American boys afloat
Date: 2025-01-19T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction

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Title: American boys afloat
or, Cruising in the Orient

Author: Oliver Optic

Illustrator: L. J. Bridgman

Release date: January 19, 2025 [eBook #75149]

Language: English

Original publication: Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1893

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75149

Credits: Aaron Adrignola, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 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

I. | The Salihé Alongside the Guardian-Mother
II. | The Big Four arrange an Excursion
III. | The Possible Dangers of the Voyage
IV. | An Exploration of Gibraltar Bay
V. | At the Mouth of the Palmones River
VI. | The Battle on the Deck of the Salihé
VII. | The Big Four as Prisoners in the Cabin
VIII. | A Moral Conspiracy on Board the Salihé
IX. | Working up the Details of the Scheme
X. | Lassoing the Scotchman
XI. | The Return of the Victorious Knight-Errant
XII. | The Smugglers make a Trip to Algeciras
XIII. | What is Worth Knowing about Gibraltar
XIV. | American Witnesses in a Spanish Court
XV. | Exploring the Rock of Gibraltar
XVI. | An Addition for the Fun of the Big Four
XVII. | The Ship's Company of the Steamer Maud
XVIII. | An Afternoon Excursion to Tangier
XIX. | Enter Ali-Noury Pacha and the Fatimé
XX. | An Unexpected Peril in View
XXI. | Euchring the Grand Mogul
XXII. | Consternation on Board the Ship
XXIII. | A Fugitive from the Enemy
XXIV. | A Stormy Interview with Ali-Noury Pacha
XXV. | The Starboard and Port Watches of the Maud
XXVI. | The Pacha finds he has caught a Tartar
XXVII. | A Few Lessons in Navigation
XXVIII. | Morris on "The Rule of the Road"
XXIX. | The Prospect of a Water-Famine
XXX. | The Maud inclined to turn Somersets
XXXI. | Captain Scott sets a Reefed Foresail
XXXII. | The Meeting of the Two Steamers
XXXIII. | The Professor's Lecture on Algeria
XXXIV. | Oriental Views in Algiers
XXXV. | The Arrival at Constantinople
XXXVI. | The City of the Sultan
XXXVII. | The Sultan and the Dancing Dervishes
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.

"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.

"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.

"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 their country as it is commonly represented to be.

"It can hardly be said to command the strait, which is about eight miles wide in the narrowest place, and Farragut or Porter would have made nothing of passing through. But the fortress may be reasonably regarded as impregnable, though it costs about a million and a half of dollars a year to pay its expenses.

"The highest point on the rock is fourteen hundred and thirty-nine feet above the water. It is a little odd that this is the only place in Europe where the monkey in his wild state exists. They may occasionally be seen in the vicinity of the Signal Tower. Some people, who must be rather credulous, believe that there is a tunnel under the strait, and that the monkeys come over from Africa through it. These animals are something of an institution here, and efforts have been made to protect them from gunners who sometimes stroll about here. At one time they were reduced to a very small number; but the last I ever heard about them, they had increased to about thirty.

"The town of Gibraltar is said to contain about twenty thousand inhabitants, besides about five thousand troops, which is the usual garrison of the Rock. They are a mixed set of people, consisting of English, Spanish, Jews, and Moors. It is not much of a city. The Club House Hotel used to be the principal one, but I believe there is a more modern one, called the Royal; but as we shall have no use for any of them, we need not look into the matter.

"Waterport Street is the chief thoroughfare, and is nearest to the water. There are only two other streets of any consequence, and all of those in the place are narrow and crooked. It is a walled town, and the regulations are very strict, and are carefully enforced. No foreigner can reside here unless the consul of his country, or a householder in the city, becomes his surety. A police-magistrate can issue a permit for ten, fifteen, or twenty days' residence in the city; and a military man can introduce a friend for thirty days. The gates are opened at sunrise in the morning, and closed at sunset in the evening; and there is no getting in or out after they are closed for the night. Two guns are fired, the first of warning, so that it is not necessary to get caught on the wrong side if one is reasonably careful.

"The ancients believed the Rock was the end of the world, as they did in regard to a number of other places. The Pillars of Hercules marked this western extremity of creation—the Rock was one of them and Apes Hill, on the opposite side of the strait, was the other.

"The Rock appears in history at a very early date. The navigators from Phœnicia called it Aluba, which the Greeks twisted into Calpa, which the professor will tell you is the classic name for it. Hannibal and other Carthaginian generals must have known about the Rock, for they made expeditions into Spain. It does not appear that it was ever used as a fortress until the year of our Lord 711, which is longer ago than any of us can remember, when Tarik Ibn-zeyad (don't forget the name) fortified it. He was a Saracenic general on his way to conquer some of the nations of Europe, and this seemed to be a convenient place for a base of operations, as it was easy of access from Africa.

"After this chief the Rock was named Gebel-Tarik, or the hill of Tarik, and this compound word was corrupted into Gibraltar. They say that one of the towers of the castle he built can still be seen; but I never saw it, and I will not say anything more about it. For six hundred years it remained in possession of the Moors, who had obtained a stronghold in Spain; but it was captured in 1309 by Don Antonio de Guzman.

"Additional works and a dockyard were then constructed, and the Old Mole, which may still be seen at the north end of the city, was built at the same time. The Spaniards and Moors continued to hold and lose it for the next hundred and fifty years. In 1462 the Spaniards captured it through the treachery of a renegade Moor. Even in the seventeenth century the holders of the fortress had so strengthened it that it was regarded as impregnable.

"A united English and Dutch force, in 1704, proved that the fortress was not as strong as the Spaniards claimed. The fleet first bombarded it, then a heavy force was landed and an assault made upon the works, and its capitulation followed; but it was manned by only one hundred and fifty men, and the fact that this puny force 'knocked out' nearly double their own number shows that the place was very strong, and that it was bravely defended.

"From that time to the present Gibraltar has remained in possession of the English, though Spain and France have made desperate efforts to dislodge them. It has sustained not less than four sieges, the last of which was the most tremendous, in 1779, while the American Revolution was still in progress, and it was continued for four years. The narrative of it is extremely interesting; but it may be read by those so disposed in several books in our library, and I will not attempt to relate it.

"I intended to invite the party to go on shore this afternoon; but the Sir Knights of the Salihé have to go over to Algeciras to serve as witnesses against the smugglers they captured last night, and I desire to go with them. The party can go with us if they desire, for we shall make use of the Salihé for the purpose, and, as the weather is pleasant, it will be a nice sail."

Led off by Dr. Hawkes, as usual, the company applauded the commander, and thanked him for the interesting lecture he had given them.

"I should like to go to Algeciras for one," said Mrs. Belgrave.

"So should I," added Mrs. Woolridge; in fact, all of them wished to go.

"I want to see the steamer in which all the wonderful things were done last evening," said Mrs. Belgrave.

After lunch the party prepared for the excursion. Felipe was again directed to take charge of the engine, and Scott was to be the pilot. The latter studied the chart during all the time he could find before the departure, and wrote down some points he had forgotten to mention the evening before. There were no wharves or piers at the town to which they were going, and the first cutter with her crew was sent over in tow.

At the appointed hour the steamer started, and landed her passengers on the other side of the bay. They were very pleasantly received by the Spanish officials. All the party insisted upon going to the court, for they desired to see the smugglers.

CHAPTER XIV

AMERICAN WITNESSES IN A SPANISH COURT

The party found the forms of justice in Spain, those who knew anything about them, quite different from what they were in New York and New Jersey. The court-room was an oddity to Uncle Moses, and he had the idea that the provincia must be building a new court-house, and that the apartment was a temporary one, not adapted to the use for which it was required.

The five smugglers were brought in, each of them with his wrists handcuffed behind him by the officers. Gray's looks plainly indicated that he was a foreigner; but he could speak the language as fluently as any other person in the room, though perhaps not as correctly. He glanced at the four Sir Knights who had overcome him in the conflict on the deck of the Salihé, and especially at Scott, who had lassoed him.

Captain Velazquez appeared to be entirely subdued by his misfortunes, as doubtless he regarded the loss of the Golondrina and his arrest. He was not as savage as he had appeared to be the evening before. The other three men had obeyed orders in the affairs on the steamer, and had submitted quietly when they were overcome, and were of little account.

It was not a very intricate case, for the capture of the schooner with her contraband cargo made everything very plain sailing. The officers of the customs and the police, to whom the vessel and the prisoners had been delivered the night before by Captain Ringgold's agents, stated what they knew about the affair, which was very little. Then Gray was called upon to explain. He gave his evidence in Spanish; but Mr. Gaskette, who had been brought over as an interpreter, and Louis could understand him.

The Scotchman, who seemed to be more troubled about the capture of the little steamer than about the smuggling, without committing himself in regard to the latter, stated squarely that he had engaged the Salihé of Captain Chickworth, and he thought he had the right to use her when he found her in the bay, near the Palmones River. He concluded that she had been sent there for him.

He found on board of her a party of young men, who appeared to be Dutchmen, and who had been drinking too much wine. Mr. Gaskette and Louis laughed when they heard this statement, and even the commander understood enough of it to be amused. To the surprise of Gray the party had refused to allow him the use of the little steamer. He had tried to compromise the matter, and he had offered to pay them money, and not to interfere with their excursion.

The Dutchmen were obstinate, and would not listen to him. He had been compelled to take possession of the steamer, but had made her passengers comfortable in the cabin. Then they had risen against his party, only three of them being then on board the Salihé, and, resorting to the most barbarous methods, using their revolvers, with which all of them seemed to be supplied, had recovered possession of the boat, making them prisoners, and treating them like criminals, when everybody knew that they were honest and law-abiding men.

Those from the Guardian-Mother who understood the testimony could not refrain from laughing heartily at the number of lies Gray had crowded into his evidence. Captain Velazquez and the seamen backed up the statement of Gray, and it was plain enough that the Scotchman had dictated the story they were to tell. Louis asked an officer of the court if the prisoners had been confined in the same cell, and learned that such was the case. Of course they had talked over the situation, and had agreed upon what they were to say.

The question was then asked if the Dutch witnesses spoke Spanish. Only one of those who had been on board of the little steamer could do so, and Louis was called upon to give his testimony. He had some doubts in regard to the sufficiency of his linguistic ability for such an occasion; but he promptly took his place in front of the judge. The dignitary of the bench was an old man, who looked as though he might have seen eighty Spanish winters, judging by the innumerable wrinkles on his face and the paucity of the white hairs on his head.

"What is your name?" asked the venerable dispenser of justice.

"'What's your name?' asked the venerable dispenser of justice."

"Louis Belgrave, su merced" (your honor), replied the owner of the Guardian-Mother.

"You are a Dutchman; from what part of Holland do you come?"

"From no part of Holland; I am an American, your honor," replied Louis, who had entirely recovered the self-possession he had lost for the moment.

He proceeded to explain that he resided in Von Blonk Park, which was a town in the State of New Jersey, and quite near the city of New York. The name of the town had led Señor Gray to suppose he was a Dutchman, though he had fully explained to him that he was an American, and that neither he nor any of his companions were Dutch.

"What is your business?"

"I have no business," replied the witness with a smile.

"Why do you come to Gibraltar?" asked the judge, evidently puzzled by the answer and the manner of the young gentleman.

"I am going all over the world in my steam-yacht, the Guardian-Mother, which lies at the New Mole in Gibraltar; and we put in there to see the place," replied Louis, blushing in spite of himself, for he felt compelled to speak the exact truth.

"Muy ricos!" (Very rich!) exclaimed the judge.

"Si, su merced."

"You are only a boy!"

"No, su merced. My mother is with me;" whereupon Captain Ringgold and Mr. Gaskette laughed, and there was a smile on the face of the judge.

Louis did not like to "blow his own horn," even so far as to state the facts in regard to himself as the owner of the steam-yacht, and he took the liberty to explain that his mother was his guardian, and that the trustee of his property was present, and would inform him fully as to his affairs.

He was then called upon to give his evidence in respect of the capture of the Salihé by the smugglers. He gave the details of the excursion as well as he could in Spanish, and he talked with considerable fluency, though doubtless he made some mistakes. He appeared to be perfectly understood by all in the court-room, and only twice did the judge ask him to repeat anything he had said. Everybody seemed to be deeply interested in him and in his narrative, perhaps because he was "muy ricos."

"You were intoxicated, were you not?" asked his honor.

"I was not intoxicated: I never drank a drop of liquor, wine, or beer in my life," replied Louis very gently.

This reply made a decided sensation among the Spaniards in the court-room, and probably none of them ever saw or heard of a rich young man who had never tasted any intoxicating fluid, for in France and Spain even the boys drink wine.

"Were your companions intoxicated?" inquired the judge.

"Not one of them had tasted a drop of anything for months, if ever in their lives."

The judge glanced at Gray, who had asserted that the party on board of the Salihé had been drinking too freely, and there was a frown on his honor's wrinkled face, which indicated that he believed the present rather than the former witness. Louis proceeded to give his narrative of the proceedings on board of the little steam-yacht, including the capture and the recapture of the craft. The lassoing of the Scotchman greatly amused the Spanish portion of the audience, and all eyes were fixed about half the time on the burly victim of the operation.

The judge requested him to call up the one who had handled the lasso, and Louis asked Scott to stand where he was. The hero of the occasion complied with the request. He saw that the audience were amused and excited; but he could not understand a word that had been said, and did not know what it was all about. He was regarded with astonishment, for the listeners could not comprehend how a mere boy, though a rather stout one, had been able to overcome a man of Gray's size and weight.

The Scotchman seemed to be very much surprised to hear Louis talk Spanish, for the latter had concealed his knowledge of the language from him; and doubtless he could understand now how the "Dutchman" had made some of his points against him in the affair. But Louis was permitted to "stand down," as he had told all he knew of the case. The judge called for Scott next, and evidently felt some interest in him. A sworn interpreter was called, and Scott told his story through him, though Louis and Mr. Gaskette watched him very closely; but there was no important variation in his translation of the witnesses' statements.

Two or three times the judge tripped him up, and it appeared that his honor was quite proficient in his English. The narrative of the "hero" agreed very closely with that of Louis. Morris and Felix fully confirmed them, and then Captain Ringgold was called to the stand. After he had given his name and residence, he was asked a question in regard to his business in Gibraltar.

"I am a shipmaster, in command of the steamship Guardian-Mother, which is the yacht of Mr. Louis Belgrave," he replied, putting his hand on the head of his owner, who sat next to him.

"Does your owner drink too much wine?" asked his honor.

"He drinks none at all; never a drop under any circumstances."

While the interpreter was rendering this answer, the judge gazed at Louis, and evidently regarded him as a very wonderful young man, besides being "muy ricos." The temperance question seemed to be mixed in with the issue, for Gray had evidently intended to convey the impression that the party on board of the little steamer were "young bloods," so tipsy that they hardly knew what they were about, and that it was a kindness for him to take charge of them, even if he did use the yacht to tow out the Golondrina and the "honest men" in charge of her.

Captain Ringgold stated that the Salihé had come alongside his ship with the schooner in tow, and he decided to deliver her to the Spanish authorities, for it was plain to him that she was engaged in an illegal voyage, intending to rob the government of Spain of its just revenues. The judge bowed as though he approved this decision.

His honor then wished to hear from Mrs. Belgrave, who was quite startled when the commander asked her to take the stand. Dr. Hawkes conducted her to the box on which she was to stand. The judge looked at her; and his ancient eyes seemed to twinkle as he observed that she was still a very pretty woman, though the mother of a boy of seventeen, "muy ricos" besides.

"I congratulate you, señora, on being the mother of such a young man as Mr. Belgrave, and one so very rich," said the judge in good English.

"I thank your honor," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose blushes made her look all the more interesting; and Captain Ringgold shared the admiration of his honor.

"Does Mr. Belgrave, your son, ever drink too much wine, or other intoxicating fluids?" asked the judge in Spanish, which was duly translated to the lady.

"Never! He never drank a drop of liquor, wine, or beer in his life!" exclaimed the witness indignantly.

"Bastante!" (Enough!) added his honor; and la señora was permitted to retire.

Uncle Moses gave some information in regard to the wealth of the young gentleman and to his temperate habits. The judge was evidently satisfied so far as the capture and recapture of the Salihé were concerned, and then proceeded to consider the custom-house question. The officers testified in regard to the merchandise found on board of the Golondrina. No bill of lading, consular certificate, or other document was found on board or in possession of the captain.

It was proved that the goods were smuggled into Spain from Gibraltar. The principals were Gray and Captain Velazquez, and they were heavily fined, and sentenced to imprisonment for one year for smuggling, and one for the assault upon the party on board the little steamer. The others received a much milder sentence. The court adjourned, and his honor hastened to pay his respects to Mrs. Belgrave, and insisted upon sending her and the other ladies to the landing in his carriage. Then he had quite a talk about the Guardian-Mother with the captain, and was invited to visit her with his family.

CHAPTER XV

EXPLORING THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR

Captain Ringgold had been formally presented to the judge by an officer who seemed to be the chief of police, or something of that sort. "El Juez Salazar" was what he called him. If any reader wishes to pronounce as he reads, he will say el hwaith Sah-lah-thar; and if he utters it like that, the chief of police would understand him.

Judge Salazar smiled when the commander invited him and his family to visit the Guardian-Mother, declaring that he had no wife or children, being still a bachelor.

"But if I had met the Señora Belgrave when I was fifty years younger, it might have been otherwise," added the judge. "That is to say, if she had not frowned upon me."

"Just my case!" exclaimed the commander.

"But you are still a young man, while I am seventy-five. 'It might have been,' as your poet Whittier said, in my case; and it may be, in yours," added his honor very jocosely.

"I don't know," laughed the captain. "But I hope you will visit my ship, Judge Salazar. Will you not dine with us at six to-day? I will have a boat at the landing for you at five."

"The temptation is very great, and I cannot decline the invitation," replied the venerable dignitary.

The carriage of the judge returned, and then he insisted upon taking the commander and Louis to the shore, where they parted with him for the time. All the party were delighted with the old gentleman and his courteous Spanish manners, and Mrs. Belgrave declared that he was a "dear old man." The cutter conveyed the party to the steamer, and in about half an hour they were on board of the ship.

"The judge is a bachelor, Mrs. Belgrave, and he fell in love with you."

"Indeed! But he is old enough to be my grandfather!" exclaimed the lady, laughing heartily.

"In order to give him an opportunity to conduct his suit before your court, I have invited him to dinner to-day, and he has accepted," added the commander.

"I shall be very glad to meet him socially, in spite of all your nonsense, Captain Ringgold," said the lady. "I think he is a fair and just judge; and certainly he is a very agreeable gentleman, though he is not as good-looking as you are."

The lady blushed when she had said this, for she really meant nothing by it; and the commander felt himself lifted up with something like an ecstasy.

"I need not flatter myself till I know the breadth of the comparison," replied he. "But we must do our best to make the judge happy when he comes on board; and I have no doubt he will spend the evening with us. Sparks, call Mr. Sage."

Mr. Melancthon Sage, the chief steward, presented himself very promptly, and the commander directed him to get up the choicest dinner possible for six o'clock, for a very distinguished guest.

When Captain Ringgold went on deck, he found the owner of the Salihé waiting for him there, his engineer having gone on board of her alongside. He had spoken to Louis, who refused to say anything to him except in the presence of the commander.

"Which I am very glad to see you, Captain Ringgold," the owner of the little steamer began.

"I dare say you are, for you want to know whether or not your boat is implicated in the smuggling that was done last night," replied the commander jocosely.

"Which hit is very true, your honor; I do wish to know."

"Well, your worship, your friend Gray swore point-blank before the court that he had engaged your little steamer to tow the Golondrina to sea," added the captain.

"Which he lies like a himp of darkness!" protested Chickworth earnestly. "'E came to me yesterday to 'ire 'er, but I told 'im she was hengaged to the young gentlemen on board this steamer, and 'e couldn't 'ave 'er on no account. Which this is as true a thing as Giles Chickworth hever spoke in 'is life. I would swear to hit before the judge hover there."

"Perhaps you could do it here, for the judge will dine with us to-day," suggested the commander, watching the expression of the man.

"Which I am ready to do!" protested Chickworth, using his first grammatical "which" apparently by mistake.

"I am afraid you have had some dealings with these smugglers, Captain Chickworth; but I do not believe you will come to grief on account of anything that happened last night, for Gray told such a stack of lies that the judge did not believe a word he said, and the testimony of the boys contradicted about everything to which he swore. I think you are all right, my man; but I advise you to have nothing to do with smugglers."

"Which I don't, your honor!" exclaimed the owner of the boat.

"But Gray seemed to know all about your steamer, and he must have had the use of her at five shillings an hour."

"Which 'e 'as; but not to smuggle in 'er."

"That is enough about the smugglers. Take warning, my man, and keep out of trouble, or you will lose the steamer," added the commander.

"I owe you thirty shillings, Captain Chickworth," said Louis, tendering the money, for he had listened to all that had been said.

"I don't mind that; you 'ave saved my steamer; for I know what a liar Gray is, and I was afeard that they would want to confisticate 'er."

"I insist on paying for her," added Louis, thrusting the gold into the vest pocket of the owner.

"I will pay for her to-day, but I want to make a trade with you for to-day and to-morrow," continued the captain; and he engaged her for the two days for two pounds. "You will keep her alongside when we are not using her."

"Which I will do and hall night too."

"We are going ashore this afternoon, and at five o'clock you will go over for Judge Salazar."

Captain Ringgold had already attended to the formalities necessary to obtain admission to the town and to visit the batteries and fortifications, and the American consul had rendered all the assistance required. After an early lunch the party embarked in the Salihé, now in charge of Captain Chickworth and his engineer. The little steamer proceeded directly to the Ragged Staff stairs, where the landing was made.

Macias, one of the guides of the place, was waiting for them. The party walked till they were tired, and then a wagonette was obtained, and they rode through the streets for an hour, looking at the buildings, especially the barracks, for everything was military about the town.

Ever since the possession of the Rock was obtained, about one hundred and eighty years ago, the English have been at work improving the defences of the place, and the territory is covered with batteries in addition to the principal fortifications in the Rock itself. The visitors gave only a glance at these, and observed with more interest the soldiers and their officers, as seen about the streets, especially a regiment of Highlanders, whose bare legs were more comfortable in this climate than in England.

On the east side, facing the open Mediterranean, the ascent of the hill is almost perpendicular, while on the other side it is much more gradual. A number of non-commissioned officers were sent with the strangers as guides, and they explained everything of interest that was passed. After a rather hard walk, they reached the highest point of the Rock, which is called El Hacho, or the Signal. From it a view of two oceans was obtained, if we count the Mediterranean as one, and two of the grand divisions of the earth, Europe and Africa. The mountains of Spain and those of Africa were in sight.

Macias pointed out Apes Hill and other objects of interest, and it was unanimously voted that the view was magnificent. The visitors continued their wanderings amid pyramids of cannon-balls, and the region was covered with receptacles for ammunition. They entered the galleries, which extend for thousands of yards, and the first sight of them conveys an idea of the vast amount of labor which has been performed in constructing them, for they have been hewn out of the rock.

There are casemates and even halls, one of the latter of which is fifty feet long by thirty-five wide, and is called St. George's Hall. About every thirty feet in the eastern side are embrasures through which project the muzzles of great cannons, which are hardly noticed from the outside as one sails along the sea. A view of the Rock at the distance of a couple of miles on the strait conveys no idea of the strength of the fortifications.

In addition to the immense strength of the principal fortress, there are forts and batteries in every available place along the shore, and on the line which separates the place from The Neutral Ground, so that an attack by sea or land could be promptly repelled. Everything has been done to render the works invincible, and the supplies kept in store preclude the possibility of starving out the garrison in any reasonable period of time. But the fortress will never again be besieged or attacked, for many believe "the game is not worth the candle;" and Mr. Bright thought it ought to be ceded back to Spain, for its possession by a foreign power has never ceased to be a thorn in the flesh of the proud and haughty dons of the peninsula.

Aside from its military importance, Gibraltar is of the greatest value to England as a stopping-place, where coal and other necessaries can be obtained by her commercial marine. All the steamers which pass through the Suez Canal on their way to India and Australia stop here. If England were at war with any other nation, the place would be of vast importance as a coaling station, where her ships could lie in safety in spite of any force that might assail them.

"There are no springs of fresh water on the Rock," said Captain Ringgold to his party. "You remember how the people of the Bermudas are supplied with water; and the residents here, both civil and military, have to depend upon the rainfall. All the water that falls upon the roofs of the houses is economized and gathered up into reservoirs; and that which flows down the sides of the rock is also carefully saved, for a water famine would be as bad as a dearth of food. The navy tank, from which ships are supplied, holds eleven thousand tons of water, as the books put it; but to the common mind that is a very indefinite method of measuring water, and how big that tank is I can form no idea, only that it is a big one.

"I suppose you have noticed that plants grow in the apertures and crevices of the Rock, though nothing of the sort can be seen from the water. Asparagus, capers, aloes, and cacti thrive here, and even grassy and wooded glens are found in places. Now we will go down to the Almeda, which is the Spanish name for a park, as you learned when you were in Cuba."

This beautiful garden is located near Europa Point, the southern extremity of the peninsula of Gibraltar. It is on the very border of the sea, and is very tastefully laid out in English style, with winding walks, and with a great variety of plants and shrubs which thrive in this climate, including cacti and some trees of considerable size. From shady arbors fine views were obtained of the surroundings, including the mountains in Africa.

The party had made the ascent of the rock and the return on mules and donkeys, and the big four had lots of fun with the latter. That of Scott was so small that he picked him up in his arms and carried him some distance, to the great amusement of the lookers-on. When they reached the Ragged Stairs, the company embarked in the little steamer, and, as it was not yet four o'clock, they made an excursion in her around the Rock. The American consul had been invited to dine on board, and he was a member of the party.

As soon as her passengers had disembarked, Louis and Scott were sent over in the Salihé to Algeciras for Judge Salazar, and returned with him before dinner-time. He was received on board with the "most distinguished consideration."

CHAPTER XVI

AN ADDITION FOR THE FUN OF THE BIG FOUR

The position of honor at the table on the right of the commander was given to Judge Salazar, and Mrs. Belgrave was placed next to him. The consul was on his left, with Mrs. Woolridge beside him. Louis was assigned to the opposite end of the table, with the boys next to him. Mr. Sage and Monsieur Odervie had done their best, and the dinner was praised with great enthusiasm by all the guests.

The judge made himself exceedingly agreeable to Mrs. Belgrave, and gave her a great deal of information in regard to Spain; but the principal subject of conversation was her son, who was "muy ricos," and his mother gave him an epitome of the life of the young millionaire, including the recovery of the missing million which had made him so rich.

The commander asked him if any suspicions were attached to the Salihé as concerned in any smuggling ventures. He could only learn that the officers of the customs kept a close watch upon her. Gray said he had engaged her to tow out the Golondrina; but he proved that he was such a liar he could not be believed, or the little steamer would have been seized.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, after the ladies and others had given the distinguished judicial dignitary a specimen of the songs they sang in the churches and evening meetings in America, the judge was sent home in the little steamer, attended by the consul and the commander. He was profuse in his acknowledgments of the pleasure he had derived from his visit, and especially from his dinner, declaring that no hotel in Spain could elaborate such a banquet. The consul had been locked out from his residence in the town at gun-fire, and the invitation to dine had included the tender of a stateroom for his use.

The consul was sent in the Salihé to the Ragged Stairs after breakfast. On her return Louis and Scott found the commander very busy measuring the length and breadth of the little steamer. He was looking her over with the utmost care, and it was evident to the boys that he had some scheme in his head. When he had finished his examination and measurements on board of the boat, he ascended to the deck of the ship, and renewed his employment.

"The Salihé is forty feet long, Captain Ringgold," interposed Louis, with a merry laugh, though he was wondering with all his might what the commander's calculations indicated. "Her standing-room is cushioned with crimson plush, and will seat eight persons comfortably, or twelve with the addition of the tabourets in the cabin."

"Go on, Mr. Belgrave," said the captain, when he was closing the diary from which he had read the description so far, and which he carried in one of his pockets, having written it out while on the trip from Madeira to Tarifa in the little steamer.

"Her cabin is twelve feet long, with four windows on a side, each having a single pane of plate glass, with a table in the middle, and several tabourets. The sides are occupied by broad divans, on which beds may be made, with a full supply of bed-clothes in the lockers under them. She has a miniature pilot-house and a cook-room forward of the engine."

"Excellent, Sir Louis!" exclaimed the commander. "You have written out a very complete description of the craft. Now have you inscribed in your diary whether or not it is practicable to hoist the Salihé upon the promenade deck of the Guardian-Mother?"

"I don't find any opinion expressed on the pages of my diary on that subject, sir," replied Louis, as he put the book in his pocket. "But I should say that it was quite practicable, Captain Ringgold, for I have read that many American men-of-war carry steam-launches."

"But ships of six hundred tons don't carry steam-launches forty feet long; or they did not when I was in the navy," added the commander.

Mr. Boulong and Mr. Shafter, the chief engineer, were sent for, and they appeared at once. The question was put to them. They had their doubts about carrying a steam-launch of the size of the one alongside on the promenade deck; but they considered it possible. She might be blocked up in the middle of the space abaft the smoke-stack, and well secured. The steamer could carry her well enough, though she was a rather large pattern.

While they were talking about the matter, Captain Chickworth came on deck, but he did not join the party, and seated himself out of hearing of what they said. The commander thanked his two officers, bowed to them, and they retired, touching their caps to the captain, for everything on board was done as politely as in a man-of-war, and more so than is sometimes the case.

The commander seated himself in an arm-chair, of which a supply was kept under the awning in pleasant weather, and invited Louis to do the same. Scott walked over and entered into conversation with the owner. It was evident that Captain Ringgold had had some conversation with Chickworth in regard to the subject he appeared to be considering, as indicated by what he had said.

"Sir Louis, you can always see through a millstone when there is a hole through it, and sometimes you can see and read things which are not visible to the naked eye," the commander began. "You can see what I have in my mind."

"With the naked eye, I can," replied Louis. "And the idea is an excellent one, as are all the ideas of the captain of the Guardian-Mother."

"Blarney! But we will be serious now. I have been talking with Chickworth; and I told him, what Judge Salazar informed me, that the customs officers are keeping watch of his steamer. He was startled, and unbosomed himself to me when he found I was not inclined to injure him; but I roundly condemned his permitting smugglers to have the use of the Salihé. He replied that he could not make a living with the boat unless he did so."

"I should think there would be honest visitors enough at the Rock to keep the craft well employed," suggested Louis.

"But Chickworth says that is not the case. A steamer runs regularly to Algeciras, and another to Tangier, several times a week, and visitors will not many of them pay him fifty shillings a day for the steamer. Gray was his principal employer; he has gone to prison for the next two years, and he has lost his best customer."

"He made his own nest."

"He has saved his steamer, for he would certainly have lost her if he had kept on serving the smugglers. He was quite down-hearted this morning, and wished he could sell the Salihé for what she cost him, and he would return to his trade as a machinist."

"He bought her for less than half her value," added Louis.

"I am inclined to buy her out of my own pocket."

"If you can carry her, buy her, but not out of your own pocket."

"I am willing to do so. I have no use for my wages as master of the ship, for I am not a poor man."

"I know you are not, for you have lived on your income for years."

"My whole business is to make this voyage pleasant to my employers and passengers, and I don't care to make a dollar out of it."

"It would not be fair or just for you to buy her for our use."

"But Uncle Moses is a strict financier, and he might object to the investment of five hundred dollars in this manner," said the captain.

"He will not object to anything that is just and fair, for he is far from being a mean man," protested Louis; and he was thinking that the possession of the elegant little steamer would at least double the pleasure, or the "fun" as they called it, of their daily life on the voyage. "Besides, Captain, you know that he did not object to the expenses of the voyage the first six months, and then he had to pay out double the present rate. Mr. Woolridge pays half the expense now of everything, including repairs and alterations. I will speak to Uncle Moses about the matter. There he is on the promenade with the rest of the party;" and Louis rose from his seat.

"No, Sir Knight; we don't want any special pleading, and Mr. Woolridge is as much interested in this matter as he is. Ask both of them to come aft, and we will talk over the matter and settle it very quickly," added the commander.

The two gentlemen received the summons, and immediately presented themselves before the captain, who rose and placed chairs for them. What had been said before about the new project was repeated to the trustee of Louis and the magnate of the Fifth Avenue.

"Mrs. Belgrave was saying to me yesterday, while we were sailing round the Rock, that she wished we had a steam-yacht like the Salihé, only one with a Christian name," said Uncle Moses, shaking his fat sides at the coincidence.

"I am glad that somebody besides myself has seen the advantage of having a steam-launch on board," added the commander. "I think they will all see it when the matter is suggested to them."

"But what is the cost of her?" asked Uncle Moses, chuckling at something he had in his mind till his fat form quivered like a barrel of soft soap when shaken. "Since I have been relieved of half the cost of this pleasure trip, I have had some of my old troubles come back to me, for I don't see how Sir Louis will possibly be able to spend even a reasonable portion of his income, and the subject begins to worry me again. I had an easy time of it the first six months, for the expenses made a considerable hole in the amount."

"Then I suppose you charge your present misery upon me for paying half of the expenses, fair and just as that is," added Mr. Woolridge, laughing a good deal more vigorously than he was in the habit of doing. "By all means buy the little steamer, and relieve Uncle Moses of some of his woe!"

"Well, how much will she cost?" demanded the lawyer. "If we can get rid of five or ten thousand dollars in this manner, it will relieve me of a part of the burden I have to bear."

"But I must pay half of the cost of the steamer," added the magnate.

"Then my load will be so much the heavier," puffed Uncle Moses.

"But five or ten thousand dollars, gentlemen!" exclaimed the commander. "Why, I was proposing to buy her out of my own pocket, and not call upon you at all."

"Not a red cent!" protested the trustee. "I believe you want to make my burden more than I can bear, Captain."

"But the price of the boat is only one hundred pounds, or about five hundred dollars; and that sum would not have ruined me," almost shouted the commander.

"That will hardly take a feather's weight from my load," groaned Uncle Moses.

"Say no more about it! I should be glad to buy the boat alone, and present her to the ship in token of the high appreciation I have of the boundless kindness with which my family and myself have been treated on board of the Guardian-Mother," interposed the magnate.

"It is only a bagatelle, but it must be equitably divided," persisted Uncle Moses; and the question was settled on this basis.

"The only doubt I had about the matter was the hoisting of her on deck and carrying here there," added the commander.

"You needn't hoist her at all, Captain Ringgold," interposed Louis. "The big four will organize a ship's company, and sail her from port to port."

"O ho, Sir Knight!" exclaimed Uncle Moses, shaking his fat sides again. "You want to be all ready for a fresh adventure night and day! If we change the name of the craft, as Mrs. Belgrave will insist, we had better call her the Don Quixote."

The question was definitely settled, though not till Mrs. Belgrave had been consulted; but the name was referred to Louis. The Salihé was purchased at once, and paid for on the spot. Chickworth went away a happy man. Later in the day a meeting of the big four was called to organize the ship's company.

CHAPTER XVII

THE SHIP'S COMPANY OF THE STEAMER MAUD

Louis Belgrave did not take kindly to the suggestion of Uncle Moses to call the little steamer, which had now come into the possession of the party, the Don Quixote. He had read Don Quichotte, as the book is called in French, twice with Professor Seveignien, his instructor at Von Blonk Park, in that language. He was therefore quite familiar with the career of the knight of La Mancha, which Cervantes wrote as a sort of burlesque on knight-errantry.

The young millionaire's alleged fondness for adventure had been the reason why Uncle Moses had playfully given him the name of "Sir Louis;" but of the four young Americans afloat on the present cruise, he was no more inclined to erratic enterprises than the others. The average boy delights in adventure, at least in the contemplation and narration; and he was no exception to the rule, though he had always been devoted to his studies.

But the average boy had not the ingenuity, pluck, and enterprise of Louis; and perhaps he made his adventures more exciting than another might have done. The nearest approach to him in the big four appeared to be Scott, who had fully developed himself in the recapture of the Salihé, though his intended cruise in the Seahound in the West Indies stamped the metal of which he was made.

Louis did not like the name of Don Quixote, a crack-brained and absurd adventurer, whose career Cervantes had written and made as ridiculous as possible for the purpose of bringing knight-errantry into disrepute; and he succeeded admirably. In dubbing his ward a knight, Uncle Moses simply intended to ridicule adventures in general.

"I don't like the name of Don Quixote, which my trustee suggests, and that is the only name that has been mentioned," said Louis, when the big four had assembled to talk over the organization of the ship's company, after he had informed them of the purchase of the little steamer.

The young millionaire had explained to them the use to which it was intended to apply her, with some enlargement of the idea to suit his own fancy, and had reported some of the conversation between the captain, Uncle Moses, and the magnate of the Fifth Avenue.

"Don Quixote isn't a bad name for a boat," added Scott. "I don't know much about the fellow who bore it, and I am not competent to give an opinion as to its fitness."

It then appeared that Louis was the only one of the four who had read the book; and he gave some description of the Spanish knight-errant, and related some of his adventures with windmills, wine sacks, and galley slaves.

"The Don is not the fellow for our craft," added Scott. "But I suppose you own the steam-yacht, Louis, as you do the Guardian-Mother, and you ought to name her to suit yourself."

"Morris's father is as much an owner of her as I am, for he pays half her cost. The name was referred to me; but I think Morris ought to have as much to say about that as I have," replied Louis.

"I don't care what her name is," said Morris, laughing. "There will be just as much fun in her under one name as any other. If you have thought of anything, Louis, I will agree to it."

"What shall her name be, Louis?" demanded Scott.

"I thought of calling her the Maud," answered Louis.

"The only objiction in loife I have to that name is that it was what they called the shtaymer of John Schoble," added Felix.

"But that was not her name, and it was only stuck on over 'Viking.'"

"Maud is a tip-top name!" exclaimed Scott.

"I like it; and it is your mother's name, Louis, which makes me like it all the more," said Morris.

"Maud it is, then; and no fellow must say Salihé after this," added Scott.

As a matter of form the question was put to vote, and Maud was unanimously adopted as the name of the steamer.

"The next thing is to make out a list of officers and crew," suggested Louis. "But we can't have a great many officers, for we have not fellows enough to fill the places. First we want a captain, and we will vote for him by ballot."

Morris was appointed to collect the votes, and three of them were for Louis, and one for Scott.

"This is very complimentary, and I thank you," Louis proceeded, after Scott had declared the result of the ballot. "But I must respectfully and resolutely decline the honor. I do not think I am fitted for the position, and therefore I must refuse to accept it. Please to bring in your votes for captain."

Felix caught a sight of Louis's ballot, and the vote stood two for the owner of the Guardian-Mother and two for Scott. The Milesian, knowing very well what his crony desired, and how he had voted both times before, did a little electioneering in a whisper with Morris, and the next ballot gave the hero of the battle with the smugglers a majority of the votes.

Scott returned his thanks; but he had voted every time for Louis, and thought he ought to have the position.

"We don't want any compliments about this business, fellows," replied Louis. "If I wanted to be simply complimentary, I should vote for Morris, and he is better qualified for the position than I am; but I believe Scott has had more experience than any other fellow in the crowd, for he navigated the Seahound from New York to Florida, and through the Bahama Islands. I think we have done the right thing, and Captain Scott it is."

"So say we all of us," repeated Felix and Morris.

"The next place is that of pilot, who shall be at the same time the mate," continued Louis. "Flix will collect the votes."

Three of them were for Morris; for Louis had unconsciously done a little electioneering when he spoke of the successful candidate, who had modestly voted for the usual leader of the party.

"Morris is elected first officer and pilot by your votes," said Louis. "I don't see but what we have got to the end of the rope, for we can't all be officers, and Flix and I will be seamen or deck-hands."

"That don't seem to be just right," protested Captain Scott. "The idea of Louis being a deck-hand is simply absurd."

"But it is just the position I like best," the subject of the remark insisted.

"Faix, Oi'm in good company as the oder deck-hand," added Felix, with a merry laugh. "Sorra one bit of ambition have Oi to be an officer. They're the fellers that will do the worruck while we gintlemanly deck-hands will luk on and see 'em do it."

"What about the engineer?" asked Captain Scott.

"Of course Felipe Garcias will be the engineer," replied Louis.

"But he is wanted as an oiler on board the ship," suggested the captain.

"Captain Ringgold can easily ship another here."

"But I thought we were to use the Maud only when we were in port to run about the harbors," said Morris.

"I think we shall do something more than that," replied Louis significantly. "At any rate, we shall want our own engineer; and I will see that he is better paid than as an oiler, a 'greaser' as they are sometimes called. Felipe is a good fellow, and I take an interest in him."

"Bekase he can shpake Shpanish!" mildly taunted Felix. "Faix I could shpake it mesel' if me modther had only larned it me whin I was a babby, loike Philip's modther did him. But, boy the powers of mud, I belayve you fellers mane to make an indepindint cruise in the Orient, and go Columbusing all over the ocean boy the way ye's talk!"

"I hinted to Captain Ringgold that there was no need of hoisting the Maud on the deck of the ship, for we could go in her from one port to another. I suppose Captain Scott understands navigation."

"I think I know something about it; for that is the one thing I have studied more than anything else, not only in school, but ever since," replied the new captain. "Professor Giroud is instructing me in the theory of it now, and I take the sun every day, and work up the observation. I know how to handle a sextant, and I can work out a lunar on a pinch."

"Perhaps we shall get cast away on a desolate island in the Indian Ocean, and have a chance to do some Robinson Crusoeing," suggested Morris.

"That is treason to Captain Scott," added Louis.

"I believe I can do my Bowditching well enough not to bring that upon my ship's company," said the captain.

This meeting was held in the cabin of the Maud, as they had all begun to call her. The next thing they did was to take down the sign upon which the former name of the yacht appeared in front of the pilot-house, and another to the same effect on the stern. While they were thus engaged, Captain Chickworth, who had been collecting his money and talking with the captain in his cabin, came on board.

"You don't like the name," said he when he discovered what they were doing.

"We have changed it already," answered Louis.

"Which I was going to do myself," added the late owner. "The old one was not a Christian name, and I was going to call 'er the 'Transit.' I 'ad the two signs halmost ready to put on. Which there is a carver near the Ragged Stairs gate which 'e 'as the letters hall ready to put on the board."

"Has he the four letters M-A-U-D on hand?"

Chickworth was sure he had. Louis was delighted, and immediately offered to land the late owner at the Stairs, and have him go with him to the carver's. Felipe was in the engine-room, for he had just returned from landing the consul. Captain Ringgold was informed that they were going to put Chickworth on shore, and the Maud departed to obtain her new name.

The carver had the letters of the right size, all gilded and ready to put on the signs. He was obliging enough to do the work while Louis waited, and in a short time he returned to the steamer with the signs under his arm. They were put in their places at once, and the ship's company bestowed a great deal of admiration upon them. The Maud got under way, and in a few minutes she was approaching the Guardian-Mother. The regularly elected pilot was at the wheel, and the others were on the forecastle.

Captain Scott called for three cheers when he discovered the cabin party seated under the awning. This called the company to the side; for they suspected that the big four were up to some mischief, the commander having informed them of the purchase of the little steamer, and that her future ship's company had been engaged in organizing to handle her.

The gentlemen returned the cheers without knowing what they meant, and the ladies waved their handkerchiefs very vigorously. As the steamer came a little nearer, Uncle Moses was the first to notice the new name which had been put up over the windows of the pilot-house. He spelled out the word and pointed to the name.

"My name!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "Well, I am more delighted to see it there than I was when I saw it on that steamer which lies near us."

"It is a capital name for the craft, and it means something now—that your son is always thinking of you, madam."

"What is the next conspiracy of the big four?" asked the commander as the crew of the Maud came on board.

"We want to go over to Tangier this afternoon," replied Louis, as soon as the new name had been discussed and approved.

The application was duly considered, and, no objection being made, permission for the excursion was granted.

CHAPTER XVIII

AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION TO TANGIER

Louis had applied for permission to make the excursion to Tangier on his own account, though he knew it would be exceedingly agreeable to the other members of the ship's company, for it would give them practice in their duties. He had spoken to the commander about the engineer; and he had promptly consented to ship another oiler, for it was enough for Felipe to run the engine of the Maud and take proper care of it, as it was a very nice piece of machinery. At the same time he added fifty per cent to the wages of this officer.

He had ordered Mr. Sage to provide a suitable lunch for the steamer; for it was thirty miles to Tangier, and it would require at least seven hours for the Maud to go there and return, and the excursionists would get hungry before they came back.

"But why can't we go with them, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave. "It will certainly be a very pleasant trip, and there must be something there to see."

"I thought of going to Tangier in the Guardian-Mother," replied the commander; "but you have seen a specimen of Mohammedan places at Mogadore, and I have reserved most of that species of sights for Constantinople, where you will see them in their full glory and on a large scale. Then the boys are going over there simply to experiment with their new organization and see how it works, and I think they would prefer to be alone. Besides, Tangier is in Morocco; and it is remotely possible that Ali-Noury Pacha may be there, for it is over three weeks since the Fatimé went out to sea through the Strait."

"I am quite satisfied to remain," replied the lady.

"Very likely the boys will not land at all at Tangier, for they have no time to do so."

"I certainly don't want to go there if there is the least danger of meeting the Pacha," added Mrs. Belgrave.

The rich, powerful, and distinguished Pacha had taken a fancy to Blanche, the beautiful daughter of Mr. Woolridge, and had followed the party to Gibraltar in the Fatimé, his large steam-yacht; but the Guardian-Mother had avoided her, and had actually run away from her.

"I have a little business in the city this afternoon, and we will go ashore in the barge if you wish to visit the place again."

"I don't think much of the place itself, but it is interesting to look at the people of various nations that one meets in the street there; and I want to do a little shopping," added the lady.

Lunch was served at noon that day. The bunkers of the Maud had been filled with coal, and she was all ready to get under way. The big four were very much excited, and they disposed of their mid-day meal very hastily. They would not have thought to take their overcoats if the anxious mothers of two of them had not insisted that they should do so. Felipe had been at work on the engine, with which he was more familiar than with any other, for he had served as engineer when she was in the service of the Pacha.

"The Mah-ood," he began when Louis went on board, pronouncing the name of the steamer as he read it on the sign.

"No, no!" exclaimed Louis, laughing heartily. "You have translated the word into Spanish or Turkish;" and he proceeded to drill the engineer in the pronunciation of the new name of the craft.

"The Maud," he repeated for the twentieth time.

"That will do very well, Felipe."

"The Maud used to make ten knots an hour when I worked for the Pacha," he continued. "I shall make her do so now."

"All right; but always be on the safe side."

"What you call the safe side?" asked Felipe, whose English was still very much at fault, especially in its idioms, though he did very well in simple conversation.

"Don't burst the boiler," laughed Louis.

He promised not to do so. Morris, the pilot, was in the pilot-house, where he had been at work a considerable part of his time in putting everything there in order and according to his own fancy, for he felt that this was his domain. Captain Scott was on the promenade deck, and he had prepared himself for his present duties.

Captain Ringgold had an abundance of charts, and among them one of four sheets of the Mediterranean Sea. This one had thirty plans of harbors and ports upon it, and among them one of the Strait of Gibraltar. The latter was about a foot long and eight inches wide, which the commander had cut out of the sheet and given to Captain Scott, who, for this reason, felt entirely confident in regard to his navigation. The only thing he needed was a parallel ruler, so that he could lay off the course from the compass designs given on every chart.

"Make the course south south-west, Mr. Woolridge!" he called to the pilot.

Morris was a little startled to hear himself "mistered;" but the fasts had been cast off by the accomplished deck-hands, and he rang the gong to go ahead. He had learned the bells as they were used on board of the Guardian-Mother; and he felt quite at home at the wheel, and not a little exhilarated to find himself steering such a beautiful little steamer as his regular duty.

"Do you know where you are, Captain Scott?" asked Louis playfully.

"Just as well as though I had been here all my life," replied he.

"I suppose you know your way out of this bay."

"As well as I know my way into bed when I am tired."

"But the course you gave out was south south-west."

"Which is precisely the course I wish to make."

"But I should think that would take you over upon Carnero Point."

"There is about eighteen and a half degrees of variation in the compass here, and the course I gave out will take us about south."

"I did not think of the variation," added Louis.

"If you look on the chart of these waters, you will find the diagram of the compass with the magnetic north indicated, and the other points adjusted to it," replied Captain Scott, as he produced the plan of the Strait of Gibraltar. "Using this you could not forget the variation, which is here given at 18° 50.′"

"I see that you are quite up on your navigation, Captain Scott."

"When I was sailing the Seahound I was sometimes out of sight of land, and if I hadn't known what I was about I should not have been able to get there."

"I think you are all right," added Louis, as he went aft.

He went into the engine-room, where he found Felipe as enthusiastic as the captain of the steamer. He was delighted to have a more responsible position than on board of the Guardian-Mother, and especially with the increase of his wages. He was an exceedingly steady young man, and Mr. Shafter and Mr. Sentrick had been very much pleased with him. They declared that he understood a marine engine perfectly; in fact, he had a genius for mechanics and machinery.

"Have you that thing to tell you how fast you go in the ship, Mr. Belgrave?" asked the engineer.

"You mean the log," replied Louis.

"Yes; I mean the log; but I don't know what you call him. La barquilla in Spanish."

"I thought that was a little boat; but you can't learn everything from the dictionary. But you must not call the barquilla either 'him' or 'her' in English, but 'it,' for we have only natural genders; and things that don't have life are neuter," said Louis, who was still assisting the young engineer to improve his English.

"No!" exclaimed Felipe. "What for you call the moon a 'she'? She don't have no life. My book he say"—

"It says," interposed the instructor.

"It says 'the ship she sails well.' The ship don't have no life."

"By a figure of speech called personification, or prosopopœia, we attribute life and action to inanimate objects," replied Louis, laughing, as he quoted from the grammar. "Now you understand it."

"No!" exclaimed Felipe; and his teacher did not suppose he could take in such a sentence; but he proceeded to render it into simpler language, with a long explanation; and possibly at the end of it the pupil had some faint idea of the figure of speech.

"You have not the barquilla?" he asked, glad to drop the grammar and rhetoric.

"We have no log-line on board," replied Louis.

"But I wish to know how fast the Maud is going."

"We can easily ascertain that from the chart."

"I don't understand," added Felipe, shaking his head.

"When we are off Tarifa I will tell you just how many miles we have run," said Louis, as he consulted his watch. "We are two miles off Europa Point, and it is just half-past one. Put that down on your slate."

On board of the Guardian-Mother the engineer on duty made a record of the working of the engine, just as the officer in charge of the ship commits everything to the log-slate, to be copied into the log-book; but the engineer of the Maud had not yet opened a record book. Louis wandered about the deck with nothing to do, and almost wished he had been made captain or pilot so that he might have some regular work.

But Captain Scott had already ordered that the deck-hands should relieve the pilot, and he was to have two hours' work in every eight. But he seated himself with Felix in the standing-room. There was enough to see, for the shores of Europe and Africa were both in sight, and the Strait was full of vessels passing in and out. The captain joined them for a time; but his talk was mainly of tides and currents, showing that he had studied the subject very carefully.

"I don't understand you, Captain Scott, much better than Felipe did me when I talked to him about personification as a figure of speech," said Louis.

"Sorra one word I can mahke uv ut," added Felix; and as has been occasionally stated before, the Milesian varied his dialect to suit all the four quarters of the Emerald Isle.

"I borrowed the North Atlantic Directory of Captain Ringgold when I saw him looking it over. It treats mainly of prevailing winds, of tides and currents," replied the captain. "I had read in some other book that a current from the Atlantic always sets into the Mediterranean through the Strait."

"Faix, Oi'd think the big say'd git full, loike an Oirishman at Donnybrook Fair," interposed Felix.

"The Directory don't take that view, and says it has sometimes been known to flow outward," added Scott. "But there are currents near the shores which set out on the tide."

"Then we seem to be mixed up in a lot of currents," said Louis. "Felipe is very anxious to know what speed the Maud is making; for he says her usual rate used to be ten knots an hour, though she averaged only about nine during our voyage from Madeira to Tarifa. He has been at work on the engine, and he thinks he can make even more than that out of her."

"Begorra, she is makin' ut loively this afternoon," suggested Felix.

"It is easy enough to come at it," replied Captain Scott. "I gave out west south-west for the course when we were just two miles off Europa Point, from which we take our departure. When the lighthouse at Tarifa bears north by the compass, we shall have run fifteen knots."

"That's it to a hair!" exclaimed Louis. "I knew it was to be done in about that manner."

The steamer continued on her course for over an hour along the north shore, and as the distance from the land increased the captain looked out for the bearings of Tarifa lighthouse.

CHAPTER XIX

ENTER ALI-NOURY PACHA AND THE FATIMÉ

There were two compasses on board of the Maud, and Captain Scott had one of them on the forecastle. Using his ingenuity, he had arranged a couple of sights so that he could accurately obtain the bearing of the Tarifa lighthouse.

"Now we have it!" exclaimed he at the right moment.

"Two: forty-five!" shouted Louis, as he looked at his watch.

"We took our departure at one: thirty, and we have made this distance in one: fifteen, fifteen miles," added the captain.

"But that is incredible!" protested Louis; "for that gives her twelve knots an hour, and, according to your statement, we have been going against the current that always sets out of the Strait."

"The Directory does not admit that it always sets that way, though it does so nearly always," said Scott. "Besides, the statement is that the tide sets out near the shores on both sides. It is in the middle of the Strait that the great current runs into the Mediterranean, and only the last five miles of our course was anywhere near the middle. It is plain enough to me that we have been helped by the outward current near the land, and retarded the last fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Swing six and cast out noine, and ye's will come to ut," laughed Felix, who did not take so much interest in the discussion as his companions.

Captain Scott took a piece of paper from his pocket and began to figure on it, though it was quite impossible to make the correct allowances for the current inward in the middle of the Strait and the ebb-tide near the shore of Spain.

"I think we can hit it pretty near," said he at last. "The tide helped us about a knot an hour, and the middle current kept us back about half a knot in twenty minutes. This is rather rough estimating, but I put it down that the Maud has made the equivalent of ten and a half knots an hour."

"Bully for the Maud!" shouted Felix.

"What you have done?" demanded Felipe, coming forward as far as the pilot-house.

"You have made ten and a half knots an hour, Mr. Engineer," replied Scott.

"Diez y medio nudos la hora," added Louis, saying the same thing in Spanish.

"Very good! I do more than that now," replied Felipe, delighted with the result.

"The eastern point of Tangier Bay is Point Malabata. Our course will take the steamer close to it, allowing a little for the current; and when it bears east half a mile distant, that will give us ten knots," said Captain Scott, looking at the chart all the time.

It was very evident to all on deck that the engineer was driving the engine to its utmost, and Louis thought it best to make a call upon him and caution him not to overdo the matter. Felipe pointed to the gage, and assured him that he was on the safe side, and that the boiler was very strong, for the Pacha had told him that he had required it to be built of double the ordinary strength. The steam-gage certainly indicated no danger; and, as Felipe would be the first one to be sent up into the air in case of an explosion, Louis concluded that he would not be willing to sacrifice himself as the first victim.

"What time is it now, Louis?" demanded the captain, when the steamer was off Point Malabata and half a mile beyond it.

"Three: thirty-five," replied Louis, who had drawn his watch before.

Scott began to figure again, repeating aloud his calculation as he proceeded.

"We have been through different currents since we began the last run," said he, with the plan in his hand. "Half the way we ran against the middle current, and the last half with the ebb-tide."

"How fast does the middle current run?" asked Louis.

"From twelve to twenty miles in twenty-four hours, the Directory says. I call it a knot an hour, and the ebb-tide the same," replied the captain. "This is not accurate, I know, but it is near enough for our present purpose."

"Well, what is the result when you have stirred the whole thing together?" asked Louis.

"We made the ten miles on the plan in fifty minutes. That is two-tenths of a knot a minute, which gives us just twelve knots an hour," answered the captain. "I had an idea that we were doing something of that sort."

"It seems incredible, for when we made our long voyage in the Maud, we timed her at nine knots an hour; and I went over the figures with the chart before me, when I got back to the Guardian-Mother."

"Sure, we were saving the coal thin, for we hadn't the layst bit of an oidea where we'd git any more," Felix interposed.

"Doce nudos la hora!" (Twelve knots an hour!) shouted Louis, when he saw Felipe come out of the engine-room.

"I am very happy," replied the engineer. "I know she could steamer that. She do it off Mogadore."

"She could steam that, not steamer," corrected Louis.

"I find something wrong which I don't see till to-day," added Felipe, who did not care much about his grammar and dictionary in his present delight.

"But where are we now, Captain Scott?" asked Louis, looking about him.

"You see Tangier ahead of you, don't you, Sir Knight?"

"I see it, Captain Sir Scott."

"You beat me on titles, Louis. There is Tangier; and it is only three miles distant," replied the captain. "You can see the big castle on the hill, the fort with three lofty arches lower down, and the minaret of a mosque in the distance. I don't know anything about the place; but I have heard the Pacha speak of it, and I think some of his property is there, for he said he had to go there often."

"Are we going ashore there?" asked Felix in good English.

"I think we had better not," said Scott, who was more pleased to sail the Maud than he was to see the sights on shore. "It is nothing but a one-horse Mohammedan city."

"Are you afraid of meeting the Pacha there?" asked Felix.

"I don't believe he is there; but I don't think he has any claim upon me now."

"You engaged in his service, and he provided you with a suit of Moorish garments," suggested Louis.

"He can have the suit now, if he wants it," replied Scott.

"But wouldn't you like to go back into his service, Captain?"

"No, I would not, for I am not the same fellow I was then, I hope."

"You certainly are not, Captain Scott," added Louis very decidedly.

"There are some camels on the shore!" exclaimed Felix, pointing to the animals.

"We saw enough of them in Mogadore," added Scott indifferently. "But if we are not going ashore, we will take a turn along the front of the city, and then head her for Gibraltar."

It was decided not to visit the city; and Morris was instructed to take the steamer along the shore, for the water was deep enough within a quarter of a mile of it. The Maud passed quite near to a great many feluccas with lateen sails, but there were no large vessels in sight.

Felipe had reduced the speed of the Maud so that she appeared to be making about ten knots an hour, which the captain said was fast enough for ordinary purposes; but the boat, it was now known, could make twelve, whenever occasion should require. The ship's company were soon satisfied with the view they obtained of the castle, the arches, the domed mosques, and the minarets, and the steamer stood out towards the broad entrance to the Strait.

Though Morris declared that he did not wish to be relieved at the wheel, the captain ordered Louis to take his place. The pilot insisted that it was nothing but fun to steer the boat, and he enjoyed every moment of the time he was so employed.

"But if it is fun, Morris, don't you think you ought to give the other fellows their share of it?" asked Captain Scott, with a cheerful smile on his face, as though he realized that he was addressing the pet son of a millionaire.

"I did not take that view of it, Captain, and was looking upon it as work, of which I was willing to do the lion's share," replied Morris. "I will cheerfully resign my place to Louis, and give him his share of the fun."

Louis took the wheel. The situation was not a novel one to him; for he had done his full part of the steering when it was regarded as work, especially from midnight till morning. But all the crew looked upon it as play under present circumstances. The Maud was now off the three tall arches, which seemed to be the support of a lofty battery at the seaward corner of the continuous wall which surrounded the city. The exterior view of the place had been obtained, and the captain was about to lay his course for Gibraltar.

"Sail, ho!" shouted Felix, who had been stationed at the bow to do duty as lookout; and the report came just at the moment when the change of helmsman was made.

"Where away?" demanded the captain.

"Dead ahead, sir," replied the lookout. "It is a steamer, and she is just coming around the point in front of us. Mind your eye, or she will run into us!" he shouted with a good deal of energy.

"Port the helm!" said Captain Scott sharply, as he went forward to the bow to obtain a better view of the approaching vessel.

The steamer was an elegant craft as she presented herself to the vision of the big four who were on the forecastle and in the pilot-house. She had just put her helm to starboard, and was rounding in so as to obtain a position in front of the city. As she turned a view of her ensign was obtained, and it was the red flag of Morocco, with what looked like a pair of curious shears in the middle of it, something like a pair of cimeters crossed.

"Just as sure as ye's live and braythe, it's the Fatty!" exclaimed Felix, beginning to be quite excited.

"It certainly looks like her," added Louis from the pilot-house.

"I can go a point farther than either of you, for I know she is the Fatimé," added Captain Scott. "Keep her off more, Louis!"

The Fatimé was the steam-yacht of Ali-Noury Pacha, a very wealthy and distinguished Moor, who had visited the Guardian-Mother when she was at Mogadore, and who had been so fascinated by the beauty and grace of Blanche that he became very disagreeable to the whole party. The ship had left that port at a very early hour in the morning to avoid meeting him again; but he had followed her to Madeira, where she had again run away from him.

The Pacha seemed to be desperately in earnest; for he pursued the party to Gibraltar, though the Guardian-Mother dodged him, and made a long trip in the waters of Europe. But the distinguished Moor had evidently made his usual yacht trip in the Mediterranean, and Captain Ringgold apprehended no further interference from him.

"There's the Pacha standing on the quarter-deck in full stage costume," continued Felix. "Bad luck to him!"

The Fatimé was now very near the Maud, and if the latter had not changed her course she would have collided with her. She was now abreast of her.

"Salihé, ahoy!" shouted the Pacha, who spoke good English.

"This is the Maud!" shouted Captain Scott, at the top of his lungs.

The Moorish steamer began to come about, and Felipe was ordered to put on all the steam he could raise.

CHAPTER XX

AN UNEXPECTED PERIL IN VIEW

The Fatimé was not more than fifty feet distant from the Maud, and the voice of the Pacha could be very distinctly heard when he hailed the little steamer by her old name. The reply of Scott must have been equally audible on board of the other steamer, but no attention was given to it. The distinguished Moor could not have helped seeing the name "Maud" on the pilot-house, for he had lived in England, and he could speak and write the language.

Scott had been in his employ at least a week, and he knew something about him. The one thing in particular he had learned about the Pacha was that he was obstinately persevering in whatever he undertook. If he took a fancy to obtain anything, or to accomplish anything, he stuck to it till he succeeded. The engineer and the captain of the Fatimé were Englishmen, though both of them spoke the language of Morocco well enough to enable them to discharge their duties.

Scott had been on board of the Fatimé, and had met and talked with these officers. They were paid much better wages than they could obtain at home, and were satisfied with the positions they held. They told him that, if he learned the language and did his duty, he would make his fortune. The Pacha had a respect for Englishmen; and doubtless he had learned that they would not "stand any nonsense," and that it was not prudent to offend them.

It had been far otherwise with Felipe Garcias, who had been the engineer of the Salihé in the Pacha's employ, for he was a Spaniard, and only eighteen years old. He was very religious; and, like the Mohammedans, he was very strict in the observance of his Catholic duties, and had a high moral sense. The distinguished Moor conducted some very questionable enterprises on board of the little steamer, and when the young man objected to obeying some of his orders, he was abused and maltreated. For this reason he had run away from his Mohammedan employer. It was largely a religious matter with him, while the Englishmen on board of the Fatimé did not trouble themselves or the Pacha about such questions.

"That steamer belongs to me!" shouted the mighty Mohammedan.

"That steamer belongs to me."

"We bought her and paid for her," returned the captain of the Maud; but the remark of the owner of the Fatimé seemed to open a new question.

Louis was startled at the claim of ownership made by the Pacha. Captain Chickworth had told a plausible story of the manner in which he had come into possession of the little steamer, and not a doubt had been raised or suggested in regard to his title in the craft. The young millionaire had not seen Chickworth's bill of sale from the Pacha; but he concluded that he had one, and probably Captain Ringgold had required it to be produced when he paid for her.

"Does he own the craft we are sailing in?" asked Felix, taking in the force of the Pacha's claim.

"Decidedly not," replied Louis. "I have not looked into Chickworth's rights in the steamer, and I never thought of the matter before. Captain Ringgold must have seen the Moor's bill of sale to him, and perhaps has it among his papers now."

"I filed the Gibraltar bills and papers early this morning, and I saw no such paper among them," added Felix, who was the captain's clerk.

"But the trade was not closed till the middle of the forenoon, and you did not see the bill of sale Chickworth must have given to the commander."

"That's so; I didn't think of that."

"I see you, Scott!" shouted the Pacha. "You ran away with Felipe, and stole the steam-launch!"

"That is bringing it home to Felipe and me," said the captain, with an attempt to laugh off the charge; but it was not altogether a success. "That's a lie, which you know as well as I do, Louis."

"Assuredly it is not the truth, and I know that you did not run away with Felipe, for we captured you at Funchal in your Moorish uniform."

"Though Felipe worked for the Pacha at the same time I did, I never even saw him till we met on board of this boat on the voyage from Madeira to Tarifa," protested Scott, who was evidently not a little disturbed by the accusation of the distinguished Moor.

"So I have heard you say before."

"And so Felipe will say. At the same time it is an awkward charge to be accused of stealing the steamer," protested the captain.

"That is true; and if you should be arrested and taken to Tangier, the Pacha would have it all his own way, and you would certainly be convicted. I doubt if they would even give you the form of a trial. But there is an American consul here, and he could make a good deal of trouble for the Moroccan."

"But I have no idea of being taken to Tangier or any other port in Morocco," Scott affirmed in the most resolute manner, shaking his head like a boy who is getting decidedly "mad."

"You are not going there voluntarily, you mean," suggested Louis.

"Neither voluntarily nor involuntarily!" protested the captain very warmly.

"But if you couldn't help yourself, you wouldn't go there voluntarily," said Felix, who was an attentive listener and a close observer of all that transpired.

"You had better translate that into ancient Greek so that we can't understand it, Flix," replied Louis.

"Oi kin translate it into modern Kilkenny Greek; but Oi have forgotten all the ancient Greek Oi iver knew, and that's sorra one bit," returned Felix. "If ye's can't help yersel', ye's can't prayvint the anti-pork ayters from taking ye's to Tangier. But Oi'll foight for ye's, Scotty darlint, wid me fishts and me revolver."

"Thank you, Felix; but I don't believe this is to be a matter of fighting so much as it will be of running away," replied Scott.

"Do you expect to run away from the Fatimé, Captain Scott?"

"That's the only way out of the scrape as I understand the situation," answered Scott, as he picked up the chart of the Strait, which lay on the miniature capstan upon the forecastle, and began to study it attentively.

"Do you expect to beat the Pacha's steamer on a straight run to Gibraltar, Captain Scott?" asked Louis incredulously.

"I don't know how fast the Fatimé is; but she was slow enough on the run from Mogadore to Funchal, though perhaps they did not hurry her. I don't believe I shall make a straight course of it to Gib," answered the captain, still studying the chart.

Louis had been directed to head the Maud for Point Malabata, and Scott stood by the open window of the pilot-house during the conversation. The little steamer had certainly gained upon the bigger one, which was said to be of about four hundred tons, for she had passed out of a convenient speaking distance of her. When first seen the Fatimé's smoke-stack seemed to be a useless appendage, for nothing issued from it; but as soon as she came about a volume of black smoke had begun to pour out of it, which was continuously increasing.

"Do you see the black smoke the Fatimé is sending out of her funnel?" asked Louis of the captain, who still retained his place at the window.

"I see it; and perhaps that explains why we have run away from her," replied Scott. "When we first discovered her she was just going into port, and, as the engineer had ordered his men to let the fires down in the furnaces, she was going very slowly. She had not steam enough to enable her to keep up with us. But as soon as the Pacha told his captain to chase the Maud, they began to shovel in the coal."

"That explains it all right," added Louis.

"I would give ten cents out of my own pocket to know how much water that steamer draws," continued Captain Scott, who was still gazing intently at the chart.

"I have not the least idea. She is two hundred tons less in burden than the Guardian-Mother, if that will give you any idea," replied Louis. "Perhaps Felipe knows something about it. Flix, stand by the engine and ask the engineer to come to the pilot-house."

"I'll do that same. I'll stand by the engine while Felipe comes here, and see that no one runs away with it while he is gone; but that is all I can do," replied the Milesian, as he went aft.

The Spaniard was shovelling in more coal at the furnaces when Felix went into the engine-room. He had been ordered to get up all the speed he could on the boat, but he had not been informed in regard to the occasion of this hurry. He promptly obeyed the summons of the captain. When he came to the door of the pilot-house he turned to enter, and then, for the first time, he discovered the Pacha's yacht astern of the Maud.

"La Fatimé!" he exclaimed, aghast at the sight of her, as he retreated in absolute terror.

"Verdaderamente" (Truly), added Louis. "But don't you be alarmed."

"The Pacha will put me in the prison!" gasped poor Felipe.

"Not a bit of it!" protested Captain Scott. "You belong to the Guardian-Mother, and Captain Ringgold will protect you."

It required some minutes to overcome the tribulation of the Spanish engineer. He had obtained an interior view of Mohammedan institutions, and he had a mortal terror of being restored to the service of his former master.

"We must run away from him, Felipe," said the captain.

"I don't know," added the engineer, shaking his head to intensify his doubt.

"Do you know how much water the Fatimé draws, Felipe?" asked Scott, as he looked through the back windows of the pilot-house over the promenade deck at the Pacha's steamer.

"Draws?" queried Felipe, who did not comprehend the meaning of the question, as he looked to his instructor for further light. "Ella no es caballo" (She is not a horse).

"How deep in the water does she set?" Louis interpreted the expression, and resorted to other paraphrases of the question till he made him understand it.

"Quince piés" (Fifteen feet), he answered, directing his reply to his teacher.

"Fifteen feet," repeated Louis to the captain.

"Good!" exclaimed Scott, to whom the answer appeared to be extremely satisfactory, and to stimulate very strongly his hopefulness, though he had not yet developed to his companions his plan for escaping from the Fatimé, if her speed proved to be greater than that of the Maud, as it would naturally be expected to be. "Go back to the engine, Felipe, and run it for all it is worth."

"All it is worth?" repeated the Spaniard, interrogatively.

"Make the steamer go as fast as you can," added Louis, taking Felipe by the arm and leading him back to the engine-room.

"All it is worth means very fast, doce nudos la hora", said Felipe, as he entered his apartment.

"Not always," replied Louis, laughing; "but that will do for the present."

"I think I have got the hang of the thing now," said Captain Scott, as Louis and Felix returned to the forecastle. "If we don't wax that fellow, I will quit guessing and go to New England to learn how."

"On board of the Guardian-Mother inferiors are not allowed to ask questions in the line of duty. I don't know how you are going to manage this business, Captain Scott, and I am unable to guess whether you will wax him or not."

"I will tell you all about it in due time; but I am busy just now, and you must excuse me," replied Scott, who had before taken the wheel himself.

Louis was satisfied, and kept a sharp lookout for the steamer astern.

CHAPTER XXI

EUCHRING THE GRAND MOGUL

Felipe Garcia, as the engineer of the Maud, had now a tremendous stimulant in the discharge of his duty, and Louis was only afraid he would overdo it. When the boat seemed to be in danger of shaking herself to pieces under the pressure applied to her, he went to the engine-room to inspect the steam-gage.

"No danger," said Felipe confidently; and the visitor could find none in the gage.

He cautioned the engineer to be very careful, assuring him that it would be worse to be scalded to death with the steam than to be captured by the Pacha. Felipe shook his head, and seemed to have some doubts about the truth of the proposition. Louis went back to the pilot-house. He informed the captain that the engineer was driving the engine "for all it was worth."

"I have been running for that tower on Point Malabata," said the captain, as Louis placed himself at the window.

"You are going very close to the shore, and you can see for yourself that the tide is getting low," said Louis, after he had taken an observation ahead.

"So much the better," added Scott. "I suppose the soundings on this chart are given at mean low water, as on all the others I have used."

"Low water would be very mean if we should get aground here," suggested Louis, who could not help being a little nervous about the boiler and about the close proximity of the shore.

"We shall not get aground, for I have my eyes wide open, Louis, and I know what I am about as well as I do when I take my grub on an empty stomach. Don't you be alarmed, my boy, and that non-eater of pork will go back to Tangier beaten out of his boots, or rather his Morocco slippers, for he don't wear boots."

"I hope you will be a true prophet in this instance, Captain Scott."

"A truer one than Mohammed ever was in spite of his reputation in Tangier and Mogadore as such."

"But you are really running her on the shore, Scott!" exclaimed Louis; and it looked to him as though the Maud was actually going over the point ahead.

"Not a bit of it, my hearty," replied the captain, who appeared to be in most excellent spirits in spite of the peril that menaced the little Maud.

He was in some such a mood as a gambler in an exciting game, or a number at base-ball, who are working for victory. Scott was the principal player in the present stirring game; and he was not only playing for victory, but to save himself and the engineer from the clutches of the Pacha.

"It looks as though we should be high and dry on the shore in five minutes more," added Louis.

"You are looking at the point around a corner, Louis. The flag-pole on the stem is your range. Just oblige me by stepping over to the other window, and take an observation from that position," said the captain, as confident as ever.

"That makes it look different," added Louis, after he had complied with the captain's request. "But you are running exceedingly close to the shore, any way."

"That is just what I mean to do," protested the captain warmly. "Now will you just keep watch of the Fatimé, if you please, for we have come to an exciting point in the game."

"A very exciting point, I should say; but with me the point is whether or not you are going to run the Maud on shore," replied Louis, as he changed his position for one at the rail, where he could obtain a full view of the chaser. "I beg to remind you, Captain Scott, that if we get aground, as I am afraid we shall, the Pacha can send off his boats with an overwhelming force, and make prisoners of the whole of the Maud's ship's company."

"I am well aware of it without any prompting," added the commander.

"You will excuse me, Captain Scott, for saying as much as I have, for I know that it isn't regular or proper to criticise the commanding officer; but I am really nervous about this business," Louis explained.

"Don't mention it, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Scott heartily. "We are only playing ship's company and navigation, and we are not strained up as they are on board a man-of-war. In fact, I have rather enjoyed your uneasiness, and I am not the least bit hurt or offended at anything you have said."

"I will try to do better."

"No need of it."

The young millionaire was watching the Pacha's steamer with all his eyes, and though he had only two of them, he was working them very hard. Felix and Morris had gone aft to the standing-room, where they had seated themselves on the plush cushions, and were observing the approach of the Fatimé, though she did not appear to have gained a foot on the chase. They did not see Malabata Point ahead, and had not worried over the matter which had exercised the patience and the nerves of Louis.

"The steamer astern is changing her course!" almost shouted the lookout on the forecastle.

"All right!" exclaimed Captain Scott. "That is just what I expected her to do, and it means victory for the Maud. This is a part of my little game."

"She is headed almost to the north now," added Louis.

"Precisely so," returned the captain at the wheel, who seemed to be as cool now as a frozen cucumber. "Now come up to the window where I can hear you think, and I will explain my plan from the beginning."

At this moment Morris and Felix rushed forward to announce the change in the course of the Fatimé; but they were too late, and the captain sent them back.

Captain Scott proceeded to explain his plan. Near the shore the water was shallow on the coast of Africa, as it is on most others when not more than a cable's length distant from the dry land. The Almirante Rocks are off the point; and though there was depth enough for the Maud, yet the pilot of the Fatimé would not risk his vessel on them. Three miles beyond the rocks was the Cana Coja Reef, extending about two miles, and reaching about the same distance out from the land.

"How deep is the water off here?" asked Louis.

"In some places it is only from three to twelve feet deep," replied Scott, who had kept his eyes fixed on the chart half the time.

"Three feet!" exclaimed the deck-hand. "The Maud would certainly stick her keel into that bottom."

"But I don't intend to put her through any such water as that," protested the captain. "Just where we are the depth is not more than a fathom and a half a cable's length from the shore; but we shall keep outside of that place."

"A cable's length seems to me to be a rather indefinite measure," suggested Louis.

"Not at all; it is as definite as a two-foot rule. It is just the tenth of a mile, for it takes ten of them to make a mile."

"I did not know that it had a particular extent, but supposed it was used in a sort of general way, like a great many other expressions of sailors."

"Not at all; but I think it would be well for Morris to heave the lead in this locality, though I am confident we shall go through all right," added Captain Scott. "You may pass the word for him to do so."

Louis delivered the order to the pilot in the standing-room, and he went forward to attend to the duty assigned to him, and this time they had a hand-lead for such occasions as the present. On his way back the messenger stopped at the engine-room, and had some talk with Felipe, who was still driving the machine at its best. Louis had a purpose in doing so, for he desired to obtain some information from the engineer in regard to the speed of the Fatimé.

"I don't know precisamente," replied the engineer, mixing his English and Spanish. "I was at Mogadore when come the Fatimé from England. I hear the Pacha; he say the vapor was not quick enough; he must go more than twelve miles in one hour. He say this to Señor Tomlin: he was the engineer; he come from England. He say he was best for once y medio nudos la hora."

"She was good for eleven and a half knots an hour," repeated Louis, translating the substance of the reply.

"He made twelve nudos some time," added Felipe.

"All right; that will do," said Louis, encouraged by this information, as he hastened forward to communicate it to the captain.

"She is not making more than eleven knots now, if she is doing as much as that," replied Scott when he had heard what the deck-hand had to say. "But she has not got a full head of steam yet. We shall come out off Point Al Boassa more than a mile ahead of her."

The Maud was making a nearly straight course of three miles while the Fatimé was going a mile and a half outside of the rocks and reefs. The former was making the best speed possible for her, and Scott was sure it was not less than twelve knots; but she was forced to her utmost to accomplish this result.

The run from one point to the other was three and a half miles; and it has taken longer to tell about it than it did to do it. The Maud was approaching the second headland, where the race must terminate, unless the captain decided to follow the coast to the south-east, in order to keep in shoal water where the chaser could not follow her.

"Mark under water two!" shouted Morris with energy, for he was still heaving the lead on the starboard side.

"All right; that is just as it should be," said the captain, as he put the helm a little to starboard. "That is the shoalest place within half a mile of the shore."

"We are all right in two fathoms," replied Louis. "The report was 'mark under water,' which gives more than that."

"I want some leeway under the keel, for whatever you may think of me, I am a prudent fellow," laughed Scott. "Now we have to decide on our future course. If I follow the shore and keep in shallow water, it will take us a long way out of our course, for it trends to the south, forming the arc of a considerable circle."

"We don't want to go out of our way if we can help it," added Louis.

"This is Point Al Boassa broad on the starboard bow, about a mile distant," continued Scott, pointing to it.

"That sounds like a Moorish name."

"It is the name on the chart; and that is all I know or care about it. Now, it is just ten miles across the Strait to Tarifa."

"Not more than that?"

"Exactly that; but it is fifteen miles more to the New Mole in Gibraltar. The question to be decided within the next five minutes is whether we shall follow the shore to the south-east, or stick it across to Tarifa."

"How much the lead of the Fatimé have we?" asked Louis.

"We shall come out a mile and a half ahead of her; but she is going to develop more speed very soon."

"I am decidedly in favor of making the course for Tarifa," replied Louis. "I don't believe she can overhaul us before we get across, if ever."

"Just my idea; across it is," responded Scott. "But we are not quite up with the point yet. If the Pacha's steamer comes too close to us, we can run into the shoal water on the other side. We shall euchre the Grand Mogul yet."

Louis did not feel as nervous as before.

CHAPTER XXII

CONSTERNATION ON BOARD THE SHIP

The Maud had certainly developed a rather remarkable speed for a boat of her size; but she had been built on the Clyde for the Pacha, and twelve knots had been stipulated as the speed she was required to make in the contract. Felipe had explained as well as he could that something had been the matter with the machinery even before he left the service of the distinguished Moor.

Neither he nor the engineer of the Fatimé could ascertain what it was; but that morning, when he made a thorough overhauling of the machine, after his appointment as her engineer, he had discovered a bolt which had dropped into a place where it impeded the movement of the piston. He had removed it, and the result had been seen during the afternoon. But for this discovery the Grand Mogul, as all of them were in the habit of calling him in a sort of mild derision, might have bagged his game.

"Here we are, exactly off the point, Louis. What time is it now?"

"Thirty-seven minutes past four," answered the deck-hand. "We were off Point Malabata at precisely four: twenty."

"And the distance is three and a half miles," added Scott. "You may take the wheel now, Louis, and I will figure up the speed of the Maud."

"Give me the course, if you please, Captain," said Louis, as he took the spokes.

"North-east and a quarter north," replied Scott, who had evidently taken it from the chart before; and for the want of a parallel rule he was compelled to resort to expedients in order to find it.

"North-east and a quarter north," repeated Louis; and he watched the compass till he had the steamer on the course indicated.

Possibly some non-nautical readers would like to know how the skilful commander of the Maud had taken from the chart the course he had given out. A parallel rule is used in obtaining it. This is two rules, each an inch or less in width, with a brass piece connecting them, with pins at each end of it having play enough to permit the two wooden parts to be spread out. When the parallel rules are together, the brass bar joining them lies at a sharp angle with their length, so that one of the parts may be moved out from the other till the brass bar is at right angles with the length.

Captain Scott laid the outer edge of the right-hand rule on the course he had marked on the chart with a pencil, from Point Al Boassa to Tarifa. On the chart before him was a diagram of the compass. It was divided into four quarters by two heavy black lines. The one within two points of perpendicular had an arrow at the upper end, which pointed to the magnetic north, though on some American charts the true north is indicated. On this diagram the thirty-two points of the compass are marked; the heavy black line across the figure showed the east and the west.

Putting one or more fingers on the right-hand rule, the navigator of the Maud held it fast in the position in which he had placed it. With the left hand he moved the other rule out as far as he could, which left an opening two and a half inches wide, more or less, between the two parts of the implement. Holding the left-hand rule fast to the paper, he moved the right up to it. Then the whole rule had been moved over two inches. He repeated these movements till he had brought the edge of the ruler on the centre of the compass diagram. If this edge had rested on the north-east and south-west marks, the course would be either one or the other of these two. The navigator knows that his general course is to the northward, and he has accurately obtained the direction in which he is to sail.

But Scott found that the edge of his rule came a little to the left of the heavy mark for north-east, and the same to the right of south-west. He had to estimate that it was a quarter of a point beyond the line. The points on some compasses are divided into halves and quarters, so that the helmsman has no difficulty in keeping the point he is to steer on the notch.

Louis moved the wheel till he brought the line of north-east a quarter north on the notch, which is made in the immovable part of the compass. The pilot-house of the Maud was small, but it was large enough to contain a sofa, or divan, across the back; and here the captain seated himself to figure up the present speed of the steamer. Three and one-half miles in seventeen minutes was an easy problem to solve.

"Twelve and two-tenths knots an hour!" he shouted in his delight at the result, which he had obtained in three repetitions of the calculations; and this time he was sure there was no mistake, for it was dead low tide, and there were no allowances to be made.

"Then we are certainly all right, and we shall not fall into the clutches of the Grand Mogul," replied Louis.

"I would not give two cents to the Bank of England to guarantee that he will not overhaul us. But he may follow us to Gib," suggested Scott.

"If he does, Captain Ringgold will have the settling of the matter."

Both of them proceeded to wonder what the commander of the Guardian-Mother would do; but while they were so engaged, Felipe was driving the engine "for all it was worth." The captain kept a sort of log on his paper, and he had noted the time of the departure from the last point on the African coast, which was four: thirty-seven. It was five: twenty-seven when the Maud was within hail of the Tarifa lighthouse.

"Ten miles in fifty minutes!" exclaimed Captain Scott, still working his mathematics. "That's twelve knots an hour, but the two-tenths are missing, though the inward current ought to have been in our favor; but two-tenths of a knot is only two cable lengths, and that is near enough."

"I should say that it was," answered Louis. "She has been driven to make that; and I suppose her ordinary speed when not forced is about ten, which is good enough. But where is the Grand Mogul?"

"There she is, about a mile and a half astern of us," replied Scott, as he went to the door. "She has not gained an inch on us, and I have come to the deliberate conclusion that the Fatimé's speed is about twelve knots an hour when she is doing her best. But neither the Pacha nor his pilot has been smart."

"As smart as the speed of his craft will permit," added Louis.

"No, he is not; but if I had been in command of that hooker, I should have been nearer the Maud than she is now."

"You evidently have a pretty good opinion of Captain Scott, and when you tell the coon up the tree to come down, you expect him to do so," laughed Louis.

"Brag is a good dog, but that is not my name. Of course that Mohammedan reprobate knows that we are bound to Gib; but he has followed us just as though he expected us to fetch up at Tarifa. He has not even changed his course yet."

"He will be smart enough to do it very soon. What would you have done, Captain Scott, if you had been the commander of the Fatimé?" asked Louis.

"Instead of doing as he has done, I should have headed her directly for Europa Point, and gained all the distance we are ahead of her."

"But you would have done the same thing as soon as she changed her course."

"That is true; but it is none of his bread and butter. We have no occasion to run into shoaler water now, and you may make the course east. Here, Flix, it is time for you to take your trick at the wheel," called Captain Scott.

"I'll be moighty glad to do ut!" exclaimed the Milesian. "But Oi'm willin' to aise up on my share of the foon for the benefut of the poilot and the odther dechk-hahnd."

"Take your turn, Flix, and head her east till you come to the Moro Rock," added the captain.

"Is ut the Moro Rochk? Faix, I don't know ut be soight; Oi've niver been introjuiced," said Felix, as he took the wheel.

"It is the first point you come to, about eight miles ahead."

Felix knew it when he came to it, and the course was then a point more to the north. The Fatimé did not change her direction till she was within a mile of the Tarifa lighthouse, and the ship's company of the Maud had imbibed a certain contempt for her, handsome as she was. Carnero Point was passed, and Felix was directed to run directly for the light on the New Mole, which was illuminated though it was not yet dark.

Louis had his watch in hand when the Maud ran alongside of the Guardian-Mother, and it was quarter of seven.

"You have made good time!" called Captain Ringgold. "What steamer is that coming over from Carnero Point?"

"Rush on board of the ship, and tell the captain all about it, Louis!" cried Scott, as soon as the Maud was abreast of the gangway.

Louis leaped upon the steps, and hastened up to the deck, confronting the commander on the rail.

"Is it possible that you have come back without an adventure?" demanded Captain Ringgold, as he grasped the hand of his owner.

"No, sir; it is not possible," replied Louis, as they stepped down upon the deck. "You asked what steamer that was coming in from Carnero Point?"

"I did; do you know her?" And Louis could see that the commander wore an anxious look on his face.

"I do know her, for she has been chasing us for the last three hours. She is the Grand Mogul's steam-yacht, the Fatimé," replied Louis.

"Chasing you? Then how in the world did you get away from her?" demanded the captain, with a heavy frown upon his brow.

"We ran into shoal water and gained a mile and a half on her; but Captain Scott can tell you all about that better than I can. He managed exceedingly well, sir."

"Did I understand you to say, Louis, that the steamer approaching was the Fatimé?" asked Mr. Woolridge, putting his hand on the young man's shoulder, for he had been seated near the gangway smoking his cigar, and had overheard the report made to the captain.

Louis looked at the commander, but made no reply.

"I am sorry to say that it is the Fatimé," added Captain Ringgold. "But you need not be concerned in the least about the Pacha, for he shall not put his Morocco shoes on the deck of this ship, Mr. Woolridge;" and he spoke in such a decided tone that the father of the beautiful Blanche was immediately reassured.

In a few minutes, and before the Grand Mogul's steamer had reached her anchorage, it was known that Ali-Noury Pacha had arrived; for some of them recognized the vessel, and Mr. Woolridge and the captain could not deny her identity when the question was put to them. Mrs. Woolridge was much disturbed, and Dr. Hawkes took charge of her. With the commander's assurance that the Pacha should not come on board of the ship, he succeeded in quieting her.

"Come on board, all of you," called Captain Ringgold to those still on board of the Maud; and they promptly obeyed, Scott declaring that there was to be "music" very soon.

"Mr. Boulong," continued the commander a little later.

"On deck, Captain," reported that officer, touching his cap.

"That Mohammedan humbug will probably attempt to get on board of the Guardian-Mother; and he is to be prevented from doing so even if you have to fling him overboard," said Captain Ringgold in his firmest and most severe tones, and with his two fists clinched. "The Maud is abreast of the gangway, and he will doubtless board her first. Don't let him or any of his people on board of her. Take eight men with you, and station them along the port rail.

"He shall not board her, sir," replied the first officer, as decidedly as his superior had spoken; and in five minutes more he and his men were on the deck of the Maud.

Mr. Gaskette, the second officer, was directed to patrol the starboard side of the ship, and permit no one to come on board from that side.

CHAPTER XXIII

A FUGITIVE FROM THE ENEMY

The Fatimé came to anchor just inside of the New Mole, not more than three cable lengths distant from the Guardian-Mother. When Louis first saw her off the castle at Tangier, he concluded that the Pacha had business at that port. When seen three months before, he declared that he held no official position under the government; but this might have been, even while he was one of the most influential men of his country.

If His Highness had business on the Mediterranean, especially at Tangier, which was a Moroccan port, it could not have been very pressing, or he would not have been at liberty to follow the Maud. Now he seemed to have a roving commission to go where and when he pleased. As the voyagers had learned at Funchal, he was a lawless character; and this information had been fully confirmed by Felipe, who had observed his outgoings and his incomings as engineer of the little steamer.

After Mr. Boulong had taken possession of the Maud and his men had been stationed on board of her, Felipe, who had been obliged to remain in charge of the engine when the rest of the ship's company left, was in a very disturbed state of mind. From the starboard door of his apartment he had seen the Fatimé when she rounded the end of the New Mole and came to anchor. He was absolutely terrified at the sight of her, for he knew that the Pacha was on board. But he had not been told that the distinguished Moor claimed to own the Maud, and had recognized Scott on board of her, for Louis thought this information would needlessly alarm him.

Captain Ringgold descended the gangway steps and went into the cabin of the Maud, in order that he might be close at hand to direct any movement that might become necessary. The commander had hardly seated himself before Felipe, who had seen him when he came on board, presented himself before him.

"He take me!" exclaimed the young Spaniard, pointing in the direction of the anchorage of the Pacha's steamer; and his limbs actually shook with terror.

"No, he will not take you, Felipe; he will not take anybody," replied the captain in a mild tone.

"I run away with the Salihé, and he have the law," added the engineer.

"He may cause you to be arrested; but if he does, I will see that you are properly defended," replied the commander, who realized that the young man was technically guilty of stealing the little steamer, though she had been returned to the owner.

"No matter if you did run away with the Salihé; the Pacha abused you, and you were justified in leaving him in any way you could. My feet would not keep still if my body was abused," said Captain Ringgold, though he realized that the case presented some difficulties.

Felipe did not understand the speaker, for his language was above the comprehension of the Spaniard. The first sentence he had uttered, that the engineer should not be taken, was plain enough to him, and that was really all he had been able to make out; but he was satisfied with this, and thanked the captain.

"Have you drawn the fires, Felipe?" asked the commander.

"Not yet," replied the engineer, who was better posted on the technicalities of the machinery than in ordinary matters. "I was to draw the fires when I see you come down."

"Bank them, and keep the steam up."

This was also understood, and the engineer hastened back to the machine, willing to leave his case with the commander, who, he thought, was a bigger man than Ali-Noury Pacha.

"Shore boat alongside, sir, containing a half-drowned Turk," reported Mr. Boulong at the cabin door.

"A Turk!" exclaimed the captain.

"Perhaps I should have said a Moor; but he looks more like a turkey-buzzard just now," the first officer explained. "I rather think he comes from the Pacha's steamer. He wants to come on board."

"I will go out and look at him," replied the captain, as he followed Mr. Boulong out of the cabin and to the gangway of the Maud, which was on the quarter. "We have no interpreter if the fellow is a Moor."

"None is needed, for the man speaks English as well as I do," replied the officer. "He wears the uniform of a Moor; but I don't believe he is one."

The man in the shore boat stood up in the stern-sheets. He wore the Moorish costume; but his garments were soaked with water, and hung to him like a Monday morning wash on the clothes-line. His clothes certainly needed washing, for they were be-grimed with oil and coal dust. He was not regarded as dangerous, and he was permitted to come on deck.

"I run away from the Fatimé," said he without waiting to be questioned and in good enough English.

"Are you a Moor?" inquired the captain.

"No, sir; I am an Englishman. I shipped as an oiler when that steamer was there; but I was abused, kicked, and beaten by the engineer, who is an Englishman like myself, because I criticised some of the proceedings of the Pacha, who is the worst heathen I ever met."

"We know something about him," added Captain Ringgold encouragingly.

"Mr. Tomlin told me I did not mind my own business when he kicked me and blacked one of my eyes with his fist," added the fugitive. "I will drown myself before I will go back to the Fatimé. If I go on shore the Pacha will have me arrested, for he spends a great deal of money here, and the people will do anything he wants done."

The commander evidently pitied the poor fellow, whose "feet could not keep still when his body was abused," and he had used them in swimming away from the Pacha's steamer. The boatman said he had picked him up some distance from the Fatimé, and he wanted his fee. The fugitive drew a purse from his pocket, and gave the boatman half a sovereign on his promise not to tell any one that he had picked him up.

"That is a big fee, when a shilling would have paid you well," interposed the captain.

"But I gave him ten shilling to hold his tongue," said the runaway oiler.

"All right, if the boatman keeps his promise; and if he don't keep it, I will have him keel-hauled," replied the commander.

The boatman protested that he would not whisper a sound to any one, and he was permitted to depart. Captain Ringgold seemed to be somewhat perplexed, for he bit his lip, and his forehead wrinkled as though he was doing some heavy thinking. Doubtless he was considering whether or not he was doing right in harboring the fugitive from the Mohammedan craft; but the man had been abused, and had not been able to procure his discharge from the vessel, or he would not have jumped overboard and swam away from her.

The commander believed the man was honest, and his narrative was consistent in itself. He was an expert in the reading of character. He asked some further questions, and learned that his name was John Donald. He had been fourth engineer of the Spanish steamer Guadiana, which had been wrecked in the West Indies. He was tempted to take a position as oiler in the Fatimé by the high wages offered him; but he had been cheated out of half that was due him by the engineer, whom he called a brute and a villain, though he was his own countryman.

"Pass the word for Mr. Belgrave; invite him to come on board of the Maud, Mr. Boulong," said the commander when he had decided what to do.

One of the men was sent on board the ship for him, and while he was absent the captain went to the engine-room. Louis presently came on board and found the captain trying to understand what the engineer was saying to him.

"I don't get ahead much in talking with Felipe," said he with a laugh. "His English and my Spanish are about on a par. I want to know what there is under the forecastle of the Maud, for I have never looked the boat over very closely."

"I can tell you that, sir, without any help from Felipe," replied Louis. "It has a forecastle below deck as well as above. It is a very cunning little apartment, in which there are two berths."

"I live in there when I was in Mogadore," interposed the engineer.

"Take off the hatch-cover, Felipe;" and the captain and owner followed him to the forecastle.

The scuttle was removed, and a sort of step-ladder appeared leading down to the little room. It was dimly lighted by bulls' eyes of glass in the deck; but with the scuttle taken off one could see to read there.

"Send Donald, the turkey-buzzard, down here, Mr. Boulong," called the captain; and in a few moments the fugitive descended the steps.

"Do you think you could manage to live in such a place as this, Donald?" asked the captain.

"Very well indeed, sir; I ask for nothing better than this," replied Donald.

"Then you may remain here for the present; but if anybody comes on board from the Fatimé, I shall have the hatch put on, and you can hook it down from below. I think the place is ventilated on either side through the bulkhead."

"There is a door on the port side which leads aft to the fire-room," added Louis, who had fully explored the interior of the vessel.

The commander led the way to the deck, where he ordered a bucket of water, soap, and towels to be sent to the fugitive. Donald was a young man, not more than twenty-five years old, but about the size of Louis and Scott, both of whom had "got their growth." When Captain Ringgold spoke of clothes for the new man, Louis went on board the ship, and brought back the suit he had worn when he was first taken on board the Guardian-Mother from the sand-spit on the shore of New Jersey. It was a comfortable every-day suit, and he presented it to Donald, with a shirt, collar, and tie.

The oiler was deeply grateful to him for the gift, and he was left alone to make his toilet. He had hardly returned to the deck before Mr. Boulong announced that a boat was putting off from the Pacha's steamer. The commander had retired to the cabin, and Louis joined him there.

"I suppose you want me out of the way, do you not, Captain Ringgold?" asked he, as he presented himself.

"Not at all, Sir Louis," promptly replied the commander. "I may want some orders from you; for, as you can see for yourself, the situation has been wholly changed by the appearance of the steamer of that Mohammedan humbug. I don't care a rap for his religion if he were only a decent fellow; but his record at Funchal is very bad indeed, and I will have nothing to do with him."

"Mrs. Woolridge is worrying herself half to death since the Fatimé let go her anchor over there," replied Louis.

"She will be more disturbed than ever when she sees that boat approaching," added the captain.

"The Pacha himself is in the boat," reported Mr. Boulong at the open door.

"All right; only observe the orders I gave you. Tell his Serene Highness that I decline to receive him," replied the commander. "You may go on the promenade deck, where you can see all that passes and hear what is said, Louis; but don't interfere. And see that the hatch over the forecastle is put on."

Louis was glad enough to avail himself of this permission, and hastened forward, taking a lantern from the engine-room as he did so. He found the fore scuttle still open, and he carried the lantern down. He lighted the lamp, and then told Donald to hook down the hatch, for the Pacha's boat was coming. From the deck he proceeded up the ladder near the pilot-house to the upper deck, and seated himself where he could see the gangway.

CHAPTER XXIV

A STORMY INTERVIEW WITH ALI-NOURY PACHA

The boat of the Pacha was an elegant barge pulled by eight oarsmen, all dressed in Oriental costume. His Highness sat in the stern-sheets on velvet cushions. As the Maud lay alongside the Guardian-Mother's gangway, the coxswain, whose place was abaft the back-board, steered directly for the little steamer. Her gangway was nothing but half a dozen steps, hooked upon the rail, and could be shifted to any part of the vessel. The barge ran alongside, and the bowman fastened to it with a boat-hook.

"No one allowed on board," said Mr. Boulong, who had stationed himself at the gangway with four stout seamen near him.

"I wish to go on board of the steamer at your side, the Guardian-Mother," said the Pacha.

"No one is allowed on board of her, sir," answered the first officer.

"But I wish to see her commander," persisted Ali-Noury.

"He declines to receive you, sir," added Mr. Boulong.

"Declines to receive me!" exclaimed the Pacha. "This is an insult!"

"I don't know what it is; but I obey my orders, sir," returned the officer.

"But I must see him!" protested the owner of the Fatimé, as he laid his hand upon the steps, as though he intended to ascend them to the deck.

"Knott and Williams," called Mr. Boulong; and the two men presented themselves on the instant.

"Haul in the gangway!" said the officer sharply.

The Pacha held on at the steps; but the men, who were good seamen, obeyed their orders to the letter, and in a moment more His Highness was hanging to them over the deep water.

"The Pacha held on at the steps."

"Shake him off!" said Mr. Boulong in a low tone.

The seamen continued to haul in the gangway, shaking it vigorously as they did so. Knott had an idea of his own; and when they had drawn the steps nearly up, he let them slide back with a jerk, Pacha and all, till the Moor was wrenched from his hold, and thrown back into the barge, all in a heap, in the stern-sheets.

"Very well done, Knott!" exclaimed the first officer.

The coxswain of the boat hastened to pick up his master, and place him on the cushioned seat. Of course he was as wrathy as a respectable Mohammedan could be, to say nothing of such a one as Noury was.

"What do you mean, you rascal?" demanded His Highness, glowering at the first officer as though he would subject him to the bowstring if he could get hold of him. "Do you intend to drown me?"

"I do not, sir; but if you attempt to come on board of this steamer, you, and not I, will be responsible for the consequences," replied Mr. Boulong.

"But I told you I wished to see the commander of the Guardian-Mother," stormed the Pacha.

"And I told you that he declined to receive you."

"May I ask why he declines to receive me?" demanded Noury.

"That is the commander's business, and not mine."

"But I must and will see him!" His Highness persisted.

"I can only say, sir, that if you succeed in getting on the deck of this steamer, it will be my duty to have you thrown overboard, or into your barge, as the case may be," answered Mr. Boulong.

Captain Ringgold had placed himself on his knees on the divan, with his head at the after window of the cabin. He realized that Noury was in earnest, and he considered it rather mean to require the first officer to fight his battle for him. He came out of the cabin, and placed himself at the side of Mr. Boulong.

"Good-evening, Captain Ringgold," said the Pacha as soon as he saw him.

"Good-evening, sir," replied the commander coldly. "If you have any business with me, I will hear it from where you are."

"I desire to go on board of the Guardian-Mother;" and Noury seemed to have an excellent memory, for he remembered all the names.

"I cannot permit you to do so. I decline to receive you on board of my ship, or anywhere else," replied the captain firmly.

"That is an insult, sir!" protested the Moor.

"It is not intended as such, but is simply the plain statement of my position in regard to you."

"What is your position?" demanded the Pacha furiously.

"Simply that I decline to associate with you, and the ladies and gentlemen on board of the Guardian-Mother occupy the same position. In other words, they refuse to associate with you, or to receive you."

"This is very extraordinary!" gasped the Moor.

"I do not so regard it."

"Does the young lady, Miss Blanche, refuse to see me?" asked the Pacha in a more moderate tone.

"Most decidedly; and her mother declines to permit her to see you."

"It is very strange," said Noury with a savage frown on his handsome face. "I thought the young lady was pleased with me."

"You were never more mistaken in your life."

"Will you inform me why you refuse to receive me, Captain Ringgold?"

"I do not wish to offend Your Highness; but I must speak the truth if I speak at all."

"Speak out, by all means, Captain."

"As you insist, I will do so. Your reputation among the respectable people of Funchal, where you go occasionally in your steamer, is so bad, so black, that I should not be justified in introducing you to any true lady," replied the commander boldly and resolutely, hoping this plain statement would put an end to the attempts of the Moor to force himself into the presence of his cabin party.

"This is an unmitigated insult, and I hold you responsible for it, Captain Ringgold!" roared the Pacha, loud enough to be heard on board of the Guardian-Mother. "A friend of mine will wait upon you to-morrow, sir!"

"In advance I decline to receive either you or any friend of yours. I think it is time to terminate this interview."

"You are a coward, sir!"

"I have nothing more to say."

"But I have. You have interfered with my affairs. You have on board of your steamer a young fellow who ran away from my service," continued Noury more calmly as he came down to business. "His name is Scott."

"Scott is my apprentice, bound to me by his father in writing: and when he was seen in Funchal, he was taken and brought back."

"Very well; let that pass. This little steamer was stolen from me by the engineer I employed."

"But she was restored to you, made fast to the Fatimé at this mole," replied the captain. "You took possession of her again, and then sold her to a man by the name of Giles Chickworth."

"I claim the boat as my property," the Pacha insisted.

"You sold her to Chickworth, and I bought her of him."

"It was not a legal sale."

"I beg your pardon, it was; for I have the bill of sale you gave him, signed by you, and with your flourish," argued the commander, taking the paper from his pocket and unfolding it.

He held it up so that the Moor could see his signature. He seemed to be confounded, and had certainly been beaten on every point he had attempted to make. But he was evidently far from satisfied with the result of the conference. He declared that he should cause the arrest of Scott for stealing the suit of clothes he had loaned him; and if he could find the young Spaniard who had stolen his steamer, he would have him arrested also, and have them both sent to Mogadore for trial and punishment.

"You have grossly insulted me, Captain Ringgold; and you have refused to give me the satisfaction which one gentleman has the right to demand of another," stormed the Pacha, apparently as a parting shot.

"I am not a duellist; and if I were, I do not regard you as a gentleman any more than do the people of Funchal, and I should not feel obliged to accept your challenge," replied the commander very quietly.

"Another insult! If I find you in the streets of Gibraltar, I will castigate you as an infidel cur!" foamed the Moor.

"If you assault me, I am able to defend myself, and I shall do so," replied the captain as the barge shoved off.

"Do you suppose he will arrest Scott and Felipe, Captain?" asked Louis, as he jumped down from the promenade deck, not a little disturbed at the apparent peril of his friends.

"He can certainly cause their arrest, and make a great deal of trouble; but it will amount to nothing in the end, unless the law is such that he can extradite them, and send them into Morocco, as he threatens to do. I don't intend to permit him to do anything of the sort," replied the commander so quietly that Louis was satisfied he knew what he was about.

By this time it was quite dark, and the Pacha's boat disappeared in the gloom. Mr. Boulong was called, and directed to have the bunkers of the Maud filled with coal as soon as possible. Two men were stationed on the little steamer as an anchor watch, with orders to allow no person to come on board of her. John Donald was called up from the forecastle, and directed to the cabin, which Knott had been ordered to light.

Donald presented himself before the commander, and he looked like another person. He was clean, and the clothes of Louis fitted him perfectly. He had the appearance of an intelligent person, as the captain had before regarded him.

"Do you speak Spanish, Donald?" asked the commander.

"I do, sir; for I have been the fourth engineer of a Spanish steamer where I was obliged to use it; but I studied it at home with my father, who talked in four languages besides his own," replied the oiler. "I can speak Arabic, for I expected to get a position on an Egyptian steamer."

"Very good. Are you satisfied with the quarters where you dressed yourself?"

"Perfectly, sir."

"Are you ready to go to work at once?"

"Quite ready, sir."

The same wages that Felipe was to receive was offered to him, and he was satisfied with the pay. Louis wondered what the commander was driving at, and what he wanted of another oiler, for he had already shipped one for the Guardian-Mother to take the place of the young Spaniard.

"I am going on board of the ship now, Sir Louis; but I wish to see the whole of your ship's company, as you please to call yourselves, in half an hour, in this cabin," said Captain Ringgold, as he rose to leave. "Introduce Donald to Felipe, for they will have occasion to know each other before morning."

Louis took the new employee to the engine-room, and presented him to the engineer in Spanish; and he left them talking the language with all their might. He went on board of the ship, and summoned the other three of the big four to the conference in the cabin of the Maud, assuring them that "something was up," though he did not know what. The captain went to the chief steward, and an hour or two later several boxes, baskets, and kegs were put on board of the little steamer.

At the time appointed the commander found the big four in the cabin of the Maud. Felipe and Donald were sent for, and all were seated around the table. Captain Ringgold looked more serious than usual. Of course they all knew that he had had an interview, and a stormy one, with the Pacha, and Felipe had been trembling for his own safety all the evening.

"The Pacha threatens to have Scott and Felipe arrested to-morrow; but I have decided that he shall find neither of them here," said the commander. "I shall send you all to sea to-night at twelve in the Maud. Do you think you can navigate her to Valetta, Malta, Captain Scott?"

"I know I can, sir," replied he, delighted with the thought.

"Compelled by circumstances to change my plans, we shall spend the rest of the summer cruising in the Orient," added the captain.

CHAPTER XXV

THE STARBOARD AND PORT WATCHES OF THE MAUD

An independent cruise in the Maud was to the big four the most delightful affair in the world, not that they considered themselves restricted and restrained on board of the Guardian-Mother, for they had all the liberty they desired. Louis was devoted to his studies, though he desired to obtain all the practical information he could as he went from port to port in foreign countries. The other three were very much inclined to follow his lead, whether it was to work or play, to study or recreate.

The pleasure of navigating the Maud on their own responsibility was a novelty which they enjoyed in the highest degree, though it was likely to lose some of its charm in time. They had had a taste of this pleasure in the excursion to Tangier, and the exciting features connected with it had given it an additional zest.

Captain Ringgold regarded himself as an educator, though a learned and skilful professor was employed for the teaching in detail. As has been suggested several times before, he had theories on this subject of which he desired to make a practical application. He wanted to develop the boys, and make good and useful men of them. In keeping them well employed he kept the old maxim in mind that the gentleman in black, with horns, hoofs, and a caudal appendage, "finds some work for idle hands to do."

It was not hard labor, but occupation, upon which he depended to improve the bodies and the minds of his charge. Though he insisted that the boys should be modest and respectful, he did not accept the idea which prevails in England, France, and some other countries of Europe, that young people should practically be zeroes till they were of age. He believed that they should be developed as rapidly as their nature and temperament would permit. They could only obtain this freedom of mind by learning to depend upon themselves.

The several adventures in which some or all of the young men had been engaged, especially Louis Belgrave, who had really become a man all at once, as it were, when his troubles with his rascally step-father began, had contributed to the kind of development the commander had in mind. The trip to Tangier had assured him that the boys were competent to handle the Maud skilfully and with a fair measure of science.

Captain Ringgold was absolutely proud of his success in reforming the life and manners of Scott Fencelowe, and he had talked with Uncle Moses and Dr. Hawkes a great deal about the improvement which had been made in his character. He had really lived much of his time on board of a yacht, and had made an accomplished boatman of himself. When he boasted of the races he had won with the Seahound and other boats, the commander was incredulous; but he had no difficulty in believing all the stories he had told at the present time.

On the cruise of the Maud to Tangier he had proved that he had pluck and skill; for he had sailed the little steamer exceedingly well, and shown that he possessed ingenuity of a high order, or the Pacha would certainly have captured the party, and thrown the two alleged culprits into a prison.

The Guardian-Mother was not ready to sail from Gibraltar. She had to take in coal in the early morning, and attend to certain custom-house formalities. Ali-Noury Pacha, judging from what he had casually dropped in his stormy interview with the commander, had evidently expected to be received as a "distinguished Moor" on board of the Guardian-Mother, and even seemed to think he had made an impression upon the susceptibilities of Mr. Woolridge's lovely daughter.

His eyes had certainly been opened by the plain speech of the captain, and he could not conceal the disappointment he felt. He did not seem to be aware that the Guardian-Mother had three times run away from him and his steamer; or to be able to deduce the simple truth from the hurried departure of the ship on these occasions. He was filled with wrath and the desire for revenge. The commander had "spoken out" to him only when it had become absolutely necessary to do so.

He was capable of making a great deal of trouble, and he appeared to have influence enough to do almost anything he pleased. Captain Ringgold believed it would save him and the people on board the ship a great deal of annoyance if the two alleged culprits were out of the way, and he promptly decided to put them in a safe place. He had spoken to Uncle Moses and Mrs. Belgrave and with Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge about the matter, and none of them raised any objection. All of them had so much confidence in the wisdom and discretion of the commander that they were ready to follow his advice in almost everything.

The bunkers had all been filled up with coal, water and an abundant supply of provisions had been put on board of the Maud, and the captain and the officers had thoroughly inspected the craft in her hull, as Mr. Shafter and Mr. Sentrick had the machinery. She was said to be in perfect order in every respect. She was built of the best quality of steel. In the little pilot-house, at the request of Captain Scott, a broad table had been put in which folded up over the divan.

He had been supplied with an extra compass, though there were two on board, a sextant, a parallel ruler, dividers, and all the small implements he required in working out the course after he had obtained the latitude and longitude. He had studied navigation at the high school where he lived, near the water, and had practised it in his yacht with a borrowed sextant. He was now completely equipped, and the pilot-house had become a sort of paradise to him.

Louis and Morris spent the evening with their parents in the cabin; Scott and Felix were busy on board of the Maud. None of them thought of sleeping, though some of them would be on duty all night after they got under way. They were too much excited at the prospect before them to sleep.

"We have got everything fixed all right now, Flix," said Scott, as they seated themselves in the cabin. "It was a big thing for Captain Ringgold to employ another engineer, for now we shall have no more bother with the machinery."

"Faix, we have two Dons in the engine-room, and both of them talk Spanish. I hope they will be able to make the Maud walk Spanish."

"Don John," as the captain of the little steamer had already called Donald, "seems to be a very good fellow, for I have had quite a talk with him in English. He speaks Arabic too."

"Then we shall have a little gum Arabic to put in the mixture, and that will make us stick together all the more closely," added Felix.

"Very good; but we were pretty well glued together before he came. Flix, let us overhaul"—

"I had an old pair of overalls I brought with me for dirty work; but I haven't had a bit of it to do, and gave them to Don John," interposed Felix.

"Let us overhaul matters a little, and see how we stand, for we shall all be busy after we get under way," said Captain Scott, finishing his sentence. "We have captains enough."

"Yes, for, like a bull in a china shop, one is quite enough. We have the best captain out, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother couldn't do the duty any better."

"Thank you, Flix. We have two engineers, and they will take care of their department without any help from the rest of us. We have one mate, who is also the pilot, though he will do no more steering than the rest of us, outside of the engine-room. That gives us two watch officers, for as we have no second mate, the captain will have to keep his own watch."

"Why don't you make Louis the second mate? He has no office, if he is the biggest fellow in the crowd," suggested Felix.

"Louis does not want any office, and would not take any; he told me so himself."

"He's a very modest bit of a duck."

"Now we must divide ourselves into watches," continued the captain, though he did not particularly enjoy the interruptions of Felix, who was often struggling to bring forth a joke on such occasions as the present. "You know there are two watches on board ship, Flix?"

"One on the starboard and the other on the port side," added Felix with a gape.

"Nonsense! You know very well that the name has nothing to do with the sides of the ship!" exclaimed Captain Scott impatiently. "Now talk sense, and we will soon settle this business; then you can flop over on the divan and go to sleep. Do you know which is the captain's watch, Flix?"

"To be sure I do; it's the one he commands."

"More nonsense, though we are now engaged in serious business! Port or starboard?" demanded Scott.

"Port, because the red light always belongs on the port side."

"Wrong! The mate always has the port watch. Now do you know which is which?"

"Faix, you didn't tell me which was the captain's watch," replied Felix with a blank look. "I'll figure it out, and I may be able to tell you by the time we are ready to sail."

"You are not a fool, Flix!"

"Wait till I argue the matter with myself. The mate has the port watch, and the captain has the other," replied Felix, scratching his head as if to stimulate his ideas. "Begorra! it just shoots through my mind, like an electric light in a dark street when it is touched off! The captain's watch must be the starboard."

"Right; but I wonder your long head hasn't exploded in working out the problem. When there is a second mate"—

"That's metaphysics, for we have no second mate," protested Felix.

"For that reason the captain has to keep his own watch, which the second mate would keep for him if there were one," continued the captain. "Just as soon as the ship gets into deep water the crew are divided into watches."

"Do you think the water is deep enough in here to divide the crew into watches?" asked Felix, still struggling to be funny.

"It is two hundred fathoms deep in the middle of the bay, and it will do. Each officer chooses a man in turn."

"It won't take long in this case, as the crew consists of only two."

"The captain makes the first choice, and I choose you, Flix."

"You do me very great honor, Captain Scott, and I was not before aware that I stood so high in your affections, and I thank you from the top to the bottom of my heart," replied the Milesian, taking off his cap and bowing low to his companion.

"No affections about it! I only want to make the best division of the hands," answered Captain Scott. "Louis is older than Morris and will be in his watch; and the mate may need his advice and assistance, for he knows something about sailing a steamer. Now, according to custom, the captain takes the ship out, and the mate brings her home. That indicates that you and I have the first watch on deck; and Felipe will have it in the engine-room. It is ten o'clock now, and you have time for a two hours' snooze before we get under way."

Felix had tried to keep awake by struggling to be funny, and he was ready to take the advice of the captain, who had no inclination to take a nap. Scott went on deck, where two seamen from the ship were keeping the anchor watch. Presently Captain Ringgold came down the gangway followed by a young seaman from the crew of the ship.

"One thing had almost been forgotten, Captain Scott," said the commander. "You must eat on board of the Maud, and you have no cook and steward. You need good food, well prepared."

"I did not forget it, sir, for I was thinking of it this evening," replied Scott.

"I have detailed Pitts from the crew for this duty; he has served as both cook and steward. Show him the galley."

The commander returned to the Guardian-Mother.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE PACHA FINDS HE HAS CAUGHT A TARTAR

About half-past eleven all the ship's company were on board of the Maud, and Louis was engaged in showing the cabin party of the ship over the little steamer. They found that Pitts had put everything in order in the galley, which is the kitchen, though the same name is also applied to the stove. He had made a fire, and washed all the dishes, proving that he was inclined to be neat and nice. The provisions as well as the water-casks had been stowed away in the run, from which a scuttle opened in the floor of the standing-room.

The ladies approved the housekeeping of the cook, and were conducted to the engine-room, where the new hand was presented to them, for they all knew Felipe, and had done a great deal for him. Then they went to the cabin, where Felix had slept an hour, and was no longer sleepy. He had made up the four beds on the divans, all with sheets and pillows, for Mrs. Belgrave and Mrs. Woolridge had insisted that their sons should go to bed regularly and in due form, and not merely lie down on the sofa.

The ladies were satisfied with the accommodations, and the surgeon approved the ventilation and sanitary arrangements. While the cabin party of the ship were inspecting the Maud, Captain Ringgold went to the pilot-house with Scott. The shelf the carpenter had made and put up that evening had been dropped into position, and part of the chart of the Mediterranean placed upon it. There were two of them to cover this sea, and each of them was four feet and a half long by three and a half wide; and by the advice of the captain Scott had cut each of them in halves, and he had recommended him to cut out the small plans of thirty ports and harbors so that they could be used conveniently, at his leisure.

"Now, Captain Scott, show me how you are going to navigate your steamer," said the commander, as he placed himself at the table; and the room was well lighted for the occasion.

"I shall take my departure from Europa Point," replied Scott, putting the point of his pencil upon it. "My first run will be to Alboran Light, distance 130.22 nautical miles."

"Very well, indeed, Captain Scott," laughed the commander. "The coon evidently came down when you made your figures."

"The course will be east by south, with 18° 40′ variation of the compass to the westward. From Alboran Light to a point ten miles north of Algiers the course will be east a quarter south, distance 344.16 miles. That is as far as I have worked it up, sir."

"That is far enough for the present; but if I do not overhaul you in the Guardian-Mother before that time, you will work around Cape Bon, and make for Valetta, Malta, going to the south of the island, taking a pilot off Marsa if you find one. You must watch the weather, and if it comes on to blow a heavy gale, you will make a port if necessary."

"I don't think it will be necessary, sir, for I am sure the Maud is a good sea-boat, and she can stand anything we are likely to get at this season of the year. She can take in no water except in the standing-room, and that will not hold enough to do us any harm. I should be willing to cross the Atlantic in her in the winter, so far as her safety is concerned, though it would not be very comfortable on board of her."

"Young men are usually over-confident. I counsel you to be very prudent, Captain Scott."

"I am always so in a boat, sir," protested the young navigator.

"Louis has a level head, and I advise you to consult him in any emergency that may arise."

"I shall certainly do so, Captain Ringgold, without any urging."

"Very well; but it is time now for you to get under way," added the commander, as he glanced at his watch. "Good-by, and a pleasant voyage to you, Captain Scott;" and the captain took his hand at parting.

Louis's mother embraced him, and Mrs. Woolridge pressed her boy to her heart, and there was a general shaking of hands, though the captain was confident, if he was not delayed in Gibraltar, that he should overhaul the Maud some time the next day. No whistles were blown, for it was desirable to get away as quietly as possible so as not to attract the attention of those on board of the Fatimé.

Captain Scott had spoken to Louis and Morris about the division of the crew into watches; and both of them were entirely satisfied with the arrangement, as they were with everything else that had been done on board. In a few minutes the Maud rounded Europa Point, and the captain gave out the course, east by south. The starboard watch were now on duty, and Felix was at the wheel. All the lights on board had been extinguished, for it was not advisable to attract the attention of the watch on board of the Pacha's steamer by them.

"We begin with the mid watch, from midnight till four in the morning," said the captain on the forecastle. "You are the mate, Morris; and you have charge of the port watch, which consists of yourself and Louis. I recommend you both to turn in at once, for sailors must take their sleep when they can get it."

"That will suit me exactly, for I was beginning to get sleepy as we came out from the Mole; but it was because I had nothing to do," replied Louis.

"I had Flix make up the beds in the cabin, and as you are the port watch, you will take the two beds on that side," added the captain.

"By the way, Captain Scott, where will Pitts berth?" asked Louis.

"Stevens has put up a berth for him against the bulkhead in the forecastle, and he has gone to bed as comfortably as though he had been in his father's house."

Louis and Morris went aft and turned in, and they were soon asleep. In one hour from his point of departure Captain Scott took the bearings of Estapona Light, and found that the Maud had made just ten miles. This was the rate he had instructed Felipe, who occupied the nominal position of chief engineer, to make. All was going on very well.

While the Maud is pursuing her course towards the Orient it becomes necessary to return to the Guardian-Mother. The cabin party had watched the little steamer as she sailed away, and the commander was not alone in wondering into what adventure the big four would fall this time. The boys seemed to be unable to make an excursion of any kind without having some mishap overtake them.

A few months before Mrs. Belgrave would not willingly have permitted her son to leave her under such circumstances as those in which he had just sailed away in the Maud; but Dr. Hawkes appeared to have cured her of her nervousness, and on all questions she was as reasonable as could be expected of any devoted mother.

The surgeon was very attentive to her and so was Captain Ringgold. Probably the general improvement of her health, produced by the voyage under such pleasant conditions, did something to account for the cure of her nervous malady. She retired as soon as the little steamer could no longer be seen; and it was not to toss about all the night in wakeful tremors at the absence of Louis, but she went to sleep at once and did not wake till the first bell rang in the morning.

After breakfast the commander had business in the city; and, as some of the party wished to make a few purchases, he went to the Ragged Staff stairs in the barge, the entire party accompanying him. He allowed the visitors but two hours, for he intended to get the Guardian-Mother under way as soon as possible.

In its course to the stairs the barge had to pass near the Fatimé. The eight oarsmen, all dressed in the neat uniform of the steamer, presented a rather showy appearance, and she was observed with attention by all who saw her. The party separated as soon as they landed, or divided up into smaller groups, each of which had its own errands.

During the absence of the big four the afternoon before, the commander had made his preparations for receiving the Maud on the upper deck of the ship. Skids to support her had been placed where the deck was strengthened by the bulkheads, or partitions under it, and heavy eye-bolts had been screwed to the planks, each over a timber, for the stays to keep the craft in position.

He had employed a ship-smith to do most of the work, though the carpenter's gang did the wood-work. The captain's first business was to pay this smith, and when he had done so he went to the principal street to purchase some additional charts and nautical instruments. He had selected these articles, and had them sent down to the barge. His next business was at the custom-house.

On the way Uncle Moses joined him, for he had no taste for other people's shopping. They had walked but a short distance before they encountered the Pacha, elegantly dressed in his Oriental robes, and followed by four of his people. Every one in the street stopped to gaze at them; for His Highness was a sight even in Gibraltar, where nearly every nation seemed to be represented on its thoroughfares.

After the event of the preceding evening Captain Ringgold was sorry to see him, though it was not in his nature to run away from any man. Uncle Moses always carried a cane when he walked, and he noticed that his companion had one, though he had never seen him use one before. The squire suggested that they should step into a store they were passing, but the commander declined to do so.

"Sir!" exclaimed the Pacha, halting in front of the captain, who attempted to proceed on his way without noticing him. "Coward! You shall not escape me! You have insulted me, and you refuse to meet me like a gentleman!" added Ali-Noury, as he seized the commander by the throat.

But His Highness made a mistake, and in consequence thereof the next instant he was rolling in the mud at the side of the driveway, to the serious detriment of his magnificent costume. His attendants sprang to his assistance, and lifted him from the mire into which he had fallen. As they did so both the Americans discovered that he had a cowhide in his hand, and it was plain that he had intended to castigate the captain with this implement.

He spoke to his servants, as doubtless they were, in his own language. The four men rushed upon the commander and attempted to lay hold of him. For the moment he seemed to forget that he had a cane in his hand; for when one of his assailants seized him by the collar of his coat, he planted a tremendous blow between the two eyes of the fellow which knocked him over into the gutter. Another attempted to do the same thing and shared the fate of the first. The Pacha became furious at the defeat of his satellites.

Ali-Noury spoke to the other two very fiercely, and they rushed together upon the captain; but Uncle Moses had by this time overcome his professional dignity, and dealt a smart blow with his cane over the head of one of the assailants, which caused him to step aside, while the commander upset the other with his fist.

The usual crowd had quickly gathered, and a couple of policemen stepped to the front. It was not convenient for them to pick up seven persons at once, and the guardians of the peace waited for further developments. Ali-Noury had become more furious than ever when he witnessed the overthrow of his forces; and, beside himself in his wrath, he rushed forward upon Captain Ringgold.

The policemen were alert enough; and when the commander was about to defend himself again as he had done before, they seized His Highness, a hand of each on the throat of their victim; and they were not tender about it. The affair brought out the fact that the reputation of the Pacha was as unsavory as in Funchal. The officers marched him off in spite of his struggles, and his troop followed him.

Before Captain Ringgold could reach the barge he and Uncle Moses were invited to appear before a magistrate and give their evidence. Their story was confirmed by half a dozen who had seen the beginning of the affray, and His Highness was sentenced to pay a heavy fine.

CHAPTER XXVII

A FEW LESSONS IN NAVIGATION

Captain Ringgold was a powerful man, fully six feet high, and weighing one hundred and eighty pounds, while his assailant, though nearly as tall, was slender in form, and not a strong man. Doubtless he was brave, for he held high rank in the army of Morocco, though he was usually absent on furlough. It was very rash and injudicious for him to attack the commander. He had "caught a Tartar," and he had found it out.

The magistrate did not seem to be impressed by the title or the elegant costume of the Pacha, perhaps because the latter was dabbled with mud, and his handsome face was liberally spattered with the same unsightly element. The commander was lofty in his manner on such an occasion, and full of dignity; and he did make a decided impression on the court and the spectators. He said but little. He had been attacked without any provocation whatever, and he had defended himself.

The Pacha had been educated at the military school of St. Cyr, and he imbibed his duelling propensity in Paris. He pleaded that he had been insulted the night before by the captain of the Guardian-Mother, who had refused to give him satisfaction, and he had treated him as any gentleman should a poltroon.

"But it does not appear that he was a poltroon when you attacked him, for he overturned you and your four servants all in a heap," interposed the Court with a smile.

The Pacha winced at this remark. The magistrate desired to know in what manner the commander had insulted him, and the whole truth came out. Captain Ringgold calmly stated his objections to the character of the Moor, and there was an attempt at applause, in which some British officers took part; but it was promptly checked. He stated on oath that the reputation of the Pacha was so bad in Funchal—

"And in Gib," some persons interpolated.

"—that I could not permit the ladies in my charge to associate with him," added the witness, who repeated all his remarks that had been offensive to the Pacha.

The Moorish consul promptly paid the fine of his fellow-subject, and they left the court-room together.

"The fellow is a dirty blackguard!" said a military officer to the captain. "He has insulted ladies here; and I am very grateful to you, for one, for chastising him as he deserved."

"I thank you, sir," replied the commander. "I did no more than my duty to those under my charge."

He took the arm of Uncle Moses, and they walked down the street. They had gone but a few steps before they discovered that they were followed by half a dozen officers; but they reached the barge without any further molestation, where they found the ladies already seated in the stern-sheets.

"We have kept you in sight, Captain Ringgold; and if the dirty brute had given you any further trouble, we were ready to throw him overboard," said one of the officers.

"I thank you, gentlemen; I feel able to defend myself; but I appreciate your kindness and sympathy as much as though you had manifested it in the way you have suggested," answered the captain, as he took the hand of the speaker.

While they were waiting for Dr. Hawkes and Professor Giroud, the party were presented to the four ladies in the barge, each giving his name and rank. They were all struck with the beauty of Miss Blanche; and as they retired from the boat, the captain told them that for her sake he had run away from the Fatimé three times. They declared that Gib would soon become too hot for His Highness.

The missing members arrived, and the boat shoved off, the military gentlemen raising their caps, and bowing very politely, while they cried "Bon Voyage!"

It was noon when they reached the deck of the ship, for the affair with the Pacha had delayed them a full hour. The steam was up and the steamer immediately tripped her anchor, for it had been "hove short" before, and she began her voyage. In a few minutes she had rounded Europa Point, and the course east by south had been given to the quartermaster at the wheel. The Viking had sailed for Malaga the day before.

"Where do you suppose the Maud is just now, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, the party being seated on the officers' promenade.

"She is just fifteen miles north-west of Alboran Light," replied the commander with a smile.

"I am just as wise now as I was before, and no more so!" added the lady. "I have not the least idea where Alboran is."

"I did not suppose you had. It is a little island half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, belonging to Spain, inhabited only by a few fishermen, for there is not room for a great many of them. It is about half-way between Europe and Africa, and one hundred and thirty nautical miles from Europa Point, according to Captain Scott's figures."

"Why do you say nautical miles, Captain?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, who had given no attention whatever to navigation.

"Because I mean nautical miles," laughed the commander, who was always delighted when he could get into a close conversation with this lady.

"Isn't it just the same as a mile in Von Blonk Park?"

"Not at all; the sailors call their miles knots."

"I have heard you talk about sixteen knots an hour"—

"I can't talk as fast as that, for sixteen knots an hour is about the best speed of the Guardian-Mother," interposed the captain.

"You know what I mean!" pouted the lady. "But I supposed it meant sixteen miles an hour, just as it is sixteen knots from the Park to New York."

"Which it is not; it is only sixteen statute miles, or miles established by statute, or law."

"Then will you please to tell me what a knot is?"

"It is a geographical mile. Of course you are aware that a great circle, like the equator, a meridian, or any other that goes around the biggest part of the earth, contains three hundred and sixty degrees."

"I learned all about it when I went to the academy, but I don't remember a great deal of it."

"I have repeated all that it is necessary for you to know now," added the commander, as he took an orange from his pocket, and proceeded to show the difference between a great circle and any other. "You learned that all circles, whether great or small, even if no bigger than a nickel, contain three hundred and sixty degrees; and that every degree is divided into sixty parts called miles—geographical miles. These miles are the navigator's knots."

"Except the knots, the rest all comes back to me," said the lady. "But I don't understand the difference between a knot and a statute mile, as you call it."

"I can't say that I know much of anything about it," added Dr. Hawkes.

"A degree contains sixty-nine and a quarter miles, though the fraction varies with different authorities. Now, if you will divide 69.25 statute miles by 60," continued the captain, performing the operation on the back of an envelope, "the result will be 1.154 statute miles to a knot. The sixteen knots of this ship would therefore be nearly eighteen statute miles an hour."

"I think I understand it now, Captain Ringgold," said Mrs. Belgrave; and the others said the same.

"If we go as fast as that, we shall soon overtake the Maud," suggested Mrs. Woolridge.

"Not to-day, madam," replied the commander.

"When shall we catch up with her?"

"I told Captain Scott not to try to make more than ten knots an hour, which is very good sailing for a steamer of her size. She left at midnight, and is therefore twelve hours, or one hundred and twenty miles ahead of us."

"Knots or statute miles?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"Knots always at sea. We rarely make any use of statute miles. I have directed Mr. Shafter to make his best speed, so that we sail six knots faster than the Maud. Gaining six knots an hour, it will take us twenty hours to overhaul the Maud," said the captain. "I shall expect to see her about eight o'clock to-morrow morning, when we shall be off Magrowa Point."

Captain Ringgold invited all the party to his cabin, where the chart of the Mediterranean Sea was spread out on the table. He pointed out Alboran Light to them, with a ring thirty miles in diameter drawn around it. On the northern edge of this circle was a cross, which was connected with Europa Point by a red line.

"What is the ring for?" asked Dr. Hawkes.

"It indicates the distance from all points at which the light can be seen," replied the commander.

"I suppose that red line shows the course we are sailing," added Uncle Moses. "But why is your course alone marked on the chart?"

"I marked that myself with a red pencil; it was not printed on the paper, as you seem to suppose. Captain Scott made just such a line on his chart," the captain explained.

"But it is not straight," the surgeon objected. "If you should keep on this course you would hit the African coast at Columbi Island," as he read the name from the chart.

"It was not intended to be straight," answered the commander. "I am following the course laid down by Captain Scott for the Maud, so that I shall be able to find him to-morrow morning. I should have gone farther to the north of Alboran, and I should not have seen it in consequence; but I thought he might need the light to assure him where he was."

"Here is another little red cross just north of Algiers, with a red line drawn from it to the one north of Alboran," said Dr. Hawkes, scrutinizing the chart very closely. "That, I conclude, is the course between the two crosses."

"Quite right, Doctor; you would easily become a navigator."

"I shall not make the struggle. But why is the point north of Algiers chosen rather than some other one?"

"I took Captain Scott's mark, which he selected, ten miles north of Algiers, because the course to it would carry him clear of the coast of Africa, and of all dangers of every kind from rocks or shoals. When we get to Captain Scott's point off Algiers, we shall make the course a quarter of a point more to the north, so as to pass Ras al Koran, where the navigation becomes more difficult on account of rocks and shoals."

"But how in the world do you know which way to steer in order to reach Captain Scott's red cross at the end of the red line?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave, who had been studying the chart with all her might, though it was about the same as trying to read the notice posted on a Chinaman's laundry.

"And what are all these rings on the chart for?" asked Mrs. Blossom, as she put her finger on one of the diagrams of the compass.

"You both ask about the same question," replied the commander, as he picked up his parallel rule, and began to work the same problem before described. "This is called a parallel rule," he added, working it back and forth. "The brass connecting pieces keep the two parts of the implement exactly parallel."

"What is the use of keeping the pieces parallel?"

"That is what I am going to show you."

He placed the rule so that one edge was on both of the red crosses. He then worked the rule to the nearest diagram, and took off the course east a quarter south. But the ladies would not be satisfied till they had done it for themselves, and the captain made other crosses till they could do it very well.

CHAPTER XXVIII

MORRIS ON "THE RULE OF THE ROAD"

On board of the Maud it had been issued as an order by Captain Scott after the matter had been fully talked over, that the watches should be four hours in length, except the dog-watches, which were to be half as long, both in the sailing and the engineer department. The arrangement was precisely the same as on board of the Guardian-Mother, or any other ship at sea. The tricks at the wheel were to be two hours in length.

The commander of the little steamer had all the dignity appertaining to the master of a vessel, but the smallness of the ship's company rendered it necessary that he should perform his full share of the work like an ordinary deck-hand. But he was accustomed to this sacrifice of one of the immunities of his position; for on board of the Seahound, in which he had made a voyage of over a thousand miles, he had been captain, crew, cook, and steward.

Felix was at the wheel, where he was to remain until four bells, or two o'clock in the morning. The half-hours were regularly struck on a bell hung in front of the pilot-house, and a line from its tongue extended into the apartment. Between the two windows in front was a clock, so that the wheelman could keep the run of the time, and strike the bells. Captain Scott was obliged to do duty as a deck-hand during the two hours of Felix's watch. His principal occupation at this time was to keep the lookout, a very important duty on board of a steamer.

Many vessels, a large proportion of them steamers, were constantly passing in and out of the Mediterranean, and there was always danger of a collision. At sea there are "rules of the road," as well as on the land; and Captain Scott had learned them so that he knew just what to do under any circumstances; and he was the only one on board who did know them in full, though Morris had learned the most necessary ones.

On the road, in the United States, it is generally the rule to keep to the right when two vehicles meet, going in opposite directions, and to keep to the left in getting ahead of another, though it is the opposite rule in England and Canada. At sea, when two steamers approach each other "end on," or going directly towards each other, both also keep to the right, and each leaves the other on the port hand. But the rules of the road on the ocean are too complicated and dry to be given in a story in full.

"Where are we now Captain Scott?" asked Felix, when he had about finished his trick at the wheel.

"Twenty miles east of Europa Point," replied the captain, who was beginning to be very sleepy, though he had walked the deck all the time in order to keep himself awake, for he had worked hard and been greatly excited from the early evening till two o'clock in the morning.

"I knew that myself," replied the wheelman cheerfully, for he had taken a nap.

"Then why did you ask me, Flix?"

"I thought we might be near some place."

"We are out of sight of land, and there isn't a thing to be seen."

"But where is the light we are running for?"

"Alboran; that is ninety miles ahead of us, and we shall not see it before eleven o'clock in the forenoon," replied the captain. "I will take the wheel now, Flix, for I need something to keep me awake."

"Then I suppose I may go to sleep," added Felix.

"No, you may not!" protested Scott with energy. "It is still your watch, and will be till eight bells. You will keep a sharp lookout, for that is your duty for the next two hours, as it has been mine for the last two;" and he struck four bells.

"All right, Captain Scott; and I am wide awake," replied Felix; and he left the pilot-house, and began to plank the deck on the forecastle.

The duty of the lookout was not of a very exciting character; and though the Milesian had not been dubbed a knight-errant, he would have preferred something a little more stirring. It would have suited him better to remain at the wheel; but the captain would not permit any one to take the trick of another. Occasionally he halted at the windows of the pilot-house and had a chat with the captain.

"I wonder if the Grand Mogul will try to arrest you and Felipe to-morrow?" he asked at one of these halts.

"I think he has a bigger bone than that to pick with Captain Ringgold," replied Scott. "I should not wonder, from what the Pacha said, if they had a row. He wanted to fight a duel with the commander, who would not do anything of the sort, though he would defend himself if he were assaulted."

"The captain is able to take care of himself, and he will do so," added Felix.

Then the lookout walked again, and continued to do so till Scott called him a couple of minutes before it was time to strike eight bells.

"Now you will turn out the port watch and call Don in the forecastle," said the captain.

"All right;" and Felix went to the cabin where he waked Louis and Morris; then he descended to the forecastle, and aroused the second engineer.

Everything was done with the greatest regularity, for all hands had learned on board of the Guardian-Mother to have a very high respect for all the forms in the routine of ship's duty. Morris relieved the captain as officer of the deck, and directed Louis to take the helm. Scott repeated the course to the latter as he resigned the wheel to him. In his turn the first officer became the lookout, and everything proceeded in as orderly a manner as before.

Just after Louis had rung one bell in the morning watch, Morris reported a sail dead ahead, only there was no officer on deck of higher rank than himself to whom he could discharge this duty.

"I see it; red and green light both to be seen," replied Louis.

"We are end on, and I suppose you know what to do, Louis," added Morris. "If you don't, port the helm, and remember this couplet:—

'When both lights you see ahead,

Port your helm, and show your red.'"

"That is a good bit of mnemonics," said Louis, as he repeated the lines. "I see the other steamer is doing the same."

"She is following the rule of the road. I suppose you know that there are 'International Steering and Sailing Rules' so that all nations may follow the same directions."

"I never heard of them before, for I do not claim to be much of a sailor, though I have given some attention to sailing a steamer since I have been on board of the Guardian-Mother," replied Louis. "I have learned to steer, and I know something about handling the engine. I never was placed in any responsible position on board a vessel, and that is the way to learn all about it."

"Now she shows her red light, and we are doing the same thing to her," said Morris. "Here is a bit more mnemonics:

'Green to green, or red to red—

Perfect safety, go ahead!'

That is, you cannot see the red or green alone unless you are abreast of the other vessel on one side or the other."

"I can remember the two couplets; but both of them assure you only when you are all right. One would like to know what to do when things are not all right," suggested Louis, who had already repeated to himself both of the safety couplets several times.

"Of course you know all the lights a vessel is obliged by law to carry at sea, Louis," continued Morris, as they passed the other steamer, distant about a quarter of a mile.

"I know that every steamer is obliged to carry a white light on the foremast, not less than twenty feet above the deck, a green light on the starboard side, and a red one on the port side."

"That is enough to know, though very minute directions are given in the international rules for placing these lights. I used to be bothered to remember which was which. But a naval officer told me that red was on the port side because that was the color of port wine; and any fellow must be green who could not tell the color on the other side."

"Captain Ringgold told me the first part of your rule—port from the color of port wine," added Louis.

"Now we have a case in point!" exclaimed Morris with sudden energy, as he pointed to another light in the distance. "That is a red light, and it is on the starboard side of us. This is the position of the greatest danger, for that steamer is running towards us. Here is more poetry:—

'If to your starboard red appear,
It is your duty to keep clear;
To act as judgment says its proper—
To port, or starboard, back, or stop her!'

That is just as yonder steamer appears in relation to the Maud—red on our starboard, her helmsman has green on his port, and this verse applies to him, as it would to us in his position:—

'But, when upon your port is seen
A steamer's starboard light of green,
There's not so much for you to do,
For green to port keeps clear of you.'"

"She is still a long distance from the Maud; but what am I to do when we come nearer?" asked Louis.

"Red to starboard; we must keep out of her way," replied Morris. "She will do nothing, for she has the right of way. Port the helm a little and we shall go astern of her all right."

"Where do you find these international rules?" asked the wheelman, as he obeyed the order.

"I found them in 'The Sailor's Handy Book,' which will tell you all about a thousand nautical things," replied Morris. "I have a copy of it in my valise, and I will lend it to you to-morrow."

"Thank you; and I will buy it as soon as I can find one; but I am not likely to find one over here," added Louis.

An hour later the Maud passed astern of the approaching steamer, and she had evidently not changed her course a point.

The day had already begun to dawn in the east, in the Orient towards which the little vessel was sailing. She was still out of sight of land. At four bells, or six o'clock, Pitts came out of the forecastle, and Morris saluted him with a "good-morning," as if one had not been the chief officer and the other the cook, and Louis did the same.

"What time am I to have breakfast ready on board of this steamer?" asked Pitts.

"You must ask the captain; but you need not wake him for that purpose. Half-past seven is the hour on board the ship, and you had better be ready at that time," replied Morris; and Louis nodded assent when the mate looked at him.

The cook went to his apartment, and made a fire in the galley. His first need was hot water, and he went to the run to obtain a supply with a couple of buckets. He took off the scuttle in the standing-room, careful to make as little noise as he could in order not to wake the starboard watch in the cabin, the doors of which were wide open.

He descended by the little ladder, but it was dark in the run, and as he stepped from the lower round, he put his foot ankle deep in water. He was startled, for it looked as though the steamer had sprung a leak. He hastened to procure a lantern, and made an examination. Two half-casks of water were secured on each side of him. He attempted to move one of them in order to find a leak. It was empty! So were the other three! It was an alarming discovery, and he made haste to report it to the first officer. Morris could not explain it; neither could Louis; but they knew they could not proceed on the voyage without water.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE PROSPECT OF A WATER-FAMINE

Morris and Louis were quite as thoroughly startled as Pitts had been when he made the discovery that the water-casks were all empty; for he had sounded all of them, and afterwards shaken them, listening for the noise of the needed fluid.

"What shall be done?" asked Morris, who had just relieved the wheel, as he directed a blank gaze at Louis.

"It is not for me to say what is to be done," replied the deck-hand, remembering that he was such, and not a leader of the big four, as he had generally been.

"We can't get along without water," added Morris.

"We cannot; and I am as thirsty as a grounded polywog," answered Louis, as he turned to the ice-pitcher with which the pilot-house was supplied.

Pitts passed it out of the window to him, and he drank a copious draught.

"That is good," he added, "though it is a little warm."

"But there is plenty of ice on board, sir," interposed the cook and steward, as he took the pitcher from the deck-hand. "I will put some in it, for it is nearly full of water; and that may be all there is on board."

There was an ice-chest built into the after part of the run, which had been filled from the ship's supply, and the provisions were stored around it.

"Pitts can't even make any coffee for us," continued Morris ruefully. "It takes water to make coffee."

"That is as true as truth itself," replied Louis cheerfully; "but we will not cry about it."

"I don't mean to cry about it; but it is a serious question, for the Guardian-Mother cannot overhaul the Maud in less than twelve or fifteen hours more, and we want something to eat and drink to-day."

"I think we can stand it one day," added Louis, laughing. "I went longer than that on a New Jersey sand-spit without a drop of drink of any kind."

"I can melt the ice and get water enough to cook with," interposed Pitts.

"But suppose the Guardian-Mother should fail to find us, as she did your party, Louis, when you made the run in this boat from Funchal to Tarifa?" suggested Morris.

"That is possible, but not probable," added Louis.

"Why did the commander of the ship instruct Captain Scott to make a port at Valetta in the island of Malta?" demanded the first officer.

"Because, as I said, it is possible that the ship may fail to find the Maud. But this question is no more to me than to the rest of the party; and I am willing to do what the majority think best, Morris," replied Louis, when the mate began to be a little warm in the discussion.

"I think we had better call the captain, and have the matter decided at once," added Morris.

Louis was sent aft to attend to this duty, as the mate decided. Scott was sleeping very soundly, and he was entitled to another hour nearly in his bed. He woke with a start when Louis put his hand on the arm of the dreamer, as he appeared to be.

"Eight bells?" demanded Captain Scott, as he sat up in his bed.

"Not yet, Captain; it wants almost an hour of it; but the mate ordered me to call you, for we have got into a sort of difficulty," replied Louis.

"What kind of a difficulty? Is the Pacha chasing us?"

"Not that I am aware of; but the water has all leaked out of the casks in the run," said the messenger, telling the whole truth all in a heap.

"How can that be?" asked the captain blankly.

"I am sure I don't know. Pitts found the casks empty when he went to the run for water."

"What's the matter now?" asked Felix, springing up in his bed. "Has the bottom dropped out of the little steamer?"

"No; but the bottom has dropped out of the water-casks, and we are likely to be a thirsty set," replied Louis, as the captain proceeded to dress himself in readiness to consider the difficult question.

Felix followed his example, and in a few minutes they were all on the forecastle. Louis expressed his view of the question as he had before, and Morris did the same. While they were talking about it, Pitts went to the run again, and made another examination of the casks, and then he carried the four to the standing-room, from which the velvet cushions had been removed the night before. It was clear enough to him now, as it had been before, that there was no water in the casks. Taking off his shoes and stockings, he descended to the run again. He stubbed his foot against something, which proved to be a plug in the flooring, used to let the water off when the run was washed out, which was frequently done to keep it clean as a receptacle for the provisions.

There was but a small quantity of ice in the chest, and that was needed to preserve the meats in it. Then he went on deck and looked over the casks. He could insert the small blade of his knife in some of the seams in them. They had not been in use on board of the ship, and had dried up in their place by the fire-room. They had been lowered into the run in the night, and the hands had failed to observe that there was any serious leak in them. Pitts reported what the situation was.

"I think we are in danger of being missed by the Guardian-Mother," said Captain Scott in the course of the discussion, as Pitts appeared upon the forecastle. "She might pass us in the night or in a fog. We don't know when she sailed from Gib, or what time she will sail; and I hardly think Captain Ringgold, from what he said to me, expected to overhaul the Maud before she arrived at Valetta."

"There is not a drop of water in any of the casks, Captain," reported Pitts at this point of the discussion. "There is not ice enough to last us more than to-day; and the meats will spoil without it, for it is hot in the run."

"That does not look like a very pleasant prospect for water," added Captain Scott.

"There is a water-jar in the cabin," suggested Louis. "How much is there in that?"

"I filled it up last night, and there must be some in it," replied Pitts.

The steward was sent to examine the jar, and reported that it contained about two quarts.

"We can get along a while on that, and we will not change our course at present," said the captain, settling the matter, at least for a time. "Don't boil any potatoes, Pitts; fry them, and keep what water there is for coffee."

"How far are we from the island of Alboran?" asked Louis.

"About fifty miles."

"We ought to be able to get some water there; for if the island is inhabited, as they say it is, the people there cannot live without it. The lightkeeper must have water."

"I don't know anything about it," replied Captain Scott. "There isn't a mile of land on it, and I should not care to go a great way off the course with the expectation of filling our casks there. Keep her going east by south, Morris."

Captain Scott went back to the cabin, followed by Felix, and both of them were soon fast asleep again. Pitts drew off the water from the jar, and went to work in the galley; but it was eight o'clock when breakfast was ready, for the cook had been delayed by the water question. The table was set in the cabin at the last moment, so that the sleepers might not be disturbed; and they were called only when the meal was ready.

Morris had just relieved the helm, and he insisted that Louis should go to breakfast first. The captain took his place at the head of the table, with Morris on his right and Louis on his left. Pitts left them to take care of themselves while he served the meal for the engineers; for they had decided to breakfast together in the engine-room, where a shelf served as a table.

"This is not bad for a beginning," said Captain Scott, as he seated himself and looked over the dishes on the table. "Ham and eggs are to my mind, though I served them half the time on board of the Seahound. They look very nice, and Pitts appears to be a good cook."

"I don't believe we shall starve, or suffer from thirst, in spite of the water famine," added Morris.

"The praties are moighty foine," said Felix. "Ye's couldn't get a betther male in an Oirish castle."

"What's an Irish castle, Flix?" asked Morris.

"A noice bit of a house tin fate shquare, wid a thatched roof and a mood flure."

"But they have water to boil their potatoes in an Irish castle," added the captain.

"Faix, they have; the foinest wather in the wurruld."

"But we mustn't stay here too long to talk; for the owner of the Guardian-Mother is at the wheel, and it is time for the starboard watch to go on duty," said Captain Scott, as he broke open a hot biscuit.

Not much ceremony was used at the meal, and it was soon finished. As the trio passed the engine-room on their way to the forecastle, a flood of Spanish speech struck their ears, and it was evident that the engineers were enjoying their morning meal. As soon as the steward saw the captain he hastened aft to rearrange the table; and Louis was served as elegantly as became the dignity of a ship-owner, though he put on no airs. He ate his breakfast alone; but he had a good appetite, for he had been up since the morning watch was called at four o'clock.

By nine o'clock Pitts had cleared the tables, and put everything in good order in the galley. His head was still full of the water-casks, and he went to the standing-room to examine them again. They were simply dried up when the water was drawn into them from the tanks. In six hours they had drained themselves empty, which was a leakage from each of only about four gallons an hour; but he wondered that Mr. Gaskette, who had superintended the work of putting them in the run, had not discovered the condition of the casks.

While he was engaged in his examination Don joined him. The engineer had slept most of the night, and he had no desire to turn in again. He looked the casks over with the steward, and declared that he could make them as tight as when they were new in fifteen minutes. He went to the engine-room, and returned with a hammer and a piece of iron in his hands. He calked the casks as though he had been a cooper all his life, and then proceeded to drive the hoops.

In less than half an hour the job was completed, and Don was sure the casks would not leak a drop. Morris and Louis went aft when they heard the sound of the hammer, and the former reported to the captain what was going on at the stern. Louis examined the casks when they were finished, and tried to penetrate the seams with the blade of his penknife; but they appeared to be perfectly tight.

"We have the casks, and all we want now is the water to fill them," said he. "Do you know anything about Alboran, Don?"

"I have seen it, but I never went ashore there," replied the second engineer. "I think there must be water there."

The captain was at the wheel. Pitts had sounded the water-jar in the cabin, and declared that there was hardly water enough left to enable him to get dinner; and he reported accordingly at the pilot-house.

"Alboran is not more than a dozen miles off our course, and we will try there," said Captain Scott, after he had looked the water-question over again. "We have passed Malaga; and the next place on the Spanish coast is Almunecar, but it is thirty-five miles off our course. Then we have no papers; and I am afraid we should be sent into quarantine."

The captain changed the course to south-east.

CHAPTER XXX

THE MAUD INCLINED TO TURN SOMERSETS

Among other nautical furniture, Captain Ringgold had put an old-fashioned log-line, chip, reel, and second glass on board of the Maud. Captain Scott had been unable to use it during the mid watch for the want of some one to assist him. After he had changed the course he gave the wheel to Felix, and with the assistance of Morris, Louis, and Don, had heaved the log. It gave him very nearly ten knots an hour; but he was not confident that his work had been accurate.

Felipe kept account of the number of revolutions a minute; and he insisted that the Maud was making her ten knots an hour, and the current might make it a trifle more than that. The captain had timed the steamer by distances on the chart, and he was satisfied that the log was substantially correct.

"It is now half-past nine, and we have made ninety-five miles from Gib," said he, after he had taken the wheel again. "It would have been thirty-five miles to Alboran if we had kept on our former course; it is less than that now, say about thirty-two. At about eleven o'clock it will be time to be on the lookout for the lighthouse."

At ten Felix took his trick at the wheel, and the captain was the lookout man. Morris and Louis lay down in the cabin and went to sleep. There was nothing to occupy their attention. The weather was pleasant, the sky exceedingly blue, and the sea was quite smooth. Scott had seated himself on the forecastle, and everything on board was as quiet as midnight in a church. He had a spy-glass within his reach, and he occasionally looked through it in the direction in which the steamer was headed.

"What time is it, Flix?" he called to the wheelman, after he had taken an observation with the glass.

"Half-past eleven, Captain," replied Felix.

"Alboran in sight through the glass," added Scott.

"How far off is it? Are we in any danger of running over the island, and knocking the lighthouse into flinders?" asked the Milesian.

"No danger yet, for it is at least twelve miles distant," replied the captain. "It gives me great satisfaction to know that my calculations were correct."

"Well it might; you do that sort of thing as well as the captain of the Guardian-Mother," added Felix.

Scott watched the lighthouse till the helmsman struck eight bells, which was noon. Then he went aft and called the port watch.

"Where are we now, Captain?" asked Louis, rubbing his eyes.

"Alboran light in sight, and about seven miles distant," replied Scott, as he hastened forward again, for he had seen a felucca ahead, and he wished to speak to her.

When he reached the forecastle, he shouted through the scuttle for Don, who came on deck immediately. It was time to relieve Felipe at the engine; but the captain ordered all hands, and the Spaniard was requested to remain at his post. Pitts was busy in the galley getting dinner. The felucca in sight was a large one, and evidently belonged to the island. She was standing out from the lighthouse, and as soon as the Maud was near enough to her, the captain ordered Morris to stop her, for he had just relieved Felix.

"Now, Don, hail her," said Scott to the engineer.

"Felucca, ahoy!" said he in Spanish.

The hail was returned in the same language, and the craft came up into the wind.

"Is there any water on that island?" asked Don at the dictation of the captain.

"Plenty of it," returned the skipper of the felucca.

"We are short of water, and want a cask or two," continued the engineer.

"I can sell you two casks," returned the speaker from the felucca.

"He is on the make," added Scott, when Don had translated the sentence; and he could not help laughing at the business turn of the Spaniard.

"Is it fresh?" asked the captain; and Don put the question to the skipper.

"He says he filled the casks from the well this morning," said Don, rendering the reply into English. "But he may be lying about it," suggested the engineer, smiling. "I have known some Spaniards to be guilty of falsehood; and I think you had better try the water before you buy it."

"Tell him we will go alongside his felucca," added the captain, as he directed Morris to ring one bell.

The Maud went ahead slowly, and in a few minutes she was alongside the felucca. Felipe came out of his room when he had stopped the engine, and began a talk with one of the Spaniards.

"Ask the price of the water, Don," said the captain, when the skipper presented himself abreast of the forecastle; and the engineer put the question.

"Veinte pesos le tonel," (Twenty dollars a barrel).

"Veinte pesos le tonel!" exclaimed Louis.

"No!" shouted the skipper, with no little indignation in his tone and manner. "Veinte pesetas le tonel (Twenty pesetas a barrel).

"Twenty pesetas! That is a horse of another color," added Louis. "Didn't he say pesos, Don?"

"I understood him so, sir; but perhaps it was a slip of the tongue," replied the engineer. "I don't think he meant that, for twenty pesetas is a very high price for water."

"How much is a peseta?" asked Scott.

"Twenty cents," replied Louis.

"Four dollars a barrel! That is a steep price," added the captain.

"Let Don ascertain if the water is good," suggested Louis.

The engineer went on board the felucca, and the skipper filled a tin dipper from one of four barrels lashed to the side of the craft. Then he tried one on the other side. Returning to the deck of the Maud, he reported the water to be fresh and pure.

"But the price?" said the captain, turning to Louis.

"Those are fifty-gallon barrels," interposed Don. "They contain enough to fill your four casks, sir."

"Never mind the price, Captain Scott. It would cost us more than eight dollars to make a landing on that island, fill the casks, and get them on board again, for we could take only one at a time in our little tender," argued Louis.

"You and Morris pay the bills, and I have not a word to say," replied Captain Scott, laughing and shrugging his shoulders, as though he did not regard himself as the victim of the swindle, though he saw the force of Louis's reasoning.

But then another question came up when it was found that the skipper did not include the price of the casks in that for the water, and he wanted two dollars apiece for the barrels. Scott was in favor of emptying them into the four half-barrels; but there was nothing like a tunnel in either vessel, and the four dollars additional was paid rather than use up any more time.

"Six dollars a barrel for water!" exclaimed Don. "Why, you could buy wine at that price over on the main land."

"I prefer the water to the wine," replied Louis. "Besides, these poor fellows on the island don't often have a chance to make a dollar; and when they do have one, they use it to the best advantage."

The skipper then offered to sell some fresh fish, just out of the water. Louis gave him four Spanish pesetas; and for it he put fish enough on the deck of the Maud to feed the whole ship's company for three days. He was evidently feeling very good after the unexpected trade he had made, and perhaps had more money in his pocket than for six months before; and he was profuse in his compliments and his thanks.

The Maud cast off her fasts, and Morris rang one bell, which was speedily followed by the jingling of the speed bell. The captain dropped his broad shelf in the pilot-house till it became a table on which he spread out his chart. Applying his parallel rule, he took off the course from Alboran light to his point ten miles off Algiers.

"East a half south, Morris," said he when he had obtained the course.

"East a half south, sir," repeated the helmsman, after the manner it was done on board the Blanche and the Guardian-Mother. "While you were dickering for water, Captain Scott, I noticed a change, a drop, in the barometer. Did you observe it?"

"No; but I noticed that the wind was backing," replied Scott, rushing to the barometer, which was suspended by the side of the starboard door. "That felucca is going west, and she has the wind on her port beam.

"What do you mean by backing, Captain?" asked Louis, who was standing at the door of the pilot-house.

"When a west wind shifts against the sun, or works round towards the east through the south-west and south, sailors call it backing," replied the captain, who was as fond as the average young fellow of telling what he knew.

"I have heard old farmers talk about the wind backing round, and I knew that it was towards the south when it did this thing; but I did not know that the sun had anything to do with it," added Louis.

"The sun moves from east to west, as it must if it rises in the east. From east to south would be with the sun; but from west to south and to east would be against the sun," continued the captain.

"That's so," added Morris; "and there is a couplet about it:—

'When the wind shifts against the sun,

Trust it not, for back it will run.'"

"The barometer has dropped, and I see that the felucca has all the breeze she can take care of," said Scott, as he looked at the Spanish craft. "The wind is backing to the southward; and before night we shall know what sort of a sea-boat the Maud is."

"Dinner is all ready, Captain Scott," Pitts announced at the port door.

"That means the captain and Flix," added Scott, "for they are off watch just now. Here, Pitts, we must have the meal hours fixed a little differently. It is half-past twelve now, and the watch ought to dine before they come on duty."

"That would make the dinner hour come at half-past eleven, sir," replied the steward, "and the other meals at very odd times, sir."

"No matter for the oddity. Hereafter, breakfast at half-past seven, dinner at half-past eleven, and supper at half-past five," said Captain Scott. "Then either watch will have half an hour for a meal before it goes on duty, and the one relieved can have all the time they want. If we find that half an hour is too much time, we can put the time ahead ten minutes."

"The hours you have named are those used in the navy and on board the Guardian-Mother for the ship's company," added Louis.

Roast beef with a few vegetables and a pudding was the dinner, and it was highly approved by both watches. The meal was hardly finished by the port watch before all hands became thoroughly conscious of a change in the mood of the Mediterranean Sea, for the little steamer had begun to roll as though she intended to make a complete somerset. With her course about east and the wind south, she spent more than half of her time in the trough of the sea, which is a very uncomfortable place to be in, especially in a small steamer like the Maud.

It would not be called a very heavy sea, and it was the direction of the wind rather than the quantity of it which made it uncomfortable on board. The water slopped in over the bulwarks, and Captain Scott, like a prudent shipmaster, made a survey of the deck, taking with him Felix and Don. The scuttles over the run and forecastle were secured in their places, and everything put in order for a gale.

CHAPTER XXXI

CAPTAIN SCOTT SETS A REEFED FORESAIL

The Mediterranean had very suddenly lashed itself into a fury. Nothing movable would stay in place, and everything had to be secured. Rope-yarns were in great demand; and Captain Scott had done everything possible for the safety of the property on board, in the pilot-house, on deck, and in the cabin. At first everything in the galley was pitched into heaps; but Pitts had brought order out of confusion there.

By the middle of the afternoon watch, with Morris and Louis on duty, everything had been put in order; for after the captain and Felix believed that all was safe, something would break loose and need further attention. The water-casks had given them the most trouble. Felipe and Pitts had assisted them in putting the half-casks back into the run and securing them there; but the full ones, containing fifty gallons each, were more troublesome. They were blocked up in the standing-room, and made fast with strong ropes; but they still had an inclination to break away.

Louis Belgrave had the wheel from four bells, or two o'clock; and he found he had his hands full, and that it required no little of his strength to manage it. He had seen several heavier gales than the present, when the Guardian-Mother knocked about quite as much as the Maud in the more tremendous seas of the Atlantic. Felipe had sailed in the Maud more than any other person on board; but he appeared to be the only one who was at all alarmed at the situation, though he had made the voyage from Mogadore to Funchal and back, and at the time when he took his final leave of the Pacha; but he had never been at sea in her in a gale.

At about every roll of the little steamer the sea broke over the bulwarks and swept over the bow and stern where there was no deck-house to obstruct its passage. Every door, window, or other opening had been closed and securely fastened, and thus far no water had found its way into the inside of the boat. As long as the engine did not break down Captain Scott had no fears for the safety of the Maud, uncomfortable as she was to those on board in such a gale.

The little steamer had two masts, and she was rigged as a schooner; but they appeared to be more for ornament than for use. A mainsail, foresail, and jib were stowed away in the forecastle; but it was doubtful if they had ever been bent on. The rigging and spars certainly added to the nautical effect of the craft; and they afforded an opportunity for the display of flags, for the gaffs on each mast were secured in place aloft by the vangs. The American flag had been set at the main peak during the voyage to Tangier; though, as anything but a tender of the ship, she was not legally entitled to use it.

"Well, Louis, what do you think of this?" said Captain Scott, who had watched his opportunity when the starboard side of the steamer was under water to open the port door of the pilot-house wide enough to enable him to enter.

"I think it is a tolerably fresh breeze," replied the young millionaire, as he heaved the wheel over to meet a big billow. "It makes a lively time in a steamer no larger than the Maud."

"It is a regular muzzler," added the captain. "But I have been out in a gale as heavy as this one in the Seahound; and she was not as big as the Maud."

"It is not comfortable; and I suppose that is about the worst that can be said of it."

"She is all right as long as the engine holds its own; and both Felipe and Don say there is no danger of its giving out," said the captain. "I suppose it is all right; but I wish we had another string to our bow."

"What other string could we have to our bow?" asked Louis, giving his companion an inquiring glance.

"The sails; and I wish I had thought to bend them on before we left Gib, or this forenoon, when we had nothing under the canopy to do but bite our finger-nails."

"I dare say it would be well to have them ready for use as a last resort," suggested Louis.

"As something more than that, though it would be exceedingly convenient to be able to set a reefed foresail in case the engine should break down. I have been thinking of bending on the foresail since it came on to blow heavily."

"You have no use for it yet; for Felipe says the Pacha had everything about the craft built twice as strong as was necessary, and I have no fear of the engine," replied Louis.

"If the sails were bent on, I should have set a reefed foresail, and perhaps a reefed mainsail, before this time," continued the captain. "It would steady her a great deal if nothing more, for I do not believe we are making our ten knots an hour just now."

Captain Scott sat on the divan, and appeared to be considering the expedient he had mentioned. A few minutes later he announced his intention to bend on the foresail, and he made his exit with the same precaution he had used in entering. He called Felix, Pitts, Morris, and Don to assist in the work, after he had been into the forecastle by the way of the engine and fire rooms. He overhauled the sails, and found the one he wanted.

Pitts carried it on deck, and it was passed up to the promenade deck, as they called the roofs of the deck-houses. The foremast was between the galley and the pilot-house. The gaff was lowered; and Scott and Pitts, who were both sailors, lashed the head of the sail to it. The mast-hoops were all in place, and the inner-leach was readily secured to them. Felix and Don, who were not sailors, had enough to do in holding on at the sail to keep the wind from whipping it out of the hands of the operators.

The promenade deck was swept by floods of spray all the time, and the party had not been there five minutes before they were wet to the skin; but no one minded this, for the weather was quite warm, the wind, fresh as it was, coming from the burning sands of Africa.

The tack was secured, and the clew hauled out to the end of the boom. The foot of the sail was then lashed down, and the work was finished, though it had taken an hour and a half to do it. The two sailors then overhauled the sheet and the halyards to see that they were in working order. Pitts had brought up some "slush," or grease, which was applied where it was needed.

A single reef was then put in the sail, and then a second upon the top of it, so that the last could be turned out if the craft would bear more sail. Captain Scott then stationed his force so that none of them would be knocked overboard by the thrashing of the sail, which was then hoisted with no little difficulty. The sheet was hauled in and made fast to the lower block, which moved on a traveller.

"The sail was then hoisted with no little difficulty."

The wind was square on the beam, and filled the reefed sail. The blast laid the steamer down to the plankshear; but she rallied after the first shock, and did not heel over as much as the captain supposed she would. The effect was very satisfactory, and the Maud went along much steadier than before.

"What do you think of it, Pitts?" asked the captain, and all the party were holding on at the stays of the smoke-stack.

"She behaves like a dandy, sir," replied the steward. "She would carry the foresail with only one reef in it."

"That is just what I was thinking," added Scott. "What is more, I am going to turn out the second reef, and let her go it with one."

"It won't be an easy thing to do with the wind on the beam, sir," suggested Pitts. "If you spill the sail, sir, the boom will run out so as to make a hard job of it, sir."

"I was thinking of that," replied the captain, as he went forward, and, bending down over the front of the pilot-house, yelled to Louis at the wheel to head the steamer up into the wind.

"Ay, ay, sir!" screamed the helmsman; and in a moment more the Maud was pitching into the head sea, and the reefed foresail was flapping in the gale.

The second reef was turned out in a minute or two, and the order was sent down by Morris for Louis to come up to the course again. The sheet remained as before, and the sail filled as the Maud came about. As it was done gradually there was no shock as before, and the steamer soon came to her bearings. She heeled over more than before, but not much, and her motion was decidedly steadier.

At four o'clock Louis rang eight bells, and the watches were to be changed. It was the turn of the starboard watch, and the captain's trick at the wheel. He directed Felix, his watch-mate, to keep the lookout on the promenade deck where he could see the sail and keep it in trim, for he was sailor enough to do this, though he was not an able seaman. The rest of the party descended to their places below.

"Well, Louis, what do you think of it now?" asked the captain, as he went into the pilot-house on the lee side.

"I think you have greatly improved the situation, Captain Scott."

"I feel perfectly happy, my boy," replied Scott, who appeared to be considerably exhilarated as he took the wheel from the hands of Louis. "I seem to know where I am now better than I did before. The engine may break down now if it is so disposed, and I can snap my finger in its face, for we have sail enough to keep the Maud on the top of the water if anything happens to the machinery."

"You were certainly born to be a sailor, Captain," replied Louis, as he seated himself on the divan.

"I believe that with all my might, and this experience is worth a hundred dollars a day to me," answered Scott.

"Call it fifty," laughed the other.

"It is very valuable to me, whatever you call it in figures. I have a big ambition in this direction; and it is bigger now than it was before I became a decent fellow. I think Captain Ringgold will make a man of me."

"It looks as though he had already done so," added Louis.

"Perhaps he has not finished his work yet. We are going along very nicely now, my hearty."

"We are indeed. The Maud rolls a good deal"—

"You don't expect her to go along on an even keel in such a sea as this, do you?" interposed the captain.

"Certainly not; she is behaving very well."

"She is behaving like a lady in a ballroom!" exclaimed Scott with enthusiasm. "She has a good deal of motion, like the belle of the waltz; but her motion is poetry."

"She is waltzing along very well."

It was the first dog watch. Pitts could not get up a regular dinner, for the pots and pans would not stay on the galley; but he gave the ship's company enough to eat. The racks, or "fiddles," on the table in the cabin kept the dishes in tolerable order. After the meal the captain called all hands, and succeeded in heaving the log, which, to his astonishment, gave thirteen knots. He concluded that there must be some mistake, and he repeated the operation with the same result.

"I don't understand it, Don," said he. "Have you been driving the engine?"

"The last time I looked at the revolutions, I thought she must be making about eleven knots," replied the second engineer. "The furnace has a big draught in this wind, and the sail helps her a couple of knots."

The captain did not object to the speed. The steamer went along without incident or accident, and by this time the ship's company had become accustomed to the motion. Southerly storms are not usually of long duration, and at midnight the gale broke, though the sea was still disturbed. The watches were regularly kept, the lookout man attending to the sail on the upper deck. In the morning the wind had shifted to the south-west.

CHAPTER XXXII

THE MEETING OF THE TWO STEAMERS

"Where are we now, Captain Scott?" asked Louis, who had just finished his breakfast, as he went into the pilot-house to relieve the starboard watch.

Morris was with him, and he took the wheel according to the programme which had been laid down in the beginning of the voyage. This was at eight o'clock on the second morning of the trip. The captain had his chart table in use when they entered, with Felix at the wheel.

"Where are we now is the question; and I can't guess the conundrum exactly, for I don't know how fast we have been running during the night," replied Scott. "Our standard speed is ten knots an hour; but the log last evening showed that we were doing three knots better than that."

Then he looked at a station-bill he had made out in pencil which was tacked to the starboard door for the want of a better place. It showed all the watches, who served on them, the number of hours from Europa Point, from which the departure was made, and the number of miles run at the end of each watch, figured at the standard speed.

"We are thirty-two hours out, and have run three hundred and twenty miles, or ought to have run only that; but in the last twelve hours we have probably made from twenty-four to thirty-six miles more than that," continued the captain. "I will heave the log after breakfast, and that will give us a better idea, for we are still carrying the reefed foresail. Morris reported to me when he was relieved by the morning watch that he had started the sheets about two bells. We have the wind on the starboard quarter now, and it must help her somewhat. I should say that we had made three hundred and forty-four miles."

"Land, ho!" shouted Felix, who had gone out on the deck.

"Where away?" demanded Scott.

"On the beam," replied Felix.

"That is just where it ought to be," added Scott, as he turned to his chart. "We must be off Magrowa Point, where the mountains are close to the shore. Three hundred and forty-four miles must be the figure."

The captain and Felix went to breakfast, after which the log was heaved and it gave twelve knots. The Maud was now going along with comparative steadiness. The gale had entirely subsided, though the sea was not yet reduced to its former smooth condition. There was a gentle breeze, and Scott ordered the reef in the foresail to be shaken out. Don declared that they had burned too much coal while the wind was so fresh, and that they had reduced the quantity.

At four bells, when Louis took the wheel, the log was tried again, and it appeared that the old standard of ten knots had been restored in spite of the sail. But Scott had bent on the mainsail and jib while he, Felix, and Don were off watch, assisted by the steward. He had set all sail, and then the log gave eleven knots. He had hardly completed the job before the starboard watch were called to dine before they took the deck at eight bells. Morris was the lookout on the promenade deck, attending to the sails also.

"Sail, ho!" shouted he, standing over the pilot-house.

"Where away?" demanded Louis.

"Directly astern of us!" cried Morris.

Pitts carried this report to the cabin. Louis had no chance to observe the sail, and he passed the glass up to his watch-mate. Morris examined the distant sail with the instrument, and he could see only her masts and sails; but a streak of black smoke in the air indicated that she was a steamer. She was hull down, and he could not make out anything about her. But it was soon evident to him that the sail was gaining rapidly on the Maud.

Louis struck eight bells, which was noon this time, and the captain and Felix appeared on time. He wrote "386 miles" on his station-bill as the distance the Maud had made at the end of the forenoon watch. He took the wheel, and then asked about the sail which had been reported. All that was known was stated to him; but he could make nothing of it.

"I don't know when the Guardian-Mother left Gib, and of course I can't tell when she will overhaul us," said he. "She must have got off some time yesterday forenoon, and it is time that she was up with us. On the upper deck, Flix, watch the sails, and keep a lookout for the steamer astern."

After Felix and Morris had dined they hastened to the promenade deck; they were interested in the sail astern, for it had been already demonstrated that it was steering the same course as the Maud. In a couple of hours more, her burgee, which had evidently been set for a purpose, could be distinguished.

"It's the Guardian-Mother as sure as that my mother was born in Ireland!" exclaimed Felix, who was the lookout man, and had the glass, which he passed to Louis as soon as he had satisfied himself.

"The sail is the Guardian-Mother!" he shouted over the pilot-house.

"I don't believe those on board of her will know the Maud," suggested Morris. "They never saw her carrying sail, and she will look like a strange sight to them."

"Captain Ringgold will make her out in good time," added Louis.

In half an hour the steamer astern was within a quarter of a mile of the Maud. At this time Pitts and Don came on the upper deck with the order from the captain to take in sail, which the former delivered to Morris as the first officer, and he had already hauled down the jib. It was an easy matter to furl the sails compared with what it had been to set them, and the stops were soon put on the after sails. There was no longer any need of the party on the upper deck, and they descended to the forecastle.

By this time the Guardian-Mother was abreast of the Maud, and hardly a biscuit's throw from her. In this position she stopped her screw, and Captain Scott rang one bell for the same purpose.

"Maud, ahoy!" shouted Captain Ringgold from the officer's promenade, where all the cabin party were seated.

"On board the Guardian-Mother!" returned Captain Scott.

"How goes it?" asked the commander of the ship, putting a general question which covered everything.

"All well, sir!" answered the captain of the Maud.

The sea was still too rough to permit the two vessels to come alongside each other; but it was seen from the little steamer that the Guardian-Mother was lowering the first cutter into the water, and in a few minutes that her crew were pulling to the consort, with the commander in the stern-sheets. The gangway was rigged out on the starboard quarter, for it was not a fixture as on board of larger steamers. No one was required at the helm or engine of the Maud, and all hands gathered in the standing-room to give the commander an appropriate welcome.

The only proper salute that came to the mind of Captain Scott was three cheers, which he called for, and they were given with decided enthusiasm. No one could blame the young commander of the little steamer for feeling very much exhilarated as the time came for him to make his first report of the cruise. He had brought his craft safely through a smart gale in as good condition as when she had left Gibraltar. If he was proud of the achievement, as he certainly was, he had sufficient foundation for an honest pride.

The cutter came up to the gangway on the lee side, and Captain Ringgold ascended to the deck, which was not a long journey, for the Maud sat low in the water. The ship's company stood in a group, with Captain Scott in front of them as the commander came over the rail. He went directly to the captain, who was the first to be saluted in virtue of his office, and took him by the hand.

"We did not recognize the Maud when we first made her out," said Captain Ringgold. "We never saw her under sail before; but she looked quite natural after you had furled everything."

Without waiting for any reply, the commander shook hands with Morris, Louis, and Felix, and nodded to the two engineers.

"Well, Captain Scott, I did not find you exactly where I expected to overhaul you, for you are about twenty-five miles farther along than I supposed you would be," continued the captain of the Guardian-Mother.

"We were rolling very heavily in the gale, sir, and I bent on the foresail, which made things easier on board; and as the wind was fair, we made twelve and thirteen knots an hour for about ten hours."

"It was a smart gale; and when I did not find you where I expected, I was a little anxious about you this forenoon. How does the Maud behave in heavy weather, Captain Scott?"

"Like a lady, sir; of course she does a great deal of rolling on account of her size, but she stood it very well, and kept up her speed in spite of the knocking about she had."

"I suppose you have become a sailor by this time, Louis," added Captain Ringgold, turning to the young millionaire.

"Not much of a sailor, sir," replied Louis.

"You must be full-fledged, Mr. Woolridge, after the experience of the last thirty-six hours," he added.

"I tried to do my duty, sir," answered Morris, rather startled to hear himself mistered,— a distinction to which he was entitled as mate, though the big four had been more familiar with him.

"Mrs. Belgrave and Mrs. Woolridge were somewhat worried about you during the gale; but Mr. Boulong will take you to the ship, Louis and Morris, while I am arranging things with the captain for the future," said the commander. "You will return in an hour."

The first officer of the Guardian-Mother took the hands of the young gentlemen as he received them in the cutter, and listened with interest to a brief account of their voyage. In return he told them the news from the steamer, and told them what had passed between Captain Ringgold and the Pacha. But the time was too short to say much, and in a few minutes both of them were in the arms of their mothers, after which there was a general shaking of hands with the other passengers.

"I don't see that we have any occasion to go to Malta," said the commander to the captain of the Maud, after the departure of the cutter. "We can take that in at another time. Have you had any trouble of any kind on board?"

"None whatever, sir," replied Scott, hardly understanding the meaning of the question.

"Boys will sometimes get up ill-feeling and even quarrels among themselves when they are off on their own hook," added Captain Ringgold with a smile.

"There has not been a particle of trouble of any kind, or anything like ill-feeling," protested Scott very warmly. "Every one has obeyed orders, and when I bent on the foresail in the gale all were ready to work, whether they were on watch or not. It was a hard job on the promenade deck, which would not hold still a moment, and where we were wet to the skin with every spray that flopped over her. I have not heard a growl or a grumble since we sailed from Gib. Pitts and Don have done all kinds of work, and done it cheerfully."

"Your report is excellent, Captain Scott. I have been considering whether or not I should hoist the Maud on the upper deck of the ship," replied the commander.

"Of course I haven't anything to say about that sir; but I believe I could go around the world in the Maud. Our casks leaked all the water out, and we had to get a fresh supply off Alboran;" and Scott detailed the meeting with the felucca.

"You have done so well, and got along so pleasantly, that I will not take the Maud on board of the ship, and you shall proceed on the voyage."

Captain Ringgold marked the course for the Maud on the chart to Constantinople. Louis and Morris returned to the little steamer at the end of the hour, and both vessels proceeded on the voyage.

CHAPTER XXXIII

THE PROFESSOR'S LECTURE ON ALGERIA

It would require several volumes to detail all the particulars of the daily life of the big four on board of the Maud during the long voyage from the point where the two vessels had met to Constantinople, where Captain Ringgold had decided to make his next stay of any length. The routine of duty and the ordinary experience of the young Americans afloat have been described so that the reader can understand how the days were passed on board of the Maud.

Captain Ringgold had decided that the Guardian-Mother and her consort, as the Maud had now come to be called, should keep together, the former regulating her speed by that of the latter. At the same time the commander had marked out the course on the chart of Captain Scott, so that he could proceed on the voyage alone if by any accident they should be separated.

This course was along the coast of Africa, passing Algiers and Tunis, as far as Cape Bon; then stretching across to Cape Passaro, the south-eastern point of the island of Sicily, leaving Malta on the right. From this cape the course was east for about four hundred miles to the southern capes of Greece, and passing through the channel between the island of Cerigo and the mainland into the Archipelago, where the course would generally be north-east to the Dardanelles. After going through this strait and the Sea of Marmora, the little squadron would arrive at its destination at the city of the Sultan.

Perhaps Captain Ringgold was a little facetious about it, but he called this voyage running away from Ali-Noury Pacha; and it is certain that Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge were very much relieved after the steamer left Gibraltar, where the Fatimé was still at anchor. But the need of coal and fresh provisions would require that some calls should be made at the various ports on or near the course.

The commander had consulted his passengers frequently in regard to where they should go and what they should do. They always protested that they should be happy wherever the commander took them; but now that the danger of encountering the Pacha appeared to be removed, they expressed their minds more freely, though they often changed them.

"I suppose we are going over some of this ground, or rather this water again, are we not?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"I think not," replied Captain Ringgold.

"But we all want to see something of Algiers," added the lady.

"Algeria is French now; but I have never been there," added Professor Giroud.

"It is only about eighty miles to Captain Scott's red cross off Algiers, and we shall be up with it at midnight; but as you desire to visit the place, we will go there," replied the commander; and he ordered the course to be changed a point to the southward.

"Algiers" was spelled out with the signal flags for the Maud; and she replied that the message was understood. At two o'clock in the morning the Guardian-Mother stopped her screw off the red and green lights placed at the ends of the two moles that enclose the inner harbor, and the Maud followed her example. The city is built partly on a hill five hundred feet high, and partly on the low ground in front of it. It is on the west side of a bay between Capes Caxine and Matifou, on each of which is a light.

In the early morning the ship led the way into the harbor, and stopped at the approach of the quarantine boat. The Maud placed herself alongside the Guardian-Mother, and the doctor boarded her first. He addressed Captain Scott in French; but Louis, who could speak the language nearly as well as he could English, hastened to his relief. He stated that the little steamer was the tender of the big one, which was a yacht on a pleasure voyage. The Frenchman laughed, was exceedingly polite, and hastened on board of the principal vessel.

She had a clean bill of health, and being a yacht, the custom-house officers, who soon appeared, had no duties to perform or exact. The big four breakfasted on board of the ship, and it was a pleasant reunion after the separation. After the meal the party gathered on the promenade. Blanche Woolridge manifested a great deal of pleasure at meeting Louis again, and he assisted her to mount the steps to the upper deck, and provided her with a chair, taking a seat beside her; and neither her father nor mother frowned at this act of courtesy.

Somewhat to the astonishment of the company, as soon as they were all seated where they could see the upper and the lower city spread out before them, Professor Giroud took a position in front of them. Without saying anything to others, the commander had invited him to tell them something about Algérie, as it is called in French.

"I obey the order of the commander of the Guardian-Mother in standing up before you to say something about Algérie; and I hope I shall not be so dry as to tire you out in half an hour," the scholar of the ship began; and he was answered with a round of applause in which all the ladies joined. "Algérie was formerly a part of the Turkish Empire; but the French have conquered it and made it a colony of my country, and extended its boundary about two hundred miles farther to the south. Its area is said to be a hundred and sixty thousand square miles; but that is only an estimate. As our good captain would add, it is nearest in size to the State of California, and about four times as large as the State of Virginia.

"The population is estimated at 2,600,000, considerably more than half of them being Europeans, mostly French. About one-fifth of the country is under cultivation; and some of it is very fertile, especially in the river valleys. If you look at your maps you will see that the Barbary States—Morocco, Algérie, and Tunis—are crossed by mountain ranges quite near the coast, as on the west coast of South America, so that there can be no large rivers in them.

"Algiers, Bona, and Oran are the principal cities. The provinces with these names are extremely fertile, and were formerly the granaries of Italy. The Southern parts are something like the desert of Sahara, which they border, but contain oases, which are part of the date country.

"The climate in some parts is very hot, but it is cool on the seashore and cold in the high mountains. The thermometer averages sixty-three in this city. The productions are the grains, resin, timber, olives, and dates. Oxen, sheep, and camels are the animals. French is now the language of the people, though Arabic and Turkish are still spoken. In ancient days the eastern part was the country of the Numidians, and the western of the Moors, or a portion of what was called Mauritania."

"My favorite name," added Mrs. Belgrave.

"A pretty name, but with little to recommend it, madame," added the professor. "As Roman colonies these regions enjoyed their highest prosperity; but the conquest of the Vandals sent them back into a state of barbarism. The Mohammedans then got possession, and an improvement followed, and at one time the Arabian savants held the burden of the knowledge then in existence.

"When Ferdinand and Isabella completed the conquest of Granada, the year that Columbus discovered America, they drove the Jews and Moors over into Africa. In revenge for the treatment they had received, they became pirates, and preyed upon their late oppressors. For this Ferdinand attacked them, and captured this city in 1509, fortifying the place. One of the Algerine princes called in Barbarossa, the famous pirate chief, to his assistance. He was a renegade Greek, and had become a Turk. This pirate turned his forces against the emir who had called him over, treacherously murdered him, and made himself Sultan. He was very successful in his wars; the Spaniards were alarmed, and marched out from Oran upon him. Barbarossa was taken prisoner and beheaded, and his brother was chosen his successor. He called in the aid of the Turkish government, whose armies drove the Spaniard out of the country. They established a system of despotism and piracy, which lasted till 1830. For three hundred years the nations of Europe warred against this piracy.

"In 1815 a United States fleet defeated the Algerines, and compelled the dey to respect the American flag ever after. The pirates still exacted tribute or presents from several of the nations of Europe. Various outrages upon the commerce and officials of France brought on a war, which continued with more or less activity for thirty years, and was only ended by the capture of Abd-el-kader. The French have been engaged in extending their conquest up to the present time.

"The city before you, or the beginning of it, was built in the year 935 by an Arab chief, whose name I don't remember. The fortress you see on the hill, five hundred feet high, is the Casbah, and commands the whole city, as the deys who occupied it found it necessary to overawe their own subjects. You observe the lower town nearest to you, and with the exception of a few mosques, it consists of government and commercial buildings. The French occupy this part of the town, while the upper city is still Moorish, as its people and its inhabitants will assure you when you visit it; and this is the part of the city that will interest you most. But I think I have said enough, and perhaps too much."

"No!" shouted Dr. Hawkes, as the professor stepped back and took his seat. "I have been very much interested, for I knew next to nothing about Algeria."

"I heartily indorse the remark of my Brother Adipose Tissue," added Uncle Moses, and the whole party gave a round of applause as an expression of the general sentiment.

"I see that I did wisely and well to call on the professor for this occasion instead of attempting the task he has done so well," said the commander. "But we will use our time while we have it and the weather is pleasant. We are not compelled to take to the barge or cutters for the purpose of going on shore, for we are fortunately provided with a tender under the name of the Maud; and I have directed the engineers to have her in readiness for us. We shall now be under the command of Captain Scott."

"I can find my way to the shore, but I am not a pilot in this harbor," added the captain of the Maud. "I see the custom-house, and I will land you there. There is not less than eighteen feet of water anywhere within the moles, and we can't get aground."

Pitts had put the water into the half-casks, and lowered them into the run. They did not leak now. The velvet cushions were placed on the seats, and the awning stretched out for the protection of the passengers. The standing-room was just a pattern for them. Captain Scott took the wheel, and in five minutes the little steamer was alongside the wharf, for it was not more than three cables' length from the ship. The party divided into groups according to their own fancies. The two fat men were in sympathy, and went together. As usual, Captain Ringgold was the escort of Mrs. Belgrave; the professor took charge of Mrs. Blossom; Louis placed himself at the side of Miss Blanche, and the other three of the big four went by themselves.

"This is nothing but a French town, Miss Blanche," said Louis to his companion, after they had walked a short distance. "It looks like many others I have seen."

"I suppose you could talk with these French people, Mr. Belgrave," added the young lady.

"I could; couldn't you?"

"I am sure I could not. I have studied French in Switzerland and in New York, but I cannot speak it yet."

"I am afraid you don't practise it enough, Miss Blanche."

"I don't practise it at all out of school, for I have no one to talk with. Morris can't speak French any more than I can, and mamma has forgotten all she ever knew."

Louis spoke to her in French, and she replied to him in the same language. With a little assistance over hard places she got along very well, and declared that she was delighted with the exercise, which she should be glad to repeat every day.

CHAPTER XXXIV

ORIENTAL VIEWS IN ALGIERS

The party from the Guardian-Mother continued their walk towards the upper town till they came to a large square, which was laid out with lime and orange trees, and surrounded by the best buildings in the town, which were in European style. Captain Ringgold found a hotel there of considerable size, which he entered, and presently returned with a guide who spoke English and Arabic.

"This is the Place Royale," replied this man in answer to a question.

"You have all sorts of people here," said the commander. "Are there many English here?"

"Very few English and Americans; only once in a while one who comes to look at the city."

"Most of the nations seem to be represented here."

"Arabs, Moors, Jews, French, Spaniards, Germans, Italians, Maltese, and Turks," added the guide. "That street is Bab-el Ouad, and a little farther is Bab-azoun, two of the best streets in the city; and they are very fine."

"They are built like the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, with colonnades on each side; but they are very narrow, like the streets of most Spanish and Oriental cities. Bab means street, I take it," said the captain, as the party stopped to look down the first of the two streets. "When the sun is hot that would be a very comfortable place to walk."

After the party had spent an hour in the Place Royale, with a short walk in the Bab-el Ouad, the guide conducted them up a narrow and irregular street to the upper town, where the scene became vastly more interesting because it was novel and strange.

"I should think we were back in Mogadore," said Mrs. Belgrave, the only Oriental city she or any of the other passengers had ever seen, and every person and object commanded their attention.

The people of this section were nearly all Mohammedans, and the few women they saw were veiled. Most of them were fat and dumpy, for obesity is a chief attraction in an Oriental belle. The Nubians were jet black, but they were as closely veiled as those who were whiter. Many mosques were in sight all the time, and the commander spoke to the guide about them.

"There are one hundred mosques and marabouts in the city," said he.

"What are marabouts?" asked the captain, and all the others were gathered around him to hear what was said; and the natives gazed at them as much in wonder as the tourists at the strange sight before them.

"A marabout is a tomb, or the sanctuary of a saint, and some of them are very elegant edifices."

"What is this in front of us?"

"That is a mesjid, which means a second-class mosque, as you Americans would say. The principal ones are called djamas, and some of them are very elegant. The tomb of a dey or a very rich pacha is often exceedingly fine."

"The houses here are very queer, Mr. Belgrave," said Miss Blanche; "but they are like those we saw in Mogadore, and not at all like those in the lower town."

"That is a French town, and I saw two or three buildings five and six stories high. They have earthquakes here, and I should rather be in one of these Moorish houses than on the sixth floor of one of those lofty structures," replied Louis, who had read up a little as soon as he returned to the ship. "These dwellings all have flat roofs, Miss Blanche. Do you know why that is so?"

"So that the rain can get into them, I should suppose," replied the beautiful maiden; and not only the French but the Moors had paused to get a second look at her.

"Hardly for that; but as soon as the sun has gone down, in the cool of the evening, the people pass their time on the roof. I read some stories by a French writer who had spent some time in Algeria, and he speaks of passing his evenings on the roof of the house he had hired, a Moorish house in Bougie, on the seashore."

"These houses have no windows, as we understand the word," said Blanche, who was taking in all the strange sight before her. "They are nothing but peek-holes, with iron bars, which make them look like so many prisons."

"These houses would not suit us any better than ours would the people who live in them. These narrow streets keep out much of the glare of the hot sun, and make the place cooler than it would otherwise be. You noticed the same thing in Cadiz and Seville, and it is an Oriental idea."

"It looked very odd to see omnibuses in the Place Royale, just as we see them in Paris."

"The French have introduced a great many improvements here; in fact, they have everything here as they do in France, even to the horse-racing, of which the Arabs are very fond, as well as the Frenchmen."

"Where did you learn so much about Algiers, Mr. Belgrave?" asked Miss Blanche, bestowing a pleasant smile upon him.

"I have not had time to look up much about this town; but the ship's library contains books treating of all the cities in the world," replied Louis, who felt just as though he was floundering about in a sugar-bowl all the time.

"Before we come to another place I want to learn something about it, and I wish you would put me in the way of finding what I shall want."

"I will do so with the greatest pleasure if I happen to be on board of the ship; but I shall probably continue to be a deck-hand on the Maud for the next week," replied Louis; and he thought of the only disadvantage that came to his mind in being in another craft than the Guardian-Mother.

"You must have fine times on board of the Maud, Mr. Belgrave."

"We all have to do duty there as the officers and seamen do on board of the ship."

"I should like to sail some of the time in the little steamer, Mr. Belgrave," said Miss Blanche, looking her chaperon full in the face as if to ascertain the possibility of such a change.

"I don't believe you would be as comfortable there as you are on board of the ship," replied Louis, not a little moved by the suggestion of the young lady.

"I know I couldn't live on her; but I mean to ask Captain Ringgold to let me spend a day on board of her," persisted Blanche.

The young millionaire thought it would be absolutely delightful for him to take his trick at the wheel with Miss Blanche standing on the lee side, with the privilege of looking at her occasionally,—for he never permitted himself to stare at any lady,—and the idea invested the Maud with a new charm.

The sun had become very hot in the middle of the day, and they found the shade of the narrow streets very agreeable as they descended the rough thoroughfare to the lower town. The party were all complaining of the heat, and the commander sent the guide to procure an omnibus for them.

"They found the shade of the narrow streets very agreeable."

"The professor said the thermometer was only 63° here; but I should say it was 90° now, Mr. Belgrave," said Miss Blanche while they were waiting for the vehicle.

"He spoke of the average temperature for the whole of Algeria, and there are snow and ice on some of the mountains. The professor only meant to say that it was not so hot as it might be," replied Louis, as the omnibus came for them. "To-day the south-west wind brings the hot air of the desert to Algiers."

It was but a short ride to the custom-house, and the party embarked in the Maud. The tourists were glad enough to get on board the Guardian-Mother again, for it was comparatively cool under the awning on deck. The passengers all said they had seen enough of Algiers; for none of them were artists, antiquarians, or archæologists, and it would have been a bore for them to stay there a week, though the student of art or history would have found enough to occupy his time for a much longer period.

A lighter was alongside the ship, filling up her bunkers with coal, and another supplied those of the Maud in the afternoon. At lunch the commander consulted the party in regard to their wishes. Something was said about putting in at Tunis by the professor; but the captain shook his head.

"It is more than thirty miles off our course, and then at the head of a shallow lake nine miles farther," said he.

"But it is within three miles of the ruins of ancient Carthage," interposed the professor.

"Delenda est Carthago," replied the commander, laughing. "I believe that means that Carthage must be destroyed, or, in other words, a war of extermination; and I fear we must make that of Carthage in this instance, for the navigation is difficult. I went there when I was a boy during the war in the Crimea, and I can assure you that Tunis is a dirty hole, though it has some fine mosques, well-supplied bazaars, and the palace of the Bey is magnificent; but it hardly pays to go there. The professor is a fine classical scholar, and he would enjoy it more than any of the others. But if you wish to go there, I will take the ship to Tunis with the greatest pleasure imaginable."

"Don't go there on my account, Captain Ringgold," protested Professor Giroud.

"I will put it to vote, and the majority shall decide," replied the commander, and he proceeded to do so.

No one, not even the professor, voted in favor of the visit, and the question was decided in the negative. In the middle of the afternoon the captain went on shore in the first cutter to attend to the formality of clearing. On his return the order was given to heave up the anchor, and the ship's company of the Maud was sent on board of her. The officers took leave of the party that were to proceed in the ship.

"I want to sail some day in the Maud, Captain Ringgold," interposed Miss Blanche.

"Not now, I hope, for it will soon be night, and there are no accommodations on board of her for you," replied the captain.

"No; I mean some day when the sea is not too rough," added the maiden.

"There will be no difficulty at all about it, Miss Woolridge; and I thought of sending all my passengers on board of the Maud when we get to the Archipelago, for then we shall be in sight of land all the time among the islands. I can easily put you on board of her some morning when it is pleasant, and you say the word."

Louis was satisfied that Miss Blanche would soon be a passenger on board of the Maud for a day, and he went to his duties on board of the little steamer. He had talked with the professor about his studies, and he took his books with him. The pilot was on board the Guardian-Mother, and the Maud was to follow her out of the harbor. The two steamers went to sea that night, and the weather was delightful. The rough sea had subsided, and the commander anticipated a prosperous voyage.

He was not mistaken in his prognostication; for in four days and sixteen hours the steamers were off Cape Matapan, the southern point of Greece. The professor became enthusiastic when the name was announced; Dr. Hawkes and Uncle Moses, both of whom were graduates of colleges and interested in classic lore, were not unmoved.

Off Cape Bon, which is within seventy-five miles of the island of Sicily, and with the exception of Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar, is the shortest distance between Europe and "The Dark Continent." At this Cape Miss Blanche was put on board of the Maud, and remained there till evening, greatly to the beatification of the millionaire deck-hand. Two days later the visit was repeated, this time in company with Mrs. Belgrave; and they were on board of the Maud when she made Cape Matapan.

CHAPTER XXXV

THE ARRIVAL AT CONSTANTINOPLE

Since the departure from Algiers the weather had been like a dream of paradise. The African winds came over water enough to cool them, and the thermometer on the deck of the Guardian-Mother stood at seventy, hardly varying from that during the day. Across the Ionian Sea, between Sicily and Greece, the sea was somewhat disturbed, but not enough to make it uncomfortable, even on board of the Maud.

"I think this is perfectly delicious!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, as the little steamer was passing Cape Matapan about noon.

"Nothing could be finer," replied Captain Scott, who had just been relieved by the port watch.

Morris was at the wheel, and Louis had seated Miss Blanche on the forecastle, where he was keeping the lookout. Pitts was busily engaged in getting up a dinner as elaborate as the resources of the little steamer would permit for the guests on board.

"You seem to know all the land and all the water in this part of the world as well as Captain Ringgold, Captain Scott," said Mrs. Belgrave, after they had passed the Cape.

"Why should I not? I have never been here before, but my chart puts me in possession of all it is necessary to know in connection with the navigation," replied the captain, flattered by the remark and not less by the smile of the lady. "We have to cross the entrance of the Gulf of Kolokythia now; but it is not more than twenty miles wide, and then we go into the Cervi Channel."

"Dinner all ready for the starboard watch, Captain Scott," said Pitts, presenting himself in the standing-room.

"Where is Miss Blanche?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"She is keeping the lookout with Louis," replied the captain with a significant smile. "The steward will call her."

"I will call her myself," replied the lady as she went forward, where she found Blanche looking through a spy-glass at the shores of Greece under the direction of Louis, who held the end of the glass. "Come to dinner with the starboard watch, Miss Blanche."

"I don't want any dinner yet, Mrs. Belgrave, for I wish to find the hut of the hermit of whom Captain Ringgold told us this morning."

"You will not find it here, for the hermit lived on Cape Malea," said the lady with a merry laugh. "Besides, they don't keep a restaurant on board the Maud, and have 'meals at all hours.'"

"But the port watch must have meals at all hours; and I have already accepted an invitation to dine with Mr. Woolridge, the distinguished first officer of the Maud, and the equally distinguished deck-hand without any handle to his name whom you call Louis, and I call Mr. Belgrave."

The young lady had her own way, and dined with the port watch to the great satisfaction of the young millionaire deck-hand. The dinner was late on account of the extra preparations made for the guests, and did not conform to the usual hours. The dinner was very creditable to the skill of Pitts; and Miss Blanche enjoyed it quite as much as Louis, though it was doubtless a very tame affair to Morris, who was not elevated to the seventh heaven by the circumstances.

The Maud sped on her course, and was in the middle of the gulf with the Greek name when the port watch finished the dinner, and Louis returned to his post on the forecastle; but the young lady seemed to prefer this part of the deck, and accompanied him. The captain and Felix returned to the standing-room when they were relieved, for they had served out of course on account of the lateness of the dinner hour.

"I suppose you begin to feel at home here, Flix," said the captain as they seated themselves opposite Mrs. Belgrave. "I believe you have always claimed to be a Greek, though you were born in America."

"Is it a Grake? Upon me worrud I am a Grake from Kilkenny," replied Felix; Mrs. Belgrave, who had known him from his childhood, always laughed when he spoke the Milesian dialect, and he used half a dozen different ones.

"Can you give us the Greek name of this island on the starboard hand to which we are coming?"

"Av coorse Oi kin; sure it's Sayraygo."

"I was not aware that you knew any Greek, Felix," added Mrs. Belgrave.

"Nayther do I know the Grake these haythins shpake out here. It's only the pure Grake, as it comes from Kilkenny, that Oi know."

"But what is the name of the island we are coming to, Captain Scott?" asked the lady.

"Flix told you correctly, only he pronounced it in Greek. It is Cerigo."

"That's jist what Oi say, Sayraygo!" exclaimed Felix. "Sorra one uv 'em out here knows how to shpake Grake."

Louis had to take the wheel at four bells, and Miss Blanche resumed her place on the lee side of him, precisely as he had imagined the scene beforehand. She remained there till eight bells, when the port watch was relieved. At three whistles, about three bells, the steamer stopped, and the second cutter came for the two lady passengers. The young lady declared that she had had a delightful time all day when she met her mother at the gangway.

The next day, while the little fleet were sailing through the Archipelago, the entire party went on board of the Maud, and passed the day with the big four. They chatted, laughed, and sang all day long, making just such a pleasure excursion of it as most of them had often enjoyed at home. They were so delighted that they repeated the visit the next day, and left the little steamer only at the entrance to the Dardanelles, for they could see the shores better from the deck of the big steamer. The night was passed on the Sea of Marmora; and they were all sorry when the darkness prevented them from seeing the strange sights that still surrounded them. The steamers had been obliged to slow down so as not to arrive in the night; but early in the morning they went into the Golden Horn.

Captain Ringgold, fully appreciating the anxiety and trouble into which the reappearance of Ali-Noury Pacha had thrown the parents of Miss Blanche, had suddenly reversed his principal plan, which was to follow the southern coast of Europe to its most eastern point which it was desirable to visit. Instead of doing so, he had followed the coast of Africa as far as Cape Bon, and then continued to the eastward till he reached the Archipelago. In this manner the Guardian-Mother and her puny consort had sailed over two thousand miles.

A great deal had been said by the boys and also by the passengers about the Orient; and they had certainly been cruising in the Orient the greater portion of the distance. The Barbary States were Mohammedan countries, and they had been near their shores half the time. The commander was sorry they had not been able to pass through the Sea of Marmora in the daytime; but he had slowed down so that they entered the Bosporus at six o'clock in the morning, and the passengers had seen the sun rise, which most of them were not in the habit of seeing.

The entire party were gathered together in their usual place when they desired to see to the best advantage the surroundings—on the promenade, which was about seven feet higher than the upper deck. A pilot had been taken at the entrance to the Dardanelles, and another on the sea a few miles from the Oriental city.

"The Bosporus here is just about one mile wide," said Captain Ringgold, who had now nothing to do but attend to his passengers.

"What does Bosporus mean?" asked Mrs. Belgrave.

"It means 'Cow-ford,'" replied Professor Giroud, whom the Captain asked to make the explanation. "Perhaps 'Heifer-ford' would be the better name, for it comes from mythology. Io was the daughter of Inachus, king of Argos, Peloponnesus (now called the Morea), which we saw day before yesterday, Cape Matapan being its most southern point. She was a very pretty young lady, and Jupiter, as he was very apt to do in such cases, fell in love with her."

"We haven't much time for long yarns just now, Professor," laughed the commander.

"I will finish in a moment. Juno, who was the wife of Jupiter, properly enough under such circumstances, was jealous of Io, and turned her into a white heifer. She then caused a gad-fly to torment Io, and sent her wandering all over the earth. In the course of her travels she swam over this Strait. 'Bos' is the Latin for ox or cow. It is also said that the name was given because the Strait was so narrow that a cow could swim across it. That is all, Captain."

"Thank you, Professor, for the explanation. I did not wish to hurry you, but I desire to point out some of the localities here. The land on our left is occupied by the site of the ancient city of Byzantium. We are now off the Seraglio, where you see the palaces. It is an enclosure three miles in circumference; but we shall visit it in due time."

"Is that Constantinople also on our right?" asked Uncle Moses.

"That is Scutari," replied the commander.

"There is a lighthouse near the shore," added Miss Blanche.

"It is not a lighthouse, Miss Woolridge. It is sometimes called Leander's Tower, and the Turks call it Kiz Kullehsi, which means Maiden's Tower. I suppose you have heard of a young gentleman by the name of Leander," added the captain, turning to Miss Blanche.

"He swam the Hellespont to see Hero. Then this is the Hellespont of ancient times," replied the young lady.

"It is not; and there is no reason to call that tower after Leander. The Dardanelles was the Hellespont over which he swam; and it was no great thing, for Lord Byron did it for the fun of it. Now we are off Seraglio Point, and entering the waters of the Golden Horn, which is simply an arm of the Bosporus, of which there are several others, extending about five miles inland. The water in it is very deep, and there is room enough for more than a thousand large ships to lie at anchor in its quiet waters.

"Now you will leave the Bosporus on your right," continued the commander, as the steamer turned into the Golden Horn, closely followed by the Maud. "In front of you is the modern city, and the part nearest to us is Galata, the commercial section. On the hill is Pera, where the hotels are situated, and where all the foreign ministers reside. Farther up the Strait is Tophana, where the Sultan lives at the present time in a magnificent palace."

In the earlier morning the party had taken its first view of Constantinople, and some of them had made the usual remark that it looked like the most beautiful city in the world. The mosques, towers, and minarets glittered in the rays of the rising sun, and gave it a glory which a walk through its streets, narrow and dirty, fails to realize. The pilot rang to stop the screw when the ship was near the shore; and she came to anchor quite near the landing, for the water was very deep.

Both of the steamers were immediately surrounded by a multitude of boats, containing runners for the hotels, and men who wanted the job of taking the passengers to the shore. A big fat Turk, who proved to be a custom-house officer, came on board of the Guardian-Mother. He could not speak English, but addressed the captain in Italian, which is the language used on board of the Austrian Lloyd's steamers, which ply on the Black and Mediterranean Seas in great numbers.

"Hotel d'Angleterre," called a man dressed like a Greek, as a boat came alongside the Maud.

"We don't want any boat," replied Captain Scott.

"Come alongside, Maud!" shouted Captain Ringgold.

Scott rang the bell, and the Maud went ahead to the discomfiture of the boats, and the little steamer was made fast to the big one. Louis and Morris went on board, and were warmly received by their mothers. The passengers had descended from the promenade, and were seated under the awning, where the professor was to speak to them about Turkey.

CHAPTER XXXVI

THE CITY OF THE SULTAN

Pitts and the engineers remained on board of the Maud, but the rest of her ship's company repaired to the deck of the Guardian-Mother, where the captain and the professor were to tell them something about Turkey. They had been studying geography all the time, and they had obtained a better knowledge of the countries visited than it would be possible to get from books and maps. History was to be mingled with it so far as practicable. The regular class in the library, consisting of Miss Blanche and the big four, were present, for their instruction was one of the principal purposes of the voyage round the world.

"I suppose you all know where you are," said Captain Ringgold, rising from his chair.

"In a horn," replied Felix.

"That is the standard joke of this locality, and I heard it thirty-four years ago when lying at anchor where we are now," replied the commander.

"I thought it would be as fresh and new as though it just came out of Kilkenny," added the Milesian.

"No; it is a chestnut. But why is it called the Golden Horn?"

"Because that's the best sort of a horn to be in," answered Felix.

"Hardly. This gulf, as it properly is, extends back about five miles, and several streams flow into it from the Valley of the Sweet Waters. It gets its name from its shape, and it is called golden on account of the riches brought to its shores from other lands. It is a safe harbor, though great storms sometimes pass through the Bosporus. You can see that it is crossed by two bridges of boats."

"With two humps in each of them," said Scott.

"Those are to enable boats to pass under them; and some of the pontoons are drawn aside to permit the passage of large crafts. Do any of you happen to know the name of this country?"

"Turkey; and it was named after the Thanksgiving bird," replied Felix.

"The bird of which you speak is a native of Mexico, and was first taken to Europe by the Spaniards."

"Thanks to the Spaniards, for we have eaten the bird in Europe."

"The people here wouldn't know what you meant if you called their country by the name of the bird. Their name is Osmanli Vilaieti; but we do not expect you to speak Turkish, and the proper name in English is The Turkish or Ottoman Empire. It consists of three divisions, Turkey in Europe, in Asia, and in Africa. The first has thirty thousand less square miles than New York and Pennsylvania together. We used to say it had a population of fifteen millions; but it has lost Servia, Roumania, and Bulgaria, and a census makes it less than five. The whole empire is estimated at twenty-seven and a half millions.

"The principal industry is agriculture, which is carried on in a very slipshod manner. Grain, rice, cotton, and tobacco are raised. Olives, grapes, figs, dates, oranges, citron, and otto of roses are largely exported. The ladies will find the last at the Bazaar. This is about the season here for the nicest grapes in the world, and you will see them for sale about the streets. If you wish to buy them, the money here is in piastres, worth five cents apiece, and paras, of which it takes forty to make five cents, or one-eighth of a cent apiece. At the hotels and foreign stores French money, which is the same as Italian, is used, a franc or lira passing for eighty-eight piastres.

"The present Sultan is Abdul-Hamid II., born in 1842. In Turkey the eldest son does not succeed to the throne of his father, as in most Christian countries. The founder of the empire was Othman, who reigned in the thirteenth century, and his oldest male descendant succeeds to the crown up to the present day. When I was here the second time in 1870, Abdul-Aziz was the Sultan. I took my hat off and bowed to him on his way to the mosque; but he took no notice of me. His son, Yussuf Izzeddin Effendi, a boy of thirteen, returned my salute, and was more polite than his father.

"When the Sultan Aziz became the Sultan that was, to repeat an old joke, the boy I had seen had to step aside for his Uncle Murad, who was older, and therefore nearer in his descent from the original Othman. Murad reigned but three months, and was then deposed as an idiot; but he had a brother, who is the present Sultan, Abdul-Hamid II."

"I thought these sultans were not married like other princes," said Mrs. Woolridge.

"They are not; for the Imperial Harem, as it is called, is a state institution, and all the children born there are equal and legitimate. The ladies there are usually brought in from other countries, principally Circassia, and they are practically slaves. The Sultan does not contract a regular marriage as we understand the matter; but from the inmates of the Harem he usually selects seven, who are supposed to be more especially his wives. An aged lady is the superintendent of this institution, through whom alone any communication can be obtained with the outer world; and then it must be done with the guard of eunuchs, whose chief is the equal of the Grand Vizier, the principal officer of state, and is his superior on some occasions."

The commander retired, introducing the professor.

"The government of Turkey is called an absolute monarchy; but it is limited by the Koran and the Multeka, which is a collection of sayings of Mohammed and his immediate successors. The Grand Vizier represents the sultan, and is the head of the government as the premier is in England and France. Next to him is the Sheik-ul-Islam, who is the head of the church. There are a dozen or more ministers in the several departments.

"The history of the Ottoman Empire is simply a record of conquests over other divisions in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Turks originally came out of Tartary. It would require too much time to relate the events of these wars, and you may read an epitome of them in several books in the library. This country has long been regarded as the 'sick man,' and no doubt it would have been dismembered before this time if the nations of Europe had not been jealous of any increase of territory and power, each of any other. Russia would like to have Constantinople, which could be made the finest seaport in the world. England and France have been the allies of Turkey to prevent Russia from becoming too powerful by its acquisition. But I think you are all in a hurry to go on shore, and I will not detain you longer."

After lunch the party went on shore in the Maud, to the great disgust of the boatmen. There were no carriages to be had, and they were obliged to walk. A steamer had just come in, and they had an opportunity to see how a passenger with a trunk and other baggage would get to his hotel in the Rue de Pera, at the summit of the hill. A porter with a kind of saddle on his back, having a shelf for his burden, rendered this service. The trunk was placed on this shelf, the valise and packages on the top of it, till they were piled up higher than his head.

"That man is called a hammal, Miss Blanche," said Louis, who had placed himself at her side.

"He has to carry an awful load," she replied as they followed him up the street, which was not more than eight feet wide, and was very wet and muddy. "There is a lady coming down the hill; at least, I take her for one."

She was stout, and not very clean. She wore about the same trousers as the men, with a sort of long jacket and red slippers. She was closely veiled, and her yashmak was quite thick.

"She needs a veil, for she is as homely as a hedge fence," said Louis, laughing. "There is one who is better-looking, and her veil is not so thick."

"What a lot of dogs!" exclaimed the young lady, as her companion shoved one out of her path. "I should think every person in the city kept one."

"On the contrary, no one keeps a dog. They do not belong to any person, but every one of them has to look out for himself."

A little farther along a mule was approaching with panniers on his back, filled with cord wood. The street at this point was not more than six feet wide, and they had to step into a doorway to avoid being knocked down. They reached the Rue de Pera, which was wider, and looked a little more like a street in a European city. They walked through a portion of it, looking in at the shop windows, till they came to Misserie's, as it is oftener called than Hotel d'Angleterre, its proper name.

At this hotel Captain Ringgold procured the services of two guides who were to serve the tourists for the next week, and longer if needed; and they were to be on board of the steamer the next morning. Dimitri was the principal one, and was a Greek; the other was a Turk, whose name was Munif. Both of them spoke English, French, and Italian, as well as Greek and Turkish.

"To-morrow will be Friday, and that is the Mohammedan Sunday, and you can see the Sultan when he goes in procession to the church," said Dimitri. "You will need a firman to visit the mosques and holy places."

"We must certainly see the Sultan, and the procession will be a fine sight," added Mrs. Belgrave. "But what is a firman?"

"It is a permit to visit the sacred places of the city, given by the Sultan, or in his name; and it costs five hundred piastres, or twenty-five dollars," replied the commander.

"Then it is very expensive to see the sights here."

"The commissionaires, or guides, usually make up a party of a dozen, so that it does not cost but about two dollars apiece. Be sure and have the firman ready for to-morrow, Dimitri," said the captain as the party left the hotel, though they halted in the street.

"But how are we to get about this city if there are no carriages?" asked Mrs. Woolridge. "The walk I had up that narrow street, through the mud and garbage, was quite enough for me."

"We have carriages, though it is impossible for them to go through most of the streets; but there is a fine road at Tophana, where we see procession," interposed Dimitri.

"Engage enough of them to seat the party," added Captain Ringgold.

"There are sedans for ladies, and saddle horses for gentleman when we go to the Seraglio," added the guide, who hastened away to procure the firman.

"There is a pedler selling grapes," said Miss Blanche, as she discovered a Turk with a big basket at a corner.

He was dressed in full Turkish costume, and Felix insisted that he had escaped from some circus company. The basket looked as though it contained about two bushels of the fruit; but it was a fraud with a partition near the top, upon which the grapes were heaped up so as to make the greatest possible display.

"We must have some of them," added Louis; but he had no Turkish money.

Munif, the second guide, had attached himself to the party, and he soon procured a supply of it with an English shilling, and about half a peck of the luscious fruit was purchased. All the tourists tasted them, and declared they were fully equal to the recommendation the captain had given them. After a basket had been obtained it was filled, and the guide insisted upon carrying it, apparently as an excuse for going with the party.

But most of the travellers were tired by this time, and the older members strolled down the hill to the landing. With the assistance of Munif, Louis treated Miss Blanche to a variety of Turkish confects and drinks. The sherbet of which they read in the Arabian Nights was nothing but raspberry shrub, as it is called in New England, or something very like it. The little cakes or rolls were strong of rancid grease, and the young lady could not eat the candy. They concluded that there was some delusion about things Oriental.

Miss Blanche was tired, and Louis obtained a sedan to convey her to the little steamer, walking by its side down the narrow, filthy, and steep street.

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE SULTAN AND THE DANCING DERVISHES

Dimitri appeared on the shore the next morning with four carriages, "hooded phaetons" as they called them there, each of which seated three persons. The commander, Mrs. Belgrave, and Scott went in the first one; Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge and Morris in the second; Louis, Miss Blanche, and Mrs. Blossom in the next, and Uncle Moses, Dr. Hawkes, and Professor Giroud in the last. Then it was found that Felix was left out, and he was put in with Morris in the second.

By keeping near the water room enough was found for the phaetons, for it would have been impossible for them to ascend the hill on which Pera is situated. They reached the broad, well-made road on which the Sultan's palace is located. It was quite level, and different from anything else in Constantinople. A multitude of people had collected there, and all the nations of the earth seemed to be represented in the throng.

The Imperial Guard of the Oriental potentate, or a portion of it, was drawn up at the side of the street. Dr. Hawkes declared they were the finest body of men he had seen gathered together. Of course they were picked soldiers, rather large in stature, and of lusty physique. They were clothed in complete Turkish costume, wearing the great bagging trousers and a sort of jacket, with the fez on their heads. The latter is worn by all the people, though there are Arabs about the streets who are crowned with a kind of turban.

Every one of the Americans had all he could do to take in the sights to be seen on this brilliant occasion. Promenading the avenue were quite a number of carriages of various patterns; most of them were English, though a few of them might have been Turkish for aught the observers knew, the body setting on its springs, with the driver on the nigh horse. All of them were open, and all of them contained only ladies, closely veiled.

"But what are these ladies, Captain Ringgold?" asked Mrs. Belgrave, who was more interested than at any other time during her ten months of travel.

"I suppose they are all the wives or the property of various pachas," replied the commander with a smile. "I know nothing more about them. This building we are passing, with no windows anywhere near the ground, is the harem of the Sultan; but none of his ladies are to be seen in the streets."

"Do they stay in-doors all the time?" inquired the lady.

"They have grounds inside the walls. They go to the summer palace, but in close carriages, so that no one can see them. Two of the four ladies in that carriage are young and good-looking, but the others are old and homely enough to bring the average down very low," said the captain.

"The younger ones are the wives of a rich pacha, and the old ones are their duennas," said Dimitri, who was seated with the driver and could hear all that was said.

"One of them is a beauty," added Mrs. Belgrave.

"She is indeed," said Scott. "I can see all her face almost as well as though she did not wear the hackmatack."

"The yashmak," laughed the captain. "In her case the veil is the thinnest gauze."

"The old ladies did not have gauze over their faces," replied Scott.

"The older and uglier the women are the thicker is their yashmak," added Dimitri.

Presently the survey of the promenaders was interrupted by the strains of a band of music, which were of a wild, barbaric character, quite different from anything they had ever heard before. A string of cavalry then lined the avenue on both sides, leaving the middle entirely open. No man must go in front of the Sultan, which is the rule of the road in Turkey; and the potentate appeared riding on horseback in the middle of the street.

Abdul-Hamid II. was about fifty years old. He wore a frock coat and trousers in European style, but with a fez on his head. His breast was covered with decorations and orders of honor. The trappings of his magnificent horse were of the richest material, and were ornamented with gold. As he approached, the Imperial Guard gave a wild and weird yell as a salute, to which the potentate made no response even with a nod.

The gentlemen of the party removed their caps and hats, and some of them bowed; but his imperial majesty made no response of any kind, though he glanced at the Americans. It was something more than a glance which he bestowed upon the inmates of the third carriage, in which Miss Blanche sat in her radiant beauty. The guides pointed out the four sons of the Sultan, the oldest of whom was about twenty and the youngest seven. He has also three daughters who do not appear in processions.

The rest of the parade consisted of pachas dressed in the most magnificent costumes, and mounted on the finest horses. Dimitri called many of them by name, but no one was the wiser for it. The Albanians surpassed all the others in the elegance of their dress, and all the ladies would have voted for them.

The Sultan and his retainers passed on to the church, and the American party hastened to the Rue de Pera, where the monastery of the Dancing Dervishes is located. Passing through a courtyard, they entered the vestibule of the building. Dimitri obtained several pairs of large slippers, which the gentlemen put on over their boots. Some smaller ones were procured for the ladies and young gentlemen.

"What is all this for?" asked Mrs. Belgrave in a whisper.

"'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground,'" replied Captain Ringgold. "No one must touch the floor of a mosque or holy place with the shoes that have been in the dirt. Formerly no one was allowed to enter one of these places without actually taking off the shoes; but the rule has been modified so that overshoes may be taken off, or put on, when going into one of them."

The apartment to which they were then conducted by the guide was in the form of an octagon, and of considerable dimensions. The roof was supported by columns, which also sustained a small front gallery and a larger one on the side, latticed for women so that they could see and hear without being seen by the audience or the celebrants. Around the enclosure which contained the dancing-floor was a rail to keep the spectators at a proper distance. The visitors had to squat on the floor next to this rail on sheepskins, a very uncomfortable position for the ladies.

The front gallery was occupied by a reader and the music. A prayer carpet was spread on the floor opposite the door, for the sheik, or chief, of the monastery. About twenty of the dervishes entered, one by one or in groups, and squatted on the floor like so many tailors. They were dressed in loose, brown robes, and looked very grave, as though it was a religious exercise, as it really was, upon which they were about to enter.

The sheik was a venerable old man, with a long white beard, and bowed with age. He entered and squatted on the prayer carpet. Like all the others, he wore a lightish brown hat, in the shape of a flower-pot placed upside down on his head. There were boys, and men of eighty or more, though the average age appeared to be about forty. They all had an expression of religious enthusiasm.

The sheik repeated some passages from the Koran, and then one in the front gallery intoned something from a book, which none of our party could understand. After some more sentences from the sheik, the dervishes followed a leader several times around the room, pausing at the prayer carpet, bowing low to the sheik. Two of them crossed their arms on their breasts, and, facing each other, bowed low. Turning on their heels they faced two others, and went through the same ceremony; and it was repeated till all had passed the carpet.

When the bowing was finished, the head of the line slipped off into the centre of the room and began to whirl or waltz. He was followed by all the others, till the whole of them were gyrating in two circles around the circus. The music sounded like the thrumming of a banjo, with another instrument. When the men engaged in the service had warmed up they threw off their brown robes, and appeared in a suit of white, worn under the other. It consisted of a jacket, and a skirt reaching nearly to the floor.

With no cessation the whirling was kept up for half an hour. Not one of them knocked against another, and their skirts were spread out as far as they could be extended. They were all barefoot, and took a regular step, and their movements were very graceful. The arms were elevated in set positions, which were uniform with all. When the whirling was finished, the dervishes all passed before the sheik again, the reader intoned more sentences, and the service was finished.

"What in the world does it all mean?" asked Mrs. Belgrave when they were in the street.

"I only know that it is a religious service, though some one told me, when I was here last, that it was in imitation of the revolutions of the heavenly bodies; but I cannot say that this is a correct explanation," replied the captain.

Miss Blanche asked the same question of Louis, but he was not even as wise as the commander.

"I could hardly keep from laughing," she added.

"Captain Ringgold cautioned us not to laugh; for it was a religious ceremony, and should be treated with respect," replied Louis.

By this time the tourists were tired enough to return to the ship; but the big four obtained permission to walk about the streets for a while, Munif to go with them.

"If I were going to live here, the first thing I should do would be to kill off a lot of these dogs," said Scott, as they walked up the Rue de Pera.

"The Turks would kill you if you did that," added Munif.

"These dogs are the only scavengers that go about the streets," said Louis. "They don't have any swill-tubs here, but throw everything into the street. The dogs live on this garbage."

"They starve on it then," replied Scott. "I have not seen a decent-looking dog among them; they are all curs."

"There's a row among them," added Morris, as a tremendous howling and yelping was heard in the next street. "I did not suppose they had grit enough to fight; and they are all small dogs, lank and mangy."

"There are lots of battles among them every night, more than in the daytime. All the dogs have quarters; and when one lot invades the home of another, looking for something to eat, the residents of the section attack them, and a hard fight sometimes follows, as I read the other day in Yusuf," explained Louis.

"Mind your eye, Louis!" exclaimed Felix, in a low tone, grasping his friend on the shoulder. "Do you see that gentleman standing in front of Misserie's Hotel?"

"I see him; but what of him?" asked Louis as all the four stopped in the street.

"He has changed his rig; but you ought to know him," whispered Felix.

The gentleman was dressed in European costume, and appeared to be less than thirty years old. He certainly had a very handsome face, and an elegant jet black beard. He was looking carelessly about him, and did not appear to notice the boys. A moment later he went into the hotel.

"I never saw him before," Louis insisted.

"Yes, you have!" exclaimed Felix. "That gentleman is Ali-Noury Pacha!"

"Nonsense, Flix!" replied Louis. "If the Fatimé had come here, we should have seen her."

"I did not say that he came here in his steamer," added Felix.

"He has gone into the hotel. Come with me, Flix, and we will soon find out if it is he;" and Louis led the way into the house.

They made their way to the reading-room, where the gentleman had seated himself in an arm-chair and picked up a newspaper. Keeping out of sight themselves, they were soon satisfied that the person was the Pacha.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

HIS HIGHNESS IN THE ORIENTAL CITY

When Louis and Felix returned to the street they found Scott and Morris bargaining for a horse with one of the Arabs who keep them to let. These men are found in the principal parts of the city; and when the horse is taken, they accompany him on foot wherever he goes. With the assistance of Munif they had made the trade, and Morris had mounted the horse. Scott and the guide attended him.

"I think we had better go to the landing, Flix," said Louis as soon as they came out of the hotel; and they started down the steep and filthy street.

"Do you believe now that the gentleman is the Pacha, my darling?" asked the Milesian.

"I have no doubt of it," replied the young millionaire. "He is dressed like a Christian now; but there is no mistaking his face. He is the handsomest man I ever saw in my life, not only in his figure-head, but in his form."

"I was just going to say the same thing; and he could make his fortune in a dime museum, with his circus clothes on, though his present dress shows him off to the best advantage," added Felix.

"According to all accounts, he is about as bad a man as ever lived, in spite of his masculine beauty, and he is as rich as Crœsus; a Mohammedan millionaire. The Portuguese gentlemen at Funchal said that he travelled all over Europe, Asia, and Africa on shore or in his yacht, and spent his money as freely as water," continued Louis. "He is a man of the world in the worst sense of the term."

"But how did the blackguard get here so soon?"

"We have not seen the steam-yacht in which he sails since we left Gibraltar; but she may be in the Bosporus or Golden Horn for all that. We stopped a day at Algiers, and the ship slowed down to the ordinary speed of the Maud. But he could have come here by land in much less time," Louis explained.

"Well, he is here, and it don't make much difference how he got here," said Felix. "But Captain Ringgold took him down so thoroughly in Gib that I should suppose he had had enough of him."

"That may be the very reason why he is here. Whether he is dressed as a Moor or a Christian, he has the Oriental love of vengeance in his bones, and his millions will enable him to gratify it at any expense," replied Louis.

"He is a more dangerous enemy than John Scoble, alias Wade Farrongate, ever was. Do you suppose he means to follow us all over the world to get his revenge for the upsetting the captain gave him?" asked Felix. "He can make it lively for us, if that is his idea."

"I don't know what he means to do, and I don't much care. I only hope the captain will not run away any more from this Mohammedan millionaire."

When they reached the landing they found that the Maud had gone off to the steamer; but she returned immediately, and they went on board of her to wait for the coming of Scott and Morris. Presently the horse appeared, leading the procession, with Scott in the saddle. They declared that there was no fun in riding horseback at a walk, and they had had enough of it. Munif went off to the Guardian-Mother with them, as Dimitri had done before.

Felix and Louis had kept their own counsel in regard to the Pacha, and the equestrian party had not heard a word about him. As soon as they went on board of the ship they hastened to the captain's cabin, where they found him looking over some letters he had just received. Louis told his story; and the commander listened to it with a frown on his face, as though it was not pleasant news.

"Of course Scott and Morris know all about this matter?" asked the captain.

"We kept it to ourselves," replied Louis.

"That was wise; and you will oblige me by saying nothing about it to any one. We will continue to attend to our affairs without regard to the Pacha. To-morrow we are to make an excursion in the Maud through the Bosporus and Golden Horn, and we shall ascertain whether or not the Fatimé is here."

Nothing more was said about the matter on board, and the next morning the entire party started on the excursion, the two guides attending them. The little steamer passed through the bridge of boats, and then coasted along the eastern shore, passing the navy-yard and several government buildings, the commander, Louis, and Felix keeping a sharp lookout for the Fatimé, but nothing was seen of her. After a run of about three miles they landed at the mouth of a stream and visited the mosque at Eyub.

"This is Eyub; the word means Job, who was an Arabian general buried here twelve hundred years ago," said Dimitri, as the party landed. "The firman will admit us to the mosque."

On their return the Maud followed the other shore, and made another landing at a place to which Dimitri gave a name which no one could remember ten minutes, from which they proceeded to a Turkish cemetery, which was full of interest to them. The sad-looking cypress grew in great numbers on the grounds, as in the miles of burial-places in and about the city. The most of the sail back was alongside the part of the city called Stambool.

The excursion was continued through the Bosporus to the Black Sea; and on the way the guides, Dimitri in the standing-room and Munif on the forecastle, pointed out all the castles and other objects of interest. They talked all the time, and the commander related some of his own experience in this part of the world. The Bosporus is about seventeen miles long. The Maud stood out a short distance into the Black Sea, which seemed to justify its name, for the little steamer began to jump on the billows so that the ladies soon saw enough of it.

The excursionists took a late lunch, and then proceeded to Stambool in the Maud, landing at a point quite near the Seraglio. They visited the Mosque of St. Sophia, or Ayia Sofia as the Turks call it. A wall, in which are three gates, extends across the peninsula from the Sea of Marmora to the Golden Horn. The principal one is the imperial gate, called the Sublime Porte, which has given its name to the Turkish government.

The party visited the Mosque of Solomon the Magnificent and of Achmet the next day. Another day was given to the walls and the Mosque of Sultan Bajazet. In the courtyard of the latter are immense flocks of doves, or pigeons, or they are there as soon as the grain is distributed. Birds and beasts fare better at the hands of the Mohammedans than men and women who become their enemies on account of religion or politics.

A piece of money was given to an old Turk who sat near a chest, and he scattered a quantity of grain, precisely as the same thing is done in the square of St. Mark at Venice. Thousands of pigeons alighted on the pavement, and the food was soon all gone. More money was given by various members of the party; and the birds settled two or three deep all over the court, crowding, scrambling, and fighting for the grain. They had their fill that day. They were very tame, and some of them ate out of the hands of the excursionists.

On the Sundays the ship was at Constantinople the Maud visited the shore to convey the party to church at the English embassy. Services were always held for the whole ship's company and the passengers in the cabin or on deck, consisting of singing, Scripture reading, prayer, and a sermon selected and read by the commander. On the second Mohammedan Sunday the party witnessed the services of the Howling Dervishes, which they regarded as a very disagreeable exhibition, though it was not prepared for them.

The Bazaar was extremely interesting to the ladies and not much less to the others. Many purchases were made of silks, rugs, and attar of roses, besides curious trinkets and useful articles, for all of them had money enough. A ride in carriages was taken to the Palace of the Sweet Waters,—the one in Europe, for there is another in Asia; but the ideas of Oriental splendor were not realized in the buildings or the waters. Scott declared that there were more and finer palaces on the Hudson than on the Bosporus. There were plenty of buildings at home that could "discount" anything they had seen in the Orient.

The party were kept very busy during the two weeks spent in Constantinople, though the sights they saw are not fully described in this volume.[1] By this time they began to feel that they had seen quite enough of this phase of the Orient; and they were looking forward with the most pleasurable anticipations to a change of scene, especially to the islands of the Archipelago and to Greece, which were the next regions to be visited. The Maud was regarded as an excellent investment by Captain Ringgold and Mr. Woolridge, for she had proved to be exceedingly convenient in visiting the sights of the city of the Sultan.

Nothing had been seen or heard of Ali-Noury Pacha till the day before the Guardian-Mother sailed from the Golden Horn. The company then landed for a visit to the Rue de Pera to purchase a supply of photographs. The guides had been dismissed the day before; and they preferred to do their shopping without any assistance, as the latter generally implies a commission to be collected afterwards by the guide, and is included in the price paid.

While those who were interested in obtaining souvenirs of their visit were in the stores, Captain Ringgold and Louis wandered through the street as far as Misserie's Hotel. They were talking about the Pacha, as they were alone, and wondering why they had not seen him before, since he was in the city. The commander had begun to doubt that he was there; but Louis suggested that he had probably had enough of his companion in Gibraltar. They were about to enter the hotel, when the elegant gentleman presented himself before them.

He was now dressed in full Oriental costume. Probably he had come by Vienna and the Danube, and had worn the European garments to escape too much attention from observers. Louis expected that he would "pitch into" the commander, and he braced himself to render him an efficient support. He even thought he could handle the Pacha alone; for the Moor, though five feet eight in height, was not heavier than the American boy. But His Highness did nothing of the kind. On the contrary, he bowed very politely, and stepped back to allow the captain to pass.

"Good-morning, Captain Ringgold," said he, extending his hand to him.

"Good-morning, sir," replied the commander; but he did not take the offered hand.

"Good-morning, Mr. Belgrave," he continued, quite as politely.

Louis was as civil as his companion had been.

"I desire to apologize to you, Captain, for my rudeness at Gibraltar," continued the Pacha.

"The apology is accepted, and I have no desire that you should humiliate yourself any further," replied the captain promptly. "But I wish to say that my sentiments in regard to you remain the same as before."

"Then you are not inclined to make friends with me?" added the Moor, biting his lips with chagrin and disappointment.

"I shall treat you like a gentleman while you behave like one."

"I was extremely interested with the very agreeable party I met in the cabin of your steamer at Mogadore, and I should be most happy to continue the acquaintance. If you suppose that I have any sinister motives, you are greatly mistaken."

"I have no ill-will against you, though you and your servants assaulted me in the street."

"If you will consider that you insulted me, you will take a different view of the subject," pleaded the Pacha.

"I simply expressed my views in plain language as they were then and as they are to-day," added the commander very mildly.

"You compel me to regard you as an enemy instead of a friend," said Ali-Noury, beginning to look very savage.

"That is my misfortune, but I cannot help it."

"Then you prefer my enmity?"

"I do not; but I do not tremble at even that."

"I came here on a mission in the service of my august master, the Sultan of Morocco. I have unlimited wealth at my command, and I can be of great assistance to you in your tour around the world," continued the Moor, still biting his lip, and evidently controlling his anger by a great effort.

"I shall be obliged to deprive myself and my friends of any aid you might render," replied the captain with dignity. "If you will excuse me now, I will attend to my own affairs."

"Then I will follow you to the ends of the earth till I obtain my revenge!" exclaimed the Pacha, as he retreated to the interior of the hotel; and he was plainly too wise to attack the doughty shipmaster again.

"What can he do, Captain?" asked Louis when they resumed their walk.

"He may annoy us, and we must keep our eyes open. It looks a little like another edition of Scoble; but I believe we shall be able to take care of ourselves."

The party returned to the Guardian-Mother, and nothing more was seen of the Moor; but at sunset they saw the Fatimé steaming up the Golden Horn. Captain Ringgold had made all his preparations for leaving. Mr. Sage had filled the ice-house with provisions, and the bunkers of both steamers were full of coal. At daylight in the morning the Guardian-Mother, followed by the Maud, was steaming out into the Sea of Marmora.

The cabin party happened to be at dinner when the Pacha's yacht came in; and she was seen only by Mr. Boulong, who was on deck while the rest of the officers and the crew were at supper. He was requested by the captain to keep his knowledge to himself. In the course of the following week the Pacha began to make himself felt, though his yacht did not appear on the scene at the time.

Into what adventures the big four tumbled while they were on board of the Maud, and all the party saw as the voyage continued, must be related in "The Young Navigators; or, The Foreign Cruise of the Maud."

[1] In "Cross and Crescent," one of the author's "Young America Abroad" series, may be found a much fuller account of the objects of interest to be seen in Constantinople, and he is not inclined to repeat himself to the extent required to do justice to the subject.

ALL-OVER-THE-WORLD LIBRARY

By OLIVER OPTIC

Illustrated, Price per Volume $1.25

FIRST SERIES

A MISSING MILLION
Or The Adventures of Louis Belgrave

A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN
Or The Cruise of the Guardian-Mother

A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT
Or Cruising in the West Indies

STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD
Or A Voyage in European Waters

SECOND SERIES

AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
Or Cruising in the Orient

THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS
Or The Foreign Cruise of the Maud

UP AND DOWN THE NILE
Or Young Adventurers in Africa

ASIATIC BREEZES
Or Students on the Wing

THIRD SERIES

ACROSS INDIA
Or Live Boys in the Far East

HALF ROUND THE WORLD
Or Among the Uncivilized

FOUR YOUNG EXPLORERS
Or Sight-Seeing in the Tropics

OTHER VOLUMES IN PREPARATION

ANY VOLUME SOLD SEPARATELY

LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT ***

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Table of Contents

- AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
- CRUISING IN THE ORIENT
- PREFACE
- CONTENTS
- AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
- CHAPTER I
- CHAPTER II
- CHAPTER III
- CHAPTER IV
- CHAPTER V
- CHAPTER VI
- CHAPTER VII
- CHAPTER VIII
- CHAPTER IX
- CHAPTER X
- CHAPTER XI
- CHAPTER XII
- CHAPTER XIII
- CHAPTER XIV
- CHAPTER XV
- CHAPTER XVI
- CHAPTER XVII
- CHAPTER XVIII
- CHAPTER XIX
- CHAPTER XX
- CHAPTER XXI
- CHAPTER XXII
- CHAPTER XXIII
- CHAPTER XXIV
- CHAPTER XXV
- CHAPTER XXVI
- CHAPTER XXVII
- CHAPTER XXVIII
- CHAPTER XXIX
- CHAPTER XXX
- CHAPTER XXXI
- CHAPTER XXXII
- CHAPTER XXXIII
- CHAPTER XXXIV
- CHAPTER XXXV
- CHAPTER XXXVI
- CHAPTER XXXVII
- CHAPTER XXXVIII
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE