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

doubt, I shall be able to get him a lift in some cart that will be bringing provisions to the camp."

The talk at once turned on the siege, the sailors expressing their certainty that the Rock would soon be taken. Bob had moved away from Amy, as if to allow her to sleep, undisturbed by the conversation.

"There is a brig running down the Straits, at a good speed," one of the sailors said, when they were half way across. "It is a nice breeze for her."

Bob looked at the craft. She was about a mile away, and by the course they were steering--almost at right angles--would come very near to them. There was something familiar in her appearance, and he looked at her intently, examining every sail and shroud. Then doubt became certainty, as his eye fell upon a small patch in one of the cloths of the topgallant sail.

It was the Antelope. One of the Spanish shot had passed through the topgallant sail and--as that was the only injury that sail had received--the bit had been cut out, and a fresh one put in, before she sailed again from Gibraltar. She was flying Spanish colours.

His heart beat fast. Would she overhaul them, or pass without taking notice of them--seeing that the polacre was a small one, and not likely to be a valuable prize?

The vessels approached each other quickly. The course the Antelope was taking would carry her some length or two behind the Spaniard. Bob hesitated whether to hail her, as she came along. If his hail was not heard he would, of course, be detected, and his plans entirely spoilt; and with the wind blowing straight across, and he in the bow, it would be by no means certain that his hail would be distinguished. Suddenly, to his delight, when the brig was within a hundred yards of the polacre he saw her head come up, while the crew began to haul upon the sheets.

An exclamation of surprise and alarm broke from the Spaniards as, in another minute, the Antelope was running parallel with them, a cable's length to windward. Then the portholes were opened, and eight guns run out. The Spanish flag was run down and the British hoisted to the peak; and a summons to strike their flag shouted to the Spaniards. As the latter carried only four small guns, resistance was out of the question. The Spanish flag was lowered and, in obedience to the gesticulations, rather than the words, of an officer on board the English brig, the halliards were thrown off, and the sails came down with a run.

The Spanish sailors were frantic with rage, swearing by all the saints in the calendar. Bob had moved, at once, across to Amy.

"Lie still, Amy. We are going to be captured by an English ship. It is the same privateer that I was in before. Don't make any sign, until they come on board. In the fury that these Spaniards are in, they might stick their knives into us, if they knew we were English."

The brig had been thrown up into the wind as soon as the polacre's sails had been lowered and, in three minutes, a boat came alongside. Then Joe Lockett, followed by half a dozen sailors armed with pistol and cutlass, scrambled on board.

"Now, follow me, Amy," and, descending the ladder, Bob made his way along the narrow gangway between the lines of cattle, and then mounted to the poop.

"Well, Joe, how are you?"

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 not got a prize, as we fancied."

"She is a fair prize, Joe; she is bound for Algeciras. I was going to make my way in from there, as best I could."

"That is all right then. What has she got on board?"

"Nothing beyond these cattle, and some vegetables, I expect; but they are worth a lot of money, on the Rock."

"Well, you will be able to tell us all about things, Bob. I will hail the captain to send Crofts on board, with a dozen men to take charge, here; and then I will take you on board."

"I have a friend here," Bob said, turning to Amy, who was standing timidly behind him, "so you must take him with me."

"All right!" Joe said, carelessly.

In five minutes, Bob stood again on the deck of the Antelope, and a hearty greeting was exchanged between him and Captain Lockett.

"Before I tell you anything, Captain, which cabin am I to have? I will tell you why, afterwards. I suppose it will be my old one?"

"Yes; that is our one spare cabin, Bob. But I don't know why you are in such a hurry about it."

"I will tell you presently," Bob laughed, and led the way below.

"There, Amy," he said, "you can go in there, and put on your own things again. I thought it would be more comfortable, for you, for them not to know it until you are properly dressed, in your own clothes. You have brought a frock, of course?"

"Yes; I thought I had better bring one, in case we should be made prisoners."

"That is all right. When you are dressed, come upon deck. I will explain all about it, before you appear."

Bob, as briefly as possible, told his story to Captain Lockett and Joe; who were much amused to find that Bob's friend was a young lady.

"You are coming out in quite a new light, Bob, as a squire of dames. But I won't laugh at you, now; I want to hear the last news. I overhauled that craft, not so much to capture her, as to get the last news. There were reports, before I started, that the Moors were joining the Spaniards, and that their ports were closed to us; and what you say confirms that. That was one of the points I wanted to know, as I could not tell whether I could run in there safely, were I chased. Now, as to getting into the Rock, are their cruisers active, at present?"

"Well, there are lots of them about. I think your best plan will be to run in close to the Point, and hold on as if you were going into Algeciras. In that way, they won't suspect you. Then, when you get right up the bay, haul across to the town. The wind is in your favour, because you will have to tack to work up the bay and, if you make pretty long tacks, they won't suspect you, when you start across, until you have got pretty well away and, with this breeze, there will be no chance of their catching you before you are under our guns."

"That seems hopeful enough. At any rate, we will try it. I will send six more men on board the polacre. They will want to be handy with her sails. I will go myself, and give Crofts orders. He had better keep ahead of us for, if we are chased by their gunboats, we can 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 chatting merrily with the captain. At four in the afternoon they rounded the Point, the polacre a few hundred yards ahead, and both flying Spanish colours. There were several Spanish cruisers, and some gunboats, outside them; but these paid no attention to their movements, and both beat up the bay, keeping close into the Spanish shore, but holding somewhat farther out, at each tack.

"Now," Captain Lockett, said when they were within half a mile of Algeciras, "we will run out this tack. There are two gunboats in our way, I see, but we must take our chance of them.

"Go and wave a handkerchief from the bow, Joe. Mr. Crofts will be on the lookout for the signal."

The two vessels held away on the port tack. As the polacre approached the gunboats, a sudden bustle was observed on board them.

"They begin to smell a rat," Captain Lockett said.

"Hoist the topgallant sails," for the brig had been under easy sail, to enable her to hold her place with the polacre.

The men were already at quarters, and the ports were opened and the guns run out. Just as the gunboat nearest the polacre--finding the hail, for her to bring to, unheeded--fired a shot into her, the brig's head paid off, and she poured a broadside into the two gunboats. One of them was struck amidships. For a minute there was great 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 fell near, the brig was uninjured. The second gunboat did not venture to attack so formidable an opponent and, half an hour later, the Antelope and her prize dropped anchor off the Mole.

Bob had already run down and put on his usual clothes, and he and Amy were at once rowed ashore, and made their way to Major Harcourt's quarters. The delight of Amy's father and mother, as she rushed into the room, was extreme. Bob did not enter with her, but left her to tell her own story; and proceeded straight to the governor's, to whom he reported the state of affairs at Tangier.

"It is bad news," the governor said. "However, I am extremely obliged to you, for the valuable service that you have rendered and, as I had the pleasure of before doing, when you brought in the oranges, I shall place your name in the orders of the day for having, as a volunteer, rendered signal service by carrying despatches, at great risk, across to the Barbary coast."

Bob then returned home. Captain Lockett had already been to the house, and informed the O'Hallorans of his arrival.

"There you see, Carrie," Bob said, after his sister's first greetings were over; "there was nothing to have been so terribly alarmed about."

"It isn't because you got through it safely, Bob, that there was no danger," his sister replied. "It was a very foolish thing to do, and nothing will change my opinion as to that.

"Captain Lockett tells me you brought Amy Harcourt back with you, dressed up as a boy. I never heard of such a thing, Bob! The idea of a boy like you--not eighteen yet--taking charge, in that way, of a young girl!"

"Well, there was nothing else to do, Carrie, that I could see. I went to Mrs. Hamber, who was Mrs. Colomb's most intimate friend, and asked her opinion as to what I had better do; and she advised me to get Amy away, if I possibly could do so. I can't see what difference it makes, whether it is a boy or a girl. It seems to me that people are always so stupid about that sort of thing."

Carrie laughed.

"Well, never mind, Bob. Amy Harcourt is a very nice girl. A little too boyish, perhaps; but I suppose that is natural, being brought up in the regiment. I am very glad that you have brought her back again, and it will be an immense relief to her father and mother. Her mother has been here three or four times, during these two days you have been away; and I am in no way surprised at her anxiety. They will be in here this evening, certainly, to thank you."

"Very well; then I shall be round smoking a cigar, with the doctor," Bob said. "I am very glad to have been of use to them, and to have got Amy back again; but I don't want to be thanked, and you tell them so. I hate being made a fuss about."

And so, beyond a warm grasp of the hand, on the part of Major Harcourt; and two or three words of hearty thanks, on that of his wife, the next time they met; Bob escaped any expression of gratitude. But the occurrence drew the two families together more closely, and Amy often came round with her father and mother, in the evening; and there were many little confidential talks between Carrie and Mrs. Harcourt.

It was some time before the anxiety as to the fate of the English inhabitants, at Tangier, was allayed. They were, at the beginning of December, forced to remove to Marteen, a few miles from Tetuan--abandoning their houses and all their property, which was estimated at the value of sixty thousand pounds--and, three days afterwards, were handed over as prisoners to the Spaniards. They were then put on board a ship, and taken to Algeciras--where they were kept, for nearly a month, prisoners on board ship--but were, on the 11th of January, 1781, sent across to Gibraltar.

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