Held Fast For England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83), G. A. Henty [suggested reading txt] 📗

his day at lessons; and was astonished to find that his friend really enjoyed it, and still more that he should already have begun to pick up a little Spanish.

"You can't help it, with Don Diaz," Bob said. "He makes you go over a sentence, fifty times, until you say it in exactly the same voice he does--I mean the same accent. He says it slow, at first, so that I can understand him; and then faster and faster, till he speaks in his regular voice. Then I have to make up another sentence, in answer. It is good fun, I can tell you; and yet one feels that one is getting on very fast. I thought it would take years before I should be able to get on anyhow in Spanish; but he says if I keep on sticking to it, I shall be able to speak pretty nearly like a native, in six months' time. I quite astonish Manola--that is our servant--by firing off sentences in Spanish at her. My sister Carrie says she shall take to learning with the Don, too."

"Have you had any fun since you landed, Bob?"

"No; not regular fun, you know. It has been very jolly. I go down with Gerald--Carrie's husband, you know--to the barracks, and I know most of the officers of his regiment now, and I walk about a bit by myself; but I have not gone beyond the Rock, yet."

"You must get a long day's leave, Bob; and we will go across the neutral ground, into Spain, together."

"Gerald said that, as I was working so steadily, I might have a holiday, sometimes, if I did not ask for it too often. I have been three weeks at it, now. I am sure I can go for a day, when I like, so it will depend on you."

"I sha'n't be able to come ashore for another four or five days, after having got away this afternoon. Let us see, this is Wednesday, I will try to get leave for Monday."

"Have you heard, Jim, there is a talk about Spanish troops moving down here, and that they think Spain is going to join France and try to take this place?"

"No, I haven't heard a word about it," Jim said, opening his eyes. "You don't really mean it?"

"Yes, that is what the officers say. Of course, they don't know for certain; but there is no doubt the country people have got the idea into their heads, and the natives on the Rock certainly believe it."

"Hooray! That would be fun," Jim said. "We have all been grumbling, on board the frigate, at being stuck down here without any chance of picking up prizes; or of falling in with a Frenchman, except we go on a cruise. Why, you have seen twice as much fun as we have, though you only came out in a trader. Except that we chased a craft that we took for a French privateer, we haven't seen an enemy since we came out from England; and we didn't see much of her, for she sailed right away from us. While you have had no end of fighting, and a very narrow escape of being taken to a French prison."

"Too narrow to be pleasant, Jim. I don't think there would be much fun to be got out of a French prison."

"I don't know, Bob. I suppose it would be dull, if you were alone; but if you and I were together, I feel sure we should have some fun, and should make our escape, somehow."

"Well, we might try," Bob said, doubtfully. "But you see, not many fellows do make their escape; and as sailors are up to climbing ropes, and getting over walls, and all that sort of thing, I should think they would do it, if it could be managed anyhow."

Upon the following day--when Bob was in the anteroom of the mess with Captain O'Halloran, looking at some papers that had been brought by a ship that had come in that morning--the colonel entered, accompanied by Captain Langton. The officers all stood up, and the colonel introduced them to Captain Langton--who was, he told them, going to dine at the mess that evening. After he had done this, Captain Langton's eye fell upon Bob; who smiled, and made a bow.

"I ought to know you," the captain said. "I have certainly seen your face somewhere."

"It was at Admiral Langton's, sir. My name is Bob Repton."

"Of course it is," the officer said, shaking him cordially by the hand. "But what on earth are you doing here? I thought you had settled down somewhere in the city; with an uncle, wasn't it?"

"Yes, sir; but I have come out here to learn Spanish."

"Have you seen your friend Sankey?"

"Yes, sir. I went on board the frigate to see him, yesterday afternoon; and he got leave to come ashore with me, for two or three hours."

"He ought to have let me know that you were here," the captain said. "Who are you staying with, lad?"

"With Captain O'Halloran, sir, my brother-in-law," Bob said, indicating Gerald, who had already been introduced to Captain Langton.

"I daresay you are surprised at my knowing this young gentleman," he said, turning to Colonel Cochrane, "but he did my father, the admiral, a great service. He and three other lads, under his leadership, captured four of the most notorious burglars in London, when they were engaged in robbing my father's house. It was a most gallant affair, I can assure you; and the four burglars swung for it, a couple of months later. I have one of the lads as a midshipman, on board my ship; and I offered a berth to Repton but, very wisely, he decided to remain on shore, where his prospects were good."

"Why, O'Halloran, you never told me anything about this," the colonel said.

"No, sir. Bob asked me not to say anything about it. I think he is rather shy of having it talked about; and it is the only thing of which he is shy as far as I have discovered."

"Well, we must hear the story," the colonel said. "I hope you will dine at mess, this evening, and bring him with you. He shall tell us the story over our wine. I am curious to know how four boys can have made such a capture."

After mess that evening Bob told the story, as modestly as he could.

"There, colonel," Captain Langton said, when he had finished. "You see that, if these stories I hear are true, and the Spaniards are going to make a dash for Gibraltar, you have got a valuable addition to your garrison."

"Yes, indeed," the colonel laughed. "We will make a volunteer of him. He has had some little experience of standing fire, for O'Halloran told me that the brig he came out in had fought a sharp action with a privateer of superior force; and indeed, when she came in here, her sails were riddled with shot holes."

"Better and better," Captain Langton laughed.

"Well, Repton, remember whenever you are disposed for a cruise, I shall be glad to take you as passenger. Sankey will make you at home in the midshipmen's berth. If the Spaniards declare war with us, we shall have stirring times at sea, as well as on shore and, though you won't get any share in any prize money we may win, while you are on board, you will have part of the honour; and you see, making captures is quite in your line."

The next day, Captain O'Halloran and Bob dined on board the Brilliant. Captain Langton introduced the lad to his officers, telling them that he wished him to be considered as being free on board the ship, whether he himself happened to be on board or not, when he came off.

"But you must keep an eye on him, Mr. Hardy, while he is on board," he said to the first lieutenant.

"Mr. Sankey," and he nodded at Jim, who was among those invited, "is rather a pickle, but from what I hear Repton is worse. So you will have to keep a sharp eye upon them, when they are together; and if they are up to mischief, do not hesitate to masthead both of them. A passenger on board one of His Majesty's ships is amenable to discipline, like anyone else."

"I will see to it, sir," the lieutenant said, laughing. "Sankey knows the way up, already."

"Yes. I think I observed him taking a view of the shore from that elevation, this morning."

Jim coloured hotly.

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant said. "The doctor made a complaint that his leeches had got out of their bottle, and were all over the ship; and I fancy one of them got into his bed, somehow. He had given Mr. Sankey a dose of physic in the morning; and remembered afterwards that, while he was making up the medicine, Sankey had been doing something in the corner where his bottles were. When I questioned Sankey about it, he admitted that he had observed the leeches, but declined to criminate himself farther. So I sent him aloft for an hour or two, to meditate upon the enormity of wasting His Majesty's medical stores."

"I hope, Captain O'Halloran," the captain said, "that you have less trouble with your brother-in-law than we have with his friend."

"Bob hasn't had much chance, yet," Captain O'Halloran said, laughing. "He is new to the place, as yet; and besides, he is really working hard, and hasn't much time for mischief; but I don't flatter myself that it is going to last."

"Well, Mr. Sankey, you may as well take your friend down, and introduce him formally to your messmates," the captain said; and Jim, who had been feeling extremely uncomfortable since the talk had turned on the subject of mastheading, rose and made his escape with Bob, leaving the elders to their wine.

The proposed excursion to the Spanish lines did not come off, as the Brilliant put to sea again, on the day fixed for it. She was away a fortnight and, on her return, the captain issued orders that none of the junior officers, when allowed leave, were to go beyond the lines; for the rumours of approaching troubles had become stronger and, as the peasantry were assuming a somewhat hostile attitude, any act of imprudence might result in trouble. Jim often had leave to come ashore in the afternoon and, as this was the time that Bob had to himself, they wandered together all over the Rock, climbed up the flagstaff, and made themselves acquainted with all the paths and precipices.

Their favourite place was the back of the Rock; where the cliff, in many places, fell sheer away for hundreds of feet down into the sea. They had many discussions as to the possibility of climbing up on that side, though both agreed that it would be impossible to climb down.

"I should like to try, awfully," Bob said, one day early in June, as they were leaning on a low wall looking down to the sea.

"But it would never do to risk getting into a scrape here. It wouldn't, indeed, Bob. They don't understand jokes at Gib. One would be had up before the big wigs, and court-martialled, and goodness knows what. Of course, it is jolly being ashore; but one never gets rid of the idea that one is a sort of prisoner. There are the regulations about what time you may come off, and what time the gate is closed and, if you are a minute late, there you are until next morning. Whichever way one turns there are sentries; and you can't pass one way, and you can't go back another way, and there are some of the batteries you can't go into, without a special order. It never would do to try any nonsense, here.

"Look at that sentry up there. I expect he has got his eye on us, now; and if he saw us trying to get down, he would take us for deserters and fire. There wouldn't be any fear of his hitting us; but the nearest guard would turn out, and we should be arrested and reported, and all sorts of things. It wouldn't matter so much for you, but I should get my leave stopped altogether, and should get into the captain's black books.

"No, no. I don't mind running a little risk of breaking my neck, but not here on the Rock. I would rather get into ten scrapes, on board the frigate, than one here."

"Yes, I suppose it can't be done," Bob agreed; "but I should have liked to swing myself down to one of those ledges. There would be such a scolding and shrieking among the birds."

"Yes, that would be fun; but as it might bring on the same sort of row among the authorities, I would rather leave it alone.

"I expect we shall soon get leave to go across the lines