Chapter 15: Bob's Mission.
As soon as he found a secluded spot, he stripped off the clothes hewore and put on those of a Spanish sailor; and then, placing theothers in the bag, buried it in the sandy soil--taking particularnote 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, andskirted the town till he came down to the seashore again; and thenstrolled quietly back to the quays. In passing by the ships atanchor he had noticed the names of the four Spaniards and, afterwandering about for a short time, he entered a wine shop and seatedhimself at a table, near one at which three Spanish sailors satdrinking.
From their talk, he learned that the British were shortly to beturned out of Tangiers; that the town was to be given up to theSpaniards; and that the British consul had, the day before, beentaken to Sallee, where the emperor now was. The English in the townhad not yet been made prisoners, but it was believed that theywould be seized and handed over to the Spaniards, without delay.
Having obtained this information, Bob saw that--at any rate, forthe present--he might, if he chose, appear in his own character;and regretted that he had buried his clothes, before knowing howmatters stood. However, there was no help for it but to go backagain, 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 theoffice.
"I understand Mr. Logie is away," Bob said.
The clerk looked surprised, for he knew the whole of the small bodyof British residents well, and he could not understand how Bobcould have arrived.
"I am the bearer of letters to him, from Governor Eliott," Bobsaid. "I came across by boat, and landed two hours ago; but I wasin disguise, not knowing how matters stood here, and have but nowascertained that, so far, the English are not prisoners."
"Not at present," the clerk said. "But will you come into thehouse, sir? We may be disturbed here."
"In the first place," Bob asked, when they were seated in an innerroom, "when do you expect Mr. Logie back, and what is the realsituation? My orders are, if I cannot see Mr. Logie himself, that Iam to obtain as accurate a statement as possible as to how mattersare going on here; as it is important that the governor should beable to inform vessels sailing from Gibraltar, east, whether theycan or can not put safely into the Moorish ports. Of course, weknow that vessels have been several times taken by the Spaniards,while at anchor close to the towns; but they might risk that, ifthere were no danger from the Moors, themselves. But if the reportslast sent by Mr. Logie are confirmed, the Moors would be openly atwar with us; and would, themselves, seize and make prizes ofvessels anchoring. The danger would, of course, be vastly greaterthan that of merely running the risk of capture, if a Spanishvessel of war happened to come into a port where they were atanchor. Of course, I am merely expressing the views of thegovernor."
"I am sorry to say," the clerk said, "that there is no doubt theMoors are about to join the Spaniards in formal alliance againstus. Englishmen are liable to insult as they go through the street.This, however, would not go for much, by itself; but last week anumber of soldiers rushed into the office, seized Mr. Logie,violently assaulted him, spat upon him, and otherwise insultedhim--acting, as they said, by the express order of the emperor,himself. He is now practically a prisoner, having been taken underan escort to Sallee and, at any moment, the whole of the Britishcolony here may be seized, and thrown into prison; and if you knowwhat Moorish prisons are, you would know that that would mean deathto 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 Englishmanleaving; they are, in fact, so far prisoners, although nominally atliberty 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, afterdark, to assure Mr. Logie how deeply averse they were to thiscourse; for that the sympathies of the population, in general, werenaturally with the English in their struggle against the Spaniardswho had, for all time, been the deadly foe of the Moors.Unfortunately, the emperor has supreme power, and anyone whoventured to murmur against his will would have his head stuck upover a gate, in no time; so that the sympathy of the populationdoes not count for much."
"How many English are there, altogether?"
"A hundred and four. We made up the list last week. Of course thatincludes men, women, and children. There are some ten merchants,most of whom have one or two clerks. The rest of the men are smalltraders, and shopkeepers. Some of them make their living bysupplying ships that put in here with necessaries. A few, atordinary times, trade with the Rock in livestock. Half a dozen orso keep stores, where they sell English goods to the natives."
"I have a mission to discharge to a Mrs. Colomb, or at least to ayoung lady living with her."
"Mrs. Colomb, I regret to say, died three weeks ago," the clerksaid. "Miss Harcourt--who is, I suppose, the young lady youmean--is now, with Mrs. Colomb's servant, staying here. Mr. Logiehad placed them in lodgings in the house of a Moorish trader, justoutside the town; but the young lady could not remain there, alone,after Mrs. Colomb's death. I will ring the bell, and tell theservant to inform her that you are here."
Two minutes later, Bob was shown into a large sitting room on thefirst 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 isdreadfully lonely here. Mr. Logie is away, and poor Mrs. Colomb isdead and, as for Mrs. Williams, she does nothing but cry, and saywe are all going to be shut up, and starved, in a Moorish prison.
"But first, how are father and mother, and everyone at the Rock?"
"They are all quite well, Amy; though your mother has been in agreat state of anxiety about you, since she got your letter sayinghow ill Mrs. Colomb was. Here is a letter she has given me, foryou."
He handed the girl the letter, and went out on to the verandahwhile she read it.
"Mamma says I am to act upon Mr. Logie's advice; and that, if byany means he should not be in a position to advise me, I am to takeyour advice, if Mrs. Colomb is dead."
"I don't think I am in a position to give you advice, Amy. What didMr. Logie say about the state of affairs, before he went away?"
"He seemed to think things were going on very badly. You know thesoldiers rushed in here and assaulted him, one day last week. Theysaid they had orders from the emperor to do so; and Mr. Logie saidthey certainly would not have dared to molest the British consul,if it hadn't been by the emperor's orders. He was talking to meabout it, the day before they took him away to Sallee; and he saidhe would give anything, if he could get me away to the Rock, forthat the position here was very precarious; and that the emperormight, at any moment, order all the English to be thrown intoprison, and I know that the servants expect we shall all be killed,by the populace.
"They have frightened Mrs. Williams nearly out of her senses. Inever saw such a foolish woman. She does nothing but cry. She isthe wife, you know, of Captain Colomb's soldier servant.
"Well, what do you advise, Bob?"
"I am sure I don't know what to advise, Amy. This seems a regularfix, doesn't it?"
"But you are just as badly off as I am," she said. "If they seizeeveryone else, of course they will seize you, now you are here."
"Oh, I could get away, easily enough," Bob said. "I should dressmyself up as a Spanish sailor. I have got the clothes here, andshould boldly go on board one of the Spanish ships, and takepassage across to any port they are going to; and then manage towork round into Gibraltar, again. But of course, you can't dothat."
"I couldn't go as a Spanish sailor, of course," the girl said, "butI might dress up and go, somehow. Anything would be better thanwaiting here, and then being thrown into one of their dreadfulprisons. They say they are awful places.
/> "Do take me, Bob Repton. I do so want to get back to father andmother again, and I am quite well and strong now--as well as ever Iwas."
Bob looked at the girl, with a puzzled expression of face. He hadpromised her mother to do the best thing he could for her. Thequestion was, 'What was the best thing?' It certainly seemed thatthe position here was a very perilous one. If he left her here, andharm befell her, what would her parents say to him? But, on theother hand, how on earth was he to get her away?
"I tell you what, Amy," he said, after a time. "Who were the ladiesMrs. Colomb saw most of? I suppose she knew some of the peoplehere?"
"Oh, yes, she knew several; but she was most intimate with Mrs.Hamber. She is the wife of one of the principal merchants, and isvery kind. She offered to take me in, when Mrs. Colomb died; buther husband lives out of the town, and Mr. Logie had promised Mrs.Colomb that he would look after me, until he could send meacross--besides, Mrs. Hamber's child is very ill, with fever--andso he brought me here."
"Well, I will go and consult her," Bob said. "I daresay the clerkdownstairs will send a man with me, to show me her house."
Mrs. Hamber listened to Bob's account of his mission; asking aquestion now and again, in a straightforward and decided way, whichgave Bob an idea that she was a resolute sort of woman, with plentyof common sense.
"Well, Mr. Repton," she said, when he had finished, "it is adifficult matter for anyone but the girl's mother to form anopinion upon. I remember hearing, from Mrs. Colomb, about yourgoing out and bringing in fruit when the scurvy was so bad, twomonths ago. She had received the news, no doubt, from her husbandand, therefore, it seems to me that you must be a very capableyoung gentleman, with plenty of courage and coolness. The fact thatMrs. Harcourt gave you such a message as she did, regarding herdaughter, shows that she has every confidence in you. If the girlwere a year or two older, I should say it would be quite out of thequestion for her to attempt to make her way back to Gibraltar,under your protection; but as she is still a mere child, and as youpossess her mother's confidence, I don't see that this matters somuch.
"If you are both taken prisoners, there is no reason for supposingthat she would not be treated honourably by the Spaniards. Theymust have taken numbers of women, in the vessels they have capturedlately, and I suppose the girl would be placed with them. Shewould, at any rate, be far better off in a Spanish prison than in aMoorish one. Besides, I really consider that all our lives are indanger, here. After the assault on Mr. Logie, it is just as likelythe emperor may order us all to be massacred, as thrown intoprison; or he might sell us as slaves, as they do at Algiers. Thereis no saying. I think that, if I were in the position of the girl'smother at Gibraltar, I should say that it was better for her to runthe risk of capture, with you; than to remain here, where there isno saying what may happen--she having every confidence in yourhonour, young gentleman."
"I thank you, Mrs. Hamber. I have no idea, at present, what plan Ishall form. I may not see any possible way of getting out but, if Ido, we will certainly attempt it. Major Harcourt belongs to thesame regiment as my brother-in-law, and his wife and my sister aregreat friends; which is why, I suppose, she has confidence in me. Ihave known Amy, now, for a year and a half; and she is very oftenat my sister's. I will take care of her just the same as if shewere a young sister of my own. I don't see how I could go back andtell her mother that I left her here, with things in the state theyare. I only hope they may not turn out so badly as you fear; andthat, at the worst, the Moors will only hand you over as prisonersto the Spaniards."
Bob went back to the consulate, and told Amy the result of hisconversation 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 adviseyour trying to get away with me. So, now, we have only to decidehow it is to be done--that is, if you still wish to try."
"Certainly I do," the girl said. "Anything is better than waitinghere; 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 thatyou would stay here, and ordered a room to be prepared for you; anddinner is ready. I am sure you must be terribly hungry."
Bob remembered, now, that he had had nothing to eat--save somebiscuits on board the boat, and a piece of bread at the wineshop--since he left Gibraltar, and that he really was desperatelyhungry. Amy had already had her dinner; but she sat by him, andthey talked about their friends at the Rock.
"Now," he said, when he had finished, "let us have a regularcouncil of war. It was my intention to get a passage to Malaga, ifI could, because I know something of the road back from there; butI could not do that, with you."
"Why not, Bob?"
"Because the voyage is too long. Someone would be certain to speakto you before you got across and, as you can't talk Spanish, thecat would be out of the bag, directly. If possible, we must manageto cross to Tarifa. It is only a few hours across to there, even ifwe go in an open boat and, now that the Spaniards are friends withthe Moors, there ought to be no difficulty in getting a passageacross there, or to Algeciras.
"Of course, you can't go as you are," he said, looking at herrather ruefully.
"No, of course not," she said. "I am not so silly as that. I shouldthink I had better dress up like a boy, Bob."
"That would be a great deal the best plan, if you would not mindit," Bob said, greatly relieved that the suggestion came from her."It is the only thing that I can think of. There didn't seem anystory one could invent, to account for a Spanish girl being overhere; 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 beenon shore, and the vessel gone on without us; or you might have beensent ashore ill, and I might have been left to nurse you. Thatwouldn't be a bad story.
"What we must do, when we get to the other side, must depend uponwhere 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 willhave to pretend to be deaf and dumb; and then you can dress up as aSpanish girl--of course, a peasant--which will be much morepleasant than going about as a boy, and better in lots of ways. Soif I were you, I should take a bundle of things with me, so that weshould have nothing to buy there. It is all very well buyingdisguises for myself, but I could never go into a shop to ask forall sorts of girls' clothes."
Amy went off in a fit of laughter, at the thought of Bob having topurchase feminine garments.
"It is all very well to laugh," Bob said. "These are the sort oflittle things that are so difficult to work in. It is easy enoughto make a general plan, but the difficulty is to get everything tofit in.
"I will have a talk with Mr. Parrot, in the morning, about theboats. He will know what boats have been trading with the Rock, andwhat 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 isarranged, the better. If things are in the state that everyonesays, you might all be seized and imprisoned, any day."
Bob went up at once to Mr. Parrot's rooms, and had a long talk withhim. The clerk quite agreed that anything would be better than fora young girl to be shut up in a Moorish prison, but he did not seehow it was possible for them to find their way across to Gibraltar.
"Many of our fishermen are most courageous fellows, and have rungreat risks in taking letters from Mr. Logie across to Gibraltar. Ido not suppose that the blockade is very much more strict than itwas; and indeed, the fact that you got through shows that, withgood luck, the thing is possible enough. But that is not thedifficulty. The strictest order has been issued that no boat is totake Englishmen across to the Rock, or is to cross the Straits onany pretence, whatever; and that anyone evading this
law will beexecuted, and his goods forfeited to the state. That is how it isMr. Logie has been able to send no letters, for the last month; andwhy none of the merchants, here, have tried to get across to theRock. No bribe would be sufficient to tempt the boatmen. It wouldmean not only death to themselves, if they ever returned; but thevengeance of the authorities would fall on their relations, here. Iam afraid that there is nothing to be done, that way, at all."
"There are the three men who brought me across, this morning," Bobsaid. "They might be bribed to take us back. The governorauthorized me to offer a hundred pounds. I own that I don't liketheir looks."
"You would have some difficulty in finding them, to begin with,"Mr. Parrot said; "and I don't think a hundred pounds would belikely to tempt them to run the risk."
"I would not mind giving them two hundred more," Bob said. "I havegot that money, of my own, at Gibraltar; and I am sure, if it werenecessary, Major Harcourt would gladly pay as much more to get hisdaughter back."
"Three hundred would be ample. If they would not run the risk for ahundred apiece, nothing would tempt them. I should say your bestplan would be to go down, early tomorrow, and see if you can findone of them. They are likely to be loitering about by the quays, asthey have their boat there.
"The question is, are they to be trusted? They know that you havebeen sent out by the governor, and that you are here on somespecial business; and they may very well think that the Spaniardswill give a higher reward, for you, than you can give to be takenback. They will, by this time, know of the order against boatscrossing; and might betray you to the Moors. If you were going byyourself, of course, you could take all sorts of risks; but withthis young lady under your protection, it would be different."
"Yes, I see that, Mr. Parrot. Rather than run any risk, I shouldprefer being put ashore at any Spanish port, by one of the ships inthe harbour. If you give me the name of any Spanish merchantman whowas here, say, a fortnight ago; my story that we were left behind,owing to one of us being ill, would be so simple that there need beno suspicion, whatever, excited. Tarifa or Algeciras would, ofcourse, be the best places, as we should only be on board a fewhours; and Miss Harcourt could very well pretend to be still illand weak, and could lie down in a corner, and I could cover her upwith a blanket till we got there.
"Once across, I don't so much mind. Even if we were detected, weshould simply be two fugitives from here, trying to make our way toGibraltar; and I don't think there would be any question of mybeing a spy. We should probably be sent to wherever they keep theEnglish prisoners they have taken in ships; and there would benothing very dreadful in that, even for her. We should probably beexchanged, before long. There have been several batches sent in tothe Rock, in exchange for prisoners taken in prizes brought in byprivateers."
"Well, I really think that that would be the best way, Mr. Repton.As you say, there will be nothing very dreadful in detention for awhile, with the Spaniards; while there is no saying what may happenhere. If you like, I will send one of the consulate servants out,the first thing in the morning, to inquire what ports the Spanishcraft are bound for, and when they are likely to sail. They seldomstop more than two or three days, here. Most of them are takinglivestock across for the use of the Spanish army and, thoughAlgeciras would be an awkward place for you to land at because, ifdetected 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 ofyoung sailors, and it would be no great distance for you to walkover to Tarifa, or any of the villages on the Straits.
"But how do you propose to get in from there? That is what seems tome the great difficulty."
"Well, I got in before," Bob said, "and do not think that thereought to be much difficulty in getting hold of a boat. If I did, Ishould sail round the Point and, keeping well outside the line ofcruisers, come down on the coast the other side of Gibraltar; andso work along at night, just as I did before. If I found itabsolutely impossible to get a boat, of course, I could not--withthe girl with me--try to swim across from the head of the bay tothe Rock; which is what I should have done, had I been alone. So Ishould then go to the authorities and give myself up; and say that,being afraid that the Moors intend to massacre all the English atTangiers, I had come across with this young lady, who is thedaughter of an officer of the garrison, to put her into Spanishhands; 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 youfind everything turn out just as you would wish, Mr. Repton."
When Bob came down in the morning, he at once went into the officebelow; and Mr. Parrot told him that one of the Spanish craft wouldstart for Algeciras, at noon.
"Then I must ask you to send one of the servants out, to buy someclothes such as are worn by a Spanish sailor boy, Mr. Parrot. Ihave my own suit upstairs, and will go off and arrange for apassage across, directly after breakfast."
"I will see to it," Mr. Parrot said. "The ship's decks will becrowded up with cattle. She is a small craft, and I hear she willtake 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 tobe made at once; but she said bravely:
"I am glad there is to be no waiting. I do so long to be out ofthis town. I daresay I shall be a little nervous at first, but Ishall try not to show it; and I sha'n't be really frightened, for Iknow that you will take care of me."
As soon as breakfast was over, Bob changed his things and went downto the quay. He stopped at the vessel taking cattle on board. Shewas a polacre brig, of about a hundred and fifty tons. The captainwas smoking a cigar, aft; while the mate was seeing to the storingof the cattle. Bob went on board, and told his story to thecaptain.
"I was left behind in charge of a cabin boy from the Esmeralda, afortnight ago. The boy had fever, and the captain thought it mightbe infectious, and put him ashore; but he soon got well. We want tobe taken across, as our friends live not many miles from Tarifa. Wewill pay a dollar, apiece, 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, withoutthe slightest difficulty. He then went down to inspect the clothes.
"They will do very well," he said, "except that they are a greatdeal cleaner than anything ever seen on a Spanish sailor. Thosecanvas trousers will never do, as they are."
He accordingly took some ashes, and rubbed them well into thecanvas; got some grease from the kitchen, and poured two or threelarge 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, andsome 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 Ihave been dirtying them, outside, to make them look natural.
"You must be dressed by half past eleven, and you can tuck yourhair up under that red nightcap; but you must manage to dirty yourface, 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 knowMr. Logie paints a little. I think you will find a box of colours,upstairs. If you mix some Vandyke brown in water, and paint herwith 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 paintbox, and soon mixed some paint. At half pasteleven Amy came into the room, laughing a little shyly.
"That will do very well," Bob said, encouragingly, "except that youare a great deal too fair and clean.
"Look here, I have been mi
xing some paint. I think a wash of thatwill make all the difference. Now, sit down while I colour you.
"That will do capitally!" he said, when he finished. "I think, whenit dries, it will be just about the right shade for a Spanishsailor boy.
"Have you got your bundle?
"That is right. Now here is my bag, and a couple of black Moorishblankets. I will bring Mr. Parrot up, to say goodbye.
"Have you told your servant?"
"No, I said nothing to her about it. She would make such a terriblefuss, 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 heshould not have the slightest suspicion that she was anything butwhat she seemed to be. Amy felt very shy, as she sallied out withBob; 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 thefo'castle. There he laid one of the blankets down against astanchion; wrapped Amy in the other, so that her face was almosthidden; and told her to sit down and close her eyes, as if weak orasleep. Then he took up his post beside her.
In a quarter of an hour the last bullock was on board. The gangwaywas at once hauled in, the hawsers thrown off, and the sails letdrop and, in another minute, the vessel was gliding away from thewharf. The wind was nearly due west, and the sheets were hauled inas she was headed across the Straits. It was half an hour beforethe sailors' work was all done. Several of them came up on to thefo'castle and began twisting cigarettes, and one at once enteredinto conversation with Bob.
"Is the boy ill?" he said.
"Yes, he has been ill, but is better now. It would have been betterif he could have stopped a few days longer, but he was pining toget home. He won't have far to go when we get to Algeciras and, nodoubt, I shall be able to get him a lift in some cart that will bebringing provisions to the camp."
The talk at once turned on the siege, the sailors expressing theircertainty that the Rock would soon be taken. Bob had moved awayfrom Amy, as if to allow her to sleep, undisturbed by theconversation.
"There is a brig running down the Straits, at a good speed," one ofthe sailors said, when they were half way across. "It is a nicebreeze for her."
Bob looked at the craft. She was about a mile away, and by thecourse they were steering--almost at right angles--would come verynear to them. There was something familiar in her appearance, andhe looked at her intently, examining every sail and shroud. Thendoubt became certainty, as his eye fell upon a small patch in oneof the cloths of the topgallant sail.
It was the Antelope. One of the Spanish shot had passed through thetopgallant sail and--as that was the only injury that sail hadreceived--the bit had been cut out, and a fresh one put in, beforeshe sailed again from Gibraltar. She was flying Spanish colours.
His heart beat fast. Would she overhaul them, or pass withouttaking notice of them--seeing that the polacre was a small one, andnot likely to be a valuable prize?
The vessels approached each other quickly. The course the Antelopewas taking would carry her some length or two behind the Spaniard.Bob hesitated whether to hail her, as she came along. If his hailwas not heard he would, of course, be detected, and his plansentirely spoilt; and with the wind blowing straight across, and hein the bow, it would be by no means certain that his hail would bedistinguished. Suddenly, to his delight, when the brig was within ahundred yards of the polacre he saw her head come up, while thecrew began to haul upon the sheets.
An exclamation of surprise and alarm broke from the Spaniards as,in another minute, the Antelope was running parallel with them, acable's length to windward. Then the portholes were opened, andeight guns run out. The Spanish flag was run down and the Britishhoisted to the peak; and a summons to strike their flag shouted tothe Spaniards. As the latter carried only four small guns,resistance was out of the question. The Spanish flag was loweredand, in obedience to the gesticulations, rather than the words, ofan officer on board the English brig, the halliards were thrownoff, and the sails came down with a run.
The Spanish sailors were frantic with rage, swearing by all thesaints in the calendar. Bob had moved, at once, across to Amy.
"Lie still, Amy. We are going to be captured by an English ship. Itis 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 wereEnglish."
The brig had been thrown up into the wind as soon as the polacre'ssails had been lowered and, in three minutes, a boat camealongside. Then Joe Lockett, followed by half a dozen sailors armedwith pistol and cutlass, scrambled on board.
"Now, follow me, Amy," and, descending the ladder, Bob made his wayalong the narrow gangway between the lines of cattle, and thenmounted to the poop.
"Well, Joe, how are you?"
The first mate of the Antelope started back, in astonishment.
"Why, Bob Repton!" 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 notgot a prize, as we fancied."
"She is a fair prize, Joe; she is bound for Algeciras. I was goingto 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; butthey are worth a lot of money, on the Rock."
"Well, you will be able to tell us all about things, Bob. I willhail the captain to send Crofts on board, with a dozen men to takecharge, here; and then I will take you on board."
"I have a friend here," Bob said, turning to Amy, who was standingtimidly 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 ahearty greeting was exchanged between him and Captain Lockett.
"Before I tell you anything, Captain, which cabin am I to have? Iwill 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 youare 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 ownthings again. I thought it would be more comfortable, for you, forthem not to know it until you are properly dressed, in your ownclothes. You have brought a frock, of course?"
"Yes; I thought I had better bring one, in case we should be madeprisoners."
"That is all right. When you are dressed, come upon deck. I willexplain all about it, before you appear."
Bob, as briefly as possible, told his story to Captain Lockett andJoe; who were much amused to find that Bob's friend was a younglady.
"You are coming out in quite a new light, Bob, as a squire ofdames. 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 thelast news. There were reports, before I started, that the Moorswere joining the Spaniards, and that their ports were closed to us;and what you say confirms that. That was one of the points I wantedto know, as I could not tell whether I could run in there safely,were I chased. Now, as to getting into the Rock, are their cruisersactive, at present?"
"Well, there are lots of them about. I think your best plan will beto run in close to the Point, and hold on as if you were going intoAlgeciras. In that way, they won't suspect you. Then, when you getright up the bay, haul across to the town. The wind is in yourfavour, because you will have to tack to work up the bay and, ifyou make pretty long tacks, they won't suspect you, when you startacross, until you have got pretty well away and, with this breeze,there will be no chance of their catching you before you are underour guns."
"That seems hopeful enough. At any rate, we will try it. I willsend six more men o
n board the polacre. They will want to be handywith her sails. I will go myself, and give Crofts orders. He hadbetter keep ahead of us for, if we are chased by their gunboats, wecan protect him."
Just as sail was again got up, and the two vessels were under way,Amy Harcourt came on deck; and was soon laughing and chattingmerrily with the captain. At four in the afternoon they rounded thePoint, the polacre a few hundred yards ahead, and both flyingSpanish colours. There were several Spanish cruisers, and somegunboats, outside them; but these paid no attention to theirmovements, and both beat up the bay, keeping close into the Spanishshore, but holding somewhat farther out, at each tack.
"Now," Captain Lockett, said when they were within half a mile ofAlgeciras, "we will run out this tack. There are two gunboats inour way, I see, but we must take our chance of them.
"Go and wave a handkerchief from the bow, Joe. Mr. Crofts will beon the lookout for the signal."
The two vessels held away on the port tack. As the polacreapproached the gunboats, a sudden bustle was observed on boardthem.
"They begin to smell a rat," Captain Lockett said.
"Hoist the topgallant sails," for the brig had been under easysail, to enable her to hold her place with the polacre.
The men were already at quarters, and the ports were opened and theguns run out. Just as the gunboat nearest the polacre--finding thehail, for her to bring to, unheeded--fired a shot into her, thebrig's head paid off, and she poured a broadside into the twogunboats. One of them was struck amidships. For a minute there wasgreat confusion 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 fellnear, the brig was uninjured. The second gunboat did not venture toattack so formidable an opponent and, half an hour later, theAntelope and her prize dropped anchor off the Mole.
Bob had already run down and put on his usual clothes, and he andAmy were at once rowed ashore, and made their way to MajorHarcourt's quarters. The delight of Amy's father and mother, as sherushed into the room, was extreme. Bob did not enter with her, butleft her to tell her own story; and proceeded straight to thegovernor's, to whom he reported the state of affairs at Tangier.
"It is bad news," the governor said. "However, I am extremelyobliged to you, for the valuable service that you have renderedand, as I had the pleasure of before doing, when you brought in theoranges, I shall place your name in the orders of the day forhaving, as a volunteer, rendered signal service by carryingdespatches, at great risk, across to the Barbary coast."
Bob then returned home. Captain Lockett had already been to thehouse, and informed the O'Hallorans of his arrival.
"There you see, Carrie," Bob said, after his sister's firstgreetings were over; "there was nothing to have been so terriblyalarmed about."
"It isn't because you got through it safely, Bob, that there was nodanger," 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 ideaof a boy like you--not eighteen yet--taking charge, in that way, ofa young girl!"
"Well, there was nothing else to do, Carrie, that I could see. Iwent to Mrs. Hamber, who was Mrs. Colomb's most intimate friend,and asked her opinion as to what I had better do; and she advisedme to get Amy away, if I possibly could do so. I can't see whatdifference it makes, whether it is a boy or a girl. It seems to methat people are always so stupid about that sort of thing."
Carrie laughed.
"Well, never mind, Bob. Amy Harcourt is a very nice girl. A littletoo boyish, perhaps; but I suppose that is natural, being broughtup in the regiment. I am very glad that you have brought her backagain, and it will be an immense relief to her father and mother.Her mother has been here three or four times, during these two daysyou 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 thedoctor," Bob said. "I am very glad to have been of use to them, andto have got Amy back again; but I don't want to be thanked, and youtell them so. I hate being made a fuss about."
And so, beyond a warm grasp of the hand, on the part of MajorHarcourt; and two or three words of hearty thanks, on that of hiswife, the next time they met; Bob escaped any expression ofgratitude. But the occurrence drew the two families together moreclosely, and Amy often came round with her father and mother, inthe evening; and there were many little confidential talks betweenCarrie and Mrs. Harcourt.
It was some time before the anxiety as to the fate of the Englishinhabitants, at Tangier, was allayed. They were, at the beginningof December, forced to remove to Marteen, a few miles fromTetuan--abandoning their houses and all their property, which wasestimated at the value of sixty thousand pounds--and, three daysafterwards, were handed over as prisoners to the Spaniards. Theywere then put on board a ship, and taken to Algeciras--where theywere 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. Occasionally,privateers and other craft ran through the blockade of the Spanishcruisers, and succeeded in getting into port. Some of these broughtwine and sugar--of both of which the garrison were extremelyshort--and occasionally a few head of cattle and other provisions.All of these were sold by public auction, the governor consideringthat 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 garrisonand inhabitants was intense although, among the latter, this wasmingled with a certain feeling of uneasiness. Deserters had atvarious times brought in reports that, should Gibraltar be againrelieved, it was the purpose of the Spaniards to bombard the town.Hopes were entertained that so wanton an act of cruelty would notbe carried out, for the entire destruction of the town would notadvance, in the smallest degree, the progress of the siege.
At a quarter to eleven, just as the van of the convoy came to ananchor off the New Mole, Fort San Philip opened fire upon the townand, at the signal, the whole of the batteries in the forts andlines followed suit. A hundred and fourteen guns and mortars rainedtheir shot and shell upon the town, and the guns of the batteriesof the garrison at once responded.
Several of the officers of the 58th, and their wives, had come upto Captain O'Halloran's to enjoy, from the terrace, the view of thegreat convoy entering the port. All were in the highest spirits, atthe thought of the abundant supplies that would now be at theirdisposal; and in the belief that the Spaniards, seeing that thegarrison was again amply provisioned, would abandon the siege,which had now lasted for twenty-two months. Suddenly there cameupon the air the deep sound of the guns of San Philip, followed bya prolonged roar as the whole of the Spanish batteries opened fire.The hum of shot could be heard, followed by the explosion ofshells, 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. Several ofthem had left children in their quarters and, although the barrackswere so placed as to be, to a great extent, sheltered from theenemy's fire from the land side, they were still terribly anxiousas to their safety. Two of them had, like the O'Hallorans, quartersin the town itself; and the husbands of these ladies, accompaniedby Captain O'Halloran and Bob, at once set out to bring thechildren up to the house, which was perfectly sheltered.
The scene in the town was a pitiful one. Men, women, and childrenwere 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 rainingdown, while chimneys and portions of masonry fell clattering in thestreets. Sick people were being carried out, on doors or planks;and
most of the inhabitants were laden with what few articles ofvalue they could snatch up, at the first alarm. The children weresoon brought up to the O'Hallorans' and then, for a time, there wasnothing to do but to listen to the roar of artillery.
The officers and Bob ascended the Rock, to a point near one of thebatteries, whence they could command a view of the Spanish lines.The flashes of smoke were bursting forth almost incessantly; butwere answered shot for shot from the English batteries, which hadalready almost silenced the San Carlos Battery, which mounted alarge number of mortars, and against which the fire of the Englishguns was concentrated.
Between one and two o'clock the Spanish fire abated, and soonceased altogether. The inhabitants took advantage of the lull tohurry back to their houses, whence they removed the lighter andmore portable articles; but the heavy stores--of which it nowappeared many of them had large quantities concealed--they were, ofcourse, unable to take away.
The discovery of these stores excited much indignation among thetroops. The inhabitants had been constantly representing themselvesas reduced to the last point of hunger, and had frequently receivedprovisions from the scanty supplies of the garrison; and thesoldiers were exasperated on finding that, all this time, theypossessed great stores of wine, flour, and other articles; whichthey were hoarding to produce, and sell, when prices should rise toeven more exorbitant heights than they had already reached.
At five o'clock the enemy's batteries opened again; and the firingcontinued, without intermission, all that night. As severalcasualties had taken place, in the barracks and quarters; marqueeswere, on the following morning, served out to all the officerswhose quarters were exposed to fire, and these were pitched nearEuropa Point, as were also a large number of tents for the use ofthe inhabitants.
A considerable body of troops were kept under arms, near thenorthern gate, in case the Spaniards should attempt to make anassault under cover of their fire; and five hundred officers andmen were told off, to assist in the work of getting the supplies upfrom 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 poured their shells upon the town; but the gunswere now directed at our batteries, and their fire was remarkablyaccurate.
On the 14th the unloading parties were increased to a thousand men,and strong detachments of troops were told off to extinguish thefires in the town; as the enemy were now discharging shell filledwith a composition that burned with great fury, igniting everythingwith which it came in contact. The troops engaged upon this dutywere not long in broaching the casks of wine found, in suchabundance, in many of the ruined houses. For two years they hadbeen living almost entirely on salt provisions, and wine had beenselling at prices vastly beyond their means. It was scarcelysurprising, then, that they should take advantage of thisopportunity.
The stores were practically lost, for the whole town was crumblingto pieces beneath the fire of the enemy's mortars, and was on firein several places; and little, if any, of the liquor and storesconsumed could, in any case, have been saved. However, for a timeinsubordination reigned. The troops carried off liquor to theirquarters, barricaded themselves there, and got drunk; and it wastwo or three days before discipline was restored. Up to this timethe conduct of the soldiers had been most exemplary, and they hadborne their prolonged hardships without a murmur; and this outbreakwas due as much to a spirit of revenge against the inhabitants, forhiding away great stores of provisions and liquor, with a view tomaking exorbitant profits, as from a desire to indulge in a luxuryof which they had been so long deprived.
On the 15th the enemy's fire was hotter than ever; and the gunswere withdrawn from our batteries, as they produced but littleeffect upon the Spanish batteries, and the men working themsuffered a good deal from the besiegers' fire. Two officers weredangerously wounded, in one of the casemates of the King's Bastion;and the fire was so heavy, around some of the barracks, that allthe troops who could not be disposed of, in the casemates andbomb-proofs, were sent out of the town and encamped southward and,the next day, all the women and children who had gone with theirhusbands and fathers into the casemates were also removed, andplaced under canvas. All this gave incessant work to the troops,for there was no level ground upon which the tents could be pitchedand, as it was therefore necessary to level all the ground intoterraces, it was some days before the camps were ranged in anythinglike order.
Each day the enemy sent out their gunboats to harass themerchantmen, but these were always driven back by the guns of thefleet. On the 17th the besiegers' shells set fire to the Spanishchurch, which had been used as a storehouse. Strong parties weresent down to remove the provisions, which consisted largely ofbarrels of flour. These were carried up and piled, so as to affordprotection to the casemates, which had been frequently entered bythe enemy's shots--several men having been killed there. Theyproved a valuable defence; and afforded, moreover, great amusementto 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 cametoppling down.
On the 18th a shell came through the arch of one of the casemates,killing two and wounding four men and, in consequence, a good manymore of the troops were sent under canvas.
On the 20th the work of unloading the greater portion of thetransports was completed; and the admiral, who was most anxious totake advantage of the easterly wind, that was blowing, to sail outof the Straits, gave the signal for departure. Many of themerchantmen, whose cargoes were consigned to merchants and traderson the Rock, carried them back to England; as the merchants, havingno place, whatever, in which to store goods--for the town was nowalmost entirely destroyed--refused to accept them. The transports,with ordnance stores, were brought in behind the New Mole to bedischarged 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 andfamilies, embarked on board the fleet before it left. The enemy'sfire still continued very heavy; and their guns and mortar boats,on the 23rd, came boldly out and opened fire upon the workingparties, who were stacking the barrels and stores at the south endof the Rock. The wife of a soldier was killed, and several menwounded.
On the 26th the governor determined sternly to repress thedrunkenness that still prevailed, owing to the soldiers going downamong the ruins of the town, where they occasionally discovereduninjured casks of wine. An order was therefore issued, on thatday, 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 Brilliantand three other frigates, came in from Minorca; where the governorhad ordered provisions to be purchased, in case the convoy expectedfrom England did not arrive. The arrival of these ships largelyadded to the stores at the disposal of the garrison.