Held Fast For England Part 21

"Now then, you jump out first, and give Carrie your hand. That is it."

And, having settled with the boatman, Captain O'Halloran followed the others' steps. It was a busy scene. Three ships were discharging their cargoes, and the wharf was covered with boxes and bales, piles of shot and sh.e.l.l, guns, and cases of ammunition.

Fatigue parties of artillery and infantry men were piling the goods, or stowing them in handcarts. Goods were being slung down from the ships, and were swinging in the air, or run down to the cry of "Look below!"

"Mind how you go, Carrie," Captain O'Halloran said, "or you will be getting what brains you have knocked out."

"If that is all the danger, Gerald," she laughed, "you are safe, anyhow.

"Now, Bob, do look out!" she broke off as, while glancing round, he tripped over a hawser and fell. "Are you hurt?"

"Never mind him, Carrie--look out for yourself. A boy never gets hurt.

"Now, keep your eyes about you, Bob. You can come and look at all this, any day."

At last they got to the end of the Mole. Then they pa.s.sed under an archway, with a ma.s.sive gate, at which stood a sentry; then they found themselves in a sort of yard, surrounded by a high wall, on the top of which two cannon were pointed down upon them. Crossing the yard, they pa.s.sed through another gateway. The ground here rose sharply, and a hundred yards further back stood another battery; completely commanding the Mole, and the defences through which they had pa.s.sed.

The ground here was comparatively level, rising gradually to the foot of the rock, which then rose steeply up. A few houses were scattered about, surrounded by gardens. Hedges of cactus lined the road. Parties of soldiers and sailors, natives with carts, and women in picturesque costumes pa.s.sed along. The vegetation on the low ground was abundant, and Bob looked with delight at the semi-tropical foliage.

Turning to the right they followed the road, pa.s.sed under an archway in a strong wall, and were in the town, itself.

"We are not living in barracks," Carrie said. "Fortunately there was no room there, and we draw lodging allowance, and have taken the upper portion of a Spanish house. It is much more pleasant.

Besides, if we had had to live in quarters, we should have had no room for you."

"The streets are steep," Bob said. "I can't make out how these little donkeys keep their feet on the slippery stones, with those heavy loads.

"Oh! I say, there are two rum-looking chaps. What are they--Moors?"

"Yes. You will see lots of them here, Bob. They come across from Ceuta, and there are some of them established here, as traders.

What with the Moors, and Spaniards, and Jews, and the sailors from the shipping, you can hear pretty nearly every European language spoken, in one walk through the streets."

"Oh, I say, isn't this hot?" Bob exclaimed, mopping his face; "and isn't there a glare from all these white walls, and houses! How much higher is it?"

"About another hundred yards, Bob. There, you see, we are getting beyond the streets now."

They had now reached a flat shoulder; and on this the houses were somewhat scattered, standing in little inclosures, with hedges of cactus and geranium, and embowered in shrubs and flowers.

"This is our house," Carrie said, stopping before a rickety wooden gateway, hung upon two ma.s.sive posts of masonry. "You see, we have got a flight of steps outside, and we are quite cut off from the people below."

They ascended the stairs. At the top there was a sort of wide porch, with a wooden roof; which was completely covered with creepers, growing from two wooden tubs. Four or five plants, covered with blossoms, stood on the low walls; and two or three chairs showed that the little terrace was used as an open-air sitting room.

"In another hour, when the sun gets lower, Bob, we can come and sit here. It is a lovely view, isn't it?"

"Beautiful!" Bob said, leaning on the wall.

Below them lay the sea front, with its gardens and bright foliage and pretty houses, with Europa Point and the sea stretching away beyond it. A little to the right were the African hills; and then, turning slightly round, the Spanish coast, with Algeciras nestled in foliage, and the bay with all its shipping. The head of the bay was hidden, for the ground behind was higher than that on which the house stood.

"Come in, Bob," Captain O'Halloran said. "You had better get out of the sun. Of course, it is nothing to what it will be; but it is hot now, and we are none of us acclimatized, yet."

The rooms were of a fair size, but the light-coloured walls gave them a bare appearance, to Bob's eyes. They were, however, comfortably furnished, matting being laid down instead of carpets.

"It is cooler, and cheaper," Carrie said, seeing Bob looking at them.

"This is your room, and this is the kitchen," and she opened the door into what seemed to Bob a tiny place, indeed.

Across one end was a ma.s.s of brickwork, rather higher than an ordinary table. Several holes, a few inches deep, were scattered about over this. In some of these small charcoal fires were burning, and pots were placed over them. There were small openings from the front, leading to these tiny fireplaces; and a Spanish girl was driving the air into one of these, with a fan, when they entered.

"This is my brother, Manola," Mrs. O'Halloran said.

The girl smiled and nodded, and then continued her work.

"She speaks English?" Bob said, as they went out.

"She belongs to the Rock, Bob. Almost all the natives here talk a little English."

"Where do these steps lead to? I thought we were at the top of the house."

"Come up and see," Carrie said, leading the way.

Following her, Bob found himself on a flat terrace, extending over the whole of the house. Several orange trees--in tubs--and many flowers, and small shrubs in pots stood upon it; and three or four light cane-work lounging chairs stood apart.

"Here is where we come when the sun is down, Bob. There is no finer view, we flatter ourselves, anywhere in Gib. Here we receive our guests, in the evening. We have only begun yet, but we mean to make a perfect garden of it."

"It is splendid!" Bob said, as he walked round by the low parapet, and gazed at the view in all directions; "and we can see what everyone else is doing on their roofs, and no one can look down on us--except from the rock over there, behind us, and there are no houses there."

"No, the batteries commanding the neutral ground lie over that crest, Bob. We are quite shut in, on two sides; but we make up for it by the extent of our view, on the others. We are very lucky in getting the place. A regiment went home in the transport that brought us out. Gerald knew some of the officers, and one of them had been staying here, and told Gerald of it; and we took it at once. The other officers' wives are all quite jealous of me and, though some of them have very nice quarters, it is admitted that, as far as the view goes, this is by far the best. Besides, it is a great thing being out of the town, and it does not take Gerald more than three or four minutes longer to get down to the barracks.

"But now, let us go downstairs. I am sure you must want something to eat, and we sha'n't have supper for another three hours."

"I dined at twelve," Bob said, "just before we rounded the point, and I could certainly hold on until supper time Still, I daresay I could eat something, now."

"Oh, it is only a snack! It is some stewed chicken and some fruit.

That won't spoil your supper, Bob?"

"You will be glad to hear, Bob," Captain O'Halloran said, as the lad was eating his meal, "that I have secured the services of a Spanish professor for you. He is to begin next Monday."

Bob's face fell.

"I don't see that there was need for such a hurry," he said, ruefully, laying down his knife and fork. "I don't see there was need for any hurry, at all. Besides, of course, I want to see the place."

"You will be able to see a good deal of it, in four days, Bob; and your time won't be entirely occupied, when you do begin. The days are pretty long here, everyone gets up early.

"He is to come at seven o'clock in the morning. You have a cup of coffee, and some bread and b.u.t.ter and fruit, before that. He will go at nine, then we have breakfast. Then you will have your time to yourself, till dinner at half past two. The a.s.sistant surgeon of our regiment--he is a Dublin man--will come to you for Latin, and what I may call general knowledge, for two hours. That is all; except, I suppose, that you will work a bit by yourself, of an evening.

"That is not so bad, is it?"

"What sort of man is the a.s.sistant surgeon?" Bob replied, cautiously. "It all depends how much he is going to give me to do, in the evening."

"I don't think he will give you anything to do, in the evening, Bob. Of course, the Spanish is the princ.i.p.al thing, and I told him that you will have to work at that."