"Why so?"
"They have no business to go up there. The English government is, as you know, very secretive and very strict about its fortifications here at Gibraltar."
"Never mind, Coates. Leave that to the lads. They have a way of getting out of scrapes."
In the meantime the swaying basket was mounting higher and higher into the air. So lost were the Battleship Boys in admiration of the wonderful view unfolded before them that they almost forgot to take note of their sensations.
A gun was fired from somewhere below them. The boys instinctively threw their hands to their ears. It sounded as if the gun were right beside them.
"We are a pair of landlubbers," announced Dan Davis, with a sheepish grin.
"I thought it was right here."
"So did I, for a minute," answered Dan. "Sound travels up fast and strong, you know. There is the signal tower. We shall be up there pretty soon. Look out for a row when we get there, Sam."
"I'm ready for any old kind of a row. I'm having the time of my life this morning."
Looking up with shaded eyes, they saw the lookouts examining their basket with their glasses.