HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND:
A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83)
by
G. A. HENTY.
Contents
Preface. Chapter 1: "Something Like An Adventure." Chapter 2: A Great Change. Chapter 3: An Unexpected Journey. Chapter 4: Preparations For A Voyage. Chapter 5: A French Privateer. Chapter 6: The Rock Fortress. Chapter 7: Troubles Ahead. Chapter 8: The Siege Begins. Chapter 9: The Antelope. Chapter 10: A Cruise In A Privateer. Chapter 11: Cutting Out A Prize. Chapter 12: A Rich Prize. Chapter 13: Oranges And Lemons. Chapter 14: A Welcome Cargo. Chapter 15: Bob's Mission. Chapter 16: A Cruise In The Brilliant. Chapter 17: The Floating Batteries.
Illustrations
Bob and his Companions surprise the Burglars. View of Gibraltar from the Mediterranean. View of Gibraltar from the Bay. The Professor gets excited. The Rock and Bay of Gibraltar. 'The old gentleman is a brick,' exclaimed Gerald. Bob swims off to the Spanish Warship. They found the two Spanish mates playing at cards. They find Boxes of Silver in the Lazaretto. Bob receives a Commission from the Governor.
Preface.
The Siege of Gibraltar stands almost alone in the annals ofwarfare, alike in its duration and in the immense preparationsmade, by the united powers of France and Spain, for the capture ofthe fortress. A greater number of guns were employed than in anyoperation up to that time; although in number, and still more incalibre, the artillery then used have in, modern times, been throwninto the shade by the sieges of Sebastopol and Paris. Gibraltardiffers, however, from these sieges, inasmuch as the defence was asuccessful one and, indeed, at no period of the investment was thefortress 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 warwith France, Spain, Holland, and the United States, it was onlyoccasionally that a fleet could be spared to bring succour andprovisions to the beleaguered garrison. Scurvy was the direst enemyof the defenders. The art of preserving meat in tins had not beendiscovered, and they were forced to subsist almost entirely uponsalt meat. During the first year of the siege the supply of freshvegetables was scanty, in the extreme, and the garrisonconsequently suffered so severely, from scurvy, that at one timescarcely half of the men of the garrison were strong enough tocarry a firelock, and perform their duty. The providential captureof a vessel laden with oranges and lemons checked the ravages ofthe scourge; and the successful efforts of the garrison to raisevegetables prevented it from ever, afterwards, getting a firm holdupon them.
In such a siege there was but little scope for deeds of individualgallantry. It was a long monotony of hardship and suffering, noblyendured, and terminating in one of the greatest triumphs everrecorded in the long roll of British victories.
G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1: "Something Like An Adventure."
Had Mr. Tulloch, the headmaster and proprietor of a large school atPutney, been asked which was the most troublesome boy in hisschool, he would probably have replied, without hesitation, "BobRepton."
But, being a just and fair-minded man, he would have hastened toqualify this remark, by adding:
"Most troublesome, but by no means the worst boy. You mustunderstand that. He is always in scrapes, always in mischief. Inall my experience I have never before come across a boy who hadsuch an aptitude for getting into trouble; but I have nothing elseto say against him. He is straightforward and manly. I have neverknown him to tell a lie, to screen himself. He is an example tomany others in that way. I like the boy, in spite of the endlesstrouble he gives, and yet there is scarcely a day passes that I amnot obliged to cane him; and even that does him no good, as far asI can see, for he seems to forget it, five minutes after it isover. I wonder, sometimes, if he has really got hardened, anddoesn't feel it.
"He is sharp, and does his lessons well. I have no difficulty withhim, on that score; but he is a perfect imp of mischief."
With such characteristics, it need hardly be said that Bob Reptonwas one of the most popular boys at Tulloch's school.
School life was, in those days--for it was in August, 1778, thatBob was at Tulloch's--a very different thing to what it is, atpresent. Learning was thrashed into boys. It was supposed that itcould only be instilled in this manner; and although some masterswere, of course, more tyrannical and brutal than others, the canewas everywhere in use, and that frequently. Lads, then, had farless liberty and fewer sports than at present; but as boys' spiritscannot be altogether suppressed, even by the use of the cane, theyfound vent in other ways, and there was much more mischief, andmore breaking out of bounds, than now take place. Boys were lesstrusted, and more harshly treated; in consequence of which therewas a kind of warfare between the masters and the boys, in whichthe masters, in spite of their canes, did not always get the bestof it.
Bob Repton was nearly fifteen. He was short, rather than tall forhis age, but squarely built and strong. His hair could never be gotto lie down, but bristled aggressively over his head. His nose wasinclined to turn up, his gray eyes had a merry, mischievousexpression, and his lips were generally parted in a smile. A casualobserver would have said that he was a happy-go-lucky, merry,impudent-looking lad; but he was more than this. He was shrewd,intelligent, and exceptionally plucky; always ready to do a goodturn to others, and to take more than his fair share of blame, forevery scrape he got into. He had fought many battles, and that withboys older than himself, but he had never been beaten. The opinion,generally, among the boys was that he did not feel pain and, beingcaned so frequently, such punishment as he got in a fight was amere trifle to him.
He was a thorn in the side of Mr. Purfleet, the usher who wasgenerally in charge of the playground; who had learned by longexperience that, whenever Bob Repton was quiet, he was certain tobe planning some special piece of mischief. The usher was sittingnow on a bench, with a book in his hand; but his attention was, atpresent, directed to a group of four boys who had drawn together ina corner of the playground.
"There is Repton, again," he said to himself. "I wonder what he isplotting, now. That boy will be the death of me. I am quite sure itwas he who put that eel in my bed, last week; though of course, Icould not prove it."
Mr. Purfleet prided himself on his nerve. He had been telling theboys some stories he had read of snakes, in India; among them, oneof an officer who, when seated at table, had felt a snake windingitself round his leg, and who sat for several minutes withoutmoving, until some friends brought a saucer of milk and placed itnear, when the snake uncurled itself and went to drink.
"It must have required a lot of nerve, Mr. Purfleet," Bob Reptonhad said, "to sit as quiet as that."
"Not at all, not at all," the usher replied, confidently. "It wasthe natural thing to do. A man should always be calm, in case ofsudden danger, Bob. The first thought in his mind should be, 'Whatis this?' the second, 'What had best be done, under thecircumstances?' and, these two things being decided, a man ofcourage 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 betweenthe two rows of beds in the dormitory, and seeing that all the boyswere quiet, and apparently asleep, proceeded to his own bed, whichwas at the end of the room, and partly screened off from the restby a curtain. No sooner did he disappear behind this than half adozen heads were raised. An oil lamp burned at the end of the room,affording light for the usher to undress; and enabling him, as helay in bed, to command a general, if somewhat faint view of thedormi
tory. Five minutes after Mr. Purfleet had disappeared behindthe curtain, the watching eyes saw the clothes at the end of thebed pulled down, and caught a partial view of Mr. Purfleet as heclimbed in. A second later there was a yell of terror, and theusher leapt from the bed. Instantly, the dormitory was in anuproar.
"What is it, Mr. Purfleet--what is the matter, sir?" and several ofthe boys sprang from their beds, and ran towards him; the onlyexceptions to the general excitement being the four or five whowere in the secret. These lay shaking with suppressed laughter,with the bedclothes or the corner of a pillow thrust into theirmouths, to prevent them from breaking out into screams of delight.
"What is it, sir?"
It was some time before the usher could recover himselfsufficiently to explain.
"There is a snake in my bed," he said.
"A snake!" the boys repeated, in astonishment, several of the moretimid at once making off to their beds.
"Certainly, a snake," Mr. Purfleet panted. "I put my legs down, andthey came against something cold, and it began to twist about. In amoment, if I had not leapt out, I should no doubt have received afatal 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 seeit moving, under the clothes?"
There was certainly something wriggling, so there was a generalmovement back from the bed.
"We had better hold the clothes down, Mr. Purfleet," Bob Reptonsaid, 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 holdthe clothes down tight, on one side, if someone will hold them onthe other."
One of the other boys came forward, and the clothes were stretchedtightly across the bed, by the pillow. In a minute or two, Masonran up with four hockey sticks.
"Now, you must be careful," Mr. Purfleet said, "because if itshould get out, the consequences might be terrible. Now, then, fourof you take the sticks, and all hit together, as hard as youcan--now."
The sticks descended together. There was a violent writhing andcontortion beneath the clothes, but the blows rained down fast and,in a very short time, all movement ceased.
"It must be dead, now," Bob Repton said. "I think we can look at itnow, sir."
"Well, draw the clothes down very gently; boys, and be ready tostrike 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 adistance. "It is thick and short. It must have escaped fromsomewhere. Be very careful, all of you."
Mason approached cautiously, to get a nearer view; and thenexclaimed:
"Why, sir, it is an eel!"
There was a moment's silence, and then a perfect yell of laughterfrom the boys. For a moment the usher was dumbfounded, then herallied.
"You will all go to your beds, at once," he said. "I shall reportthe matter to Mr. Tulloch, in the morning."
The boys retired, laughing, to their beds; but above the din theusher 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?' then 'What hadbest be done, under the circumstances?'"
A third voice then took it up:
"It follows that a man of courage will deal coolly with thedanger."
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 between thebeds. "I will thrash the first boy who speaks."
As Mr. Purfleet had one of the hockey sticks in his hand, thethreat was sufficient to ensure silence.
To the relief of the two or three boys engaged in the affair, Mr.Purfleet made no report in the morning. Mr. Tulloch by no meansspared the cane, but he always inquired before he flogged and, asthe usher felt sure that the snake story would be brought forward,by way of excuse for the trick played upon him, he thought itbetter to drop it; making a mental note, however, that he would geteven with Bob Repton, another time--for he made sure that he was atthe bottom of the matter, especially as he had been one of thosewho had listened to the snake story.
Mr. Purfleet was held in but light respect by the boys. He was apale 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 nothingof Latin.
Moffat, who took the upper classes, was much more severe, and sentup many more boys to be caned than did the junior usher; but theboys did not dislike him. Caning they considered their naturalportion, and felt no ill will on that account; while they knew thatMr. Moffat was a capital scholar and, though strict, was alwaysscrupulously just. Above all, he was not a sneak. If he reportedthem, he reported them openly, but brought no accusation againstthem behind their back; while Mr. Purfleet was always carryingtittle tattle to the headmaster. There was, therefore, littlegratitude towards him for holding his tongue as to the eel; for theboys guessed the real reason of his silence, and put it down todread of ridicule, and not to any kindliness of feeling.
"Purfleet would give sixpence to know what we are talking about,Bob," one of the group talking in the corner of the playgroundsaid.
"It is worth more than that, Jim; still, we shall have to be extracareful. He suspects it was our lot who played him the trick aboutthe 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 forrabbits, and he says there are lots of them up on the Common. Itold him that I would come, and I expected two or three more; andwe would meet him at the top of the hill, at four o'clock tomorrowmorning. It will be getting light by that time. Of course, we shallget out in the usual way, and we can be back by half past six, andno one will be any the wiser. Old Thomas never comes down till aquarter to seven. I have heard him a dozen times. He just comesdown 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 amafraid of Purfleet."
"There need be no fear about him. He never wakes till the bellrings, and sleeps like a top. Why, he didn't wake, the othermorning, 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 hedid 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 shan't wake. We ought to keep watch tillit's time to get up, but I am sure we shouldn't keep awake. We mustall make up our minds to wake at three, then one of us will be sureto do it. And mind, if one wakes, he must promise not to go tosleep again before he hears the hall clock strike, and knows whattime 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, shan'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 amgoing, but I don't want to persuade any of you."
"Of course we are going, if you are going, Bob. What are we goingto do with the rabbits?"
"Oh, I settled Johnny Gibson should keep them. He is going to bringhis dog, you know; besides, what could we do with them? We can'tcook them, can we?"
As it was clear to all the party that this could not be managed, noobjection 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 strikethree next time. At last he heard the three welcome strokes, and
atonce got up and went to the beds of the other three boys.
They were all sound asleep, and required some shaking before theycould be convinced that it was time to get up. Then each boy puthis bolster in his bed, rolled up his night shirt into a ball andlaid it on the pillow, and then partly covered it up with theclothes. Then they slipped on their shirts, breeches, and stockingsand, taking their jackets and shoes in their hand, stole out of thedoor at their end of the room, and closed it behind them. They thencrept downstairs to the room where their caps were kept, put onthese and their jackets, and each boy got a hockey stick out of thecupboard in the corner in which they were kept. Then they verycautiously unfastened the shutter, raised the window, and slippedout. They pulled the shutter to behind them, closed the window, andthen put on their shoes.
"That is managed first rate," Bob said. "There wasn't the leastnoise. I made sure Wharton would have dropped his shoes."
"Why should I drop them, more than anyone else?" Wharton asked inan aggrieved voice.
"I don't know, Billy. The idea occurred to me. I didn't thinkanyone else would do it, but I quite made up my mind that youwould."
"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."
"Well, he might as well joke with somebody else, Jim. I don't seeany joke in it."
"No, that is where the joke is, Billy," Bob said. "If you did seethe joke, there wouldn't be any joke in it.
"Well, never mind, here is the walnut tree. Now, who will get overfirst?"
The walnut tree stood in the playground near the wall, and hadoften proved useful as a ladder to boys at Tulloch's. One of itsbranches extended over the wall and, from this, it was easy to dropdown beyond it. The return was more difficult, and was only to beaccomplished by means of an old ivy, which grew against the wall atsome distance off. By its aid the wall could be scaled without muchdifficulty, and there was then the choice of dropping twelve feetinto the playground, or of walking on the top of the wall until thewalnut tree was reached.
Tulloch's stood some little distance along the Lower Richmond Road.There were but one or two houses, standing back from the roadbetween it and the main road up the hill, and there was little fearof anyone being abroad at that time in the morning. There was, asyet, but a faint gleam of daylight in the sky; and it was dark inthe road up the hill, as the trees growing in the grounds of thehouses, on either side, stretched far over it.
"I say," Jim Sankey said, "won't it be a go, if Johnny Gibson isn'tthere, after all?"
"He will be up there by four," Bob said, confidently. "He said hisfather would be going out in his boat to fish, as soon as it beganto be daylight--because the tide served at that hour--and that hewould start, as soon as his father shoved off the boat.
"My eye, Jim, what is that ahead of us? It looks to me like acoach."
"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, atthis 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:
"You are about early."
"Yes, we are off to work," Bob replied, and they walked steadilyon.
"He couldn't see what we were like," Jim Sankey said, when they hadgot a hundred yards further.
"Not he," Bob said. "I could not make out his figure at all, and itis 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?"
"Well, what should a cart be standing on the hill for, at this timein the morning? That's Admiral Langton's, I know; the door is justwhere the cart was stopping."
"Well, what has that got to do with it, Bob? The cart won't do himany harm."
"No, but there may be some fellows with it, who may be breakinginto his house."
"Do you think so, Bob?"
"Well, it seems likely to me it may be his house, or one of theothers."
"Well, what are we to do, Bob?"
"I vote we see about it, Jim. We have pretty nearly half an hour tospare, now, before Johnny Gibson will come along. We have got ourhockey sticks, you know."
"But suppose there shouldn't be any men there, Bob, and we shouldbe caught in the grounds; They would think we were going to stealsomething."
"That would be a go," Bob said, "but there isn't likely to beanyone about, at half past three; and if there were, I don'tsuppose 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 waitingat the top of the hill, with nothing to do till, Johnny Gibsoncomes."
They were now past the wall in front of Admiral Langton's, and farout 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, until we can find someplace 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 risksomething.
"Well, here goes. If you don't like it, Wharton, you can staybehind."
So saying, he put his hockey stick between his teeth, and thenproceeded 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'tyou fellows say a word. As Wharton says, there may be some dogsabout."
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 overby," 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?"Wharton asked, in a tone that showed he objected, altogether, tothe proceeding.
"It depends upon how many of them there are," Bob replied. "Ofcourse, the admiral has got some men in the house; and they willwake up, and help us, if we give the alarm. Anyhow, we ought to beable to be a match for two men, with these sticks, especially if wetake them by surprise.
"What do you say, Jim?"
"I should think so," Jim replied. "Anyhow, if you are game to goon, I am.
"What do you say, Fullarton?"
"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, ofcourse it will all come out about us; and then shan't we get it,just!"
"I suppose we shall," Bob admitted, "but I don't see we can helpthat.
"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 downinto the garden.
The others soon joined, Wharton being more afraid of stayingbehind, 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 thehouse. That is the first thing. Then, if they have, we have got totry 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. Butwhat I was thinking was, we might fasten it across the stairs, orsome of the passages; and then set up a sudden shout, and theywould think the watchmen had come, and would make a bolt; and whenthey got to the string over they would go, and then we would dropon them with these hockey sticks, before they could get up.
"Well, co
me on. There mayn't be anyone here, after all. Now we willgo up to the house, and creep round."
The house stood thirty or forty yards away and, stepping asnoiselessly as they could, the boys crossed the lawn and movedalong the front. Suddenly, Tom Fullarton caught hold of Bob's arm.
"Look, Bob, there is a light in that room! Do you see--through theslit in the shutters?"
"So there is. Well, there is no mistake, now. There must be somefellows belonging to that cart inside. That must be the drawingroom, or dining room, and they would never have lights there atthis time of night.
"Now, let us find out where they got in. This is something likefun. It beats rabbit hunting all to nothing.
"Now mind, you fellows, if we do come upon them, and there is afight, you remember the best place to hit, to begin with, is theankle. You have only just got to fancy that it is a bung, and swipeat it with all your might. Anyone you hit there is sure to go downand, 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, thereis a light in there, somewhere! Come on.
"Now, let us take our shoes off."
The others were thoroughly excited now, and followed Bob withouthesitation.
"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 thedoor, locked it, and put the key in his pocket.
Then they crept on tiptoe along the passage. At the end were twolarge chests, strengthened with iron bands. A lighted lantern stoodupon them. Bob peered round the corner into the hall. No one was tobe seen, but he heard a noise through an open door, from which camea stream of light.
Motioning the others to stand still, he crept forward noiselesslytill he could look into the room. A man was occupied in packingsome articles of massive plate, clocks, and other valuables into asack. 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 thedoor.
"Now, Wharton, you hold our handkerchiefs and the string. If hedon'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 youshove the handkerchiefs into his mouth, Wharton. In the surprise,he won't know that we are only boys; and we will tie his handsbefore he has time to resist.
"Now, come on."
They were all plucky boys--for Wharton, although less morallycourageous than the others, was no coward, physically. Theirstockinged feet made no sound, and the man heard nothing until Bobsprang 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 threwthemselves upon him, each seizing an arm, while Wharton crammed twohandkerchiefs into his mouth. The man's hands were dragged behindhis back, as he lay on his face, and his wrists tied firmlytogether. He was rendered utterly helpless before he had recoveredfrom the first shock of surprise.
"Tie his ankles together with the other two handkerchiefs," Bobsaid, still lying across him.
"That is right. You are sure they are tight? 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 thebanisters, 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; andthen, grasping their sticks, the boys sprang upstairs. On gainingthe landing, they heard voices proceeding from a room along acorridor 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 uswhere 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 knowthat you have got it.
"Very well, Bill, hit that young woman over the head with the buttof 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."
"Come on," Bob Repton whispered to the others; "the moment we arein, shout."
Illustration: Bob and his Companions surprise the Burglars.
He stood for a moment in the doorway. A man was standing, with hisback to him, holding a pistol in his hand. Another, similarlyarmed, stood by the side of a young woman who, in a loose dressinggown, sat shrinking in an armchair, into which she had evidentlybeen thrust. A third was in the act of crawling under the bed. Anelderly man, in his nightshirt, was standing up. A gag had beenthrust into his mouth; and he was tightly bound, by a cord roundhis waist, to one of the bedposts.
Bob sprang forward, whirling his hockey stick round his head, andgiving a loud shout of "Down with the villains!" the othersjoining, at the top of their voices.
Before the man had time to turn round, Bob's stick fell, with allthe boy's strength, upon his ankle; and he went down as if he hadbeen shot, his pistol exploding as he fell. Bob raised his stickagain and brought it down, with a swinging blow, on the robber'shead.
The others had made a rush, together, towards the man standing bythe lady. Taken utterly by surprise, he discharged his pistol atrandom, and then sprang towards the door. Two blows fell on him,and Sankey and Fullarton tried to grapple with him; but he burstthrough them, and rushed out.
Bob and Wharton sprang on the kneeling man, before he could gainhis feet; and rolled him over, throwing themselves upon him. He wasstruggling furiously, and would soon have shaken them off, when theother 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 theadmiral.
The ruffian on the ground was a very powerful man, and the threeboys had the greatest difficulty in holding him down; tillFullarton slipped a noose round one of his ankles and then, jumpingon the bed, hauled upon it with all his strength--the admiralgiving his assistance.
"Get off him, he is safe!" he shouted; but the others had thegreatest difficulty in shaking themselves free from the man--whohad, fortunately, laid his pistol on the bed, before he crawledunder it to get at the box.
Jim Sankey was the first to shake himself free from him and, seeingwhat Fullarton was doing, he jumped on to the bed and gave him hisassistance and, in half a minute, the ruffian's leg was lashed tothe bedpost, at a height of five feet from the ground.
Just as this was done there was a rush of feet outside; and threemen, one holding a cutlass and the other two armed with pokers, raninto the room. It was fortunate they did so, for the man whom Bobhad first felled was just rising to his feet; but he was at oncestruck 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 dealwith these fellows."
The three men rushed off.
"Well, I don't know who you are," the admiral went on, turning tothe boys, "but you turned up at the nick of time; and I am deeplyindebted to you, not only for saving my money--although I shouldnot have liked to lose that--but for having captured these pirates.
"That villain has not hurt you much, I hope?" for both Bob and JimSankey were bleeding freely, from the face, from the heavy blowsthe robber had dealt them.
"No, sir, we are not hurt to speak of," Bob said. "We belong toTulloch's school."
"To the school!" the admiral exclaimed. "What on earth are yo
udoing here, at four o'clock in the morning?
"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 explained.
"Well done, lads!
"Are there any more of them, Jackson?"
"Don't see any signs of any more, admiral. There are the two platechests in the passage, as if they had been brought out from thebutler's strong room, in readiness to take away."
"Where is the butler? He must have heard the pistol shots!" theadmiral 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." Bob said. "He wasputting 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 splittheir 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 othertwo servants were standing beside the third robber, who was stillinsensible.
"You keep watch over him, John," the admiral said.
"William, you come with us. There is another man in the drawingroom, but he is tied."
"There is the key, sir," Bob said, producing it. "We thought itsafest to lock him up."
"Upon my word, young gentlemen, you seem to have thought ofeverything. If I were in command of a ship, I should like to haveyou all as midshipmen."
The door was opened. The man was still lying on the ground, but hadrolled some distance from where they had left him. He had succeededin getting his feet loosened from the handkerchief, but thewhipcord round his wrists had resisted all his efforts to break orslacken it. He was panting heavily from the exertions he had made.
"It is Harper," the admiral said, in a tone of indignation anddisgust.
"So, you treacherous scoundrel, it was you who let these men in,was it? Well, it is a hanging matter, my lad; and if any fellowdeserves the rope, you do.
"You had better go and get some more cord, Williams, and tie allthese four fellows up, securely. Let Jackson see to the knots.
"Where did the scoundrels get in?" he asked, turning to the boys.
"At the door at the end of the passage, sir, where the plate chestsare standing. We found it open--here is the key of it. We lockedit, 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 upsafely," 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 standingoutside the gate, and a fellow in it. Bring him in, and lay himalongside the others."
The boys followed the two men, to see the capture. The light hadbroadened out over the sky, and it was almost sunrise as theysallied out. They went quietly along, until they reached thegate--which stood ajar--then they flung it open and rushed out. Totheir disappointment, the cart was standing about fifty yards lowerdown the hill. The man was in it, with his whip in one hand and thereins 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 pacewas such that it was hopeless for them to think of following him.
"I expect he heard the pistol shots," Jackson said, "and sheeredoff a bit, so as to be able to cut and run if he found his consortswere in trouble. Well, we cannot help it; we have taken four prizesout of the five, and I call that pretty fair."
"I think we had better go, now," Bob said. "We have got a friendwaiting for us."
"Then he must wait a bit longer," Jackson said. "The admiral willwant to ask you some more questions. But if your friend is anywherenear, 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 shan't want him at all, today, Bob?"
"I think so, Wharton. You see it is four o'clock, now; and wemayn't be able to get away for half an hour, and it will be toolate, then. Besides, Jim and I have been knocked about too much tocare for rabbit hunting, now. You tell him we will go some otherday."
"You needn't tell him that, Wharton," Fullarton put in. "It will besome time before we get a chance, you may be sure."
"All right! Tell him to go home then, Wharton. Tell him I will makeit all right with him, for losing his morning'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 hiscompanions accompanied the two men into the house. The admiral wasdown 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 themaids--I suppose they are all up--to light a fire and get somecoffee ready, at once, and something to eat.
"Now, young gentlemen, sit down and tell me all about thisbusiness. Now, which of you will be spokesman?"
Jim nodded to Bob.
"It's his doing, sir. I mean about our coming in here. We shouldnever have thought anything about the cart, if it hadn't been forBob; 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 together, 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 inHis Majesty's service," the admiral said. "You have saved me theloss of my two plate chests, of all the plate in this room--andthat couldn't be counted in money, for they were most of the thingsgiven me, at different times, on service--and of 500 pounds I hadin that box upstairs--altogether, at least 2000 pounds in moneyvalue. More than that, you prevented my being captured; and itwould have been a sorer blow, to me, than the loss of the money, ifthose 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 thehill, at half past three o'clock in the morning. What on earth wereyou doing there? Surely your master does not allow you to rambleabout, in the middle of the night."
"Well, no, sir, that is the worst of it," Bob said. "You see, I hadarranged with one of the fishermen's boys, who has got a first-ratedog, that we could meet him upon the Common, and do some rabbithunting. We slipped out from Tulloch's, and meant to have been backbefore 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 rejoinedthem, before Bob had finished the story--"but it is not for me toblame you. It will certainly have to be told, lads, because youwill have to appear as witnesses at the trial of these fellows; butI will go down myself, the first thing in the morning, and speak toyour master."
"Thank you, sir," Bob said. "It won't make any difference about thethrashing; we are bound to get that. But we shan't mind that, weare pretty well accustomed to it. Still, if you speak for us, Iexpect we shall get off with that; otherwise I don't know whatTulloch would have done, when he found out that we had beenslipping out at night."
"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?"
"Half pas
t seven, sir."
"Very well, then. I will be there at that hour, lads, and do mybest for you. You see, with those faces of yours, you would be sureto be noticed, anyhow; and I hope you wouldn't, in any case, havebeen mean enough to screen yourselves by lying."
"That we shouldn't," Bob said. "I don't think there is a boy in theschool who would tell a lie to Tulloch."
"That is right, lads. A gentleman will never tell a lie to screenhimself, when he has got into a scrape. I wouldn't keep thesmartest young officer in the service on board a ship of mine, if Icaught him telling a lie; for I should know that he would not onlybe a blackguard, but a coward. Cowardice is at the bottom of halfthe 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 hashad."
Half an hour later, after eating a hearty breakfast, the four boysstarted for school.