American boys afloat

_All-Over-the-World Series_

American Boys Afloat

Or

Cruising In The Orient

By OLIVER OPTIC

AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD" FIRST AND SECOND SERIES "THE BOAT-CLUB SERIES" "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES" "THE WOODVILLE STORIES" "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES" "THE LAKE SHORE SERIES" "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES" "THE RIVERDALE STORIES" "THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY SERIES" "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" ETC.

Boston Lee And Shepard Publishers 10 Milk Street

Copyright, 1893, By Lee And Shepard

_All Rights Reserved_

American Boys Afloat

Type-Setting And Electrotyping By C. J. Peters & Son, Boston, U.S.A.

S. J. Parkhill & Co., Printers, Boston, U.S.A.

TO MY EXCELLENT FRIEND DR. WILLIAM P. LEAVITT ONE OF MY FELLOW-TRAVELLERS IN FOREIGN LANDS This Volume IS CORDIALLY DEDICATED

Preface

"American Boys Afloat" is the fifth volume of the "All-Over-the-World" series; and it is a continuation of the travels and adventures of Louis Belgrave and his faithful and life-long friend and constant associate, Felix McGavonty, who are still inseparably united wherever they are and whatever they do. But they have been reinforced by two other American boys, and "The Big Four," as they have been named by some of the humorously inclined passengers in the Guardian-Mother, become the heroes of the adventures recounted in the volume.

These additions to the force of the young millionaire are not wholly strangers to the readers of this series, for Morris Woolridge filled a prominent place as an actor in some of the events already related, though he had not then become one of the party whose moving home was on board of the steam-yacht. From the beginning the Belgraves and the Woolridges have been intimate friends; and at the close of the preceding volume the manner in which they became members of the expedition around the world in the same steamer was narrated.

The wild and reckless Scott, reformed by the excellent discipline of the commander of the steamer, and his association with such high-minded young men as Louis, Felix, and Morris, becomes more of a character than even his companions. The little steam-yacht, the Salihé, is discovered at Gibraltar, and the events which caused her owner to dispose of her to the combined millionaires of the Guardian-Mother are detailed. This little steamer, with her Mohammedan name changed to one more Christian, becomes the tender of the ship, and very naturally falls into the possession of the big four. They organize a regular ship's company, and the reformed member of the quartet, who is more of a sailor and navigator than the others, becomes Captain Scott. Under his command, the little craft, though not so small as to be uncomfortable, makes the voyage from Gibraltar to Constantinople, keeping on the African side, and thus "cruising in the Orient" all the way.

The steamer and her little consort visit Algiers and Constantinople, where the party devote themselves to sight-seeing, and listen to historical and descriptive lectures of the countries in whose waters they float, for the commander insists upon the instructive element of the cruise.

While the author was wondering how he could crowd the story of the voyage of the Guardian-Mother, including the adventures of the big four, into six volumes, his publishers very graciously permitted him to extend the series to twice that number. The voyage will therefore be continued on the same plan, the little steamer, with the young navigators on board of her most of the time accompanying the ship.

William T. Adams.

DORCHESTER, MASS., Aug. 15, 1893.

Contents

Chapter I. The Salihé Alongside The Guardian-Mother

Chapter II. The Big Four Arrange An Excursion

Chapter III. The Possible Dangers Of The Voyage

Chapter IV. An Exploration Of Gibraltar Bay

Chapter V. At The Mouth Of The Palmones River

Chapter VI. The Battle On The Deck Of The Salihé

Chapter VII. The Big Four As Prisoners In The Cabin

Chapter VIII. A Moral Conspiracy On Board The Salihé

Chapter IX. Working Up The Details Of The Scheme

Chapter X. Lassoing The Scotchman

Chapter XI. The Return Of The Victorious Knight-Errant

Chapter XII. The Smugglers Make A Trip To Algeciras

Chapter XIII. What Is Worth Knowing About Gibraltar

Chapter XIV. American Witnesses In A Spanish Court

Chapter XV. Exploring The Rock Of Gibraltar

Chapter XVI. An Addition For The Fun Of The Big Four

Chapter XVII. The Ship'S Company Of The Steamer Maud

Chapter XVIII. An Afternoon Excursion To Tangier

Chapter XIX. Enter Ali-Noury Pacha And The Fatimé

Chapter XX. An Unexpected Peril In View

Chapter XXI. Euchring The Grand Mogul

Chapter XXII. Consternation On Board The Ship

Chapter XXIII. A Fugitive From The Enemy

Chapter XXIV. A Stormy Interview With Ali-Noury Pacha

Chapter XXV. The Starboard And Port Watches Of The Maud

Chapter XXVI. The Pacha Finds He Has Caught A Tartar

Chapter XXVII. A Few Lessons In Navigation

Chapter XXVIII. Morris On "The Rule Of The Road"

Chapter XXIX. The Prospect Of A Water-Famine

Chapter XXX. The Maud Inclined To Turn Somersets

Chapter XXXI. Captain Scott Sets A Reefed Foresail

Chapter XXXII. The Meeting Of The Two Steamers

Chapter XXXIII. The Professor'S Lecture On Algeria

Chapter XXXIV. Oriental Views In Algiers

Chapter XXXV. The Arrival At Constantinople

Chapter XXXVI. The City Of The Sultan

Chapter XXXVII. The Sultan And The Dancing Dervishes

Chapter XXXVIII. His Highness In The Oriental City

American Boys Afloat

Chapter I

The Salihé Alongside The Guardian-Mother

"It seems to me that I have seen that little steam-yacht before," said Louis Belgrave, as the four young Americans stood upon the promenade deck of the Guardian-Mother, of which the speaker was the owner, though the young man was only seventeen years of age.

"Be the modther of me, it's the Sally Hay!" exclaimed Felix McGavonty, the Milesian of the party, though he could pronounce the President's English as well as any of his companions when he chose to do so.

"She certainly looks just like the Salihé," added George Scott Fencelowe, whom everybody on board addressed as Scott simply: and the three who had spoken had made a voyage in the little steamer from Funchal in Madeira to Gibraltar, where the Guardian-Mother was now moored inside of the New Mole.

"You fellows who have made a long cruise in her ought to know her if she is the Salihé," said Morris Woolridge. "I never even saw her but once, and I can throw no light on the subject."

"She was painted white when we made our trip in her, and now she is the color of a black cat," continued Scott, the oldest of the party and the best sailor and boatman, for he was eighteen, while Morris, the youngest, was only fourteen.

"It seems to me to be hardly possible that she can be the Salihé, though she looks like her in everything except her color," replied Louis. "If the Fatimé were here, I should have no doubt it was she."

"But the large steam-yacht of His Highness, Ali-Noury Pacha, is not here, and we know that she passed through the strait and went to sea; and that is what makes me think the craft is not the Salihé," added Scott, who had been for a short time in the service of the Pacha, and had made the voyage in the little steamer from Funchal.

"I suppose Ali-Noury could not very well take her with him on his trip up the Mediterranean, and he left her here," suggested Louis.

"If that were true, the Pacha would not have had her painted black," reasoned Scott; and there seemed to be a good deal of force in the argument.

"Where is Philopena?" demanded Felix. "Sure, he ought to know the shtaymer if he's acquainted wid his own fadther, for he was ingineman of the craft."

Felipe Garcias, a young Spaniard of eighteen, had been the engineer of the Salihé in the service of the Pacha, and being ill-treated by his Mohammedan employer, he had run away from Mogadore with the small steam-yacht. The steam-launch which was the subject of the conversation was coming out from the dockyard inside of the New Mole, and approaching the Guardian-Mother. Felipe, who was now an oiler on board of the steamer, was called by Morris, and his attention was directed to the approaching steam-yacht. He looked her over very carefully; but the change of color evidently perplexed him at first, though a little later he came to his conclusion.

"Salihé!" he exclaimed.

When Felipe came on board of the Guardian-Mother, he could not speak a word of English; but in the time that had since elapsed he had made good progress in acquiring it, though he was not yet fluent in the use of it.

"Are you sure of it, Phil?" asked Louis, who had translated his Spanish name into English, and then abbreviated it.

"Ver sure," replied Felipe decidedly. "I see some things what I know."

"She was white when we brought her here," added Louis.

"She has become black now; but I know some marks," persisted Felipe; and he proceeded to mention and point them out; but he spoke in Spanish to Louis, who had become tolerably fluent in the language by this time.

"Why don't ye's shpake to the man forninst her poilot-house," suggested Felix. "Perhaps he knows somephwat about her."

"That's a bright idea of yours, Felix; he would be likely to know something about her," laughed the owner of the Guardian-Mother.

The Salihé was making a course within twenty feet of the side of the steamer, and it was not a difficult matter to hail her. The man in the little box that was dignified with the name of pilot-house was the only person that could be seen on board of the little steamer, though there was doubtless another in the engine-room. The boat was moving along very slowly, and the pilot seemed to be looking about him all the time and in every direction.

"Salihé, ahoy!" shouted Louis.

"On board the steamer!" replied the man at the wheel, as he threw it over so as to direct the boat towards the gangway.

The Guardian-Mother was the steam-yacht of Louis Belgrave, who had become a millionaire at sixteen, less than a year before; and she was also the college of the young gentleman, for the vessel was provided with a study, or schoolroom, abaft the principal cabin, in which Professor Giroud, a very learned Frenchman, instructed him and his fellow-students in literature, science, history, and languages.

In what manner the steamer became the yacht and college of the young millionaire has been fully related and repeated in the preceding volumes of this series, and need hardly be repeated at length. She had sailed from New York on the first of December before, and had made an eventful voyage to the Bermudas, to Nassau, and around the island of Cuba, visiting all the principal ports.

Louis Belgrave, on account of the peculiar family circumstances that surrounded him, had fallen into many and various adventures, and passed through and out of not a few perilous situations. None of them were of his own choice, and he was not a seeker after Quixotic enterprises, though his excellent friend and trustee had dubbed him a knight, and called him "Sir Louis;" and his example had been followed by the commander and others on board.

Captain Royal Ringgold, commanding the steamer, had always been a friend of Louis, and especially of Mrs. Belgrave, his mother. The young millionaire had requested him to visit and examine a schooner he proposed to purchase for a yacht; and his mother and Felix had been his companions. The stirring adventures to which this visit gave rise strengthened the friendship before existing.

The captain had advised the purchase of the steamer to which Louis gave the name of "Guardian-Mother" as a sort of recognition of her who had given him being, and to whom he was devoted to a degree rarely observed even in good and worthy sons. He originated the idea of making the vessel the young gentleman's college, in which the study of books could be combined with foreign travel.

Squire Moses Scarburn was an old-fashioned lawyer, usually called Uncle Moses, and was one of the party. Dr. Philip Hawkes, an eminent physician and surgeon of New York, and Professor Pierre Giroud had become passengers in consequence of an accident. The doctor and the lawyer each weighed two hundred and twenty-six pounds and a fraction, and both of them were humorously inclined.

Mrs. Blossom had been the housekeeper of the squire, and a friend of Mrs. Belgrave; and she was on board as the companion of the owner's mother. The party in the state cabin of the steamer who had made the voyage to the West Indies, across the Atlantic, visiting Teneriffe and Madeira, voyaging from one port to another in European waters till they had spent several months in England, Holland, France, and the western part of Spain, consisted of the seven persons named.

Among the Bahama Islands they had picked up a bank defaulter, whose adopted son, Scott Fencelowe, had brought him there in the Seahound, his yacht. When Captain Ringgold realized that the bank officer was a defaulter, and had secured his plunder, he sent him back to the United States, forwarding the money he had stolen at the same time. The adopted son was a wild and reckless fellow, and his foster-father had practically bound him to the captain as a sort of apprentice.

The young scapegrace had run away three times, but had been reclaimed. He had reformed his life and manners, and was now a worthy young man, as he had been for about three or four months. From a common sailor, berthing with the crew, the captain had promoted him to the rank of quartermaster, messing with the officers, for he was a good steersman. He was also a student in the study, where the professor had four pupils.

Mr. Lowell Woolridge was a Fifth Avenue millionaire of New York, whose wife, son, and daughter, as well as himself, had increased the number of the party in the cabin to eleven, making up a dozen with the commander, who spent with them all the time he could spare from his duties. Mr. Woolridge had become acquainted with the Belgrave family through the agency of his yacht, the Blanche.

His daughter, a very beautiful and graceful young lady of sixteen, having some slight symptoms of a pulmonary disease, had been sent to Orotavo, in the island of Teneriffe, by the physicians, and her father had been advised to take her there in his yacht. In a long and violent gale the Blanche had nearly foundered; but the Guardian-Mother had saved the vessel and the family. Dr. Hawkes declared that nothing ailed the fair patient, and the Blanche accompanied the steamer on her voyage as far as Southampton.

On the passage there the commander and the Belgraves decided to invite the Woolridges to join the party on board of the steamer; and the arrangements had been completed at Southampton, so that the expense of the voyage around the world should be equally divided between the two millionaires. While the two parties were travelling in the United Kingdom, some needed alterations were made in the cabin of the steamer, increasing the number of staterooms.

Six of the rooms on board were provided with bathrooms, with all the appendages, and were as luxurious as the suites of a first-class hotel. Mr. Melancthon Sage, the chief steward, was a caterer of established reputation, and Monsieur Odervie, the chief cook, was an artist in his profession of the highest rank. In fact, everything on board of the Guardian-Mother was luxurious. The ship was good for eighteen knots an hour when driven, and was officered by men of skill and long experience. Besides the boatswain and three quartermasters, her crew of sixteen seamen were all picked men, and it would have been difficult to find their equals as a whole in any yacht that sailed the seas.

Felix McGavonty was born of an Irish father and mother, but within the United States; and he claimed to be as much an American as his friends and companions; and his claim was freely allowed by all of them. His mother was dead, and his father had "disappeared." The four young Americans on board of the Guardian-Mother were fast friends at the time of their introduction, though Scott had been heartily received as such at a recent date.

The little steam-yacht, though she was large enough to have a cabin, engine-room, and pilot-house, came up to the gangway of the ship. The boys, as the commander always called them when speaking of them collectively, went over the rail and descended the steps to the Salihé. Individually, Captain Ringgold, as well as all the officers and seamen, called Louis "Mr. Belgrave." Though he never put on airs, some little deference was extended to him by his companions on account of his ownership; but among themselves the boys were equals in every respect.

The man in the pilot-house stepped out, and when he had made fast to the side of the steamer, he invited the party on board. He was evidently an Englishman, for he slaughtered his h's without mercy, and was over fifty years old. He was well dressed, and one might have taken him for the mate of a merchantman. He was polite in his way, and provided his guests with seats.

Chapter II

The Big Four Arrange An Excursion

"What steam-yacht is this, sir?" asked Louis, as he seated himself on a stool in front of the pilot-house.

"She's the Sali'é, sir," replied the man, pointing to the name above his head.

"That's an odd name; is it English?" added the young millionaire.

"Not at all, sir; it is a 'eathen name. She was built on the Clyde for the Grand Mogul of Mogadore; and a very fine craft she is, too, sir."

"But how came she here? This isn't a heathen place, and you don't have a great many Grand Moguls in Gibraltar, I believe."

"Bless you, no, sir! This place is a part of the realm of the Queen of Hengland, which she is likewise also the Hempress of Hindia, and is a Christian sovereign. Is it 'ow comes she 'ere?"

"His it the Queen? His she 'ere?" demanded Felix, opening as though he was immeasurably astonished; and Louis looked at him and shook his head in deprecation of the Milesian's travesty of the language of the present skipper of the Salihé. "If her gracious majesty's here, I'll go ashore and give her the top of the mornin' as the shades of aiv'nin' are gadtherin' forninst the big bit of a rock," continued he, taking his friend's decided hint and promptly acting upon it.

"The Queen which she is not in Gibraltar," replied the skipper, apparently not at all pleased with the style of the last speaker. "I was speaking of the Sali'é, sir, and not of the Queen."

"I beg your pardon, sir; I assure you on the honor of an Oirishman I mint no offince," added Felix, taking off his cap and bowing to the Englishman, entirely appeased by the apology.

"Is it 'ow the steam-yacht comes to be 'ere in Gib, sir? Well, it's a bit hodd 'ow she comes 'ere. The Grand Mogul as owned 'er 'ad a Spanish hengineer which he run away with the Sali'é, and brought 'er to Gib. But the Grand Mogul 'imself was 'ere in 'is big steam-yacht, and the Spaniard which 'e got frightened, and made fast the Sali'é to the Fatimé which it is the Grand Mogul's big yacht, and left for Spain without stopping to wipe the grease off 'is fingers."

"Then the engineer went to Spain?" queried Louis.

"I s'pose 'e did; where helse would a Spaniard go?" replied the skipper with a vacant stare.

"I give it up."

"You gives it hup! If any one gives hup the thief as stole the yacht, the Grand Mogul would cut 'im hup hinto five quarters."

"Four would be enough," interjected Felix.

"Is the Grand Mogul here now?" asked Louis.

"Not in Gib now, and I reckon he went back to Mogadore. He spoke Henglish like a rock scorpion."

"Like a what?" demanded Felix.

"Like a rock scorpion, Flix; and that is a pet name for a person born in Gibraltar," interposed Louis. "Where were you educated?"

"Not among the scorpions, moi darlint."

"Then the Spaniard returned the Salihé to her owner, did he?" asked Louis.

"'E left 'er alongside the Fatimé, and fled like a rat with a cat after 'im. The Grand Mogul was madder'n a bull with a bunch of Chinese fire-crackers tied to 'is tail. 'E couldn't do nothing with the yacht 'ere 'n Gib. 'E offered me ten pounds to sail 'er down to Mogadore; but I wouldn't go to sea in a craft no bigger'n she is. Then 'e sold her 'nd I bought 'er."

"What did you give for her?" inquired Felix.

"A 'undred pounds, which she is worth five 'undred," replied the skipper, whose name, later on, proved to be Giles Chickworth.

"And what do you do with her?" asked Louis.

"I makes 'er pay the interest on what she cost me, and good wages besides. I takes out parties as comes to the Rock," replied Chickworth.

"What do you charge for her?"

"Five shillings an hour, sir; and that's only two pound ten a day, which it is very cheap for a beauty like the Sali'é, sir. Per'aps you young gentlemen would like to take a turn in 'er?" suggested Giles Chickworth.

Louis liked the idea, and the boys had a hasty conference in regard to the matter. The passengers on board had not yet been on shore; for the Viking, whose commander and his wife were their friends, was moored near the Guardian-Mother, and they were having very pleasant times in visiting each other. Three of the young gentlemen had to dine that day with the guests of Mrs. Belgrave; and they thought it would be more agreeable to make the excursion in the evening, when it would be cooler, and the full moon would lend her splendors to the occasion.

"We cannot go now; but we should like to engage the Salihé for this evening at six o'clock," said Louis, at the close of the conference.

"Me and the hengineer is engaged this evening," replied the skipper. "We 'ave to go to a meeting of our society, and I must be there, for I'm the chairman;" and the latter clause seemed to be the idea he particularly wished to convey to his auditors.

"Very well, Mr. Chairman; but will you let the Salihé without the captain or engineer?" inquired Louis.

"Sergeant Files told me as 'ow the Guardian-Mother was owned by a young gentleman in his teens as was sailing in 'er. With all due respect, which is the gentleman as owns 'er?" inquired Chickworth, touching his tarpaulin at random to the big four, as Captain Ringgold sometimes facetiously called them, evidently borrowing the term from a western railroad folder.

With one accord Felix, Morris, and Scott pointed at Louis, as though they were rehearsing a Scriptural tableau of what Nathan said unto David: "Thou art the man!"

"Which his name it is Mr. Belgrave," added Chickworth, taking off his tarpaulin and bowing low to the young gentleman indicated by his companions, for he had more respect for millions than for birth and attainments.

"My name is Louis Belgrave, at your service, Mr. Commander of the Salihé," replied the young millionaire, laughing heartily at the pantomime of his friends and the obsequiousness of the skipper.

"I knowed it was you, sir, from the gentility which it is marked on your honor's face, and shows itself in every motion you make," gushed Mr. Chickworth. "My name which it is Giles Chickworth."

"Mr. Chairman, I move that you use no more blarney; and I should say you had kissed the Blarney stone if you were an Irishman."

"The motion is not seconded, and I can't put it to the 'ouse," said the skipper.

"Put it to yourself and not to the house, and I shall be satisfied. Now, Mr. Giles Chickworth, let us talk business. Will you let the steam-yacht without captain or engineer?"

"Which I will do with the greatest pleasure in the world to a gentleman with millions in his trousers' pocket; for if you wreck or injure the beauty of a craft, you will pay for 'er like the Christian you are."

"Certainly, I will; but we do not intend to wreck or injure her," added Louis, as he proceeded to arrange the terms more definitely.

Everything was satisfactorily adjusted, and Chickworth promised to have the Salihé at the gangway of the ship at six o'clock. The Guardian-Mother had arrived at Gibraltar about noon on the day that the boys discovered the little steam-yacht. The Viking had come a couple of hours sooner. Captain W. Penn Sharp, her commander, had formerly been the third officer of the steamer, and his wife had been intimately connected with the affairs of the Belgrave family.

They came on board of the ship as soon as she was moored; and the rest of the party, including Captain Ringgold, were in the cabin while the big four were bargaining for the use of the Salihé. The two commanders had some business, and the ladies had more to say than could be disposed of in half a day. Fourteen persons sat down at luncheon together, and just escaped the fatal number by one, so that no life was sacrificed to the ominous thirteen.

The boys went on deck as soon as the meal was finished, for they were anxious to see more of the famous Rock, while the rest of the party remained in the cabin. The little steam-yacht cast off her cable, and stood off towards the town, where her enterprising captain probably expected to obtain a job for his boat.

"You have not said anything to Captain Ringgold about this excursion, Louis," suggested Morris Woolridge, as they observed the departing steamer.

"I did not consider it necessary to say anything to him," replied the owner of the Guardian-Mother.

"He will charge you with getting up another adventure like that you three had in the same little craft, or that we had in the felucca off Teneriffe, Sir Louis."

"If there is any adventure in a moonlight excursion in Gibraltar Bay in which you cannot get away more than five miles from the ship, I do not see it," added the young knight-errant, as Uncle Moses and Captain Ringgold insisted upon regarding him.

"I'm go'n' wid ye's, moi darlint, and Oi shall see that no harrum comes to ye's," interposed Felix. "I'll take as good care of ye's as your modther wud if she went wid ye's."

"Then I shall be perfectly safe, Squire Felix; but who will take care of you, my broth of a boy?" laughed Louis.

"St. Patrick hisself, long loife to 'm! is allus on the lukout for me; an' ye've nothin' to faer as long as Oi'm wid ye's."

"We have no pilot for these waters," suggested Scott.

"You can take a look at the big chart of this locality before we go, and then we shall be all right," replied Louis. "The water here is a hundred fathoms deep, and I believe there is only one island in all the bay."

"But there may be shoal places in the northern part of the bay, and it would not be pleasant to get aground and have to stay all night stuck in the mud," argued Scott.

"The tide rises and falls about four feet here; and by the looks it will not be at the flood before nine or ten this evening; and if we get caught, we can work off any shoal without much trouble. You will be the pilot, Scott, and you must study up the tide and the shoals before we leave."

"In what conspiracy are the big four engaged just now?" asked the commander, as he came out of the boudoir, in which was the grand staircase to the state cabin; and those rather high-sounding names were so marked on the plan of the interior of the ship, made by the original owner before she was purchased for the young millionaire. "Do you intend to set Gibraltar Bay on fire, blow up the Rock, or bridge over the Strait?"

"We may set the bay on fire to-night if it will only burn. Do you see that little steam-yacht, Captain, making for the town?" replied Louis, as he pointed to the pretty craft.

"I see her; and she is quite a handsome steam-launch," answered the commander.

"That is the Salihé, in which Flix and I, with the 'middy,' made the voyage from Madeira to Tarifa," added Louis.

"That? It seems to be quite impossible."

"She has been at the gangway, and her captain and owner, Mr. Giles Chickworth, told us all about her, and how he happened to buy her of the Grand Mogul;" and Louis proceeded to relate the entire history of the craft, and to inform the commander that the big four had engaged her for a moonlight excursion on the bay.

Captain Ringgold made no serious objection to the enterprise.

Chapter III

The Possible Dangers Of The Voyage

Scott Fencelowe, who had been on probation over three months, proved very unexpectedly to the captain and others on board of the Guardian-Mother to be thoroughly reformed. As soon as the commander was satisfied on this point, he treated him with great kindness and consideration. The young man had been a very diligent student, and, having rather remarkable ability, he made rapid progress in his studies.

The stateroom formerly occupied by the third officer, leading off the promenade deck, like those of the first and second officers, had been assigned to him. He was nominally a quartermaster, though his services were seldom required at the wheel. He was the commander's messenger, and had come to be called the "middy." He had the charge of the flags and signals, and was made useful in any capacity in which he could be of service.

He messed with the officers, and as a sort of reward of merit he was occasionally invited to dine with the cabin party, as were the other principal officers of the ship. The other boys treated him as though he had been in every respect their equal, as indeed he was, except that he was a petty officer, as Felix was the captain's clerk. Scott was a very skilful boatman, and in three months he had learned his duty as a seaman.

"I suppose this moonlight excursion means an adventure of some sort, Sir Louis," said Captain Ringgold, when the serious part of the business was settled, and no objection had been made to the enterprise of the big four.

"Of course I am bound to be a knight-errant wherever I go and whatever I do, and I am as sure to get into an adventure as I am to get into my berth when I turn in," replied Louis, laughing with the captain all the time.

"It generally happens so. You were going to the top of the Peak of Teneriffe; but instead of going there, you had a battle with banditti, and whipped out your captors in a felucca."

"But the big four came back safe and sound, and brought the enemy with them."

"You were all plucky, and I believe you never fail to get the better of all enemies in whatever form they come."

"Now, beloved commander of the Guardian-Mother, can you tell me what possible chance there is for an adventure in the excursion we have arranged?" asked Louis, rather more seriously.

"If you should undertake to capture the Rock of Gibraltar, it will be well for you to know that it is garrisoned by about five thousand soldiers of all arms; and that number of full-grown men are too many for even the big four," continued the commander, not disposed to be serious.

"The big four don't mind five thousand soldiers; if there were ten thousand of them, we might hesitate."

"Perhaps you will prefer to pick up the entire Rock and drop it into the bay; but the water is not deep enough to cover up the highest points of it, and somebody might find out what you had been about."

"Now, Captain, could you be reasonably serious for a moment, only long enough to guess the conundrum I put to you just now?" asked Louis.

"I might try. What was the conundrum?" asked the commander, smoothing off his face.

"If my mother knew I was going ashore, or off in a boat, she would immediately conclude that I was to be shot, pitched over a precipice, or sunk to the bottom of the bay with a fifty-six tied around my neck."

"Formerly she would; but Dr. Hawkes has wonderfully improved her nervous system, so that she would not conclude that anything of the sort would happen to you. You have got into so many scrapes and always come out of them without the singeing of a hair of your head, that she has acquired some confidence in your happy destiny," replied the captain.

"Then can you indicate nearly or remotely what possible adventure I can fall into in this excursion?"

"I give up the conundrum; I cannot guess as to how it is to come about; but if I were a sporting man, I should be willing to wager that you will have an adventure of some kind; but I should wish to wager at the same time that you would come out of it unscathed, and with the head of the enemy under your arm," answered the captain, resuming his mirthful rallying.

"I cannot see for the life of me where the adventure is to come in. John Scoble is hard at work in Sing Sing prison, and"--

"He may have been pardoned, or escaped from the stone walls that held him," interposed the commander, very cheerfully, as though he did not anticipate either of these events.

"Mr. Fobbington, _alias_ Wilson Frinks, is mending roads with his ankles chained together in Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe; these two were the most virulent enemies I ever had, and I do not know where to look for any others," replied Louis, as he saw his mother with the rest of the party come out of the boudoir.

Captain Ringgold told her all about the proposed excursion of the big four; but Mrs. Belgrave did not offer a single objection. She asked her son some questions about it, and then joined Mrs. Sharp in a walk on the deck.

"But which of the big four is to be the engineer of the Salihé?" asked the commander.

"No one of them, Captain; and that reminds me that I wish to borrow Felipe Garcias, the oiler, for that office," replied Louis.

The commander sent the middy to summon Felipe; and both of them soon returned together. The young Spaniard was very willing to undertake the duty, as he was anything that was for Louis, to whom he was fully devoted. The dinner in the cabin, complimentary to Captain and Mrs. Sharp, was served at five o'clock in Monsieur Odervie's best style. The boys retired early, and were at the gangway when the steam-yacht came alongside.

Giles Chickworth was in the pilot-house, and the same engineer as when they had seen the craft before was at the door of the engine-room. Felipe was in readiness to take the place of the latter, as Scott was that of the former. But the young engineer did not appear to be in a very cheerful mood, and looked furtively about the vicinity of the ship as if in search of somebody or something.

"Ali-Noury Pacha here?" he said, looking earnestly at Louis, for he had been generally confined to his duties below, and had not heard the news that the Pacha's yacht had gone to the southward three weeks before.

"The Grand Mogul is not here now," replied Louis, laughing at the fears of the young Spaniard. "His steam-yacht has probably gone back to Mogadore."

"Sure?" persisted Felipe.

"I am sure the Fatimé is not here, though I am not sure where she has gone. Besides, he has sold the Salihé to the man in the pilot-house, and he has no claim to her," Louis explained.

"I don't know; the Grand Mogul is a bad man; I am afraid," added the engineer, shaking his head doubtfully.

"He cannot harm you now."

"He send me back to Mogadore; he whip me on the feet; he put me in the prison," continued Felipe.

"He cannot touch you here."

"I am not so sure of that," interposed Uncle Moses, the lawyer. "He could be arrested for stealing the steam-yacht;" but the trustee spoke in a low tone, so that the Spaniard could not hear him, and he could not yet speak or understand English very readily.

"He could in Morocco, but not here, under the British flag," suggested Louis.

"There may be an extradition treaty between the two countries," replied Uncle Moses. "But I don't think Filopena is in any great danger of being arrested. Don't be afraid, my boy," he added to the engineer.

"It is all right, Felipe; the Pacha can have no idea of what has become of you," said Louis, as he led the way down the steps and on board of the Salihé. "You are here on time, Mr. Chickworth."

"Which I am halways on time, sir," replied the owner of the craft.

"This man owns the Salihé now," added Louis, turning to Felipe, who closely followed him.

"_Lo he comprado_" (I have bought her), said the skipper, seeing that the engineer was a Spaniard. "She is mine now."

But he had no idea that the person he addressed was the one who had run away from the home of the Pacha with the steamer; and Louis did not deem it wise to enlighten him in this particular.

"_Esta aqui el Pacha?_" (Is the Pacha here?) asked Felipe of the skipper.

"_No esta aqui_" (He is not here), replied Chickworth. "Now, Mr. Belgrave, I suppose you are in no 'urry, and per'aps you would not mind setting me and my hengineer on shore by the Ragged Staff," he continued, turning to Louis.

"In no hurry at all, and we had as lief go to the Ragged Staff, whatever that may be, as anywhere else. Run for the shore at any place you please. By the way, Mr. Chairman, where shall we leave the Salihé when we return?"

"Just make 'er fast by the gangway of your ship, and I will come on board to-morrow morning," replied the skipper, as he rang the bell to go ahead.

Scott stood at the door and asked some questions about the navigation of the bay; but Chickworth seemed to have no doubt that the temporary pilot would be able to keep the steamer on the top of the water. It was a run of only half a mile to the stairs where the skipper wished to land, and a few minutes later he was set ashore there. He stood at the head of the steps observing the Salihé as she headed up the bay, and seemed to be informing himself whether or not her new crew knew how to manage her.

Of course Felipe was entirely at home in the engine-room, for he had served there in the employ of the Pacha, as well as on the broad ocean when all his present shipmates were with him. Scott was a skilful wheelman, and had steered the craft on the voyage from Madeira. No commander had been chosen for the present trip, but Louis fell naturally into this position without any appointment, for his ability invariably made him the leader in all enterprises in which the big four engaged. In fact, he had a talent for commanding as well as for obeying; and the latter sometimes requires more talent than the former. But he was modest and did not make himself offensive by an overbearing manner.

The Salihé was abreast of the town of Gibraltar after she left the landing stairs, where there is a fixed light, showing green, which Scott noted as his guide for the return run. Four miles from it to the westward was a light on Verde Island, near the city of Algeciras, visible nine miles; and between the two the helmsman was not likely to get lost, unless a dense fog should shut them out from his view, of which there was no immediate prospect.

"It is about time to give the pilot some instructions in regard to the course," said Scott, addressing Louis, who stood on the forecastle with Felix. "It won't take long to use up this bay, which don't pan out more than five miles in any direction."

"Sailing for itself don't amount to much, for we are somewhat accustomed to that sort of thing," replied Louis. "I think you had better keep her within about a quarter of a mile of the shore, and make the circuit of the entire bay as far as Carnero Point on the other side. Then we can see the coast by daylight or moonlight. If anybody objects, let him say so."

This course was followed, and the voyagers had a good view of the town and of the Rock. Scott had studied the chart, and announced to his companions the Old Mole, the Neutral Ground, and finally Point Mirador, with St. Roque on the hills above it.

Chapter IV

An Exploration Of Gibraltar Bay

"I say, Flix," said Louis, as he seated himself on one of the stools with which the forecastle was provided, as they were passing the Old Mole, "did it ever occur to you that our voyage from the Bahama Islands was over about the same track as that taken by Columbus when he discovered the New World?"

"I never thought a word about it, my darling," replied Felix.

"I wonder you didn't, for I persuaded you to read Irving's 'Life of Columbus'; and you know he took his final departure from the Canary Islands."

"I know he did; but he did not come back that way, and he had some mighty tough weather, just as we had in coming to the Canaries."

"He returned by the Azores. But I was going to ask you a question, Flix."

"Is it a question?"

"Do you remember seeing the word 'cosmography' in the book?"

"I do remember that same; and I remember seeing the dictionary in regard to it. It is a very big word for a mighty small matter."

"Not at all. What do you understand by the word?"

"I should say that, according to Columbus, it meant the science or the art of drawing maps."

"More than that; for it includes geography and astronomy and something more than that, for it is the science of the universe, comprehending the laws and relations of all its parts."

"Then it is a big subject; but Captain Columbus did not mean by it much more than the description of countries, seas, and oceans. He might as well have called it geography. A cosmographer is one who studies the world or the universe; and that is what Columbus was, for he had an astrolabe, and took the sun like any other old salt."

"Very good, Flix; and I am glad you read so understandingly."

"Did you think I was a fool?" asked Felix with a little gentle indignation in his tone and looks.

"I knew you were not; and, like Captain Columbus, you are a cosmographer," replied Louis, rallying his companion with a laugh.

"Is it I? Not much!"

"But you are"--

"Neutral Ground!" called Scott from the pilot-house. "It's about a half-mile wide, and then comes San Felipe."

"Named after our engineer," added Felix.

"Precisely so: and that place is in Spain. You are studying the coast of that country, and therefore you are a cosmographer," continued Louis.

"Well, I haven't got it bad," protested Felix.

"You have it as badly as any of us; for we are all studying the cosmography of the countries we visit, and especially the shores we approach. We are all cosmographers."

"The hill directly ahead of us is the Carbonera Mountain," shouted Scott; and it is possible that he desired to display the knowledge he had picked up during the afternoon to prepare himself as a pilot.

"Carbonera!" exclaimed Felix. "What a word! I wonder if it means anything. What does it mean, Scott?"

"I'm no Spaniard, and I don't know; all I study is the navigation," replied the pilot.

"Navigation! Are you going to take us up to the top of that hill in the Sally Hay?" chuckled Felix, believing he had made a point.

"Not at all; and I am not going to take you to the top of the lighthouse on Verde Island when we return; but I shall use it all the same as a guide to assist me in the navigation, as I do the mountain, which is nine hundred and seventy-one feet high, and therefore in sight even in the night."

"You have got him, Scott," laughed Louis. "Flix, you talk as though you were an old lady who believed that lighthouses were put up to illuminate the watery region where they are placed, instead of to give the mariner his bearings."

"I am not quite so green as the Ragged Staff Light," replied Felix, rather cut up by Scott's victory over him. "But I am as wise as the pilot, for I don't know any more than he does what the name of that mountain means."

"Well, Flix, you ought to have studied Spanish with me, as I asked you to do before we left New York," added Louis.

"Oh, bother! What do I want of Spanish?"

"To inform you what the meaning is of the name of that hill."

"And do you know what it means, darling?"

"It means a place where they burn charcoal."

"I am not going into the charcoal business at present; and it is of no great consequence to me," added Felix.

"Knowledge is not all for business purposes; and it is worth while to have it, even if you cannot make any money out of it in detail."

"Point Mala," said Scott.

"And what does that mean, Louis?" asked Felix.

"_Malo_ means bad, wicked, or sickly. _Mala_ is the feminine of the same word; and it also means the mail, or a mail-bag. I don't know the history of this _punta_, or point, so that I cannot tell whether it is a sickly place, a wicked locality, or is the place where they formerly landed the mail on its way to San Roque."

"That is San Roque on the hill to the left of Carbonera Mountain," said Scott, who could hear all that was said on the forecastle.

"Then learning Spanish don't teach you everything, Louis, my darling," chuckled Felix. "It ought to let you know whether Mala is a wicked place or a mail-bag."

"Knowledge has its limits; and generally they are not very far off. But you might as well refuse to believe you had any hair on your head because you can not tell how many capillary shafts it consists of."

"I have none of those things on my pate," laughed Felix, shaking his head vigorously. "If I have, I will scatter them. Are those shafts like the one that whirls the propeller of the Guardian-Mamma, Louis?"

"I am afraid the limits of your knowledge of the ornamental appendage of your fine head are not as near as they might be, for you do not seem to know the nomenclature of the hairs of your head."

"Are you talking Spanish just now, my darling? If not, I ought to have brought a dictionary with me," said Felix with a gasp to denote the depth of his despair.

"Point Mirador," called the pilot.

"Punta Mirador," added Louis.

"You ought to have your head bound with iron hoops, like a beer-barrel, to keep it from bursting with the fulness thereof, for some of the long words are sticking out through the cracks now."

"If it collapses, Flix, I hope you will gather up some of the fruits of the explosion; but at present I do not feel any extraordinary pressure, and I think you will have to acquire your own knowledge in the ordinary laborious manner."

"I don't see the p'nt of that point which you call a punta"--

"I don't call it a punta, but a poon-ta. Pronounce it correctly when you speak Spanish, Flix," interposed Louis.

"Poonta Mirador, then. There is more Mira-Por-Vos in it," added Felix, alluding to the group of islands among the Bahamas on one of which the foster-father of Scott had been picked up.

"Unfortunately for you there is none of that in it, for mirador means a person looking on, or a balcony. You pay your money and take your choice."

"Do you pay it in English or Spanish money? There is something on the hill that looks like a balcony; and I pay my money for that interpretation."

"There is another point before we come to Algeciras called Rinconcillo," added the pilot.

"Call it Rin-con-cil-yo, for double 1 in Spanish is treated like a single letter, sounded like ly joined," Louis explained.

"Cilyo it is, Don Louis; and I shall be wilying to remember it when I am spelying out a Spanish word and filying up my empty head with such eroodition through the capilyary shafts. But I suppose that four-sylyabler means something."

"You observe that the word is a diminutive."

"I observe," replied Felix, shrugging his shoulders, and extending his two hands like a puzzled or a deprecating Frenchman. "I always thought a diminutive meant something small, and this is a four-syllabler, with eleven letters, counting in the y."

"Does infinitesimal cover the length of the word or its meaning, Flix?"

"Give it up! You always beat me in a literary discussion, my darling; and Oi'm moighty proud of your lairnin'."

"Rinconcillo, without regard to the length of the word, means a small corner," said Louis.

"And that's just where I am!" exclaimed Felix. "There is only one thing in which I can beat you."

"What's that, Flix?" asked Morris, who had been too much amused to say anything before.

"In using the swate brogue of Ould Ireland, which I lairned from me modther, long life to her, though she died when I was a babby."

"Welcome to your superiority in that line, my boy; but I hoped you would forget your brogue before this time, for you have talked all the evening till now without a touch of it," added Louis.

"Forgit me brogue? Niver! I'd dhrown mesel' in half a point o' wather afore I'd forgit me modther tongue!"

"There is an opening in the land on the starboard side, just ahead of us," Scott announced. "I suppose it is the River Palmones, and there is a village on the north side of it. I missed the Guadarranque River.

"Small loss; but are we going into this river, Scott?" asked Louis.

"I guess not; I don't know the navigation, and it is not sounded on the chart of the bay. But there are some small vessels in there, for I can see their masts not half a cable's length from the shore."

"We don't want anything of them."

"There is a boat coming out of the river," said Morris.

"All right: there is room enough in this bay for both of us," added Louis, as he glanced in the direction of the outlet of the stream.

"I can see the lights in the houses on the shore of the river," continued Morris.

The moonlight did not produce a very brilliant illumination of Gibraltar Bay, though it was light enough to enable the voyagers on its waters to see all prominent objects on the shores, and to make out the shape of the points projecting from them. There was not a sail in sight in this part of the bay, though the masts of the small craft in the creek could be plainly distinguished. Both of them were schooners, and they were evidently larger than most of the feluccas seen on the Mediterranean.

The boat that was approaching contained five men, two of whom were at the oars. They were pulling out in a direction to intercept the Salihé. Louis examined the boat and the men as well as he could, and though he had been utterly unable to imagine any possible danger in connection with the moonlight excursion, he made up his mind that he, for one, did not care to encounter a group of five men in just this lonely and silent locality.

Scott had strictly observed his instructions to keep within about a quarter of a mile of the shore, and the steam-yacht was now at this distance from the land. The rowers in the boat did not seem to be hurrying themselves at the oars, and Louis concluded that it would be a very easy matter for the Salihé to run away from the strangers when it seemed necessary to do so.

The steamer continued on her course, and no one expressed any alarm. Suddenly the Salihé stopped short, her keel grinding in the sand or mud.

Chapter V

At The Mouth Of The Palmones River

Scott had certainly done exceedingly well in his study of the chart, which Louis had obtained for him, and he remembered much more than might have been expected of him; but he had failed to mention several towers on the shore, which could hardly be seen at night. There was one of them about a quarter of a mile inshore from the mouth of the river. At two cables' length from the shore the water was ten fathoms deep; but at the mouth of the Palmones there is a bar, and the bottom in the vicinity was mud.

The pilot had obeyed his orders, and he was not to be blamed, though the steamer was now aground. As soon as the grating of the keel was heard, and the boat came to a full stop, Scott rang the bell to stop her, and then to back her. But she had run on the bar when going at full speed, and she did not come off so easily as desired.

"How does she head now, Musther Shcott?" asked Felix in a rallying tone.

"South south-west by north north-east," replied the pilot, who was always good-natured except when he got mad.

"Faix, I think she's headed down for the place the volcanos vintilate."

"She isn't making any headway in that direction," added Scott.

"She will come off in a few minutes, for it will not be high tide for some time yet," said Louis. "You may as well stop the screw and take it easy, for she seems to be stuck hard. We are in no great hurry."

"What do you call this river, Scott?" asked Felix.

"The Palmones."

"And what might that mean, Dr. Belgrave?"

"If you mean me, I don't know," replied Louis.

"Is there anything you don't know, Professor?"

"There is at least one thing in particular that I don't know, and that is why you call me doctor and professor, Flix. I am not a pedant, and if you call me by such names, I shall give you the highest-sounding title I can find," replied Louis, rather tartly.

"I won't do it then; I didn't mean to vex you."

"You didn't vex me; but you talk to me as though I set myself up for a very learned or a very pretentious fellow. Barbers and bootblacks call themselves professors in these days; and there is no honor in the title unless a man is really a graduate of a college, and is what the name implies. I don't know what Palmones means, and it may be the proper name of some Spanish don."

"The boat is close aboard of us," said Scott, coming out of the pilot-house.

"And we are in for an advinture," chuckled Felix.

"I don't see any adventure yet," added Louis.

"Steamer, ahoy!" shouted a man in the bow of the boat.

"Answer him, Scott," said Louis.

"_En el vapor!_" shouted one in the stern-sheets of the craft, as though he thought the steamer's people might not understand English.

"In the boat!" replied the pilot.

The strangers did not wait for anything more to be said, but came alongside the Salihé, the man in the stern grasping the rail to hold the boat. As well as they could be made out in the dim light of the moon, they were not English lords nor Spanish grandees. On the contrary, they were rather a piratical-looking set of men. They were talking among themselves, but in Spanish; and the man in the bow appeared to be the only one who spoke English.

Louis was not at all pleased with the situation; and he thought it was possible, after all, that there might be an adventure to wind up the moonlight excursion in the bay. He found his knowledge of Spanish was likely to be serviceable, for he could understand all that he could hear of what was passing in the after part of the craft. The man in the stern called to the one in the bow to leap on board of the steamer. The former looked like a cut-throat villain. He wore a woollen cap in sugar-loaf form with the point of it turned over on the side of his head.

It looked as though the party intended to board the Salihé, and Louis took Felix by the arm, and led him to the rail of the yacht, in order to prevent anything of this kind if possible. At the same time he told Scott to make another attempt to back the steamer off the bar. The pilot returned to the wheel and rang two bells. The screw began to revolve, and the boat began to shake, for Felipe had a full head of steam, having just replenished the furnace with coal, in preparation for the work he was now called upon to perform. For a minute or so the yacht was shaking under the pressure applied.

Setting the wheel amidships, Scott came out of the pilot-house, and placed himself at the side of Louis. In the adventure on the island of Teneriffe, in which his present companions, with the exception of the engineer, had been captured to obtain a ransom from the millionaires, Scott had been on the wrong side, and was engaged against his present friends. On the current occasion he seemed to be desirous of redeeming his character, so far as it had not already been done, and to prove his loyalty to the owner of the Guardian-Mother.

"Board her!" called the Spaniard in the stern in his own language, evidently supposing from the answer in English, and from the appearance of those on the forecastle of the steamer, that they could not understand him. "Board her, Gray!"

"No, no," replied the man called Gray, in Spanish. "We don't want any trouble about this business. This is Giles Chickworth's steamer; but he is not on board of her, so far as I can see."

"There is not a particle of wind, and we cannot sail the Golondrina down the bay," continued the Spaniard impatiently. "You waste time, and we shall all be lost, and all the goods with us."

This remark fully enlightened Louis in regard to the character of the villanous-looking fellows in the boat. They were _contrabandistas_, as smugglers are called in Spanish. The town of San Roque on the hill has the reputation of being largely the abode of this class of people, and the surrounding country doubtless is inhabited by great numbers of them.

"Gibraltar is a free port, and a resort in consequence of Spanish smugglers, who drive an amazing trade by introducing contraband goods into Spain. The British government is not altogether free from a charge of a breach of faith, in the toleration it has given to these dishonest men; for it is bound by many engagements to use its best exertions to prevent any fraud on the Spanish revenues, in consequence of its possession of this peninsula." This is an extract from an English book, published in London. The writer has not set up a windmill for the purpose of giving the knight-errant on board of the Salihé a job to knock it down.

It was plain enough to Louis, who had read the account of Gibraltar from which we have quoted, that the occupants of the boat alongside had a small vessel in the Palmones, loaded for a voyage to some port in Spain. The wind had been tolerably fresh during the afternoon, but at sunset it had entirely subsided, and at the present time the surface of the bay was glassy in the moonlight. The custom-house officials from Algeciras or elsewhere might pounce upon them before morning, or the next day if the vessel was compelled to remain in the river for the want of wind.

"Is Captain Chickworth on board of the steamer?" asked Gray, addressing those on the forecastle of the steamer.

"He is not on board," replied Louis.

At this moment the engine, which had been doing its most vigorous work, triumphed over the mud, and began to move, to the great satisfaction of all the party on board, and perhaps to the discomfiture of those in the boat. She went astern very slowly, as though she had not yet fully conquered her enemy at the bottom of the bay. Gray, who was still holding on at the rail of the steamer, looked about him, as if to interpret the motion he could not help feeling. Then he said something to the man nearest to him, who passed up to him the painter, though those on board could not see what was done.

"All right now!" exclaimed Scott, as he ran into the pilot-house and grasped the spokes of the wheel.

"Don't crow till you are out of the woods," added Louis.

"She has got started and she will go it now," said Felix, as he went to the bow to see what progress the steamer was making.

The opportunity for which the boatmen had probably been watching appeared to have come when Louis turned his attention to the movement of the Milesian, for at that moment Gray sprang over the rail of the yacht to the deck, with the painter in his hand. There was a movement of his companions in the boat to follow him; but the English-speaking member of the band interposed, and prevented them from doing so.

"We will try gentle measures first," said he, as Louis interpreted his Spanish; and he spoke it very fluently, if not as correctly as Louis had been taught by his learned professor.

"If Captain Chickworth is not on board of the steamer, who is in command of her?" demanded Gray, as he made fast the painter of the boat at the rail.

"I am in command of her," replied Louis; and the situation seemed to call upon him to act without any election or appointment to the leadership of his party.

"Do you happen to have any name?" inquired Gray.

"My name is Belgrave, at your service."

"Then I suppose you hail from Belgravia in London."

"No, sir; I hail from Von Blonk Park."

"Then you speak English very well for a Dutchman. I never heard of the place you come from; but it is all the same," continued Gray, evidently proceeding to use the gentle measures of which he had spoken. "The Dutch are a very thrifty and money-making people."

"They are, like the Scotch, of whom you are one, I should judge, though you have but little of the dialect in your speech, and you speak English very well indeed, to return your compliment," replied Louis, seeing that Felix and Morris were keeping a close watch over the Spaniards in the boat.

If Gray wished to use gentle measures, the self-appointed commander of the Salihé was willing to meet him half-way, and was not disposed to resort to violence as long as it could be avoided, or even to harshness of speech.

"I am a Scotchman, and I am proud of my country," added Gray. "You are a Dutchman, though you speak English perfectly. I suppose you are ready, as Scotchmen and Dutchmen always are, to make a little money."

"I cannot say that I am," replied Louis rather coldly.

"Then you are a very odd Dutchman."

"And you are a very odd Scotchman."

"I dare say I am; but I do not see in what particular I am odd at the present moment."

"Why, you propose to give me a chance to make some money instead of making it yourself, which is not at all like a Scotchman."

"_Quiere V. atropellar?_" (Will you hurry up?) shouted the Spaniard in the stern of the boat angrily.

"My friend is impatient," added Gray.

"I see he is."

"Do you speak Spanish?" demanded the Scotchman, evidently startled at the suggestion of Louis's reply.

"I do not just now; but if your friend is impatient, I will not detain him or you a single moment more, and you can return to your boat at once."

By this time the Salihé was under full headway, and the boat was dragged at a rather uncomfortable speed for those on board of it. At this stage of the proceedings the pilot rang one bell to stop the steamer.

Chapter VI

The Battle On The Deck Of The Salihé

Scott had heard all the conversation with Gray on the forecastle, and fully acknowledged the authority of the self-appointed commander. He had rung one bell without any order to that effect. As he explained it afterwards, the fact that the steamer had been aground led him to fear that she might stick the heel of her false keel, if she had one, into another mud-bank, and perhaps cripple her rudder.

The acting captain did not object, for he knew that the pilot was more of a sailor than he was himself, and he took the trouble to nod his approval of what had been done. Fearing some interference on the part of Gray, Louis did not care to make an issue by directing him to go ahead. But Scott rang one bell again without any order, and the Salihé began to go ahead. The boat was whirled about by this movement, and came up alongside of the steamer as she gathered headway. Gray watched the craft and the men in it; but the latter made no demonstration, though Diego, as he called him, occasionally demanded that the Scotchman should "hurry up."

"I have a bit of business with you, Captain Belgrave," said Gray, when things had become quiet again on deck. "My friend Diego has a small vessel loaded with merchandise."

"I suppose he bought it at some of the houses whose light we can see half a mile up the Palmones," added Louis.

"That is neither here nor there. What odds does it make where the goods came from?" asked the Scotchman, beginning to manifest some of Diego's impatience.

"It does not make the least difference in the world to me; but it might to the Spanish custom-house officers," replied Louis lightly.

"You know more than the law allows to a young fellow; and I hope you are as prudent as you are wise," replied Gray, in a tone somewhat severe. "Captain Chickworth is my friend; and if he had not been obliged to go to a society meeting, he would have been here with the Salihé to assist me."

"But Captain Chickworth does not happen to be here to assist you; and my party have chartered his steamer, and they have the right to use her as they please."

"But, my dear Captain Belgrave, I will give you two pounds in good gold if you will assist me with your steamer; and we won't disturb your party in the least degree," pleaded the Scotchman, in tones that were now quite obsequious. "The money I give you will pay for the steamer."

"We are able to pay for her without any such assistance from you, and I must respectfully decline your munificent offer," answered Louis.

"Make it three pounds, though Chickworth would have charged me only two," persisted Gray.

"I must still decline."

"I am willing to say four pounds, though you are rather hard on me."

"Make it twenty pounds, and I shall decline it all the same. I am not in want of a job just now," replied Louis very firmly.

"But we must have the steamer, and I hope you will be reasonable, Captain Belgrave. If we proposed to turn you and your party out of the steamer, and take full possession of her, it would be quite another thing," argued Gray. "You can all remain on board of the steamer and enjoy the sail just the same. If you wish to retire to the cabin, we have some excellent wine on board of our vessel, and we will supply you with half a dozen bottles of it, which will help you to pass away the evening."

"Not one of our party drinks wine."

"We only ask you to tow the Golondrina down as far as Carnero Point, and we shall get a breeze of wind by that time."

"It is no use to talk, Mr. Gray. I will not tow the Golondrina down to Carnero Point on any terms you can name," said Louis, so decidedly that the Scotchman was evidently satisfied he could not accomplish his purpose.

"You are a very obstinate Dutchman!" exclaimed Gray, as he turned away from the acting captain, and blew a whistle which it was evident he had carried in his hand during the conversation.

When the boat swung around as the steamer went ahead, it was held by the painter abreast of the engine-room. Felix heard that whistle, and had been an attentive listener to the interview in front of the pilot-house. He had stationed himself at the rail near the point where the painter of the Spanish boat was made fast. He realized before the close of the conference that Gray "meant business," as he expressed himself. The instant he heard the whistle, he cast off the painter, which he had partly unloosed before. The boat began to slide aft, and Gray used some expletives which indicated that he was not in good standing in the Scottish Kirk.

Diego was not asleep, for he instantly detected the fact that his craft was adrift. He laid hold of the rail of the steamer with desperate energy, for he knew that once lost the Salihé could not be overtaken with oars, and the custom-house officers would settle their business in due time. The Spaniard held on to the rail, and his men did the same.

Gray had hurried aft as soon as he had blown his whistle, which must have been agreed upon as the signal to board, before he put his foot aboard the planks of the steamer. On the way he seized upon a heave-line, which was attached to a fast in the stern, and dropped it into the boat. It was caught by one of the men, and passed around the fore thwart. With this assistance the Spaniards were able to hold the craft, though it fell astern of the steamer when they let go of the rail.

Louis, Felix, and Morris now realized that the smugglers intended to take forcible possession of the Salihé, and their blood was stirred accordingly. All three of them had revolvers in their hip pockets for reasons set forth in the preceding volumes; though Morris had purchased his in London, for the adventure with the brigands in Teneriffe had satisfied his father that it was needed. All three of them followed Gray, and saw that the Spanish boat was again attached to the steamer.

Scott looked out for the wheel; but he had gone to the door of the pilot-house, where he had seen all that occurred farther aft. He had been the owner of two revolvers, but Captain Ringgold had ordered them to be taken from him when he was a rebellious character, and they had never been restored to him. He was not armed, therefore, as his companions were; but if there was to be any fighting he earnestly desired to do his share of it, for he was far from being a coward.

Under the binnacle in front of the wheel were several tools, including a hammer, two hatchets, and a common hand-saw. From this arsenal of available weapons he selected the smaller hatchet, because it was quite sharp, and the saw. He had heard an old shipmaster who resided near his foster-father give an account of a mutiny which he had suppressed, and his only weapon was a saw such as that he found in the pilot-house.

Thrusting the handle of the hatchet through the back of his belt, and with the saw in his hand, he secured the wheel amidships, and hastened aft, following closely at the heels of his three companions on board. Gray stood by the heave-line he had thrown to those in the boat, and which he had made fast at a cleat under the rail. Scott took in the situation at a glance, and noted the place where the line was made fast. But he did not wish to interfere with any plan Louis had made.

"I have fastened the wheel amidships, Louis, and I can be with you for a few minutes," said he to the leader.

"Gray has dropped a line into the boat, and the Spaniards have made it fast," replied Louis. "All we have to do is to beat them off if we can. I don't like the idea of shooting them;" and he had his hand on his hip pocket.

"Here is the line: shall I cut it?" asked Scott.

"Yes, if you can."

Drawing the rope up to the rail, he chopped it off with a single blow of the hatchet. It dropped on the deck, and was running out when the Scotchman unfortunately discovered what had been done, and seized upon it just before the end of it was going overboard. He could not have done this if Diego and a couple of his companions had not still been holding on at the rail.

Gray held fast at the line, passing it around the small iron davit, to a pair of which a little tender was hoisted up, and made it fast. Then he turned upon the four boys who were in the gangway abreast of the cabin, and he was evidently no longer in favor of gentle measures, for he swore at them in a manner to make a Christian weep.

"I gave you a chance to be decent and earn some money," said he angrily. "You would not listen to me, and now you have lost your chance to make three or four pounds, and I have taken possession of the steamer, and I intend to keep her as long as I please."

"This is piracy!" exclaimed Louis.

"You may call it what you like," replied Gray savagely. "You have had your chance, and now you have lost it. Go forward, every mother's son of you!" And he rushed at them in a body as they stood, with his two fists doubled up as though he intended to annihilate them, and so furiously that those who had revolvers had no chance to use them.

He absolutely fell upon Louis and Felix who were ahead of Morris and Scott, and except the last they all fell back involuntarily, and in a moment more the revolvers were drawn and in readiness for use; but Scott did not budge a foot. He had restored the hatchet to the belt behind him, and had transferred the hand-saw to his right hand. He stood his ground like a brave fellow, for he had a plan in his head upon which he meant to act.

The Scotchman struck at him with his fist, directing the blow at his head; but Scott had raised the saw in readiness for action, and he brought it down upon his assailant's hand with a force which made him howl with pain, and caused him to retreat a pace, while he poured forth a volley of oaths which must have well-nigh exhausted his piratical vocabulary.

[Illustration: "SCOTT RAISED THE SAW IN READINESS FOR ACTION."]

"Don't fire, fellows, if you can help it," said Louis to his followers, for the worst the smugglers were likely to do was to use the Salihé to tow their schooner down to Carnero Point, a distance of about five miles, and he could not feel that his party would be justified in killing the assailants.

He spoke in a low tone so that Gray could not hear him, for he was still disposed to use the revolvers for their moral effect, and he did not believe that even the Scotchman would be willing to stand up in the face of a dozen and a half of bullets that might be shot into his head. Louis was filled with admiration at the pluck which Scott exhibited, for he had not expected it of him. Still levelling blows at the Scotchman with the saw, the pilot drove him aft, hitting him once in the face, for he was not as tender of the enemy as his leader was.

Gray defended himself as well as he could, avoiding most of the blows by dodging them, or warding them off with his arm. Near the standing-room he found a spare tiller, kept for use in case the wheel should be disabled in the pilot-house. As he stooped to take it from the brackets, he received the cut in his face, which maddened him more than any other he had received. With this weapon he rushed upon the pilot, and the efficiency of the saw was somewhat neutralized, though Scott continued to wield it vigorously as he retreated upon his companions.

In the first of the struggle Gray had called upon the Spaniards to board the steamer, which they had done, and now the whole five of the smugglers were on the deck of the Salihé. The situation looked very discouraging to Louis when he saw that the enemy had obtained a foothold, and he realized that he ought to have menaced those in the boat with the revolvers of his party. But he could not have reached the standing-room directly without passing the Scotchman, who would have disputed his passage.

The Spaniards disappeared behind the cabin; but in a minute more they fell upon the rear of the party, and made them prisoners.

Chapter VII

The Big Four As Prisoners In The Cabin

Louis Belgrave had taken it for granted that the Spaniards would move forward to the support of the Scotchman, who was doing better with the aid of the tiller in his encounter with Scott. He expected the attack would be made in front, and while he was considering whether or not his party should use their revolvers, the smugglers fell upon Felix and himself in the rear, for he had sent Morris to the wheel, and they were tightly hugged, with their arms pinned to their sides by the four Spaniards.

While the struggle between Scott and Gray was going on, Louis discovered that the steamer was headed towards the shore, and it was evident to him that the pilot's fastenings at the wheel had given away. The Salihé was therefore liable to stick in the mud at any moment; and he had sent Morris to the pilot-house to steer the boat, for he was the youngest of the big four, and the least serviceable in the defence of the craft.

As soon as Louis and Felix were fast in the embrace of two of the Spaniards, Diego rushed into the pilot-house, and overthrew Morris at the wheel. The plucky little fellow had drawn his revolver; but the leader had cautioned them not to fire, and he returned the weapon to his pocket. He was no match for the stalwart smuggler, and he was thrown on the floor. Diego called to the third of his men on the deck, and directed him to tie the hands of all the prisoners behind them, which he did as soon as he could find the cords for the purpose.

Diego was the leader of the Spaniards, and probably the captain of the small vessel to be towed out of the bay. He kept his foot on the prostrate form of poor Morris while he threw over the wheel, and headed the steamer for the mouth of the Palmones. When Louis had been bound with his hands behind him, he turned his attention to Scott, who was still holding his own with the Scotchman. The blows with the tiller and the saw were now few and far between, for both of them seemed to be tired out by the fury of the struggle.

"No use, Scott," called Louis. "You had better give it up, and we will make the best of the situation. All but you are prisoners; you cannot beat off the whole of them alone, and you had better surrender."

"Then I will throw up the sponge if you say so, Captain Belgrave, though it goes against my grain," replied Scott as he dropped the saw into the cabin through one of the open windows.

"That's sensible, Captain," added Gray, with a sort of gasp, for he had not yet recovered his breath after the violence of the struggle. "Here, Francisco, tie up this fellow as you have the others," he added in Spanish.

"Do you mean to tie my hands behind me?" demanded Scott, falling back from his assailant.

"You can't help yourself, Scott, and you had better submit," interposed Louis, for there was no "blood and thunder" in him; he was not disposed to have any shooting done as long as their lives were not in peril, and he deemed it advisable to make the best of the situation.

He suspected that Giles Chickworth was a friend of Gray, and assisted him in his smuggling operations. Diego and the Scotchman were evidently in partnership in such enterprises as the present, and doubtless the owner of the steamer had his share of the profits. Gray would send the Salihé back to Gibraltar, even if it was only to avert suspicion from the steamer and her owner.

"Just as you say, Captain Belgrave, and I will submit to the indignity," said Scott in reply to the advice of the leader.

"Captain Belgrave is a very sensible fellow," added Gray, as the Spaniard proceeded to bring the hands of the pilot behind him. "You have hacked me badly with that saw, which is a weapon I have never seen used in a fight before."

"Then you have learned something this evening that may be of service to you," replied Scott, who appeared to be very well satisfied with himself after the battle he had fought.

"You are a plucky fellow; but if I could have got hold of you, your pluck would have done no good."

"I did not mean to let you get hold of me," answered Scott.

"But you were playing a fool's game all the same. As soon as Francisco had tied up the other fellows, they would have taken you in the rear, and then I should have got hold of you. You were not as sensible as Captain Belgrave; and I only wonder that he should have been so stupid as not to accept my offer in the beginning."

"I suppose you know that this is piracy, Captain Gray," said Louis.

"Not quite so bad as that, Captain Belgrave, for within half a mile of the shore, and in this bay, is not exactly on the high seas."

Diego had called Francisco to the wheel as soon as all the prisoners were bound, and went out on deck himself. The steamer was again approaching the mouth of the river; but the man at the helm evidently knew where the deep water was, for he kept the boat close to the point at the south of the entrance to the stream.

"We are all right now, Captain Gray," said Diego, as he passed the three prisoners standing in the gangway.

"And I am all right at this end of the vessel, Captain Velazquez," replied Gray, using for the first time the surname of the principal Spaniard. "Now, what shall we do with the prisoners?"

They both spoke in Spanish, but Louis understood them, and he was interested in the answer to the question of the Scotchman.

"Shut them up in the cabin. There is a lock on the door, and they will be safe there," replied the captain. "I looked at the door as I went forward."

"But we must use them well, Diego, or it will go hard with us if we should happen to get caught," suggested Gray, as he tied his handkerchief around his left hand, where his worst saw wound was located.

"We shall not be caught," protested the captain vigorously, and it was plain that he did not like to contemplate such a mishap. "The steamer will tow us safely out of the bay, and on the next tide I shall run my schooner into Vega River, where no vessel that draws more than nine feet of water can follow us. We shall be all right as soon as we get to sea. Here we are in the river."

"Then we must lock up the prisoners," added Gray. "But how about the engineer? He has not been on deck at all."

"He is a Spaniard; but I sent Pedro into the engine-room to keep watch of him. He will not make any trouble," replied the captain of the smuggler.

Before the unfortunate ship's company of the Salihé were committed to their prison they obtained a view of the situation up the Palmones. There appeared to be no persons on the shore. The houses were all on the north side of the stream, and a couple of feluccas lay on the south side, which had probably been employed in bringing the smuggled goods to this locality. In the middle of the river a small schooner was at anchor; and Louis concluded that this was the vessel to be towed out of the bay.

There was not a breath of wind, and the smuggler was utterly helpless without the assistance of the steamer. While they were surveying the scene the gong in the engine-room struck, and it was plain that Francisco knew how to manage the bells. The head of the Salihé was directed toward the schooner, assuring the prisoners that she was the craft to be taken in tow. Louis had thought they might appeal to some person on the shore for assistance; but no one was to be seen.

"Come, gentlemen, your quarters are ready, and your prison is fit for a king," said Gray, who had been making it ready while the prisoners were looking up the stream; and he seemed to have had some trouble with the lock, for it bothered him for some time.

"All right; I think we can be comfortable here," replied Louis, who led the way.

"I should think you might. You can go to sleep if you like; and when we have done with the steamer, I will call you, and ask you to return her to Captain Chickworth with my compliments," continued the Scotchman very pleasantly, for his wounds did not seem to make him ugly.

Louis concluded that he was to make a great deal of money out of his share of the present venture, and that the thought of it was the solution of his cheerfulness. According to the statement of Diego, the want of a breeze was likely to ruin all their prospects, subject the cargo of the schooner to confiscation, and her ship's company to proper punishment. The capture of the Salihé could hardly fail to make them happy.

Gray passed them all into the cabin, and locked the door upon them. Then he ordered a Spaniard to bring them a couple of bottles of the excellent wine of which he had spoken before; but Louis assured him that none of them ever drank wine under any circumstances. Then he reminded them that he was treating them as well as though Captain Belgrave had accepted his liberal offer, speaking to them through the blinds in the door. When he had thus delivered himself, he walked forward, for the prisoners could hear his footsteps on the deck.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Louis, as he seated himself on the divan which surrounded the apartment.

"Just where we ought not to be," added Felix. "I obeyed the order of the captain; but I could hardly help putting a ball from my revolver through the head of that gray blackguard of a Scotchman, bad luck to him!"

"What better off should we have been, Flix, if you had killed or wounded him?" asked Louis quietly.

"We should have had one less to fight, and we might have shot some more of them," argued the Milesian.

"Diego had a wicked-looking knife in his belt, and I have no doubt the rest of them were similarly armed," replied Louis.

"I might have shot Diego when he took the helm from me," added Morris.

"I am glad you did not, my boy. If you had failed to disable him with the first barrel, he would have stabbed you before you could have fired the second. If Flix had fired his revolver at Gray, the other four in the boat would have leaped on board, and used their knives freely," continued Louis, who still believed he had adopted the wisest course.

"I guess you are right, Captain Belgrave," added Scott, who was the hero of the occasion, for he had done all the fighting. "We are comfortable enough here in this cabin, and not one of us has got hurt. I had a rap on the arm from the spare tiller in the hands of Gray, and it may be black and blue; but that is nothing, and I am glad no other fellow is damaged, as some of you would have been if you had used your revolvers. I did not have any, so I had to content myself with the saw."

"And you did good work with it, Scott," said Louis.

"I did not hit him as hard as I might, for I did not want to kill him, and I was afraid I might overdo the business. As I said, this is a very comfortable cabin, and some of us are no strangers here. It is quite cool here, and"--

"It ought to be cool, for all the windows are open," suggested Felix.

"So they are," added Scott, rising and examining each one separately, for the curtains were drawn over them.

"We might get out," said Felix.

"Except for these bonds," replied Scott. "Perhaps we can cast them off. It would be a good scheme if we could get loose, recapture the steamer, and then deliver her to the custom-house officers at Gib, if there are any there."

"It does not look quite practicable," said Louis, shaking his head.

"But it is worth considering," persisted Scott.

And they proceeded to consider it.

Chapter VIII

A Moral Conspiracy On Board The Salihé

Louis Belgrave had a constitutional dislike for evil-doers, for he inherited an utter condemnation of all wrong as a part of his being; and he could no more help this feeling than he could help breathing. Like his mother, he was disposed to "love the sinner while he hated the sin." He had just passed through an exciting experience, and he was grateful to Heaven that he and his friends had come out of the conflict unharmed.

Still he was not at all satisfied with the situation. His party had been beaten in the conflict with the smugglers, who were lawless reprobates, with whom he could not have the remotest sympathy. He had not the slightest fellow-feeling for those who believed it was quite proper to cheat the government out of the duties levied on goods coming into the country.

He was even so old-fashioned as to wonder how men and women who had the reputation of being honest and upright members of society, and sometimes in good standing in the church, could conceal dutiable goods when they had come home from abroad, and give evasive if not lying answers to the questions of custom-house officials.

Gray, Diego, Velazquez, and their associates, were violating the laws of Spain. If the duties on the merchandise on board of the Golondrina, as their schooner was called, amounted to a thousand pounds, Louis regarded their operation as precisely the same thing as stealing this amount of money from the Spanish government. He viewed the transaction in exactly the same light as he would have looked upon the deed of a bandit who robbed the passing traveller on the road of the sum named.

Louis expressed his views on this subject as a prelude to the consideration of the question which Scott had brought up for discussion. It seemed to him, though he had not reasoned himself into this belief, that he and his companions were to some extent guilty if they permitted these law-breakers, without an attempt to bring them to justice, to go their way with their ill-gotten booty, or, as he put it, to steal the money from the government of Spain.

It is hardly probable that all his friends took his high-toned moral view of the subject; but without exception they were in favor of recapturing the steamer, and making prisoners of the smugglers. Undoubtedly such an attempt would involve an adventure; but there was a flavor of doing one's duty connected with it which satisfied Louis that "it was the right thing to do," if it was practicable, for even Louis did not believe that his party were called upon to perish by the stilettos of the ruffians for the benefit of the Spanish treasury.

"Hold on a minute," said Scott, as the gong in the engine-room sounded to stop the boat. "They have come to the Golondrina. We had better find out if we can how the pirates arrange their affairs on board when they take the schooner in tow."

"That is a good idea," replied Louis, as he went to one of the cabin windows, and raised the curtain a little so that he could see out on the deck. "The steamer has come about, and her stern is under the bowsprit of the schooner."

"Look out, Louis!" called Scott, as he heard voices on the deck. "They will see that the window is open if you are not careful."

The cabin had been lighted by Chickworth when he brought the steamer to the gangway of the Guardian-Mother. A lamp was suspended from a deck-beam overhead; it had three brackets, and the little apartment was illuminated like a ballroom. Louis dropped the curtain at this warning, but he could still hear all that was said on the deck.

Captain Velazquez ordered Lucio on board of the schooner, directing him to pass the tow-line to the steamer; and it had evidently been made ready before the smugglers left the vessel to procure the services of the Salihé. Louis interpreted the command of the captain to his companions in a low tone so that he could not be heard by those on deck.

"That settles one thing," said Scott, who was proving himself to be one of the most useful and determined of the party.

"What does it settle?" asked Louis, who had taken no particular notice of the meaning of the order.

"It settles that no men were left in the schooner; for that reason Lucio had to be sent on board of her to pass the tow-line on board," replied Scott.

"That is important," added Louis. "Possibly it proves another thing: that the smugglers intended to take the steamer by force if necessary, or they would have sent only two or three after her. They are hauling the line on board."

Louis listened again, and Diego's orders indicated that the line was made fast at the stern of the Salihé. The only names he heard used were those of Gray, the captain, and Francisco, for Pedro appeared to be still in charge of the engine, or rather of the engineer. Only four of the ruffians remained on board of the steamer.

"_Todo esta pronto_" (All is ready), said Gray, who seemed to be more impatient than his companions.

"_Todavia no_" (Not yet), added the captain.

"What are we waiting for now?" demanded Gray, vexed at any delay, and still speaking Spanish of course.

"I have to place my men," replied Diego petulantly.

At this point of the conversation on the deck Louis was intensely interested, for he was as desirous of knowing where each man was placed as the captain himself. In the beginning of the discussion he had simply hoped that something might be done to recover the steamer; but now Scott's proposition began to look more practicable.

"I thought you had placed them," said Gray. "Francisco, who knows more about a steamer than any of the rest of your crew, is to be at the helm, and Pedro is to look out for the Spanish engineer, who is not likely to give us any trouble."

"All right so far," replied the captain. "Lucio will remain on board of the Golondrina with me."

"With you?" interrogated the Scotchman.

"Of course I shall stay on board of the _goleta_," returned Diego, as though he had been asked a foolish question.

"I supposed you would remain on board of the steamer," added Gray.

"Have you lost your wits?" demanded Captain Velazquez, as nearly as Louis could render his remark into English. "Our valuable cargo is on board of the Golondrina, and do you expect me to leave it to take care of itself?"

"But if you stay on board of the steamer you will not be far away from it," suggested Gray, who was clearly dissatisfied with the arrangement.

"Suppose the tow-line should part and set the _goleta_ adrift: what would become of her with no one but Lucio on board of her?"

"I have no idea that the tow-line will part."

"But it may. Suppose we are chased by a cutter from Algeciras; she might run between the two vessels in order to break the line," argued Diego.

"Then you would be taken by the officers, and I should be safe," added Gray with a chuckle. "But I happen to know that they have nothing just now but a sailing-vessel for a cutter, and there is not a breath of air to-night."

"But there will be wind enough as soon as we get out from under the lee of these mountains to the north of us," the captain insisted. "I never leave my vessel when she is under way."

Louis thought the captain had the best of the argument; and whether the Scotchman thought so or not, he made no further objection to the plan; and a few minutes later the listener heard the voice of Diego from a distance, which assured him that he had gone on board of the Golondrina. This word means a swallow, not an unusual name for a fast yacht in France and the United States; and Louis concluded that she must be a rapid-sailing craft, built for the smuggling business.

The attentive listener next heard the footsteps of Gray, and it must have been he, since the captain had left him alone in the standing-room. Doubtless he was going to the pilot-house, where Francisco had been sent before him, to get the steamer under way as soon as Diego gave the command. Louis drew aside the curtain and looked out; but no one was to be seen on the deck.

"There is no one near the cabin now," said he as he seated himself on the divan, with his hands behind him, a position which circumstances compelled all the party to assume.

"But what have you heard, Captain Belgrave?" demanded Scott. "None of us but you know any Spanish, and we are as much in the dark as ever."

"Quite right; and I forgot to mention what I have heard;" and he proceeded to report the conversation to which he had listened, omitting the arguments used by Gray and the captain.

"That makes the situation look a little more jolly," said Scott. "There goes the gong, and we are going ahead now. We had better hurry up our cakes, or we shall be too late to do anything, for the steamer has only five or six miles to make before the smugglers will discharge her, her occupation gone, if they only get a breeze."

"Captain Velazquez is confident that the schooner will get a breeze as soon as she gets out from under the lee of the hills."

"Then we had better lose no time," said Scott.

"Faix, I belayve ye's can't do much wid yo'r arrums toied behoind ye's," interposed Felix, as he rose from his seat, and began to strain on his bonds. "Where are ye's now, Morris, moi darlint? Sure it was you that set us loose in the felucky out from Teneriffe."

"But my hands are tied behind me as well as yours this time," replied Morris, as he made an attempt to draw his wrists through the line that secured his arms behind him.

"Never mind your arms just yet," interposed Scott. "We shall have the use of them when we have business for them. Let us look over the situation a little before we try to do anything. I understand from what Captain Belgrave has told us that Diego Valequizco, the captain, and Lucio are on board of the schooner, which we are dragging very slowly after us out of the river."

"Quite correct, Captain Scott," added Louis.

"Don't call me captain, Louis, for you are the commander in this excursion," replied Scott, shaking his head.

"But you are five times the sailor that I am, Scott, and so is Morris; and one of you ought to be captain if any one."

"No! no!" protested Felix. "Captain Belgrave is the proper laygind."

"But we cannot stay to haggle over such a question," added Louis very decidedly. "You have placed two of the smugglers, Scott--Gray is walking about the deck or in the pilot-house; Francisco is at the wheel, and Pedro is looking after Felipe."

"Then we know where they all are, and we are ready for business," continued Scott. "What shall we do next, Captain Belgrave?"

"I have a sharp knife in my vest pocket, and we will use that next," replied Louis.

"Faix, we can't do that same very well wid our hahnds toied behoind us," interposed Flix.

"Talk English or Spanish, Felix," said Louis rather sharply.

"I can talk English and walk Spanish. What shall I do now?"

"Back up in front of me," continued Louis, resuming his seat on the divan. "Now put your hand into my vest pocket and take out my knife."

Felix obeyed the order, and with his fingers, for he could not move his wrists, he extracted the knife from the pocket. Then the leader placed himself back to back with the Milesian, and instructed him to cut his fastenings, but not to cut him. He used great care, and the operation required some time; but it was safely accomplished.

Chapter IX

Working Up The Details Of The Scheme

Louis was the first to be released from his bonds. His hands were now free, and he took the knife from Felix. Without any of the disadvantages under which the Milesian had performed the operation, he severed the bonds of his crony, and then proceeded to repeat the ceremony upon Scott and Morris.

"Put your hands behind you!" said Louis, as he heard footsteps on the deck. "Take your seats on the divan!"

He spoke quite sharply for him; but fortunately his companions had imbibed enough of the spirit of the sailor, whose duty it is to obey without asking any questions, to heed the command on the instant.

"How are you getting on, boys?" asked Gray, as he drew aside the curtain of one of the windows, all of which opened on the gangway.

"First rate," replied Louis. "We are all very comfortable just now. Where do we happen to be at the present moment, Captain Gray?"

"We happen to be off the Almirante tower, headed for the light on Verde Island; and everything is working well for us. We are beginning to get a little breeze now," replied Gray, who appeared to be in a very cheerful mood. "But Captain Velazquez is hailing me from the schooner."

The Scotchman went aft from the window, and Louis hastened to one that opened into the standing-room. Gray replied to the hail of the captain of the schooner.

"_A donde va V?_" (Where are you going?) yelled Diego; and his tones indicated that he was a very angry man.

"We are headed for the light on Verde Island," replied the Scotchman.

"_Nécio!_" (Fool!) bellowed Captain Velazquez, putting all the vim he could into the word. "Do you want to hand us over to the officers at Algeciras? Make the course for the red light on the New Mole!"

"All right, Captain!" returned Gray, as he hastened forward to the pilot-house.

"We are safe so far," continued Louis, as he retired from the window. "Gray is the most dangerous man with whom we have to deal, for he is a heavy fellow; he shares the profits of this smuggling enterprise; and I think he will fight as long as there is anything left of him."

"Then we must take him where the hair is short," replied Scott.

"About where on his carcass is the hair short?" asked Louis, amused in spite of himself at the manner of the pilot.

"About the neck, I should say," answered Scott.

"You speak in enigmas. Will you explain yourself?"

"With the greatest pleasure. I believe you have never been in South America, Captain Belgrave?"

"I have never been there," replied Louis; and from Scott's half-suppressed laugh, and his manner, he concluded that there must be a humorous element in the plan he had suggested.

"But of course you have heard of such an operation as lassoing horses and other animals. Certainly you know all about it. Well, Captain Belgrave, I propose to lasso Mr. Gray, just as you would lasso a wild bull if you were a ranchman in South America or Mexico."

"Lasso him!" exclaimed Louis; and his companions repeated the words. "That will be a dangerous operation."

"It will--for Mr. Gray."

"And for us!"

"Not a bit of it! It will be as safe as falling on a haystack," argued the pilot with no little enthusiasm. "Give the order to carry out my plan, and I will proceed to business at once."

"Go ahead then, as you seem to have an idea," added Louis.

"I have a big idea. Now, Morris, you are the smallest fellow of the party, and I am going to put you through one of the windows, and drop you down on the deck," continued Scott in the briskest of tones.

"I can get out of the window without any help," replied Morris, who was glad to have a part in the proceedings.

"Any way you like, little fellow. I think the heave-line the Scotchman used to throw into the smugglers' boat is somewhere about the standing-room. I want that rope; and if you can't find that one, look up another, and pass it in through the window. Do you understand me?"

"Of course I do; you don't talk Spanish or Chinese," Morris responded as he leaped on the divan.

"Hold on a minute! Go around to this door in the standing-room, and if you find the key there, unlock it. I'll wager a rusty nail against a cold potato that Gray left the key in the door so that we could not pick the lock."

Morris sprang lightly into the open window, which was large enough to admit the passage of his body without any pinching. He looked forward, as the pilot warned him to do, and then lowered himself to the deck. The heave-line was lying on the planks beside the bulwark, and he passed the end of it to Scott, who was at the window watching his movements. It was immediately hauled into the cabin. Two minutes later Morris opened the door and walked in.

"You won your wager, Scott, and you can have the cold potato for your breakfast to-morrow morning," said Morris as he entered.

"Now, little fellow, just poke your head into that window, like a pretty picture in a frame, and keep a sharp lookout forward to see that Gray don't come aft to disturb proceedings. Felix, just do the same at the opposite window," said Scott, who was doubled up on the floor like a Turk, at work on the line he had obtained.

The pilot was a sailor, and he knew how to make all the more common knots, though he would not have passed for an able seaman. He worked away very industriously till he had made a slip-noose, and assured himself that it was in working order by repeated trials. There was no interruption to his work, and in a short time the lasso was ready for service. As an experiment, he tried it on Felix, and lassoed him at the window.

Scott was not a ranchman or a _gaucho_, but he handled the lasso with considerable skill. As a boatman he had had experience in heaving lines, and he appeared to have made good use of his opportunities. The two sentinels at the windows had nothing to report, for Gray did not come aft again. The steamer was now headed for the New Mole light, Morris ascertained.

"I should like to know a little more about your plan before we go any farther, Scott," said Louis, for the pilot had developed it only as he procured the line and adjusted it for use. "Do you mean to lasso the Scotchman on the deck?"

"While he is on the deck, but not while I am there," replied Scott. "I am going on the hurricane deck, where I shall lie down so that he cannot see me. I shall have the line all ready, and when I get Gray in the right position, I shall lasso him around the neck."

"But do you think he will let you do so? He is a powerful man, and when he gets hold of the rope with his hands, I am afraid he will be more than a match for you in a hard pull," suggested Louis.

"But I don't expect to do this thing all alone. When I get him in the trap, it will be time for you three fellows to come in and take a hand in the game. We must have some lines so that you can tie his hands behind him, as he served us. I don't believe he carries any knife like the Spaniards, and you can try the moral effect of your revolvers."

"But I would not shoot him, and no other fellow must do anything of the sort," protested Louis. "I should rather let the affair go through to the end as arranged by the smugglers than have a drop of blood on my conscience."

"We are not exactly doing this thing to save our own life or limbs, for I think we are safe enough," added Scott. "Just now we are at work for the Spanish government, trying to capture those who are engaged in robbing the country of its revenues. I spoke only of using the revolvers for their moral effect, and I am not in favor of shooting anybody."

"Very well, then that is understood; and Morris and Felix will govern themselves accordingly," replied the leader.

"But we have to look ahead a little farther than making a prisoner of Gray. Francisco at the wheel and Pedro in the engine-room are to be served in the same way."

"Do you mean to lasso them?"

"They are hardly in a position to be captured in just that way; but four of us can easily dispose of them, one at a time," answered Scott.

"Then there are Diego and Lucio on board of the schooner," suggested Louis.

"But we shall have no trouble with them as long as we keep the steamer moving at eight or nine knots an hour."

"They can pass the tow-line over the windlass, and shorten it up so as to bring the vessel close aboard of us."

"If we can't prevent the two men on board of the Golondrina from getting on the deck of the Salihé, we ought to put our heads in soak, and retire from active business," said Scott confidently.

"Hush up!" called Felix in a loud whisper. "He's coming this way!"

The lasso was put under the divan, and the four boys all seated themselves with their hands behind them.

"How are you getting on, boys?" asked Gray at the window from which Felix had just retired.

"First rate," replied Scott. "We are going to sleep now, and we want you to wake us when you have done with the steamer. Don't set her adrift while we are snoozing in the cabin, for she might get aground again off Carnero Point."

"Never fear; I will see that you are waked in season to look out for the steamer," replied Gray, as he resumed his walk to the standing-room.

"On board the steamer!" shouted Captain Velazquez, a moment later, when he saw the Scotchman at the stern.

"Ay, ay, Diego!" replied Gray.

"We are half way over to Gib now. Don't go too near the town, but head her south south-west," called the captain in Spanish, for he could not speak English.

"_Muy bien!_" (Very well!) returned Gray, as he went forward to give Francisco the new course.

"What time is it, Captain Belgrave?" asked Scott.

"Ten minutes past nine," replied Louis, after looking at his watch.

"I thought it must be ten or eleven," added Scott. "We have been out only three hours; and it seems as though we had been a week on this cruise."

"We have been well occupied all the time, and it seems longer than it is. But it is late enough for us to make a beginning of our affair, or we shall have no chance to do anything," said Louis. "As nearly as I can make out the position of the steamer, we shall be off Carnero Point in half or three-quarters of an hour, and if the smugglers get a breeze there, they will part company with us."

"I'm all ready for business, and I am only waiting for your orders, Captain Belgrave," replied Scott. "If you will station your men to support me, I will proceed at once."

"But you are the principal in this lassoing business, Scott, and I want you to put the fellows just where you want them," replied Louis. "We will all obey your orders now."

"Just as you say, Captain. I will make my way to the hurricane deck, and lie down directly over the cabin door. I will heave the lasso just as soon as I find our man in the right position," said Scott, as he coiled up the line, and thrust it under his belt. "You three will place yourselves at the door, and have it open a crack so that you can see out at it. As soon as the music begins, rush out and make the Scotchman fast, if he holds still long enough for you to do it."

The pilot passed out at one of the windows, and his step was heard on the hurricane deck.

Chapter X

Lassoing The Scotchman

Louis opened the cabin door, and looked out; but he closed it immediately, for the light in the apartment would enable Captain Velazquez to see that it was open, and cause him to suspect that the prisoners had made their escape. The lamp hanging from the deck beam above was a bracket with three lanterns. Felix climbed upon the table which stood beneath it, and took it down. It was then wrapped up in the tablecloth, and placed under the divan, where it could shed none of its light about the apartment.

The door was then opened again; but it looked as though Diego had seen the light before, and he was hailing the Scotchman very vigorously. Louis had only time to gather up a handful of lanyards and other lines from a box under the seats in the standing-room before he heard the footsteps of Gray in the port gangway. He retreated, closing the door all but a crack.

"What's the matter on board of the steamer?" yelled Diego.

"Nothing is the matter," replied Gray, who had not stopped to look in at the cabin windows as he came aft, for the master of the schooner was yelling at him all the time.

"The cabin door is open, and"--

And Louis heard no more, for at that moment Scott heaved his lasso, and the Scotchman began to dance about the standing-room, swearing like a smuggler as he was. Louis threw the door of the cabin wide open, for concealment was no longer necessary or practicable. He had hastily supplied his companions with the lanyards and lines he had procured. He rushed out followed by the others. The slip-noose of the lasso had already been drawn tight about his neck, and Gray was roaring like a bull, though his voice had become very husky.

[Illustration: "THE SLIP-NOOSE OF THE LASSO HAD ALREADY BEEN DRAWN TIGHT."]

He was struggling furiously, with his hands free, trying to release his neck from the pressure of the rope. Louis hesitated, for he realized that a blow from the powerful man would fell any of them to the deck. Scott was tugging at the lasso all the time, pulling and jerking it so that his victim should not escape. Diego, who could not help seeing what had transpired in the stern of the steamer, was still yelling with all his might. Fortunately that was all he could do, and he was permitted to do all he pleased of it.

"Don't go near him, Louis!" called Scott from the hurricane deck--"not yet, for he can strike an awful hard blow."

The pilot was certainly a prudent young man, and he was not always so; but Louis had anticipated him, and kept out of Gray's reach. The struggle continued, and Scott was vigorously manipulating the lasso so that Gray could not obtain an instant's respite from the strain upon his neck. The pressure was rapidly doing its work upon him, for he was beginning to writhe and struggle for breath. He had ceased to yell and to swear, for he lacked the wind to do or say anything. He had soon weakened so much that the time for more decided action had come; and Scott initiated it.

The lassoer had drawn his victim towards him till he was directly in front of the cabin door. Without announcing his intention to his associates, the pilot threw down his lasso into the standing-room, and then leaped down himself directly upon the head of Gray. In his weakened and gasping condition he could not resist the force of this onslaught, and he sank down upon the deck beneath his persecutor.

"Take one of his arms, and I will take the other, Flix!" called Louis, as he sprang upon the fallen Scotchman, and seized his right arm, while Felix did the same with his left. "Have the lanyards all ready, Morris!"

Scott had seized his victim by the throat, and held his head down upon the deck. Just at this critical moment Francisco, who had heard the yells of Gray, put in an appearance, and, seeing the desperate situation of the smuggler, he was rushing forward to his assistance. Morris threw the lines upon the deck, wheeled about, drew his revolver, and faced the wheelman.

"Back to the pilot-house, or you are a dead man!" said Morris, as he pointed his weapon at the head of the helmsman.

Francisco halted, and looked at the shining revolver, which was a high-cost one his father had bought for him in London. Louis wondered from Morris's words whether or not he had been reading "blood-and-thunder" stories; but the boy was resolute enough for the occasion, and cool enough to remember what Louis had said about shooting in the present affair. The Spaniard could not understand a word that he had spoken.

"_Va a la casa del piloto!_" (Go to the pilot-house!) shouted Louis with vim enough to show that he was in earnest as well as Morris.

Francisco evidently did not like the situation at all. He had drawn a long _cuchillo_, or knife, and he was certainly a dangerous man.

"Fire, Morris, if he moves on you!" called Louis, as he saw the blade gleaming in the moonlight.

Probably Francisco realized that a ball from the revolver could travel faster than his knife, and perhaps he had less sympathy for the Scotchman than he would have had for one of his other associates, for he backed away from the dangerous vicinity to the barrels of the weapon, and returned to the pilot-house. The steamer had fallen off her course, but she presently came back to it, indicating that the wheelman had returned to his duty.

This affair was only a momentary interruption of the more serious business in progress in the standing-room. Gray was out of breath, and out of strength, and after a vain attempt to release himself from the grip of Scott, he gave up the battle, for he had become absolutely powerless. He was actually suffering, and his gasps and struggles for breath were painful to witness.

"Loosen the line at his throat, Scott! The man is choking to death!" called Louis in a very decided tone, as he and Felix rolled the victim over on his back.

"Stay where you are, Morris!" shouted Scott, as he complied with the humane request of Louis, who could see that the prisoner--as he was by this time--had not the strength to make any further resistance. "Shoot any one that shows a knife!"

Francisco had gone to the wheel, and there was no one to shoot. Louis and Felix were each in full possession of one of the arms of Gray, and he could do nothing more to help himself. His hands were securely bound behind him, and then he was left to himself. He presently recovered a portion of his strength, and tried to rise. He was assisted in doing so, and then conducted to the cabin.

He was invited to recline on the divan, and, weak as he was still, he was willing to comply with the request. But Louis, satisfied that he would soon be as strong as ever, was not content to leave him until he had been more effectually secured. Scott took off his belt, and after winding it around the prisoner's wrists several times, he buckled it so tight that it seemed to be impossible for him to get loose.

Not yet satisfied, they bound his legs together at the ankles, and then tied him down to the supports of the divan. Gray said not a word, and appeared to be too weak to do so, or to be inclined to do so.

"Francisco has a knife, and he may give us more trouble than the Scotchman did," said Scott, when they had all retired from the cabin to the standing-room. "If you will take my advice, all three of you will stick your pistols in his face while he stands at the wheel. Louis will tell him he shall not be harmed if he submits, and then we will tie his arms behind him, and make him fast to something in the pilot-house."

"All right," replied Louis; "but remember that no fellow is to fire."

"I don't think you will find any occasion to fire," added Scott, as he picked up the saw which he had used in his first encounter with the Scotchman. "Francisco has already shown that he does not like the looks of revolvers."

Scott led the way. The Spaniard was standing by the wheel, intently observing the compass, when the pilot, varying his programme a little to suit the situation, threw his arms around him, and brought him to the floor. Louis and Felix seized his arms, without even threatening him with the arsenal of weapons in their pockets. Francisco was made a prisoner. He was thrown upon the settee abaft the wheel, and secured to the back and legs of it.

His knife was taken from him; but Louis assured him he should not be harmed if he made no resistance. The party then proceeded to the engine-room. Not one of them had seen or heard a word from Felipe since they started on the excursion. He attended to his duty, and heeded the bells apparently without knowing or caring who rang them. Pedro, his custodian, was fast asleep on the seat back of the machinery, and did not appear to have heard the noise or the yells from the standing-room. He was an easy victim, and when he had been secured he was conducted to the pilot-house, where he was laid out on the floor in front of Francisco. He was fastened to the settee.

Felipe wanted to know what had happened. He had tried to ascertain, but Pedro showed him his knife, and would not allow him to leave the engine-room. The situation was explained to him, and all he was required to do was to run the engine. Scott had taken the wheel when Francisco was deposed, and his companions joined him when they brought in their last prisoner. Diego was still yelling; but they did as they do in Spain when it rains--they let him yell.

"Do you know where you are, Scott?" asked Louis, as he looked out the window in front of the wheel.

"Of course I do; we were about half-way between Gibraltar and Algeciras when I took the wheel, and then I headed her for the red light on the New Mole. You have not told me, Captain Belgrave, what you intend to do with the prize and the prisoners we have taken."

"We will go alongside the Guardian-Mother, and Captain Ringgold may do what he pleases with them," replied Louis.

"That was just my idea of what you would do with them," added the pilot. "But there is no one of our number in the standing-room to watch the movements of Captain Velazquez. He may get up some mischief that will bother us. If you prefer, Captain Belgrave, to take the wheel, I will stand guard at the stern."

"You are a better helmsman than I am, Scott; you had better keep the wheel, and I will keep watch of Diego," replied Louis. "If anything happens, send me word. Morris will be within hail of you to be your messenger, though I don't think anything is likely to happen in this part of the steamer. If I want you, I will send Morris to take your place."

"That blackguard can chop off the tow-line when he takes a notion to do so," suggested Felix, as they moved aft.

"That would only be jumping out of the frying-pan into the fire," replied Louis. "We are not more than two miles from the New Mole, and we shall be there in twenty minutes."

"Then it is time for him to chop it off now."

"I don't know what he will do. If he cuts loose from the Salihé, he can be easily overhauled by the custom-house officers, if there are any here," answered Louis.

"Faix, I think it is Spanish officers, and not English, we want; and why don't you run into the town on the other side of the bay?"

"I thought of that; but I am not inclined to bother with them. Captain Ringgold will know how to settle the case better than we do."

Captain Velazquez had kept up his yelling as long as he could see any one at the stern of the steamer; and as soon as Louis and Felix showed themselves, he resumed his cries.

"The skipper of that hooker is in a tight place, and he knows it," said Felix. "What's that he says?"

"He says he will cut the tow-line if we don't go down the bay," replied Louis, translating his frantic cry.

Louis answered the yell by firing his revolver in the air, directing Felix to do the same.

[Illustration: "LOUIS ANSWERED THE YELL BY FIRING HIS REVOLVER IN THE AIR."]

Chapter XI

The Return Of The Victorious Knight-Errant

Felix was in the habit of doing what Louis asked him to do, and he discharged one barrel of his revolver in the air; but he thought that doing so was a piece of nonsense on the part of his friend which he could not understand.

"What in the world is that for?" he asked.

"Fire it again, and in due time you will see what it is for," replied Louis, as he discharged the second barrel of his weapon.

"I'll do that same as long as I have a ball in a barrel, if you say so, my darling; but it looks like a waste of powder and lead," added Felix.

"Do you see the captain of the Golondrina just now, Felix?" asked Louis.

"I don't see him; but he was there on the bow not five minutes ago, yelling as though he had a live lobster in his throat. He isn't doing any yelling now."

"He is not, for I saw him go aft about the time we began to fire."

"I suppose he got tired of yelling."

"Not precisely that, but he got tired of our firing. I suppose he was afraid a stray bullet might hit him in a soft place, either by accident or design. I was going to hail him, and invite him to go aft; but he has saved me the trouble by going without any invitation," Louis explained.

"Then the shooting was not a waste of powder," added Felix.

"It was not. I doubt if we could have hit the captain if we had fired at him for two hours, for the distance is too great for revolvers of the calibre of ours, and the noise was just as good as bullets. I don't want him to cut the tow-line if we can help it, though I would rather he would chop it off than be compelled to shoot him."

"It would not be pleasant to go back to the Guardian-Mother with a dead man standing on the forecastle."

"Or even lying on the deck. It might make trouble for us, though I don't know why it should. But we are getting close to the New Mole light, and I must go forward," added Louis. "You may remain here, Flix, and if you see the captain of the Golondrina coming forward again, fire out the rest of your barrels, and then load up again."

"I'll do that same. I'll take the fore mast for a mark, and fire at a target."

"I am afraid you will hit him if you do that," suggested Louis.

"Do you think all the money you spent on my education as a shootist was wasted? I believe I could hit the Rock of Gibraltar every time if I was near enough to it," laughed Felix.

"I would trust you to do that."

"And I might hit the fore mast above the captain's head once in a while, and it would make the thing seem a bit more real if he could hear the noise of the ball as it flew through the air, or struck the wood."

"Perhaps it would; but be sure and not hit the man," added Louis as he moved forward.

Before he reached the pilot-house he heard another shot from his crony's pistol. He looked into the engine-room on his way, where Felipe wished him to explain what had happened on board; but he had no time then to inform him. Francisco and Pedro were quiet enough, for their fastenings prevented them from being otherwise.

"How goes it, Scott?" he asked when he came to the pilot-house.

"It goes first rate forward; but what is the matter aft, for I heard you firing your revolvers?" inquired the pilot.

"Nothing is the matter; but I thought it best to let Captain Velazquez know that we had fire-arms on board, and he was sensible enough to move aft as soon as he heard the report of our pistols. For some time he had been threatening to cut the tow-line, and I thought I would move him to some other place on the checker-board if I could. He has saved me the trouble of doing anything," Louis replied as he looked the prisoners over.

"We have about finished the job, for we shall be alongside the Guardian-Mother in a few minutes more," continued the pilot. "I have sent Morris forward to get a heave-line ready."

"I will get one ready astern," added Louis, as he went aft again.

The lasso which had played so important a part in the capture of Gray was in the cabin, where the noose had been removed from the neck of the prisoner. Louis soon made a heave-line again of it, and attached it to a fast he found at the stern.

"How do you find yourself, Captain Gray?" he asked of the prisoner on the divan.

"I don't find myself in a very cheerful mood to go into port," replied the Scotchman. "You have knocked me out at my own game, and I feel like a whipped school-boy."

"I suppose you Scotchmen read the Scriptures diligently, and you have found out that 'The way of the transgressor is hard.'"

"Yes, very hard," replied the prisoner with a profane expletive.

"Does your throat trouble you?"

"Not much, though it is still sore, and I have a bad cut on the hand."

"You ought to have considered these things before you committed an act of piracy," suggested Louis.

"I have told you before that there is no piracy in it," added Gray, who evidently did not like the sound of the word, and he interpolated some very unnecessary expletives in his speech. "What are you going to do with the schooner and those you have made prisoners?"

"I don't know; I intend to leave that matter to the commander of the Guardian-Mother; but you will learn all about it in due time."

"I have no doubt of that. But you are the smartest lot of young Dutchmen that I ever happened to come across. Are you all Dutchmen?" asked Gray.

"Not one of us is a Dutchman."

"But you told me you were."

"I did not."

"I will swear that you did!" protested the Scotchman.

"I did not. When I told you my name was Belgrave, you said I must have come from Belgravia; and I added that I came from Von Blonk Park, which is quite true now as it was then."

"But where can Von Blonk be except in Holland?"

"It can be, and is, in the State of New Jersey, quite near to the city of New York, in the United States of America," replied Louis, stating the details very slowly so that the prisoner could understand them.

"That accounts for it!" exclaimed Gray. "You are Yankees, and you would climb a greased rainbow, or the North Pole with the ice a foot thick on it. If I had known you were Yankees, I should have put you on shore in the Palmones River, for I should have known you would play off some trick on us," said Gray, disgusted to the last degree with his present situation.

"You played off a scabby trick upon our party, and I can assure you that I am very happy to get even with you at your own game," replied Louis, as he heard the speed bell jingle, indicating that the Salihé was very near the New Mole.

"I suppose the commander of the Guardian-Mother, as you call her, is also a Yankee," continued Gray.

"He is; and also from Von Blonk Park."

"Then his teeth are sharp enough to bite off a tenpenny nail. What do you suppose he will do with us?"

"I have not the remotest idea; but he is a law-and-order man in the highest meaning of the phrase; and he is not inclined to let the guilty escape unpunished. You committed a piratical act upon us, and you may be sure he will not wink at it. I had the idea at first of taking you into the port of Algeciras and of handing you over to the police or custom-house officers; but it was too much bother, and I was afraid they would keep us there all night."

"I am very glad you did not."

The sound of the gong terminated the conversation, and Louis hastened to the standing-room to be in readiness to heave the line on board of the ship. But he found that the Guardian-Mother was still at some distance from the little steamer.

"You can heave this line, Flix, when we get alongside," said he. "I have had a talk with Gray, and he don't feel good at all."

"He has no right to feel good, the blackguard! He is not a bit better than a pirate," replied Felix. "I have kept watch of Captain Velazquizzer, and whenever he showed his head, I put a ball into the foremast. He hasn't cut the tow-line yet."

"I see he has not; but stand by to heave the line," said Louis as he went forward.

He found Morris stationed in the gangway within easy hail of the pilot-house, and Scott stated that he had placed him there to notify him if the Golondrina came too near the steamer as he slowed down.

"I am trying to get the headway out of the tow so that she shall not foul our stern," said the pilot when Louis showed himself at the door. "But you had better stay in the standing-room, Captain Belgrave, for the captain may try to leap on board of us. If he chooses to use his _cuchillo_, he can make a lot of mischief in a very short time. If necessary, I will go aft and lasso him; for I don't think he can stand that sort of thing any better than Gray did."

"He has kept out of sight since we began to fire revolvers in the air, and as he knows that we have fire-arms, I don't believe he will give us any trouble," answered Louis.

"But keep watch of him, though he seems to be afraid of powder and ball," added Scott; and the leader went aft.

Diego was not to be seen as the steamer approached the stern of the Guardian-Mother; and Louis could see that the taffrail was covered with heads, and all the party on board, as well as the officers and seamen, were watching the approach of the Salihé, for her appearance with a vessel in tow had doubtless given them all a fit of wonderment.

"We have made an adventure out of this excursion, Flix, after all, as Captain Ringgold insisted that we should, though he could not possibly indicate what it might be," said Louis. "If you can keep Captain Velazquez at a respectful distance, I will go on the hurricane deck and hail the ship."

"He will not run his nose into any of the barrels of my revolver, you may be sure of that."

By this time Scott had neutralized the headway of the schooner so that the tow-line was taut, and the Salihé was moving at a snail's pace. Louis ascended to the upper deck, which was nothing more than the roof of the cabin, and hailed the Guardian-Mother.

"On board the Salihé!" responded Captain Ringgold; and his tones indicated that he could hardly speak on account of a tendency he had to indulge in a hearty laugh. "Have you captured a Spanish man-of-war?"

"No, sir; but we have taken in a gang of smugglers with their schooner; and I will thank you to send half a dozen men on board to help us take care of them," returned Louis.

"All right; I will do so," answered the commander, as the gong rang to stop the little steamer.

Scott ran her very skilfully alongside the gangway, and by the time she touched the platform Morris threw the heave-line attached to the forward fast to the deck of the ship, and it was hauled on board. At about the same moment the first officer, followed by ten seamen, leaped over the rail of the Salihé.

"Go aft, Mr. Boulong, and look out for the captain of the schooner, who is still on board of her. Flix is there, and he will tell you all about it," called Louis, as the party from the ship came on board.

"Ay, ay, Mr. Belgrave!" replied Mr. Boulong, as he rushed forward followed by all the sailors.

Captain Ringgold followed the seamen, and when he heard the voice of Louis on the upper deck, he hastened to join him.

"What under the canopy have you been about this time, Louis?" asked the commander, as he seized both the hands of the young knight-errant, as he still insisted upon calling him. "But I am glad to see you safely back, and I hope no one has got hurt."

Louis assured him that all were uninjured.

Chapter XII

The Smugglers Make A Trip To Algeciras

Captain Ringgold, when he realized that the owner of the Guardian-Mother had been engaged in another adventure, was absolutely delighted to see the young knight-errant return in safety, and he continued to press his two hands for a considerable time. He was certainly the young man's devoted friend, as much for his own sake as for that of his mother, to whom also he was so devoted that others had begun to talk a little in whispers.

"I was sure that you would tumble into an adventure of some sort, Sir Louis," said the commander; "and you have made me a true prophet."

"We have certainly had an adventure, Captain; but I am no more a knight-errant than my companions. We did not plunge into this affair as Don Quixote did into the windmill and the wine sacks; but the affair plunged into us, and we got entangled in it in spite of ourselves," protested Louis.

"But I will venture to say that you were the leading spirit in the enterprise, whatever it was," persisted the captain.

"I must deny even that soft impeachment. Sir George Scott Fencelowe did vastly more than I, or any other of the fellows, did to bring the adventure to a happy conclusion, like the last chapter of the novel. He is the hero of the occasion, though he always called me 'Captain Belgrave'; and if any fellow is to be lathered with praise, Sir Scott is the one."

"I shall be my own judge of the merits of the actors in the comedy, for it does not yet appear to be a tragedy, after I have learned more about it," added Captain Ringgold.

"I may add that Sir Felix McGavonty and Sir Morris Woolridge did their full and fair share of the acting in the comedy, as you call it, though I think the three smugglers who are prisoners in the cabin and pilot-house will be disposed to regard it as more like a tragedy. Probably the captain of the schooner in tow will be inclined to take that view of the occasion."

"Three prisoners?" queried the commander.

"That is the number on board of the little steamer; and the captain of the vessel astern may be included in the same category."

"Are they men or boys?"

"Men, of course, for small boys don't go out smuggling, as a rule."

"Are they English?"

"Four of them are Spaniards who don't speak a word of English, and one who seems to be a partner with the captain in the enterprise is a Scotchman by the name of Gray."

"Is there anything to be done immediately, Sir Louis?"

"I think Sir Felix has put Mr. Boulong in the way of securing the captain of the schooner, who is on board of her, and Lucio, one of his men. The others are all made fast to the steamer, with their hands tied behind them. But, Captain Ringgold, I want you to settle up this business by deciding what shall be done with the Golondrina and the prisoners, for you know all about such things, and I know nothing," said Louis.

"You know nothing, Sir Louis!" exclaimed the commander. "Will you be so kind as to tell me what you would have done if the Guardian-Mother and her captain had not been here?"

"I thought of running into Algeciras, instead of coming over here, where the gates are all locked after sunset, and giving up the vessel and the prisoners to the police and the custom-house officers over there," replied Louis.

"Very likely that is just what I shall do after I have learned more about the affair. Where did you fall in with these smugglers?"

"They fell in with us at the mouth of the Palmones River."

"That is in Spanish territory, and the offence is doubtless against the Spanish government. Probably the English authorities would take the matter in hand, but I don't know where to find the officers at this time of night, for it is after ten o'clock. Now we will go below and see what is to be done."

There was a ladder forward, and they descended to the forecastle. The commander looked in at the pilot-house, and saw that Francisco and Pedro were not in condition to make any trouble, and the pilot still kept watch of them.

"Sir Scott Fencelowe, I learn that you have been the hero of the present adventure, and I commend you, though I know very little about it," said Captain Ringgold, as he took the hand of the pilot.

"I obeyed the orders of Captain Belgrave; that's all, sir," replied Scott, with more modesty than he had always been in the habit of displaying, as he politely touched his cap to the commander.

"We will consider the matter another time," added the captain, as he led the way aft; and they entered the cabin together.

Captain Ringgold glanced at Gray, tied down to the legs of the divan, and he wondered that the "big four" had been able to overcome a man of his weight and apparent strength. Gray immediately appealed to the commander when Louis called him by name, declared that he was a British subject, and was the victim of a Yankee trick.

"I can't attend to your case just now, my man," replied the captain.

But Gray persisted in being heard before anything was done, and three seamen were called into the cabin. The Scotchman was released from the divan, and the sailors were ordered to take him to the forecastle, and be sure that he did not escape.

"Now I can give you a quiet hearing, Sir Louis, and you may tell me the whole story of your cruise on the bay," said the commander, as he and Louis seated themselves on the divan.

The young knight-errant proceeded to give the narrative in all its details. While he was doing so, Mr. Boulong required his men to haul the Golondrina alongside the steamer by the tow-line; and by this time they had nearly succeeded in doing so. The officer was on the point of going on board of her when Felix interposed.

"These men are all armed with knives, and they will stick you with no more conscience than an alligator would bite your head off," said he.

"I will take my chances, Felix," replied Mr. Boulong.

"I'll go along wid ye's to protict ye's, for I have a bit of a revolver," added the Milesian.

"Don't meddle with the matter, my lad, till I ask you do so, if you please," said the first officer, laughing. "I don't want you to kill a man, and then charge it to me. I have been among this sort of fellows, and I am not particularly alarmed about his toothpick."

He was attended by a couple of seamen, who were sent aft to take charge of Lucio. Felix kept near Mr. Boulong, but he found no occasion to use his revolver. Mr. Gaskette, the second officer, who spoke Spanish fluently, had been sent for, and he had been talking with the prisoners in the pilot-house. Captain Velazquez, somewhat to the astonishment of Felix, did not show fight as the first officer approached him. He was not a fool, and he could see that in the face of a dozen men resistance was useless.

The captain submitted to have his hands tied behind him, and then his knife, which was a wicked-looking implement, was taken from him. Lucio was served in the same manner, and both of them marched on board of the Salihé, where the whole five of them were placed under a guard of seamen on the forecastle.

Louis and the commander had a very quiet time in the cabin, and the former detailed everything that had occurred since the little steamer left the ship, occasionally answering the questions put to him.

"I suppose I am a knight-errant, but I cannot for the life of me see in what manner I brought this adventure to pass, or that the rest of the knights-errant did any more than I did," protested Louis, as he finished his narrative.

"I am afraid you are making too much of the pleasantries of your fellow-voyagers, my boy, for every one of them knows that you are not a Don Quixote. Your adventures all come without seeking them."

"I am entirely satisfied with that statement, Captain Ringgold," replied Louis. "As long as you don't really believe that I am not all the time studying up a chance to get into an adventure, I shall be perfectly happy."

"We understand each other perfectly, Sir Louis; and, by the way, it was Uncle Moses, and not I, who gave you that title. But it is getting late; and if we are to take the schooner over to Algeciras to-night, it is time we were about it," added the commander, as he looked at his watch. "But the knights-errant had better go on board of the ship and turn in, for, after the hard-fought battle of the evening, they must be fatigued."

"The biggest job we had on our hands was to overcome the Scotchman, for, as you have seen, he is a powerful man; and it was Sir Scott's ingenuity as well as his skill in the use of the lasso which carried us safely through it. He has behaved excellently well; he remembered the names of most of the places on the bay; and I beg leave to report very favorably of him. He is ten times the fellow I ever before supposed he was," added Louis with a gape, indicating that he was in condition to take the advice of the commander and retire for the night.

"Scott has behaved exceedingly well since he reformed his manners and his life, and your report of him shall be duly considered, Captain Belgrave," replied Captain Ringgold, as they left the cabin.

"Captain Belgrave!" exclaimed Louis. "'_Et tu, Brute_,'" as Cæsar said when the other fellow asked him how many buckwheat cakes he had eaten for breakfast.

"I only follow Sir Scott's lead. But you can all go on board, and I will attend to the affairs of the smugglers," added the commander.

The big four all went on board of the Guardian-Mother. The second engineer of the ship was sent to the engine-room of the steamer, and Felipe was relieved from further duty. Mr. Gaskette with six seamen was sent over to Algeciras in charge of the party, and the Salihé departed with the Golondrina in tow. The occupants of the cabin of the ship had all retired; and Louis did not find his mother waiting to receive him, which proved that she had not been suffering from any anxiety.

In fact, she knew nothing at all about the affair, which had only come to light when the little steamer arrived. At the breakfast table the next morning the cabin party learned for the first time that the big four had tumbled into an adventure, which was then related to them in full. Louis's mother did not make any scene this time, as usual; for Dr. Hawkes had practically cured her of her nervousness, at least in his presence. But Louis had been on deck, and happened to be there when Chickworth and his engineer came for the Salihé.

"Mr. Gaskette reports to me this morning that he found some policemen on the shore at Algeciras when he arrived, and that they called the chief of the customs from his bed," Captain Ringgold explained. "He put his officers in charge of the Golondrina, and the police committed the smugglers to the jail. The capture of the little steamer was a felony, and they will be prosecuted for it. You are all wanted as witnesses over there at three o'clock this afternoon. The officers of the customs believe that the Salihé was implicated, and they wanted to detain her; but Mr. Gaskette managed his case so well that he brought her back with him. Here is the owner of the little steamer," added the commander, as Chickworth stepped down from the gangway steps.

"Which I 'ave a little bill of two pun ten against you, sir, for the steam-yacht," said Chickworth, touching his cap to Louis.

"I don't know about that," interposed the commander. "The Salihé is mixed up with smugglers over on the other side of the bay, and the customs officers may want her."

"Which it is with smugglers, sir!" exclaimed the owner of the Salihé.

"Precisely so; and your friend Gray, and your other friend Captain Diego Velazquez, of the Schooner Golondrina, are in prison over there, and their vessel will be forfeited for smuggling, with her valuable cargo," added the captain; and he related what had happened to the big four on their cruise. "But I don't believe your boat can be held. We shall know more about it this afternoon."

He held the steamer till the matter was decided.

Chapter XIII

What Is Worth Knowing About Gibraltar

Louis was willing to pay for the use of the Salihé; but the customs officers on the other side of the bay had some suspicions in regard to her, and the commander would not permit him to pay anything; besides, the little steamer was wanted to convey the witnesses to Algeciras. Chickworth received the report that Gray and his associates had actually captured the boat with consternation. He was invited to go over with the witnesses in the afternoon; but he declined to do so. The captain thought it more than probable that he had been concerned in contraband operation with Gray.

Chickworth departed with something worse than a flea in his ear, and the commander and Louis went down to breakfast. The moonlight excursion and the conflict with the outlaws were the subjects of conversation at the table. Louis took a great deal of pains to set forth that Sir Scott, as he called him in retaliation for the application of the title to himself, was the hero of the occasion. The process of lassoing the stout smuggler excited a great deal of interest, and was unanimously regarded as a brilliant operation, both in its conception and execution.

"I am confident that we should have been utterly defeated if Sir Scott had not solved the difficult problem of how to overcome Gray," said Louis with enthusiasm.

"His achievement with the hand-saw was not altogether lacking in brilliancy," added Dr. Hawkes.

"That was not original, like the lasso," replied Louis.

"It was original in its application to this particular case, and he is entitled to none the less credit," suggested Uncle Moses.

"I wish to do something for Sir Scott in response to the high commendation of Captain Belgrave," said the commander.

Uncle Moses threw himself back in his chair, and shook his two hundred and twenty-six and a half of avoirdupois with laughter when he heard his ward dubbed as a captain. His mother laughed too, and so did most of the party.

"Has my son become the commander of the Guardian-Mother?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"He has not formally taken the command of her; but as the owner of the steamer, he has an undoubted right to do so when he pleases," replied Captain Ringgold. "I wish to do something for Sir Scott: what shall it be, Louis?"

"Call him Captain Scott, and never again call me Captain Belgrave," replied Louis.

"You were in command of the Salihé, Sir Scott says, and I have no command to give him, so it is hardly proper to call him captain. What can I do for him?"

"He is now a diligent student, and behaves himself like a gentleman on all occasions; and I think he can be promoted to the cabin very properly, so that the big four may be all together here," suggested Louis.

"I must put that to vote, for all may not approve of this addition to the cabin party," replied Captain Ringgold, asking those in favor to manifest it by raising the right hand.

All the hands came up very promptly, and Scott was formally admitted to the family circle. Sparks was sent to procure his attendance; and when he appeared, the commander made a speech at him, commending him for his gallantry in the action of the previous evening, and informing him that henceforth he was to occupy stateroom No. 14, and the corresponding place opposite Morris Woolridge at the table.

Scott blushed, as he had recently learned to do, and made a little speech in reply, expressive of his thanks for the "distinguished honor" conferred upon him. It was discovered then that he could manage his tongue as well as his hands with the lasso, and he was vigorously applauded when he took his place at the table. After the party rose, Sparks showed him to his stateroom, and he was delighted with the elegant apartment.

Louis gave him a seat with the cabin party under the awning of the promenade deck aft, where they assembled at the request of the commander. Scott now felt that he was the equal of the other fellows, and this had been the only thing which touched his pride, of which he had his full share. He was relieved from duty as a quartermaster, for he had had little or nothing to do in this capacity, unless Bangs or Twist happened to be sick, which was a very rare thing.

Captain Ringgold soon joined the party with a paper in his hand; and Dr. Hawkes initiated a round of applause as he seated himself, for the paper indicated that he was about to give what the surgeon called a lecture, but which the captain insisted was only a talk.

"I suppose you know all about Gibraltar, or Gib as many English people abbreviate it, ladies and gentlemen," the commander began.

"I know next to nothing about it, Captain Ringgold," added Mrs. Belgrave.

Half a dozen others said substantially the same thing.

"You can see this rocky promontory for yourselves," continued the captain. "It is about three miles long by three-quarters of a mile wide on the average; but it does not form the southern extremity of Spain, as some of the books have it, for Tarifa holds that position. As you noticed yesterday when we came into the bay, it looks like a detached rock; but it is connected with the mainland by a low isthmus, the portion of which nearest to the town is called 'The Neutral Ground,' and is, as its name implies, common to both Spanish and English.

"The rock is honeycombed with tunnels and casemates, and the galleries contain no end of guns of all calibre. You will see as many of these as you desire, for a permit can be obtained for the purpose, and I shall not attempt to describe it. The fortress has the reputation of being the strongest in the world; but of late years no nation has meddled with it, and its strength has not been tested with modern implements of war. Not a few Englishmen doubt whether it is as important a possession to