Darrin's reproof. "But first of all, I must ask you to pass me
safely by that provost guard, or I might be detained at a time when I
cannot afford to lose a single instant. You will vouch for me, won't you,
Mr. Darrin? Here are my formal credentials," continued Cushing,
producing and unfolding a wallet that contained properly sealed and
signed credentials from the American Department of State.
"The paper that was stolen from you did not in any way relate to the
defenses and fortifications here at Gibraltar, did it?" Dave asked.
"Not in the least," Cushing replied promptly.
"You give me your word of honor for that?" Dave asked bluntly.
"Do you believe I'd waste my time on such rubbish as that?" demanded
Cushing, scornfully. "Why, every civilized government on earth
possesses accurate plans of the fortifications at Gibraltar! I give you my
word of honor, Mr. Darrin, that the paper stolen from me did not in any
way relate to the Gibraltar fortifications."
"Then I'll do my best to get you by the provost guard," Ensign Darrin
promised, turning to lead the way back.
"Sir," Dave announced to Lieutenant Abercrombie, commanding the
provost guard detachment, "I beg to report, on what I regard as the best
of authority, that there is no reason why my countryman, Mr. Cushing,
should be detained by you."
"Then that of which he claims to have been robbed is nothing that
could officially interest me?" pressed the British officer.
"I am certain that the matter could not interest a British officer, except
in his desire to see a thief caught," Ensign Darrin vouched.
"That is all, then," replied Lieutenant Abercrombie. "Gentlemen, you
are at liberty to proceed on your way."
In the meantime the Spanish waiter had slipped back to the theatre.
Dave and Dan saluted, the Englishman doing the same. Then
Lieutenant Abercrombie gave each of these brothers in arms a hearty
handclasp. The men of the provost guard parted to allow the three
Americans to pass on their way.
"And now where do you wish to go, Mr. Cushing?" Dave inquired,
after they had passed the British provost guard.
"I suppose you expect me to search for the thief," rejoined the man
from the State Department. "But that would now be worse than a waste
of time. Gibraltar, quaint Moorish city that it is, is so full of holes in the
wall that it would be impossible to find the thief, for he will not venture
out again to-night. The best thing I can do will be to go straight to the
American admiral, and you gentlemen, I imagine, can take me there."
"A launch will put off from the mole for the flagship at ten o'clock,"
Dave informed him. "We may as well go down to the mole and wait."
Twice, on the way, after leaving the more crowded parts of the city
behind, the three were challenged by English sentries invisible in the
darkness.
"Who goes there?" came the sentry's hail in each instance.
"Officers from the American flagship," Darrin answered for the party.
"Pass on, gentlemen," came the response out of the darkness.
At all times strict watch over all comers outside the British army
service is kept at Gibraltar, and after dark this vigilance is doubled.
"On a moonless night like this, one would imagine that Gibraltar, save
for the few blocks of 'city,' held few human beings," murmured Dan, as
the three continued on at a quiet walk toward the water front. "One gets
the impression that there are but a few sentries, sprinkled here and there,
yet we know there are thousands of British soldiers scattered over this
rock."
"Hardly scattered," smiled Dave Darrin. "Except for the guard, men and
officers are alike in barracks, and many of the barracks are at rather
long distances from the fortifications."
Nor are the fortifications to be found along the water front. Back on the
great hill of rock are gun embrasures, often cut into the face of the rock
itself. Back of the embrasures are galleries cut through the stone, and
here, in time of siege, the soldiers would stand behind the huge guns.
Gibraltar's harbor is small, though large enough to hold a great fleet. In
the days when cannon had shorter range than now, a British fleet might
have hidden in the harbor and been secure against all the fleets of the
world, for the guns of the huge fortress could have sunk the combined
navies of the world, had they attempted to enter the harbor. In these
modern days Gibraltar is not so secure, for the heights of Algeciras, in
Spain, are only about seven miles away. If Spain were at war with
Great Britain, or if any other power took the heights of Algeciras

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