ou will be very foolish, if you don't agree; for you will make
three times as much as I offer you, every thirty boxes of fruit
that you can take in there; but the boat has got to go there now,
and you have got to take your choice whether you go in her, or
not."

"How do we know that you will pay us the money, when we get there?"
one of the Spaniards asked.

Bob put his hand into his pocket.

"There," he said. "There are twenty gold pieces, that is, a hundred
dollars. That is a proof I mean what I say. Put them into your
pockets. You shall have the rest, when you get there. But mind, no
nonsense; no attempts at treachery. If I see the smallest sign of
that, I will shoot you down without hesitation.

"Now, row, and I'll put her head round."

The men said a few words in an undertone to each other.

"You guarantee that no harm shall come to us at Gibraltar, and that
we shall be allowed to leave again?"

"Yes, I promise you that, faithfully.

"Now, you have got to row a good bit harder than you have been
rowing, up till now. We must be past Fort Santa Barbara before
daylight."

The boat's head was round, by this time, and the men began to row
steadily. At present, they hardly knew whether they were satisfied,
or not. Two hundred and fifty dollars was, to them, an enormous
sum; but the risk was great. It was not that they feared that any
suspicion would fall upon them, on their return. They had often
smuggled tobacco from Gibraltar, and had no high opinion of the
acuteness of the authorities. What really alarmed them was the fear
of being sunk, either by the Spanish or British guns. However, they
saw that, for the present at any rate, they had no option but to
obey the orders of a passenger possessed of such powerful arguments
as those he held in his hands.

Chapter 14: A Welcome Cargo.

After the men had been rowing for an hour, Bob felt a slight breeze
springing up from off the land, and said:

"You may as well get up the sail. It will help you along a bit."

The sail was a large one, for the size of the boat; and Bob felt a
distinct increase in her pace, as soon as the men began to row
again. He could make out the line of the hills against the sky; and
had, therefore, no difficulty in keeping the course. They were soon
back opposite Marbella, the lights of which he could clearly make
out. Little by little the breeze gathered strength, and the rowers
had comparatively easy work of it, as the boat sli