CHAPTER XI
The spring of 1780 advanced, and the dauntless garrison on the Rock sawno prospect of relief, but every man, woman, and child of English birthonly grew the more determined not to surrender. No complaints were heardfrom any of them, and those of the highest rank and most delicatenurture were the bravest where all were brave. Especially was this trueof the women, and the spectacle of their patience and calm courage wasinspiring to the men. The Spanish bombardment was not then the terriblething it became afterwards, but it was sufficiently annoying, and manyofficers preferred, as Captain Curtis did, the safety of camping out fortheir families to the dangers of the barracks, which were oftenbombarded in the night-time. The town, too, had become sickly, and thehigher and purer air of the rocks was better than the close quarters ofthe narrow streets and rickety houses, half wrecked by the bombardment,which were hot-beds of disease. Their supplies were still plentiful,such as they were; but in those days only a few coarse sorts ofprovisions could be kept for any length of time, and the besieged peoplehad to live on salt beef, hard biscuit, beans, and the few small andinferior fish they could catch. The hard fare told sadly on most ofthose who had to endure it, but Archy Baskerville positively throve onit, and grew taller and broader and ruddier every day.
Some weeks passed before the return of Don Martin de Soltomayer, theSpanish Commander-in-Chief, and before Archy could take any stepstowards passing through the Spanish lines. In that time Langton grewmuch better, and was able to walk about, although still pale and weak.Archy took the most devoted care of him, and found also plenty of timeto do many small services for Mrs. Curtis, who learned to love him; andas for Dolly, she soon came to think him almost as agreeable a person asJudkins, and her heart was quite won when, once she was a little ill,Archy sneaked out at night and surreptitiously milked the one old cowstill left the garrison, and which was especially reserved for the sick.Mrs. Curtis reproved him for it, but her reproaches sat lightly onArchy--by which it will be seen that he was far from a perfect youngman.
He was also an expert fisherman, and spent a good deal of his time onthe sea-shore, from whence he would bring nearly every day a fewmiserable fish, which were esteemed the greatest delicacy by Mrs.Curtis, to whom Archy always gave them. Musa, the Moor, was generallyhanging about the shore, engaged in the same employment. He was silentand uncommunicative by nature, but Archy's irrepressible cordiality andaffability were such that he would have been on good terms eventuallywith an ogre, so that after a little while a sort of friendship came tosubsist between them. At long intervals Musa would disappear for severaldays at a time, and Archy knew well enough that this time was spent inexpeditions to the African coast. Sometimes Musa would succeed ingetting across the Straits, and sometimes, after watching his chance fordays, he would be unable to elude the Spanish cruisers, and would returnto Gibraltar.
In the latter part of March the Spanish Commander-in-Chief came back,and Archy, without any trouble, got permission to go with a flag oftruce to the Spanish headquarters. Langton, who was still far from well,was extremely anxious to go with him to the Spanish camp, and, as Archyhad permission to take one companion, he yielded to Langton'simportunities and agreed to let him go.
"Although I know I shall have to lug you back up these rocks; you willnever be able to get back alone, as weak as you are," he added; at whichJudkins, who was standing by, touched his cap respectfully, and said:
"If Mr. Langton ain't able to climb up, sir, or to git down, for thatmatter, there's a fine, strong wheelbarrow here, and I can trundle himboth ways quite convenient."
Langton, bursting out laughing, cried:
"That is the very thing. But we must leave the wheelbarrow at the LandPort. The Spaniards would shoot us on sight in such a rig."
At mid-day, by tacit consent, the bombardment and the reply alwaysabated--and in that interval an odd procession made its way towards theLand Port. Archy, laughing uproariously, with Captain Curtis smilingbroadly, preceded the wheelbarrow. In it sat Langton, quite composed anddignified, and evidently enjoying his ride, while Judkins, looking asserious as an undertaker, trundled him carefully down the steep paths.Neither Archy's jeers, nor chaff from those of his brother officers hemet, nor the smiles of ladies and children, disturbed Langton, whocalmly descended at the Land Port, tightened his belt, straightened hiscap, and announced that he was ready to see the Spanish Commander andhis whole staff.
LANGTON WAS TAKEN DOWN THE HILL IN A WHEELBARROW]
A soldier, with a white handkerchief tied to a ramrod, went in advanceof them towards the isthmus. As soon as he was perceived, an officer inthe uniform of the Walloon regiment came towards them, and they metabout half-way between the Spanish and English lines. The officer, aremarkably handsome young man, introduced himself as Lieutenant VonHelmstadt, of the Walloon regiment, and Archy handed him a letter fromGeneral Eliot to Don Martin, which he received with great respect,raising his cap as he did so, and saying:
"I will conduct you, with pleasure, if you will submit to the usualcustom of being blindfolded?"
"Certainly," responded Archy, taking out his handkerchief, which wasbound tightly over his eyes by Von Helmstadt, and Langton and thesoldier were treated likewise.
Thus blindfolded, they stumbled on for a half-mile through the Spanishlines. Presently they realized that they were entering a tent, and VonHelmstadt removing the handkerchiefs from their eyes, they foundthemselves in the tent of Don Martin. The Spanish Commander-in-Chief wasa handsome, middle-aged man, with a truly Spanish dignity and suavity.The party was introduced by Von Helmstadt, and Archy produced GeneralEliot's letter, which Don Martin read attentively, and then folded up.
"You would find it extremely difficult to get through Spain, even withthe best passports," he said, in French. "Our people do not readilydistinguish between the English and the Americans, and they are nowunreasonably exasperated against the English."
"I know it, sir," answered Archy, respectfully; "but if you will give methe passports I will take my chances."
"It is a matter for consideration," continued Don Martin. "I could notguarantee your safety a mile beyond my lines. I shall have to lay theaffair before my Government, and I will inform you of the result."
Archy, who was quick of wit, saw in a moment that Don Martin had nooverweening desire to pass him through, and the immediate turning of theconversation towards an indifferent subject convinced him that he wouldnot soon see the outside world. After a few minutes they rose, DonMartin saying, with great dignity:
"Present my best compliments to General Eliot, and say to him I am mosthappy to hear of his continued good health, and that I will immediatelycommunicate with him by letter concerning this matter."
They were again blindfolded before leaving the tent, and so made theirway back to the British lines, accompanied by Von Helmstadt. The mannersof this young Walloon officer had been most courteous, and on parting hesaid, good-humoredly, "I hope that none of our balls has a message foryou."
"The same to you," responded Langton.
As soon as they were out of ear-shot, Langton said, significantly, toArchy:
"You'll not get out."
"You think so?"
"I know it. But you'll see all the fun"--this somewhat lugubriously.
Archy walked on, sad and disappointed, and did not even smile whenLangton climbed into the wheelbarrow and Judkins rushed it up the steeproadway at a smart gait.
As might have been foreseen, Don Martin did nothing towards gettingArchy to France.
A courteous and ornate reply was received promptly to General Eliot'sletter, and after that came a long silence. Then followed a series ofletters, requesting all sorts of proof that Archy was what herepresented himself to be. These, Don Martin always politely explained,were in the usual order, and came not from him, but from the Minister atMadrid.
Archy was asked to show his uniform and sword. He had neither. Therewere more letters, more asseverations of a desire to pass him through;but the upshot of all
the negotiations was that Archy never found he hadmade the slightest real progress towards getting out. He wrote manyletters to his uncle, and even to Lord Bellingham, trusting to thechance of Musa's getting them across to the African coast; but evenwhile writing them he felt the uselessness of it. And, after a while,what seemed to him a strange thing came to pass. In spite of his being aprisoner, he began to be heart and soul with the British garrison. As heexplained it, in a burst of confidence, to Langton:
"I ought not to want you to win. I ought to wish that the Spaniardsshould march in to-morrow morning; but I don't--and I can't. Don'tmistake me. I would lay down my life this moment to drive you out ofNorth America. That is my country, and there you are my enemies; but,dash me, Langton, if I can spend months here, eating your bread, such asit is, well treated by everybody, seeing what a gallant fight you aremaking against the Spaniards, without feeling as one of you. I supposeit is clean against the articles of war to feel so, but I can't helpit."
"I would feel the same way, I dare say, under the same circumstances,"replied Langton. "You see, you are not a prisoner on American ground--orEnglish ground either, for that matter; that makes all the difference inthe world. And, besides, you are not treated as a prisoner. You would bea queer fish not to feel as you do."
"At all events, I shall do my duty; and if that old hidalgo, Don Martinde Stick-in-the-mud, thinks I mean to give up trying to get away fromhere, he does not know Archibald Baskerville, Esquire--that much isplain. I have written him letters in English, French, and Spanish--suchFrench and Spanish! I dare say the old fellow finds the reading of themas hard work as I do the writing them, and I can keep it up as long ashe can."
The quiet endurance which was necessary to bear this life of tedium andhardship patiently had been left out in Archy's make-up, and he becamerestless, and yearned for an adventure of some sort. Naturally his mindturned towards the sea, and he began to wish that he might go with Musaon one of his expeditions across the Straits. He knew very well that ifcaptured he would be taken for an Englishman, and the chances were tento one against him then; but he had no notion of being captured. Musa,under the circumstances, would meet with great indulgence, as theSpaniards were extremely anxious to turn the neutrality of the Moorsinto active friendship.
The very day this scheme entered his mind he went down to the shoreearly in the morning, and found Musa getting his lines ready to fishfrom the rocks. They were quite alone, and Archy began, artfully:
"Do you know, Musa, I believe I should die if I were to be shut up likethis anywhere I could not see salt-water. I am a sea-officer, you know;and in my own dear country, before I went in the navy, I lived on agreat, salt bay--like a sea, really--and I never remember the time I didnot know how to manage a boat."
Musa's reply to this was a little discouraging.
"No doubt your excellency can manage a boat. But, generally, theofficers of a big ship do not know how to manage a little boat. Theyseem to think they can do as much with a small boat as with a big ship,and they can't."
"Musa," said Archy, presently, "I have read something of the history ofthe Moors in Spain. What great fellows for fighting were those Moors! Idare say some of your ancestors were chieftains there."
"Yes," answered Musa, proudly, "and they did not yield to theSpaniards--they died fighting. Only the women and children were leftalive."
Archy having found a subject dear to Musa's heart, lost no time incultivating it. When he had exhausted all he knew about the Moors inSpain, he left Musa, and, going up into the town, begged and borrowedthe few books in the garrison that treated of the Moors in Spain, andeagerly read them. Every time he met Musa he had a new supply of heroicactions of the Moors to tell about. He got a volume of Shakespeare, and,having mastered the story of Othello, told it very gravely, as an exactand well-authenticated history of the dependence of the state of Veniceupon a Moorish commander. Musa was a man of character and abilities, buthe had a tremendous supply of racial vanity, and Archy's artful praisesof his country bore fruit immediately. Within a week Musa had agreed totake him on a trip to Tetuan, across the Straits, which he was planningfor the first dark night. General Eliot's consent had to be gained; butafter a private interview with him Archy came forth beaming. It had beenarranged that two sets of despatches, duly authenticated and sealed,should be prepared--but one set was bogus. If captured, Musa and Archywere to frankly confess they were carrying despatches, and give up thebogus ones, and offer to get more if allowed to return to Gibraltar.This stratagem seemed so likely to succeed that both Archy and Musa wereeager to be off, and two nights afterwards a cloudy sky and a moonlessnight saw them both in a small cutter belonging to the _Enterprise_,bound for the African side.
Archy had persuaded Musa to take the English boat instead of theunwieldy tub with a huge lateen-sail with which the Moor was familiar,and with the one sail and the jib Archy felt capable of sailing toAmerica if necessary. True, the cutter was of a build and rig unusual inthe Mediterranean, and might excite suspicion on that account; butArchy, like a true sailor, preferred to take his chances in somethingthat the wind could drive along than to the foreign boats, which heregarded with unmixed contempt. Under Captain Curtis's advice he put onthe jacket and trousers of a Maltese sailor with a red fez, and abouteleven o'clock at night they set sail for the African coast.
The current which sets through the Straits was in their favor, as theywere bound for Tetuan, about forty miles in a straight line fromGibraltar. Their great danger lay in running across the Spanish vessels,which cruised incessantly up and down the Straits, but the blockade wasnot then as strict as it afterwards became. They had a lantern withthem, but carefully refrained from showing a light.
As they sailed along under a lowering sky--rare at that season--theyfrequently saw the lights of the Spanish cruisers, but they handled theboat so skilfully that they were not once hailed, much less overhauled.A sense of joy filled Archy's heart when he found himself again on thesea; and seeing his perfect familiarity with the boat Musa allowed himto manage it, only giving an occasional hint about the currents, withwhich Archy was unfamiliar. The wind did not fail them during the wholenight, and next day, on a brilliant forenoon, they were off the oldwalled town of Tetuan, with its flanking towers showing clear againstthe glorious blue of an African sky.
They sailed into the harbor and landed on a rickety old mole, crowdedwith Moors, Berbers, Arabs, and Jews. The British still maintained aconsulate there, chiefly for the chance of communicating with Gibraltar,and, as soon as they landed, Archy went to the Consul's house. It was alow building, with many pillars, after the Moorish fashion, and underthe quaint colonnade sat the Consul in a linen jacket and slippers,taking his noonday coffee.
When the handsome young Maltese sailor, as Archy looked to be, with abag of letters over his shoulder, walked up to him in true Anglo-Saxonfashion, and said, "Good-morning, sir," the Consul nearly fell off hischair with surprise. But Archy soon made known who he was, and was verywarmly greeted. The Consul eagerly asked his news and despatches, andwhen he found out that the Rock was well provisioned and the garrisonwas more indomitable than ever, he said:
"I will call the chiefs and principal men of the town togetherto-morrow, that I may tell them your story--for their respect forEngland and English rights will be very much increased thereby; and,meanwhile, you must be my guest."
Archy was only too happy to accept, and spent the next twenty-four hourschiefly in gobbling oranges--the first fruit he had seen for months--andgalloping up and down the environs of the town on a vicious donkey, withwhich he had several disagreements, that invariably ended in the donkeypitching him heels-over-head. But Archy did not mind a little thing likethat, and was always ready to tackle the donkey again.
Next day a great assemblage of Tetuan notabilities met at the Consul'shouse, and while sitting around a tinkling fountain in the court-yard,with coffee, sherbet, and pipes, the Consul, seated in the middle, withArchy on one side and Musa on the other, began the story of th
e failureof the Spanish, so far, to capture Gibraltar. He spoke in Italian, whichis the _lingua franca_ of that region, and frequently turned to Archyand Musa for confirmation. Archy did not know a word of the _linguafranca_, but he nodded his head gravely whenever the Consul turned tohim with a note of inquiry in his voice.
The chiefs and notabilities sat silent and attentive, puffing at theirpipes; and it was plain that they were deeply impressed by what theyheard. The confabulation broke up after several hours, and Archyreturned to his amusement of stuffing oranges and riding donkeys.
The Consul took a day or two to make up his despatches, and to gettogether the few and scant letters and despatches that he had receivedfor the garrison by merchant-ships and such stray means ofcommunication. They were concealed in oranges, hollowed out for thepurpose, and put in a bag which was carefully stowed away in the cutter.As fresh fruit was not only the greatest luxury but the greatestnecessity of the Gibraltar garrison, in which scurvy had appeared, thecutter was filled with as much as she could carry without impeding hersailing qualities--and then came the waiting for a dark night.
But the nights refused to grow dark, and, emboldened by their success ineluding the Spanish cruisers before, both Archy and Musa, on the thirdevening, determined to take the chances, and, the wind being fair, theysailed in the afternoon for Gibraltar.
Bright as was the night, and white as was their sail, it seemed asthough they would slip through the blockading fleet as easily as theyhad six nights before. They passed several Spanish cruisers, and werehailed more than once; but their boat was so small, and holding only twomen, no further effort was made to stop them. About two o'clock in themorning, when it really began to grow dark, and they were not more thanten miles from Gibraltar in a straight line, they found themselvesunexpectedly close to a Spanish gun-brig. They were hailed, and, asbefore, paid no attention, and continued on their tack. The brig,however, put about and came after them, emphasizing her desire to speakwith them by firing a blank cartridge at them. It was then high time totake some notice of it, but instead of heaving to they tacked for thebrig, and in a few minutes were alongside. The Spanish officer of thedeck, leaning over the rail, called out:
"Who are you?"
"Let me come aboard and I will tell you," replied Musa.
In another minute he was on board, leaving Archy to hold the boat.
Archy could not catch the conversation between Musa and the Spanishlieutenant, but he saw Musa show the bogus despatches, then both wentbelow and remained ten minutes, evidently in the captain's cabin. Theycame on deck again, and Musa had a little bag in his hand, and aletter. He swung himself into the cutter, the lieutenant and one or twoof the watch called out "Good-bye!" and immediately they were proceedingin opposite directions.
Musa stowed his bag away carefully, and then, in response to Archy'seager questions, said:
"He gave me fifty doubloons for my despatches, and a letter to thecommanding officer of any Spanish vessel that may stop us, telling themto let us pass into Gibraltar, as we have brought them valuable news andmay bring more."
"Hurrah!" cried Archy, under his breath.
But they were not stopped any more, and under cover of darkness theyagain slipped into Gibraltar Bay. About a mile from the nearest point ofdebarkation they were chased by a Spaniard, but a battery near by openedfire vigorously, and under cover of the cannonade they landed. It wasthen after sunrise, and the firing had roused the garrison.
As soon as they landed they went to headquarters, accompanied by anumber of officers, including Captain Curtis and Langton and a crowd ofother persons.
When they were in General Eliot's presence Musa motioned to Archy tospeak, and Archy motioned to Musa--so there was silence.
"Will you proceed, Mr. Baskerville?" asked General Eliot.
Archy, thus adjured, gave an account of the trip, and produced theletters and despatches.
Then Musa, with great dignity, laid the little bag of doubloons down onthe table.
"Excellency, I was afraid to refuse them, but I do not consider themoney mine," he said.
"Then whose is it?" asked General Eliot.
"I, as an officer, can take none of it," replied Archy, quickly.
"Musa, it is yours," said General Eliot, "and it does not half repaywhat you have done for us. As for you, Mr. Baskerville, I can only saythat now, more than ever, we regard you as a friend instead of anenemy--a guest instead of a prisoner."
The Rock of the Lion Page 11