Bob was on board the Antelope a quarter of an hour before gunfire. No movement was made until after sunset, for some of the gunboats over at Algeciras might have put out, had they seen any preparations for making sail; but as soon as it became dark the anchor was hove, the sails dropped and sheeted home, and the brig began to move slowly through the water. As she breasted Europa Point, her course was altered to east by north, and the Rock faded from sight in the darkness.  
The first mate was on watch, and Bob walked up and down the deck with him.
 
"There is no occasion for you to keep up," Joe Lockett said. "You may just as well turn."
 
"Oh no, I mean to keep the watch with you!" Bob said. "The captain said that I was to be in your watch, and I want you to treat me just the same way as if I were a midshipman under you."
 
"Well, if you were a midshipman, there wouldn't be anything for you to do, now: still, if you like to keep up, of course you can do so. I shall be glad of your company, and you will help keep a sharp lookout for ships."
 
"There is no chance of our coming across any Spanish traders tonight, I suppose, Joe?"
 
"Not in the least. They would keep a deal farther out than we shall, if they were bound either for Algeciras or through the Straits. We are not likely to meet anything, till we get near Malaga. After that, of course, we shall be in the line of coasters. There are Almeria, and Cartagena, and Alicante, and a score of small ports between Alicante and Valencia."
 
"We don't seem to be going through the water very fast, Joe."
 
"No, not more than two or two and a half knots an hour. However, we are in no hurry. With a light wind like this, we don't want to get too close to the shore, or we might have some of their gunboats coming out after us. I expect that in the morning, if the wind holds light, the captain will take in our upper sails, and just drift along. Then, after it gets dark, he will clap on everything; and run in so as to strike the coast a few miles above Malaga. Then we will take in sail, and anchor as close in as we dare. Anything coming along, then, will take us for a craft that has come out from Malaga."
 
At midnight the second mate, whose name was Crofts, came up to relieve watch; and Bob, who was beginning to feel very sleepy, was by no means sorry to turn in. It hardly seemed to him that he had closed an eye, when he was aroused by a knocking at the cabin door.
 
"It's two bells, sir, and Mr. Lockett says you are to turn out."
 
Bob hurried on his things and went up, knowing that he was an hour late.
 
"I thought you wanted to keep watch, Bob. You ought to have been on deck at eight bells."
 
"So I should have been, if I had been woke," Bob said, indignantly. "I am not accustomed to wake up, just after I go to sleep. It doesn't seem to me that I have been in bed five minutes. If you wake me, tomorrow morning, you will see I will be up, sharp enough.
 
"There is hardly any wind."
 
"No, we have been only crawling along all night. There is Gib, you see, behind us."
 
"Why, it doesn't look ten miles off," Bob said, in surprise.
 
"It is twice that. It is two or three and twenty, I should say.
 
"Now, the best thing you can do is to go down to the waist, slip off your togs, and have a few buckets of water poured over you. That will wake you up, and you will feel ever so much more comfortable, afterwards. I have just told the steward to make us a couple of cups of coffee. They will be ready by the time you have had your wash."
 
Bob followed the advice and, after a bath, a cup of coffee, and a biscuit, he no longer felt the effects from the shortness of the night. The sun had already risen, and there was not a cloud upon the sky.
 
"What are those, over there?" he asked, pointing to the southeast. "They look like sails."
 
"They are sails. They are the upper sails of the Spanish fleet. I expect they are trying to work back into the bay again, but they won't do it, unless they get more wind. You see, I have taken the topgallant sails off the brig, so as not to be seen.
 
"There is the Spanish coast, you see, twelve or fourteen miles away, to port. If you like, you can take the glass and go up into the maintop, and see if you can make anything out on shore."
 
Bob came down in half an hour.
 
"There are some fishing boats," he said, "at least, they look like fishing boats, close inshore, just abreast of us."
 
"Yes, there are two or three little rivers on this side of Malaga. There is not water in them for craft of any size, but the fishing boats use them. There is a heavy swell sets in here, when the wind is from the east with a bit south in it, and they run up there for shelter."
 
Captain Lockett now came up on deck.
 
"Good morning, Bob! I did not see you here, when watch was changed."
 
"No, sir, I wasn't woke; but I mean to be up another morning."
 
"That is right, Bob. Joe and I agreed to give you an extra hour, this morning. Four hours are very short measure, to one who is not accustomed to it; but you will soon find that you can turn in and get a sleep, when your watch is over, whatever the time of day."
 
"It seems to me that this watch has the worst of it, Captain Lockett. We had from eight to twelve, and now from four to eight; and the other had only four hours on deck."
 
"Yours is considered the best watch, Bob. The middle watch, as the one that comes on at twelve o'clock is called, is always the most disliked. You see, at eight bells you go off and have your breakfast comfortably, and can then turn in till twelve o'clock; and you can get another caulk, from five or six till eight in the evening. Of course, if there is anything to do, bad weather or anything of that sort, both watches are on deck, all day."
 
"Well, I am almost sure I should like the other watch best," Bob said.
 
"You are wrong, lad, especially in summer. You see, it is not fairly dark till nine, and you wouldn't turn in till ten, anyhow; so that, really, you are only kept two hours out of your bunk, at that watch. It is getting light when you come up, at four; and at five we begin to wash decks, and there is plenty to occupy you, so that it doesn't seem long till eight bells. The others have to turn out at twelve o'clock, just when they are most sleepy; and to be on watch for the four dark hours, and then go down just as it is getting light.
 
"On a cold night in winter, in the channel, I think perhaps the advantage is the other way. But, in fact, men get so accustomed to the four hours in, and the four hours out, that it makes very little difference to them how it goes."
 
All day the brig kept on the same course, moving very slowly through the water, and passing the coast as much by aid of the current as by that of her sails.
 
"We are pretty well off Malaga," Captain Lockett said, in the afternoon. "If there had been any wind, we should have had a chance of picking up something making from there to the Straits; but there is no chance of that, today. People like making quick voyages, when there is a risk of falling in with an enemy; and they won't be putting out from port until there is some change in the weather. However, it looks to me as if there is a chance of a little breeze, from the south, when the sun goes down. I have seen a flaw or two on the water, that way."
 
"Yes, it seems to me darker over there," the mate said. "I will go up and have a look round.
 
"Yes, sir, there is certainly a breeze stirring, down to the south," he shouted, from aloft.
 
"That will just suit us," the captain said. "We must be twenty miles off the coast at least and, even if they had noticed us from above the town, we are too far off for them to make us out, at all; so it will be safe for us to run in to the land.
 
"We shall rely upon you, Bob, if we are hailed."
 
"I will do my best to throw dust in their eyes, captain. You must tell me, beforehand, all particulars; so that I can have the story pat."
 
"We will wait till we see what sort of craft is likely to hail us. A tale may be good enough, for the skipper of a coaster, that might not pass muster with the captain of a gunboat."
 
"What are the coasters likely to be laden with?"
 
"There is never any saying. Mostly fruit and wine, grain and olives. Then some of them would be taking goods, from the large ports, to the small towns and villages along the coast. Some of the coasters are well worth picking up; but of course, the craft we shall be chiefly on the lookout for will be those from abroad. Some of these have very valuable cargoes. They bring copper and lead, and sometimes silver from the mines of Mexico and South America. Some of them carry a good lot of silver, but it is too much to hope that we should run across such a prize as that. They bring over hides, too; they are worth money. Then, of course, there are ships that have been trading up the Mediterranean with France and Italy or the Levant.
 
"So, you see, there is a considerable variety in the chances of what we may light upon. Coasters are, of course, the staple, so to speak. If we have anything like luck, we shall not do badly, with them. The others we must look upon as the prizes in the lottery."
 
Before the sun set the breeze came up to them, and the brig was at once headed for the land. At ten o'clock the lights of Malaga were made out on the port beam, and the brig bore away a little to the east. Two hours later the land was looming, not far ahead.
 
Sail was got off her, and a man placed in the chains, and soundings taken. This was continued until the water shoaled to eight fathoms, when the brig was brought up, head to wind, and the anchor let go. Then an anchor watch of four men was set, and the rest of the crew allowed to turn in.
 
At daybreak the officers were out again, and it was found that the brig was lying within a quarter of a mile of the land, in a slight indentation of the coast. The wind had died away, and the sails were loosed, and suffered to fall against the masts.
 
"It could not be better," Captain Lockett said. "We look, now, as if we had been trying to make up or down the coast, and had been forced to come to anchor here. Fortunately there don't seem to be any villages near, so we are not likely to have anyone coming out to us."
 
"How far do you think we are from Malaga, captain?"
 
"About ten miles, I should say, Bob. Why do you ask?"
 
"I was only thinking whether it would be possible for me to make my way there, and find out what vessels there are in harbour, and whether any of them are likely to be coming this way. But if it is ten miles, I am afraid it is too far. I should have to pass through villages; and I might be questioned where I came from, and where I was going. I don't know that my Spanish would pass muster, if I were questioned like that.
 
"I should be all right, if I were once in a seaport. No one would be likely to ask me any questions. Then I could stroll about, and listen to what was said and, certainly, I could talk quite well enough to go in and get a meal, and all that sort of thing."
 
"I couldn't let you do that, Bob," the captain said. "It is a very plucky idea, but it wouldn't be right to let you carry it out. You would get hung as a spy, if you were detected."
 
"I don't think there is the least fear in the world of my being detected, in a seaport," Bob said, "and I should think it great fun; but I shouldn't like to try to cross the country. Perhaps we may have a better chance, later on."
 
The captain shook his head.
 
"You might go on board some ship, if one brings up at anchor anywhere near us, Bob. If you got detected, there, we would take her and rescue you. But that is a different thing to letting you go ashore."
 
Presently the sails of two fishing boats were seen, coming out from beyond a low point, three miles to the east.
 
"I suppose there is a fishing village, there," the mate said. "I am glad they are no nearer."
 
He examined the boats with a glass.
 
"They are working out with sweeps. I expect they hope to get a little wind, when they are in the offing."
 
Just as they were at breakfast the second mate, who was on deck, called down the skylight:
 
"There are three craft to the west, sir. They have just come out from behind the point there. They are bringing a little breeze with them."
 
"What are they like, Mr. Crofts?"
 
"One is a polacre, another a xebec, and the third looks like a full-rigged craft; but as she is end on, I can't say for certain."
 
"All right, Mr. Crofts! I will be up in five minutes. We can do nothing until we get the wind, anyhow."
 
Breakfast was speedily finished, and they went on deck. The Spanish flag was already flying from the peak. The three craft were about two miles away.
 
"How are they sailing, Mr. Crofts?"
 
"I fancy the xebec is the fastest, sir. She was astern just now, and she is abreast of the polacre now, as near as I can make out. The ship, or brig--whichever it is--seems to me to be dropping astern."
 
"Heave away at the anchor, Joe. Get in all the slack, so as to be ready to hoist, as soon as the breeze reaches us. I don't want them to come up to us. The line they are taking, now, will carry them nearly half a mile outside us, which is fortunate. Run in six of the guns, and throw a tarpaulin over the eighteen pounder. Three guns, on each side, are about enough for us to show."
 
The breeze caught them when the three Spanish craft were nearly abeam.
 
"They have more wind, out there, than we shall have here," the captain said; "which is an advantage, for I don't want to run away from them.
 
"Now, get up the anchor, Joe. Don't take too many hands."
 
The watch below had already been ordered to sit down on the deck, and half the other watch were now told to do the same.
 
"Twelve or fourteen hands are quite enough to show," the captain said.
 
"The anchor's up, sir," Joe shouted.
 
"Let it hang there. We will get it aboard, presently.
 
"Now haul that fore-staysail across, ease off the spanker sheet.
 
"Now, as she comes round, haul on the braces and sheets, one by one. Do it in as lubberly a way as you can."
 
The brig, which had been riding with her head to the west, came slowly round; the yards being squared in a slow fashion, in strong contrast to the active way in which they were generally handled. The captain watched the other craft, carefully.
 
"The xebec and polacre are gaining on us, but we are going as fast through the water as the three master. When we get the wind a little more, we shall have the heels of them all.
 
"Get a sail overboard, Joe, and tow it under her port quarter. Don't give her too much rope, or they might catch sight of it, on board the ship. That will bring us down to her rate of sailing.
 
"I want to keep a bit astern of them. We dare not attack them in the daylight; they mount too many guns for us, altogether. That big fellow has got twelve on a side, the polacre has eight, and the xebec six, so between them they have fifty-two guns. We might try it, if they were well out at sea; but it would never do, here. There may be galleys or gunboats within hearing, so we must bide our time.
 
"I think we are in luck, this time, Joe. That ship must have come foreign; at least, I should say so by her appearance, though she may be from Cadiz. As to the other two, they may be anything. The xebec, no doubt, is a coast trader. The polacre may be one thing, or another, but I should hardly think she has come across the Atlantic. Likely enough she is from Bilbao or Santander. The ship is the fellow to get hold of, if we get a chance. I shall be quite content to leave the others alone."
 
"I should think so," Joe agreed. "The ship ought to be a valuable prize, wherever she comes from. If she is sound, and pretty new, she would fetch a good sum, if we can get her into an English port."
 
The wind continued to hold light, and the four vessels made but slow progress through the water. The two leaders, however, gradually improved their position. They were nearly matched, in point of sailing; and their captains were evidently making a race of it, hoisting every stitch of canvas they were able to show. By the afternoon they were fully two miles ahead of the ship, which was half a mile on the starboard bow of the brig.
 
The wind died away to nothing, as the sun set. The three Spanish vessels had all been edging in towards shore, and the polacre anchored just before sunset. The ship held on for another hour, but was a mile astern of the other two when she, also, dropped her anchor.
 
The sail, that had been towing overboard from the brig, had been got on board again when the wind began to drop; and she had come up to within little more than a quarter of a mile of the ship. The anchor was let go, as soon as it was seen that the crew of the ship were preparing to anchor, so that the brig should be first to do so. Whether there had been any suspicions, on board the Spaniards, as to the character of the brig, they could not tell but, watching her closely, Captain Lockett saw that the order to anchor was countermanded, as soon as it was seen that the brig had done so.
 
A few minutes after the men again went forward, and the anchor was dropped; for the vessel was making no way whatever, through the water.
 
"Well, Joe, there we are, close to her, now. The question is, what are we to do next? If there was any wind, it would be simple enough. We would drop alongside, in the middle watch;............