“jump them, herc!”
“don’t worry about me,” bawled out herc as the boys leaped forward to intercept the two beggars. they reached the revolvers just one jump ahead of the two rascals, and the next instant the egyptians found themselves gazing into the barrels of two wicked looking pistols.
“be good,” grinned herc. “i’m very nervous, and if you make trouble my finger might crook by accident on purpose.”
“do you men understand english?” demanded ned.
one of them nodded sullenly.
“then lead us out of here at once, or——” he flourished the pistol he held menacingly.
the man grunted and said something to his[280] companion, who shrugged his shoulders. then each with a dreadnought boy pressing a pistol to his back, the two sullen beggars marched off down a passage which they said would lead to the desert. they told the truth. before long the lads and their guides emerged at the foot of the pyramid and were met by a glare of dazzling sunlight.
“help! ouch, i’m struck blind!” cried herc, as the glare greeted him.
“so am i. it is coming suddenly into the bright sunlight out of that dark hole.”
the boys blinked and winked, but everything was black for a time. then when they opened their eyes they got a surprise. taking advantage of their temporary blindness, the two beggars had slipped off.
“well, let them go,” said ned. “we haven’t got time to prosecute them anyhow. let’s join our ship-mates.”
“aren’t you going to notify the authorities?” asked herc.
[281]
“certainly, i shall do that. i believe those fellows must have made a practice of tracking and robbing people in the pyramid. they would have robbed us if they hadn’t pushed us into that hole by mistake, i think.”
and ned was right. the two dreadnought boys had discovered what had long puzzled the authorities; namely, the hiding place of the rascals who tracked travelers whom they thought had money and robbed them in the pyramid. the lair that they had made for themselves was destroyed and ultimately many of them were captured and imprisoned.
the boys rejoined their ship-mates and a wonderful tale they had to tell. it appeared that the guide, when he missed them, concluded that they had started back for the entrance of the pyramid and set out after them, just as they had supposed was the case.
that night they returned to the ship, although their leave had not yet expired. like many of[282] their ship-mates they had seen quite enough of egypt and were impatient to get to sea again. two days later the canal was traversed and the battle fleet entered the mediterranean, en route for gibraltar.
the first sight of the famous rock made the boys enthusiastic. it looked just like it did in the pictures, and they thrilled as they gazed at the wonderful fortifications, although naval experts have doubted if, for all their formidable appearance, the guns of gibraltar could stop a hostile fleet of modern ships from entering the mediterranean.
ned and herc got leave to go ashore that afternoon and left in one of the first liberty boats. they found much that was strange and interesting in the historic rock, which is galleried and tunneled like an ant’s nest. red-coated british soldiers were strutting about everywhere, for the place is kept heavily garrisoned.
they soon tired of the town, though, and after[283] purchasing and posting numerous post-cards to their friends at home, they roamed off up a steeply winding road. as they rose higher they had a fine view of the fleet lying at anchor and of the distant coast of africa. behind them, connected with the rock by a narrow strip of sandy land, was spain.
they passed several sentries, all of whom gave them a friendly nod. all at once they came to an iron gate, which was locked.
“guess that means ‘stop,’” said ned.
“there’s no sign on it,” rejoined herc. “i don’t see why we can’t go right on.”
“if we climb it,—yes. but we might get into trouble. i hear that there are parts of this rock where no foreigner is allowed.”
“well, this can’t be one of them or there’d be a sentry here. look, there’s another gate down there. let’s try that one. i’d like to get right to the top of the rock by the signal-tower.”
“so would i. well, we’ll try that gate.”
[284]
it was open and the boys passed through. the path wound steeply upward. they rounded a shoulder of rock and a magnificent view burst upon them. they were still admiring it when a heavy hand was laid on ned’s shoulder. simultaneously somebody tapped herc in a similar manner.
“wha-wha-what!” exclaimed ned, considerably startled.
the next minute he was destined to be more astonished. he wheeled indignantly and saw a file of scarlet-coated soldiers behind them in charge of a sergeant. the sergeant motioned to the two dreadnought boys.
the soldiers stepped forward and seized them.
“what does this mean?” cried ned.
“you are under arrest.”
“under arrest? what for?”
“you have no right on this part of the rock. how did you get here?”
“through a gate. it was unlocked and no sentry on duty, so we thought it was all right.”
[285]
“the sentries were being changed and for the minute there was not one there. that does not excuse you.”
“but we are sailors from the flag-ship of the american fleet!”
“that makes it all the worse. we don’t like yankees prowling around here.”
“pooh! i could blow your old rock out of the water with one of our guns!” sputtered herc, very red in the face.
“that will do, young man. none of your impertinence. forward, march.”
“where are you taking us?” asked ned, as the file moved off, marching on each side of the boys.
“to the officer of the day.”
the officer of the day proved to be a snappy man with a huge moustache and a monocle. he wasted no time over ordering the boys confined. to their protests he paid not the slightest heed. he refused even to communicate with the ship.
“i must lay the matter before the higher authorities,”[286] he said. “it looks to me as if you have committed a grave offense. you must be locked up pending further developments.”
“what, again!” exclaimed herc, referring to their arrest at hawaii.
“ah! so you have been in trouble before? dangerous characters, eh?” said the officer triumphantly.
“what do you mean?” exclaimed ned indignantly. “we are american sailors. you can speedily find out all about us by communicating with our ship.”
no reply was vouchsafed and the boys were marched off to the guardhouse and placed in a cell. that they could see the ships made the situation all the more annoying. suddenly ned had an idea.
“herc, we’ll tell them of our plight.”
“how? shout to them, i suppose,” rejoined herc, sarcastically.
“no. you know that big souvenir picture handkerchief i got down below in the town?”
[287]
“a sheet, i’d call it.”
“so much the better. i mean to ‘wig-wag’ the fleet with it and tell them the fix we are in.”
“say, ned,” cried herc enthusiastically, “you ought to be a judge or a lawyer or an inventor or something.”
“thanks. i’d rather be a sailor.”
ned pulled out his handkerchief and began wig-wagging with it. a sentry on duty in front of the cells, which were open-fronted to admit cool air, looked at him in surprise, but said nothing.
about that time the officer of the deck on the manhattan happened to have his official spy-glass leveled at the rock. he saw the signal that ned was so frantically waving and summoned a signalman.
“signalman! somebody is wig-wagging us from the rock. take the glasses and see what they want.”
“aye, aye, sir!”
[288]
it was not long before ned had conveyed by his ingenious plan a clear idea of their predicament to those on the flag-ship. captain dunham was informed of the matter.
“those lads in trouble again!” he exclaimed.
“yes, sir; but it was not their fault. the british are very touchy about their rock and suspect everybody of being spies. i guess that’s how it happened.”
“no doubt you are right,” said the captain, when he had heard further details.
“quartermaster, order my boat away.”
“you are going ashore, sir?” inquired the officer of the deck.
“yes. i must get those lads out of this difficulty at once.”
the captain went to the governor-general, before whom he laid the case. the governor-general happened to be a good-natured man and when captain dunham had told him of one or two of the boys’ pranks, he ordered their release forthwith.
[289]
“but, in order to uphold discipline, i must ask you not to allow them ashore again during the fleet’s stay here,” he said. “if they came on the rock again it would look as if the officer who caused their arrest was being flouted.”
“that seems rather an arbitrary ruling,” remarked captain dunham, “but i will see that it is carried out.”
“thank you. i shall meet you at the official dinner to-night”; and the two dignitaries bowed ceremoniously and parted.
some time later ned and herc were approached in their cell by a sentry.
“a patrol has come for you from the ship,” he said.
the door was unlocked and ned and herc were led out to meet a file of their ship-mates on the broad grin.
“taylor and strong,” said the man in charge of the detail, “we are to escort you on board.”
“you couldn’t escort us anywhere we’d rather[290] go,” declared herc, vehemently. “i’ll be glad when we get our anchors up for the good old u. s. a. i’m sick of foreign countries.”
“you will tell your captain that you are not to come ashore again while your ship is in port,” snapped out the sergeant who had arrested the boys.
“thanks. we don’t tell our captain what to do. do you order yours about?” asked ned sweetly.
“run along, old boiled lobster,” shot out herc. “you couldn’t pay me to come ashore on your old rock again.”
half an hour later the boat containing the patrol drew alongside the port gangway of the manhattan. ned and herc were marched on deck as if they had been prisoners. the master-at-arms met them.
“the captain wants to see you at once,” he said.
“wow! we’re in for a dose of the brig,” muttered herc, “and through no fault of our own.”
[291]
ned looked dismayed.
“can’t we have a chance to straighten up?” he asked.
“no; my orders are to send you aft at once.”
“very well.”
feeling anything but “very well,” the boys marched aft and presently the orderly was announcing them to the captain.
“come in, my lads,” was what they heard, and in they marched and stood stiffly at attention, after saluting.
“let me give you lads some good advice,” said the captain kindly. “i’m not rebuking you, but it is best when ashore in foreign countries to be careful of hurting other nations’ feelings or trespassing on places which they regard as sacred and private. i want you to be more careful in the future.”
“we will, sir,” said ned.
“we sure will, sir,” blurted out herc.
the captain had to pass a hand over his face to conceal a smile.
[292]
“i suppose that promise holds good till the next time,” he thought to himself.
then he resumed aloud:—
“i have been much pleased with the conduct of you lads on this cruise and with you particularly, strong. your gunnery at night practice was excellent. you, too, taylor, have done good work and both your names will be sent in to washington for promotion.”
“oh, thank you, sir!” blurted out both boys, scarlet with pleasure and with shining eyes.
“that is all, except something that the consul ashore wanted me to give you, strong.”
he handed ned an envelope; and then resuming his “quarter-deck” voice told the boys they could “carry on.”
they saluted and left the sacred precincts of the commander’s cabin. when they got forward, ned opened the envelope. it contained a pink slip of paper and a note on official stationery.
“it’s a check!” cried herc. “for five hundred dollars! wow!”
[293]
the note explained that the government had forwarded the check to gibraltar so that ned might get it on his arrival there. it was the longstanding federal reward for the capture of schmidt and the ring of san francisco tea smugglers.
two days later anchors were shipped, and the great fleet with booming of guns and blaring of bands got under way. they were homeward bound. from the peak of each leviathan fluttered the long “homeward-bound pennant.” as the shores of europe sank below the horizon, the jackies broke into song.
“hoist up the flag, boys!
long may it wave!
hurrah for america,
the home of the brave!”
herc was uproarious over his coming promotion, which was almost certain, as the captain had recommended it. but ned was serious and[294] thoughtful. in a short time his days as a jackie would be over forever. he would no more sling his hammock, but sleep in a bunk and mess with the chief petty officers. another milestone of life had been passed and before him lay the future. it loomed big with opportunity and responsibility. those who care to follow the careers of the dreadnought boys yet further may learn how the lads acquitted themselves in their new positions by reading the next volume of this series.
the lads were on the brink of adventures and thrilling experiences beyond what they had hitherto known. yet they were ready to meet either fun or peril with the spirit of the true blue-jacket—the spirit that has made our navy the wonderful force that it is. and so here we say, “good-bye, ship-mates,” and “pipe down hammocks,” till we meet again in the forthcoming volume:—“the dreadnought boys in home waters.”
