party. He is a good
fellow and, as he is a married man, and all four of his children
are bad with scurvy, he would feel an interest in your attempt.

"You know him as well as I do. If you like, I will go with you to
his quarters, and see what we can do with him."

They at once set out.

"Look here, Antrobus," the doctor said, after asking that officer
to come out for a chat with him, "if we don't get some lemon juice,
I am afraid it will go very hard with a lot of the children."

"Yes, we have known that for some time, doctor."

"Well, Repton here has made up his mind to try to get out of the
place, and make his way to Malaga, and get a boatload of fruit and
try to bring it in. Of course he will go dressed as a native, and
he speaks Spanish well enough to pass anywhere, without suspicion.
So, once beyond the lines, I don't see much difficulty in his
making his way to Malaga. Whether he will get back again is another
matter, altogether. That is his business. He has plenty of money to
purchase the fruit, when he arrives there; and to buy a boat, and
all that sort of thing.

"The difficulty is in getting out. Now, nobody is going to know how
he does this, except our three selves."

"But why do you come to me, Burke?"

"Because you command the guard, tonight, on the neutral ground.
What he proposes is that he should put on a soldier's greatcoat and
cap, and take a firelock and, in the dark, fall in with your party.
When you get well out on the neutral ground, he could either slip
away and take his chance or, what would be better still, he might
be in the party you take forward to post as sentries, and you could
take him along with you, so that he would go with you as far as the
shore; and could then slip away, come back a bit, so as to be out
of sight of the farthest sentry, and then take to the water.

"He can swim like a fish, and what current there is will be with
him; so that, before it began to be light, he could land two or
three miles beyond the Spanish lines. He is going to leave a note
behind, for O'Halloran, saying he has left; but no one will know
whether he got down at the back of the Rock, or swam across the
bay, or how he has gone.

"I have tried to dissuade him; but he has made up his mind to try
it and, seeing that--if he succeeds--it may save the lives of
scores of children, I really cannot refuse to help him."

"Well, I don't know," Captain Antrobus said. "There certainly does
not seem much