Chapter 13: Oranges And Lemons.
There was great anxiety in Gibraltar that night, for the wind wasvery light and from the wrong direction and, in the morning, it wasseen that the greater portion of the convoy had drifted far away tothe east. Soon after noon, however, the Edgar managed to get inwith the Spanish admiral's flagship--the Phoenix, of eightyguns--and in the evening the Prince George, with eleven or twelveships, worked in round Europa Point; but Admiral Rodney, with themain body of the fleet and the prizes, was forced to anchor offMarbella--a Spanish town--fifteen leagues east of Gibraltar. It wasnot until seven or eight days later that the whole of the fleet andconvoy arrived in the port.
On the 29th a transport came in with the 2nd battalion of the 73rdRegiment, with 944 rank and file. A large number of heavy cannon,from the prizes, were landed; and several hundreds of barrels ofpowder, in addition to those brought out with the convoy. Greatstores of salt provisions and supplies of flour had been broughtout but, unfortunately, little could be done towards providing thegarrison with a supply of fresh meat. Had Admiral Rodney been ableto remain with his fleet at Gibraltar, supplies could have beenbrought across from the African coast; but the British fleet wasrequired elsewhere, and the relief afforded was a temporary one.The garrison was, however, relieved by a large number of thesoldiers' wives and children being put on board the merchantmen,and sent home to England. Many of the poor inhabitants were alsotaken, either to Barbary or Portugal.
While the fleet was in port, the Spanish blockading squadron wasmoored close under the guns of Algeciras; and booms were laid roundthem, to prevent their being attacked by the boats of the Britishfleet. An opportunity was taken, of the presence of the Spanishadmiral in Gibraltar, to arrange for an exchange of prisoners; andon the 13th of February the fleet sailed away, and the blockade wasrenewed by the Spaniards.
After the departure of the fleet, many months passed monotonously.The enemy were ever increasing and strengthening their works, whichnow mounted a great number of cannon; but beyond an occasionalinterchange of a few shots, hostilities were carried on languidly.The enemy made two endeavours to burn the British vessels, anchoredunder the guns of the batteries, by sending fire ships down uponthem; but the crews of the ships of war manned the boats and, goingout to meet them, towed them ashore; where they burned out withoutdoing damage, and the hulls, being broken up, afforded a welcomesupply of fuel.
The want of fresh meat and vegetables operated disastrously uponthe garrison. Even before the arrival of the relieving fleet,scurvy had shown itself; and its ravages continued, and extended,as months went on. The hospitals became crowded with sufferers--athird of the force being unfit for any duty--while there were fewbut were more or less affected by it.
As soon as it became severe, Captain O'Halloran and his wifedecided to sell no more vegetables; but sent the whole of theirsupply, beyond what was needed for their personal consumption, tothe hospitals.
During these eight months, only a few small craft had managed toelude the vigilance of the enemy's cruisers and, frequently, formany weeks at a time, no news of any kind from without reached thebesieged. The small supplies of fresh meat that had, during theearly part of the siege, been brought across in small craft fromBarbary, had for some time ceased altogether; for the Moors ofTangiers had, under pressure of the Spaniards, broken off theiralliance with us and joined them and, in consequence, not only didsupplies cease to arrive, but English vessels entering the Straitswere no longer able to anchor, as they had before done, under theguns of the Moorish batteries for protection from the Spanishcruisers.
Several times there were discussions between Bob, his sister, andCaptain O'Halloran as to whether it would not be better for him totake the first opportunity that offered of returning to England.Their argument was that he was wasting his time, but to this hewould not at all agree.
"I am no more wasting it, here, than if I were in Philpot Lane," hesaid. "It will be plenty of time for me to begin to learn theroutine of the business, when I am two or three and twenty. Unclecalculated I should be four years abroad, learning the languagesand studying wines. Well, I can study wines at any time; besides,after all, it is the agents out here that choose them. I can speakSpanish, now, like a native, and there is nothing further to bedone in that way; I have given up lessons now with the doctor, butI get plenty of books from the garrison library, and keep up myreading. As for society, we have twenty times as much here, withthe officers and their families, as I should have in London; and Ireally don't see there would be any advantage, whatever, in mygoing back.
"Something must be done here, some day. And after all, the siegedoes not make much difference, in any way, except that we don't getfresh meat for dinner. Everything goes on just the same only, Isuppose, in peace time we should make excursions, sometimes, intoSpain. The only difference I can make out is that I am able to bemore useful to you, now, with the garden and poultry, than I couldhave been if there had been no siege."
There was indeed no lack of society. The O'Hallorans' was perhapsthe most popular house on the Rock. They were making quite a largeincome from their poultry, and spent it freely. Presents of eggs,chicken, and vegetables were constantly being sent to all theirfriends, where there was any sickness in the family; and as, evenat the high prices prevailing, they were able to purchase suppliesof wine, and such other luxuries as were obtainable, they keptalmost open house and, twice a week, had regular gatherings withmusic; and the suppers were vastly more appreciated, by theirguests, 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 andlemons.
"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 crawlabout; but soldiers must take their chances, whether they come fromshot or from scurvy; but it is lamentable to see the childrenfading away. We have tried everything--acids and drugs of allsorts--but nothing does any good. As I told you, I saw the scurvyon the whaling trip I went, and I am convinced that nothing butlemon juice, or an absolutely unlimited amount of vegetables, willdo any good."
A week previously, a small privateer had come in with somemailbags, which she had brought on from Lisbon. Among them was aletter to Bob from the owners of the Antelope. It had been writtenmonths before, after the arrival of the brig and her two prizes inEngland. It said that the two vessels and their cargoes had beensold, and the prize-money divided; and that his share amounted tothree hundred and thirty-two pounds, for which sum an order upon afirm of merchants at Gibraltar was inclosed. The writers also saidthat, after consultation with Captain Lockett, from whom they hadheard of the valuable services he had rendered, the owners of theAntelope had decided--as a very small mark of their appreciation,and gratitude--to present him with a service of plate, to the valueof five hundred pounds, and in such form as he might prefer on hisreturn to England.
He had said nothing to his sister of this letter, as his intentionwas to surprise her with some present. But the doctor's words nowdetermined him to carry into effect an idea that had beforeoccurred to him, upon seeing so many sickly children among thefamilies of the officers of their acquaintance.
"Look here, doctor," he said, "I mean to go out and try and get afew boxes of oranges and lemons; but mind, nobody but you and Imust know anything about it."
"How on earth do you mean to do it, Bob?"
"Well, I have not settled, yet; but there can't be any difficultyabout getting out. I might go down to the Old Mole, and swim fromthere to the head of the bay; or I might get some of the fishermento go round the point, and land me to the east, well beyond theSpanish lines."
"You couldn't do that, Bob; there is too sharp a lookout kept onthe batteries. No craft is allowed to go any distance from theRock, as they are afraid of the Spaniards learning the state towhich we are reduced, by illness. If you did swim to the head ofthe bay, as you talk about, you would be certain to be captur
ed atonce, by the Spaniards; and in that case you would, as likely asnot, be shot as a spy."
"Still, deserters do get out, you know, doctor. There is scarcely aweek 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 anythinghappened to you, Bob."
"There is no occasion for them to know anything about it. Anyhow, Ishall say nothing to them. I shall leave a note behind me, sayingthat I am going to make an attempt to get out, and bring back aboat full of oranges and lemons. I am past seventeen, now; and amold enough to act for myself. I don't think, if the thing ismanaged properly, there is any particular risk about it. I willthink it over, by tomorrow, and tell you what plan I have fixedon."
On the following day, Bob told the doctor that there were twoplans.
"The first is to be lowered by a rope, down at the back of theRock. That is ever so much the simplest. Of course, there is nodifficulty about it if the rope is long enough. Some of thedeserters have failed because the rope has been too short, but Ishould take care to get one long enough. The only fear is thesentries; I know that there are lots of them posted about there, onpurpose to prevent desertion."
"Quite so, Bob; and no one is allowed to go along the paths afterdark, except on duty."
"Yes.
"Well, the other plan is to go out with the party that furnishesthe sentries, down on the neutral ground; choose some dark night,manage to get separated from them, as they march out, and then makefor the shore and take to the water. Of course, if one couldarrange to have the officer with the party in the secret, it wouldmake it easy enough."
"It might be done, that way," the doctor said, thoughtfully. "Haveyou 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 youshouldn't get shot, at the start. I have just been round to theorderly room. Our regiment furnishes the pickets on the neutralground, tonight. Captain Antrobus commands the party. He is a goodfellow and, as he is a married man, and all four of his childrenare 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 tohis quarters, and see what we can do with him."
They at once set out.
"Look here, Antrobus," the doctor said, after asking that officerto come out for a chat with him, "if we don't get 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, Repton here has made up his mind to try to get out of theplace, and make his way to Malaga, and get a boatload of fruit andtry to bring it in. Of course he will go dressed as a native, andhe speaks Spanish well enough to pass anywhere, without suspicion.So, once beyond the lines, I don't see much difficulty in hismaking his way to Malaga. Whether he will get back again is anothermatter, altogether. That is his business. He has plenty of money topurchase the fruit, when he arrives there; and to buy a boat, andall that sort of thing.
"The difficulty is in getting out. Now, nobody is going to know howhe does this, except our three selves."
"But why do you come to me, Burke?"
"Because you command the guard, tonight, on the neutral ground.What he proposes is that he should put on a soldier's greatcoat andcap, 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 slipaway and take his chance or, what would be better still, he mightbe in the party you take forward to post as sentries, and you couldtake him along with you, so that he would go with you as far as theshore; and could then slip away, come back a bit, so as to be outof sight of the farthest sentry, and then take to the water.
"He can swim like a fish, and what current there is will be withhim; so that, before it began to be light, he could land two orthree miles beyond the Spanish lines. He is going to leave a notebehind, for O'Halloran, saying he has left; but no one will knowwhether he got down at the back of the Rock, or swam across thebay, or how he has gone.
"I have tried to dissuade him; but he has made up his mind to tryit and, seeing that--if he succeeds--it may save the lives ofscores of children, I really cannot refuse to help him."
"Well, I don't know," Captain Antrobus said. "There certainly doesnot seem much risk in his going out, as you say. I should get atremendous wigging, no doubt, if he is discovered, and it was knownthat I had a hand in it; but I would not mind risking that, for thesake of the children.
"But don't take a firelock, Repton. The sergeants would be sure tonotice that there was an extra man. You had better join us, just aswe 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 amtaking with me, to serve as a messenger, or something of that sort.That way you can follow close behind me, while I am posting thesentries after leaving the main body at the guardhouse. Afterposting the last man at the seashore, I can turn off with you for afew yards, as if giving you an order.
"Then I will go back and stay for a time with the last sentry, whowill naturally think that the drummer has been sent back to theguardhouse. I will recommend him to be vigilant, and keep by himfor some time, till I am pretty sure you have taken to the waterand swam past; so that if the sentry should hear a splash, oranything, I can say it can only be a fish; and that, at any rate,it would not do to give an alarm, as it cannot be anything ofconsequence.
"You see, you don't belong to the garrison, and it is no questionof 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 Spanishclothes, such as would be appropriate for a small farmer or trader.He then presented his letter of credit at the merchant's, and drewa hundred pounds, which he obtained in Spanish gold. This money andthe clothes he put in an oilskin bag, of which the mouth wassecurely closed. This he left at the doctor's.
As soon as it became dark he went down again. The doctor had agreatcoat and hat in readiness for him--there being plenty ofeffects of men who had died in the hospital--and as soon as Bob hadput them on, walked across--with Bob following him--to the spotwhere Captain Antrobus' company were falling in. Just as they wereabout to march, the doctor went up to the captain; who after a wordor two with him said to Bob, in a voice loud enough to be heard bythe noncommissioned officer, close to him:
"Well, you will keep by me."
The night was a dark one, and the party made their way down to thegate, where the passwords were exchanged; and the company thenmoved along by the narrow pathway between the artificial inundationand the foot of the Rock. They continued their way until theyarrived at the building that served as the main guard of theoutlying pickets. Here two-thirds of the company were left; and thecaptain led the others out, an officer belonging to the regimentwhose men he was relieving accompanying him. As the sentries wereposted the men relieved fell in, under the orders of their officerand, as soon as the last had been relieved, they marched back tothe guardhouse.
A minute later, Captain Antrobus turned to Bob.
"You need not wait," he said. "Go back to the guardhouse. Mind howyou go."
Bob saluted and turned off, leaving the officer standing by thesentry. He went some distance back, then walked down the sand tothe water's edge, and waded noiselessly into the water. The oilskinbag was, he knew, buoyant enough to give him ample support in thewater.
When he was breast deep, he let his uniform cloak slip off hisshoulders; allowed his shoes to sink to the bottom, and histhree-cornered hat to float away. The doctor had advised him to dothis.
"If you leave the things at the edge of the water, Bob, it will bethought that somebody has deserted; and then there will be a lot ofquestions, and inquiries. You had better take them well out intothe sea with you, and then let them go. The
y will sink, and driftalong under water and, if they are ever thrown up, it will be farbeyond our lines. In that way, as the whole of the guard willanswer to their names, when the roll is called tomorrow, no onewill ever give a thought to the drummer who fell in at the lastmoment; or, if one of them does think of it, he will suppose thatthe captain sent him into the town, with a report."
The bag would have been a great encumbrance, had Bob wanted to swimfast. As it was, he simply placed his hands upon it, and struck outwith his feet, making straight out from the shore. This he did forsome ten minutes; and then, being certain that he was far beyondthe sight of anyone on shore, he turned and, as nearly as he could,followed the line of the coast. The voices of the sentries callingto each other came across the sea, and he could make out a light ortwo in the great fort at the water's edge.
It was easy work. The water was, as nearly as possible, thetemperature of his body; and he felt that he could remain for anytime in it, without inconvenience. The lights in the fort served asa mark by which he could note his progress; and an hour afterstarting he was well abreast of them, and knew that the currentmust be helping him more than he had expected it would do.
Another hour, and he began to swim shorewards; as the currentmight, for aught he knew, be drifting him somewhat out into thebay. When he was able to make out the dark line ahead of him, heagain resumed his former course. It was just eight o'clock when theguard had passed through the gate. He had started half an hourlater. He swam what seemed to him a very long time, but he had nomeans of telling how the time passed.
When he thought it must be somewhere about twelve o'clock, he madefor the shore. He was sure that, by this time, he must be at leastthree miles beyond the fort; and as the Spanish camps layprincipally near San Roque, at the head of the bay, and there wereno tents anywhere by the seashore, he felt sure that he could land,now, without the slightest danger.
Here, then, he waded ashore, stripped, tied his clothes in abundle, waded a short distance back again, and dropped them in thesea. Then he returned, took up the bag, and carried it up the sandybeach. Opening it, he dressed himself in the complete set ofclothes he had brought with him, put on the Spanish shoes and roundturned-up hat, placed his money in his pocket; scraped a shallowhole in the sand, put the bag in it and covered it, and thenstarted walking briskly along on the flat ground beyond the sandhills 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 forhim to distinguish the features of the country.
Inland, the ground rose rapidly into hills--in many places coveredwith wood--and half an hour's walking took him to one of these.Looking back, he could see the Rock rising, as he judged, fromtwelve to fourteen miles away. He soon found a place with somethick undergrowth and, entering this, lay down and was soon soundasleep.
When he woke it was already late in the afternoon. He had broughtwith him, in the bag, some biscuits and hardboiled eggs; and of aportion of these he made a hearty meal. Then he pushed up over thehill until, after an hour's walking, he saw a road before him. Thiswas all he wanted, and he sat down and waited until it became dark.A battalion of infantry passed along as he sat there, marchingtowards Gibraltar. Two or three long lines of laden carts passedby, in the same direction.
He had consulted a map before starting, and knew that the distanceto Malaga was more than twenty leagues; and that the first place ofany importance was Estepona, about eight leagues from Gibraltar,and that before the siege a large proportion of the supplies offruit and vegetables were brought to Gibraltar from this town.Starting as soon as it became dark, he passed through Estepona atabout ten o'clock; looked in at a wine shop, and sat down to a pintof wine and some bread; and then continued his journey until,taking it quietly, he was in sight of Marbella.
He slept in a grove of trees until daylight, and then entered thetown, which was charmingly situated among orange groves. Going intoa fonda--or tavern--he called for breakfast. When he had eatenthis, he leisurely strolled down to the port and, taking his seaton a block of stone, on the pier, watched the boats. As, whilewalking down from the fonda, he had passed several shops withoranges and lemons, it seemed to him that it would in some respectsbe better for him to get the fruit here, instead of going on toMalaga.
In the first place, the distance to return was but half that fromMalaga; and in the second it would probably be easier to get out,from a quiet little port like this, than from a large town likeMalaga. The question which puzzled him was how was he to get hisoranges 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?"
"I have not made up my mind, yet," he said. "I suppose you are busyhere, now?"
"No, the times are dull. Usually we do a good deal of trade withGibraltar but, at present, that is all stopped. It is hard on usbut, when we turn out the English hereticos, I hope we shall havebetter times than ever. But who can say? 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 manycarts go through here, of course; but the roads are heavy, and itis cheaper to send things by water. If our camp had been on theseashore, instead of at San Roque, we might have taken fish andfruit to them; but it is a long way across and, of course, in smallboats we cannot go round the great Rock, and run the risk of beingshot at or taken prisoners.
"No; there is nothing for us to do here, now, but to carry whatfish and fruit we do not want at Marbella across to Malaga; and weget poor prices, there, to what we used to get at Gibraltar; and nochance of turning an honest penny by smuggling away a few pounds oftobacco, as we come back. There was as much profit, in that, asthere 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 bringso much as a cigar on shore. But you know, there are ways ofmanaging things.
"Are you thinking of going across to Malaga, senor?"
"Well, I have a little business there. I want to see how the newwines are selling; and whether it will be better for me to sellmine, now, or to keep them in my cellars for a few months. I am inno hurry. Tomorrow is as good as today. If there had been a boatgoing across, I might have taken a passage that way, instead ofriding."
"I don't know, senor. There was a man asking, an hour ago, ifanyone was going. He was wanting to take a few boxes of fruitacross, but he did not care about hiring my boat for himself. That,you see, was reasonable enough; but if the senor wished to go, too,it might be managed if you took the boat between you. I would carryyou cheaply, if you would be willing to wait for an hour or two; sothat I could go round to the other fishermen, and get a few dozenfish from one and a few dozen from another, to sell for them overthere. 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, senor, it would be as wellnot to start until evening. The wind is very light, and we shouldhave to row. If you start in the afternoon, we should get to Malagaat 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 inreasonable time, just as the people were coming into the markets.That would suit us for the sale of our fish, and the man with hisfruit. The nights are warm and, with a cloak and an old sail tokeep off the night dew, the voyage would be more pleasant than inthe heat of the day."
"That would do for me, very well," Bob said. "Nothing could bebetter. What charge would you make, for taking me across andbringing me back, tomorrow?"
"At what time would you want to return, senor?"
"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 thatwould suit you better."
"And w
e might bring other passengers back, and any cargo we mightpick up?"
"Yes, so that you do not fill the boat so full that there would beno room for me to stretch my legs."
"Would the senor think four dollars too much? There will be mybrother and myself, and it will be a long row."
"It is dear," Bob said, decidedly; "but I will give you threedollars and, if everything passes to my satisfaction, maybe I willmake up the other dollar."
"Agreed, senor. 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 andwalking leisurely away.
The fisherman was waiting for him.
"I can't find the man, senor, though I have searched all throughthe 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, andpeople are always pleased with a present from the country. A box offruit from Marbella is always welcome, for their flavour isconsidered excellent. It is well to throw a little fish, to catch abig one; and a present is like oil on the wheels of business. Howmany boxes of fruit will your boat carry? I suppose you could taketwenty, and still have room to row?"
"Thirty, sir; that is the boat," and he pointed to one mooredagainst the quay.
She was about twenty feet long, with a mast carrying a good-sizedsail.
"Very well, then. I will hire the boat for myself. I will give yousix dollars, and another dollar for drink money, if all goespleasantly. You must be ready to come back, tomorrow evening; orthe first thing next morning, if it should suit you to stay tillthen. You can carry what fish you can get to Malaga, and may takein a return cargo if you can get one. That will be extra profit foryourselves. But you and your brother must agree to carry down theboxes of fruit, and put them on board here. I am not going to payporters for that.
"At what time will you start?"
"Shall we say six o'clock, senor?"
"That will suit me very well. You can come up with me, now, andbring the fruit down, and put it on board; or I will be down hereat 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, andcome straight down here, and start."
"Very well; fetch your brother, and we will set about the matter atonce; 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 oflemons and ten of oranges, and saw them carried down and put onboard. Then he handed a dollar to the boatman.
"Get a loaf of white bread, and a nice piece of cooked meat, and acouple of bottles of good wine, and put them on board. We shall behungry, before morning. I will be here at a few minutes beforesix."
Highly satisfied with the good fortune that had enabled him to getthe fruit on board without the slightest difficulty, Bob returnedinto the town. It was but eleven o'clock now so--having had but ashort sleep the night before, and no prospect of sleep the nextnight--he walked a mile along the road by the sea, then turned offamong the sand hills and slept, till four in the afternoon; afterwhich he returned to Marbella, and partook of a hearty meal.
Having finished this he strolled out, and was not long indiscovering a shop where arms were sold. Here he bought a brace oflong, heavy pistols, and two smaller ones; with powder and bullets,and also a long knife. They were all made into a parcel togetherand, on leaving the shop, he bought a small bag. Then he went ashort distance out of the town again, carefully loaded the fourpistols, and placed them and the knife in the bag.
As he went back, the thought struck him that the voyage mightprobably last longer than they expected and, buying a basket, hestored it with another piece of meat, three loaves, and two morebottles 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 sailorswere standing by the boat, and a considerable pile of fish in thebow showed that they had been successful in getting a consignmentfrom the other fishermen of the port. They looked surprised at thesecond 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, ofheadwinds springing up, and boats not being able to make theirpassage, and being blown off land; and I am not fond of fasting. Idaresay you won't mind eating, tomorrow, anything that is notconsumed by the time we reach port."
"We will undertake that, senor," the man said, laughing, highlysatisfied at the liberality of their employer.
"Is there wind enough for the sail?" Bob asked, as he stepped intothe stern of the boat.
"It is very light, senor, but I daresay it will help us a bit. Weshall get out the oars."
"I will take the helm, if you sail," Bob said. "You can tell mewhich side to push it. It will be an amusement, and keep me awake."
The sun was just setting, as they started. There was scarcely abreath of wind. The light breeze that had been blowing, during theday, had dropped with the sun; and the evening breeze had not yetsprung up. The two fishermen rowed, and the boat went slowlythrough the water; for the men knew that they had a long row beforethem, and were by no means inclined to exert themselves--especiallyas they hoped that, in a short time, they would get wind enough totake them on their way, without the oars.
Bob chatted with them until it became dark. As soon as he wasperfectly sure that the boat could not be seen from the land, hequietly opened his bag, and changed the conversation.
"My men," he said, "I wonder that you are content with earningsmall wages, here, when you could get a lot of money by making atrip, occasionally, round to Gibraltar with fruit. It would bequite easy; for you could keep well out from the coast till itbecame dark, and then row in close under the Rock; and keep alonground the Point, and into the town, without the least risk of beingseen by any of our cruisers. You talked about making money bysmuggling in tobacco from there, but that is nothing to what youcould get by taking fruit into Gibraltar. These oranges cost adollar and a half, a box; and they would fetch ten dollars a box,easily, there. Indeed, I think they would fetch twenty dollars abox. Why, that would give a profit, on the thirty boxes, of six orseven 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 thereis illness among them; and oranges and lemons are the things tocure them. It is all very well for men to suffer, but no one wantswomen and children to do so; and it would be the act of goodChristians to relieve them, besides making as much money, in onelittle 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, ifthey found out where we had been."
"Why should they find out?" Bob asked. "You would put out directlyit got dark, and row round close under the Rock, and then make outto sea; and in the morning you would be somewhere off Marbella, buteight or ten miles out, with your fishing nets down; and who is toknow that you have been to Gibraltar?"
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 businessthat I am bent upon, now. I have come out from Gibraltar to do alittle trade in fruit. It is sad to see women and childrensuffering; and there is, as I told you, lots of money to be madeout of it. Now, I will make you a fair offer. You put the boat'shead round, now, and sail for Gibraltar. If the wind helps us abit, we shall be off the Rock by daylight. When we g
et there, Iwill 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 theretomorrow, and you can start again, as soon as it becomes dark; andin the morning you will be able to sail into Marbella, and who isto know that you haven't been across to Malaga, as you intended?
"I tell you what, I will give you another fifty dollars for yourfish; or you can sell them there, yourselves--they will fetch youquite that."
The men still hesitated, and spoke together in a low voice.
"Look here, men," Bob said, as he took the two heavy pistols fromhis bag, "I have come out from the Rock to do this, and I am goingto do it. The question is, 'Which do you choose--to earn twohundred and fifty dollars for a couple of days' work, or to be shotand thrown overboard?' This boat is going there, whether you go inher or not. I don't want to hurt you--I would rather pay the twohundred and fifty dollars--but that fruit may save the lives ofmany women, and little children, and I am bound to do it.
"You can make another trip or not, just as you please. Now, I thinkyou will be very foolish, if you don't agree; for you will makethree times as much as I offer you, every thirty boxes of fruitthat 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, ornot."
"How do we know that you will pay us the money, when we get there?"one of the Spaniards asked.
Bob put his hand into his pocket.
"There," he said. "There are twenty gold pieces, that is, a hundreddollars. That is a proof I mean what I say. Put them into yourpockets. You shall have the rest, when you get there. But mind, nononsense; no attempts at treachery. If I see the smallest sign ofthat, I will shoot you down 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 thatwe 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 beenrowing, up till now. We must be past Fort Santa Barbara beforedaylight."
The boat's head was round, by this time, and the men began to rowsteadily. At present, they hardly knew whether they were satisfied,or not. Two hundred and fifty dollars was, to them, an enormoussum; but the risk was great. It was not that they feared that anysuspicion would fall upon them, on their return. They had oftensmuggled tobacco from Gibraltar, and had no high opinion of theacuteness of the authorities. What really alarmed them was the fearof being sunk, either by the Spanish or British guns. However, theysaw that, for the present at any rate, they had no option but toobey the orders of a passenger possessed of such powerful argumentsas those he held in his hands.