he
eastern side of the neutral side. In time of peace, only a few guns
were mounted in these batteries.

Illustration: The Rock and Bay of Gibraltar.

Admiral Duff moved the men-of-war under his command, consisting of
the Panther--of sixty guns--three frigates, and a sloop, from their
usual anchorage off the Water Port--where they were exposed to the
fire of the enemy's forts--to the New Mole, more to the southward.

Bob would have liked to be out all day, watching the busy
preparations, and listening to the talk of the natives; who were
greatly alarmed at the prospect of the siege, knowing that the guns
from the Spanish forts, and especially from Fort Saint Philip,
could throw their shot and shell into the town. But Captain
O'Halloran agreed with his wife that it was much better he should
continue his lessons with Don Diaz, of a morning; for that it would
be absurd for him to be standing about in the sun, the whole day.
The evening lessons were, however, discontinued from the first; as
Dr. Burke had his hands full in superintending the preparations
making, at the hospitals, for the reception of large numbers of
wounded.

Bob did not so much mind this, for he had ceased to regard the time
spent with the professor as lessons. After he had once mastered the
conjugation of the verbs, and had learned an extensive vocabulary
by heart, books had been laid aside, altogether; and the three hours
with the professor had, for the last two months, been spent simply
in conversation. They were no longer indoors, but sat in the garden
on the shady side of the house; or, when the sky happened to be
clouded and the morning was cool, walked together out to Europa Point;
and would sit down there, looking over the sea, but always talking.
Sometimes it was history--Roman, English, or Spanish--sometimes Bob's
schooldays and life in London, sometimes general subjects. It mattered
little what they talked about, so that the conversation was kept up.

Sometimes, when it was found that topics failed them, the professor
would give Bob a Spanish book to glance through, and its subject
would serve as a theme for talk on, the following day; and as it
was five months since the lad had landed, he was now able to speak
in Spanish almost as fluently as in English. As he had learnt
almost entirely by ear, and any word mispronounced had had to be
gone over, again and again, until Don Diaz was perfectly satisfied,
his accent was excellent; and the pr