ound the great Rock, and run the risk of being
shot at or taken prisoners.

"No; there is nothing for us to do here, now, but to carry what
fish and fruit we do not want at Marbella across to Malaga; and we
get poor prices, there, to what we used to get at Gibraltar; and no
chance of turning an honest penny by smuggling away a few pounds of
tobacco, as we come back. There was as much profit, in that, as
there was in the sale of the goods; but one had to be very sharp,
for they were always suspicious of boats coming back from there,
and used to search us so that you would think one could not bring
so much as a cigar on shore. But you know, there are ways of
managing things.

"Are you thinking of going across to Malaga, senor?"

"Well, I have a little business there. I want to see how the new
wines are selling; and whether it will be better for me to sell
mine, now, or to keep them in my cellars for a few months. I am in
no hurry. Tomorrow is as good as today. If there had been a boat
going across, I might have taken a passage that way, instead of
riding."

"I don't know, senor. There was a man asking, an hour ago, if
anyone was going. He was wanting to take a few boxes of fruit
across, but he did not care about hiring my boat for himself. That,
you see, was reasonable enough; but if the senor wished to go, too,
it might be managed if you took the boat between you. I would carry
you cheaply, if you would be willing to wait for an hour or two; so
that I could go round to the other fishermen, and get a few dozen
fish from one and a few dozen from another, to sell for them over
there. That is the way we manage."

"I could not very well go until the afternoon," Bob said.

"If you do not go until the afternoon, senor, it would be as well
not to start until evening. The wind is very light, and we should
have to row. If you start in the afternoon, we should get to Malaga
at two or three o'clock in the morning, when everyone was asleep;
but if you were to start in the evening, we should be in in
reasonable time, just as the people were coming into the markets.
That would suit us for the sale of our fish, and the man with his
fruit. The nights are warm and, with a cloak and an old sail to
keep off the night dew, the voyage would be more pleasant than in
the heat of the day."

"That would do for me, very well," Bob said. "Nothing could be
better. What charge would you make, for taking me across and
bringing me back, tomo