we might have 
 to run the gauntlet to get out if we lost +he present chance. 
 So he is not going to waste an hour. Crofts has already 
 
236 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 sold the grain and discharged it; the hull is worth but little, 
 and the captain has sold her as she stands to a trader 
 for two hundred pounds. I expect he has bought her to 
 break up for firewood if the siege goes on. If it doesn't, he 
 will sell her again afterwards at a good profit. Of course it 
 is a ridiculous price ; but the captain wanted to get her off his 
 hands, and would have taken a ten-pound note rather than 
 be bothered with her. So by to-night we shall be across at 
 Ceuta, and if the wind holds east but another day we shall be 
 through the Straits on our way home. They are going to 
 shift two of our 18-pounders on board the barque, and I am 
 going to command her, and to have fifteen men on board. 
 Crofts commands the poleacre with ten men; the rest, of 
 course, go in the brig. We shall keep together, and steer 
 well out west into the Atlantic, so as to give as wide a berth 
 as possible to Spaniards and Frenchmen. If we meet with 
 a privateer we ought to be able to give a good account of 
 him ; if we run across a frigate we shall scatter; and it will 
 be hard luck if we don't manage to get two out of the three 
 craft into port. We have been shifting some more of the 
 silver again this morning from the barque into the other two 
 vessels, otherwise, as she has the lead on board, she would 
 be the most valuable prize. As it is, now the three are of 
 about equal value." 
 
 " Well, we wish you a pleasant voyage," Captain O'Halloran 
 said. " I suppose we shall see you back here again before 
 long." 
 
 " Yes, I should think so ; but I don't know what the cap- 
 tain means to do. We have had no time to talk this morn- 
 ing. I daresay you will meet him on shore; he has gone to 
 the post-office to get his papers signed. We have been quite 
 pestered this morning by men coming on board to buy wine 
 out of the polacre, but the captain wouldn't have the hatches 
 taken off. The Spaniards may turn up at any moment, and 
 it is of the greatest importance our getting off while the 
 coast is clear. It is most unfortunate now that we did not 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 237 
 
 run straight in yesterday, instead of laying-to to wait for 
 night." 
 
 They did not meet the captain in the town; and from the 
 roof Bob saw the three vessels get up sail early in the after- 
 noon and make across for the African coast. The doctor 
 came in in the evening. 
 
 "Well, Bob, so I hear you have been fighting and com- 
 manding ships and doing all sorts of things. I saw Captain 
 Lockett in the town, and faith if you had been a dozen 
 admirals rolled into one he couldn't have spoken more 
 highly of you. It seems, Mrs. O'Halloran, that Bob has 
 been the special angel who has looked after poor Jack on 
 board the Antelope." 
 
 " What ridiculous nonsense, doctor!" Bob exclaimed hotly. 
 
 "Not at all, Bob; it is too modest you are entirely. It 
 is yourself is the boy who has done the business this time, 
 and it is a silver tay-service, or some such trifle as that, that 
 the owners will be sending you; and small blame to them. 
 Captain Lockett tells me he owns a third of the- ship, and 
 he reckons the ship's share of what they have taken this 
 little cruise won't be less than five-and-twenty thousand. 
 Think of that, Mrs. O'Halloran, five-and-twenty thousand 
 pounds! and here is Edward Burke, M.D., working his sowl 
 out for a miserable eight or ten shillings a day." 
 
 "But what has Bob done?" 
 
 "I hadn't time to learn it all, Mrs. O'Halloran, for the 
 captain was in a hurry. It seems to me that the question 
 ought to be, what is it that he hasn't done? It all came 
 in a heap together, and I am not sure of the exact 
 particulars; but it seems to me that he swam out and 
 cut the cable of a Spanish sloop of war, and took the end in 
 his mouth and towed her out to sea, while the guns were 
 blazing in all directions at him. Never was such an affair! 
 Then he humbugged the captain of an English frigate, and 
 the commander of the Spanish forts, and °tole a vessel chock 
 full of silver, and did I don't know what besides." 
 
238 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Bob went off into a shout of laughter, in which the others 
 joined. 
 
 "But what is the meaning of all this nonsense, Teddy?" 
 Carrie asked as soon as she recovered her composure. 
 "Is there anything in it, or is it all pure invention?" 
 
 "Is there anything in it! Haven't I been telling you 
 that there is twenty-five thousand pounds in it to the owners, 
 and as much more to the crew, and didn't the captain vow 
 and declare that if it hadn't been for Bob, instead of going 
 home to divide all this treasure up between them, every 
 man- Jack of them would be at this moment chained by the 
 leg in a dirty Spanish prison at Malaga!" 
 
 "Well, what does it all mean, Bob? There is no getting 
 any sense out of Dr. Burke." 
 
 "It is exactly what I told you, Carrie. We anchored 
 close to a craft that we thought was a merchantman, and 
 that we meant to attack in our boats. I swam on board 
 her in the dark, to see if they were keeping a good watch 
 and that sort of thing, and when I got on board I found she 
 was a ship of war, with a lot of heavy guns, and prepared to 
 take us by surprise when we attacked her; so of course when 
 I swam back again with the news, Captain Lockett cut his 
 cable and towed the brig out in the dark. As to the other 
 affair that the doctor is talking about, I told you that too, 
 and it is exactly as I said it was. The only thing I had to 
 do with it, was that it happened to be my idea to keep the 
 Spanish colours flying and let the frigate keep on firing at 
 us. The idea turned out well; but of course if I had not 
 thought of it somebody else would; so there was nothing in it 
 at all." 
 
 " Well, Bob, you may say what you like," Doctor Burke 
 said; "but it is quite evident that the captain thought there 
 was a good deal in it, and I think really, Gerald, that you 
 and Mrs. O'Halloran have good reason to feel quite proud 
 of him. I am not joking at all when I say that Captain 
 Lockett really spoke as if he considered that the good for- 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 239 
 
 tune they had had is very largely due to him. He said he 
 hoped he should have Bob on board for another cruise." 
 
 "I certainly shall not go any more with him," Bob said 
 indignantly, " if he talks such nonsense about me afterwards. 
 As if there was anything in swimming two or three hundred 
 yards on a dark night, or in suggesting the keeping a flag 
 up instead of pulling it down." 
 
 When the Brilliant, however, came in two days later, 
 Captain Langton called upon Mrs. O'Halloran, and told her 
 that he did so in order to acquaint her with the extremely 
 favourable report Captain Lockett had made to him of Bob's 
 conduct, and that from what he had said, it was evident 
 that the lad had shown great courage in undertaking the 
 swim to the Spanish vessel, and much promptness and ready 
 wit in suggesting the device that had deceived him as well 
 as the Spaniards. 
 
 Captain Langton told the story that evening at General 
 Eliott's dinner-table, and said that although it was certainly 
 a good joke against himself, that he should have thus assisted 
 a privateer to carry off two valuable prizes that had slipped 
 through the frigate's hands, the story was too good not 
 to be told. Thus Bob's exploit became generally known 
 among the officers of the garrison, and Captain O'Halloran 
 was warmly congratulated upon the sharpness and pluck of 
 his young brother-in-law. 
 
 Captain Lockett's decision to be off without any delay was 
 fully justified by the appearance of a Spanish squadron in 
 the bay three days after his departure. It consisted of two 
 seventy -fours, two frigates, five xebecs, and a number of 
 galleys and small armed vessels. The men-of-war anchored 
 off Algeciras, while the rest of the squadron kept a vigilant 
 patrol at the mouth of the bay, and formed a complete 
 blockade. Towards the end of the month the troops were 
 delighted by the issue of an order that the use of powder 
 for the hair was henceforth to be abandoned. 
 
 Vessels were now continually arriving from Algeciras with 
 
240 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 troops and stores, and on the 26th the Spaniards began to 
 form a camp on the plain below San Eoque, three miles 
 from the garrison. This increased in size daily as fresh 
 regiments arrived by land. Orders were now issued that all 
 horses in the garrison, except those whose owners had a 
 store of at least one thousand pounds of grain, were either 
 to be shot or turned out through the gates. 
 
 There was much excitement when two Dutch vessels, laden 
 with rice and dried fruit, made their way in at night through 
 the enemy's cruisers. Their cargoes were purchased for the 
 troops, and these vessels, and a Venetian that had also got 
 through, carried off with them a large number of Jewish, 
 Genoese, and other traders, with their families, to ports in 
 Barbary or Portugal. Indeed from this time every vessel 
 that went out carried away some of the inhabitants. 
 
 The position of these poor people was indeed serious. 
 The standing order on the Rock was, that every inhabitant, 
 even in time of peace, should have in store six months' 
 provisions; but the order had never been enforced, and few 
 of them had any supplies of consequence. As they could not 
 expect to be supplied from the garrison stores, the greater 
 number had no resource but to leave the place. Some, how- 
 ever, who were better provided, obtained leave to erect wooden 
 huts at the southern end of the Rock, so as to have a place of 
 shelter to remove to in case the enemy bombarded the town. 
 
 The Spaniards had by this time mounted their cannon 
 in forts St. Philip and St. Barbara. Vast quantities of stores 
 were landed at Point Mala, at the end of the bay. Some 
 fifteen thousand men were under canvas in their camp, and 
 strong parties were constantly employed in erecting works 
 near their forts. The garrison on their side were continu- 
 ally strengthening and adding to their batteries, erecting 
 palisades and traverses, filling the magazines in the works, 
 and preparing for an attack; and on the 11th of September 
 some of the guns were opened upon the enemy's working 
 parties, and for a time compelled them to desist. 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 241 
 
 From the upper batteries on the Rock a complete view 
 was obtainable of all the enemy's operations, and as they 
 were seen to be raising mortar batteries, preparations were 
 made to diminish the effects of a bombardment of the town. 
 For this purpose the pavement of the streets was removed 
 and the ground ploughed up, the towers and most con- 
 spicuous buildings taken down, and traverses carried across 
 the streets to permit communications to be carried on. Early 
 in October the Engineers and Artillery managed with im- 
 mense labour to mount a gun on the summit of the Rock, 
 and as from this point an almost bird's-eye view was obtained 
 of the Spanish works, the fire of the gun annoyed them 
 greatly at their work. This was maintained, however, 
 steadily; but in spite of this interference with their opera- 
 tions, the Spaniards on the 20th of October opened thirty- 
 five embrasures, in three batteries in a line between their 
 two forts. 
 
 Provisions of every kind were now becoming very dear, 
 fresh meat was from three to four shillings a pound, chickens 
 twelve shillings a couple, ducks from fourteen to eighteen. 
 Fish was equally dear, and vegetables hardly to be bought 
 at any price. Flour was running very short, and rice was 
 served out instead of it. 
 
 On the 14th of November the privateer Buck, armed with 
 twenty-four 9-pounders, was seen making into the bay. Two 
 Spanish ships of the line, a frigate, two xebecs, and twenty- 
 one small craft set out to intercept her. The cutter, seeing 
 a whole Spanish squadron coming out, tacked and stood 
 across towards the Barbary shore, pursued by the Spaniards. 
 The wind was from the west, but the cutter, lying close- 
 hauled, was able just to stem the current and hold her posi- 
 tion; while the Spaniards, being square-rigged, and so unable 
 to stand near the wind, drifted bodily away to leeward with 
 the current, but the two men-of-war, perceiving what was 
 happening, managed to make back into the bay. 
 
 As soon as the privateer saw the rest of the squadron 
 
 (680) Q 
 
242 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 drift away to leeward, she again headed for the Rock. The 
 Spanish admiral, Barcelo, in a seventy-four gun-ship, endea- 
 voured to cut her off, firing two broadsides of grape and 
 round shot at her, but with the other man-of-war was com- 
 pelled to retire by the batteries at Europa, and the cutter 
 made her way in triumphantly, insultingly returning the 
 Spanish admiral's fire Avith her two little stern guns. The 
 Spanish men-of-war drifted away after their small craft, 
 and thus for the time the port was open again, thanks to 
 the pluck of the little privateer, which had, it was found on 
 her arrival, been some time at sea, and simply came in to 
 get provisions. 
 
 As it could be seen from the African coast that the port 
 was again open, two or three small craft came across with 
 bullocks and sheep. Four days later, the wind veering 
 round to the southward, Admiral Barcelo with his fleet 
 returned to the bay, and the blockade was renewed. 
 
 Already Captain O'Halloran and his wife had the most 
 ample reasons for congratulating themselves that they had 
 taken Dr. Burke's advice in the matter of vegetables and 
 fowls. The little garden on the roof was the envy of all 
 Carrie's female friends, many of whom indeed began imita- 
 tions of it on a small scale. Under the hot sun, and with 
 careful watering, everything made astonishing progress. The 
 cutting of the mustard and cress had of course begun in little 
 more than a week from the time when the garden had been 
 completed and the seeds sown. The radishes were fit 
 for pulling three weeks later, and as constant successions 
 were sown, they had been amply supplied with an abundance 
 of salad; and each morning a trader in town came up and 
 took all that they could spare, at prices that would, before 
 the siege began, have appeared fabulous. Along the edge 
 of the parapet, and trailing over almost to the ground, 
 covering the house in a bower of rich green foliage, the 
 melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins blossomed and fruited 
 luxuriantly, and for these prices were obtained as high as 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 243 
 
 those that the fruit would fetch in Covent Garden when out 
 of season. But as melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins alike 
 produce great quantities of seed, by the end of the year they 
 were being grown on a considerable scale, by all who pos- 
 sessed any facilities for cultivating them. 
 
 Later on, indeed, the governor, hearing from the principal 
 medical officer how successful Captain O'Halloran had been, 
 issued an order recommending all inhabitants to grow 
 vegetables, and granting them every facility for so doing. 
 All who chose to do so were allowed to fence in any little 
 patches of earth they could discover among the rocks or 
 on unused ground, and it was not long before the poorer 
 inhabitants spent much of their time in collecting earth and 
 establishing little garden plots, or in doing so for persons 
 who could afford to pay for their labour. 
 
 The poultry venture was equally satisfactory. Already a 
 considerable piece of rough and rocky ground next to the 
 garden had been inclosed, thereby affording a much larger 
 run for the fowls, and enabling a considerable portion of the 
 garden to be devoted to the young broods. 
 
 The damaged biscuits had been sold at a few shillings 
 a ton, and at this price Captain O'Halloran had bought the 
 whole of the condemned lot, amounting to about ten tons ; 
 and there was consequently an ample supply of food for 
 them for an almost indefinite time. After supplying the 
 house amply, there were at least a hundred eggs a day to 
 sell; and Carrie, who now took immense interest in the 
 poultry-yard, calculated that they could dispose of ten couple 
 a week, and still keep up their number from the young 
 broods. 
 
 "The only thing you have to be afraid of is disease, 
 Mrs. O'Halloran," said the doctor, who was her greatest ad- 
 viser; "but there is little risk of that. Besides, you have 
 only to hire one or two lads of ten or twelve years old, and 
 then you can put them out when you like from the farther 
 inclosure, and let them wander about." 
 
244 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "But people don't generally watch fowls," Mrs. O'Hal- 
 loran said. " Surely they would come back at night to 
 roost." 
 
 "I have no doubt they would; when chickens are well 
 fed they can be trusted to find their way home at night. But 
 you must remember that they are worth from twelve to 
 fourteen shillings a couple, and what with the natives and 
 what with soldiers off duty, you would find that a good many 
 would not turn up at all unless they were watched. A 
 couple of boys at sixpence a day each would keep them from 
 straying too far and prevent their being stolen, and would 
 relieve you of a lot of anxiety about them." 
 
 So after this the fowls were turned out on to the Rock, 
 where they wandered about, narrowly watched by two 
 native boys, and were able to gather no small store of sus- 
 tenance from the insects they found among the rocks or on 
 the low shrubs that grew among them. 
 
 Bob had, after his return from his cruise, fallen into his 
 former habits, spending two hours every morning with Don 
 Diaz, and reading for an hour or two in the evening with 
 the doctor. It was now cool enough for exercise and enjoy- 
 ment in the day, and there were few afternoons when he did 
 not climb up to the top of the Rock and watch the Spanish 
 soldiers labouring at their batteries, and wondering when 
 they were going to begin to do something. Occasionally 
 they obtained news of what was passing in the enemy's 
 lines, and the Spaniards were equally well informed of what 
 was going on in the fortress, for desertions from both sides 
 were not infrequent. Sometimes a soldier with the working 
 parties out in the neutral ground would steal away and make 
 for the Spanish lines, pursued by a musketry fire from his 
 comrades, and saluted perhaps with a round or two of shot 
 from the batteries above. But more frequently they made 
 their escape from the back of the Rock, letting themselves 
 down by ropes, although at least half the number who made 
 the attempt were dashed to pieces among the precipices. 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 245 
 
 The majority of the deserters belonged to the Hanoverian 
 regiments, but a good many British soldiers also deserted. 
 In all cases these were reckless men who, having been pun- 
 ished for some offence or other, preferred risking death to 
 remaining in the garrison. Some were caught in the at- 
 tempt, while several by getting into places where they could 
 neither descend further nor return, were compelled at last by 
 hunger and thirst to shout for assistance, preferring death 
 by hanging to the slower agony of thirst. The deserters 
 from the Spanish lines principally belonged to the Walloon 
 regiments in the Spanish service, or to regiments from Bis- 
 caya and other northern provinces. The troops were 
 raised on the principle of our own militia, and objected 
 strongly to service outside their own provinces; and it was 
 this discontent that gave rise to their desertions to us. 
 
 Some of them made their way at night from the works 
 where they were employed, through the lines of sentries; 
 others took to the water, either beyond Fort Barbara or at 
 the head of the bay, and reached our lines by swimming. 
 
 Bob heartily congratulated himself, when he heard of the 
 fate of some of the deserters who tried to make their way 
 down at the back of the Rock, that he and Jim Sankey had 
 not carried out their scheme of descending there in search of 
 birds. By this time he had come to know most of the 
 young officers of the garrison, and although the time passed 
 without any marked events, he had plenty of occupation 
 and amusement. Sometimes they would get up fishing 
 parties, and although they could not venture very far from 
 the Rock on account of the enemy's galleys and row-boats, 
 they had a good deal of sport, and fish were welcome addi- 
 tions to the food, which consisted principally of salt rations, 
 for Bob very soon tired of a diet of chicken. 
 
 There were some very heavy rains in the last week of the 
 year; these, they learned from deserters, greatly damaged 
 the enemy's lines, filling their trenches and washing down 
 their banks. One advantage was that a great quantity of 
 
246 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 wood, cork, and other floating rubbish was washed down by 
 the rain into the two rivers that fell into the bay, and as 
 the wind was from the south this was all blown over towards 
 the Rock, where it was collected by boats, affording a most 
 welcome supply of fuel, which had been for some time 
 extremely scarce. 
 
 On the 8th of January a Neapolitan polacre was driven in 
 under the guns by the wind from the other side of the bay, 
 and was obliged to drop anchor. Six thousand bushels of 
 barley were found on board her, which was of inestimable 
 value to the inhabitants, who were now suffering extremely, 
 as were also the wives and children of the soldiers, whose 
 rations, scanty for one, were wholly insufficient for the 
 wants of a family. FoavIs had now risen to eighteen shil- 
 lings a couple, eggs were sixpence each, and small cabbages 
 fetched eighteenpence. 
 
 On the 12th the enemy fired ten shots into the town 
 from Fort St. Philip, causing a panic among the inhabitants, 
 who at once began to remove to their huts at the other end 
 of the Rock. A woman was wounded by a splinter of stone 
 from one of the houses, being the first casualty that had taken 
 place through the siege. The next day the admiral gave 
 orders to the men-of-war that they should be in readiness in 
 case a convoy appeared, to afford protection to any ships 
 that might attempt to come in. This order caused great 
 joy among the garrison and inhabitants, as it seemed to sig- 
 nify that the governor had received information in some man- 
 ner that a convoy was on its way out to relieve the town. 
 
 Two days later a brig that was seen passing through the 
 Straits to the east suddenly changed her course and made 
 for the Rock, and although the enemy tried to cut her off she 
 succeeded in getting into port. The welcome news soon 
 spread that the brig was one of a large convoy that had 
 sailed late in December for the relief of the town. She 
 had parted company with the others in the Bay of Biscay, 
 and on her way had seen a Spanish squadron off Cadiz, 
 
A RICH PRIZE. 247 
 
 which was supposed to be watching for the convoy. This 
 caused much anxiety, but on the 16th a brig laden with 
 flour arrived with the news that Sir George Rodney had 
 captured off the coast of Portugal six Spanish frigates, with 
 seventeen merchantmen on their way from Bilbao to Cadiz, 
 and that he had with him a fleet of twenty-one sail of the 
 line and a large convoy of merchantmen and transports. 
 
 The next day one of the prizes came in, and the midship- 
 man in charge of her reported that when he had left the 
 convoy on the previous day, a battle was going on between 
 the British fleet and the Spanish squadron. Late in the 
 evening the convoy Avas in sight, and the Apollo frigate and 
 one or two merchantmen got in after dark with the news 
 that the Spaniards had been completely defeated, their 
 admiral's flag-ship with three others captured, one blown 
 up in the engagement, another driven ashore, and the rest 
 dispersed. The preparations for relieving the town had 
 been so well concealed that the Spaniards had believed that 
 the British men-of-war were destined for the West Indies, 
 and had thought that the merchantmen would have fallen 
 easy prizes to their squadron, which consisted of eleven 
 men-of-war. 
 
 •^fe 3 - 
 
 w 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ORANGES AND LEMONS. 
 
 THERE was great anxiety in Gibraltar that night, for the 
 wind Avas very light and from the wrong direction, and 
 in the morning it was seen that the greater portion of the 
 convoy had drifted far away to the east. Soon after noon, 
 however, the Edgar managed to get in with the Spanish 
 admiral's flag-ship the Phoenix, of eighty guns; and in the 
 evening the Prince George, with eleven or twelve ships, 
 worked in round Europa Point; but Admiral Rodney, with 
 the main body of the fleet and the prizes, was forced to 
 anchor off Marbella, a Spanish town, fifteen leagues east of 
 Gibraltar. It was not until seven or eight days later that 
 the whole of the fleet and convoy arrived in the port. 
 
 On the 29th a transport came in with the 2d battalion of 
 the 73d Regiment, with 944 rank and file. A large number 
 of heavy cannon from the prizes were landed, and several 
 hundreds of barrels of powder in addition to those 
 brought out with the convoy. Great stores of salt provi- 
 sions and supplies of flour had been brought out, but 
 unfortunately little could be done towards providing 
 the garrison with a supply of fresh meat. Had Admiral 
 Kodney been able to remain with his fleet at Gib- 
 raltar, supplies could have been brought across from the 
 African coast, but the British fleet was required elsewhere, 
 and the relief afforded was a temporaiy one. The garrison 
 was, however, relieved by a large number of the soldiers' 
 wives and children being put on board the merchantmen 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 249 
 
 and sent home to England; many of the poor inhabi- 
 tants were also taken either to Barbary or Portugal. 
 
 While the fleet was in port the Spanish blockading 
 squadron was moored close under the guns of Algeciras, 
 and booms were laid round them to prevent their being 
 attacked by the boats of the British fleet. An opportunity 
 was taken of the presence of the Spanish admiral in Gib- 
 raltar to arrange for an exchange of prisoners, and on the 
 13th of February, the fleet sailed away, and the blockade 
 was renewed by the Spaniards. 
 
 After the departure of the fleet many months passed 
 monotonously. The enemy were ever increasing and strength- 
 ening their works, which now mounted a great number of 
 cannon; but beyond an occasional interchange of a few 
 shots, hostilities were carried on languidly. 
 
 The enemy made two endeavours to burn the British ves- 
 sels anchored under the guns of the batteries, by sending fire- 
 ships down upon them; but the crews of the ships of war 
 manned the boats, and going out to meet them, towed them 
 ashore, where they burned out without doing damage, and 
 the hulls being broken up afforded a welcome supply of 
 fuel. The want of fresh meat and vegetables operated dis- 
 astrously upon the garrison; even before the arrival of the 
 relieving fleet scurvy had shown itself, and its ravages con- 
 tinued and extended as months went on. The hospitals 
 became crowded with sufferers; a third of the force being 
 unfit for any duty, while there were few but were more or 
 less affected by it. 
 
 As soon as it became severe, Captain O'Halloran and his 
 wife decided to sell no more vegetables, but sent the whole 
 of their supply, beyond what was needed for their personal 
 consumption, to the hospitals. 
 
 During these eight months only a few small craft had 
 managed to elude the vigilance of the enemy's cruisers, and 
 frequently for many weeks at a time no news of any kind 
 from without reached the besieged. The small supplies of 
 
250 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 fresh meat that had, during the early part of the siege, been 
 brought across in small craft from Barbary, had for some- 
 time ceased altogether, for the Moors of Tangiers had, 
 under pressure of the Spaniards, broken off their alliance 
 with us and joined them, and in consequence not only did 
 supplies cease to arrive, but English vessels entering the 
 Straits were no longer able to anchor as they had before 
 done under the guns of the Moorish batteries for protection 
 from the Spanish cruisers. 
 
 Several times there were discussions between Bob, his 
 sister, and Captain O'Halloran, as to whether it would not 
 be better for him to take the first opportunity that offered 
 of returning to England. Their argument was that he was 
 wasting his time, but to this he would not at all agree. 
 " I am no more wasting it here than if I were in Philpot 
 Lane," he said. "It will be plenty of time for me to begin 
 to learn the routine of the business when I am two- or three- 
 and-twenty. Uncle calculated I should be four years abroad 
 learning the languages and studying wines. Well, I can 
 study wines at any time; besides, after all, it is the agents 
 out here that choose them. I can speak Spanish now like a 
 native, and there is nothing further to be done in that way; 
 I have given up lessons now with the doctor, but I get 
 plenty of books from the garrison library and keep up my 
 reading; as for society, we have twenty times as much here 
 with the officers and their families as I should have in 
 London, and I really don't see there would be any advan- 
 tage whatever in my going back. Something must be done 
 here some day. And after all, the siege does not make 
 much difference in any way, except that we don't get fresh 
 meat for dinner. Everything goes on just the same, only, 
 I suppose, in peace time we should make excursions some- 
 times into Spain. The only difference I can make out is, 
 that I am able to be more useful to you now with the garden 
 and poultry than I could have been if there had been no 
 siege." 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 251 
 
 There was indeed no lack of society. The O'Hallorans' 
 was perhaps the most popular house on the Rock. They 
 were making quite a large income from their poultry, and 
 spent it freely. Presents of eggs, chicken, and vegetables 
 were constantly being sent to all their friends where 
 there was any sickness in the family; and as even at the 
 high prices prevailing they were able to purchase supplies 
 of wine, and such other luxuries as were obtainable, they 
 kept almost open house, and twice a week had regular 
 gatherings with music; and the suppers were vastly more 
 appreciated by their guests than is usually the case at such 
 entertainments. Early in September, when scurvy was still 
 raging, the doctor was one day lamenting the impossibility 
 of obtaining oranges and lemons. 
 
 " It makes one's heart ache," he said, " to see the children 
 suffer. It is bad enough that strong men should be scarcely 
 able to crawl about; but soldiers must take their chances, 
 whether they come from shot or from scurvy, but it is 
 lamentable to see the children fading away. We have tried 
 everything — acids and drugs of all sorts — but nothing does 
 any good. As I told you, I saw the scurvy on the whaling 
 trip I went, and I am convinced that nothing but lemon- 
 juice, or an absolutely unlimited amount of vegetables, will 
 do any good." 
 
 A week previously a small privateer had come in with 
 some mail-bags which she had brought on from Lisbon. 
 Among them was a letter to Bob from the owners of the 
 Antelope. It had been written months before, after the 
 arrival of the brig and her two prizes in England. It said 
 that the two vessels and their cargoes had been sold and 
 the prize-money divided, and that his share amounted to 
 three hundred and thirty-two pounds, for which sum an 
 order upon a firm of merchants at Gibraltar was inclosed. 
 The writers also said that after consultation with Captain 
 Lockett, from whom they had heard of the valuable services 
 he had rendered, the owners of the Antelope had decided, as 
 
252 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 a very small mark of their appreciation and gratitude, to 
 present him with a service of plate to the value of five hun- 
 dred pounds, and in such form as he might prefer on his 
 return to England. He had said nothing to his sister of 
 this letter, as his intention was to surprise her with some 
 present. But the doctor's words now determined him to 
 carry into effect an idea that had before occurred to him 
 upon seeing so many sickly children among the families of 
 the officers of their acquaintance. 
 
 " Look here, doctor," he said, " I mean to go out and try 
 and get a few boxes of oranges and lemons; but mind, nobody 
 but you and I must know anything about it." 
 
 " How on earth do you mean to do it, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 "Well, I have not settled yet; but there can't be any 
 difficulty about getting out. I might go down to the Old 
 Mole and swim from there to the head of the bay, or I 
 might get some of the fishermen to go round the point and 
 land me to the east well beyond the Spanish lines." 
 
 "You couldn't do that, Bob; there is too sharp a look-out 
 kept on the batteries. No craft is allowed to go any dis- 
 tance from the Rock, as they -are afraid of the Spaniards 
 learning the state to which we are reduced by illness. If 
 you did swim to the head of the bay, as you talk about, you 
 would be certain to be captured at once by the Spaniards; and 
 in that case you would as likely as not be shot as a spy." 
 
 " Still deserters do get out, you know, doctor. There is 
 scarcely a week that two or three don't manage to get away. 
 I mean to try, anyhow. If you like to help me, of course 
 it will make it easier; if not, I shall try by myself." 
 
 " Gerald and your sister would never forgive me if any- 
 thing bappened to you, Bob." 
 
 " There is no occasion for them to know anything about 
 it. Anyhow, I shall say nothing to them. I shall leave a 
 note behind me saying that I am going to make an attempt 
 to get out and bring back a boat full of oranges and lemons. 
 I am past seventeen now, and am old enough to act for 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 253 
 
 myself. I don't think, if the thing is managed properly, 
 there is any particular risk about it. I will think it over 
 by to-morrow, and tell you what plan I have fixed on." 
 
 On the following day Bob told the doctor that there were 
 two plans. "The first is to be lowered by a rope down at 
 the back of the Bock. That is ever so much the simplest. 
 Of course there is no difficulty about it if the rope is long 
 enough. Some of the deserters have failed because the rope 
 has been too short, but I should take care to get one long 
 enough. The only fear is the sentries; I know that there 
 are lots of them posted about there on purpose to prevent 
 desertion." 
 
 "Quite so, Bob; and no one is allowed to go along the 
 paths after dark except on duty." 
 
 " Yes. Well, the other plan is to go out with the party 
 that furnishes the sentries down on the neutral ground, choose 
 some dark night, manage to get separated from them as they 
 march out, and then, make for the shore and take to the 
 water. Of course if one could arrange to have the officer with 
 the party in the secret it would make it easy enough." 
 
 "It might be done that way," the doctor said thought- 
 fully. " Have you quite made up your mind to do this 
 thing, Bob?" 
 
 "I have quite made up my mind to try, anyhow." 
 
 "Well, if you mean to try, Bob, it is just as well that 
 you shouldn't get shot at the start. I have just been round 
 to the orderly-room. Our regiment furnishes the pickets on 
 the neutral ground to-night. Captain Antrobus commands 
 the party. He is a good fellow; and as he is a married 
 man, and all four of his children are bad with scurvy, he 
 would feel an interest in your attempt. You know him as 
 well as I do. If you like I will go with you to his quarters 
 and see what we can do with him." 
 
 They at once set out. 
 
 " Look here, Antrobus," the doctor said, after asking that 
 officer to come out for a chat with him, " if we don't get 
 
254 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 some lemon-juice I am afraid it will go very hard with a 
 lot of the children." 
 
 "Yes, we have known that for some time, doctor." 
 
 "Well, Eepton here has made up his mind to try to 
 get out of the place and make his way to Malaga, and 
 get a boat-load of fruit and try to bring it in. Of course he 
 will go dressed as a native, and he speaks Spanish well 
 enough to pass anywhere without suspicion. So once be- 
 yond the lines, I don't see much difficulty in his making his 
 way to Malaga. Whether he will get back again is another 
 matter altogether. That is his business. He has plenty 
 of money to purchase the fruit when he arrives there, and 
 to buy a boat and all that sort of thing. The difficulty is 
 in getting out. Now, nobody is going to know how he does 
 this except our three selves." 
 
 "But why do you come to me, Burke?" 
 
 "Because you command the guard to-night on the neutral 
 ground. What he proposes is that he should put on a sol- 
 dier's greatcoat and cap and take a firelock, and in the dark 
 fall in with your party. When you get well out on the 
 neutral ground he could either slip away and take his 
 chance, or, what would be better still, he might be in the 
 party you take forward to post as sentries, and you could 
 take him along with you, so that he would go with you as far 
 as the shore, and could then slip away, come back a bit so 
 as to be out of sight of the farthest sentry, and then take 
 to the water. He can swim like a fish, and what current 
 there is will be with him, so that before it began to be light 
 he could land two or three miles beyond the Spanish lines. 
 He is going to leave a note behind for O'Halloran saying 
 he has left, but no one will know whether he got down at 
 the back of the Rock or swam across the bay, or how he 
 has gone. I have tried to dissuade him, but he has made 
 up his mind to try it; and seeing that if he succeeds it may 
 save the lives of scores of children, I really cannot refuse 
 to help him." 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 255 
 
 " Well, I don't know," Captain Antrobus said. " There 
 certainly does not seem much risk in his going out, as you 
 say. I should get a tremendous wigging no doubt if he is 
 discovered and it was known that I had a hand in it, but I 
 would not mind risking that for the sake of the children. 
 But don't take a firelock, Repton; the sergeants would be 
 sure to notice that there was an extra man. You had better 
 join us just as we set out. I will say a word or two to you, 
 then do you follow on in the dark. The men will suppose 
 you are one of the drummers I am taking with me to serve 
 as a messenger or something of that sort. That way you can 
 follow close behind me while I am posting the sentries after 
 leaving the main body at the guard-house. After posting 
 the last man at the sea-shore I can turn off with you for a 
 few yards as if giving you an order. Then I will go back 
 and stay for a time with the last sentry, who will naturally 
 think that the drummer has been sent back to the guard- 
 house, I will recommend him to be vigilant, and keep by 
 him for some time till I am pretty sure you have taken to 
 the water and swam past, so that if the sentry should hear 
 a splash or anything, I can say it can only be a fish, and 
 that at any rate it would not do to give an alarm, as it can- 
 not be anything of consequence. You see you don't belong 
 to the garrison, and it is no question of assisting a deserter 
 to escape. Anyhow I will do it." 
 
 Thanking Captain Antrobus greatly for his promise of 
 assistance, Bob went off into the town, where he bought a 
 suit of Spanish clothes such as would be appropriate for a 
 small farmer or trader; he then presented his letter of credit 
 at the merchant's and drew a hundred pounds, which he ob- 
 tained in Spanish gold. This money and the clothes he put 
 in an oil-skin bag, of which the mouth was securely closed. 
 This he left at the doctor's. As soon as it became dark he 
 went down again. The doctor had a greatcoat and hat in 
 readiness for him — there being plenty of effects of men who 
 had died in the hospital — and as soon as Bob had put them 
 
256 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 on, walked across, with Bob following him, to the spot where 
 Captain Antrobns' company were falling in. Just as they 
 were about to march the doctor went up to the captain, who 
 after a word or two with him said to Bob, in a voice loud 
 enough to be heard by the non-commissioned officer close to 
 him: "Well, you will keep by me." 
 
 The night was a dark one, and the party made their way 
 down to the gate, where the pass-words were exchanged, and 
 the company then moved along by the narrow pathway 
 between the artificial inundation and the foot of the Rock. 
 They continued their way until they arrived at the building 
 that served as the main guard of the outlying pickets. Here 
 two-thirds of the company were left, and the captain led 
 the others out, an officer belonging to the regiment whose 
 men he was relieving accompanying him. As the sentries 
 were posted the men relieved fell in under the orders of 
 their officer, and as soon as the last had been relieved they 
 marched back to the guard-house. 
 
 A minute later Captain Antrobus turned to Bob. 
 
 "You need not wait," he said; "go back to the guard- 
 house. Mind how you go." 
 
 Bob saluted and turned off, leaving the officer standing 
 by the sentry. He went some distance back, then walked 
 down the sand to the water' s-edge, and waded noiselessly 
 into the water. The oil-skin bag was, he knew, buoj^ant 
 enough to give him ample support in the water. When he 
 was breast-deep he let his uniform cloak slip off his shoulders, 
 allowed his shoes to sink to the bottom and his three-cor- 
 nered hat to float away. The doctor had advised him to do 
 this. 
 
 " If you leave the things at the edge of the water, Bob, 
 it will be thought that somebody has deserted, and then 
 there will be a lot of questions and inquiries. You had 
 better take them well out into the sea with you, and then 
 let them go. They will sink and drift along under water, 
 and if they are ever thrown up it will be far beyond our 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 257 
 
 lines. In that way, as the whole of the guard will answer 
 to their names when the roll is called to-morrow, no one 
 will ever give a thought to the drummer who fell in at the 
 last moment, or if one of them does think of it he will 
 suppose that the captain sent him into the town with a 
 report." 
 
 The bag would have been a great encumbrance had Bob 
 wanted to swim fast. As. it was he simply placed his hands 
 upon it and struck out with his feet, making straight out 
 from the shore. This he did for some ten minutes, and 
 then, being certain that he was far beyond the sight of any- 
 one on shore, he turned, and as nearly as he could followed 
 the line of the coast. The voices of the sentries calling to 
 each other came across the sea, and he could make out a 
 light or two in the great fort at the water's edge. It was 
 easy work; the water was as nearly as possible the tempera- 
 ture of his body, and he felt that he could remain for any 
 time in it without inconvenience. The lights in the fort 
 served as a mark by which he could note his progress, and 
 an hour after starting he was well abreast of them, and 
 knew that the current must be helping him more than he 
 had expected it would do. 
 
 Another hour and he began to swim shorewards, as the 
 current might, for aught he knew, be drifting him somewhat 
 out into the bay. When he was able to make out the dark 
 line ahead of him he again resumed his former course. It 
 was just eight o'clock when the guard had passed through 
 the gate. He had started half an hour later. He swam 
 what seemed to him a very long time, but he had no means 
 of telling how the time passed. When he thought it must 
 be somewhere about twelve o'clock he made for the shore. 
 He was sure that by this time he must be at least three 
 miles beyond the fort, and as the Spanish camps lay princi- 
 pally near San Roque at the head of the bay, and there 
 were no tents anywhere by the sea-shore, he felt sure that 
 he could land now without the slightest danger. 
 
 ( GSO ) E 
 
258 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Here then he waded ashore, stripped, tied his clothes in a 
 bundle, waded a short distance back again, and dropped 
 them in the sea. Then he returned, took up the bag, and 
 carried it up the sandy beach; opening it, he dressed him- 
 self in the complete set of clothes he had brought with him, 
 put on the Spanish shoes and round turned-up hat, placed 
 his money in his pocket, scraped a shallow hole in the sand, 
 put the bag in it and covered it, and then started walking 
 briskly along on the flat ground beyond the sand-hills. He 
 kept on until he saw the first faint light in the sky, then he 
 sat down among some bushes until it was light enough for 
 him to distinguish the features of the country. 
 
 Inland the ground rose rapidly into hills, in many places 
 covered with wood, and half an hour's walking took him to 
 one of these. Looking back, he could see the Rock rising, 
 as he judged, from twelve to fourteen miles away. He soon 
 found a place with some thick undergrowth, and entering 
 this, lay down and was soon sound asleep. When he woke 
 it was already late in the afternoon. He had brought with 
 him in the bag some biscuits and hard-boiled eggs, and of 
 a portion of these he made a hearty meal. Then he pushed 
 up over the hill, until after an hour's walking he saw a road 
 before him. This was all he wanted, and he sat down and 
 waited until it became dark. A battalion of infantry passed 
 along as he sat there, marching towards Gibraltar. Two or 
 three long lines of laden carts passed by in the same direc- 
 tion. 
 
 He had consulted a map before starting, and knew that 
 the distance to Malaga was more than twenty leagues, and 
 that the first place of any importance was Estepona, about 
 eight leagues from Gibraltar, and that before the siege a 
 large proportion of the supplies of fruit and vegetables were 
 brought to Gibraltar from this town. Starting as soon as 
 it became dark, he passed through Estepona at about ten 
 o'clock, looked in at a wine-shop and sat down to a pint of 
 wine and some bread, and then continued his journey until, 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 259 
 
 taking it quietly, he was in sight of Marbella. He slept in 
 a grove of trees until daylight, and then entered the town, 
 which was charmingly situated among orange groves. Going 
 into a fonda or tavern, he called for breakfast; when he had 
 eaten this, he leisurely strolled down to the port, and taking 
 his seat on a block of stone on the pier, watched the boats. 
 As while walking down from the fonda he had passed several 
 shops with oranges and lemons, it seemed to him that it 
 would in some respects be better for him to get the fruit 
 here instead of going on to Malaga. 
 
 In the first place the distance to return was but half that 
 from Malaga, and in the second it would probably be easier 
 to get out from a quiet little port like this than from a large 
 town like Malaga. The question which puzzled him was 
 how was he to get his oranges on board. Where could he 
 reasonably be going to take them? 
 
 Presently a sailor came up and began to chat with him. 
 
 "Are you wanting a boat, senor 1 ?" 
 
 " 1 have not made up my mind yet," he said. " I suppose 
 you are busy here now 1 ?" 
 
 "No; the times are dull. Usually we do a good deal of 
 trade with Gibraltar, but at present that is all stopped. It 
 is hard on us; but when we turn out the English hereticos I 
 hope we shall have better times than ever. But who can 
 say 1 They have plenty of money, the English, and are ready 
 to pay good prices for everything." 
 
 "But I suppose you take things to our camp?" 
 
 The fisherman shook his head. " They get their supplies 
 direct from Malaga by sea. There are many carts go through 
 here, of course; but the roads are heavy, and it is cheaper 
 to send things by water. If our camp had been on the sea- 
 shore instead of at San Eoque we might have taken fish and 
 fruit to them; but it is a long way across, and of course in 
 small boats we cannot go round the great Bock and run the 
 risk of being shot at or taken prisoners. No; there is 
 nothing for us to do here now but to carry what fish and 
 
260 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 fruit we do not want at Marbella across to Malaga, and we 
 get poor prices there to what we used to get at Gibraltar, 
 and no chance of turning an honest penny by smuggling 
 away a few pounds of tobacco as we come back. There was 
 as much profit in that as there was in the sale of the goods; 
 but one had to be very sharp, for they were always suspicious 
 of boats coming back from there, and used to search us so 
 that you would think one could not bring so much as a cigar 
 on shore. But you know there are ways of managing things. 
 Are you thinking of going across to Malaga, senor?" 
 
 " Well, I have a little business there. I want to see how 
 the new wines are selling, and whether it will be better for 
 me to sell mine now or to keep them in my cellars for a few 
 months. I am in no hurry; to-morrow is as good as to-day. 
 If there had been a boat going across I might have taken a 
 passage that way instead of riding." 
 
 " I don't know, seilor. There was a man asking an hour 
 ago if anyone was going. He was wanting to take a few boxes 
 of fruit across, but he did not care about hiring my boat for 
 himself. That, you see, was reasonable enough; but if the 
 sehor wished to go too it might be managed if you took the 
 boat between you. I would carry you cheaply if you would 
 be willing to Avait for an hour or two, so that I could go round 
 to the other fishermen and get a few dozen fish from one and 
 a few dozen from another, to sell for them over there. That 
 is the way we manage." 
 
 "I could not very well go until the afternoon," Bob said. 
 
 "If you do not go until the afternoon, seiior, it would be 
 as well not to start until evening. The wind is very light, 
 and we should have to row. If you start in the afternoon 
 we should get to Malaga at two or three o'clock in the 
 morning, when everyone was asleep; but if you were to start 
 in the evening we should be in in reasonable time, just as 
 the people were coining into the markets. That would suit 
 us for the sale of our fish and the man with his fruit. The 
 nights are warm, and with a cloak and an old sail to keep 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 261 
 
 off the night dew the voyage would be more pleasant than 
 in the heat of the day." 
 
 "That would do for me very well," Bob said; "nothing 
 could be better. What charge would you make for taking 
 me across and bringing me back to-morrow?" 
 
 "At what time would you want to return, seiior?" 
 
 " It would matter little. I should be done with my business 
 by noon, but I should be in no hurry. I could wait until 
 evening, if that would suit you better." 
 
 "And we might bring other passengers back, and any 
 cargo we might pick up?" 
 
 " Yes, so that you do not fill the boat so full that there 
 would be no room for me to stretch my legs." 
 
 "Would the seiior think four dollars too much? There 
 will be my brother and myself, and it will be a long row." 
 
 "It is dear," Bob said decidedly; "but I will give you 
 three dollars, and if everything passes to my satisfaction 
 maybe I will make up the other dollar." 
 
 "Agreed, seiior. I will see if I can find the man who 
 was here asking for a boat for his fruit." 
 
 " I will come back in an hour and see," Bob said, getting 
 up and walking leisurely away. 
 
 The fisherman was waiting for him. " I can't find the man, 
 seiior, though I have searched all through the town. He 
 must have gone off to his farm again." 
 
 "That is bad. How much did you reckon upon making 
 from him?" 
 
 " I should have got another three dollars from him." 
 
 " Well, I tell you what," Bob said; " I have a good many 
 friends, and people are always pleased with a present from 
 the country. A box of fruit from Marbella is always wel- 
 come, for their flavour is considered excellent. It is well to 
 throw a little fish to catch a big one, and a present is like 
 oil on the wheels of business. How many boxes of fruit 
 will your boat carry? I suppose you could take twenty and 
 still have room to row?" 
 
262 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 "Thirty, sir; that is the boat," and he pointed to one 
 moored against the quay. She was about twenty feet long, 
 with a mast carrying a good-sized sail. 
 
 "Very well, then. I will hire the boat for n^self. I 
 will give you six dollars, and another dollar for drink-money 
 if all goes pleasantly. You must be ready to come back 
 to-morrow evening, or the first thing next morning if it 
 should suit you to stay till then. You can carry what fish 
 you can get to Malaga, and may take in a return cargo if 
 you can get one; that will be extra profit for yourselves. 
 But you and your brother must agi*ee to carry down the 
 boxes of fruit and put them on board here. I am not going 
 to pay porters for that. At what time will you start?" 
 
 " Shall we say six o'clock, senor 1 ?" 
 
 " That will suit me very well. You can come up with me 
 now and bring the fruit down and put it on board; or I 
 will be down here at five o'clock, and you can go up and 
 get it then." 
 
 The man thought for a moment. " I would rather do it 
 now, senor, if it makes no difference to you. Then we can 
 have our evening meals at home with our families, and come 
 straight down here and start." 
 
 "Very well; fetch your brother and we will set about the 
 matter at once, as I have to go out to my farm and make 
 some arrangements, and tell them they may not see me again 
 for three days." 
 
 In two or three minutes the fisherman came back with his 
 brother. Bob went with them to a trader in fruit, and 
 bought twenty boxes of lemons and ten of oranges, and saw 
 them carried down and put on board. Then he handed a 
 dollar to the boatman. 
 
 "Get a loaf of white bread and a nice piece of cooked 
 meat and a couple of bottles of good wine, and put them on 
 board; we shall be hungry before morning. I will be here 
 at a feAV minutes before six." 
 
 Highly satisfied with the good fortune that had enabled 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 263 
 
 him to get the fruit on board without the slightest difficulty, 
 Bob returned into the town. It was but eleven o'clock now, 
 so, having had but a short sleep the night before, and no 
 prospect of sleep the next night, he walked a mile along the 
 road by the sea, then turned off among the sand-hills and 
 slept till four in the afternoon, after which he returned to 
 Marbella and partook of a hearty meal. Having finished this 
 he strolled out, and was not long in discovering a shop where 
 arms were sold. Here he bought a brace of long heavy 
 pistols and two smaller ones, with powder and bullets, and 
 also a long knife. They were all made into a parcel to- 
 gether; and on leaving the shop he bought a small bag. 
 Then he went a short distance out of the town again, 
 carefully loaded the four pistols, and placed them and the 
 knife in the bag. 
 
 As he went back the thought struck him that the voyage 
 might probably last longer than they expected, and buying 
 a basket he stored it with another piece of meat, three loaves, 
 and two more bottles of wine, and gave it to a boy to carry 
 down to the boat. It was a few minutes before six when he 
 got there. The two sailors were standing by the boat, and 
 a considerable pile of fish in the bow showed that they had 
 been successful in getting a consignment from the other 
 fishermen of the port. They looked surprised at the second 
 supply of provisions. 
 
 " Why, senor, we have got the things you ordered." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I do not doubt that; but I have heard before 
 now of head-winds springing up, and boats not being able to 
 make their passage and being blown off land, and I am not 
 fond of fasting. I daresay you won't mind eating to-mor- 
 row anything that is not consumed by the time we reach 
 port." 
 
 " We will undertake that, senor," the man said laughing, 
 highly satisfied at the liberality of their employer. 
 
 "Is there wind enough for the sail?" Bob asked as he 
 stepped into the stern of the boat. 
 
264 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " It is very light, senor, but I daresay it will help us a bit. 
 We shall get out the oars." 
 
 "I will take the helm if you sail," Bob said. "You can 
 tell me which side to push it; it will be an amusement, and 
 keep me awake." 
 
 The sun was just setting as they started. There was 
 scarcely a breath of wind. The light breeze that had been 
 blowing during the day had dropped with the sun, and 
 the evening breeze had not yet sprung up. The two fisher- 
 men rowed, and the boat went slowly through the water; 
 for the men knew that they had a long row before them, 
 and were by no means inclined to exert themselves, especi- 
 ally as they hoped that in a short time they would get wind 
 enough to take them on their way without the oars. Bob 
 chatted with them until it became dark. As soon as he was 
 perfectly sure that the boat could not be seen from the land, 
 he quietly opened his bag and changed the conversation. 
 
 " My men," he said, " I wonder that you are content with 
 earning small wages here when you could get a lot of money 
 by making a trip occasionally round to Gibraltar with fruit. 
 It would be quite eas}', for you could keep well out from the 
 coast till it became dark, and then row in close under the 
 Rock, and keep along round the Point and into the town 
 without the least risk of being seen by any of our cruisers. 
 You talked about making money by smuggling in tobacco 
 from there, but that is nothing to what you could get by 
 taking fruit into Gibraltar. These oranges cost a dollar and 
 a half a box, and they would fetch ten dollars a box easily 
 there; indeed I think they would fetch twenty dollars a 
 box. Why, that would give a profit on the thirty boxes of 
 six or seven hundred dollars. Just think of that!" 
 
 "Would they give such a price as that?" the men said in 
 surprise. 
 
 "They would. They are suffering from want of fresh 
 meat, and there is illness among them, and oranges and 
 lemons are the things to cure them. It is all very well for 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 265 
 
 men to suffer, but no one wants women and children to do 
 so; and it would be the act of good Christians to relieve 
 them, besides making as much money in one little short 
 trip as you would make in a year's work." 
 
 "That is true," the men said; "but we might be sunk by 
 the guns going there, and we should certainly be hung when 
 we got back if they found out where we had been." 
 
 "Why should they find out?" Bob asked. "You would 
 put out directly it got dark, and row round close under the 
 Rock and then make out to sea, and in the morning you 
 would be somewhere off Marbella, but eight or ten miles 
 out, with your fishing -nets down, and who is to know 
 that you have been to Gibraltar 1 ?" 
 
 The men were silent. The prospect certainly seemed a 
 tempting one. Bob allowed them to turn it over in their 
 minds for a few minutes, and then spoke again. 
 
 "Now, my men, I will speak to you frankly; it is just 
 this business that I am bent upon now. I have come out 
 from Gibraltar to do a little trade in fruit. It is sad to see 
 women and children suffering; and there is, as I told you, 
 lots of money to be made out of it. Now, I will make you 
 a fair offer. You put the boat's head round now and sail for 
 Gibraltar. If the wind helps us a bit we shall be off the 
 Rock by daylight. When we get there I will give you a 
 hundred dollars apiece." 
 
 "It is too much risk," one of the men said after a long 
 pause. 
 
 "There is no risk at all," Bob said firmly. "You will 
 get in there to-morrow, and you can start again as soon as 
 it becomes dark, and in the morning you will be able to sail 
 into Marbella, and who is to know that you haven't been 
 across to Malaga as you intended 1 I tell you what, I will 
 give you another fifty dollars for your fish, or you can sell 
 them there yourselves; they will fetch you quite that." 
 
 The men still hesitated, and spoke together in a low voice. 
 
 "Look here, men," Bob said as he took the two heavy 
 
266 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 pistols from his bag, " I have come out from the Rock to do 
 this, and I am going to do it. The question is, "Which do 
 you choose — to earn two hundred and fifty dollars for a 
 couple of days' work, or to be shot and thrown overboard] 
 This boat is going there, whether you go in her or not. I 
 don't want to hurt you, I would rather pay the two hundred 
 and fifty dollars; but that fruit may save the lives of many 
 women and little children, and I am bound to do it. You 
 can make another trip or not, just as you please. Now I 
 think you will be very foolish if you don't agree, for you will 
 make three times as much as I offer you every thirty boxes 
 of fruit that you can take in there; but the boat has got to 
 go there now, and you have got to take your choice whether 
 you go in her or not." 
 
 " How do we know that you will pay us the money when 
 we get there 1 ?," one of the Spaniards asked. 
 
 Bob put his hand into his pocket. "There," he said; 
 ''there are twenty gold pieces, that is a hundred dollars. 
 That is a proof I mean what I say. Put them into your 
 pockets. You shall have the rest when you get there. 
 But, mind, no nonsense; no attempts at treachery. If I see 
 the smallest sign of that I will shoot you clown without 
 hesitation. Now row, and I'll put her head round." 
 
 The men said a few words in an undertone to each other. 
 " You guarantee that no harm shall come to us at Gibraltar, 
 and that we shall be allowed to leave again?" 
 
 " Yes, I promise you that faithfully. Now you have got 
 to row a good bit harder than you have been rowing up till 
 now. We must be past Fort Santa Barbara before dajdight." 
 
 The boat's head was round by this time, and the men 
 began to row steadily. At present they hardly knew whether 
 they were satisfied or not. Two hundred and fifty dollars 
 was to them an enormous sum, but the risk was great. It 
 was not that they feared that any suspicion would fall upon 
 them on their return. They had often smuggled tobacco 
 from Gibraltar, and had no high opinion of the acuteness of 
 
ORANGES AND LEMONS. 267 
 
 the authorities. What really alarmed them was the fear of 
 being sunk either by the Spanish or British guns. How- 
 ever, they saw that for the present at any rate they had no 
 option but to obey the orders of a passenger possessed of 
 such powerful arguments as those he held in his hands. 
 
; t£a^^llfill§i&s 
 
 WlMnSMlB 
 
 SSsfflllllfi 
 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A WELCOME CARGO. 
 
 AFTER the men had been rowing for an hour Boh 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 compara- 
 tively 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. 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 269 
 
 "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 ig- 
 norance 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 1 ?" 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 
 
270 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 persuad- 
 ing 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 Bock, and Bob gazed anxiously seaward, but could as yet 
 see no signs of the enemy's cruisers. 
 
 " Bow 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 shoul- 
 ders at the fort. Bapidly 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 Avhen 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. 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 271 
 
 "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. Betaining 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 re- 
 turning to his seat at the helm. 
 
 "They will be on the look-out for us as we go back," one 
 of the Spaniards said. 
 
 " They won't see you in the dark," Bob replied. " Be- 
 sides, 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 dol- 
 lars; 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 
 
272 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 some- 
 thing 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 cannon-ball, 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 clays. 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 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 273 
 
 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 boat-load 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; al- 
 though, 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. 
 Bepton has undertaken this expedition. How do you sup- 
 pose he got away]" 
 
 " I have no idea, sir. He may have got down by ropes 
 from the back of the Bock, 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 
 
 (680) S 
 
274 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 hel" 
 
 "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 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 275 
 
 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 garri- 
 son 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 to-day, 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 to-day." 
 
 " If you please, sir," Bob said, " will you give these two 
 boatmen a pass permitting them to go out after dark to- 
 night. 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, 
 
276 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " 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 1 ? Are they 
 yours 1 ? 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 our- 
 selves, 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 ridi- 
 culous. 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 sol- 
 dier. 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 1 ?" 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 some- 
 where about daylight, and he arranged with the officer in 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 277 
 
 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 1 ? 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 
 Bock 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 1 ?" 
 
 " Oh, I saw something coming along, but I didn't see any- 
 thing clearly but Bob. What are these boxes — oranges 1 " 
 
 "Oranges and lemons, five of oranges and ten of lemons, 
 
278 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 and there are as many more that have gone up to the hos- 
 pital for the use of the men. There, let us see them taken 
 into the store-room. 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 1 ?" Carrie asked, quite over- 
 whelmed 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 down- 
 right 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. 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 279 
 
 " I was not going to speak to you, Teddy Burke," Mrs. 
 O'Halloran said, shaking her head at him. " I had lost con- 
 fidence 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'Hal- 
 loran. 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 En- 
 gineers, asking them to send me lists of the numbers of the 
 women and children of the non-commissioned 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 Avork 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 
 
280 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 ship-load instead of 
 a boat-load of fruit, Mr. Eepton. They will be of immense 
 benefit to the sick ; but unfortunately there is scarcely a per- 
 son 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, especi- 
 ally among the children, who came in for a lai'ger 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 distri- 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 281 
 
 buted. 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 re- 
 established. 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 through- 
 out 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. Eepton. 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. 
 
 "Mr. Eepton," 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 communica- 
 tion 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 
 
282 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 as vigilant as at present, there is little hope of our getting 
 fresh meat over from there, I am unable to give any direc- 
 tions 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 commu- 
 nicating 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 garri- 
 son, 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 priva- 
 teer 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 in- 
 genuity, to make your way in. I do not disguise from you 
 that the commission is a very dangerous as well as an hon- 
 ourable 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 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 283 
 
 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 de- 
 spatches 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 bom- 
 bard 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 informa- 
 tion 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 
 
284 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 be- 
 come a sudden convert to your opinion regarding this expe- 
 dition. 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'Hal- 
 lorans' 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 some- 
 what 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 aci'oss for her health. They intended to stay at Tan- 
 giers only for a month or six weeks, but Mrs. Colomb had 
 become worse, and was, when the last news came across, too 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 285 
 
 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 ex- 
 tremely awkward. I know that Mr. Logie will do the best 
 he can for her, but for aught we know he and all the Eng- 
 lish there may at present be prisoners among the Moors. 
 I need not say how bitterly her father and I have re- 
 gretted 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. 
 
286 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " 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 Glou- 
 cester 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 3^011 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 1" 
 
 "That is what I have been thinking of. What would 
 you recommend, doctor 1 ?" 
 
 " 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, 
 
A WELCOME CARGO. 287 
 
 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 nationali- 
 ties in the streets. However, I hope you will find no occa- 
 sion for any clothes after you land, but your own. The 
 Moors have always been good friends of ours, and the em- 
 peror 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 second-hand 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. For- 
 tunately, 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." 
 
288 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 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 chal- 
 lenged. 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 gun-fire, 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 the}' found a light breeze 
 blowing, and at once laid in their oars and hoisted sail. A 
 vigilant look-out 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 half- 
 way 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. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 bob's mission. 
 
 AS soon as he found a secluded spot he stripped off the 
 clothes he wore and put on those of a Spanish sailor, 
 and then, placing the others in the bag, buried it in the 
 sandy soil, taking particular note of its position in regard 
 to trees and surrounding objects, so as to be able to find it 
 again. Then he turned to the right, and skirted the town 
 till he came down to the sea-shore again, and then strolled 
 quietly back to the quays. In passing by the ships at 
 anchor he had noticed the names of the four Spaniards, and 
 after wandering about for a short time he entered a wine- 
 shop, and seated himself at a table near one at which three 
 Spanish sailors sat drinking. 
 
 From their talk he learned that the British were shortly 
 to be turned out of Tangiers, that the town was to be 
 given up to the Spaniards, and that the British consul had 
 the day before been taken to Sallee, where the emperor now 
 was. The English in the town had not yet been made 
 prisoners, but it was believed that they would be seized and 
 handed over to the Spaniards without delay. Having ob- 
 tained this information, Bob saw that, at any rate for the 
 present, he might if he chose appear in his own character, 
 and regretted that he had buried his clothes before know- 
 ing how matters stood. However, there was no help for it 
 but to go back again to the place where he had hidden them. 
 This he did, and having put on his own clothes he went 
 straight to the consulate, which was a large house facing 
 the port. A clerk was sitting in the office. 
 
 (680) r 
 
290 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 " I understand Mr. Logie is away," Bob said. 
 
 The clerk looked surprised, for he knew the whole of the 
 small body of British residents well, and he could not under- 
 stand how Bob could have arrived. 
 
 " I am the bearer of letters to him from Governor Eliott," 
 Bob said. " I came across by boat, and landed two hours 
 ago; but I was in disguise, not knowing how matters stood 
 here, and have but now ascertained that so far the English 
 are not prisoners." 
 
 " Not at present," the clerk said. "But will you come into 
 the house, sir 1 ? We may be disturbed here." 
 
 "In the first place," Bob asked when they were seated in 
 an inner room, "when do you expect Mr. Logie back, and 
 what is the real situation'? My orders are, if I cannot see 
 Mr. Logie himself, that I am to obtain as accurate a state- 
 ment as possible as to how matters are going on here, as 
 it is important that the governor should be able to inform 
 vessels sailing from Gibraltar east whether they can or can 
 not put safely into the Moorish ports. Of course we know 
 that vessels have been several times taken by the Spaniards 
 while at anchor close to the towns, but they might risk that 
 if there were no danger from the Moors themselves; but if 
 the reports last sent by Mr. Logie are confirmed, the Moors 
 would be openly at war with us, and would themselves seize 
 and make prizes of vessels anchoring. The danger would, 
 of course, be vastly greater than that of merely running the 
 risk of capture if a Spanish vessel of war happened to come 
 into a port where they were at anchor. Of course I am 
 merely expressing the views of the governor." 
 
 "I am sorry to say," the clerk said, "that there is no 
 doubt the Moors are about to join the Spaniards in formal 
 alliance against us. Englishmen are liable to insult as they 
 go through the street. This, however, would not go for 
 much by itself, but last week a number of soldiers rushed 
 into the office, seized Mr. Logie, violently assaulted him, 
 spat upon him, and otherwise insulted him, acting, as they 
 
bob's mission. 291 
 
 said, by the express order of the emperor himself. He is 
 now practically a prisoner, having been taken under an escort 
 to Sallee, and at any moment the whole of the British colony 
 here may be seized and thrown into prison ; and if you know 
 what Moorish prisons are, you would know that that would 
 mean death to most of them, certainly I should say to all 
 the ladies." 
 
 "But can they not leave in neutral vessels'?" 
 " No. The strictest orders have been issued against any 
 Englishman leaving; they are, in fact, so far prisoners, 
 although nominally at liberty to move about the town. I 
 believe that the greater part of the Moors regret extremely 
 the course their emperor has taken. Many have come in 
 here after dark to assure Mr. Logie how deeply averse they 
 were to this course, for that the sympathies of the population 
 in general were naturally with the English in their struggle 
 against the Spaniards, who had for all time been the deadly 
 foe of the Moors. Unfortunately, the emperor has supreme 
 power, and anyone who ventured to murmur against his 
 will would have his head stuck up over a gate in no time; 
 so that the sympathy of the population does not count for 
 much." 
 
 "How many English are there altogether?" 
 " A hundred and four; we made up the list last week. 
 Of course that includes men, women, and children. There 
 are some ten merchants, most of whom have one or two 
 clerks, the rest of the men are small traders and shopkeepers. 
 Some of them make their living by supplying ships that put 
 in here with necessaries ; a few, at ordinary times, trade with 
 the Bock in live stock; half a dozen or so keep stores, where 
 they sell English goods to the natives." 
 
 " I have a mission to discharge to a Mi's. Colomb, or at 
 least to a young lady living with her." 
 
 "Mrs. Colomb, I regret to say, died th^ee weeks ago," 
 the clerk said. "Miss Harcourt, who is, I suppose, the 
 young lady you mean, is now, with Mrs. Colomb's servant, 
 
292 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 staying here. Mr. Logie had placed them in lodgings in the 
 house of a Moorish trader just outside the town, but the 
 young lady could not remain there alone after Mrs. Colomb's 
 death. I will ring the bell and tell the servant to inform 
 her that you are here." 
 
 Two minutes later Bob was shown into a large sitting- 
 room on the first floor, with a verandah overlooking the sea. 
 
 " Oh, Bob Repton, I am glad to see you ! " Amy Harcourt 
 exclaimed, coming forward impulsively with both hands 
 held out. "It is dreadfully lonely here. Mr. Logie is away, 
 and poor Mrs. Colomb is dead, and as for Mrs. Williams she 
 does nothing but cry, and say we are all going to be shut up 
 and starved in a Moorish prison. But first, how are father 
 and mother, and everj^one at the Rock?" 
 
 " They are all quite well, Amy, though your mother has 
 been in a great state of anxiety about you since she got your 
 letter saying how ill Mrs. Colomb was. Here is a letter she 
 has given me for you." He handed the girl the letter, and 
 went out on to the verandah while she read it. 
 
 " Mamma says I am to act upon Mr. Logie's advice, and 
 that, if by any means he should not be in a position to 
 advise me, I am to take your advice if Mrs. Colomb is dead." 
 
 " I don't think I am in a position to give you advice, 
 Amy. What did Mr. Logie say about the state of affairs 
 before he went away 1 ?" 
 
 " He seemed to think things were going on very badly. 
 You know the soldiers rushed in here and assaulted him 
 one day last week. They said they had orders from the 
 emperor to do so; and Mr. Logie said they certainly would 
 not have dared to molest the British consul if it hadn't been 
 by the emperor's orders. He was talking to me about it the 
 day before they took him away to Sallee, and he said he 
 would give anything if he could get me away to the Rock, 
 for that the position here was very precarious, and that the 
 emperor might at any moment order all the English to be 
 thrown into prison, and I know that the servants expect 
 
bob's mission. 293 
 
 we shall all be killed by the populace. They have frightened 
 Mrs. Williams nearly out of her senses. I never saw such a 
 foolish woman. She does nothing but cry. She is the wife, 
 you know, of Captain Colomb's soldier servant. Well, what 
 do you advise, Bob 1 ?" 
 
 "I am sure I don't know what to advise, Amy. This 
 seems a regular fix, doesn't it 1 ?" 
 
 " But you are just as badly off as I am," she said. " If 
 they seize everyone else, of course they will seize you now 
 you are here." 
 
 " Oh, I could get away easily enough," Bob said. " I 
 should dress myself up as a Spanish sailor. I have got the 
 clothes here, and should boldly go on board one of the 
 Spanish ships and take passage across to any port they are 
 going to, and then manage to work round into Gibraltar 
 again. But of course you can't do that." 
 
 " I couldn't go as a Spanish sailor, of course," the girl 
 said, "but I might dress up and go somehow; anything 
 would be better than waiting here, and then being thrown 
 into one of their dreadful prisons. They say they are awful 
 places. Do take me, Bob Repton. I do so want to get 
 back to father and mother again, and I am quite well and 
 strong now — as well as ever I was." 
 
 Bob looked at the girl with a puzzled expression of face. 
 He had promised her mother to do the best thing he could 
 for her. The question was, What was the best thing? It 
 certainly seemed that the position here was a very perilous 
 one. If he left her here and harm befell her, what would 
 her parents say to him? But, on the other hand, how on 
 earth was he to get her away ? 
 
 " I tell you what, Amy," he said, after a time. " Who 
 were the ladies Mrs. Colomb saw most of? I suppose she 
 knew some of the people here?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, she knew several; but she was most intimate 
 with Mrs. Hamber. She is the wife of one of the principal 
 merchants, and is very kind. She offered to take me in 
 
294 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 when Mrs. Colomb died; but her husband lives out of the 
 town, and Mr. Logie had promised Mrs. Colomb that he 
 would look after me until he could send me across; besides, 
 Mrs. Hamber's child is very ill with fever, and so he brought 
 me here." 
 
 "Well, I will go and consult her," Bob said. "I daresay 
 the clerk downstairs will send a man with me to show me 
 her house." 
 
 Mrs. Hamber listened to Bob's account of his mission, 
 asking a question now and again in a straightforward and 
 decided way, which gave Bob an v lea that she was a reso- 
 lute sort of woman, with plenty of common sense. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Repton," she said, when he had finished, "it 
 is a difficult matter for anyone but the girl's mother to form 
 an opinion upon. I remember hearing from Mrs. Colomb 
 about your going out and bringing in fruit when the scurvy 
 was so bad two months ago. She had received the news 
 no doubt from her husband, and therefore it seems to me 
 that you must be a very capable young gentleman, with 
 plenty of courage and coolness. The fact that Mrs. Harcourt 
 gave you such a message as she did regarding her daughter, 
 shows that she has every confidence in you. If the girl 
 were a year or two older, I should say it would be quite out 
 of the question for her to attempt to make her way back 
 to Gibraltar under your protection; but as she is still a mere 
 child, and as you possess her mother's confidence, I don't 
 see that this matters so much. 
 
 " If you are both taken prisoners, there is no reason for 
 supposing that she would not be treated honourably by the 
 Spaniards. They must have taken numbers of women in 
 the vessels they have captured lately, and, I suppose, the 
 girl would be placed with them; she would, at any rate, be 
 far better off in a Spanish prison than in a Moorish one. 
 Besides, I really consider that all our lives are in danger 
 here. After the assault on Mr. Logie, it is just as likely 
 the emperor may order us all to be massacred as thrown 
 
bob's mission. 295 
 
 into prison; or he might sell us as slaves, as they do at 
 Algiers. There is no saying. I think that if I were in 
 the position of the girl's mother at Gibraltar, I should say 
 that it was better for her to run the risk of capture with 
 you, than to remain here where there is no saying what 
 may happen, she having every confidence in your honour, 
 young gentleman." 
 
 " I thank you, Mrs. Hamber. I have no idea at present 
 what plan I shall form. I may not see any possible way of 
 getting out, but if I do we will certainly attempt it. Major 
 Harcourt belongs to the same regiment as my brother-in-law, 
 and his wife and my sister are great friends, which is why, 
 I suppose, she has confidence in me. I have known Amy 
 now for a year and a half, and she is very often at my 
 sister's. I will take care of her just the same as if she were 
 a young sister of my own. I don't see how I could go back 
 and tell her mother that I left her here with things in the 
 state they are. I only hope they may not turn out so badly 
 as you fear, and that, at the worst, the Moors will only 
 hand you over as prisoners to the Spaniards." 
 
 Bob went back to the consulate and told Amy the result 
 of his conversation with Mrs. Hamber. 
 
 "I consider that has taken the responsibility off my 
 shoulders, Amy. You referred me to Mrs. Hamber as the 
 lady you knew best here. She is of opinion that if she 
 were your mother she would advise your trying to get away 
 with me. So now we have only to decide how it is to be 
 done, that is, if you still wish to try." 
 
 "Certainly I do," the girl said. "Anything is better 
 than waiting here expecting the Moors to rush in, as they 
 did the other day, and carry one off to prison or kill one. 
 Mr. Parrot, that is the gentleman you saw downstairs, said 
 that you would stay here, and ordered a room to be prepared 
 for you; and dinner is ready. I am sure you must be 
 terribly hungry." 
 
 Bob remembered now that he had had nothing to eat, save 
 
296 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 some biscuits on board the boat, and a piece of bread at the 
 wine shop, since he left Gibraltar, and that he really was 
 desperately hungry. Amy had already had her dinner; but 
 she sat by him, and they talked about their friends at the 
 Rock. 
 
 "Now," he said when he had finished, "let us have a 
 regular council of war. It was my intention to get a passage 
 to Malaga if I could, because I know something of the road 
 back from there; but I could not do that with you." 
 
 "Why not, Bob?" 
 
 " Because the voj'age is too long. Someone would be 
 certain to speak to you before you got across, and as you 
 can't talk Spanish the cat would be out of the bag directly. 
 If possible, we must manage to cross to Tarifa; it is only 
 a few hours across to there, even if we go in an open boat; 
 and now that the Spaniards are friends with the Moors there 
 ought to be no difficulty in getting a passage across there or 
 to Algeciras. Of course you can't go as you are," he said, 
 looking at her rather ruefully. 
 
 "No, of course not," she said; "I am not so silly as 
 that. I should think I had better dress up like a boy, Bob." 
 
 " That would be a great deal the best plan, if you would 
 not mind it," Bob said, greatly relieved that the suggestion 
 came from her. "It is the only thing that I can think of. 
 There didn't seem any story one could invent to account for 
 a Spanish girl being over here, but a ship's-boy will be 
 natural enough. If asked questions, of course our story will 
 be that we had been left behind here. There could be lots 
 of reasons for that. Either we might have been on shore and 
 the vessel gone on without us, or you might have been sent 
 ashore ill, and I might have been left to nurse j^ou. That 
 wouldn't be a bad story. What we must do when we get 
 to the other side must depend upon where we land. I mean, 
 whether we try to get straight in by boat, or to wait about 
 until a chance comes. Once over there, you will have to 
 pretend to be deaf and dumb, and then you can dress up 
 
bob's mission. 297 
 
 as a Spanish girl — of course a peasant, which will be much 
 more pleasant than going about as a boy, and better in lots 
 of ways. So if I were you I should take a bundle of things 
 with me, so that we should have nothing to buy there. It 
 is all very well buying disguises for myself, but I could 
 never go into a shop to ask for all sorts of girls' clQthes." 
 
 Amy went off in a fit of laughter at the thought of Bob 
 having to purchase feminine garments. 
 
 "It is all very well to laugh," Bob said. "These are the 
 sort of little things that are so difficult to work in. It is 
 easy enough to make a general plan, but the difficulty is to 
 get everything to fit in. I Avill have a talk with Mr. Parrot 
 in the morning about the boats. He will know what boats 
 have been trading with the Bock, and what men to trust." 
 
 " You can talk to him now if you like," the girl said. 
 " He and Mr. Logie's other clerk have the top storey of the 
 house." 
 
 "Oh, then, I will go up and see him at once; the sooner 
 it is arranged the better. If things are in the state that 
 everyone says, you might all be seized and imprisoned any 
 day." 
 
 Bob went up at once to Mr. Parrot's rooms, and had a long 
 talk with him. The clerk quite agreed that anything would 
 be better than for a young girl to be shut up in a Moorish 
 prison, but he did not see how it was possible for them to find 
 their way across to Gibraltar. " Many of our fishermen are 
 most courageous fellows, and have run great risks in taking 
 letters from Mr. Logie across to Gibraltar. I do not suppose 
 that the blockade is very much more strict than it was, and 
 indeed the fact that you got through shows that with good 
 luck the thing is possible enough. But that is not the diffi- 
 culty. The strictest order has been issued that no boat is to 
 take Englishmen across to the Rock, or is to cross the Straits 
 on any pretence whatever; and that anyone evading this 
 law will be executed and his goods forfeited to the state. 
 That is how it is Mr. Logie has been able to send no letters 
 
298 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 for the last month, and why none of the merchants here 
 have tried to get across to the Rock. No bribe would be 
 sufficient to tempt the boatmen. It would mean not only 
 death to themselves if they ever returned, but the venge- 
 ance of the authorities would fall on their relations here. 
 I am afraid that there is nothing to be done that way at all." 
 
 "There are the three men who brought me across this 
 morning," Bob said. " They might be bribed to take us 
 back. The governor authorized me to offer a hundred 
 pounds. I own that I don't like their looks." 
 
 " You would have some difficulty in finding them to begin 
 with," Mr. Parrot said; "and I don't think a hundred 
 pounds would be likely to tempt them to run the risk." 
 
 "I would not mind giving them two hundred more," Bob 
 said. " I have got that money of my own at Gibraltar, and 
 I am sure if it were necessary Major Harcourt would gladly 
 pay as much more to get his daughter back." 
 
 " Three hundred would be ample. If they would not run 
 the risk for a hundred a piece, nothing would tempt them. 
 I should say your best plan would be to go down early to- 
 morrow and see if you can find one of them. They are 
 likely to be loitering about by the quays, as they have 
 their boat there. The question is, are they to be trusted 1 
 They know that you have been sent out by the governor, 
 and that you are here on some special business, and they 
 may very well think that the Spaniards will give a higher 
 reward for you than you can give to be taken back. They 
 will by this time know of the order against boats crossing, 
 and might betray you to the Moors. If you were going by 
 yourself, of course you could take all sorts of risks; but 
 with this young lady under your protection, it would be 
 different." 
 
 " Yes, I see that, Mr. Parrot. Rather than run any risk, 
 I should prefer being put ashore at any Spanish port by one 
 of the ships in the harbour. If you give me the name of 
 any Spanish merchantman who was here say a fortnight ago, 
 
bob's mission. 299 
 
 my story that we were left behind, owing to one of us being 
 ill, would be so simple that there need be no suspicion 
 whatever excited. Tarifa or Algeciras would of course be 
 the best places, as we should only be on board a few hours; 
 and Miss Harcourt could very well pretend to be still 
 ill and weak, and could lie down in a corner, and I could 
 cover her up with a blanket till we got there. Once across, 
 I don't so much mind. Even if we were detected, we should 
 simply be two fugitives from here, trying to make our way 
 to Gibraltar; and I don't think there would be any question 
 of my being a spy. We should probably be sent to wher- 
 ever they keep the English prisoners they have taken 
 in ships, and there would be nothing very dreadful in that, 
 even for her. We should probably be exchanged before 
 long. There have been several batches sent in to the Kock 
 in exchange for prisoners taken in prizes brought in by 
 privateers." 
 
 "Well, I really think that that would be the best way, 
 Mr. Repton. As you say, there will be nothing very dread- 
 ful in detention for a while with the Spaniards, while there 
 is no saying what may happen here. If you like I will send 
 one of the consulate servants out the first thing in the 
 morning to inquire what ports the Spanish craft are bound 
 for, and when they are likely to sail. They seldom stop 
 more than two or three days here. Most of them are taking 
 live-stock across for the use of the Spanish army, and though 
 Algeciras would be an awkward place for you to land at, 
 because if detected there you would be more likely to be 
 treated as a spy, still in a busy place like that no one would 
 notice a couple of young sailors, and it would be no great 
 distance for you to walk over to Tarifa or any of the villages 
 on the Straits. But how do you propose to get in from 
 there? That is what seems to me the great difficulty." 
 
 " Well, I got in before," Bob said, " and do not think that 
 there ought to be much difficulty in getting hold of a boat. 
 If I did I should sail round the Point, and keeping well out- 
 
300 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 side the line of cruisers, come down on the coast the other 
 side of Gibraltar, and so work along at night, just as I did 
 before. If I found it absolutely impossible to get a boat, of 
 course I could not, with the girl with me, try to swim across 
 from the head of the bay to the Rock, which is what I should 
 have done had I been alone. So I should then go to the 
 authorities and give myself up, and say that being afraid 
 that the Moors intend to massacre all the English at Tangiers, 
 I had come across with this young lady, who is the daughter 
 of an officer of the garrison, to put her into Spanish hands, 
 knowing that there she would receive honourable treatment 
 till she could be passed in at the next exchange of prisoners." 
 
 " I think that would be your very best course to pursue, 
 unless you find everything turn out just as you would wish, 
 Mr. Repton." 
 
 When Bob came down in the morning he at once went 
 into the office below, and Mr. Parrot told him that one of 
 the Spanish craft would start for Algeciras at noon. 
 
 " Then I must ask you to send one of the servants out to 
 buy some clothes, such as are worn by a Spanish sailor-boy, 
 Mr. Parrot. I have my own suit upstairs, and will go off 
 and arrange for a passage across directly after breakfast." 
 
 "I will see to it," Mr. Parrot said. "The ship's decks 
 will be crowded up with cattle. She is a small craft, and 
 I hear she will take as many as can be packed on her deck. 
 She is alongside now, taking them in. There is not much 
 likelihood of any attention whatever being paid to you and 
 your companion." 
 
 Amy turned a little pale when Bob told her that the 
 attempt was to be made at once, but she said bravely: "I 
 am glad there is to be no waiting, I do so long to be out of 
 this town. I daresay I shall be a little nervous at first, but 
 I shall try not to show it ; and I sha'n't be really frightened, 
 for I know that you will take care of me." 
 
 As soon as breakfast was over Bob changed his things and 
 went down to the quay. He stopped at the vessel taking 
 
bob's mission. 301 
 
 cattle on board. She was a polacre brig of about a hundred 
 and fifty tons. The captain was smoking a cigar aft, while 
 the mate was seeing to the storing of the cattle. Bob went 
 on board and told his story to the captain. 
 
 "I was left behind in charge of a cabin-boy from the 
 Esmeralda a fortnight ago. The boy had fever, and the 
 captain thought it might be infectious and put him ashore, 
 but he soon got well. We want to be taken across, as our 
 friends live not many miles from Tarifa. We will pay a 
 dollar a piece for our passage." 
 
 The captain nodded. "Be on board by noon; we shall 
 not be a minute later." 
 
 Bob went ashore and told Amy that everything was 
 arranged without the slightest difficulty. He then went 
 down to inspect the clothes. 
 
 "They will do very well," he said, "except that they are 
 a great deal cleaner than anything ever seen on a Spanish 
 sailor. Those canvas trousers will never do as they are." 
 He accordingly took some ashes and rubbed them well into 
 the canvas, got some grease from the kitchen, and poured 
 two or three large patches over the trousers. 
 
 "That is more like it," he said. "The shirt will do well 
 enough, but there must be a patch or two of grease upon the 
 jacket, and some smears of dirt of some kind." When he 
 had done them to his satisfaction he took them upstairs. 
 
 "What horrid, dirty-looking things!" Amy exclaimed in 
 disgust. 
 
 "They are clean enough inside, child. They are quite 
 new, but I have been dirtying them outside to make them 
 look natural. You must be dressed by half-past eleven, and 
 you can tuck your hair up under that red night-cap; but 
 you must manage to dirty your face, neck, and hands. You 
 really ought to have some brown stain, but I don't suppose 
 it is to be got. I will speak to Mr. Parrot." 
 
 " There is no stain that I know of," Mr. Parrot said; "but 
 I know Mr. Logie paints a little. I think you will find a 
 
302 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 box of colours upstairs. If you mix some Vandyke brown 
 in water, and paint her with it and let it dry on, I should 
 think it would do very well, though of course it wouldn't 
 stand washing." 
 
 Bob found the paint-box and soon mixed some paint. At 
 half-past eleven Amy came into the room, laughing a little 
 shyly. 
 
 "That will do very well," Bob said encouragingly, "except 
 that you are a great deal too fair and clean. Look here, I 
 have been mixing some paint. I think a wash of that will 
 make all the difference. Now, sit down while I colour you. 
 That will do capitally!" he said when he finished. "I think 
 when it dries it will be just about the right shade for a 
 Spanish sailor-boy. Have you got your bundle 1 ? That is 
 right. Now here is my bag and a couple of black Moorish 
 blankets. I will bring Mr. Parrot up to say good-bye. 
 Have you told your servant?" 
 
 "No; I said nothing to her about it. She would make 
 such a terrible fuss there would be no getting away from 
 her. We must ask Mr. Parrot to tell her after the vessel 
 has set sail." 
 
 Mr. Parrot pronounced the disguise excellent, and said 
 that he should not have the slightest suspicion that she was 
 anything but what she seemed to be. Amy felt very shy as 
 she sallied out with Bob, but she gained courage as she saw 
 that no one noticed her. 
 
 When they arrived at the brig, the cattle were nearly all on 
 board. Bob led the way across the gangway, and went up 
 on to the fo'castle. There he laid one of the blankets down 
 against a stanchion, wrapped Amy in the other so that her 
 face was almost hidden, and told her to sit down and close 
 her eyes as if weak or asleep. Then he took up his post 
 beside her. In a quarter of an hour the last bullock was on 
 board. The gangway was at once hauled in, the 'hawsers 
 thrown off, and the sails let drop, and in another minute the 
 vessel was gliding away from the wharf. 
 
bob's mission. 303 
 
 The wind was nearly due west, and the sheets were 
 hauled in as she was headed across the Straits. It was half 
 an hour before the sailors' work was all done. Several of 
 them came up on to the fo'castle and began twisting cigar- 
 ettes, and one at once entered into conversation with Bob. 
 
 "Is the boy ill?" he said. 
 
 " Yes, he has been ill, but is better now. It would have 
 been better if he could have stopped a few days longer, but 
 he was pining to get home. He won't have far to go when 
 we get to Algeciras, and no doubt I shall be able to get him 
 a lift in some cart that will be bringing provisions to the 
 camp." 
 
 The talk at once turned on the siege, the sailors express- 
 ing their certainty that the Bock would soon be taken. 
 Bob had moved away from Amy as if to allow her to sleep 
 undisturbed by the conversation. 
 
 "There is a brig running down the Straits at a good 
 speed," one of the sailors said when they were half-way 
 across. " It is a nice breeze for her." 
 
 Bob looked at the craft. She was about a mile away, and 
 by the course they were steering — almost at right angles — 
 would come very near to them. There was something 
 familiar in her appearance, and he looked at her intently, 
 examining every sail and shroud. Then doubt became cer- 
 tainty as his eye fell upon a small patch in one of the cloths 
 of the topgallant sail. 
 
 It was the Antelope. One of the Spanish shot had passed 
 through the topgallant sail, and as that was the only injury 
 that sail had received, the bit had been cut out and a fresh 
 one put in before she sailed again from Gibraltar. She was 
 flying Spanish colours. His heart beat fast. Would she 
 overhaul them, or pass without taking notice of them, seeing 
 that the polacre was a small one and not likely to be a 
 valuable prize 1 The vessels approached each other quickly. 
 The course the Antelope was taking would carry her some 
 length or two behind the Spaniard. Bob hesitated whether 
 
304 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 to hail her as she came along. If his hail was not heard he 
 would of course be detected and his plans entirely spoilt, 
 and with the wind blowing straight across and he in the 
 bow it would be by no means certain that his hail would be 
 distinguished. Suddenly, to his delight, when the brig was 
 within a hundred yards of the polacre, he saw her head come 
 up, while the crew began to haul upon the sheets. 
 
 An exclamation of surprise and alarm broke from the 
 Spaniai'ds, as in another minute the Antelope was running 
 parallel with them, a cable's length to windward. Then the 
 port-holes were opened, and eight guns run out. The Span- 
 ish flag was run down and the British hoisted to the peak, 
 and a summons to strike their flag shouted to the Spaniards. 
 As the latter carried only four small guns, resistance was 
 out of the question. The Spanish flag was lowered, and in 
 obedience to the gesticulations rather than the words of an 
 officer on board the English brig, the halliards were thrown 
 off and the sails came down with a run. 
 
 The Spanish sailors were frantic with rage, swearing by all 
 the saints in the calendar. Bob had moved at once across to 
 Amy. 
 
 "Lie still, Amy. We are going to be captured by an 
 English ship. It is the same privateer that I was in before. 
 Don't make any sign until they come on board. In the fury 
 that these Spaniards are in they might stick their knives 
 into us if they knew we were English." 
 
 The brig had been thrown up into the wind as soon as 
 the polacre's sails had been lowered, and in three minutes 
 a boat came alongside. Then Joe Lockett, followed by half 
 a dozen sailors armed with pistol and cutlass, scrambled on 
 board. 
 
 " Now, follow me, Amy.' And descending the ladder Bob 
 made his way along the narrow gangway between the lines 
 of cattle, and then mounted to the poop. 
 
 "Well, Joe, how are you 1 ?" The first- mate of the 
 Antelope started back in astonishment. 
 
bob's mission. 305 
 
 •'Why, Bob Eepton!" he exclaimed. "What on earth 
 are you doing here masquerading as a Spanish sailor?" 
 
 " I am trying to get across to Gibraltar," he said. 
 
 "Why, is this fellow bound for Gibraltar? In that case 
 we have not got a prize, as we fancied." 
 
 "She is a fair prize, Joe; she is bound for Algeciras. I 
 was going to make my way in from there as best I could." 
 
 " That is all right then. What has she got on board?" 
 
 " Nothing beyond these cattle and some vegetables, I 
 expect; but they are worth a lot of money on the Eock." 
 
 " Well, you will be able to tell us all about things, Bob. 
 I will hail the captain to send Crofts on board with a dozen 
 men to take charge here, and then I will take you on board." 
 
 " I have a friend here," Bob said turning to Amy, who 
 was standing timidly behind him, "so you must take him 
 with me." 
 
 "All right!" Joe said carelessly. 
 
 In five minutes Bob stood again on the deck of the 
 Antelope, and a hearty greeting was exchanged between him 
 and Captain Lockett. 
 
 " Before I tell you anything, Captain, which cabin am I 
 to have? I will tell you why afterwards. I suppose it 
 will be my old one ? " 
 
 "Yes; that is our one spare cabin, Bob. But I don't 
 know why you are in such a hurry about it." 
 
 " I will tell you presently," Bob laughed, and led the way 
 below. 
 
 " There, Amy," he said, " you can go in there and put on 
 your own things again. I thought it would be more com- 
 fortable for you, for them not to know it until you are pro- 
 perly dressed in your own clothes. You have brought a 
 frock, of course?" 
 
 " Yes; I thought I had better bring one in case we should 
 be made prisoners." 
 
 "That is all right. When you are dressed come upon 
 deck. I will explain all about it before you appear." 
 
 ( 680 ) u 
 
306 
 
 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Bob as briefly as possible told his story to Captain Lockett 
 and Joe, who were much amused to find that Bob's friend 
 was a young lady. 
 
 "You are coming out in quite a new light, Bob, as a 
 
 Smaidings xrv fc'cb. 
 
 squire of dames. But I won't laugh at you now; I want 
 to hear the last news. I overhauled that craft not so much 
 to capture her as to get the last news. There were reports 
 before I started that the Moors were joining the Spaniards, 
 
bob's mission. 307 
 
 and that their ports were closed to us, and what you say 
 confirms that. That was one of the points I wanted to 
 know, as I could not tell whether I could run in there safely 
 were I chased. Now, as to getting into the Eock, are their 
 cruisers active at present 1 ?" 
 
 " Well, there are lots of them about. I think your best 
 plan will be to run in close to the Point and hold on as if 
 you were going into Algeciras. In that way they won't sus- 
 pect you. Then, when you get right up the bay, haul across 
 to the town. The wind is in your favour, because you will 
 have to tack to work up the bay, and if you make pretty long 
 tacks, they won't suspect you when you start across until you 
 have got pretty well away, and with this breeze there will 
 be no chance of their catching you before you are under our 
 guns." 
 
 " That seems hopeful enough. At any rate we will try it. 
 I will send six more men on board the polacre. They will 
 want to be handy with her sails. I will go myself and give 
 Crofts orders. He had better keep ahead of us, for if we are 
 chased by their gun-boats we can protect him." 
 
 Just as sail was again got up and the two vessels were 
 underway, Amy Harcourt came on deck, and was soon laugh- 
 ing and chatting merrily Avith the captain. At four in the 
 afternoon they rounded the Point, the polacre a few hundred 
 yards ahead, and both flying Spanish colours. There were 
 several Spanish cruisers and some gun-boats outside them; 
 but these paid no attention to their movements, and both 
 beat up the bay, keeping close into the Spanish shore, but 
 holding somewhat farther out at each tack. 
 
 " Now," Captain Lockett said when they were within half 
 a mile of Algeciras, " we will run out this tack. There are 
 two gun-boats in our way, I see, but we must take our 
 chance of them. Go and wave a handkerchief from the 
 bow, Joe. Mr. Crofts will be on the look-out for the 
 signal." 
 
 The two vessels held away on the port tack. As the pol- 
 
308 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 acre approached the gun-boats a sudden bustle was observed 
 on board them. 
 
 "They begin to smell a rat," Captain Lockett said, 
 "hoist the topgallant sails," for the brig had been under 
 easy sail to enable her to hold her place with the polacre. 
 The men were already at quarters, and the ports were 
 opened and the guns run out. Just as the gun-boat nearest 
 the polacre, finding the hail for her to bring to unheeded, 
 fired a shot into her, the brig's head paid off, and she 
 poured a broadside into the two gun-boats. One of them 
 was struck amidships. For a minute there was great con- 
 fusion on board, and then she made for her companion, 
 evidently in a sinking condition. Several shots were now 
 fired from the forts, but though they fell near, the brig was 
 uninjured. The second gun-boat did not venture to attack 
 so formidable an opponent, and half an hour later the 
 Antelope and her prize dropped anchor off the Mole. 
 
 Bob had already run down and put on his usual clothes, 
 and he and Amy were at once rowed ashore and made their 
 way to Major Harcourt's quarters. The delight of Amy's 
 father and mother, as she rushed into the room, was extreme. 
 Bob did not enter with her, but left her to tell her own 
 story, and proceeded straight to the governor's, to whom he 
 reported the state of affairs at Tangier. 
 
 " It is bad news," the governor said. " However, I am 
 extremely obliged to you for the valuable service that you 
 have rendered; and, as I had the pleasure of before doing 
 when you brought in the oranges, I shall place your name 
 in the orders of the day, for having, as a volunteer, rendered 
 signal service by carrying despatches at great risk across to 
 the Barbary coast." 
 
 Bob then returned home. Captain Lockett had already 
 been to the house and informed the O'Hallorans of his arrival. 
 
 " There you see, Carrie," Bob said after his sister's first 
 greetings were over; "there was nothing to have been so 
 terribly alarmed about." 
 
bob's mission. 309 
 
 " It isn't because you got through it safely, Bob, that there 
 was no danger," his sister replied. " It was a very foolish 
 thing to do, and nothing will change my opinion as to that. 
 Captain Lockett tells me you brought Amy Harcourt back 
 with you, dressed up as a boy. I never heard of such a thing, 
 Bob ! The idea of a boy like you, not eighteen yet, taking 
 charge in that way of a young girl!" 
 
 " Well, there was nothing else to do, Carrie, that I could 
 see. I went to Mrs. Hamber, who was Mrs. Colomb's most 
 intimate friend, and asked her opinion as to what I had better 
 do, and she advised me to get Amy away if I possibly could 
 do so. I can't see what difference it makes whether it is a 
 boy or a girl. It seems to me that people are always so 
 stupid about that sort of thing." 
 
 Carrie laughed. "Well, never mind, Bob. Amy Harcourt 
 is a very nice girl. A little too boyish, perhaps; but I sup- 
 pose that is natural, being brought up in the regiment. I 
 am very glad that you have brought her back again, and it 
 will be an immense relief to her father and mother. Her 
 mother has been here three or four times during these two 
 days you have been away, and I am in no way surprised at 
 her anxiety. They will be in here this evening certainly, to 
 thank you." 
 
 "Very well; then I shall be round smoking a cigar with 
 the doctor," Bob said. "I am very glad to have been of 
 use to them, and to have got Amy back again; but I don't 
 want to be thanked, and you tell them so. I hate being 
 made a fuss about." 
 
 And so, beyond a warm grasp of the hand on the part of 
 Major Harcourt, and two or three words of hearty thanks 
 on that of his wife, the next time they met, Bob escaped 
 any expression of gratitude. But the occurrence drew the 
 two families together more closely, and Amy often came 
 round with her father and mother in the evening, and there 
 were many little confidential talks between Carrie and Mrs. 
 Harcourt. 
 
310 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 It was some time before the anxiety as to the fate of the 
 English inhabitants at Tangier was allayed. They were at 
 the beginning of December forced to remove to Marteen, a 
 few miles from Tetuan, abandoning their houses and all their 
 property, which was estimated at the value of sixty thousand 
 pounds, and three days afterwards were handed over as pri- 
 soners to the Spaniards. They were then put on board a 
 ship, and taken to Algeciras, where they were kept, for 
 nearly a month, prisoners on board ship, but were, on the 
 11th of January, 1781, sent across to Gibraltar. 
 
 The next five months passed slowly and heavily. Occa- 
 sionally privateers and other craft ran through the blockade 
 of the Spanish cruisers and succeeded in getting into port. 
 Some of these brought wine and sugar, of both of which the 
 garrison were extremely short, and occasionally a few head 
 of cattle and other provisions. All of these were sold by 
 public auction, the governor considering that to be the fairest 
 way of disposing of them. 
 
 On the 12th of April another great convoy, under Admiral 
 Darby, entered the port. It consisted of about a hundred 
 merchantmen under the protection of a powerful fleet. The 
 joy of the garrison and inhabitants was intense, although 
 among the latter this was mingled with a certain feeling 
 of uneasiness. Deserters had at various times brought in 
 reports that, should Gibraltar be again relieved, it was the 
 purpose of the Spaniards to bombard the town. Hopes were 
 entertained that so wanton an act of cruelty would not be 
 carried out, for the entire destruction of the town would not 
 advance in the smallest degree the progress of the siege. 
 
 At a quarter to eleven, just as the van of the convoy 
 came to an anchor off the New Mole, Fort San Philip opened 
 fire upon the town, and at the signal the whole of the bat- 
 teries in the forts and lines followed suit. A hundred and 
 fourteen guns and mortars rained their shot and shell upon 
 the town, and the guns of the batteries of the garrison at 
 once responded. Several of the officers of the 58th and 
 
bob's mission. 311 
 
 their wives had come up to Captain O'Halloran's to enjo}' 
 from the terrace the view of the great convoy entering the 
 port. All were in the highest spirits at the thought of the 
 abundant supplies that would now be at their disposal, and 
 in the belief that the Spaniards, seeing that the garrison 
 was again amply provisioned, would abandon the siege, which 
 had now lasted for twenty -two months. Suddenly there 
 came upon the air the deep sound of the guns of San Philip, 
 followed by a prolonged roar as the whole of the Spanish 
 batteries opened fire. The hum of shot could be heard, 
 followed by the explosion of shells, the fall of masonry, and 
 screams and cries. 
 
 "The bombardment has begun at last !" Captain O'Halloran 
 exclaimed. 
 
 The greatest consternation reigned among the ladies. Sev- 
 eral of them had left children in their quarters; and although 
 the barracks were so placed as to be to a great extent 
 sheltered from the enemy's fire from the land side, they 
 were still terribly anxious as to their safety. Two of them 
 had, like the O'Hallorans, quarters in the town itself; and 
 the husbands of these ladies, accompanied by Captain O'Hal- 
 loran and Bob, at once set out to bring the children up to 
 the house, which was perfectly sheltered. 
 
 The scene in the town was a pitiful one. Men, women, 
 and children were flying in the wildest alarm towards the 
 gate looking south, and thence out to the huts that the more 
 prudent ones had erected many months before near Europa 
 Point. Shot and shell were raining down, while chimneys 
 and portions of masonry fell clattering in the streets. Sick 
 people were being carried out on doors or planks, and 
 most of the inhabitants were laden with what few articles of 
 value they could snatch up at the first alarm. The children 
 were soon brought up to the O'Hallorans', and then for a 
 time there was nothing to do but to listen to the roar of 
 artillery. 
 
 The officers and Bob ascended the Eock to a point near 
 
312 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 one of the batteries, whence they could command a view of 
 the Spanish lines. The flashes of smoke were bursting forth 
 almost incessantly, but were answered shot for shot from the 
 English batteries, which had already almost silenced the 
 San Carlos Battery, which mounted a large number of mor- 
 tars, and against which the fire of the English guns was 
 concentrated. Between one and two o'clock the Spanish 
 fire abated, and soon ceased altogether. The inhabitants 
 took advantage of the lull to hurry back to their houses, 
 whence they removed the lighter and more portable articles; 
 but the heavy stores, of which it now appeared many of 
 them had large quantities concealed, they were of course 
 unable to take away. 
 
 The discovery of these stores excited much indignation 
 among the troops. The inhabitants had been constantly 
 representing themselves as reduced to the last point of 
 hunger, and had frequently received provisions from the 
 scanty supplies of the garrison; and the soldiers were exasper- 
 ated on finding that all this time they possessed great stores 
 of wine, flour, and other articles, which they were hoarding 
 to produce and sell when prices should rise to even more 
 exorbitant heights than they had already reached. 
 
 At five o'clock the enemy's batteries opened again, and the 
 firing continued without intermission all that night. As 
 several casualties had taken place in the barracks and quarters, 
 marquees were on the following morning served out to all 
 the officers whose quarters were exposed to fire, and these 
 were pitched near Europa Point, as were also a large number 
 of tents for the use of the inhabitants. 
 
 A considerable body of troops were kept under arms near 
 the northern gate, in case the Spaniards should attempt to 
 make an assault under cover of their fire; and five hundred 
 officers and men were told off to assist in the work of get- 
 ting the supplies up from the wharves, as fast as they were 
 landed from the transports. The bombardment continued 
 during the whole of the next two days. The mortars still 
 
bob's mission. 313 
 
 poured their shells upon the town; but the guns were now 
 directed at our batteries, and their fire was remarkably 
 accurate. 
 
 On the 14th the unloading parties were increased to a 
 thousand men, and strong detachments of troops were told 
 off to extinguish the fires in the town, as the enemy were 
 now discharging shell filled with a composition that burned 
 with great fury, igniting everything with which it came 
 in contact. The troops engaged upon this duty were not 
 long in broaching the casks of wine found in such abundance 
 in many of the ruined houses. For two years they had been 
 living almost entirely on salt provisions, and wine had been 
 selling at prices vastly beyond their means. It was scarcely 
 surprising, then, that they should take advantage of this 
 opportunity. 
 
 The stores were practically lost, for the whole town was 
 crumbling to pieces beneath the fire of the enemy's mortars 
 and was on fire in several places, and little if any of the liquor 
 and stores consumed could in any case have been saved. 
 However, for a time insubordination reigned. The troops 
 carried off liquor to their quarters, barricaded themselves 
 there, and got drunk, and it was two or three days before 
 discipline was restored. Up to this time the conduct of the 
 soldiers had been most exemplary, and they had borne their 
 prolonged hardships without a murmur; and this outbreak 
 was due as much to a spirit of revenge against the inhabi- 
 tants, for hiding away great stores of provisions and liquor 
 with a view to making exorbitant profits, as from a desire 
 to indulge in a luxury of which they had been so long 
 deprived. 
 
 On the 15th the enemy's fire was hotter than ever, and 
 the guns were withdrawn from our batteries, as they pro- 
 duced but little effect upon the Spanish batteries, and the 
 men working them suffered a good deal from the besiegers' 
 fire. Two officers were dangerously wounded in one of the 
 casemates of the King's Bastion, and the fire was so heavy 
 
314 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 around some of the barracks that all the troops who could 
 not be disposed of in the casemates and bomb-proofs were 
 sent out of the town and encamped southward, and the 
 next day all the women and children who had gone with 
 their husbands and fathers into the casemates were also 
 removed and placed under canvas. 
 
 All this gave incessant work to the troops, for there was 
 no level ground upon which the tents could be pitched; 
 and as it was therefore necessary to level all the ground 
 into terraces, it was some days before the camps were ranged 
 in anything like order. Each day the enemy sent out their 
 gun-boats to harass the merchantmen, but these were always 
 driven back by the guns of the fleet. On the 17th the be- 
 siegers' shells set fire to the Spanish church, which had been 
 used as a storehouse. Strong parties were sent down to 
 remove the provisions, which consisted largely of barrels of 
 flour. These were carried up and piled so as to afford pro- 
 tection to the casemates, which had been frequently entered 
 by the enemy's shots, several men having been killed there. 
 
 They proved a valuable defence, and afforded, moreover, 
 great amusement to the soldiers, who, whenever a barrel 
 was smashed by a shell, carried off the contents and quickly 
 converted them into pancakes, until so many casks had been 
 emptied that the whole structure came toppling down. 
 
 On the 18th a shell came through the arch of one of the 
 casemates, killing two and wounding four men, and in con- 
 sequence a good many more of the troops were sent under 
 canvas. On the 20th the work of unloading the greater 
 portion of the transports was completed, and the admiral, 
 who was most anxious to take advantage of the easterly 
 wind that was blowing to sail out of the Straits, gave the 
 signal for departure. Many of the merchantmen whose 
 cargoes were consigned to merchants and traders on the Eock 
 carried them back to England, as the merchants, having no 
 place whatever in which to store goods — for the town was 
 now almost entirely destroyed, — refused to accept them. 
 
bob's mission. 315 
 
 The transports with ordnance stores were brought in 
 behind the New Mole to be discharged at leisure, while 
 several colliers were run close in and scuttled, so that their 
 cargoes could be removed as required. A great many of 
 the inhabitants and of the officers' wives and families em- 
 barked on board the fleet before it left. 
 
 The enenry's fire still continued very heavy, and their guns 
 and mortar-boats on the 23d came boldly out and opened fire 
 upon the working parties who were stacking the barrels and 
 stores at the south end of the Rock. The wife of a soldier 
 was killed and several men wounded. 
 
 On the 26th the governor determined sternly to repress 
 the drunkenness that still prevailed, owing to the soldiers 
 going down among the rnins of the town, where they occa- 
 sionally discovered uninjured casks of wine. An order was 
 therefore issued on that day, that any soldier convicted of 
 being drunk, asleep at his post, or marauding, should be 
 immediately shot. On the 27th a convoy of twenty ships, 
 in charge of the Brilliant and three other frigates, came in 
 from Minorca, where the governor had ordered provisions to 
 be purchased, in case the convoy expected from England did 
 not arrive. The arrival of these ships largely added to the 
 stores at the disposal of the garrison. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 
 
 WHILE the bombardment continued, Bob had been con- 
 stantly occupied. He had some time before put down 
 his name as a volunteer for service if required, and he and 
 several others who had similarly enrolled themselves had 
 been appointed to assist in looking after the removal of the 
 soldiers' wives and children to the tents erected for them, 
 and to seeing to their comfort there. He had also been in 
 charge of bodies of labourers employed by the governor in 
 the work of levelling the ground and transporting stores. 
 Captain O'Halloran was constantly away on duty; and soon 
 after the bombardment began it was found necessary to 
 drive the whole of the poultry into the lower part of the 
 house, the Spaniards retaining only one room for their own 
 accommodation. 
 
 Had not this step been taken the chickens would speedily 
 have been stolen by marauders, as in the absence of Captain 
 O'Halloran and Bob there was no one to protect them. 
 After the issue of the governor's proclamation discipline was 
 speedily restored, and there was no longer any occasion to 
 keep them under shelter. The bombardment was followed 
 by heavy rains, which caused very great discomfort to the 
 troops. The water pouring in torrents down the face of 
 the hills swept away the newly raised banks, and brought 
 down the tents, the soldiers having to turn out in the wet; 
 and as the troops, owing to their heavy duties, were only 
 one night out of three in bed, the discomfort and annoyance 
 were very great. 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 317 
 
 Great quantities of the provisions, too, were damaged, as 
 these were all stacked in the open air, with no other cover- 
 ing than that afforded by the sails of the colliers, which were 
 cut off and used for the purpose. Until the end of the month 
 the downfall of rain was incessant, and was accompanied 
 with heavy storms of thunder and lightning. The batteries 
 required constant repair, and the labours of the troops were 
 very severe. Since the departure of Admiral Darby's fleet 
 the enemy appeared to have given up all hopes of compel- 
 ling the place to surrender by hunger. The convoy from 
 Minorca had not been interfered with, and on the 2d of May 
 two native craft came in from Algiers with sheep, wine, and 
 brandy unmolested by the enemy's cruisers. 
 
 The enemy's fire had never entirely ceased since the com- 
 mencement of the bombardment, and now amounted to 
 about fifteen hundred rounds every twenty-four hours, the 
 gun-boats generally coming out every day and sending their 
 missiles into the town and batteries, the latter being spe- 
 cially the mark of the enemy's land guns, which reached even 
 the highest batteries on the Rock. All through May and 
 June the enemy's fire continued, dropping towards the end 
 of the latter month to about five hundred shot and shell a 
 day. The gun-boats were specially annoying, directing their 
 fire against the south end of the Rock, and causing great 
 alarm and distress among the fugitives from the town en- 
 camped there. 
 
 Occasionally they directed their fire towards the houses 
 that had escaped the fire of the land batteries, and several 
 shot and shell fell near the O'Hallorans', but, fortunately, 
 without hitting the house. The volunteers had now been 
 released from duty, and Bob was free to wander about as he 
 pleased. As, since his exploit in fetching in the fruit, he had 
 become known to every officer in the garrison, he was a 
 privileged person and was able to enter any of the batteries, 
 and to watch the effects of their fire against the enemy's forts 
 and lines. He often spent the day on board the Brilliant. 
 
318 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 At the end of June the frigate went away for a fortnight's 
 cruise, and the captain invited Bob to accompany them. 
 
 " We shall all expect great things from you, Mr. Repton. 
 As you managed to capture some fifty thousand pounds' 
 worth of prizes when you were on board that privateer brig, 
 you ought to put the frigate into the way of taking at least 
 four times as much." 
 
 " It is easy to turn a brig into anything, Captain Langton, 
 but there is no making one of His Majesty's frigates look 
 other but what she is. The mere sight of your topsails is 
 enough to send every Spanish craft into port." 
 
 For three or four days the frigate sailed along the coast, 
 keeping well out during the day and closing with the land 
 in the evening. Two or three small coasters were picked 
 up by the boats, but they were scarcely worth sending into 
 Gibraltar. On the fifth day a large barque was seen making 
 in from the south. All sail was made, but the barque had 
 the weather-gage, and crossing her ran into the shore and 
 anchored under the shelter of a battery. 
 
 " That would be a prize worth having, Bob," Jim Sankey 
 said. " I wonder what she has got on board? Perhaps she 
 is like that craft you captured choke-full of lead and silver 
 from Lima." 
 
 " I think I can tell you what she is full of," Bob, who had 
 been examining her through a glass he had borrowed from 
 the third lieutenant, replied. 
 
 "How do you mean you can tell, Bob? She has not got 
 her bill of lading stuck upon her broadside, I suppose?" 
 
 "She has not, Jim. But I can tell you without that." 
 
 "Well, what has she got on board?" 
 
 " She has got a very strong crew, Jim, and twenty -four 
 guns." 
 
 "Why, how on earth did you know that, Bob?" he asked, 
 staring at his friend in surprise. 
 
 "Because, Jim, I have been on board, and counted the 
 guns. That is the craft I swam off to nearly two years 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 319 
 
 ago. You hunted for her then, you know; hut I suppose 
 she had gone into one of the ports. But that is her, I can 
 almost swear. I don't know whether there is a better glass 
 than this on board, but if there is I should be glad to have a 
 look through it. Yet I feel certain without that; her stern 
 is of rather peculiar shape, and that stern gallery looks as if 
 it was pinched out of her instead of being added on. We 
 particularly noticed that when we were sailing with her. I 
 can't be mistaken about it" 
 
 " I think the captain ought to know, then," Jim said. " I 
 will speak to Mr. Rawdon; he is in charge of the watch." 
 
 Jim went up on to the quarter-deck, touched his hat, and 
 informed the second lieutenant what Bob had told him. 
 Mr. Rawdon went up at once to the captain, who was talk- 
 ing to the first lieutenant, and examining the barque and 
 battery through his glass. 
 
 " Mr. Sankey has reported to me, sir, that Mr. Repton is 
 very strongly of opinion that the barque there is the Spanish 
 ship of war he boarded by night just after the beginning of 
 hostilities. He told us about it, sir, and we spent two or 
 three days in looking for her." 
 
 " Of course I remember," the captain said. " Have the 
 kindness to pass the word for Mr. Repton to come aft." 
 
 Bob soon stood before the captain. 
 
 " Mr. Rawdon tells me that you are of opinion that the 
 barque in there is the disguised Spanish sloop you boarded 
 two years ago?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am almost sure of it; but I should like to 
 have another look at her through your glass before I speak 
 with certainty." 
 
 The captain handed his glass, which was a remarkably 
 good one, to Bob. 
 
 " That is her," Bob said after a minute's examination. 
 "I could swear to her anywhere;" and he then pointed out 
 to the captain the peculiarities he had noticed. " I can 
 make out her figure-head too," he said. " It is a saint, 
 
320 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 though I don't know what saint; but if you notice, sir, you 
 will see that, instead of standing nearly upright, he leans 
 much more forward than usual. I remember the captain 
 saying he looked as if he was going to take a header. So 
 with that and the stern gallery there is no possibility of mis- 
 taking her." 
 
 The captain again examined the barque through his glass. 
 " Yes. I notice both the points you mention. Well, I am 
 much obliged to you for the news; it is very important. I 
 was thinking of cutting her out to-night, and should have 
 fallen into the same error you so nearly did in the privateer." 
 
 Bob bowed and retired. " We should have caught a 
 tartar, Mr. Lyons, if we had sent the force we were talking 
 about to cut her out; but I think we must have her some- 
 how." 
 
 " I hope so, sir. We have had a very dull time of it, with 
 nothing to do but to exchange shots occasionally with those 
 gun-boats, and to get under sail now and then to escort 
 some craft or other into port. The navy hasn't done 
 much to boast of during this siege, and it has been very 
 hard on us being cooped up there in Gibraltar while the 
 fleet all over the world are picking up prizes and fighting 
 the French and Spanish. Why, we haven't made enough 
 prize-money in the last two years to pay for pipe-clay and 
 powder." 
 
 " Yes, Ave all feel that, Mr. Lyons. We have certainly 
 been terribly out of luck. That privateer Mr. Repton was 
 on board did more in her week's cruise than all His Ma- 
 jesty's ships in Gibraltar have done in the last two years. 
 We must take that craft inshore if we can. There is no 
 doubt she is ably commanded, for she is so well disguised 
 that we never suspected her for a moment; therefore there 
 is not the least chance of our catching her napping. She is 
 a formidable craft to cut out with the boats, even if she hadn't 
 the aid of the battery." 
 
 "There is no doubt about that, sir. I think Mr. Repton 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 321 
 
 reported before that she carried twenty-four guns, and all 
 heavy metal. As far as I can make out with the glass the 
 battery mounts twelve guns." 
 
 " Yes, that is the number. Besides, you see, we dare not 
 take the frigate in nearer than a mile; and a mile and a 
 quarter would be safer. So that we could not be of any 
 assistance beyond annoying the battery with long shot. It 
 seems to me that there is only one chance." 
 
 "What is that, sir]" 
 
 "We must land a strong party some distance along the 
 shore, and make an attack upon the battery and carry it by 
 surprise. I can make out some huts behind it. I suppose 
 they wouldn't have less than a hundred soldiers there — 
 perhaps a hundred and fifty. If we can drive them off and 
 capture the battery, we can open fire down upon the ship. 
 At that distance we could fairly sweep her deck with grape. 
 The rest of our boats would be lying ahead and astern of 
 her, and as soon as the battery opened they could make a 
 dash for her. The crew of the barque would be so dis- 
 organized by the fire of the battery that they should hardly 
 be able to make very much of a fight of it." 
 
 " That seems a capital plan, sir. The only question is the 
 number of hands. Suppose you send eighty to take the 
 battery, we should only have as many more to spare for the 
 boat attack on the ship, and that would leave us with only 
 a hundred on board. I should think she would carry a 
 fighting crew of two hundred at least. These Spaniards are 
 always very strongly manned." 
 
 " I should think that would be about it. They are long 
 odds, but not too long, I think, Mr. Lyons. At any rate, we 
 will try. Lay her off the land, Mr. Lj^ons, then we will go 
 into my cabin and make all the arrangements." 
 
 There was much talk and excitement among the crew, for 
 the general opinion was that the captain would try to cut 
 out the craft lying under the Spanish bactery. The navy 
 had for a long time been very sore at their inactivity, and 
 
 ( 680 ) x 
 
322 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 had fretted that no attempts had been made to cut out the 
 Spanish vessels across the bay. The admiral had steadily 
 set his face against all such attempts, considering that the 
 benefits to be gained did not justify the risks; for had any 
 of his small squadron been damaged or sunk by the guns of 
 the batteries the consequences would have been very serious, 
 as the Spanish gun-boats would then have been able to carry 
 on their operations without check, and it would have been 
 next to impossible for vessels to run the blockade. 
 
 The information Bob had given was soon known to all the 
 officers, and was not long before it permeated through the 
 crew and added to their anxiety to cut the Spaniard out; for 
 although the prize-money would be less than if she had been 
 a richly-laden merchantman, the honour and glory was pro- 
 portionately greater. The undertaking would be a serious 
 one, but the prospect of danger is never deterrent to a Bri- 
 tish sailor. 
 
 There was great satisfaction when, presently, it became 
 known that the crews of the whole of the boats were to 
 muster. Arms were inspected, cutlasses ground, and every- 
 thing prepared. It was early in the morning when the 
 Spanish barque had been first discovered, and ten o'clock 
 when the frigate had sailed away from land, as if consider- 
 ing the Spanish craft too strongly protected to be attacked. 
 When five miles away from land her course was laid east, and 
 under easy sail she maintained the same distance on the 
 coast. 
 
 The plan of operations was, that the first lieutenant, with 
 thirty marines and as many sailors, should land at a spot 
 some two miles from the battery, and should make their 
 way inland and come down upon the position from the rear. 
 A hundred men in the rest of the boats should make for the 
 barque direct. This party was to act in two divisions, under 
 the second and third lieutenants respectively, and were to 
 lie one to the east and the other to the west of the barque, 
 and remain there until the guns of the battery opened upon 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 323 
 
 her; then they were to row for her at all speed, a blue light 
 being burned by each division when they were within a 
 hundred yards of the enemy, as a warning to their friends 
 in the battery, who were then to fire round-shot instead of 
 grape. The frigate was to venture in as closely as she dared, 
 anchor broadside on, and open fire at the enemy. Jim San- 
 key was told off to the landing-party, and Bob went up to 
 the captain and requested leave to accompany him as a volun- 
 teer. 
 
 " You see, sir," he said, " we may fall in with peasants, or 
 be challenged by sentries as we approach the battery, and 
 my ability to speak Spanish might be an advantage." 
 
 " It would undoubtedly," the captain said. " Well, Mr. 
 Eepton, I shall be very glad to accept your services." 
 
 At four in the afternoon the frigate's head was again 
 turned west, and at ten o'clock the boats for the landing- 
 party were lowered, and the men taking their places in them 
 rowed away for the shore, which was some two miles distant. 
 The night was dark, but Mr. Lyons had with him a pocket- 
 compass, and had before embarking taken the exact bearings 
 of the battery from the spot where they would land. He 
 was therefore able to shape his course to a point half a mile 
 in its rear. The strictest silence had been enjoined, and the 
 little body of sailors made their way inland until they came 
 upon a road running parallel with the shore. They followed 
 this for about half a mile, and then struck off inland again. 
 The country was highly cultivated, with orchards, vineyards, 
 and orange groves. Their progress was slow, for they had 
 many times to cut a passage through the hedges of prickly- 
 pear. At last they reached a spot where they believed them- 
 selves to be directly behind the battery. Here there was 
 a path leading in the direction which they wished to follow. 
 In a quarter of an hour they made out some lights ahead of 
 them, and the lieutenant halted his men and again repeated 
 the orders they had before received. 
 
 "You are to go straight at the huts. As you approach 
 
32-4 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 them you are to break up into parties of ten, as already formed. 
 Each party is to attack one hut, cut down all who resist, 
 seize and carry away all arms. Never mind the men if you 
 have once got their arms; they cannot trouble us afterwards. 
 Waste no time; but directly you have got all the firelocks 
 in one hut make for another. As soon as all have been 
 cleared out make for the battery. Now let the officers 
 told off to command parties, each fall in at the head of his 
 ten men. Mr. Eepton, you will keep beside me to answer 
 a challenge." 
 
 They were within fifty yards of the huts when a sentinel 
 challenged. "Who goes there?" 
 
 "Soldiers of the king," Bob answered in Spanish, "with 
 reinforcements for you." 
 
 "Halt till I call an officer," the sentry said. But the 
 lieutenant gave the word, and the whole party dashed for- 
 ward at a run. The sentry hesitated in surprise for a mo- 
 ment, and then discharged his piece. The sailors gave a 
 cheer and rushed at the huts. Taken utterly by surprise, 
 the Spaniards at first offered no resistance whatever as the 
 sailors rushed in; indeed few of them attempted to get out 
 of bed. The blue lights with which one man in each party 
 was provided were lighted as they entered, and the arms 
 were collected without a moment's delay, and they were off 
 again before the Spaniards were fairly awake to what had 
 happened. 
 
 There were ten huts, each containing twenty men. Two 
 or three shots were fired as they entered the last two huts; 
 but the Spaniards were overpowered in an instant, as they 
 were here vastly outnumbered. The officers were made 
 prisoners, and ten men being placed over them, the rest of 
 the force, now carrying three muskets each, ran down into 
 the battery. The sentries here threw down their arms at 
 once, and were allowed to go where they pleased. 
 
 "Pile the arms you have captured!" Lieutenant Lyons 
 ordered. "Run the ram-rods down them, and see if they 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 325 
 
 are loaded. The Spaniards are not likely to rally, but if 
 they do we can give them a hot reception. Now, gunner, 
 break open the magazine there, and load with grape." 
 
 By this time the drum was beating to arms in the vessel 
 below, the shots fired having given the alarm, and lights 
 were seen to flash along the deck. In two minutes the guns 
 were loaded, and these opened with a fire of grape upon the 
 deck of the vessel, which was near enough to be distinctly 
 seen by the glare of the blue lights. As the first gun was 
 fired an answering flash came from sea as the frigate also 
 opened fire. For five minutes the guns were worked fast, 
 then two lights burst out in close succession ahead and astern 
 of the barque. 
 
 " Cease firing grape; load with round shot !" the lieutenant 
 shouted; but a moment later a loud cheer broke from the 
 sailors, as by the lights in the boats the Spanish ensign was 
 seen to run up to the peak of the barque, and then at once 
 to fall again to the deck. The barque had surrendered. 
 
 "Now, gunner, spike the guns," the lieutenant ordered, 
 " and then tumble them off the carriages." 
 
 This was soon done. 
 
 " Now let each man take one of the muskets, and throw 
 the rest of them over the parapet down the rocks. That is 
 right. Now, fall in!" 
 
 The sailors fell in and marched back to the huts. The 
 Spanish officers were placed in the midst, and twenty men 
 were told off to fire the huts. This was soon done. The 
 lieutenant waited until they were well alight, and then gave 
 the order to march. They took the coast road this time for 
 two miles and then struck off to the shore, and saw, a few 
 hundred yards away, the lantern that had been hoisted on 
 one of the boats as a signal. They were challenged by the 
 boat-keeper, who had moored the boats twenty yards from 
 the shore. A cheer broke out as the answer was given. 
 The grapnels were pulled up and the boats were soon along- 
 side. The party embarking rowed out in the direction where 
 
326 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 they knew the frigate to be, and as soon as they were fairly 
 out from the shore they saw the three lights she had hoisted 
 as a signal. In half an hour they were alongside. 
 
 " I need not ask if you have succeeded, Mr. Lyons," the 
 captain said as the boats came up, " for we have seen that. 
 You have not had many casualties, I hope?" 
 
 " Only one, sir. One of the marines has a ball in his 
 shoulder. There were only five or six shots fired in all, and 
 no one else has as much as a scratch." 
 
 "I am truly glad to hear it," the captain said. "It has 
 been a most successful surprise. I don't think the boats 
 can have suffered either." 
 
 " I don't think there was a shot fired at them, sir," the 
 lieutenant said. "The Spaniard ran up his colours and 
 dropped them again directly the boats showed their lights. 
 I fancy they must have suffered very heavily from our fire. 
 You see, they were almost under our guns, and we must 
 have pretty well torn up their decks." 
 
 " We shall soon hear," the captain said. " The boats are 
 towing the Spaniard out, she will be alongside in a few 
 minutes." 
 
 The wind had entirely dropped now, and in a short time 
 the Spaniard was brought close alongside the frigate, and 
 Mr. Eawdon came on board to report. 
 
 " The ship is the San Joaquin, mounting twenty-four guns, 
 with a crew of two hundred and twenty men, sir. Her 
 casualties are very heavy. The men had just poured up on 
 deck, it seems, when the battery opened fire. The captain, 
 first lieutenant, and fifty-six men are killed, and there are 
 forty-three wounded. We have no casualties. Their flag 
 came down just as we got alongside." 
 
 " Then as far as we are concerned," the captain said, 
 " this is one of the most bloodless victories on record. There 
 will be no death promotions this time, gentlemen, but I am 
 sure you won't mind that. It has been a most admirably 
 managed affair altogether, and I am sure that it will be 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 327 
 
 appreciated by ray lords of the admiralty. You will take 
 command of her at present, Mr. Lyons, with the crew now 
 on board. Dr. Colfax and his assistant will go off with you 
 to attend to the wounded, and will remain on board until 
 we get into Gibraltar. Mr. Rawdon, you will be acting 
 first, and I can only say that I hope you will be confirmed." 
 
 The frigate and her prize at once sailed for Gibraltar. 
 On their arrival there the captain took some pains, by 
 sending up larger yards and by repainting the broad white 
 streaks showing the port-holes, to restore the prize to its 
 proper appearance as a ship of war. 
 
 " We should not get half so much credit for her capture 
 if you took her into Portsmouth looking like a lubberly 
 merchantman," the captain said to Mr. Lyons. "I don't 
 care about patching up all those shot-holes in the bulwarks. 
 That gives her the appearance of having been taken after a 
 sharp action; and the deck looks almost like a ploughed field. 
 I shall give you fifty men, Mr. Lyons, I can't spare more 
 than that." 
 
 " That will do, sir. Nothing smaller than ourselves is 
 likely to interfere with us, and if a large frigate engaged us 
 we should not have more chance with a hundred men on 
 board than with fifty. In that case we shall have to trust 
 to our legs. Of course if we fall in with two or three of 
 the enemy's ships I should run up the Spanish flag. I will 
 find out if I can from the prisoners what is her private 
 number; if I hoist that and a Spanish flag it ought to deceive 
 them. I will get her back to England if possible, sir." 
 
 "You will, of course, take home my report, Mr. Lyons. 
 It is sure to give you your step, I think." 
 
 Next day the San Joaquin sailed, and six weeks later a 
 sloop of war brought despatches to the admiral. Among 
 them was a letter from the admiralty to Captain Langton, 
 expressing their gratification at the very able arrangements 
 by which he had captured and silenced a Spanish battery, 
 and cut out the sloop of war, San Joaquin, anchored under 
 
328 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 its guns, without any loss of life. It was, they said, a feat 
 almost without parallel. They stated that they had, in 
 accordance with his recommendation, promoted Mr. Lyons 
 to the rank of commander, and they confirmed Mr. Rawdon 
 in rank of first lieutenant, the third lieutenant becoming 
 second, and the senior passed midshipman, Mr. Outram, 
 being promoted to that of third lieutenant. 
 
 No change of any importance had taken place at Gibraltar 
 during the absence of the Brilliant, except that the governor 
 had determined to retaliate for the nightly annoyance of 
 the gun-boats, and accordingly six guns were fixed at a very 
 considerable elevation, behind the Old Mole, and shells fired 
 from them. These reached the enemy's camp, and caused, 
 as could be seen from the heights, great alarm and confusion. 
 It was determined that in future, when the enemy's gun- 
 boats bombarded our camps and huts, we should retaliate 
 by throwing shells into their camp. 
 
 The day after the Brilliant returned, the Helena sloop of 
 war, with fourteen small guns, was seen working in towards 
 the Rock. The wind, however, was so light that she scarcely 
 moved through the water. Fourteen Spanish gun-boats 
 came out to cut her off. For a time she maintained a gallant 
 contest against odds that seemed overwhelming, although 
 the garrison gave her up as lost. But when the wind 
 suddenly freshened, she sailed through her opponents into 
 the port, where she was received with ringing cheers by 
 the soldiers lining the batteries. 
 
 Week after week passed in minor hostilities. There was 
 a constant exchange of fire between our batteries and those 
 of the enemy. The gun-boats continued their operations, 
 and we in return shelled their camp. Fresh works were 
 erected on both sides. Casualties took place almost daily, 
 but both troops and inhabitants were now so accustomed 
 to the continual firing that they went about their ordinary 
 avocations without paying any attention to the shot and 
 shell, unless one of the latter fell close at hand. November 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 329 
 
 came in, and in spite of the heavy fire maintained by our bat- 
 teries the enemy's works continually advanced towards the 
 Rock, and when, in the middle of the month, it was seen that 
 the new batteries were being armed and placed in readiness 
 to open fire, the governor determined to take the offensive. 
 
 Accordingly, after gun-fire on the evening of the twenty- 
 sixth, an order was issued for all the grenadier and light 
 infantry companies, with the 12th and Hardenberg's Regi- 
 ment, to assemble at twelve o'clock at night, with a party 
 of Engineers and two hundred workmen from the line regi- 
 ments, for a sortie upon the enemy's batteries. The 39th 
 and 59th Regiments were to parade at the same hour to 
 act as support to the attacking party. A hundred sailors 
 from the ships of war were to accompany them. The 
 attacking party numbered 1014 rank and file, besides officers 
 and non-commissioned officers ; this was exclusive of the two 
 regiments forming the supports. The attacking force was 
 divided into three columns. 
 
 At a quarter to three in the morning the column moved 
 out. The enemy's pickets discovered the advance as soon as 
 it passed the outlying work known as Forbes' Barrier, and 
 after firing fell back. Lieutenant-colonel Hugo's column, 
 which was in front, pushed on rapidly and entered the enemy's 
 lines without opposition, when the pioneers began to dis- 
 mantle the work. Hardenberg's Regiment and the central 
 column attacked and carried the tremendous work known 
 as the San Carlos Battery. The enemy were unable to 
 withstand for a moment the fierce attack of the troops, and 
 in a very short time the whole of the advanced works were 
 in our hands. 
 
 The leading corps formed up to resist any attempt the 
 enemy might make to repel the sortie, and the working 
 parties began to destroy the enemy's work. Faggots dipped 
 in tar were laid against the fascines and gabions, and in a 
 short time columns of fire and smoke rose from all parts of 
 the works occupied. In an hour the object of the sortie 
 
330 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 was effected. Trains were laid to the magazines and the 
 troops fell back. Just as they reached the town the prin- 
 cipal magazine blew up with a tremendous explosion. 
 
 The enemy appeared to have been wholly confounded at 
 this sudden attack upon their advanced works, the fugitives 
 from which created a panic throughout the whole army; and 
 although the main Spanish lines, mounting a hundred and 
 thirty-five heavy pieces of artillery, were but a few hundred 
 yards behind the works attacked, not a single shot was fired 
 at the troops engaged. 
 
 The batteries continued burning for three days, and when 
 they ceased to smoke nothing but heaps of sand remained 
 of the works that had cost the enemy months of labour to 
 erect. It was some days before the Spaniards appeared to 
 come to any definite conclusion as to their next step. Then 
 large numbers of men set to work to re-establish their 
 batteries, and things fell into their old routine again. Every 
 day shots were exchanged occasionally. Vessels made their 
 way in and out, being sometimes briskly chased by the 
 enemy's gun-boats, sometimes passing in with little interfer- 
 ence; for by this time the Spaniards must have recognized 
 that there was no hope whatever of reducing Gibraltar by 
 blockade. There was a great deal of sickness in the garri- 
 son; but comparatively little of this was due to scurvy, for 
 every available corner of ground was now cultivated, and 
 the supply of vegetables, if not absolutely sufficient to 
 counteract the effects of so long and monotonous a diet of 
 salt meat, was yet ample to prevent any serious outbreak of 
 scurvy recurring. 
 
 In February fresh activity was manifested among the 
 besiegers. Vast numbers of mules were seen bringing 
 fascines to their works. At the end of March the Vernon 
 store-ship arrived, and a few hours later four transports 
 with the 97th Regiment, under the convoy of two frigates, 
 came in. A singular series of casualties was caused by a 
 single shot, which entered an embrasure in "Willis's Bat- 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 331 
 
 tery, took both legs off two men, one leg off another, and 
 wounded another man in both legs; thus four men had seven 
 legs taken off or wounded by one shot. These casualties 
 were caused by the inattention of the men to the warning 
 of a boy who was looking out for shot. There were two 
 boys in the garrison whose eyesight was so keen that they 
 could see the enemy's shot coming, and both were employed 
 in the batteries especially exposed to the enemy's fire, to 
 warn the men to withdraw themselves into shelter when 
 shot were coming. 
 
 This quickness of eyesight was altogether exceptional. 
 Standing behind a gun, and knowing therefore the exact 
 course the shot will take, it is comparatively easy for a 
 quick-sighted man to follow it, but there are few indeed 
 who can see a shot coming towards them. In this respect 
 the ear is a far better index than the eye. A person pos- 
 sessed of a fair amount of nerve can judge to within a few 
 yards the line that a shot coming towards him will take. 
 When first heard the sound is as a faint murmur, increasing 
 as it approaches to a sound resembling the blowing off of 
 steam by an express engine as it rushes through a station. 
 At first the keenest ear could not tell the direction in which 
 the shot is travelling, but as it approaches the difference in 
 the angle becomes perceptible to the ear, and a calm listener 
 will distinguish whether it will pass within twenty or thirty 
 yards to the right or left. It would require an extra- 
 ordinary acute ear to determine more closely than this, the 
 angle of flight being so very small until the shot approaches 
 almost within striking distance. 
 
 The garrison had been trying experiments with carcasses 
 and red-hot shot. A carcass is a hollow shot or shell pierced 
 with holes, but instead of being charged with powder to ex- 
 plode it either by means of a fuse or by percussion, it is filled 
 with a fierce- burning composition, so that upon falling it 
 will set on fire anything inflammable near it. E,ed-hot shot 
 are fired by putting a wet wad in over the dry wad next to 
 
332 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 the powder. The red-hot shot is then run into the gun and 
 rammed against the wet wad, and the gun fired in the usual 
 way. The carcasses several times set fire to the enemy's 
 works, but the use of the red-hot shot was reserved for a 
 pressing emergency. A number of furnaces were constructed 
 in the various batteries for heating the shot, which neces- 
 sarily required a considerable amount of time to bring them 
 to a white heat. 
 
 News came in April that great preparations were making 
 at Cadiz and other Mediterranean ports for a fresh and 
 vigorous attack on Gibraltar, and that the Due de Crillon, 
 who had lately captured Minorca, would bring twenty thou- 
 sand French and Spanish troops in addition to those at pre- 
 sent engaged in the siege; that a large fleet would also be 
 present, and that the principal attack would be made by 
 means of ships turned into floating batteries and protected 
 by an immense thickness of cork or other wood. On the 
 9th of May the ships began to arrive. Among them were 
 seven large vessels, which appeared to be old men-of-war. 
 A large number of workmen immediately went on board 
 them and began to lower the topmasts. This confirmed the 
 news in respect to the floating batteries. 
 
 About this time three store-ships fortunately arrived from 
 England with powder, shell, and other stores. As there 
 could be no longer any doubt that the attack was this time 
 to be delivered on the sea-face, strong working parties were 
 employed in strengthening the water batteries, in erecting 
 lines of palisades to prevent a landing from boats, and in 
 building furnaces for the heating of shot in these batteries 
 also. At this time the Engineers began to drive a gallery 
 through the Rock facing the neutral ground in order to 
 place guns there. This work was carried on to the end of 
 the siege, and the batteries thus erected are now among 
 the strongest of the defences of Gibraltar. At the end of 
 the month a great fleet, consisting of upwards of a hundred 
 sail, entered the bay and anchored off Algeciras, some nine 
 
A CRUISE IN THE "BRILLIANT." 333 
 
 or ten thousand troops were landed, and from that time 
 scarce a day passed without fresh vessels laden with stores 
 and materials for the siege arriving in the bay. 
 
 Eaidy in May twelve gun-boats that had been sent out in 
 pieces from England were completed and launched. Each 
 carried one gun, and was manned by twenty-one men. Six 
 of these drew their crews from the Brilliant, five from the 
 Porcupine, and one from the Speedwell cutter. These craft 
 had been specially designed for the purpose of engaging the 
 enemy's gun-boats and for convoying ships into the port. 
 On the 11th of June a shell from the enemy burst just at 
 the door of one of the magazines of Willis's Battery. This 
 instantly blew up, and the explosion was so violent that it 
 seemed to shake the whole Rock. Fourteen men were killed 
 and fifteen wounded, and a great deal of injury done to the 
 battery; but strong parties at once set to work to repair it. 
 A few days later a French convoy of sixty sail and three 
 frigates anchored in the bay, and from these another five 
 thousand French troops landed. 
 
 At the end of the month the Due de Crillon arrived and 
 took command of the besiegers. A private letter that was 
 brought in by a privateer that had captured a merchantman 
 on her way, gave the garrison an idea of the method in which 
 the attack was to be made. It stated that ten ships were to 
 be fortified six or seven feet thick with green timber bolted 
 with iron, and covered with cork, junk, and raw hides. They 
 were to carry guns of heavy metal, and to be bomb-proof on 
 the top, with a descent for the shells to slide off. These 
 vessels, which they supposed would be impregnable, were to 
 be moored within half gunshot of the walls with iron chains, 
 and large boats with mantlets were to lie off at some dis- 
 tance full of troops ready to take advantage of occurrences; 
 that the mantlets of these boats were to be formed with 
 hinges to fall down to facilitate their landing. There would 
 by that time be forty thousand men in camp, but the prin- 
 cipal attack was to be made by sea, to be covered by a squa- 
 
334 • HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 dron of men-of-war with bomb-ketches, floating batteries, 
 gun and mortar boats, &c; and that the Comte D'Artois, 
 brother to the King of France, with other great personages, 
 was to be present at the attack. 
 
 At this time the enemy fired but little, and the garrison 
 were able to turn their whole attention to strengthen the 
 points most threatened. The activity of the enemy on their 
 offensive works on the neutral ground continued, and in one 
 night a strong and lofty work five hundred yards long, with 
 a communication thirteen hundred yards long to the works, 
 was raised. It was calculated that ten thousand men at least 
 must have been employed upon it, and no less than a million 
 and a half sand-bags used in its construction. There could 
 be no doubt now that the critical moment was approaching, 
 and that ere long the garrison would be exposed to the most 
 tremendous fire ever opened upon a besieged place. 
 
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 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 
 
 IN spite of the unremitting work, of the daily cannonade, 
 of illness and hardship, life on the Eock had not heen 
 unpleasant to the O'Hallorans. Although many of the 
 officers' wives had at one time or another taken advantage 
 of ships sailing from the port to return home, or rather to 
 endeavour to do so, for a considerable number of the vessels 
 that left were captured by the Spaniards before getting 
 through the Straits, there still remained sufficient for agree- 
 able society, and the O'Hallorans' was, more than any other 
 house, the general meeting-place. 
 
 From its position in the hollow it was sheltered from the 
 fire of all the shore batteries, whose long-distance shots 
 searched all the lower parts of the Rock; while the resources 
 of the establishment enabled the O'Hallorans to afford an 
 open-handed hospitality that would have been wholly beyond 
 the means of others. They had long since given up selling 
 any of their produce, distributing all their surplus eggs 
 among families where there was illness or sending them up 
 to the hospitals, and doing the same with their chickens 
 and vegetables. The greatest care was bestowed upon the 
 poultry, fresh broods being constantly raised, so that they 
 could kill eight or ten couple a week and still keep up their 
 stock to its full strength. Thus, with gatherings two even- 
 ings a week at their own house and usually as many at the 
 houses of their friends, while Captain O'Halloran and Bob 
 frequently dined at the mess of their own or other regi- 
 ments, the time passed pleasantly. 
 
336 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 While Carrie was fully occupied with the care of the 
 house and a general superintendence of what they called 
 their farm, Bob was never at a loss for amusement. There 
 was always something to see, some fresh work being exe- 
 cuted, some fresh development in the defences, while he 
 was on terms of friendship with almost every officer in the 
 garrison. It was two years and a half since he had come 
 out, and he was now eighteen. His constant intercourse 
 with people older than himself and with the officers of the* 
 garrison, together with the exceptional position in which he 
 found himself, made him in some respects seem older than 
 he was, but he still retained his liveliness and love of fun. 
 His spirits never nagged, and he was a general favourite 
 with all who knew him. 
 
 On the 19th of August a boat with a flag of truce brought 
 in a complimentary letter from the Due de Crillon to the 
 governor, informing him of the arrival of the Comte D'Artois 
 and the Due de Bourbon in his camp, and sending him a 
 present of ice, fruit, partridges, and other delicacies. The 
 governor returned a letter in similar complimentary terms, 
 thanking the Duke for his letter and the presents, but de- 
 clining with thanks the supplies that had been offered, say- 
 ing that he never received for himself anything beyond what 
 was common to the garrison. 
 
 The sailors of the ships of war now pitched tents ashore 
 for their use when they should be ordered to land to take 
 part in the defence, and the heavy guns were for the most 
 part moved down from the upper batteries to the sea lines. 
 
 Day after day passed, the bombardment being constantly 
 expected, but the damage inflicted by fire on the enemy's 
 works by our carcasses delayed the attack. On the 8th of 
 September a tremendous fire was suddenly opened with red- 
 hot shot and carcasses upon the enemy's works. The Mahon 
 Battery was burned, while the San Carlos and San Marten 
 Batteries were so damaged that they had almost to be rebuilt 
 The enemy, as on previous occasions, showed extreme bra- 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 337 
 
 very in their efforts to extinguish the fire and to repair 
 damages, and it was afterwards known that the French 
 troops alone had a hundred and forty killed and wounded. 
 The damage done probably convinced the Due de Crillon 
 that no advantage could be hoped for by trying further to 
 increase his works, and at half-past five next morning a 
 volley of sixty shells was fired by their mortar batteries, 
 followed by the discharge of one hundred and seventy pieces 
 of heavy artillery. 
 
 This tremendous fire was kept up for some time, while 
 nine line-of-battle ships, supported by fifteen gun and mor- 
 tar boats, passed to and fro along the sea face, pouring in 
 their fire upon us. At nightfall the enemy's guns ceased 
 firing, but their mortars kept up their shell fire all night. 
 The next day the ships of war renewed their attack, as did 
 the land batteries. In the course of the day the Brilliant 
 and Porcupine frigates were scuttled by the navy, alongside 
 the New Mole, and their crews landed. On the following 
 day the enemy's fire was principally directed against the 
 barrier and chevaux de /rise in front of the land port, and 
 in the afternoon these barriers and palisades were all in 
 flames, and the troops at that end of the Eock got under 
 arms in case an attack should be made. 
 
 Gn the morning of the 12th the combined fleets of 
 France and Spain, consisting of thirty-eight men-of-war, 
 three frigates, and a number of smaller craft, sailed into the 
 bay and anchored near Algeciras. Their fleet now consisted 
 of forty-seven men-of-war, ten battering-ships — considered 
 invincible, and carrying two hundred and twelve guns — and 
 innumerable frigates and small ships of war; while on the 
 land side were batteries mounting two hundred heavy guns, 
 and an army of forty thousand men. Tremendous odds, 
 indeed, against a fortress whose garrison consisted of seven 
 thousand effective men, including the Marine Brigade. 
 
 For some days past Bob had been engaged with their 
 landlord and some hired labourers in bringing in earth and 
 
 (680) Y 
 
338 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 filling up the lower rooms four feet deep, in order to render 
 the cellars bomb-proof. Some beds and furniture were taken 
 below, so that Carrie, the servants, and the Spanish family- 
 could retire there in case the enemy's shells fell thickly 
 round the house. 
 
 It was noticed as a curious incident, that just as the com- 
 bined fleet entered the bay, an eagle, after circling round it, 
 perched for a few minutes upon the summit of the flag-post 
 on the highest point of the Rock, an omen of victory which 
 would have been considered decisive by the Romans, and 
 which did, in fact, help to raise the spirits and confidence of 
 the garrison. 
 
 On the morning of the 13th the enemy's battering- 
 ships got under way, with a gentle breeze from the north- 
 west, and at a little past nine o'clock anchored in admirable 
 order in line of the sea face. The nearest was about nine 
 hundred yards from the King's Bastion, the most distant 
 being about eleven hundred yards. Not a shot was fired 
 before the enemy anchored, and then the whole of the bat- 
 teries that commanded them opened fire, to which the bat- 
 tering-ships and the artillery in their lines at once replied. 
 
 Bob was standing on the roof of the house with his sister. 
 
 "What a magnificent sight, Carrie!" he exclaimed. "It 
 is well worth all the waiting to be here to see it." 
 
 "It is terrible 1" Carrie said. "It is like one great roar 
 of thunder. How awfully the men must be suffering in the 
 batteries ! " 
 
 "I don't suppose it is as bad as it looks," Bob said. "At 
 any rate you needn't be uneasy about Gerald. All the 
 troops except those working the guns are in shelter, and 
 won't be called out unless the enemy attempt to land. I 
 wonder their fleet don't come across to help their batteries. 
 I suppose they are afraid of the carcasses and red-hot shot. 
 Well, there is one comfort, Carrie: none of their shot are 
 coming this way. Their floating batteries, evidently, are 
 firing only at our batteries by the water. As to the others, 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 339 
 
 we know that we are safe enough from them, though cer- 
 tainly the shot do make a most unpleasant noise as they 
 fly overhead. I wish there was a little more wind to blow 
 away the smoke so that we could see what effect our fire 
 is having on those hulks. I shouldn't think that we had 
 begun with red-hot shot yet. It takes three hours to get 
 them hot enough. As far as I can see, whenever the wind 
 blows the smoke away a little, our shot and shell roll off the 
 roofs and sides without doing any damage to speak of." 
 
 About noon the enemy's mortar-boats and ketches at- 
 tempted to come across and assist their battering-ships, but 
 the wind had changed and had worked round to the south- 
 west, blowing a smart breeze and bringing in a heavy swell, 
 so that they were prevented from taking part in the action. 
 Our own gun-boats were hindered by the same cause from 
 putting out and opening a flanking fire upon the battering- 
 ships. The northern batteries by the water suffered heavily 
 from the fire of the Spanish lines, which took them in flank, 
 and, indeed, some of the batteries in reverse, causing many 
 casualties. The Artillery, however, refused to let their atten- 
 tion be diverted from the battering-ships. 
 
 By two o'clock the furnaces had heated the shot in all the 
 batteries, and although some of them had been firing these 
 missiles for upwards of an hour, it was not until two that 
 their use became general. Soon afterwards, when the wind 
 cleared away the smoke from the ships, men could be seen 
 on their sloping roofs directing streams of water from the 
 pumps upon small wreaths of smoke that curled up here and 
 there. Up to this time the defenders had begun to fear that 
 the craft were indeed as invulnerable as the Spaniards be- 
 lieved them to be; but these evidences that the red-hot shot 
 were doing their work greatly roused their spirits, and cheers 
 frequently rose as the men toiled at their heavy guns. 
 
 As the afternoon went on the smoke from the upper part 
 of the Spanish admiral's flag-ship rose more and more thickly, 
 and although numbers of men continued to bring up and 
 
340 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 throw water over the roof, working with extraordinary 
 bravery in spite of the hail of projectiles poured upon them, 
 it was clear that the fire was making steady progress. Bob 
 had long before this gone down to the works by the sea face, 
 where considerable bodies of troops were lying in the bomb- 
 proof casemates in readiness for action if called upon, and 
 from time to time he went out with Captain O'Halloran and 
 other officers to see how matters were going on. 
 
 In sheltered places behind the batteries some of the sur- 
 geons were at work, temporarily binding up the wounds of 
 artillerymen struck with shell or splinters, after which they 
 were carried by stretcher-parties of the infantry up to the 
 hospitals. Dr. Burke was thus engaged in the battery where 
 his regiment was stationed. He had, since the first bombard- 
 ment commenced, ceased to complain of the want of oppor- 
 tunities for exercising himself in his professional work, and 
 had been indefatigable in his attendance on the wounded. 
 Among them he was an immense favourite. He had a word 
 and a joke for every man who came under his hands, while 
 his confident manner and cheery talk kept up the spirits of 
 the men. He was, too, a very skilful operator, and many of 
 the poor fellows in hospital had urgently requested that if 
 they must lose a limb it should be under the hands of Dr. 
 Burke. 
 
 "It is much better to make men laugh than to make 
 them cry," he would say to Bob. "It is half the battle 
 gained when you can keep up a patient's spirit. It is won- 
 derful how some of them stand pain. The hard work they 
 have been doing is all in their favour." 
 
 Bob several times went out to him and assisted him as far 
 as he could by handing him bandages, sponges, &c. 
 
 " You ought to have been an assistant from the beginning, 
 Bob," he said. " By this time you would have been quite a 
 decent surgeon; only you have a silly way of turning pale. 
 There, hand me that bandage. All right, my man ! we will 
 have you patched up in no time. No, I don't think you 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 341 
 
 can go back to your gun again. You will have to eat and 
 drink a bit and make fresh blood before you will be much 
 use at a thirty-two pounder again. What is this — a scalp 
 wound 1 ? Splinter of a shell, eh? "Well, it is lucky for 
 you, lad, that you have been hardening your skull a bit 
 before you enlisted. A few clips from a blackthorn are 
 capital preparation. I don't think you will come to much 
 harm. You are not more hurt than you would be in a good 
 lively faction fight. There, you had better put down that 
 sponge, Bob, and go into the casemate for a bit; you are get- 
 ting white again. I think we are over the worst now; for 
 if, as you tell me, the smoke is beginning to come up from 
 some of those floating batteries their fire will soon slacken 
 a bit. As long as they keep out the shot those defences of 
 theirs are first-rate; but as soon as the shot begin to embed 
 themselves in the roof they are worse than nothing, for they 
 can neither dig out the shot nor get at them with the water. 
 Once establish a fire and it is pretty sure to spread." 
 
 Bob was glad to get back again into the bomb-proof case- 
 mates; for there was comparative quiet, while outside the 
 constant roar of the guns, the howl of shot, the explosion of 
 shell, and the crash of masonry created a din that was almost 
 bewildering. Presently a cheer was heard in the battery, 
 and Bob went out to see what it was, and returned with 
 the news that the ship next to the Spanish admiral's was also 
 smoking in several places. As the afternoon went on con- 
 fusion was apparent on board several of the battering-ships, 
 and by the evening their fire had slackened considerably. 
 Before eight o'clock it had almost entirely ceased except 
 from one or two ships to the northward of the line, which 
 being somewhat farther from the shore had suffered less 
 than the others. At sunset the Artillery in our batteries 
 were relieved, the Naval Brigade taking their place, and the 
 fire was continued without relaxation. 
 
 As soon as it became dark rockets were fired by several of 
 the battering-ships; these were answered by the Spanish 
 
342 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 men-of-war, and many boats rowed across to the floating 
 batteries. By ten o'clock the flames began to burst out 
 from the admiral's battering-ship, and by midnight she was 
 completely in flames. The light assisted our gunners, who 
 were able to lay their cannon with as much accuracy as during 
 the daytime, and the whole Rock was illuminated by the 
 flames. These presently burst out vigorously from the next 
 ship, and between three and four o'clock points of light ap- 
 peared upon six of the other hulks. 
 
 At three o'clock Brigadier Curtis, who commanded the 
 Naval Brigade encamped at Europa Point, finding that the 
 sea had gone down, manned the gun-boats, and rowing out 
 for some distance opened a heavy flanking fire upon the 
 battering-ships, compelling the boats that were lying in 
 shelter behind them to retire. As the day broke he cap- 
 tured two of the enemy's launches, and finding from the 
 prisoners that there were still numbers of men on board the 
 hulks, rowed out to rescue them. While he was employed 
 at this work at five o'clock one of the battering-ships to the 
 northward blew up with a tremendous explosion, and a 
 quarter of an hour later another in the centre of the line 
 also blew up. The wreck was scattered over a wide extent 
 of water. One of the gun-boats was sunk and another seri- 
 ously injured, and the Brigadier, fearing other explosions, 
 ordered the boats to draw off towards the town. 
 
 On the way, however, he visited two of the other burn- 
 ing ships, and rescued some more of those left behind — 
 landing in all nine officers, two priests, and three hundred 
 and thirty-four soldiers and seamen. Besides these one 
 officer and eleven Frenchmen had floated ashore the even- 
 ing before on the shattered fragments of a launch. While 
 the boats in the navy were thus endeavouring to save their 
 foes, the land batteries, which had ceased firing on the pre- 
 vious evening, again opened on the garrison; but as from 
 some of the camps the boats could be perceived at their 
 humane work, orders were despatched to the batteries to 
 
THE FLOATING BATTEKIES. 343 
 
 cease fire, and a dead silence succeeded the din that had 
 gone on for nearly twenty-four hours. 
 
 Of the six battering-ships still in flames, three blew up 
 before eleven o'clock. The other three burned to the water's- 
 edge, the magazines having been drowned by the Spaniards 
 before they left the ships in their boats. The garrison hoped 
 that the two remaining battering-ships might be saved to be 
 sent home as trophies of the victory, but about noon one 
 of them suddenly burst into flames and presently blew up. 
 The other was examined by the men-of-war boats, and found 
 to be so injured that she could not be saved. She was 
 accordingly set fire to and also destroyed. Thus the whole 
 of the ten vessels that were considered by their constructors 
 to be invincible were destroyed. 
 
 The loss of the enemy in killed and prisoners was esti- 
 mated at two thousand, while the casualties of the garrison 
 were astonishingly small, consisting only of one officer and 
 fifteen non-commissioned officers and men killed, and five 
 officers and sixty-three men wounded. Very little damage 
 was done to the works. It is supposed that the smoke 
 enveloping the vessels prevented accurate aim. The chief 
 object of the attack was to silence the King's Bastion, and 
 upon this two of the largest ships concentrated their fire, 
 while the rest endeavoured to effect a breach in the wall 
 between that battery and the battery next to it. 
 
 The enemy had three hundred heavy cannon engaged, 
 while the garrison had a hundred and six cannon and mor- 
 tars. The distance at which the batteries were moored from 
 the shore was greatly in favour of the efforts of our artillery, 
 as the range was almost point blank, and the guns did not 
 require to be elevated. Thus the necessity for using two 
 wads between the powder and the red-hot balls was obviated, 
 and the gunners were able to fire much more rapidly than 
 they would otherwise have done. The number of the Spanish 
 soldiers on board the battery-ships was 5260, in addition to 
 the sailors required to work the ships. 
 
344 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Great activity was manifested by the Spaniards on the 
 day following the failure of their bombardment, and large 
 numbers of men were employed in bringing up fresh ammu- 
 nition to their batteries. Many of the men-of-war also got 
 under way. Major Harcourt, Doctor Burke, and two or 
 three other officers stood watching the movements from the 
 O'Hallorans' terrace. 
 
 " I should have thought that they had had enough of it," 
 Doctor Burke said. " If those battering-ships couldn't with- 
 stand our fire, what chance would their men-of-war have? 
 See! they are just as busy on the land side, and the 71st has 
 been ordered to send down extra guards to the land-port. 
 I should have thought they had given it up as a bad job this 
 time." 
 
 " I have no doubt they have given it up, doctor," Major 
 Harcourt said; "but they are not likely to say so just yet. 
 After all the preparations that have been made, and the cer- 
 tainty expressed about our capture by the allied armies and 
 navies of France and Spain, and having two or three royal 
 princes down here to grace the victory, you don't suppose 
 they are going to acknowledge to the world that they are 
 beaten. I should have thought you would have known 
 human nature better than that, doctor. You will see De 
 Crillon will send a pompous report of the affair, saying that 
 the battering-ships were found, owing to faults in their con- 
 struction, to be of far less utility than had been expected, 
 and that therefore they had been burned. They had, how- 
 ever, inflicted enormous loss upon the garrison and defences, 
 and the siege would now be taken up by the army and fleet, 
 and vigorously pushed to a successful termination. 
 
 " That will be the sort of thing, I would bet a month's 
 pay. The last thing a Spanish commander will confess is 
 that he is beaten, and I think it likely enough that they 
 will carry on the siege for months yet, so as to keep up 
 appearances. In fact, committed as they are to it, I don't 
 see how they can give it up without making themselves the 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 345 
 
 laughing-stock of Europe. But now that they find they 
 have no chance of getting the object for which they went 
 to war, I fancy you will see before very long they will begin 
 to negotiate for peace." 
 
 The major's anticipations were verified. For some time 
 the siege was carried on with considerable vigour — from a 
 thousand to twelve hundred shots being fired daily into the 
 fortress. Their works on the neutral ground were pushed 
 forward, and an attempt was made at night to blow out a 
 portion of the face of the Rock by placing powder in a cave, 
 but the attempt was detected. 
 
 The position of the garrison became more comfortable 
 after a British fleet arrived with two more regiments and a 
 large convoy of merchantmen; but nothing of any impor- 
 tance took place till, on the 2d of February, 1782, the Due 
 de Crillon sent in to say that the preliminaries of a general 
 peace had been signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain, 
 and three daj^s later the blockade at sea was discontinued, 
 and the port of Gibraltar again open. 
 
 Bob Repton, however, was not present at the concluding 
 scenes of the great drama. Satisfied after the failure of the 
 bombardment that there would be no more serious fighting, 
 and that the interest of the siege was at an end, he took 
 advantage of the arrival of the Antelope in the bay a few 
 days after the engagement to return in her to England. He 
 had now been two years and eight months on the Rock, and 
 felt that he ought to go home to take his place with his 
 uncle. He had benefited greatly by his stay in Gibraltar. 
 He had acquired the Spanish language thoroughly, and in 
 other respects had carried on his studies under the direction 
 of Doctor Burke, and had employed much of his leisure 
 time with instructive reading. 
 
 Mixing so much with the officers of the garrison he had 
 acquired a good manner and address. He had been pre- 
 sent at the most memorable siege of the times, and had 
 gained the credit of having, though but a volunteer, his name 
 
346 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 twice placed in general orders for good services. He had 
 landed a school-boy, he was now a well-built young fellow of 
 medium height and powerful frame; but he had retained his 
 boyish, frank good-humour, and his love of fun. 
 
 "I trust that we shall be back in England before long," 
 his sister said to him. "Everyone expects that Spain will 
 make peace before many months are over, and it is likely 
 that the regiments who have gone through the hardships of 
 the siege will soon be relieved, so I hope that in a year or 
 two we may be ordered home again." 
 
 There was a great deal of regret expressed when it was 
 known that Bob Repton w T as going home, for he had always 
 been ready to do any acts of kindness in his power, especially 
 to children, of whom he was very fond, and it was not for- 
 gotten that his daring enterprise in going out alone to fetch 
 in fruit had saved many of their lives. Amy Harcourt's 
 eyes were very red when he went up to say good-bye to her 
 and her mother an hour before he sailed, and the farewells 
 were spoken with quivering lips. 
 
 The Antelojye evaded the enemy's cruisers near the Rock, 
 and made a quick passage to England without adventure. 
 She had made two or three good prizes up the Spanish 
 coast before she put into Gibraltar on her way home. 
 Captain Lockett therefore did not go out of his way to look 
 for more. On arriving at Portsmouth Bob at once went up 
 to London by coach. He had no lack of clothes, having 
 purchased the effects of an officer of nearly his own build 
 and stature who had been killed a short time before. On 
 alighting from the coach he walked to Phil pot Lane, and 
 went straight into the counting-house. His old acquaintance, 
 Jack Medlin, was sitting on the stool his father had formerly 
 occupied, and Bob was greatly amused at the air of gravity 
 on his face. 
 
 "Do you wish to see Mr. Bale or Mr. Medlin, sir 1 ?" he 
 asked, "or can I take your orders'?" 
 
 " You are a capital imitator of your father, Jack," Bob 
 said, as he brought his hand down heavily on the shoulder 
 of the young clerk, who stared at him in astonishment. 
 
 "Why, it is Bob — I mean Mr. Repton!" he exclaimed. 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 347 
 
 " It's Bob Repton, Jack, sure enough, and glad I am to 
 see you. Why, it is nearly three years since we met, and 
 we have both altered a good bit since then. Well, is my 
 uncle in]" 
 
 " No, he is out at present, but my father is in the inner 
 office." 
 
 Bob strode into the inner office, and greeted Mr. Medlin 
 as heartily as he had done his son, and Mr. Medlin, for the 
 first time since he had entered Philpot Lane as a boy, 
 forgot that he was within the sacred precincts of the city, 
 and for at least ten minutes laughed and talked as freely 
 and unrestrainedly as if he had been out at Highgate. 
 
 " Your uncle will be delighted to see you back," he said. 
 "He is for ever talking about you, and there wasn't a 
 prouder man in the city of London than he was when the 
 despatches were published and your name appeared twice 
 as having rendered great service. He became a little afraid 
 at one time that you might take to soldiering altogether. 
 But I told him that I thought there was no fear of that. 
 After you had once refused to take a midshipman's berth, 
 with its prospect of getting away from school, I did not think 
 it likely that you would be tempted now." 
 
 "No; the General told Captain O'Halloran that he would 
 get me a commission if I liked, but I had not the least 
 ambition that way. I have had a fine opportunity of see- 
 ing war, and have had a jolly time of it, and now I am quite 
 ready to settle down here." 
 
 Mr. Bale was delighted on his return to find Bob. It was 
 just the hour for closing, and he insisted upon Mr. Medlin 
 stopping to take supper with him. Bob had written when- 
 ever there was an opportunity of sending letters; but many 
 of these had never come to hand, and there was much to tell 
 and talk about. 
 
 " Well, I am thoroughly satisfied with the success of our 
 expeximent, Mr. Medlin," Mr. Bale said next day. "Bob 
 has turned out exactly what I hoped he would — a fine young 
 fellow and a gentleman. He has excellent manners, and yet 
 there is nothing foppish or affected about him." 
 
 "I had no fear of that with Bob, Mr. Bale; and, indeed, 
 
348 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Gibraltar during the siege must have been a bad school for 
 anyone to learn that sort of thing. Military men may amuse 
 themselves with follies of that kind when they have nothing 
 better to do; but it is thrown aside and their best qualities 
 come out when they have such work to do as they have had 
 there. Yes, I agree with you, sir. The experiment has 
 turned out capitally, and your nephew is in every respect 
 a far better man than he would have been if he had been 
 kept mewed up here these three years. He is a young fellow 
 that anyone— I don't care who he is — might feel proud of." 
 
 So Bob took up his duties in the office, and his only com- 
 plaint there was, that he could hardly find enough to do. 
 Mr. Bale had relaxed his close attention to the business since 
 he had taken Mr. Medlin into the firm, but as that gentleman 
 was perfectly capable of carrying it on single-handed, Bob's 
 share of it was easy enough. It was not long before he com- 
 plained to his uncle that he really did not find enough to do. 
 
 " Well, Bob, you shall come down with me to a place I 
 have bought out by Chislehurst; it is a tidy little estate. 
 I bought it a year ago. It is a nice distance from town; 
 just a pleasant ride or drive up. I am thinking of moving 
 my establishment down there altogether, and as you will 
 have it some day, I should like your opinion of it. It isn't 
 quite ready yet. I have been having it thoroughly done up, 
 but the men will be out in a week or two." 
 
 Bob was greatly pleased with the house, which was a fine 
 one, and very pleasantly situated in large grounds. 
 
 " There are seventy or eighty acres of land," Mr. Bale 
 said. " They are let to a farmer at present. He only has 
 them by the year, and I think it will be an amusement to 
 you to take them in hand and look after them yourself. I 
 know a good many people living about here, and I have no 
 doubt we shall have quite as much society as we care for." 
 
 Another month and they were established at Chislehurst, 
 and Bob found the life there very pleasant. He generally 
 drove his uncle up to town in the morning, getting to the 
 office at ten o'clock and leaving it at five in the afternoon. 
 On his return home there was the garden to see about and 
 the stables. Very often his uncle brought a city friend or 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 349 
 
 two home with him for the night, and they soon had a large 
 circle of acquaintances in the neighbourhood. 
 
 " I should like you to marry young, Bob," Mr. Bale said 
 to him one day. " I did not marry young, and so you see 
 I have never married at all, and have wasted my life shock- 
 ingly in consequence. When you are ready to marry I am 
 ready to give you the means. Don't forget that." 
 
 " I won't forget it, sir," Bob said smiling; " and I will try 
 to meet your wishes." 
 
 Mr. Bale looked at him sharply. Carrie's letters were 
 long and chatty, and it may be that Mr. Bale had gleaned 
 from them some notion of an idea that Carrie and Mrs. 
 Harcourt had in their heads. 
 
 Three years later Mr. Bale remarked, as they were driving 
 home: "By the way, Bob, I was glad to see in the paper 
 to-day that the 58th is ordered home." 
 
 " Is it, sir?" Bob asked eagerly. "I have not looked at the 
 paper to-day. I am glad to hear that. I thought it wouldn't 
 be long. But there is never any saying, they might have 
 been sent somewhere else instead of being sent home." 
 
 " I hope they will be quartered somewhere within reach," 
 Mr. Bale said. " If they are stationed at Cork, or some out- 
 landish place in Ireland, they might almost as well be at 
 Gibraltar for anything we shall see of them." 
 
 "Oh, we can manage to run over to Cork, uncle." 
 
 "There will be no occasion to do that," Bob. Captain 
 O'Halloran will be getting leave soon after he comes over, 
 and then he can bring Carrie here." And he smiled slily 
 to himself. 
 
 "He mayn't be able to get leave for some time," Bob said. 
 " I think, uncle, I shall run over directly they arrive." 
 
 " Perhaps the firm won't be able to spare you," Mr. Bale 
 remarked. 
 
 " It is my opinion the firm would get on just as well with- 
 out me for an indefinite time, uncle." 
 
 "Not at all, Bob. Mr. Medlin was saying only a few 
 days ago that you do quite your share of the work, and that 
 he generally leaves it to you now to see country customers 
 when I am out, and thinks the change has been an advantage 
 
350 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 to the business. However, if the regiment does go to Ire- 
 land, as is likely enough, I suppose we must manage to spare 
 you." 
 
 It was indeed soon known that the 58th were in the first 
 place to be disembarked at Cork, and one day Mr. Bale 
 came into the office. " I have just seen your friend Lockett, 
 Bob; I mean the younger one. He commands the Antelope 
 now, you know. His uncle has retired and bought a place 
 near Southampton, and settled down there. Young Lockett 
 came up from Portsmouth by the night coach. He put in 
 at Gibraltar on his way home, and the 58th were to embark 
 three days after he left. So if you want to meet them 
 w.hen they arrive at Cork you had better lose no time, but 
 start by the night coach for Bristol, and cross in the packet 
 from there." 
 
 It was a month before Bob returned. The evening that 
 he did so he said to his uncle: "I think, uncle, you said that 
 you were anxious that I should marry young." 
 
 " That is so, Bob," Mr. Bale said gravely. 
 
 "Well, uncle, I have been doing my best to carry out 
 your wishes." 
 
 " You don't mean to say, Bob," Mr. Bale said in affected 
 alarm, "that you are going to marry a soldier's daughter?" 
 
 "Well — yes, sir," Bob said, a little taken aback; "but I 
 don't know how you guessed it. It is a young lady I knew 
 in Gibraltar." 
 
 "What, Bob! Not that girl who went running about 
 with you dressed up as a boy?" 
 
 As this was a portion of his adventures upon which Bob 
 had been altogether reticent, he sat for a moment confounded. 
 
 " Don't be ashamed of it, Bob," Mr. Bale said with a smile, 
 laying his hand kindly on his shoulder. " Your sister Carrie 
 is an excellent young woman, and it is not difficult to read 
 her thoughts in her letters. Of course she told me about 
 your adventure with Miss Harcourt, and she has mentioned 
 her a good many times since; and it did not need a great 
 deal of discernment to see what Carrie's opinion was re- 
 garding the young lady. Carrie has her weak points — as, 
 for example, when she took up with that wild Irishman — 
 
THE FLOATING BATTERIES. 351 
 
 but she has plenty of good sense, and I am sure by the way 
 she wrote about this Miss Harcourt that she must be a very 
 charming girl; and I think, Bob, I have been looking for- 
 ward almost as much to the regiment coming home as you 
 have. Regarding you as I do, as my son, there is nothing I 
 should like so much as having a bright, pretty daughter- 
 in-law; so you have my hearty consent and approval, even 
 before you ask for it. And you found her very nice, Bob 
 —eh?" 
 
 " Very nice, sir," Bob said smiling. 
 
 "And very pretty, Bob?" 
 
 "Very pretty, sir. I never thought that she would have 
 grown up so pretty." 
 
 "And her head has not been turned by the compliments 
 that she has of course received?" 
 
 " I don't think so, sir. She said her mind has been made 
 up ever since I brought her back to Gibraltar; so, you see, 
 the compliments did not go for much." 
 
 "Well, Bob, I will write to Major Harcourt. I shall 
 hand you over this place altogether and settle down in my 
 old quarters in Philpot Lane." 
 
 " No, no, sir," Bob said. 
 
 " But I say yes, Bob. I shall keep a room here, and I 
 dare say I shall often use it. But I have been rather like a 
 fish out of water since I came here, and shall be well content 
 to fall into my old ways again, knowing that if I want any 
 change and bright society I can come down here. If I find 
 I am restless there, which is not likely, I can buy a little 
 place and settle down beside you. As I told you long ago, 
 I am a rich man — I have been doing nothing but save money 
 all my life — and though, as I then said, I should like you to 
 carry on the firm after I am gone, there will, as far as money 
 goes, be no occasion for you to do so." 
 
 Two months later the three members of the firm went 
 over to Cork, and there a gay wedding was celebrated; and 
 when, at the termination of the honeymoon, Bob returned 
 to Chislehurst, he found Captain O'Halloran and Carrie 
 established there on a month's leave; and a day or two 
 later the party was increased by the arrival of Doctor Burke. 
 
352 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Mr. Bale lived for twenty years after Bob's marriage, the 
 last fifteen of which were passed in a little place he bought 
 adjoining that of the Beptons; and before he died he saw 
 four grandchildren, as he called them, fast growing up. 
 
 General and Mrs. Harcourt also settled down in the neigh- 
 bourhood, to be near their only daughter, a few years before 
 Mr. Bale's death. Doctor Burke remained with the regiment 
 for some years and then bought a practice in Dublin, but to 
 the end of his life he paid a visit every three or four years 
 to his former pupil. Captain O'Halloran obtained the rank 
 of colonel; but, losing an arm at the capture of Martinique, 
 in 1794, he retired from the army and settled at Woolwich 
 — where Carrie was within easy reach of Chislehurst — 
 having his pension and a comfortable income which Mr. Bale 
 settled upon Carrie. At Mr. Bale's death it was found that 
 he had left his house at Chislehurst to Carrie, and she and 
 her husband accordingly established themselves there. Bob 
 to the end of his life declared that, although in all things 
 he had been an exceptionally happy and fortunate man, the 
 most fortunate occurrence that ever happened to him was 
 that he should have taken part in the famous Siege of Gib- 
 raltar. 
 
 THE END. 
 

 
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 BLACKIE & SON'S 
 BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 At AgillCOUrt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. With 
 
 12 page Illustrations by Wal Paget. 6s. 
 
 "Mr. Henty's admirers, and they are many, will accord a hearty welcome to 
 the sturdy volume entitled At Agincourt." —Athenaeum. 
 
 With Cochrane the Dauntless: A Tale of the Exploits 
 
 of Lord Cochrane in South American Waters. With 12 page Il- 
 lustrations by W. H. Makgetson. 6s. 
 
 " This tale we specially recommend ; for the career of Lord Cochrane and his 
 many valiant fights in the cause of liberty deserves to be better known than they 
 are." — St. James's Gazette. 
 
 The Tiger Of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo 
 
 Saib. By a. A. Henty. With 12 Illustrations by W. H. Mar- 
 
 getson, and a Map. 6s. 
 
 " Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and fiction to- 
 gether with so skilful a hand that the reader cannot help acquiring a just and 
 clear view of that fierce and terrible struggle which gave to us our Indian Em- 
 pire."— Athenaeum. 
 
 A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of 
 
 Rhodes. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by 
 
 Ralph Peacock. 6s. 
 
 "Mr. Henty is a giant among boys' writers, and his books are sufficiently 
 popular to be sure of a welcome anywhere. ... In stirring interest, this is 
 quite up to the level of Mr. Henty's former historical tales." — Saturday Review. 
 
 When London Burned : A Story of Eestoration Times and 
 the Great Fire. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations 
 by J. Finnemore. 6s. 
 
 " No boy needs to have any story of Henty's recommended to him, and parents 
 who do not know and buy him for their boys should be ashamed of themselves. 
 Those to whom he is yet unknown could not make a better beginning than with 
 When London Burned." — British Weekly. 
 
 [U] A 
 
BLACKIE <fc SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY 
 
 *' Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very 
 first rank." — Academy. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 The Lion Of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth 
 
 Century. By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by 
 
 Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 
 " Every boy should read The Lion of St. Mark. Mr. Henty has never produced 
 any story more delightful, more wholesome, or more vivacious. From first to 
 last it will be read with keen enjoyment." — The Saturday Review. 
 
 By England's Aid: The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585- 
 
 1604). By G. A, Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by Alfred 
 
 Pearse, and 4 Maps. 6s. 
 
 "The story is told with great animation, and the historical material is most 
 effectively combined with a most excellent plot."— Saturday Review. 
 
 With Wolfe in Canada: or, The Winning of a Continent. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated with 12 page Pictures by Gordon 
 
 Browne. 6s. 
 
 "A model of what a boys' story-book should be. Mr. Henty has a great power 
 of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as no pains are spared by 
 him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his books supply useful aids to study 
 as well as amusement. "—School Guardian. 
 
 Bonnie Prince Charlie : A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated with 12 page Pictures by Gordon 
 
 Browne. 6s. 
 
 "Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of Quentin Durward. The lad's 
 journey across France with his faithful attendant Malcolm, and his hairbreadth 
 escapes from the machinations of his father's enemies make up as good a 
 narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of treatment and 
 variety of incident, Mr. Henty has here surpassed himself."— Spectator. 
 
 For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by S. J. Solomon, and 
 
 a Coloured Map. 6s. 
 "Mr. Henty's graphic prose pictures of the hopeless Jewish resistance to Roman 
 sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of the world. The book 
 is one of Mr. Henty's cleverest efforts." — Graphic. 
 
 True tO the Old Flag": A Tale of the American War of 
 Independence. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by 
 Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 
 "Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British soldiers. The son 
 of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the hostile red- 
 skins in that very Huron country which has been endeared to us by the exploits 
 of Hawkeye and Chingachgook." — The Times. 
 
 " Mr. Henty undoubtedly possesses the secret of writing eminently successful 
 historical tales ; and those oiler than the lads whom the author addresses in his 
 preface may read the story with pleasure."— Academy. 
 
Specimen Illustration from 
 
 "WITH COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS". 
 
 STEPHEN BEATS OFF THE GREAT WAR-CANOE SINGLE-HANDED. 
 
4 BLACK1E & SON'S BOOKS FOR TOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 " Mr. Henty i3 one of our most successful writers of historical tales."— Scotsman. 
 
 In croion Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 The Lion Of the North: A Tale of Gnstavus Adolphus and 
 
 the Wars of Religion. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Pictures 
 
 by J. Schonberg. 6s. 
 
 "A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great deeds of the 
 Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackay, Hepburn, and Munro 
 live again in Mr. Henty's pages, as those deserve to live whose disciplined bands 
 formed really the germ of the modern British army." — Athenaeum. 
 
 The Young* Carthaginian: a story of the Times of 
 
 Hannibal. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by C. J. 
 Staniland, r.i. 6s. 
 
 *' The effect of an interesting story, well constructed and vividly told, is en- 
 hanced by the picturesque quality of the scenic background. From first to last 
 nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream 
 whose current varies in direction, but never loses its force." 'Saturday Revieiv. 
 
 Redskin and Cow-hoy : A Tale of the Western Plains. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Alfred Pearse. 6s. 
 
 "It has a good plot; it abounds in action; the scenes are equally spirited and 
 realistic, and we can only say we have read it with much pleasure from first to 
 last. The pictures of life on a cattle ranche are most graphically painted, as are 
 the manners of the reckless but jovial cow-boys." — Times. 
 
 With Clive in India: or, The Beginnings of an Empire. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 
 "Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very 
 first rank. Those who know something about India will be the most ready to 
 thank Air. Henty for giving them this instructive volume to place in the hands 
 of their children." — Academy. 
 
 In Greek Waters: A Story of the Grecian War of Inde- 
 pendence (1821-1827). By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illus- 
 trations by W. S. Stacey, and a Map. 6s. 
 
 "There are adventures of all kinds for the hero and his friends, whose pluck 
 and ingenuity in extricating themselves from awkward fixes are always equal to 
 the occasion. It is an excellent story, and if the proportion of history is smaller 
 than usual, the whole result leaves nothing to be desired."— Journal of Education. 
 
 The Dash for Khartoum : A Tale of the Nile Expedition. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by J. Schonberg and 
 
 J. Nash, and 4 Plans. 6s. 
 
 "It is literally true that the narrative never flags a moment; for the incidents 
 which fall to be recorded after the dash for Khartoum has been made and failed 
 are quite as interesting as those which precede it."— Academy. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "Mr. Henty is the king of story-tellers for boys."— Sivord and Trowel. 
 
 By 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Eiots. 
 G. A. Henty. With 
 12 page Illustrations 
 by H. M. Paget. 6s. 
 
 " Mr. Henty inspires a love 
 and admiration for straight- 
 forwardness, truth, and cour- 
 age. This is one of the best 
 of the many good books Mr. 
 Henty has produced, and de- 
 serves to be classed with his 
 Facing Death."— Standard. 
 
 Captain Bayley's 
 
 Heir: A Tale of 
 the Gold Fields of 
 California. By G. 
 A. Henty. Illus- 
 trated by H. M. 
 Paget. 6s. 
 
 "A Westminster boy who 
 makes his way in the world 
 by hard work, good temper, 
 and unfailing courage. The 
 descriptions given of life are 
 just what a healthy intelli- 
 gent lad should delight in." 
 — St. James's Gazette. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's 
 
 Eve: A Tale of 
 the Huguenot Wars. 
 By G. A. Henty. 
 Illustrated by H. J. 
 Draper. 6s. 
 
 " What would boys do without Mr. Henty? Ever fresh and vigorous, his books 
 have at once the solidity of history and the charm of romance. St. Bartholomew's 
 Eve is in his best style, and the interest never flags. The book is all that could 
 possibly be wished from a boy's point of view."— Journal of Education. 
 
 In Freedom's Cause : A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 
 "His tale of the days of Wallace and Bruce is full of stirring action, and will 
 commend itself to boys." — Athenaeum. 
 
 By Right Of Conquest : or, With Cortez in Mexico. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by W. S. Stacey. 6s. 
 
 "By Right of Conquest is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful histori- 
 cal tale that Mr. Henty has yet published." — Academy. 
 
 Reduced Illustration 
 from "A Knight of the White On 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 " Mr. Henty is one of the best of story-tellers for young people.' 
 
 -Spectator. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 BeriC the BritOIl: A Story of the Roman Invasion. 
 G. A. Henty. Il- 
 lustrated by W. Par- 
 kinson. 6s. 
 " We are not aware that 
 anyone has given us quite so 
 vigorous a picture of Britain 
 in the days of the Roman con- 
 quest. Mr. Henty has done 
 his utmost to make an im- 
 pressive picture of the haugh- 
 ty Roman character, with its 
 indomitable courage, stern- 
 ness, and discipline. Beric 
 is good all through."— Spec- 
 tator. 
 
 By Pike and Dyke : 
 
 A Tale of the Rise 
 of the Dutch Re- 
 public. By G. A. 
 Henty. With 10 
 page Illustrations by 
 Maynard Brown, 
 and 4 Maps. 6s. 
 
 "The mission of Ned to 
 deliver letters from William 
 the Silent to his adherents at 
 Brussels, the fight of the Good 
 Venture with the Spanish 
 man-of-war, the battle on the 
 ice at Amsterdam, the siege 
 of Haarlem, are all told with 
 a vividness and skill which 
 are worthy of Mr. Henty at 
 his best." — Academy. 
 
 Wulf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest. By 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Ralph Peacock. 6s. 
 " Wulf the Saxon is second to none of Mr. Henty's historical tales, and we may 
 safely say that a boy may learn from it more genuine history than he will from 
 many a tedious tome. The points of the Saxon character are hit off very happily, 
 and the life of the period is ably reconstructed." — The Spectator. 
 
 ThPOUgh the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the 
 
 Punjaub. By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by Hal 
 
 Hurst, and a Map. 6s. 
 
 "The picture of the Punjaub during its last few years of independence, the 
 
 description of the battles on the Sutlej, and the portraiture generally of native 
 
 character, seem admirably true. ... On the whole, we have never read a more 
 
 vivid and faithful narrative of military adventure in India." — The Academy. 
 
 Reduced Illustration from " At Agincourt' 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOORS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "No more interesting boys' books are written than Mr. Henty's stories."— 
 
 Daily Chronicle. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil 
 
 War. By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by Gordon 
 
 Browne, and 6 Maps. 6s. 
 
 "The story is a capital one and full of variety, and presents us with many 
 picturesque scenes of Southern life. Young Wingfleld, who is conscientious, 
 spirited, and 'hard as nails', would have been a man after the very heart of 
 Stonewall Jackson." — Times. 
 
 Under Drake's Flag": A Tale of the Spanish Main. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 
 "There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; but the 
 author has so carefully worked up his subject that the exciting deeds of his 
 heroes are never incongruous or absurd. " — Observer. 
 
 On the Irrawaddy: A Story of the first Burmese War. 
 
 With 8 Illustrations by W. H. Overend. Crown 8vo, cloth 
 
 elegant, olivine edges, 5s. 
 
 "Stanley Brook's pluck is even greater than his luck, and he is precisely the 
 hoy to hearten with emulation the boys who read his stirring story." — Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 ThrOUg"h Russian SnoWS : A Story of Napoleon's Retreat 
 
 from Moscow. By G. A. Henty. With 8 Illustrations by W. H. 
 
 Overend, and a Map. 5s. 
 
 "Julian, the hero of the story, early excites our admiration, and is altogether 
 a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst the story of the campaign is 
 very graphically told. . . . Will, we think, prove one of the most popular boys' 
 books this season."— St. James's Gazette. 
 
 In the Heart Of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in 
 Colorado. By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by G. C. Hindley. 5s. 
 
 " Few Christmas books will be more to the taste of the ingenuous boy than In 
 the Heart of the Rockies." — Athenaeum. 
 " Mr. Henty is seen here at his best as an artist in lightning fiction."— Academy. 
 
 One Of the 28th : A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. Henty. 
 
 With 8 page Illustrations by W. H. Overend, and 2 Maps. 5s. 
 
 " Written with Homeric vigour and heroic inspiration. It is graphic, pictur- 
 esque, and dramatically effective . . . shows us Mr. Henty at his best and 
 brightest. The adventures will hold a boy of a winter's night enthralled as he 
 rushes through them with breathless interest 'from cover to cover'." — Observer. 
 
 Facing" Death : or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of 
 
 the Coal Mines. By G. A. Henty. With 8 page Pictures by 
 
 Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 
 "If any father, godfather, clergyman, or schoolmaster is on the look-out for a 
 good book to give as a present to a boy who is worth his salt, this is the book we 
 would recommend." — Standard. 
 
2LACKIE <fc SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "Ask for Henty, and see that you get him."— Punch. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 The Cat Of BllbasteS: A Story of Ancient Egypt. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by J. R. Weguelin. 5s. 
 
 " The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat to the 
 perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very skilfully constructed and 
 full of exciting adventures. It is admirably illustrated."— Saturday Review. 
 
 Maori and Settler: A Story of the New Zealand War. By 
 G. A. Henty. With 8 page Illustrations by Alfred Pearse. 5s. 
 
 "It is a book which all young people, but especially boys, will read with 
 avidity." — Athenceum. 
 
 " A first-rate book for boys, brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting 
 conversation, and of vivid pictures of colonial Hie."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 St. George for England : A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 
 " A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style the author 
 lias endeavoured to show that determination and enthusiasm can accomplish mar- 
 vellous results; and that courage is generally accompanied by magnanimity and 
 gentleness." — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 The Bravest Of the Brave : With Peterborough in Spain. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Pictures by H. M. Paget. 5s. 
 
 " Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work — to enforce the 
 doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and lovingkindness, as indispensable to the 
 making of an English gentleman. British lads will read The Bravest of the 
 Brave with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite sure." — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 For Name and Fame: or, Through Afghan Passes. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 
 "Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of excitement of a 
 campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account of a territory and its inhabi- 
 tants which must for a long time possess a supreme interest for Englishmen, as 
 being the key to our Indian Empire. "—Glasgow Herald. 
 
 A JaCObite Exile: Being the Adventures of a Young English- 
 man in the Service of Charles XII. of Sweden. By G. A. Henty. 
 With 8 page Illustrations by Paul Hardy', and a Map. 5s. 
 
 "Incident succeeds incident, and adventure is piled upon adventure, and at the 
 end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced breathless enjoyment 
 in a romantic story that must have taught him much at its close." — Army and 
 Navy Gazette. *• 
 
 Held Fast for England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar. 
 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 
 "Among them we would place first in interest and wholesome educational 
 value the story of the siege of Gibraltar. . . . There is no cessation of exciting 
 incident throughout the story." — Athenceum. 
 
BLACKIE & SOU'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. » 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY. 
 
 "Mr. Henty's books are always alive with moving incident." — Review of Reviews. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 Condemned as a Nihilist : A Story of Escape from Siberia. 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Walter Paget. 5s. 
 "The best of this year's Henty. His narrative is more interesting than many 
 of the tales with which the public is familiar, of escape from Siberia. Despite 
 their superior claim to authenticity these tales are without doubt no less fic- 
 titious than Mr. Henty's, and he beats them hollow in the matter of sensations." 
 — National Observer. 
 
 Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 "The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with life as 
 vivacious as if what is being described were really passing before the eye. . . . 
 Should be in the hands of every young student of Irish history. "—Belfast News. 
 
 In the Reign Of Terror : The Adventures of a Westminster 
 Boy. By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by J. Schonberg. 5s. 
 " Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat Mr. Henty's 
 record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity and peril they depict. 
 The story is one of Mr. Henty's best."— Saturday Review. 
 
 By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. 
 Henty. With 8 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 "Morally, the book is everything that could be desired, setting before the boys 
 a bright and bracing ideal of the English gentleman." — Christian Leader. 
 
 The Dragon and the Raven: or, The Days of King 
 
 Alfred. By G. A. Henty. With 8 page Illustrations by C. J. 
 
 Staniland, r.i. 5s. 
 " A story that may justly be styled remarkable. Boys, in reading it, will be 
 surprised to find how Alfred persevered, through years of bloodshed and times 
 of peace, to rescue his people from the thraldom of the Danes. We hope the 
 book will soon be widely known in all our schools." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. 
 By G. A. Henty. Illustrated by W. B. Wollen. 5s. 
 " All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging interest. The episodes 
 are in Mr. Henty's very best vein— graphic, exciting, realistic; and, as in all Mr. 
 Henty's books, the tendency is to the formation of an honourable, manly, and 
 even heroic character." — Birmingham Post. 
 
 The Young Colonists : A Tale of the Zulu and Boer Wars. 
 
 By G. A, Henty. With 6 Illustrations by Simon H. Vedder. 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 "Fiction and history are so happily blended that the record of facts quicken 
 the imagination. No boy can read this book without learning a great deal of 
 South African history at its most critical period." — Standard. 
 
 A Chapter Of Adventures: or, Through the Bombard- 
 ment of Alexandria. By G. A. Henty. With 6 page Illustrations 
 by W. H. Overend. 3s. 6d. 
 "Jack Robson and his two companions have their fill of excitement, and their 
 
 chapter of adventures is so brisk and entertaining we could have wished it longer 
 
 than it is." — Saturday Review. 
 
10 BLACKIE & SOU'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY KIRK MUNROE. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 Through Swamp and Glade : a Tale of the Seminole 
 
 War. By Kirk Munroe. Illustrated by Victor Perard. 5s. 
 
 " The hero of Through Swamp and Glade will find many ardent champions, and 
 the name of Coachoochie become as familiar in the schoolboy's ear as that of 
 the headmaster."— St. James's Gazette. 
 
 At War With PontiaC: or, The Totem of the Bear. By 
 
 Kirk Munroe. Illustrated by J. Finnemore. 5s. 
 
 "Is in the best manner of Cooper. There is a character who is the parallel of 
 Hawkeye, as the Chingachgooks and Uncas have likewise their counterparts."— 
 The Times. 
 
 The White Conquerors of Mexico: A Tale of Toitec 
 
 and Aztec. By Kirk Munroe. Illustrated by W. S. Stacey. 5s. 
 
 "Mr. Munroe gives most vivid pictures of the religious and civil polity of the 
 Aztecs, and of everyday life, as he imagines it, in the streets and market-places 
 of the magnificent capital of Montezuma. "—The Times. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 TWO Thousand Years AgO: or, The Adventures of a 
 Roman Boy. By Professor A. J. Church. With 12 page Illus- 
 trations by Adrien Marie. 6s. 
 
 "Adventures well worth the telling. The book is extremely entertaining as 
 well as useful, and there is a wonderful freshness in the Roman scenes and 
 characters." — The Times. 
 
 The Clever Miss Follett, By J. K. H. Denny. With 
 
 12 page Illustrations by Gertrude D. Hammond. 6s. 
 
 "Just the book to give to girls, who will delight both in the letterpress and 
 the illustrations. Miss Hammond has never done better work."— Review of 
 Reviews. 
 
 The Heiress of Courtleroy. By Anne Beale. With 8 
 
 page Illustrations by T. C. H. Castle. 5s. 
 
 "We can speak highly of the grace with which Miss Beale relates how the 
 young ' Heiress of Courtleroy ' had such good influence over her uncle as to win 
 him from his intensely selfish ways." — Guardian. 
 
 Under False Colours: A Story from Two Girls' Lives. 
 
 By Sarah Doudney. Illustrated by G. G. Kilburne. 4s. 
 
 " Sarah Doudney has no superior as a writer of high-toned stories — pure in 
 style and original in conception; but we have seen nothing from her pen equal 
 in dramatic energy to this book." — Christian Leader. 
 
BLACEIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 11 
 
 BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn stands iu the foremost rank of writers in this department. "—Daily 
 News. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 Dick O' the Fens : A Komance of the Great East Swamp. By 
 G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by Frank Dadd. 6s. 
 "We conscientiously believe that boys will find it capital reading. It is full 
 of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the last moment. It is 
 rich iu effective local colouring; and it has a historical interest. "—Times. 
 
 Devon Boys : A Tale of the North Shore. By G. Manville 
 Fenn. With 12 page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 "An admirable story, as remarkable for the individuality of its young heroes* 
 as for the excellent descriptions of coast scenery and life in North Devon. It is 
 one of the best books we have seen this season." — Athenaeum. 
 
 The Golden Magnet : A Tale of the Land of the Incas. By 
 G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 "There could be no more welcome present for a boy. There is not a dull page 
 in the book, and many will be read with breathless interest. ' The Golden Mag- 
 net' is, of course, the same one that attracted Raleigh and the heroes of West- 
 ward Ho .'" — Journal of Education. 
 
 In the King's Name : or, The Cruise of the Kestrel. By 
 G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 6s. 
 " The best of all Mr. Fenn's productions in this field. It has the great quality 
 of always ' moving on', adventure following adventure iu constant succession."— 
 Daily News. 
 
 Nat the Naturalist: A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern 
 Seas. By G. Manville Fenn. With 8 page Pictures. 5s. 
 "This sort of book encourages independence of character, develops resource, 
 and teaches a boy to keep his eyes open." — Saturday Review. 
 
 Bunyip Land: The Story of a Wild Journey in New Guinea. 
 
 By G. Manville Fenn. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 4s. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn deserves the thanks of everybody for Bunyip Land, and we may ven- 
 ture to promise that a quiet week maybe reckoned on whilst the youngsters have 
 such fascinating literature provided for their evenings' amusement." — Spectator. 
 
 Quicksilver: or, A Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. By 
 
 George Manville Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations by Frank 
 
 Dadd. New edition, 3s. Qd. 
 
 " Quicksilver is little short of an inspiration. In it that prince of story-writers 
 for boys— George Manville Fenn — has surpassed himself. It is an ideal book for 
 a boy's library." — Practical Teacher. 
 
 BrOWnsmith'S Boy: A Komance "in a Garden. By G. 
 Manville Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 6d. 
 " Mr. Fenn's books are among the best, if not altogether the best, of the stories 
 for boys. Mr. Fenn is at his best in Brownsmith's Boy."— Pictorial World. 
 
 For other Books by G. Manville Fenn, see page 22. 
 
12 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 A Rough Shaking". By George Mac Donald. With 
 
 12 page Illustrations by W. Parkinson. 6s. 
 
 "One of the very best books for boys that has been written. It is full of 
 material peculiarly well adapted for the young, containing in a marked degree 
 the elements of all that is necessary to make up a perfect boys' book." — 
 Teachers' Aid. 
 
 At the Back of the North Wind. By George Mac- 
 
 Donalo. With 75 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes. 5s. 
 
 " The story is thoroughly original, full of fancy and pathos. . . . AVe stand 
 with one foot in fairyland and one on common earth." — The Times. 
 
 Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood. By Geo. Mac Donald. 
 
 With 36 Illustrations by Arthur Hughes. 5s. 
 
 "The sympathy with boy-nature in Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood is perfect. 
 It is a beautiful picture of childhood, teaching by its impressions and suggestions 
 all noble things." — British Quarterly Review. 
 
 The Princess and the Goblin. By George Mac Donald. 
 
 With 32 Illustrations. 3s. 6rf. 
 
 "Little of what is written for children has the lightness of touch and play of 
 fancy which are characteristic of George Mac Donald's fairy tales. Mr. Arthur 
 Hughes's illustrations are all that illustrations should be." — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 The Princess and Curdie. By George Mac Donald. 
 
 With 8 page Illustrations. 3s. 6c/. 
 
 " There is the finest and rarest genius in this brilliant story. Upgrown people 
 would do wisely occasionally to lay aside their newspapers and magazines to 
 spend an hour with Curdie and the Princess."— Sheffield Independent. 
 
 BY ASCOTT R. HOPE. 
 
 Young Travellers' Tales. By Ascott r. Hope. With 
 
 6 Illustrations by H. J. Draper. 3s. 6d. 
 "Possess a high value for instruction as well as for entertainment. His quiet, 
 level humour bubbles up on every page."— Daily Chronicle. 
 
 The Seven Wise Scholars. By Ascott r. Hope. With 
 
 nearly 100 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 5s. 
 
 "As full of fun as a volume of Punch; with illustrations more laughter- 
 provoking than most we have seen since Leech died." — Sheffield Independent. 
 
 Stories Of Old Renown: Tales of Knights and Heroes. 
 
 By Ascott R. Hope. With 100 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 " A really fascinating book worthy of its telling title. There is, we venture to 
 say, not a dull page in the book, not a story which will not bear a second read- 
 ing." — Guardian. 
 
BLACK1E Ji SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 13 
 
 BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 The Log* of a Privateersman. By Harry Colling- 
 
 With 1 2 page 
 
 WOOD 
 
 Illustrations by W. 
 
 Eainey, r.i. 6s. 
 
 "The narrative is breezy, 
 vivid, and full of incidents, 
 faithful in nautical colouring, 
 and altogether delightful." — 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 The Pirate Island: 
 
 A Story of the South 
 
 Pacific. By Harry 
 
 Collingwood. With 
 
 8 page Pictures by 
 
 C. J. Staniland and 
 
 J. K. Wells. 5s. 
 
 " A capital story of the sea ; 
 
 indeed in our opinion the 
 
 author is superior in .some 
 
 respects as a marine novelist 
 
 to the better-known Mr. Clark 
 
 Russell."— The Times. 
 
 The Log" of the 
 "Flying" Fish": 
 
 A Story of Aerial 
 and Submarine Ad- 
 venture. By Harry 
 Collingwood. With 
 6 page Illustrations 
 by Gordon Browne. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 
 from 
 
 Reduced Illustration 
 ' The Log of a Privateersman ' 
 
 "The Flying Fish actually surpasses all Jules Verne's creations; with incred- 
 ible speed she flies through the air, skims over the surface of the water, and darts 
 along the ocean bed. We strongly recommend our schoolboy friends to possess 
 themselves of her log." — Athenaeum. 
 
 %* For other Books by Harry Collingwood, see pages 22 and 23. 
 
 Banshee Castle. By Rosa Mulholland. With 12 page 
 
 Illustrations by John H. Bacon. 6s. 
 
 "One of the most fascinating of Miss Rosa Mulholland's many fascinating 
 stories." — Athenaeum,. 
 
 Giannetta : A Girl's Story of Herself. By Rosa Mulholland. 
 With 8 page Illustrations by Lockhart Bogle. 5s. 
 "One of the most attractive gift-books of the season. "—The Academy. 
 
14 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY ROBERT LEIGHTON. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges. 
 
 Olaf the GlOPiOUS. By Robert Leighton. With 8 page 
 Illustrations by Ralph Peacock, and a Map. 5s. 
 
 "Is as good as anything of the kind we have met with. Mr. Leighton more 
 than holds his own with Rider Haggard and Baring -Gould." — The Times. 
 
 " Among the books best liked by boys of the sturdy English type few will take 
 a higher place than Olaf the Glorious. . . . " — National Observer. 
 
 The Wreck of "The Golden Fleece": The story of a 
 
 North Sea Fisher-boy. By Robert Leighton. With 8 page 
 
 Illustrations by F. Brangwyn. 5s. 
 
 " This story should add considerably to Mr. Leighton's high reputation. Ex- 
 cellent in every respect, it contains every variety of incident. The plot is very 
 cleverly devised, and the types of the North Sea sailors are capital."— The Times. 
 
 The Pilots Of Pomona: A Story of the Orkney Islands. 
 
 By Robert Leighton. Illustrated by John Leighton. 5s. 
 
 "A story which is quite as good in its way as Treasure Island, and is full of 
 adventure of a stirring yet most natural kind. Although it is primarily a boys' 
 book, it is a real godsend to the elderly reader." — Glasgow Evening Times. 
 
 The Thirsty Sword: A Story of the Norse Invasion of 
 Scotland (1262-63). By Robert Leighton. With 8 page Illus- 
 trations by A. Pearse. 5s. 
 
 " This is one of the most fascinating stories for boys that it has ever been our 
 pleasure to read. From first to last the interest never flags."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 BY SHEILA E. BRAINE. 
 
 To Tell the King" the Sky is Falling*. By Sheila e. 
 
 Braine. With over 80 quaint and clever Illustrations by Alice 
 
 B. Woodward. 8vo, cloth, decorated board, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 "It is witty and ingenious, and it has certain qualities which children are 
 quick to perceive and appreciate — a genuine love of fun, affectionateness, and 
 sympathy, from their points of view."— Bookman. 
 
 A Girl's Loyalty. By Frances Armstrong. With 8 page 
 
 Illustrations by John H. Bacon. 5s. 
 
 "There is no doubt as to the good quality of A Girl's Loyalty. The book is 
 one which would enrich any girls' book-shelf."— St. James's Gazette. 
 
 A Fair Claimant: Being a Story for Girls. By Frances 
 
 Armstrong. Illustrated by Gertrude D. Hammond. 5s. 
 
 " As a gift-book for big girls it is among the best new books of the kind. The 
 story is interesting and natural, from first to last." — Westminster Gazette, 
 
Specimen Illustration from 
 TO TELL THE KING THE SKY IS FALLING' 
 
 THE GNOMES BRING THE GONDOLA TO TOYLANP, 
 
10 BLACK IE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 TWELFTH EDITION OF THE UNIVERSE. 
 
 The Universe : or, The Infinitely Great and the Infinitely Little. 
 A Sketch of Contrasts in Creation, and Marvels revealed and 
 explained by Natural Science. By P. A. Pouchet, M.D. With 
 272 Engravings on wood, of which 55 are full-page size, and 4 
 Coloured Illustrations. Twelfth Edition, medium 8vo, cloth ele- 
 gant, gilt edges, 7s. 6c/. ; also morocco antique, 16s. 
 
 "Dr. Pouchet's wonderful work on The Universe, than which there is no book 
 better calculated to encourage the study of nature." — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 " We know no better book of the kind for a schoolroom library." — Bookman. 
 
 BY G. NORWAY. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 A Prisoner Of War: A Story of the Time of Napoleon 
 
 Bonaparte. By G. Norway. With 6 page Illustrations by Robt. 
 
 Barnes, a.r.w.s. 3s. 6d. 
 
 " More hairbreadth escapes from death by starvation, by ice, by fighting, &c, 
 were never before surmounted. . . . It is a fine yarn." — The Guardian. 
 
 A True Cornish Maid. By G. Norway. With 6 page 
 
 Illustrations by J. Pinnemore. 3s. 6c?. 
 
 "There is some excellent reading. . . . Mrs. Norway brings before the eyes 
 of her readers the good Cornish folk, their speech, their manners, and their ways. 
 A True Cornish Maid deserves to be popular."— A thenmum. 
 
 * # * For other Books by G. Norway see p. 23. 
 
 Dr. Jolliffe'S Boys: A Tale of Weston School. By Lewis 
 
 Hough. With 6 page Pictures. 3s. 6c?. 
 
 " Young people who appreciate Tom Bvoum's School days will find this story a 
 worthy companion to that fascinating book." — Newcastle Journal. 
 
 The Bubbling" Teapot. A Wonder Story. By Mrs. L. W. 
 
 Champney. With 12 page Pictures by Walter Satterlee. 3s. 6c?. 
 
 " Very literally a 'wonder story'. Nevertheless it is made realistic enough, and 
 there is a good deal of information to be gained from it." — The Times. 
 
 Thomdyke Manor: A Tale of Jacobite Times. By Mary 
 
 C. Rowsell. Illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke. 3s. 6e?. 
 
 "Miss Rowsell has never written a more attractive book than Thomdyke 
 Manor. " — Belfast News-Letter. 
 
 Traitor Or Patriot? A Tale of the Bye-Honse Plot. By 
 Mary C. Rowsell. Illustrated. 3s. 6c?. 
 "Here the Rye-House Plot serves as the groundwork for a romantic love 
 episode, whose true characters are lifelike beings."— Graphic. 
 
BLACEIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 17 
 
 BY DR. GORDON STABLES. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 FOP Life and Liberty: A Story of Battle by Land and 
 
 Sea. By Dr. Gordon Stables, e.n. With 8 Illustrations by 
 
 Sydney Paget, and a Map. 5s. 
 
 " The story is lively and spirited, with abundance of blockade-running:, hard 
 fighting, narrow escapes, and introductions to some of the most distinguished 
 generals on both sides." — The Times. 
 
 TO Greenland and the Pole. By Gordon Stables, m.d. 
 
 With 8 page Illustrations by G. C. Hindley, and a Map. 5s. 
 
 " His Arctic explorers have the verisimilitude of life. It is one of the books of 
 the season, and one of the best Mr. Stables has ever written." — Truth. 
 
 WestwaPd With ColumbUS. By Gordon Stables, m.d. 
 
 With 8 page Illustrations by A. Pearse. 5s. 
 
 "We must place Westward with Columbus among those books that all boys 
 ought to read." — The Spectator. 
 
 'Twixt SehOOl and College: A Tale of Self-reliance. By 
 
 Gordon Stables, cm., m.d., r.n. Illustrated by W. Parkinson. 5s. 
 
 "One of the best of a prolific writer's books for boys, being full of practical 
 instructions as to keeping pets, and inculcates in a way which a little recalls Miss 
 Edge worth's 'Frank' the virtue of self-reliance."— A thenceum. 
 
 With the Sea Kings : A Story of the Days of Lord Nelson. 
 
 By E. H. Winder. Illustrated by W. S. Stacey. 4s. 
 
 "Just the book to put into a boy's hands. Every chapter contains boardings, 
 cuttings out, fighting pirates, escapes of thrilling audacity, and captures by corsairs, 
 sufficient to turn the quietest boy's head. The story culminates in a vigorous 
 account of the battle of Trafalgar. Happy boys ! "—The Academy. 
 
 Storied Holidays ; A Cycle of Bed-letter Days. By E. S. 
 
 Brooks. With 12 page Illustrations by Howard Pyle. 3s. 6d. 
 
 " It is a downright good book for a senior boy, and is eminently readable from 
 first to last." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 ChivalriC Days: Stories of Courtesy and Courage in the 
 
 Olden Times. By E. S. Brooks. With 20 Illustrations. 3s. 6rf. 
 
 "We have seldom come across a prettier collection of tales. These charming 
 stories of boys and girls of olden days are no mere fictitious or imaginary sketches, 
 but are real and actual records of their sayings and doings. " — Literary World. 
 
 Historic Boys: Their Endeavours, their Achievements, and 
 their Times. By E. S. Brooks. With 12 page Illustrations. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "A wholesome book, manly in tone; altogether one that should incite boys to 
 further acquaintance with those rulers of men whose careers are narrated. We 
 advise teachers to put it on their list of prizes." — Knowledge. 
 
 [11], S 
 
18 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR TOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY HUGH ST. LEGER. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 An Ocean Outlaw: A Story of Adventure in the good ship 
 
 Margaret. With Illustrations by William Rainey, E.I. 4s. 
 
 "We know no modern boys' book in which there is more sound, hearty, good- 
 humoured fun, or of which the tone is more wholesome and bracing than Mr. St. 
 Leger's." — National Observer. 
 
 Hallowe'en Ahoy! or, Lost on the Crozet Islands. By 
 
 Hugh St. Legek. With 6 Illustrations by H. J. Draper. 4s. 
 
 " One of the best stories of seafaring life and adventure which have appeared 
 this season. It contains a capital ' fo'c's'le' ghost and a thrilling shipwreck. No 
 boy who begins it but will wish to join the Britannia long before he finishes 
 these delightful pages." — Academy. 
 
 Sou'wester and Sword. By Hugh St. Leger. With 6 
 
 page Illustrations by Hal Hdrst. 4s. 
 
 "As racy a tale of life at sea and war adventure as we have met with for some 
 time. . . . Altogether the sort of book that boys will revel in." — Athenceum. 
 
 Meg'S Friend. By Alice Corkran. With 6 page Illustra- 
 tions by Robert Fowler. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "One of Miss Corkran's charming books for girls, narrated in that simple 
 and picturesque style which marks the authoress as one of the first amongst 
 writers for young people." — The Spectator. 
 
 Margery Merton's Girlhood. By Alice Corkran. With 
 
 6 page Pictures by Gordon Browne. 3s. 6c/. 
 
 " Another book for girls we can warmly commend. There is a delightful 
 piquancy in the experiences and trials of a young English girl who studies 
 painting in Paris." — Saturday Review. 
 
 Down the Snow Stairs: or, Erom Good-night to Good-morn- 
 ing. By Alice Corkran. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 3s. 6(7. 
 
 "A gem of the first water, bearing upon every page the mark of genius. It is 
 indeed a Little Pilgrim's Progress." — Christian Leader. 
 
 Grettir the Outlaw: A Story of Iceland. By S. Baring- 
 Gould. With 6 page Illustrations by M. Zeno Diemer. 4s. 
 
 " Is the boys' book of its year. That is, of course, as much as to say that it 
 will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in simple, straightforward 
 English, as all stories should be, and it has a freshness, a freedom, a sense of sun 
 and wind and the open air, which make it irresistible."— National Observer. 
 
 Gold, Gold, in CaribOO I A Story of Adventure in British 
 Columbia. By Clive Phillipfs-Wolley. With 6 page Illustra- 
 tions by G. C. Hindley. 3s. 6d, 
 
 "We have seldom read a more exciting tale of wild mining adventure in a 
 singularly inaccessible country. There is a capital plot, and the interest is sus- 
 tained to the last page."- The Times. 
 
BLACKTE <fc SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 19 
 
 BY CHARLES W. WHISTLER. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 WulfriC the Weapon-Thane: The Story of the Danish 
 
 Conquest of East 
 
 Anglia. With 6 
 
 Illustrations by W. 
 
 H. Margetson. 
 
 4s. 
 
 "A picturesque and ener- 
 getic story. A worthy com- 
 panion to his capital story, 
 A Thane of Wessex. One 
 that will delight all active- 
 minded boys." — Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 A Thane of Wes- 
 sex: Being the 
 
 Story of the Great 
 Viking Raid of 845. 
 By Charles W. 
 Whistler. With 
 6 Illustrations by 
 W. H. Margetson. 
 3s. M. 
 
 "This is one of the best 
 books of the season. . . . 
 The story is told with spirit 
 and force, and affords an 
 excellent picture of the life 
 of the period." — Standard. 
 
 His First Kanga- 
 roo: An Austra- 
 lian Story for Boys. By Arthur Ferres 
 F. S. Spence. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "A lively story of life on an Australian stock-station, where the monotony of 
 things is agreeably diversified by not only the bounding kangaroo, but also the 
 up-sticking bushranger." — Scotsman. 
 
 Reduced Illustration 
 from "Wulfric the Weapon-Thane". 
 
 Illustrated by Percy 
 
 A Champion Of the Faith : A Tale of Prince Hal and the 
 
 Lollards. By J. M. Callwell. With 6 page Illustrations by 
 
 Herbert J. Draper. 4s. 
 
 "Will not be less enjoyed than Mr. Henty's books. Sir John Oldcastle's pathetic 
 story, and the history of his brave young squire, will make every boy enjoy this 
 lively story." — London Quarterly. ' ' • ■" 
 
20 BLACK1E <k SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BY ANNIE E. ARMSTRONG. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 Violet Vereker'S Vanity. With 6 page Illustrations by 
 
 Gertrude Demain Hammond. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "A book for girls that we can heartily recommend, for it is bright, sensible, 
 and with a right tone of thought and feeling."— Sheffield Lade-pendent. 
 
 Three Bright GirlS: A Story of Chance and Mischance. 
 
 By Annie E. Armstrong. Illustrated by W. Parkinson. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "Among many good stories for girls this is undoubtedly one of the verv best." 
 — Teachers' Aid. 
 
 A Very Odd Girl: or, Life at the Gabled Farm. By Annie 
 
 E. Armstrong. Illustrated. 3s. 6c/. 
 
 "The book is one we can heartily recommend, for it is not only bright and 
 interesting, but also pure and healthy in tone and teaching."— The Lady. 
 
 The Captured Cruiser: By c. J. Htne. illustrated by 
 
 Frank Brangwyn. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "The two lads and the two skippers are admirably drawn. Mr. Hyne has 
 now secured a position in the first rank of writers of fiction for boys."— Spectator. 
 
 Afloat at Last : A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea. By 
 
 John C. Hutcheson. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "As healthy and breezy a book as one could wish to put into the hands of 
 a boy." — Academy. 
 
 Picked Up at Sea : or, The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek. 
 
 By J. C. Hutcheson. With 6 page Pictures. 3s. 6rf. 
 
 Brother and Sister : or, The Trials of the Moore Family. 
 By Elizabeth J. Ltsaght. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Life's Daily Ministry: A Story of Everyday Service for 
 
 Others. By Mrs. E. R. Pitman. With 4 page Illustrations. 
 
 Cloth extra, 3s. 6rf. 
 
 " Full of stirring interest, genuine pictures of real life, and pervaded by a broad 
 and active sympathy for the true and good." — Christian Commonwealth. 
 
 Dora : or, A Girl without a Home. By Mrs. B. H. Bead. With 
 
 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "It is no slight thing, in an age of rubbish, to get a story so pure and healthy 
 as this." — The Academy. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 21 
 
 BY EDGAR PICKERING. 
 
 In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 TWO Gallant Rebels : A Story of the Great Struggle in La 
 Vendee. By Edgar Pickering. With 6 Illustrations by W. H. 
 
 OVEREND. 3s. Qd. 
 
 " There is something very attractive about Mr. Pickering's style. . . . Boys 
 will relish the relation of those dreadful and moving events, which, indeed, will 
 never lose their fascination for readers of all ages." — The Spectator. 
 
 In Press-Gang 1 Days. By Edgar Pickering. With 6 
 Illustrations by W. S. Stacey. 3s. 6d. 
 "It is of Marryat we think as we read this delightful story; for it is not 
 only a story of adventure with incidents well conceived and arranged, but the 
 characters are interesting and well-distinguished." — Academy. 
 
 An Old-Time Yarn: Wherein is set forth divers desperate 
 
 mischances which befell Anthony Ingram and his shipmates in the 
 
 West Indies and Mexico with Hawkins and Drake. By Edgar 
 
 Pickering. Illustrated by Alfred Pearse. 3s. 6c?. 
 
 " And a very good yarn it is, with not a dull page from first to last. There is a 
 
 flavour of Westward Ho! in this attractive book." — Educational Review. 
 
 Silas Verney: A Tale of the Time of Charles II. By Edgar 
 Pickering. With 6 page Illustrations by Alfred Pearse. 3s. 6d. 
 " Altogether this is an excellent story for boys." — Saturday Review. 
 
 BLACKIE'S NEW THREE-SHILLING SERIES. 
 
 Beautifully illustrated and handsomely bound. 
 
 Highways and High Seas: Cyril Harley's Adventures on 
 
 both. By F. Frankfort Moore. With 6 page Illustrations by 
 
 Alfred Pearse. 3s. 
 
 "This is one of the best stories Mr. Moore has written, perhaps the very best. 
 The exciting adventures are sure to attract boys." — Spectator. 
 
 Under Hatches: or, Ned Woodthorpe's Adventures. By 
 F. Frankfort Moore. Illustrated by A. Forestier. 3s. 
 "The story as a story is one that will just suit boys all the world over. The 
 characters are well drawn and consistent." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 Perseverance Island: or, The Eobinson Crusoe of the 19th 
 
 Century. By Douglas Frazar. With 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 
 
 "This is an interesting story, written with studied simplicity of style, much in 
 Defoe's vein of apparent sincerity and scrupulous veracity; while for practical 
 instruction it is even better than Robinson Crusoe." — Illustrated London News. 
 
 Girl Neighbours: or, The Old Fashior and the New. By 
 Sarah Tytler. Illustrated by C. T. Garland. 3s. 
 " One of the most effective and quietly humorous of Miss Sarah Ty tier's stories. 
 It is very healthy, very agreeable, and very well written." — The Spectator. 
 
22 BLACKIE & SONS BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 THREE-SH'LLING SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Beautifully illustrated and handsomely bound. 
 
 The Missing* Merchantman. By Harry Collingwood. 
 
 With 6 page Illustrations by W. H. Overend. 3s. 
 
 " One of the author's best sea stories. The hero is as heroic as any boy could 
 desire, and the ending is extremely happy."— British Weekly. 
 
 MenhardOC: A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. By G. 
 
 Manville Fenn. Illustrated by C. J. Staniland, r.i. 3s. 
 
 "The Cornish fishermen are drawn from life, and stand out from the pages in 
 their jerseys and sea-boots all sprinkled with silvery pilchard scales."— Spectator. 
 
 YuSSUf the Guide: or, The Mountain Bandits. By G. Man- 
 ville Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations by J. Schonberg. 3s. 
 
 "Told with such real freshness and vigour that the reader feels he is actually 
 one of the party, sharing in the fun and facing the dangers." — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Patience Wins : or, War in the Works. By George Man- 
 ville Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 
 
 " Mr. Fenn has never hit upon a happier plan than in writing this story of 
 Yorkshire factory life. The whole book is all aglow with life."— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Mother Carey's Chicken: Her Voyage to the Unknown 
 
 Isle. By G. Manville Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations by A. 
 
 Forestier. 3s. 
 
 " Undoubtedly one of the best Mr. Fenn has written. The incidents are of 
 thrilling interest, while the characters are drawn with a care and completeness 
 rarely found in a boy's book." — Literary World. 
 
 Robinson CrUSOe. With lOO Illustrations by Gordon 
 
 Browne. 3s. 
 
 "One of the best issues, if not absolutely the best, of Defoe's work which has 
 ever appeared."— The Standard. 
 
 Gulliver's Travels. With lOO Illustrations by Gordon 
 Browne. 3s. 
 
 " Mr. Gordon Browne is, to my thinking, incomparably the most artistic, 
 spirited, and brilliant of our illustrators of books for boys, and one of the most 
 humorous also, as his illustrations of 'Gulliver' amply testify. "—Truth. 
 
 The Wigwam and the War-path: stories of the Bed 
 
 Indians. By Ascott R. Hope. With 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 
 
 . "Is notably good. It gives a very vivid picture of life among the Indians, 
 which will delight the heart of many a schoolboy." — Spectator. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 23 
 
 THREE-SHILLING SERIES— Continued. 
 
 Beautifully illustrated and handsomely bound. 
 
 What Led to It, and What 
 
 The Loss of John Humble: 
 
 Came of It. By G-. 
 Norway. With 6 page 
 Illustrations by John 
 Schonberg. New Edi- 
 tion. 3s. 
 
 "This story will place the 
 author at once in the front rank. 
 It is full of life and adventure. 
 The interest of the story is sus- 
 tained without a break from first 
 to last. " — Standard. 
 
 Hussein the Hos- 
 tage: or, A Boy's 
 
 Adventures in Persia. 
 By G-. Norway. With 
 6 page Illustrations by 
 John Schonberg. 3s. 
 
 " Hussein the Hostage is full 
 of originality and vigour. The 
 characters are lifelike, there is 
 plenty of stirring incident, the 
 interest is sustained throughout, 
 and every boy will enjoy follow- 
 ing the fortunes ot the hero." — 
 Journal of Education. 
 
 Cousin Geoffrey and 
 
 I. By Caroline 
 Austin. With 6 page 
 Illustrations by W. 
 Parkinson. 3s. 
 "Miss Austin's story is bright, clever, and well developed."— Saturday Review. 
 
 The RoveP'S Secret: A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons 
 
 of Cuba. By Harry Collingwood. With 6 page Illustrations by 
 
 W. C. Symons. 3s. 
 
 " The Rover's Secret is by far the best sea story we have read for years, and is 
 certain to give unalloyed pleasure to boys." — Saturday Review. 
 
 Reduced Illustration from " Cousin Geoffrey' 
 
 The Congo Rovers: 
 
 Harry Collingwood. 
 
 A Story of the Slave Squadron. By 
 With 6 page Illustrations. 3s. 
 
 " No better sea story has lately been written than the Congo Rovers. It is as 
 original as any boy could desire."— Morning Post. 
 
24 BLACKIE £ SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BLACKIE'S HALF-CROWN SERIES. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 MarOOned On Australia, being the Narration of Diedrieh 
 
 Buys of his Discoveries in Terra Australia Incognito ahout the 
 
 year 1630. By Ernest Favenc. 
 
 "A remarkably interesting and well-written story of travel and adventure in 
 the Great Southern Land." — School Guardian. 
 
 My Friend Kathleen. By Jennie Chappbll. 
 
 "A pleasantly-written story for elder girls, who will admire Kathleen's cour- 
 age, and learn much from her nobility of character." — Board Teacher. 
 
 A Girl's Kingdom. By M. Corbet-Seymour. 
 
 " The story is bright, well told, and thoroughly healthy and good." — Ch. Bells. 
 
 Laugh and Learn: The Easiest Book of Nursery Lessons 
 
 and Nursery Games. By Jennett Humphreys. 
 
 "One of the best books of the kind imaginable, full of practical teaching in 
 word and picture, and helping the little ones pleasantly along a right royal road 
 to learning." — Graphic. 
 
 Reefer and Rifleman: A Tale of the Two Services. By 
 
 Lieut.-Col. Percy-Groves. 
 
 "A good, old-fashioned, amphibious story of our fighting with the Frenchmen in 
 the beginning of our century, with a fair sprinkling of fun and frolic." — Times. 
 
 A Musical Genius. By the Author of the "Two Dorothys". 
 
 " Tt is brightly written, well illustrated, and daintily bound, and can be strongly 
 recommended as a really good prize-book." — Teachers' Aid. 
 
 For the Sake Of a Friend : A Story of School Life. By 
 
 Margaret Parker. 
 
 " An excellent school-girl story. . . . Susie Snow and her friend, Trix Beres- 
 ford, are charming girls." — Athenaeum. 
 
 Under the Black Eagle. By Andrew Hilliard. 
 
 "The rapid movement of the story, and the strange scenes through which it 
 passes, give it a full interest of surprise and adventure." — Scotsman. 
 
 The Secret of the Australian Desert. By Ernest 
 
 Favenc. 
 
 " We recommend the book most heartily ; it is certain to please boys and 
 girls, and even some grown-ups." — Guardian. 
 
 A Golden Age : A Story of Four Merry Children. By Ismay 
 
 Thorn. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. 
 "Ought to have a place of honour on the nursery shelf." — The Athenaeum. 
 
BLACKIE 4c SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 25 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES— Continued. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In croion 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 BY BEATRICE HARRADEN. 
 
 Things Will Take a Turn. By Beatrice Harraden. 
 "With 44 Illustrations 
 by John H. Bacon. 
 
 "Perhaps the most bril- 
 liant is Things Will Take a 
 Turn. ... A tale of humble 
 child life in East London. It 
 is a delightful blending of 
 comedy and tragedy, with an 
 excellent plot." — The Times. 
 
 The Whispering* 
 
 Winds, and the 
 
 Tales that they Told. 
 By Mary H. Deben- 
 ham. With 25 Illus- 
 trations by Paul 
 Hardy. 
 
 " We wish the winds would 
 tell us stories like these. It 
 would be worth while to climb 
 Primrose Hill, or even to the 
 giddy heights of Hampstead 
 Heath in a bitter east wind, 
 if we could only be sure of 
 hearing such a sweet, sad, 
 tender, and stirring story as 
 that of Hilda Brave Heart, or 
 even one that was half so 
 good."— Academy. 
 
 From "Things will Take a Turn". (Reduced.) 
 
 Hal Himgerford. By J. E. Hutchinson, b.a. 
 
 "Altogether, Hal Hungerford is a distinct literary success."— Spectator. 
 
 The Secret of the Old House. By e. Everett-Green. 
 
 "Tim, the little Jacobite, is a charming creation."— Academy. 
 
 White Lilac: or, The Queen of the May. By Amy Walton. 
 " Every rural parish ought to add White Lilac to its library."— Academy. 
 
 Miriam's Ambition. By Evelyn Everett-Green. 
 
 "Miss Green's children are real British boys and girls " — Liverpool Mercury. 
 
 The Brig: "Audacious". By Alan Cole. 
 
 " Fresh and wholesome as a breath of sea air." — Court Journal. 
 
26 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 Jasper's Conquest. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 " One of the best boys' books of the season."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 Little Lady Clare. By Evelyn Everett-Green. 
 "Reminds us in its quaintness of Mrs. Swing's delightful tales." — Liter. World. 
 
 The Eversley Secrets. By Evelyn Everett-Green. 
 
 " Roy Eversley is a very touching picture of high principle." — Giw.rd.iait. 
 
 The Hermit Hunter of the Wilds. By G. Stables, r.n. 
 
 " Will gladden the heart of many a bright boy." — Methodist Recorder. 
 
 Sturdy and Strong". By G. A. Henty. 
 
 "A hero who stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic life." — The 
 Empire. 
 
 Gutta-Pereha Willie. By George Mac Donald. 
 
 " Oet it for your boys and girls to read for themselves." — Practical Teacher. 
 
 The War Of the Axe : or, Adventures iu South Africa. By 
 J. Percy-Groves. 
 "The story is well and brilliantly told."— Literary World. 
 
 The Lads of Little Clayton. By r. Stead. 
 
 "A capital book for boys." — Schoolmaster. 
 
 Ten Boys who lived ou the Road from Long Ago to Now. 
 By Jane Andrews. With 20 Illustrations. 
 " The idea is a very happy one, and admirably carried out." — Practical Teacher. 
 
 A Waif Of the Sea : or, The Lost Found. By Kate Wood. 
 " Written with tenderness and grace."— Morning Advertiser. 
 
 Winnie's Secret. By Kate Wood. 
 
 "One of the best story-books we have read."— Schoolmaster. 
 
 MiSS WillOWDUrn'S Offer. By Sarah Doudney. 
 "Patience Willowburn is one of Miss Doudney's best creations."— Spectator. 
 
 A Garland for Girls. By Louisa M. Alcott. 
 
 "These little tales are the beau ideal of girls' stories." — Christian World. 
 
 Hetty Gray : or, Nobody's Bairn. By Rosa Mulholland. 
 "Hetty is a delightful creature— piquant, tender, and true." — World. 
 
 Brothers in Arms : A Story of the Crusades. By F. Bay- 
 ford Harrison. 
 " Sure to prove interesting to young people of both sexes." — Guardian. 
 
 Miss Fenwick's Failures. By Esme Stuart. 
 
 "A girl true to real life, who will put no nonsense into young heads.'— Graphic. 
 
 Gytha'S Message. By Emma Leslie. 
 
 " This is the sort of book that all girls like."— Journal of Education. 
 
 A Little Handful. By Harriet J. Scripfs. 
 
 "He is a real type of a boy."— The Schoolmaster. 
 
BLACK1E <k SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 27 
 
 HALF-CROV/N SERIES— Continued. 
 
 gant. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth ele 
 
 Hammond's Hard Lines. By Skelton Kupford. 
 
 " It is just what a boy would a 
 choose if the selection of a *" 
 story-book is left in his own 
 hand. " — School Guardian. 
 
 Dulcie King": A Story 
 for Girls. By M. 
 Corbet- Seymour. 
 
 "An extremely graceful, 
 well-told tale of domestic life. 
 . . . The heroine, Dulcie, is a 
 charming person, and worthy 
 of the good fortune which she 
 causes and shares." — Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 Hugh Herbert's In 
 heritanee. By 
 
 Caroline Austin. 
 
 "Will please by its simpli- 
 city, its tenderness, and its 
 healthy interesting motive. 
 It is admirably written." — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 Nicola : The Career of | 
 a Girl Musician. By 
 M. Corbet-Seymour. 
 
 Jack o' Lan thorn: 
 
 A Tale of Adventure. 
 
 Jsy HENRY rRITH. Reduced Illustration from" A Girl in Spring-time". 
 
 My Mistress the Queen. By M. A. Paull. 
 The Stories of Wasa and Menzikoff. 
 Stories of the Sea in Former Days. 
 Tales of Captivity and Exile. 
 Famous Discoveries by Sea and Land. 
 Stirring Events of History. 
 Adventures in Field, Flood, and Forest. 
 
 "It would be difficult to place in the hands of young people books which 
 combine interest and instruction in a higher degree." — Manchester Courier. 
 
 A Rough Road : or, How the Boy Made a Man of Himself. 
 By Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks. 
 "Mrs. Banks has not written a better book than A Rough Road."— Spectator. 
 
28 BLACK1E & SON'S BOOKS FOB. YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 HALF-CROWN SERIES— Continued. 
 
 The TWO Dorothys. By Mrs. Herbert Martin. 
 
 "A book that will interest and please all girls." — The Lady. 
 
 A Cruise in ClOUdland By Henry Frith. 
 "A thoroughly interesting story." — St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Marian and Dorothy. By Annie E. Armstrong. 
 
 " This is distinctively a book for girls. A bright wholesome story."— Academy. 
 
 StiniSOn'S Reef: A Tale of Adventure 1 . By G J. Hyne. 
 
 " It may almost vie with Mr. R. L. Stevenson's 'Treasure Island."— Guardian. 
 
 Gladys Anstruther. By Louisa Thompson. 
 
 "It is a clever book: novel and striking in the highest degree."— Schoolmistress. 
 
 BLACKIE'S TWO-SHILLING SERIES. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 Sydney's Chums: A Story of East and West London. By 
 H. F. Gethen. 
 
 Daddy Samuel's Darling". By the Author of " The Two 
 
 Dorothys ". 
 May, Guy, and Jim. By Ellinor Davenport Adams. 
 
 A Girl in Spring-time. By Mrs. Mansergh. 
 
 In the Days Of Drake. Being the Adventures of Humphrey 
 Salkeld. By J. S. Fletcher. 
 
 Wilful Joyce. By W. L. Booper. 
 
 Proud Miss Sydney. By Geraldine Mockler. 
 Queen of the Daffodils. By Leslie Laing. 
 
 The Girleen. By Edith Johnstone. 
 
 The Organist's Baby. By Kathleen Knox. 
 
 SehOOl-DayS in France. By An Old Girl. 
 
 The RavensWOrth Scholarship. By Mrs. Henry Clarke. 
 
 Sir Walter's Ward : A Tale of the Crusades. By William 
 
 EVERARD. 
 
 Raff's Ranche : A Story of Adventure among Cow-boys and 
 Indians. By F. M. Holmes. 
 
 The JoyOUS Story Of TotO- By Laura E. Richards. 
 
 Our Dolly: Her Words and Ways. By Mrs. R. H. Read. 
 
 Fairy Fancy: What she Heard and Saw. By Mrs. Read 
 
 New Light through Old Windows. By Gregson Gow. 
 
 Little Tottie, and Two Other Stories. By Thomas Archer. 
 
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 29 
 
 TWO-SHILLING SERIES-Continued. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 An Unexpected Hero. By Euz. J. Lysaght. 
 
 The Bushranger's Secret. By Mrs. Henry Clarke, m.a. 
 
 The White Squall. By John C. Hutcheson. 
 
 The Wreck Of the "Nancy Bell". By J. C. Hutcheson. 
 
 The Lonely Pyramid. By J. H. Yoxall. 
 
 Bab : or, The Triumph of Unselfishness. By Ismay Thorn. 
 Brave and True, and other Stories. By Gregson Gow. 
 The Light Princess. By George Mac Donald. 
 
 Nutbrown Roger and I. By J. h. Yoxall. 
 Sam Silvan's Sacrifice. By Jesse Colman. 
 
 Insect Ways On Summer Days in Garden, Forest, Field, 
 and Stream. By Jennett Humphreys. With 70 Illustrations. 
 
 Susan. By Amy Walton. 
 
 A Pair Of ClOgS. By Amy Walton. 
 
 The Hawthorns. By Amy Walton. 
 
 Dorothy's Dilemma. By Caroline Austin. 
 
 Marie's Home. By Caroline Austin. 
 
 A Warrior King. By J. Evelyn. 
 
 Aboard the "Atalanta ". By Henry Frith. 
 
 The Penang Pirate. By John C. Hutcheson. 
 
 Teddy: The Story of a "Little Pickle ". By John C. Hutcheson. 
 
 A Rash Promise. By Cecilia Selby Lowndes. 
 
 Linda and the Boys. By Cecilia Selby Lowndes. 
 
 SwiSS Stories for Children. From the German of Madam 
 Johanna Spyki. By Lucy Wheelock. 
 
 The Squire's Grandson. By J. m. Callwell. 
 
 Magna Charta Stories. Edited by Arthur Gilman, a.m. 
 
 The WingS Of Courage; and The Cloud - Spinner. 
 Translated from the French of George Sand, by Mrs. Corkran. 
 
 Chirp and Chatter: Or, Lessons from Field and Tree. 
 By Alice Banks. With 54 Illustrations by Gordon Browne. 
 
 Four Little Mischiefs. By Kosa Mulholland. 
 
30 
 
 BLACKIE d- SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 TWO-SHILLING SERIES— Continued. 
 
 Illustrated by eminent Artists. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 Naughty Miss Bunny. By Clara Mdlholland. 
 Adventures of Mrs. Wishing-to-be. By Alice Corkran. 
 
 LIBRARY OF FAMOUS BOOKS FOR 
 BOYS AND GIRLS. 
 
 In Crown 8vo. Illustrated. Cloth extra, Is. 6c/. each. 
 
 Autobiographies of Boyhood. 
 Holiday House. By Catherine 
 
 Sinclair. 
 Log-book of a Midshipman. 
 Parry's Third Voyage. 
 Passages in the Life of a Galley- 
 
 Slave. 
 The Downfall of Napoleon. By 
 
 Sir Walter Scott. 
 What Katy Did. By Susan Cool- 
 
 IDGE. 
 
 What Katy Did at School. 
 
 Wreck cf the " Wager ". 
 
 Miss Austen's Northarr :r Abbey. 
 
 Miss Edgeworth's The Good Gov- 
 erness. 
 
 Martineau's Feats on the Fiord. 
 
 Marryat's Poor Jack. 
 
 The Snowstorm. By Mrs. Gore. 
 
 Life of Dampier- 
 
 The Cruise of the Midge. M. Scott. 
 
 Lives and Voyages of Drake and 
 Cavendish. 
 
 Edgeworth's Moral Tales. 
 
 Marryat's The Settlers in Canada. 
 
 Michael Scott's Tom Cringle's Log. 
 
 Natural History of Selborne. 
 
 Waterton's Wanderings in S. 
 America. 
 
 Anson's Voyage Round the World. 
 
 Autobiography of Franklin. 
 
 Lamb's Tales from Shakspeare. 
 
 Southey's Life of Nelson. 
 
 Miss Mitford's Our Village. 
 
 Two Years Before the Mast. 
 
 Children of the New Forest. 
 
 Scott's The Talisman. 
 
 The Basket of Flowers. 
 
 Marryat's Masterman Ready. 
 
 Alcott's Little Women. 
 
 Cooper's Deerslayer. 
 
 The Lamplighter. By Miss Cummins. 
 
 Cooper's Pathfinder. 
 
 The Vicar of Wakefield. 
 
 Plutarch's Lives of Greek Heroes. 
 
 Poe's Tales of Romance and Fan- 
 tasy. 
 
 BLACKIE'S EIGHTEENPENNY SERIES. 
 
 With Illustrations. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 A Chum Worth Having. By Flo- 
 rence COOMBE. 
 
 Penelope and the Others. By Amy 
 Walton. 
 
 The "Saucy May". By Henry 
 Frith. 
 
 The Little Girl from Next Door. 
 
 By Geraldine Mockler. 
 Uncle Jem's Stella. By Author of 
 
 "The Two Dorothys". 
 The Ball of Fortune. By C. Pearse. 
 The Family Failing. By Darley 
 
 Dale. 
 
 Warner's Chase: or, The Gentle 
 Heart. By Annie S. Swan. 
 
 Climbing the Hill. By Annie S. 
 
 Swan. 
 Into the Haven. By Annie S. Swan. 
 Down and Up Again. By Gregson 
 
 Gow. 
 Madge's Mistake. By Annie E. 
 
 Armstrong. 
 The Troubles and Triumphs of 
 
 Little Tim. By Gregson Gow. 
 The Happy Lad : A Story of Peasant 
 
 Life in Norway. By B. BJbRNSON. 
 A Box of Stories. Packed for Young 
 
 Folk by Horace Happyman. 
 The Patriot Martyr, ami other Nar- 
 ratives of Female Heroism. 
 
BLACKIE £ SON'S BOOKS FOR TO [TNG PEOPLE. 
 
 01 
 
 THE EIGHTEENPENNY SERIES.-Continued. 
 
 With Illustrations. In crown 8vo, cloth elegant. 
 
 Olive and Robin : or, A Journey to 
 Nowhere. By the author of " The 
 Two Dorothys". 
 
 Mona's Tpust : A Story for Girls. By 
 Penelope Leslie. 
 
 Reduced Illustration 
 From "A Chum Worth Having". 
 
 Little Jimmy: A Story of Adventure. 
 By Rev. D. Rice- JONES, M.A. 
 
 Pleasures and Pranks. By Isa- 
 bella Pearson. 
 
 In a Stranger's Garden: A Story 
 for Boys and Girls. By CONSTANCE 
 Cuming. 
 
 A Soldier's Son : The Story of a Boy 
 who Succeeded. By ^nnette Lys- 
 ter. 
 
 Mischief and Merry-making. By 
 
 Isabella Pearson. 
 
 Littlebourne Lock. By F. Bayford 
 
 Harrison. 
 Wild Meg and Wee Dickie. By 
 
 Mary e. Ropes. 
 Grannie. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 The Seed She Sowed. By 
 
 Emma Leslie. 
 Unlucky: A Fragment of a 
 Girl's Life. By CAROLINE 
 Austin. 
 Everybody's Business: or, A 
 Friend in Need. By Ismay 
 Thorn. 
 Tales of Daring and Dan- 
 ger. By G. A. Henty. 
 The Seven Golden Keys. By 
 
 James E. Arnold. 
 The Story of a Queen. By 
 
 Mary C. Rowsell. 
 Edwy: or, Was he a Coward? 
 By Annette Lyster. 
 
 The Battlefield Treasure. 
 
 By F. Bayford Harrison. 
 
 Joan's Adventures at the 
 North Pole. By Alice 
 
 CORKRAN. 
 
 Filled with Gold. By J. Per- 
 
 RETT. 
 
 Our General: A Story for 
 Girls. By Elizabeth J. 
 Lysaght. 
 
 Aunt Hesba's Charge. By 
 
 Elizabeth J. Lysaght. 
 
 By Order of Queen Maude : 
 
 A Story of Home Life. By 
 Louisa Crow. 
 
 The Late Miss Hollingford. 
 
 By Rosa Mulholland. 
 Our Frank. By Am y Walton. 
 A Terrible Coward. By G. 
 
 Manville Fenn. 
 Yarns on the Beach. By 
 
 G. A. Henty. 
 Tom Finch's Monkey. By J. C. 
 
 HUTCHESON. 
 
 Miss Grantley's Girls, and the Stories 
 she Told Them. By Thos. Archer. 
 
 The Pedlar and his Dog. 
 
 C. Rowsell. 
 
 Town Mice in the Country 
 
 M. E. Francis. 
 Phil and his Father. 
 
 Thorn. 
 
 By Mary 
 By 
 
 By ISMAY 
 
 Prim's Story. By L. E. Tiddeman. 
 Also a large selection of Rewards at Is., 9d., 6d., 3d., 2d., and Id. A 
 complete list will he sent -post free on application to the Publishers. 
 
32 
 
 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BLACKIE'S 
 SCHOOL AND HOME LIBRARY. 
 
 Under the above title the publishers have arranged to issue, for 
 School Libraries and the Home Circle, a selection of the best and most 
 interesting books in the English language. The Library includes lives 
 of heroes, ancient and modern, records of travel and adventure by sea 
 and land, fiction of the highest class, historical romances, books of 
 natural history, and tales of domestic life. 
 
 The greatest care has been devoted to the get-up of the Library. 
 The volumes are clearly printed on good paper, and the binding made 
 specially durable, to withstand the wear and tear to which well-circu- 
 lated books are necessarily subjected. 
 
 In crown 8vo volumes. Strongly bound in imperial cloth. Price is. 40L each. 
 
 Dana's Two Years before the Mast. 
 
 Southey's Life of Nelson. 
 
 Waterton'sWanderings in S.America. 
 
 Anson's Voyage Round the World. 
 
 Lamb's Tales from Shakspeare. 
 
 Autobiographyof Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 Marryat's Children of the New Forest. 
 
 Miss Mitford's Our Village. 
 
 Scott's Talisman. 
 
 The Basket of Flowers. 
 
 Marryat's Masterman Ready. 
 
 Alcott's Little Women. 
 
 Cooper's Deerslayer. 
 
 Parry's Third Voyage. 
 
 Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop. 2 vols. 
 
 Plutarch's Lives of Greek Heroes. 
 
 The Lamplighter. 
 
 Cooper's Pathfinder, 
 
 The Vicar of Wakefield. 
 
 White's Natural History of Selborne. 
 
 Scott's Ivanhoe. 2 vols. 
 
 Michael Scott's Tom Cringle's Log. 
 
 Irving's Conquest of Granada. 2 vols. 
 
 Lives of Drake and Cavendish. 
 
 Michael Scott's Cruise of the Midge. 
 
 Edgeworth's Moral Tales. 
 
 Passages in the Lifeof a Galley-Slave. 
 
 The Snowstorm. By Mrs. Gore. 
 
 Life of Dampier. 
 
 Marryat's The Settlers in Canada. 
 
 Martineau's Feats on the Fiord. 
 
 Marryat's Poor Jack. 
 
 The Good Governess. By Maria 
 
 Edgeworth. 
 Northanger Abbey. By Jane Austen. 
 The Log Book of a Midshipman. 
 Autobiographies of Boyhood. 
 Holiday House. By Catherine Sinclair. 
 Wreck of the "Wager". 
 What Katy Did. By Miss Caolidge. 
 What Katy Did at School. By Do. 
 Scott's Life of Napoleon. 
 Essays on English History. By Lord 
 
 Macaulay. 
 The Rifle Rangers. By Captain Mayne 
 
 Reid. 
 
 " The Library is one of the most intelligent enterprises in connection with 
 juvenile literature of recent years. ... A glance at the list proves that 
 the editing is in the hands of some one who understands the likings of 
 healthy boys and girls. . . . Ore of the healthiest juvenile libraries in 
 existence. " — Bookman. 
 
 Detailed Prospectus and Press Opinions ivill be sent post five on Application. 
 
 LONDON: 
 BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.G.