BEL RUBIO; OR, THE CHILDREN of the EARTHQUAKE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 746, 18 June 1886, Page 7

BEL RUBIO; OR, THE CHILDREN of the EARTHQUAKE

A STORY OF THE NEVILLES OF GUY’S TOWER. BY CAPT. FREDERICK WHITTAKER. CHAPTER X. A Daughter of Eve. A handsome pair they looked, up there on the summit of the Lion’s rock-fortress, where no invidious distinctions of rank were near, to warn them against the danger of looking at each other and remembering that , they were young. Jessie grew rosy red at the warmth of tone the young man had unconsciously adopted, and replied rather inconsequently : ‘ I am sure I don’t think so.’ Then, as if to relieve herself of the embarrassment she felt, she changed the subject at once, by saying : ‘ But I know my father will be anxious about me, and I really think I deserve a scolding for coming up here. Will you see me down ? I am afraid my nerves are shaken 1 too much to be able to climb as usual.’ The young contrabandista bowed gravely. * I shall be honored in the office, and I venture my life you get safe down.’ Then, with a quiet, respectful manner, that relieved her of her vague fear, in the position in which they were placed, he led the way down the rocks, turning his back to her when the path was easy, and helping her as if she had been a child, when it became steep and dangerous ; till, in a much shorter time than it had takeu her to climb, the summit, she found herself on the platform of Willis’s Lines, whence the path to her father’s house was comparatively safe, and frequented by soldiers. Then Bel Rubio stopped and said quietly : ‘ If the Senorita does not wish me to go any further with her, it may be best I should leave her here.’ Jessie opened her eyes widely. ‘ And why ?’ she asked. Bel Rubio looked at her steadily. There was no question about it ; the girl was honestly surprised at his words, and had no idea of the comments her position might excite. The sentries at the battery, to which they had come, were casting covert glances at her ; and Bel Rubio had caught one or two smiles that made his blood boil. He controlled his inclination to anger, however, and said gravely : * The Senorita forgets that she is the child of a great officer, and I only a poor contrabandista, who sells laces to the ladies of the garrison. If the Senorita insists, I must see her to her father’s gate ; but the soldiers of the garrison are not like our men, gentlemen, and they may talk as well as

think harm, in seeing, me near the Senorita.’ Jessie listened to him in silence. A deep flush reddened her cheek ; for she saw what he meant; but she was too generous and frank to let. this .man s -who had just saved her life, go from her like a • servant who had but done bis duty. So she said f throwing her head up proudly : ‘ The daughter of General Ross is not afraid to be seen anywhere in the post her father commands, with anyone she pleases. If you are not afraid to be seen with me, I am not ashamed to he seen with you, sir.. I expect you to accompany me to the door of the house.’ Bel Rubio drew back and bowed deeply. * You are an angel of goodness, Senorita, i he said in a very low tone. ‘ I only spoke for your own sake. I am not afraid of any« thing. I shall be proud to follow you as your humblest servant.’ He motioned her to proceed and fell behind her, carrying the sketch book, which he took from her at a difficult place in the descent. The way in which lie followed her was that of a footman, an office he would scorn to any other person ; but he held - his head up as if he was proud" of the position. And Jessie, after a moment’s hesitation accepted the situation and walked on, till she reached her father’s quarters, where she beheld the general himself, seated on a stone bench by the doorway, under an orange tree smoking a cigarette, in the semi-Spafiish style, which he bad caught' from long residence at Gibraltar. General Ross was a stern old martinet, and he appeared sterner than usual as he looked up at the sound of his daughter’s step and saw her companion. ‘ Why, Jessie 1 ’ he exclaimed, * where have ye been, child ? I've been asking for ye, ever so long.’ Then Jessie colored still deeper than before, as she stammered, in a low voice : * Don’t be angry, papa. I have been very nearly killed ; and, if it had not been for this gentleman, I think I would have been quiet so.’ General Ross raised his eyebrows with an ironical stare at the young contrabandista, that spoke volumes as he repeated: ‘ This gentleman 1 And what service has this gentleman don ye, my lassie ? ’ Then, as rapidly as she could, Jessie told him of her adventure at the top of the rocks; and, as the mentioned the exploits of the redoubtable Ali Baba, the old officer broke in : < Aye, aye, the good-for-nothing brutes! I have always maintained that they were a nuisance, and that the governor ought to have them shot, or at least thinned. They steal the oranges out of the gardens ; throw the rotten fruit at people’s heads ; and, after all said, they are no use to mortal man. By the gods of war 1 I’ll have the wicked brute poisoned. I'll be hanged if I don’t 1’ Then, turning to Bel Rubio, who had been standing there like a statue while the eager girl told her story, with frequent reference to the services he had rendered her, he continued, more kindly than his wont : * Ye’ve done well, Martin ; and I’ll not forget this whenever you want a favor from the commandent. Here, man, take this to drink my health ; and when ye want a pass to run a cargo, I'll see ye get it.’ He was fumbling in his pocket—not too well lined either-and was pulling out a guinea, when Bel Rubio waved his hand, and said, gravely : * Thanks Senor; but I did not save the lady for money. I am a gentleman, and Spanish gentlemen do not take money for serving a lady.’ She general stared at him for a moment, as if inclined to be angry ; but he had not lived in Gibraltar for years without knowing something of the points of honor of the proud Spaniards that deigned to live under the protection of the British lion. He shrugged his shoulders, and remarked with a smile : ‘ Well, well, no offence, I m sure ; but, all the same, I’m much obliged to ye. When are ye going to run to sea, think ye, Martin ? ’ ‘ I hope to-night, Senor,’ was the quiet reply, as if Bel Rubio le’t relieved at the subject of the adventure being dropped.' «There is no moon, and the wind is fair for us.’ 4 Well, then, good luck to ye, and come and see me when ye've run your cargo,’ said the general, in the manner of a man dismissing another. * Come Jessie 1 ’Twill be dinnertime in ten minutes, and ye haven’t dressed, child.’ And the general put on his stiffest air, as if to intimate that he wished the interview as short as possible—a hint taken at ones by Martin, who bowed again and went of down the steep street, his heart beating faster than ususl, as he recalled the glance cast ajter him by the fair Jessie, who had an unmistakable pout on her pretty lips as he went off. As the contrabandista receded from view the old general turned to his daughter. His face was screwed up into a curious expression, as he observed, -with his driest art : * Jessie, lassie, I’m thinking ye’d best not go roaming away over the rocks any more. ’Tis an evil world, child, and people will ralk. That man is very good-looking, and the less he’s seen with my daughter, the less people will have an opportunity to talk scandal.’ * I’m sure,’ retorted Jessie, coloring high, ‘ there is no occasion for anyone to say anything about me. The gentleman saved my life and it was the least I could do was to bring him here that you might thank him, father. And I must say,’ she went on rather spitefully, ‘that you said about as little as you possibly could. One would think that you did not care for me a bit, from the cool way in which you let him go, after he had saved me from a horrible death. And another thing, papa, no one can say that he is not a perfect gentleman in manner and speech.’ Her father raised his brow still more ironically. ‘ Hoity-toity, lassie ! what are ye talking about, with your gentleman, and all that stuff? Do ye know that this gentleman, as ye call him, carries trunks like a porter, and sells ribbons and laces by the yard, like a peddler ? On my conscience, Jessie, your head's turned with the boy just because he’s decent-looking—well, handsome, I’ll admit that. But look here, my lassie, [ don’t want any more of this stuff. Ye’ll go to your room, and keep this young man out of

your mind. By the gods of war ! I don’t want to be ungrateful ; but there are bounds to a man’s gratitude. This young fellow isn t even an Englishman.’ ' Then, as his daughter was about to retort r on him with something more, he added, f sharply : ‘ Go to your room ; and don’t talk non £ Sense, child. I'll have no more of it, ye un- ' - derstand. Go ! ’ N And Jessie went; for she stood in awe of -■ her father when he was in earnest with her —a thing he seldom was, for Ross, though,a martinet with all the world, generally spoiled his daughter. ■_ j * By the gods of war !’ he muttered to himself, as he sat puffing his cigarette with » quick, nervous efforts, ‘ this is an unfortunate - affair. I was just such a lad when her mother thought me the handsomest lad in all Scotland, and gave me her fortune. And - Jessie’s amazingly like her mother in every if i respect. She’s as romantic as a girl can be, - and if I don’t get this young fellow out of the way, there’ll be trouble in the garrison. •"'■T marked the way he looked at hei-. ’Tis a ; very strange thing, this love. It makes a . lassie forget father and mother and all the - world for a fellow that hasn’t a penny to bless himself with. These poor people have no right to be good-looking. And, confound ; - that Ali Baba! I’ll tell the general, and 1 have the brute killed. He’s done more harm than a whole wilderness of monkeys could replace.’ And the old general sat there brooding . in the hot afternoon sun, while the smoke of his cigarette went gradually out, and did i not rouse from his reverie till hig daughter came to the door to say sweetly : ‘ Papa, dear, dinner is ready.’ The veteran looked up at her sharply. Miss Jessie was dressed with unusual care, and had the most charming of smiles on her face ; but Ross had not been the father of a px’etty, coaxing daughter for twenty years or so, without knowing that a sweet smile is often the prelude for an expensive request of some kind. . i r; So he did not soften at the sight of the blooming lassie he loved so dearly, though he felt his tough old heart much inclined that way, but merely rose from his seat, and said : ‘ Very well, child ; we’ll have it then.’ Jessie behaved during dinner as if she had nothing on her mind ; but when it was over, and the general in that contented and rather sleepy condition which follows on the indulgence of a healthy appetite, his daughter brought him his coffee, lighted his cigarette - for him, and took a seat on a hassock at his i: feet, out on the cool verandah of the house, where the general enjoyed his after-dinner ■ nap, and said to him, rather inconsequently, for nothing had occurred to make the question apposite : ‘ Papa, dear, is not the army open’to any one who chooses to enlist V ‘Certainly, child,’ he answered. ‘lt makes no difference who or what he is, as . soon as he swears in as a recruit. He’s as : good an Englishman as any of them, if he was born in Samarcand or Copenhagen." ’Tis the pride of our army that we offer a career to any one that chooses to stand by the colors.’ Then, as he puffed his'cigarette, he continued : ‘And what makes ye ask that, Jessie? Are ye thinking of the Foreign Legion, child ?’ ‘ No, no ; merely an idea I had. We had a dispute on the subject the other day, and I said that there was nothing to prevent the general from enlisting all the contrabandistas in the port, if his own men ran short in the seige. Mrs Munro said I was wrong, and I wanted to be sure about it, that’s all, papa.’ ‘ Mrs Munro is a woman who knows too much for her own good.’ said the general, i. sleepily. ‘But I’m thinking, lassie, that we’ll not he able to have many more quiet chats like this when the bombardment begins ; so let me have my nap, Jessie. Maybe to-morrow 1 11 not have the chance to sleep.’ Jessie said no more, for her father's words roused an uncomfortable thought in her mind. The garrison of Gibraltar had been having very easy times for some months since the last convoy had been ran into the , port, and the soldiers had almost settled down to the conviction that the enemy were about to raise the seige, from the silence which had prevailed in the batteries on the r isthmus. General Ross having said what he did, his daughter begau to think of what the change would be when the bombardment began. ‘ No more rambles for me,’ she murmured I to herself, as she moved away from the vicinity of the old officer, who had settled into his big chair, and was already snoring gently, with his head on his breast. Then she sat down, gazing out over the waters of the hay of Algesiras, where the last flush of sunset was reddening the waves, and seemed to be absorbed in some pleasant thoughts, for a smile was on her half-parted lips, and her ro3y color made her face peculiarly pretty that evening. As she sat there a man passed along the steep street, going towards the port, and .- Jessie colored deeply as she distinguished the tall, trim figure of Bel Rubio, the con- ■ trabandista. She cast a swift glance at her father, and saw that the old gentleman was t ;i fast asleep. Another hurried look told her that the street was deserted, and in a ;- moment she had started up and stole to the foot of the steps, just as Martin Diaz passed , in front of the house. ■j . Under the orange trees it was quite dark, but the contrabandista did not seem in doubt -who owned the white figure that flitted down the steps like a ghost, for he stopped, bowed, and said, in a low voice : ‘ Farewell, Senorita. We are going out in an hour.’ Jessie drew a long breath, and trembled in the darkness, as she whispered : ‘ I have a favor to ask of you.’ CHAPTER XI. The Home of Martin" Dias. Down by the Mole, nestling under the shadows of the batteries, a narrow, winding street of small houses, built of dried clay, or ‘ tapia,’ * and roofed with tiles, straggled * ‘ Tapia ’ is a cement made of mortar and ■ pebbles, set in frames so as to make large blocks, of which most of the houses in the

along the sides of the harbor, where the fislr--1 ermen and contrabandistas sojourned. The nets, banging from poles, stretched across the street from heuse-top to housetop, were the possession of the Genoese fish • errhen who abounded in Gibraltar. Other houses, with gay carpets banging from the windows, and a general air of prosperity about them, were the dwellings of . the contrabandistas who made Gibra'ltar their resting-place, from whence they took caravans of mules across the mountains to Ronda. The picturesque dresses of muleteers and fishermen were seen everywhere, and the contrabandistas partook of both characters ; for they ran cargoes as seamen, and transferred them, overland, as muleteers, being equally at home in either element. Since the blockade had been strictly established, the contraband trade bad been altered in character ; for caravans could no longer get out by the isthmus. The mules had been sold, and the cargoes were taken in boats, to Algesiras, where they were landed on the coast and . taken inland nightly ; it being more than suspected that Spanish officers, high in rank, were implicated in tire trade and in the pay of the smugglers, who were rarely caught, and still more rarely punished. Down the street, late in the afternoon, when Bel Rubio had gone up the mountain, on a pass, for some mysterious mission, and his father's house was left in the care of the old man and his daughter, there came two British officers, scanned as they went, in a furtive fashion, by sundry dark bewhiskered fellows, who looked as though they could cut throats just as readily as ruu cargoes by night. No one offered them any rudeness, however, and the glances were taken stealthily, for the uniform was well known in the Spanish quarter, and respected accordingly. The two officers paused at the door of Martin Diaz, and Herbert Seymour said to his cousin : ‘ This is the house, if you are particularly anxious to see Diaz ; but I warn you he is a disagreable old fellow.’ ‘ Disagreeable or not, I want to see.him, said Lord Neville ; and the sooner I do, the sooner I shall be satisfied.’ * And you can’t give me an idea what you want to know ? I ihay save you trouble.’ ‘No I can’t. In fact, Herbert, I hardly know what I want myself. It is merely a spasm of curiosity, to find how these children came to have such light hair.’ Herbert shrugged his shoulders and knocked at the door of the contrabandista, when it was opened almost immediately, and a girl looked out. Lord Neville caught his breath and stared at her as she did so, for such a lovely creature he had never seen in his life. Above the common height of woman, superbly formed, with a face of perfect contour, great, dark eyes, of velvety lustre, and a profusion of golden hair, that crinkled and waved, catching the light in every ripple, Concha Diaz would have made a model for a Venus of Titian. Her picturesque Spanish costume aided to make her beauty still more ravishing, and the young lord’s voice trembledinvoluntarily, as he said ; . ‘ I beg your pardon, Mademoiselle ; but I am in search of Mr Diaz Martin-Diaz. Does he live in this house V The girl smiled at him, with her eyes, in the bewitching style of a Spanish woman answering : ‘lf the Senor will be pleased to enter, the house and all within are at his disposition.’ The words were the ordinary Spanish compliment, though spoken in English ; but the voice in which they were uttered was so soft and sweet that the fashionable young lord, who had mingled iu high society since he was twelve years old, blushed and stammered like an awkward boy, as he responded; ‘Thank you very much. I would like to see Mr Diaz if it is not too much trouble.’ Concha compressed her red lips to avoid a smile at his embarrassment. She was used to the sight of men trembling before her, and had the coquetry of her Spanish training, evinced by the careless flirt of her black lace vail or mantilla, as she tossed it aside with one rounded arm and motioned the visitors to enter. Then Lord Neville, followed by Herbert Seymour, his heart beating fast and hard, entered the dwelling of the contrabandista, and took the seats to which they were ushered by this lovely porteress, while Concha said : ‘ I will call my father, Senors.’ They did notice that a tall, heavily built man, with a handsome but fierce face and the whiskers of a pirate, had watched them from the other side of the street, where he was lounging, smoking the eternal cigarette of his class. As they entered, this man crossed the street after them, and stood by the outer door, that Concha had left open to intercept her, as she came out of the room. He had a stealthy step for a man of his size, and, as the girl came out into the passage, he whispered eagerly : ‘ Concha—Concha ! ’ She saw him, and gave her mantilla another toss, indicative of scorn, as she said, curtly : 4 What is it Jose Gomez ? I am in a hurry.’ Hia dark face darkened still more as he growled : ‘ You are always in a hurry of late ; but mark me, Concha Diaz, all your hurry won t avail you, if you play me false. Take care !’ The girl gave a still more scornful to3s of her mantilla, as she said : ‘No one fears you Jos6 Gomez. lamin a hurry. Good evening,’ And she shut the door in his face, and went off to the rear of the house, where her father was taking a siesta in the heat of the afternoon. It the meantime, the two visitors, in the little reception-room, where curiously examining the objects around them ; and they had not exhausted the list when they heard a grave voice saying behind them, in tones that made them start : ‘De Senors are velcome to my ’omble ’aroose, bote I have noting to sell dis time, Senors.’ town ’were then built. Flat roofs, or azoteas—Spanish style and tiled roofs alternated in the dwellings of the natives.

Lord Neville faced round, to behold a man whose iron-gray hair and whiskers framed a face of such firm gravity that the thought involuntarily came to his mind : * That man would fight like a tiger.’

Now that he was in the house, aud in presence of its master, the young lord felt the full embarrassment of his position, if he asked any questions, such as were seething in his mind.

He hesitated and colored ; but then catching at what the contrabandista had said, with the readiness learned by acquaintance with the world, he rejoined : * That is of no consequence, sir. I have heard so much of you as the famous —what do you call it? contrabandist—that I could not resist the temptation to call and see you. Your son, Martin is a splendid young man, sir. T wo der if it would be possible to induce him to enter our service. I have need of such a man as my personal attendant, and— ’ Somehow he stopped here, for the expression of the old Spaniard’s face was so forbidding that the man of the world broke down. ‘ I am deeplee gratefole to de Senor for eez goot intenseeone,’ said Diaz, gravely ; ‘ bote e eez probablee avare dat ve are eedalgos—■ vat you Eengleez call genteelnren, I believe. Dere eez bote von carriere open to my sone, in de absence of de profession of armas—dat eez to follow de pat’ mark out for eem by his fadair. My sone can never be a criado—vat you call a sairvant.’ Lord Neville eagerly replied : ‘ I assure you I had no such intentions. I mean that he should enter our army, where everything is possible to a man of courage, aud I would take care of his future. lam well known, sir, as my eousiu will tell you. I am Lord Neville, and able to do what I say.’ ‘De- Senor Seymour eez alvays velcome to my ’aoose,’ said Diaz iu the same cold way ; ‘ bote my sone ’as no desaire to enter your armee.' i •

Then he compressed his lip 3 and looked out of the window, as if he desired to get rid of his visitors, and the silence was so absolutely cold that Lord Neville ro3e with a sigh, saying : ‘ Well, lam sorry. I took an immediate interest in him when I saw him to-day. It is very remarkable that he should be so like an Englishman, in face and color, when all the rest of your people are so dark.' The hint was broad ; but Diaz did not take it. Rather, he transferred his gaze from the window to the wall, and his voice had a sarcastic ring iu it, as he replied : *De Senor eez varee goot to take an eenterest in Martino. Dsre ’ave been manee Senors dat ’ave done me de honore to ’eent before, dat ’e cannot be possiblee a sone of mine ; bote, as long as ve air satisfy-ed, ve veel continue as ve ’ave begone, and eef de Senors veel cxacoose de remark-a, I ’ave a car a-go to rone, dees evening, and I —’ He did not conclude : but his own hint was so broad that Lord Neville glanced at his cousin with an air of vexation; Herbert shrugged his shoulders ; and the young lord took up his hat, remarking as he did it : I am very sorry to have disturbed you, Mr Diaz; but I hope you will change your mind some day.’ Then they found themselves in the street and almost stumbled over the body of a man on the door step, where he was lying in the glow of the sunset, wrapped in the gay, striped seraptS—a sort of shawl—of his class, and moodily smoking a cigarette. Lord Neville struck his foot against the recumbent body, and drew back, saying instinctively, with t e courtesy of his breeding : ‘I am sure I beg your pardon, sir.’ The man arose to his feet, eying him with a scowl; and Neville could not resist a slight shudder as he saw the gleaming eyes, the crouching attitude, the hands buried in the folds of the mantle. The Spaniard did not answer a word, and Herbert, who had mastered a little Spanish since he had been at Gibalter, began to explain the apology just made by his cousin. The man listened to him, and curled his lip as he threw the end of the shawl over his shoulder, turning a,way with a muttered Spanish oath, . and designing no further reply. As he stalked up the street, Lord Neville exclaimed, in a tone of vexation : ‘Confound his impudence! If I had known he was such au ill-conditioned scoundrel I would never have asked his pardon.’ The words were hardly out of his mouth when the dark Spaniard turned and faced him, with a gleaming eye, and an expression more evil than at first, as he hissed in broken English : ‘lngles milordo ! Bah! Carajo ! Me geef you dis, you not carefule. Aha ? you like dat V And he half drew the blade of a knife from the hiding-place in his breast, where his hand had been resting on it all the time. Herbert, seeing the augry flush on his cousin's face, caught his arm, and whispered eagerly : ‘Be careful. We are unarmed, and he only wants a chance to use that knife.’ Neville ground his teeth as he looked at the insoleut Spaniard. ‘lf I hadn't left my sword behind I'd make it hot for that fellow, Herbert. Do they allow such things here under the shadow of our flag V Herbert had been looking anxiously down the street while he was speaking, for they were, in a manner, imprisoned on the doorstep, as long as the man with the knife held the street. Seymour’s eye brightened as he beheld a party ofdark kilted soldiers coming down the street and he waved his hand, calling : ‘ Highlanders, shoulder to shoulder ! This way, men !’ CHAPTER XII. ALMOST A RIOT. Affravs between the men of a garrison town and the inhabitants are not uncommon when the soldiers are in liquor, and their propensity to use their weapons is so common among English soldiers that they are generally forbidden to carry them when off duty, even the bayonet being taken from the sheath when on leave.

The Highlanders were an exception to the rule, that they retained their national weapon, the dirk, along with the sporran or goat skin pouch, which was a part of their uniform ; and they were just as ready to use their dirks as the Spaniards their long knives.

The sight of one of their officers on the door-step of a house, another officer with him, and a Spaniard below in an attitude of menace, set them running towards the scene of the trouble, raising the cry as they came off : ‘McCloud? McCloud !’ The cry attracted the attention of other soldiers louDging about near the port, and the end of the street was full in less than a minute, while the sullen Spaniard who had been threatening Lord Neville hesitated, looked around him apprehensively, and thrust the knife he had half drawn back, into his breast, with a scowl, stalking away before the soldiers could get up to him, trying his best not to appear afraid, but succeeding ill. Lord Neville, as. the men came up excitedly asking * What was the matter ?.’ pointed to the retiring figure of the Spaniard, saying : ‘ That man was going to stab me. Go after him and find out who he is. If he won’t tell liis name take him to the guardhouse. I will be responsible for the action.’ The men needed no second bidding, and ran after the Spaniard ; a proceeding which created au excitement iu the street almost instantly. The lounging men in the door-ways on the shady street started up and hurried after their comrade, while other soldiers came down the street at a run, and a grand row seemed to be imminent, for the Spaniards and Genoese were scowling and drawing their knives in an ominous way. Herbert, who was cooler than his cousin, hastily went down towards the place where the excited Highlanders had surrounded the man, and were questioning him fiercely. His presence, and uniform had its effect, and the men drew away from the Spaniard, leaving the officer to do the questioning. The other Spaniards, also, when they saw the gold-laced jacket of Seymour, halted in their rush, and waited to see what would come of it; while the soldiers, coming down the street, paused and huddled into a group, watching the scene, and ready- to take part in it if necessary. The Highlanders were fingering their dirks, the English soldiers taking off their belts—no mean weapons in a free fight, from the heavy plates with which they were fastened. Herbert went up to the man who had caused the trouble by his insolence, and asked him, iu the authoritative way of an officer : ‘ What is your name, my man ?’ The Spaniard scowled at him, but answered in a sullen, reluctant way : ‘ Me Jos6 Gomez Me goot man. All mans know me. Me do no harm.’ ‘ That’s all I want to know,’ said Herbert, who knew how strict the orders were against any trouble with the people of the place. ‘ Go off about your business, and the next time you meet an English officer, who apologises to you for something he did, give him a civil answer, and don’t offer to stab him. You can go.’ The Spaniard turned away with not even the semblance of a bow, and Herbert continued to the men, who were watching him, open-mouthed : ‘That will do, men. I think that fellow is a little cracked, from the way he behaves. But don’t offer to make trouble, for there is enough all round us.’ Then he took h s cousin’s arm and walked away t >wards the Mole, Lord Neville being a little flattered at the sudden senfEU, which had taken place so entirely without his agency. The men scattered ; the Spaniards slouched to their lounging places in the shade, and the Spanish quarter of Gibraltar returned to its usual s’eepy condition, while Nevillo said to Seymour, as they took their way homeward : ‘ By Jove, Herb, you were right and I was wrong about that Diaz. What cantankerous fe.lows the Spaniards are ! Do they all behave that way ?' Herbert emiled, ‘ I have an idea that fellow would not have ac'ei the way he did if he had not been jealous of you. Did you not hear the girl talking to some one, as she went out to call her father ?' ‘Yes, I heard something; but I don’t understand the quick way they talk, rolling their words together, with neither. sound nor sense apparently. What did they say ?’ ‘ I only caught a word or two, and did not understand all of that; but I heard the man say something that sounded to me very like * cuidado!’ and that means ‘take care'or ‘ bewarß !’ which is a threat iu any language I know of. I think the man must be sweet on the lovely Concha, and I don’t wonder at it. But the way he show* his jealousy is, to say the least, unpleasant to Concha’s visitors.’ Nevillo hardly seemed to be listening as he walked along, and he suddenly burst out : ‘ Herbert, that girl would be the most beautiful woman ever presented at court, if she could be won to go to England. Isn't she exquisite ?’ Herbert turned and looked coolly and scrutinizingly at his cousin, who flushed deeply. ‘Just as I thought. You are the nine hundred and ninety-ninth victim of Concha’s eyes. I knew how it would be when you wanted to go there ; and, by Jove, I don’t blame you, George. If I had not sworn off all that sort of thing, I should be inclined to fall in love with her myself.’ Lord Neville walked on silently, till they were nearing their quarters, when he said slowly : ‘ Herbert, something tells me that I have not seen the last of that girl, I won’t deny anything. If she would say ‘ yes ’ to me, I would marry her this very night, and take the chances of my father being angry. He could not resist such a face as that, and such perfect manners. She is an angel without wings !' Herbert was about to answer, when be turned his bead, pulling the arm of his companion warningly. Neville followed the direction of his eyes, and was startled out of his gay, careless humor, by the apparition of Jos6 Gomez, at the distance of a square, peering round the

corner of a house, unmistakably watching and following them. ‘ I tell you what it is, George,’ said the cousin from London, uneasily, ‘ that fellowmeans mischief, and I’ve a good mind to set the guard on him. I can gj back and take the rest of my turn, or what is still better, I can tell Fraser, and he will see that the man is put where he won’t do any harm. It won’t do to have you stuck in the back while I am here. People might say that I put you in the way on purpose.’ Seymour looked decidedly uneasy ; but his cousin, afrer a glance at the skulking figure of the Spaniard, which was withdrawn as soon as Gomez saw he was watched, said with a shrug : ‘Nevermind. I can fake core of myself, as soon as I know the danger. It was only being unarmed made me nervous.’ And so it seemed ; for, as soon as he got into his room, be went to his trunks and produced, from their recesses, a pair of the prettiest little ivory mounted pistols Herbert had ever seen, remarking : ‘I had those made on purpose for such things. You know toe Dublin men are a bad lot, and one has to be careful with them. After this I keep my sword on when I go down t> that part of the town. Hilloa ! Who’s that? I declare it’s that handsome young fellow, Martin. I wonder if be would be any more polite than the old man if I were to ask him in and give him some real Trish whiskey, which I brought with me from Dublin V By tbis time it bad got to be sunset, and the shadows were falling across the street from the oranges and myrtles ; but there was no mistaking that erect and graceful figure of the contrabandista as he walked a’ong the street, going in the direction of the houses appropriated to the commanding officers of the garrison. Before Neville could get to the door to call him, he had passed, and they saw bis tall form pass the bouse of General Elliott and stop under the tree that shaded the porch of General Ross, who was well known in the garrison. Then the two officers by the window saw a white figure flit down the steps and Seymour whispered : ‘By Jove, if it isn’t the belle of Gibraltar !’ And what is the belle of Gibraltar ?’ asked his cousin, rather sarcastically. ‘ I can’t believe there can be any one, worthy of such a name, out-ide of Concha.’ * I mean Miss Rose ; “ the divine Jessie,’’ as the subs call her. I say, George, that’s queer —deuced queer. V/hut can that fellow have to say to her ? It looks the other way ; for she stopped him. There was no mistake about that, fori saw her beckon to him as she came down. That Diaz family Iras a faculty of making trouble with the opposite sex. I wonder what the old Tartar can be about that he does not see that. He must be asleep.’ So it seemed ; for the interview between the youdg lady and the contrabandista lasted for nearly five minutes, at the end of which time Bel Rubio bowed, with the stately gravity he never forgot, and the fair Jessie tripped up the steps as innocent as a dove. As for the contrabandista, he turned his steps directly towards the house in which Seymour had his quarters, and Neville exclaimed : ‘ I wonder if he can possibly have anything to say to me.’ (To be continued).