And, bowing profoundly to his ragged interlocutor—for with the language Jack always found himself falling into the stately mannerisms of the Spaniard—the young man passed on, wondering whether he had indeed been guilty of an ungracious act to a genuine Cuban patriot, or whether the man whom he had just left was a Spanish spy.

He put the question to Don Hermoso that night over the dinner-table, while relating to his companions the incident of the afternoon; but the Don laughed heartily at Jack's qualms of conscience.

"Never trouble yourself for a moment on that score, my dear Jack," said he. "The man was without doubt a Spanish spy. Had he been a genuine Cuban patriot, as he represented himself to be, he would have known that it would only have been necessary to present himself to the local agent of the Junta, with the proofs of his identity, when he could easily have obtained a passage across to Cuba. But the incident is only one more proof, if such were needed, that our party and the yacht have somehow incurred the very gravest suspicion of the Spaniards, and that we are being most jealously watched. I fear that Carlos and I are chiefly responsible for this; indeed, the agent here did not scruple to say that we—Carlos and I—committed a very great tactical blunder in coming out here in the yacht. He asserts that we ought to have come out in the ordinary way by mail steamer, and that in such a case little or no suspicion would have attached to the yacht; but that certain news transmitted from Europe, coupled with the fact of our presence on board, has convinced the authorities that the yacht is in these waters for the purpose of running a cargo of contraband into the island. Of course we have our spies, as the Spaniards have theirs, and one of our most trusty investigators reported to-day, while I was with the agent, that it is undoubtedly the intention of the Spanish authorities that their torpedo boat shall accompany the Thetis, so long as she remains in Cuban waters."

"Phew! that sounds awkward," remarked Milsom. "Does anybody know what her speed is?"

Nobody did, it appeared; whereupon Milsom undertook to ascertain whether the custom-house officer possessed the knowledge, and, if so, to extract it from him. Accordingly, when, a little later, the saloon party adjourned to the deck for the enjoyment of their post-prandial cigars, the skipper sauntered away forward and up on the top of the deck-house, where Perkins and the officer were sitting yarning together, and joined them. He sat chatting with them for nearly an hour, and then, upon the pretext that he had forgotten to speak to Mr Singleton about the arrangements for coaling the ship, rose and joined the trio who were sitting aft near the stern grating.

"Well," said Jack, "have you been able to learn anything, Phil?"

"Yes," answered Milsom; "and what I have learned is not very comforting. That torpedo boat, it appears, is practically a new craft, and she has a sea speed of twenty-five knots, which is one knot better than our best; so how we are going to dodge her is more than I at present know. The three gunboats we need not trouble about, for the two-masted craft are only capable of sixteen knots, while the three-masted boat—the Destructor—can do about seventeen, at a pinch, though she is said to have been at one time capable of twenty-two and a half. Neither need we trouble about the cruisers, for the faster of them—the Lepanto—is only capable of twenty and a half knots when she is clean, and I am told that at present she is dreadfully foul."

"Still, it appears to me that the torpedo boat is, apart from the rest, more than we shall be able to manage," remarked Don Hermoso. "If she persists in dogging our heels we shall not have a ghost of a chance of landing our cargo anywhere."

"No," said Jack. "But she will not dog our heels, Don Hermoso; don't you trouble. This is where my submarine comes in, and is going to score, if I am not mistaken. Macintyre and I will be able to doctor that torpedo boat so that she will not trouble us. We will just go down in the submarine and remove the nut that secures her propeller to its shaft, and when she begins to move, her propeller will drop off; and before it can be replaced we will have our cargo ashore, and be in a position to laugh at her."

"But how will you manage that, Jack, in the presence of all these ships?" demanded Milsom. "You could not possibly do what you suggest without being seen. Besides, there is the custom-house officer to be reckoned with; and I really do not believe that the man is to be trusted with your secret."

"We shall have to do the job at night-time—the night before we leave here for Cuba," said Jack. "And, as to the custom-house officer, we must trust that he will sleep too soundly to hear anything."

"Leave him to me," said Don Hermoso. "I am a bit of a chemist, in my way, and I will concoct a liquid a few drops of which in his grog the last thing at night will cause him to sleep soundly all night, and awake none the worse in the morning."

"That will get us over one difficulty," said Jack, "and I have just thought of a plan that will get us over another—that of getting the submarine into the water unobserved. It strikes me that we can do all that is necessary without using the submarine at all. That torpedo boat is, as you may observe, lying quite close to the shore, so close, indeed, that there cannot be much more than two feet of water under her keel. Consequently Macintyre and I have only to don our special diving dresses—which, as I think I have explained to you, need no air-pipe or anything of that sort—go down over the side of the yacht, and make our way to our prey under water. With a little management we could even do the trick in broad daylight, and nobody be any the wiser!"

"Excellent!" exclaimed Milsom enthusiastically. "We will have the lighters alongside to coal us to-morrow; and before they come along we will hang tarpaulins all round the ship to keep the paint clean. Then, while everybody is busy coaling, you and Macintyre can watch your opportunity and slip over the side through the ash port. Gad! won't those fellows be wrathy when their propeller parts company! They will no doubt suspect us, but they cannot possibly prove anything."

On the following morning, immediately after breakfast, Milsom went ashore and made arrangements for the immediate coaling of the yacht; and while he was absent, Jack and Macintyre, the chief engineer, got out the diving dresses and thoroughly overhauled them, charged the air cylinders with densely-compressed air, and collected such tools as they expected to require for their job. By the time that this had been done, Milsom was back aboard the yacht, having made all his arrangements, including one which was of considerable assistance to Jack and Macintyre. This consisted of an arrangement to take the yacht directly alongside the coal hulk, instead of coaling from lighters, and the advantage to the conspirators arose from the fact that the particular hulk from which the Thetis was to coal lay within a short hundred yards of the spot where the Spanish torpedo boat rode at anchor. Then a number of tarpaulins were got up on deck and hung over the ship's sides, fore and aft, covering the hull from the bulwark rail right down to the surface of the water, to protect the white paint from defilement by flying coal dust; and, this having been done, the yacht was taken alongside the coal hulk, and the process of coaling the vessel at once began under the joint supervision of Milsom and the second engineer, the skipper being especially particular in the arranging of the fenders between the hulls of the two craft. So fastidiously careful was he, indeed, in this matter, that he finally caused two booms to be rigged out, one forward and one aft, to bear the yacht off from the side of the hulk, with the result that there was a clear space of fully two feet between the sides of the two craft. And, to facilitate as much as possible the process of coaling, Milsom caused a broad gangway, nearly six feet wide, to be rigged between the two vessels, so that the porters might pass to and fro freely without obstructing each other. And, singularly enough, this gangway happened to be rigged exactly over the ash port, which was thus quite effectually concealed from the view of even the most prying eyes. And there undoubtedly were several pairs of eyes very curiously and intently watching everything that was happening aboard the English yacht, not the least intent among them being those of the custom-house officer, who planted himself upon the bridge of the Thetis, fully determined that nothing great or small should be passed from the yacht to the coal hulk without his full knowledge and consent. Thus, thanks to the exceeding care with which Milsom had made his dispositions, Jack—who, with the two Montijos, was supposed to be down below—and Macintyre, fully equipped in their diving dresses, and with their tools slung to their belts, had not the slightest difficulty in leaving the yacht unobserved, and descending to the bottom of the harbour by way of a diving ladder.

The water being shallow and tolerably clear, and the sun high enough in the heavens to throw a strong light down into it, the two adventurers were able to see well enough to be able to pass from the yacht to the torpedo boat without any other guide than that of their unaided eyesight; and within ten minutes the pair found themselves beneath the bottom of their quarry, the keel of which was, as Jack had anticipated, within about three feet of the ground. The boat, they found, was driven by a single propeller protected by a skeleton frame forming the boat's keel and sternpost, and to climb into this frame occupied Macintyre less than a minute, helped as he was by Jack. Macintyre's first act was to subject the propeller nut to a very careful examination, after which he fixed a big spanner in position and threw his whole weight upon it, assisted by Jack, who was pulling at a rope attached to the extreme end of the spanner handle. The nut, however, was rusted on so effectually as to be immovable, so Macintyre climbed down and, by means of a slate and a piece of chalk, consulted Jack as to what was best to be done to overcome the difficulty. Looking up, and studying the structure of the boat's stern intently, Jack saw that by steadying themselves by the rudder chains they could both climb up and stand upon the arm of the spanner, when, by bracing their shoulders against the boat's overhanging stern, they could bring the whole of their united strength to bear, and thus possibly start the nut. By means of a diagram and a few words chalked upon the slate Macintyre was soon made to comprehend what Jack meant, and then they both climbed up and, with considerable difficulty, arranged themselves in the required position. Then, bracing their shoulders against the vessel's hull, the two men thrust with all their might, with the result that the nut suddenly started, and the spanner fell off, dropping to the bottom of the harbour and leaving the two operators hanging by the rudder chains. The drop from thence to the sand, however, was not above six feet—a mere trifle in water—so they let go, recovered the spanner, and got to work again. Once started, the nut gave them very little further difficulty, and ten minutes later it was off and safely buried out of sight in the sand. The propeller, however, still remained on the shaft, and might quite possibly continue to remain there for a time, even should the boat get under way; but the moment that she stopped her engines after once getting under way, or if she should happen to attempt to go astern, the propeller would at once slip off and be lost. Three-quarters of an hour from the moment of leaving the yacht, Jack and Macintyre were safely on board her again, with their task accomplished, much to the satisfaction of the party.

It was well on toward lunch-time ere the yacht's bunkers were full and she was able to haul off from the coal hulk, and the greater part of the afternoon was occupied by the crew in washing down the decks and paint work, cleaning up generally, polishing brasswork, and restoring the little vessel to her normal state of immaculate neatness; during which Jack and the two Montijos took a final run ashore, for it had been decided that, failing the occurrence of anything to cause an alteration of their plans, they would leave for Cuba on the following day.

No attempt was made to preserve secrecy as to the yacht's movements; nor, on the other hand, were the preparations for her departure ostentatiously displayed. Soon after eight o'clock in the morning a thin film of smoke was seen to issue from the vessel's funnel, gradually increasing in density, and it became quite apparent to all who chose to interest themselves in the matter that the Thetis was getting up steam in readiness to take her departure. And that she intended to leave almost immediately was further indicated by the arrival alongside her of a boat containing fresh water, and other boats containing fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, and supplies generally. But there were no signs of hurry on board the vessel: everything was done openly and leisurely, as is the way of people who are taking their pleasure; and it was not until nearly five o'clock in the afternoon that the boats were hoisted to the davits, and a thin jet of steam spouting from the bows of the vessel proclaimed that her crew were getting her anchor. And when at length Perkins, the chief mate, standing in the bows of the vessel, vociferously announced that the anchor was aweigh, there was no sign of haste or anxiety in the slow, leisurely movement of the yacht as she swept round in a wide circle from the spot where she had lain at anchor, and headed seaward by way of the West Channel, dipping her ensign to the men-o'-war in the roadstead as she went, while her crew catted and fished the anchor on its appearance above the surface. Then, and not until then, did the Thetis quicken, until she was running at a speed of about fourteen knots.

The yacht had been under way about half an hour when Jack, who with the two Montijos and Milsom was on the top of the deck-house, diligently watching the roadstead which they had just left, exclaimed: "Here she comes!" and the Spanish torpedo boat was seen coming along astern, with a dense cloud of black smoke pouring from her funnels, and the water playing like a fountain about her sharp stem as she swept after the Thetis at full speed. Milsom looked at her long and earnestly through his binoculars; then he turned to Jack and, with a frown wrinkling his brow, said:

"By the look of that boat, and the pace at which she is coming through the water, it appears to me, young man, that something has gone very seriously wrong with the little job that you undertook to do yesterday. Are you quite sure that you removed the nut?"

"Absolutely certain," answered Jack cheerfully.

"Then how do you account for the fact that she has not yet dropped her propeller?" demanded Milsom.

"Easily enough," answered Jack. "She got under way, like ourselves, by steaming ahead and sweeping round in a wide circle. So long as her engines continue to turn ahead, her propeller will probably retain its position on the shaft, kept there by the pressure of the water on its blades; but the moment that she eases down, it will probably drop off, or, if not then, it certainly will at the instant when her engines are stopped. Don't be alarmed, Phil; you have only to cause her to stop her engines, and you will see what will happen."

"Then," said Milsom, as he laid his hand upon the bridge telegraph and signalled "Full speed ahead", "we will entice her a bit farther out to sea before we do anything more. If she runs out of sight of the anchorage before breaking down we shall get a nice little start, and shall probably not be interfered with for the rest of the trip. Ah, there is the edge of the bank ahead of us!" as a line of demarcation between the pale, greenish-blue water over the reef and the deep-blue water beyond it became visible. "Let her go off to due south," to the quartermaster at the wheel; "we'll try to persuade them that we are bound for Havana!"

"A stern chase is a long chase", especially when one craft has five or six miles start of the other, and the pursuing craft has only a single knot's—or perhaps not quite so much as that—advantage in speed; it was consequently not until the brief dusk was deepening into darkness, and the great mellow stars were leaping into view in the rapidly deepening azure of the sky, that, the Thetis being by that time about midway between Key West and Havana, Milsom rang down to the engine-room for half speed, and allowed the torpedo boat to range up abreast of the yacht. This she did at a distance of about a quarter of a mile, without making any attempt to speak to or interfere with the English vessel, merely slowing down to regulate her pace to that of the yacht. Then Milsom spoke down through the voice tube, ordering the engines to be first stopped, and then to go slowly, but at a gradually increasing speed, astern, by which means he quite expected to induce the commander of the torpedo boat to stop. The result was everything that could have been desired, for as soon as the Spaniard realised that he was running ahead of the yacht in the most unaccountable way, he stopped his engines and waited patiently for the other vessel to overtake him, his propeller doubtless slipping off the tail-shaft and going to the bottom at the instant of the stopping of the engines. But while the torpedo boat, deprived of the drag of her propeller, continued to forge strongly ahead under the impetus of her own momentum, the Thetis was even more rapidly widening the distance between herself and the torpedo boat by going full speed astern, until, when the two craft were separated by some three miles of heaving water, the perplexed and astounded Spanish lieutenant, still ignorant of what had happened, made up his mind to go back to see what the English ship was about, and, ordering his helm to be put hard over, rang down to his engine-room for "full speed ahead". Then the furious racing of his engines, as steam was admitted into the cylinders, revealed the ghastly truth that he had lost his propeller and was absolutely helpless, with the nearest land fully forty miles away. He rushed from the bridge down into the tiny engine-room, to consult with and explosively reprimand the engineers for permitting such a mishap to occur; and at length, when his vexation had worked itself off, returned to the deck and gave orders for signals of distress to be made, by means of rockets, to the English yacht. But by that time the Thetis had vanished in the darkness; nor did she re-appear, although the unfortunate lieutenant expended his entire stock of rockets in a vain attempt to attract her attention.



CHAPTER FIVE.

HIS SPANISH MAJESTY'S GUNBOAT TIBURON.

Meanwhile the saloon party on board the Thetis, having comfortably bestowed themselves in capacious basket chairs under the awning on the top of the deck-house when the yacht got under way, watched with mingled interest and amusement the strenuous pursuit of their own vessel by the Spanish torpedo boat; and when at length Milsom gave the order for the yacht's engines to be first stopped and then sent astern, they with one accord rose to their feet and brought their glasses to bear upon the torpedo boat, intent upon seeing what would next happen. For although darkness had by this time fallen, the night was beautifully fine and clear, and the mellow lustre of the innumerable stars shed a soft light upon the scene that enabled the watchers, with the aid of their powerful night glasses, to perceive with very tolerable distinctness whatever might happen within so short a distance as a quarter of a mile, or even twice as far. Presently Jack spoke.

"She has stopped, I think," he said; "at all events I can no longer distinguish the phosphorescent wake made by her propeller; and if that is the case we shall have no more trouble from her. Of course it would have been easy enough for us to have made this pursuit impossible, by removing her propeller when we were working at it yesterday; but the thought occurred to me that, had we done so, the removal might have been discovered, and in that case it is quite possible that suspicion, even though of a very vague and doubtful character, might have fastened upon us, with the result that at some future time, when it may be vitally important for us to repeat the trick, such precautions might be taken as would render its repetition impossible. As it is, the craft has been under steam for a couple of hours, during which, to all appearance, nothing was wrong with her. I do not think, therefore, that anyone is in the least likely to connect us with the mishap."

"No," agreed Milsom, "the thing was most excellently done, Jack, it could not possibly have been better managed; and the mishap will wear the aspect of an ordinary accident of the sea. You have a longer head upon you than I can boast, my lad; I should never have thought as far ahead as you did. But I think we are far enough away from that boat now to allow of our resuming our voyage." And he signalled to the engine- room, first to "Stop", and then to go "Full speed ahead."

"Port your helm, Quartermaster," he said to the helmsman, "until she heads due north, and then give her a very small touch of starboard helm—just enough to enable us to make a wide circle round that torpedo boat out yonder—until her head works round to south-west by west, when you can steady her at that. That course," he explained to his companions, "ought to run us within sight of the light on Jutias about three bells in the middle watch."

"And when do you suppose we shall reach our destination, Captain?" asked Don Hermoso.

"The Laguna de Cortes? Oh! about breakfast-time to-morrow morning, if we keep the boat running at full speed, and do not meet with any interruption on the way," answered Milsom.

"Hillo!" exclaimed Jack; "see that rocket, Phil? It looks as though it might have been sent up by the torpedo boat. She will be somewhere out in that direction, won't she?"

"Ay, there or thereabout," answered Milsom, glancing into the compass bowl to get the bearing of the rocket. "That means that they've just discovered the loss of their propeller, and are in trouble about it."

"I hope that the crew of the boat are in no danger," exclaimed Don Hermoso anxiously. "I have no wish that they should come to harm—"

"No need to worry yourself about that, Senor," answered Milsom. "The weather is fine, and the boat, no doubt, sound enough. The worst that is likely to happen to them is that they will have to stay where they are until something comes along and tows them into Havana."

At this moment the dinner gong sounded, and the little party retired below.

When Jack went up on deck next morning, as the ship's bell was striking eight, he saw that the yacht was running along, with her head to the eastward, within about half a mile of some low land, dotted with trees, which stretched ahead and astern of her for several miles on their port hand, terminating at each extremity in a low headland. Inland, at a distance of about twenty-five miles, rose a long range of hills, or low mountains, which appeared to rise to a height of something between two thousand and three thousand feet.

"Good-morning, Jack!" cheerily exclaimed the skipper, as Singleton ran up the ladder on to the top of the deck-house. "Glorious morning, isn't it? But it is going to be roasting hot a little later on; the sun has a sting already, in spite of this piping easterly breeze."

"Yes," agreed Jack. "And if it is hot here, what must it be ashore? But where are we now, Skipper?"

"Pretty close to our destination, I'm thankful to say," answered Milsom. "That point astern is Cape Corrientes, the point ahead is Mangle Point, four miles beyond which is Cape Frances, where we shall run in upon the Bank, or shoal, which extends eastward for something like one hundred and sixty miles to the end of the Jardinillos. Those hills, inland there, are called the Organ Mountains; though, to my mind, the name is much too grandiloquent for such insignificant elevations. I hope that pilot chap who is to take us into the lagoon will be keeping a bright lookout for us; I have just been having a squint at the chart, and I tell you, Jack, that I don't half like the idea of taking this little beauty in over that precious Bank, where it would be the easiest thing in the world to rip the bottom out of her on some unsuspected upstanding coral snag. I mean to go dead slow all the while that we are on that Bank, I can tell you, although I happen to know the greater part of it as well as I know my own back garden. And it is perhaps because I know it so well that I like it so little. Ah!"—as the yacht swung round the point which she had been approaching, and opened out for another about four miles farther on—"there is Cape Frances; and there is the Bank showing up plainly enough. That is it, where the colour of the water changes from dark blue to almost white. And now it is time for us to hoist the signal by which the pilot is to identify us. Mr Perkins, have the goodness to bend on Y and run it up to the fore truck, if you please."

A minute later, Don Hermoso and Carlos made their appearance on the top of the deck-house, just as Y—a rectangular flag composed of red and yellow diagonal stripes—went soaring up to the fore-mast-head.

"Good-morning, Jack! good-morning, Captain!" said Don Hermoso. "Is that red-and-yellow flag the prearranged signal agreed upon for our identification by the pilot and the people on shore?"

"It is, Senor," answered Milsom. "There is Cape Frances, on our port bow—no doubt you recognise it—and if your pilot is keeping a proper lookout, he ought to spot us immediately upon our rounding that point."

"And no doubt he will, Captain," returned Don Hermoso. "So that is Cape Frances? No, I do not recognise it, Senor, for I have never before passed it at sea. And those are the Sierras de los Organos yonder, and the Sierras del Rosario farther on to the right. I recognise them, of course. And—yes, surely—just to the right of that isolated peak I can see what must certainly be the town of Pinar del Rio! We are not far from home now, Carlos, and if all goes well with us to-day we ought to- night to sleep in our own casa, and see dear little Isolda once more. The child will rejoice to have us with her again."

"Yes," said Carlos, "and I shall not only rejoice to see her again, but to know that you are once more on the spot to look after her. In her last letter to me, received at Key West, she mentioned that Don Sebastian Alvaros has been a most persistent visitor to the house ever since we left Cuba, and I have my doubts of that man. I did not mention the matter to you when I received the letter, as I did not wish to make you feel uneasy; but now that we may hope to be at home to-night I think it only right that you should know."

"Ah!" remarked Don Hermoso; "I will see that Don Sebastian's visits are discouraged henceforth. It is true that I know nothing against him— indeed, he is spoken of as a very promising officer—still, like yourself, Carlos, I do not altogether trust him; he is not precisely a desirable acquaintance, and I will endeavour to make him understand that he is not wanted at the hacienda."

At this moment the Thetis passed Cape Frances and opened out into the Bay of Cortes.

"There is our destination, gentlemen," said Milsom, pointing to a projecting bluff some eight or nine miles up the coast. "That bluff is Piedras Point; and beyond it is the Laguna de Cortes—or the Pirates' Lagoon as some people call it. And here we are at the edge of the Bank; from this point onward I intend to proceed very cautiously indeed."

So saying, he laid his hand upon the handle of the engine-room telegraph and rang down for "Half speed", calling down the voice tube a moment later for the engines to be run dead slow. And as the yacht slowed up she passed from the dark blue of the deep water to the pale, whitish blue of the shallow water that covers the immense coral reef known locally as The Bank.

"Mr Perkins," shouted Milsom, "I must have a man as lookout at the foremast-head, if you please. You had better bend a boatswain's chair on to the gaff-topsail halyards, and send him up in that, as I shall require him to stay there until we are safely at anchor. And when you have done that, rouse your cable on deck, and see everything ready for letting go. Jack, I can spare eyes for nothing but the ship just now, so oblige me, will you, by taking the glasses, and say whether you can see anything in the shape of a boat coming toward us with a flag flying. And, between whiles, you may just look carefully along the coast to see if you can spot a guarda-costa hovering about. We don't want to be caught napping in the act of landing this stuff."

Jack took the glasses out of their case and swept the whole of the visible coast, but for some time without result; there was nothing under either sail or steam to be seen in any direction. At length, however, when the yacht had arrived within about two miles of Piedras Point, a small pirogue under sail suddenly shot out from behind the point, heading to the southward close-hauled; she carried a sprit-mainsail and a jib, and at the top end of the sprit there fluttered a diminutive replica of the red-and-yellow flag which was flying from the fore truck of the yacht.

"Ah!" exclaimed Jack, as he brought his glasses to bear upon the boat; "here comes your pilot, Phil, at last, and he is flying the 'all right' signal, so I suppose we may take it for granted that the coast is clear."

"Yes, I see him," answered Milsom. "Keep her away a couple of points, Quartermaster, and give that boat a chance to fetch us. She is coming alongside. Masthead there. Keep a very bright lookout, my man, for sunken rocks; there are plenty of them to be found here if they are looked for."

"Ay, ay, sir!" answered the man. "We have passed a few already; but I didn't say anything, because we weren't headin' so as to hit 'em."

Ten minutes later the pirogue was close at hand, and Milsom rang down the signal to "Stop". The pirogue was a very quaint-looking craft, of about twenty feet in length by some five feet beam, formed out of a solid log of wood which had been roughly trimmed with an axe to form the bottom portion of her, with a couple of planks above to form her top sides. Although the trade wind was blowing quite fresh, this queer- looking craft carried no ballast, properly so-called; but to prevent her from capsizing a couple of negroes stood on her weather gunwale, holding on to ropes attached to her masthead, and leaning back almost horizontally out over the water. A third negro, attired in a picturesquely dirty shirt, and trousers rolled up above his knees, and with a most shockingly dilapidated straw hat on his head, steered the little craft by means of a broad-bladed paddle laid out over the lee quarter. Primitive, however, as the craft was in appearance, she came through the water at a most astonishing rate, and presently shot up alongside under the lee of the yacht, the two negroes who acted as ballast smartly recovering themselves and springing inboard as she did so. A rope's end was thrown down into her, and the picturesque individual who had been steering her nimbly climbed up the side of the yacht and stepped on deck, where he was met by Don Hermoso.

"Buenos dias, Senor!" exclaimed the fellow, doffing his ragged head- covering with the flourish and grace of a grandee. "Cuba is ready!" (This was the password that was to prove the bona fides of the man.)

"And we also are ready," answered Don Hermoso. "Is the coast clear?"

"Quite clear, Senor," answered the man, who, by the way, was a turtle fisher, inhabiting a hut on one of the small cays that stretched across the entrance of the lagoon which the yacht was approaching. "A gunboat has been cruising about the bay of late, but she steamed away yesterday morning, after communicating with the shore, and we have seen nothing of her since."

"Then we had better proceed forthwith, and get our work over whilst the opportunity is favourable," remarked Don Hermoso. "What is your name, by the by?"

"Pedro, Senor—Pedro Velasquez," answered the man.

"Good!" said Don Hermoso. "Follow me up to the bridge, Pedro.

"This is our pilot, Captain," he continued, introducing the negro to Milsom, who looked at him quizzically and responded to his bow by somewhat curtly bidding him "Good-morning!"

"He says that the coast is clear, so we may as well proceed forthwith. How do we steer, Pedro?"

"Keep an offing of a mile, to allow of room for turning, and to get a straight run in. For the present we may head for that white building on the hillside yonder," answered Pedro.

This being clear to Milsom, the latter touched the telegraph, and the yacht proceeded, with the pirogue astern in tow. Presently three small cays detached themselves from the mainland, revealing a fine spacious expanse of land-locked water behind them; and when, a little later, the Thetis had brought the largest cay fair abeam, the pilot waved his hand, the helm was put hard a-starboard, and the vessel's bows were pointed straight for the channel between the northernmost cay and the mainland.

"We must enter the channel very slowly, Senor," cautioned Pedro, "for the navigation of it is rather awkward, and I doubt whether a vessel of this size has ever before been taken into the lagoon."

With her engines going dead slow, and occasionally stopping altogether to deaden her way, the yacht crept cautiously along until, having passed the critical danger-spot, she slid into the lagoon, which was now seen to be a sheet of water some four miles long by about two miles broad, trending due north and south, with a creek in its north-west corner, toward which the bows of the vessel were turned, the speed being quickened up to about eight knots. Ten minutes later the pilot gave the word to be ready to anchor; the engines were stopped and then sent astern, and a minute afterwards, the yacht having been brought to a standstill, the anchor was let go, and the voyagers found themselves riding in a fine, snug harbour, absolutely safe in all weathers, and perfectly screened from the view of anything and everything that might chance to pass outside.

No sooner was the anchor down than the creek abreast which the yacht was moored began to swarm with boats of all shapes and sizes, which came hurrying out to receive and transfer to the shore the cases of arms, ammunition, dynamite, lead, and supplies of all kinds which lay snugly stowed away beneath the floors of the ship's saloons; while the entire strength of the yacht's crew was employed upon the task of breaking out the packages and conveying them on deck. The boats' crews were all coloured men, and mostly negroes; but in the leading boat there came a mulatto bearing a letter from Rabi, the then leader of the insurgents, to Don Hermoso, authorising the bearer, one Jose Seguin, to receive the contraband, which was now passed down into the boats with all possible speed, as a rumour had reached the place that a strong body of Spanish troops was in the neighbourhood, and might make its appearance at any moment. It did not turn up, however, and by two o'clock in the afternoon every scrap of incriminating material was out of the yacht and on its way to the headquarters of the insurgents, somewhere up in the Organ Mountains. Every scrap, that is to say, except the four 12-pound quick-firers and the two Maxims, with their store of ammunition, which constituted the armament of the yacht. These weapons had not thus far been mounted, it having been deemed inadvisable to make so unusual a display as that of an armed yacht in the harbour of Key West, lest undue attention should be attracted to the vessel, and inconvenient questions asked. But now, by Milsom's advice, they got the weapons up and mounted them, so that, in the event of the vessel being searched by the Spanish authorities, there should be nothing in the nature of concealed weapons on board to afford an excuse for the making of trouble. Thus, by the end of the afternoon watch the yacht was again spruce and clean as a new pin, and made a very brave show with her brand-new, silver-bright guns grinning threateningly out over the rail, and the two Maxims all ready for action on the top of the deck-house. Her appearance said, as plainly as words: "Touch me who dares!" yet her armament was not boisterously aggressive, considering that her presumptive owner had set out from England with no very settled programme, but the possibility that ere he returned he might be moved to visit spots where, despite the rapid spread of civilisation, might is still right.

The hurry and confusion incidental to the landing of the yacht's cargo of contraband had been so great that any such orderly meal as the usual luncheon had been out of the question, and everybody had eaten and drunk as they worked, snatching a mouthful or a gulp when they could; the little saloon party were consequently now gathered on the top of the deck-house, getting an early afternoon tea, while the anchor was being hove up by means of the steam windlass, prior to the vessel proceeding to sea again. Don Hermoso had been congratulating himself and everybody else upon the ease and complete success with which the yacht's primary mission had been accomplished, and had also expressed himself very nicely as to the magnitude of his obligation to Jack and Milsom for the invaluable assistance which they had rendered, without which, the Don declared, the adventure could never have been brought to a successful issue. "And now, my dear Jack," he continued, "I have two further favours to ask you. The first is that you will have the goodness to land Carlos and myself as soon as may be at Calonna—which is about twenty-two miles to the eastward of this—in order that we may take the train thence to Pinar del Rio, in time, perhaps, to reach home to-night; and the second is, that you will favour us with your company for as long a time as you may be disposed to stay. Then, having landed us, Captain Milsom can take the yacht round to Havana, when, if the island proves to be sufficiently quiet to allow of the vessel being left in Perkins's charge, we shall feel happy if he also"—with a bow to Milsom—"will honour our poor house with his presence for a time, until, indeed, the yacht is again required for service."

Jack accepted the invitation promptly and unhesitatingly: Carlos and he were old chums, and indeed almost like brothers; while as for Don Hermoso, Jack had seen enough of him during the voyage out to have contracted for him a feeling of the highest regard and esteem. He knew that the invitation was as earnest and cordial as words could make it; and the conversations that had been engaged in from time to time on board the yacht had caused him to become profoundly interested in Cuba, and filled him with an intense desire to see the island, and, if possible, be an eye-witness of its struggle for liberty. Milsom, on the other hand, while perhaps as keen as Jack to see all that there was to be seen, was, above and before all things else, a sailor; his acceptance of Don Hermoso's invitation, therefore, was qualified by sundry conditions, every one of which had reference to the question of the safety of the yacht.

By the time that the conversation had reached this point the anchor was a-trip, and Milsom went to the engine-room telegraph, while the quartermaster climbed up to the bridge and stationed himself at the wheel. Velasquez was no longer on board, Milsom having informed him that he could now dispense with his services—for it was one of Lieutenant Philip Milsom's characteristics that when he had once witnessed the navigation of any particular passage he could at any time thereafter perform the same feat of navigation himself; he therefore now took sole charge of the yacht and skilfully navigated her out of the lagoon and into the open sea, setting the course for Calonna, after which he again calmly seated himself at the table and asked for another cup of tea.

The yacht, running at about eleven knots, had accomplished a little more than half the distance between the lagoon and Calonna when smoke was seen ahead, and a few minutes later a steamer was made out coming toward them. There was nothing alarming in this, of course, for small coasting steamers are constantly plying between the various ports along the coast of Cuba: but it was not long ere it became apparent, from the rig of the approaching craft—which was that of a three-masted schooner—that she was a Government vessel, probably a gunboat; and Milsom made no secret of his relief at the fact that everything of a compromising nature had been safely got out of the Thetis. Any doubt that might have existed as to the character of the stranger was soon dispelled; for when she arrived within about a mile of the Thetis she hoisted the Spanish naval ensign at her mizen peak and, slowing down, rounded-to athwart the yacht's course, at the same time hoisting the international signal, "Heave-to; I am sending a boat!"

"What is the proper thing to do, Phil?" demanded Jack, when Milsom read out the interpretation of the signal. "He has no right to stop us, has he?"

"Certainly not," answered Milsom. "If he suspects us of an intention to smuggle he may follow and watch us, of course; but to stop us in this high-handed fashion is coming it rather too strong. He knows that we are an English yacht, for there are our ensign and burgee to bear witness to the fact. Nevertheless, since we have happily got rid of everything of a compromising nature, we may as well heave-to and allow him to board us, when you, Jack, in your character as owner, may make as much fuss as you please—the more the better—and threaten to report him, also to complain to your Government of the insult and outrage to which he has subjected you. In short, 'bluff' him for all that you're worth."

"All right!" said Jack, "I will. When—"

His further remarks were cut short by the flash of a gun and a jet of smoke spouting from the bows of the gunboat; and the next instant a twenty-four-pound round shot came ricochetting toward the yacht, missing her by only about a dozen yards!

"Confound the fellow's impudence!" exclaimed Milsom, as he dashed at the bridge telegraph and signalled to stop the engines. "It would rightly serve him if we were to return his fire. But perhaps the wisest plan and the most dignified will be to stop and let him come aboard. But give it him hot for firing upon the British flag. Make him sit up! I only wish that I could jabber Spanish as fluently as you do; I'd scare him out of his skin!"

As the yacht, with the way that she had on her, gradually drifted down toward the gunboat, it was seen that the latter was preparing to lower a boat; and presently a gig, manned by six oarsmen and a coxswain, was hauled up to her gangway, down the ladder of which an officer in lieutenant's uniform presently descended, stepping into the boat, which then pushed off and headed toward the Thetis. Meanwhile, Milsom having said a few hasty words to Perkins, the yacht's gangway had been thrown open and her accommodation ladder lowered, and when presently the Spanish boat dashed alongside and hooked on, Jack and Milsom were standing just inside the gangway, waiting to receive the officer. He was a rather good-looking man, somewhere about thirty years of age, and as he sprang up the ladder and in on deck he touched the peak of his uniform cap by way of salute: and Milsom saw his eyebrows go up as his eyes fell upon the two quick-firers that graced the yacht's after deck.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen!" he said, in almost perfect English; "what ship is this?"

"Leave him to me, Jack," whispered Milsom, upon discovering the welcome fact that he could make himself understood; and without waiting for Jack's consent he stepped forward and answered:

"This is the English yacht Thetis, of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, as you may see by looking at that ensign. And what ship is that, sir; and what does the captain of her mean by firing upon us?"

"That ship, Senor, is His Spanish Majesty's gunboat Tiburon, sent out especially to look for your vessel," answered the officer. "My Government has received positive intelligence from a reliable source that you have on board a large consignment of arms and ammunition destined for the use of the Cuban insurgents; and our instructions are to seize your vessel and take her into Havana. We fired upon you because you were somewhat slow in obeying our summons to stop."

"Oh!" said Milsom, "so that is how matters stand, is it? And do you suppose, sir, that Great Britain will allow her flag to be fired on without having something to say about it?"

"Great Britain will scarcely be willing to protect a vessel which, under the shelter of her flag, is engaged in succouring those who are rebelling against the rule of a friendly nation!" remarked the officer. "And, in any case, we are prepared to take the consequences of our acts. We know this so-called yacht to be a smuggler of contraband of war, and we intend to seize her."

"What if I were to tell you that we have not an ounce of contraband of war on board?" enquired Milsom.

"My captain would simply not believe you, Senor," answered the Spaniard. "You will therefore be pleased to regard this vessel as a prize, and yourselves as prisoners!" and he stepped quickly to the gangway and called to the armed crew of the boat to come out of her. As he did so, Milsom put a whistle to his lips and blew a short, shrill blast. There instantly followed a rush of bare feet along the deck; and as the Spaniards passed in through the yacht's gangway they found themselves confronted with some thirty stalwart British seamen, with drawn cutlasses in their hands and revolvers in their belts.

"Caramba! What does this mean, Senor?" demanded the Spanish lieutenant, starting back in dismay at this unexpected denouement.

"It means just this, Senor Teniente," answered Milsom; "we don't intend to stand any nonsense of any description. You go back to your ship and tell your captain that, since somebody seems to have sent him out on a fool's errand, my owner here, Senor Don John Singleton, will—purely as an act of courtesy, mind you—permit him, or you, to search this ship from stem to stern and from keel to truck, in order that you may thoroughly satisfy yourselves that we have no contraband, whether of war or otherwise, on board. But there will be no seizure of this ship; understand that! Such an act would be an outrage to our flag; and, as you may see, we are both ready and willing to resist it! Also, you will please tell your captain that we demand an ample apology for his high- handed behaviour in daring to fire upon us."

"Carrajo! Senor, those are very big words; and you ought to be perfectly certain of yourself before you use them. They are offensive, sir; and a Spanish officer allows no one to use such words to him with impunity!" exclaimed the Spaniard.

"Sir," retorted Milsom, "the behaviour of your captain in firing upon this yacht was offensive; and he will find that he cannot treat Englishmen in that fashion with impunity. There is a right and a wrong way of doing these things, and your captain has chosen the wrong way; he will therefore be made to suffer for it."

"We shall see, Senor Englishman; we shall see," returned the Spaniard. "Then, am I to understand that you refuse to surrender your ship?"

"Yes, sir," answered Milsom; "that is precisely what I wish you to understand. And I wish you to understand, further, that if you dare to attempt force, I will treat you as a pirate, and sink you, despite your flag. You see that I have the means and the power to carry out my threat—" waving his hand first towards the guns and then towards his men.

"Very well, Senor," answered the Spaniard, livid with rage at being thus hectored before his own men, "I will tell my captain what you say; and it will be for him to decide how he will deal with you. If it rested with me, I would blow your ship out of the water. And I shall remember your face, Senor; and it may be that some day we shall meet on shore."

"I expect to be in Havana to-morrow, or next day, Senor Teniente, and it will afford me the greatest pleasure to meet you there," answered Milsom. "Good afternoon, and don't forget to tell your captain that if he chooses to come on board in a friendly way, my owner here will be very pleased to see him, and to show him all over the ship. He can look into every nook and cranny of her if it will afford him any satisfaction to do so."

The Spanish lieutenant bowed without speaking, signed to his men to go back into their boat, and followed them down the side. Five minutes later Jack and Milsom saw him gesticulating violently on the gunboat's quarter-deck as he related to the commander of the craft his version of the recent interview.



CHAPTER SIX.

COMMANDER DON LUIS Y ALBUQUERQUE.

"I say, Phil, you seemed to have your knife into that Spaniard," said Jack, as he and Milsom stood watching the gunboat. "You appeared to take a delight in rubbing his fur the wrong way."

"Yes," agreed Milsom meditatively, "I am afraid I did; and I am afraid, too, that I went just a little farther than there was any strict need for. But then the beggars put my back up, to start with, by firing at us. Had they contented themselves with pitching a shot across our fore- foot, I would not have minded so much; but they fired to hit—if they could. Then that lieutenant must needs come swaggering aboard here, putting on side, and threatening us—actually threatening us—with arrest, and imprisonment, and goodness knows what else! I only wish they would try to take us; I would teach them that it pays to be civil to Englishmen.—Well, what the dickens are you laughing at?" for Jack had burst into a hearty peal of laughter.

"Oh, Phil, Phil," Jack exclaimed, when at length he had regained control of himself, "you are as good as a pantomime! The idea of you, of all men, complaining of the other fellow having threatened, and put on side! Why, man alive, you were just as exasperating as you could possibly be to the poor chap; and, as to the threatening—why, you were simply breathing out threatenings and slaughter! You will have to keep your weather eye lifting, my hearty, when you get round to Havana; for that fellow will look out for you, and force you into a fight, as sure as eggs are eggs."

"All right!" answered Milsom, "I'll not disappoint him; if he wants fighting he shall have as much as he can take. But, after all, Jack, I have no doubt you are right, and that I was a bit 'trying', as my poor mother used to say. But then, you see, I was 'bluffing', doing the virtuous-indignation business, and all that, you know, for it was necessary to persuade the gentlemen that we are absolutely virtuous and innocent; it would never do to allow them to entertain the slightest shred of suspicion of the vessel, otherwise they would be continually watching her. Ah! As I expected, here comes the skipper himself to have a talk with us—and also to have a look round. I expect that, after what his lieutenant has told him, he is feeling a bit uncomfortable. But we must be civil to him and smooth him down; for, after all, there is nothing to be gained by making enemies without good and sufficient cause. And perhaps you, in your character of owner of the ship, had better tackle this fellow; then we shall have an opportunity to witness your skill as a diplomatist."

Accordingly, when the captain of the gunboat entered the yacht's gangway, it was Jack who received him, Milsom simply standing by as a sort of supporter.

The new arrival was a man apparently a few years older than his lieutenant, very distinguished looking for the commander of a mere gunboat, and with a considerably more polished and affable manner than the man who had preceded him. He raised his cap at Jack's salutation, and said, in English:

"Good afternoon, gentlemen! I am given to understand by my lieutenant that a most unfortunate mistake appears to have in some inexplicable manner arisen in connection with this vessel; and I have come on board for the purpose of putting matters right, if possible."

"You are most welcome, Senor Capitan," answered Jack cordially; "and I shall be very pleased to render you all the assistance in my power—the more so since I am very anxious to see as much as possible of your beautiful island, and may perhaps remain here for some time. Indeed, I may say that one reason for my visit to Cuba is that I have had some idea of investing in a tobacco plantation here."

"Indeed, Senor?" observed the Spaniard. "Our information pointed to a very different reason for your visit. As my lieutenant has already informed you, we have been led to believe that the presence of your yacht in Cuban waters was due to sympathy on your part with the insurgents, and a determination to assist them by smuggling munitions of war into the country for their use. And, as my lieutenant has also informed you, the Tiburon has been sent out specially for the purpose of seizing the vessel."

"Yes," said Jack suavely, "your lieutenant mentioned that fact—in somewhat emphatic language; so emphatic, indeed, that, if I may be permitted to say so, it was almost offensive, and my captain felt bound to adopt somewhat vigorous speech in expressing our disapproval, not only of his behaviour, but also of that of your Government. It is not usual, Senor, as you must know, for an Englishman, visiting a foreign country in his own yacht, to have his vessel seized upon the strength of a mere rumour; and you must allow me to say that, in acting as it has done, I consider your Government has not only been precipitate, but has also behaved in such a manner as will evoke a very strong protest from my own. The British Government, Senor, is not wont to have its flag fired upon without exacting ample reparation."

It was quite clear that the Spanish officer was beginning to feel exceedingly uncomfortable. He was silent for several seconds, and appeared to be reviewing the situation. At length he said:

"Senor, you must not blame my Government for the indiscretion of one of its officers. I personally am responsible for the act of firing upon your ship, which I now acknowledge to have been a quite unjustifiable act, for which I beg to tender you my most sincere and profound apologies; although I must be allowed to say that I fired under the impression that you intended to disregard my summons to heave-to."

"I am afraid, Senor," said Jack, "that your explanation does not go very far toward mending matters; for my contention is that you had no right to stop me on the high seas. But I will allow that to pass, and will accept your apology, for I have no wish whatever to make matters unpleasant for you personally, or for your Government; on the contrary, I am anxious to establish the most amicable relations possible between myself and the Spanish authorities during my stay in the island: therefore, having made my protest, I will say no more about it. But as there appears to have been some suspicions with regard to the character of my yacht, I must insist that either you, or someone on your behalf, shall examine the vessel at once, that you—and, through you, your Government—may be completely satisfied that such suspicions are absolutely groundless."

"Senor," said the Spaniard, "you overwhelm me with your generous consideration. If you will kindly permit me I should like, as well for your justification as for my own, to look over your vessel, in order that I may be in a position to absolutely assure my superiors that their suspicions are without foundation. And, to prevent all possibility of any future misunderstanding, I should like my lieutenant to be present at the inspection, if you will be so very good as to permit it."

"By all means," answered Jack cordially. "Pray send your boat for your lieutenant—and any other officers whom you would like to be present. The more, the better; for, Senor, you must understand that I wish your inspection of my yacht to be thorough and exhaustive."

The Spaniard bowed and, stepping to the gangway, called down to his coxswain, instructing him to proceed to the gunboat and request Lieutenant Fernandez to come on board the English yacht forthwith. Then, during the short interval between the dispatch and the return of the boat, the Spanish Commander chatted affably with Jack and Milsom upon indifferent subjects, incidentally introducing himself as Commander Luis y Albuquerque.

Lieutenant Fernandez was in a much more subdued mood when he returned than he had been upon his departure from the Thetis: probably he had done some hard thinking in the interim, and had come to recognise the possibility that trouble might be looming ahead of him; at all events his manner was all courtesy and politeness as he again stepped in through the gangway.

"Senor Fernandez," said Don Luis, "I am very much afraid that, from what Don Juan Singleton has told me, there has been a most serious mistake somewhere, and that we have thus been betrayed into unwittingly inflicting a most unprovoked affront upon an English gentleman. Senor Singleton has, however," with a bow to Jack, "been good enough to accept my explanation and apologies, and I therefore venture to hope that we may now consider the incident as closed. But Senor Singleton insists— quite justifiably, I think—that we shall satisfy ourselves as to the falsity of the statement that he is carrying munitions of war; and I have therefore sent for you to accompany me on a tour of inspection through this yacht, which we must make so thorough that there shall be no possibility of any aspersions being hereafter cast upon the integrity of Don Juan or his vessel. And now, Senor," to Jack, "we are ready to accompany you."

"Very well," said Jack. "Where would you like to begin—forward, or aft?"

"Perhaps we may as well begin forward, and work our way aft," answered the Spanish Commander.

"Right," acquiesced Jack. "Captain Milsom, be so good as to give instructions for two or three men to attend us below with lanterns. Meanwhile, gentlemen, perhaps you will give my boats an overhaul. I will have the canvas covers stripped off them."

"Oh no, Senor," protested Don Luis, "there is not the slightest necessity for us to go to such extreme lengths as that; for, assuming for a moment that you actually had contraband on board, you would not be in the least likely to carry it stowed in your boats."

Now this offer of Jack's was a piece of "bluff", for his boats were the only places that he did not wish the Spaniards to examine, since in one of them was stowed his submarine, the sight of which he knew would be likely to give rise to renewed suspicions. And, as we have seen, the "bluff" worked to perfection, possibly in consequence of the slight, but none the less perceptible, tone of sarcasm in which Jack made the offer. With a feeling of carefully suppressed relief, Jack accordingly led the Spaniards forward to the forecastle, down into which the party descended, and where they found three men—one of whom was the carpenter—awaiting them with lighted lanterns. The forecastle was soon examined, and then the hatch of the forepeak was lifted, and that darksome storehouse very carefully explored. There was no passage from the forepeak into the hold, as the collision bulkhead ran from the keelson right up to the deck; and, Jack having pointed out this fact, the party emerged on deck and descended into the officers' quarters, proceeding from thence down into the main hold, where they found nothing but iron ballast and the water tanks, every one of which Jack insisted should be opened and looked into. Thence they proceeded to the engine- room and stokehold, where they found much to admire in the scrupulous cleanliness and unusual form of the machinery, but no sign or trace of anything in the nature of contraband. Then they entered the main saloon, and examined it and the sleeping cabins, finishing up with the steward's storeroom, the sail-room, and the powder magazine. Jack was quite prepared to be questioned about this last, and he was; but he had his answer ready.

"Is it usual, Senor Singleton, for English yachts to go as heavily armed as your vessel is?" suavely enquired Don Luis.

"Not when cruising in home waters," answered Jack. "But when the intention is to 'cruise foreign', as we phrase it, especially if the cruise is to be round the world, it is usually considered prudent to provide the vessel with an armament sufficiently powerful to protect her from the attacks of pirates—Malays, Chinese, and so on—or, in fact, aggressors of any description. For instance," he continued maliciously, "if we had not happened to have been armed to-day, just consider, Senor, how unpleasant would have been our predicament at this moment."

Don Luis frowned. "Pardon me, Senor," said he, "but I hope you are not labouring under the misapprehension that it is because of your ship being armed that I have refrained from arresting you; the suggestion is injurious, Senor. Your freedom is due entirely to the fact that I accepted the assurances which you offered to Lieutenant Fernandez, and was willing to believe that an unfortunate mistake had somehow arisen. And I trust you will also believe that, had the mistake resulted in unpleasant consequences to yourself, my Government would have hastened to make you the most ample reparation on the instant of discovering that wrong had been done you, as it will, now, if you insist—"

"Pray say no more," interrupted Jack. "I have not the slightest desire to place either you, personally, or your Government in an embarrassing position. If, therefore, you are fully satisfied that your information respecting me and my yacht was wrong, I am quite willing to regard the incident as closed, and to say nothing further about it. And in proof of my friendly disposition, permit me to say that it will afford me very great pleasure if you and your lieutenant will give me the pleasure of your company at dinner to-night."

But Don Luis very courteously declined Jack's polite invitation, upon the plea that he felt it to be his imperative duty to return forthwith to Havana, to report to the authorities there the full and true circumstances of the case, in order that Jack might be subjected to no further annoyance from the unfortunate blunder that had somehow been made. But no doubt the true explanation of his refusal was to be found in the fact that his exceedingly sensitive pride was hurt by Jack's innuendo, and by the fact that he had been placed in a false and somewhat ridiculous position. It was bad enough to be made to appear ridiculous in the eyes of one's own people; but to be humiliated before one of those arrogant, overbearing Englishmen! Caramba! The two Spaniards therefore took a most ceremonious leave of Jack and Milsom, descended to their boat, and pulled back to their own ship, which immediately started her engines and steamed away to the westward, dipping her colours in salute as she went; while the Thetis resumed her course to the eastward in the direction of Calonna, off which she arrived about an hour later. But the delay occasioned by the incident of the yacht's encounter with the gunboat had been just sufficient to prevent the arrival of the Thetis until after the last train of the day had left Calonna for Pinar del Rio. Don Hermoso therefore decided to remain on board the yacht all night, and to leave her in time to take the first train on the following morning.

Naturally enough, the chief topic of conversation at the dinner-table, that night, was the encounter with the gunboat, and the clever manner in which the Spaniards had been "bluffed", Don Hermoso maintaining that it was entirely due to Jack's skill in the gentle art that no suspicion had appeared to enter the heads of the Spaniards that the contraband had already been got rid of. The matter was very freely discussed, and it was finally decided that, on the whole, it was a very fortunate circumstance not only that the encounter had taken place, but that it had occurred where and when it did; for the ignorance of the Spanish authorities as to the speed of the yacht would naturally preclude the suspicion that the vessel had already spent some hours in discharging her cargo, while the very complete and thorough search to which the yacht had been subjected was of course conclusive, so far as the non- existence of contraband on board at that moment was concerned. The only point upon which Jack had any uneasiness was the fact of the yacht being so formidably armed; he had given what he regarded as a very clever and ingenious explanation of the circumstance, which he hoped would prove completely satisfactory, but he was nevertheless not wholly free from doubts on the matter.

On the following morning the two Montijos and Jack were astir betimes, in order to catch an early train to Pinar del Rio; and nine o'clock found them ashore and on the platform, waiting for the train to emerge from the siding into which it had been shunted. Calonna was not at that time an important place, nor is the Cuban railway system remarkable for its efficiency; nothing need therefore be said about either save that after jolting through some exceedingly beautiful country, which grew more beautiful with every mile of progress upon a gradually rising gradient, the travellers were safely landed in the city of Pinar del Rio—a distance of some fifteen miles from Calonna—in a trifle over an hour! Here Senor Montijo's private carriage—a somewhat cumbersome, four-wheeled affair, fitted with a leather awning and curtains to protect the occupants from either sun or rain, and drawn by four horses, the off leader being ridden by a postilion, while the wheelers were driven from the box—was awaiting them, it having been sent in from the house on the preceding day. The luggage having been securely strapped on to a platform attached to the rear of the coach, Don Hermoso signed to Jack to enter the vehicle, placed himself by Jack's side, and was followed by Carlos, when the affair got under way, with a tremendous amount of shouting and whip cracking, and went rolling and rumbling and jolting down the narrow street and so out into the country. There was a drive of about sixteen miles farther inland and toward the Organ Mountains before them ere they could arrive at the hacienda Montijo, and although the road was abominable, and the heat intense, Jack declared that he had never so thoroughly enjoyed a drive in his life. For the country was somewhat rugged, and the scenery therefore very lovely, the road being bordered on either side by fields of tobacco and sugar, and here and there a patch of cool green Indian corn, divided from the road by low hedges which were just then a perfect blaze of multi-coloured flowers of various descriptions. It was a fairly busy scene, too, for the tobacco was ripe, and the fields were alive with labourers of all colours, from the full-blooded negro to the pure Spaniard, gathering the crop. At length, when they had been travelling for about a couple of hours, and when, despite the charm of everything that he saw around him, Jack began to grow conscious of the fact that he was aching in every joint from the rolling and jolting of the carriage, the vehicle turned off the main road into a lane, access to which was gained through a pair of massive timber gates hung upon piers of ancient, moss-grown masonry; and Don Hermoso announced that they were now upon his own demesne. And here at once Jack became conscious of a very great change in the appearance of everything; for not only was the road upon which they were travelling smooth and well kept, but the fields on either hand, instead of being half-choked with weeds, as had been the case with most of those that they had passed, were scrupulously clean, while the labourers, instead of being picturesque scarecrows, were decently clad, and worked as men do who are content and happy. Every man of them was clearly on the lookout for the carriage, and had a word of respectful greeting for his returning master, while—what was perhaps stranger still—Don Hermoso seemed to intimately know every man, woman, and child on the place, though there were hundreds of them.

At length a bend in the road brought the house in sight, at a distance of about a mile, and Jack saw before him, perched on the shoulder of a low eminence, a long, white, bungalow-like structure, with a high, thatched roof, and a gallery and veranda running along the whole length of the front, and apparently along the sides also. The building was of one storey only, and although the veranda was so broad as to cast the whole of the front into deep shadow it seemed to Jack that that front was pierced by at least a dozen doors and windows. As Jack looked, two female figures clad in white suddenly made their appearance in the centre of the gallery, and so beautifully clear was the atmosphere that, even at that distance, it could be distinctly seen that they were waving their pocket handkerchiefs to the occupants of the coach. Carlos also saw them, and frantically waved his panama by way of reply, shouting, as he did so:

"Hurrah, Padre; hurrah, Jack! Look! there are the Madre and Isolda out on the gallery, waving to us! I'll bet that they have been watching the bend of the road through their opera-glasses for the last hour or more!"

"Doubtless," answered Don Hermoso, laughing happily as he too leaned out of the coach to wave a greeting. "Since we did not arrive last night, as arranged, they have naturally expected us to turn up early this morning."

Winding hither and thither along the hillside, in order to secure an even and easy gradient, the road presently left the tobacco fields and passed between broad spaces of lawn luxuriantly clad with guinea-grass, and having large parterres of flowers scattered about it here and there; while in other places it was picturesquely broken up by clumps of feathery bamboo, or gigantic wild cotton and other trees. At length, with a final dash and a grand flourish, the carriage drew up in front of the broad flight of stone steps that led up the scarped and flower- strewn face of the mound upon which the house was built; and one of the two female figures came rushing down the steps, bareheaded, despite the almost vertical sun, and flung herself into the outstretched arms of Don Hermoso, while the other followed in a somewhat more stately and dignified manner.

Then, when Don Hermoso had released this first figure from his embrace, and turned, hat in hand, to meet the second, Senorita Isolda treated her brother Carlos to a like greeting, after which she turned, with a sunny smile and eyes flashing welcome, to Jack.

"Isolda," exclaimed Carlos, performing the ceremony of introduction, "this, as you will of course have guessed, is my old friend and chum, Jack Singleton, to whom we are so deeply indebted for the very valuable assistance that he has rendered us in our great undertaking. He is the best friend and comrade that ever lived, therefore give him a cordial welcome, for my sake, dear."

"I give you a thousand welcomes, Senor Jack," she exclaimed impulsively, as she offered her hand, "and a thousand thanks for all that you have done for my father and Carlos. I am delighted that you have been able to come to us, for I seem to know you quite well; Carlos has talked so often about you, and of what you used to do together in the old days at Dulwich, that I feel it quite impossible to regard you as a stranger."

For perhaps the first time in his life Jack Singleton found himself at a loss for words. As a rule he had plenty to say for himself, but now he found himself suddenly dumb. He had heard his friend Carlos speak of his sister Isolda with patronising, brotherly affection as "a good child", "a nice little thing", "not half a bad sort", and so on, and he seemed to remember that only a day or two ago Carlos had casually mentioned that his sister was just sixteen years of age; he had therefore pictured the girl to himself as a hoyden, in the transition stage of frocks that are neither short nor long, but betwixt and between, a girl with hair flying loose about her shoulders—in short, a girl. And now, all unprepared, he found himself grasping the hand of a glorious creature of absolutely dazzling loveliness, with the face, form, and manners of an irresistibly fascinating woman, who, despite her sixteen years of age, looked as though she might be quite twenty. He stammered out a few halting and stumbling words of thanks for her kindly welcome of him, feeling all the time that he would have liked to kick himself for his stupid gaucherie; and then turned to receive the greeting of Senora Montijo. This lady was simply an older edition of her lovely daughter, with a more composed and stately manner, and her welcome to Jack was cordiality itself; and presently they all turned and made their way into the house, which they entered by way of a wide doorway furnished with two leaves, now thrown wide open, the upper panels of which were fitted with Venetian lattices for the admission of air and the exclusion of the too-ardent beams of the sun. This doorway gave entrance to a large, marble-paved hall extending the entire depth of the house from front to back, as was to be seen from the fact that another door, opposite that by which the party had just entered, stood wide open, through which could be seen another broad veranda running along the back of the house, beyond which could be caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a kind of courtyard, with more lawns and flower beds, and a handsome fountain in the centre. The hall was adorned with beautiful flowering plants in large tubs, and furnished with an abundant supply of settees and luxuriously-cushioned basket chairs, and seemed to be used as a kind of lounging place, for which it was eminently adapted, since the two open doors caused a constant draught of comparatively cool air through the apartment. There were a few good pictures on the walls, as well as a gun-rack, well fitted with sporting guns and rifles; and a hatstand which, in addition to its legitimate use, formed a convenient support for sundry riding-whips and pairs of spurs. Two passages, leading to right and left out of this hall, gave access, as Jack subsequently discovered, to the rooms located at the extremities of the building.

"Now, Jack, old chap," said Carlos, linking his arm in that of his friend, after a moment's murmured conversation with his mother, "let me take you to your room. You will be glad to have a wash and brush-up after our dusty journey; and by the time that you are ready, second breakfast will be served." And, so saying, he conducted Singleton out through the rear door of the hall into the back veranda, which, as Jack now saw, ran not only along the entire rear face of the main building but also along the face of two wings which projected therefrom at right angles, one at each end of the house. These wings, it appeared, provided the sleeping accommodation, bathrooms, lavatories, and so on, of the establishment; beyond which again were the kitchen and other domestic offices, and the coach-house and stables, with the lawn, fountain, and flower beds between, the buildings being shaded not only by the broad veranda, but also by rows of orange, lemon, lime, and peach trees, the fragrance from which imparted an indescribably refreshing character to the air. Turning to the left as they emerged from the hall, Carlos conducted his friend along the left wing until they reached the last door but one, which the young Cuban threw open, ushering his friend into a neatly furnished and clean bedroom, in which Jack's overland trunk had already been deposited.

"The Madre has put you in here, Jack," Carlos explained, "because the room faces east, and will therefore be cool when you turn in at night, while the trees in front shield it from the morning sun. Also it is next to the men's bathroom, and therefore will be handy for your bath, night and morning. Now, there are water, soap, and towels; if you require anything else, shout for Antonio, and he will bring you whatever you want. Breakfast will be ready in a quarter of an hour."



CHAPTER SEVEN.

DON SEBASTIAN ALVAROS THREATENS TROUBLE.

"Second breakfast" in the West Indies is the equivalent of luncheon in England, except that the former is perhaps the more elaborate meal of the two; when therefore Jack, escorted by Carlos, entered the fine, airy dining-room, it at once became evident that he was about to sit down to a very substantial repast, for which he was not at all sorry, as the long journey had given him a most excellent appetite. Moreover, he had by this time recovered the equilibrium which had been so seriously disturbed by his first sight of Senorita Isolda, and had again found the use of his tongue; it was therefore a very gay and happy quintette that arranged itself around the well-furnished table. Jack was of course by this time on almost as intimate terms with Don Hermoso as he was with Carlos, and he presently discovered that the ladies were disposed to treat him rather as an old friend than as a new acquaintance; and he told himself that his visit to Cuba promised to be one of the most pleasant experiences of his life.

The meal over, Don Hermoso excused himself, as there were naturally many matters demanding his earliest attention after his long absence from home; while the Senora had her household affairs to attend to. Carlos therefore took the task of entertaining Jack upon himself, with his sister as chief assistant, and proposed a ride, as there were many charming spots in the neighbourhood that he wished his friend to see. The horses were accordingly ordered, and the three young people, despising the usual afternoon siesta, set off, taking a path which led upward through a wild and most picturesque ravine, down which a mountain stream brawled and foamed, the murmurous tumult of its waters mingling musically with the sough of the wind in the multitudinous trees that clothed the hillsides, and imparting a most welcome sensation of coolness to the atmosphere. They rode at a foot pace, first because they were in no hurry, and secondly because the path was narrow and rough, there being room only for two riders abreast; Carlos therefore led the way, with Jack and Dona Isolda following close at his horse's tail. They had not been ten minutes under way when they arrived at a spot the marvellous natural beauty of which caused Jack to exclaim aloud in his astonishment: for upon rounding a bend in the path they found themselves in a little amphitheatre, about five hundred yards across, the tree-clad sides of which rose precipitously to a great height on either hand, and were gorgeous with great clustering blooms of every imaginable hue, from purest white through every shade of colour to a deep rich purple that looked almost black where seen in shadow; while the air, almost motionless down in the hollow, was heavy with the mingling of a thousand exquisite perfumes. The floor of this amphitheatre consisted of a great basin of rock, partly filled with fine white sand brought down from the uplands during countless generations by the flow of the stream, the basin being brimful of crystal-clear water which came pouring and plashing into it from above over a series of miniature cataracts, the lowest of which, about twelve feet high, impinged upon a small ledge of rock which projected into the basin for the space of about a yard.

"This," said Carlos, "is our swimming bath, to which we often come for a dip in the early morning; it is absolutely private, all this being our own property, and nobody but ourselves ever passes here. What think you of it, Jack; is it not perfect?"

Jack pronounced it magnificent, and there and then undertook to join Carlos in a dip on the following and every other morning during his stay. The water was about twenty feet deep, and the place was consequently perfect for swimming in. By the side of the road, at a spot where there happened to be a few square yards of level ground, the surface had been cleared of the luxuriant undergrowth, and a small bathing house, containing two dressing-rooms—one for either sex—had been erected; and here the bathing dresses were kept and the necessary changes of costume made.

Having spent a little time in admiring this glorious bathing pool, the party moved onward again, and, following the ever-rising path, at length, after a most delightful ride of about five miles through a continuous succession of scenes of surpassing beauty, emerged upon an open tableland, from which a most extensive and glorious view of mile upon mile of the southern slope of the island was to be obtained, with the sea shining in soft, opalescent tints beyond, and the Isla de Pinos, with its three curiously shaped mountains, lying on the horizon. The white sails of a few coasting craft gleamed pearl-like here and there, just discernible at that distance, and Jack searched the watery expanse for some sign of the Thetis; but she had vanished. Doubtless she was on the other side of Cape San Antonio by this time, and therefore well on her way round to Havana. Being thus reminded of the existence of the yacht, Jack was suddenly inspired with a brilliant idea, which he promptly communicated to Carlos.

"Look here, Carlos, old chap," he exclaimed, "if the yacht is not likely to be required for other service just at present, why should not we all take a cruise in her round the island and over to Jamaica, from whence we might even go on to some of the other islands? I am sure that the trip would do your mother and sister a vast amount of good. Have you ever been out of Cuba, Senorita?"

"Never," answered Dona Isolda. "I was born here, and, less lucky than Carlos, was also educated here; so that I know nothing whatever about the great outside world, save what I have read of it in books. Havana is my conception of a great and handsome city, so you may guess how ignorant I am, and how intensely I should enjoy seeing other places. Do you think, Carlos mio, that Senor Singleton's suggestion is possible of realisation?"

"It may be," answered Carlos, a little doubtfully. "Everything will, of course, depend upon what news may come from the Junta. I know that the Padre has placed the vessel unreservedly at their disposal—rather unwisely, I think—and I shall be very much surprised if they do not make the fullest possible use of her. But, of course, if she is not likely to be required for a month or two, I think it would be an admirable plan for us all to go for a cruise in her. It would tend to avert suspicion from her, too, for I am pretty certain that it will not be wise to leave her lying idle in Havana or in any other of our harbours. I will mention the matter to the Padre at the first favourable opportunity."

"I am sure it would do Mamma a vast amount of good," remarked Senorita Isolda; "and it might also have the effect of putting a stop to the visits of Senor Alvaros, who is fast becoming an unendurable nuisance."

"Indeed! In what way?" demanded Carlos sharply.

"Why," answered Senorita Isolda, "we are never free from him. He rides over here three or four times a week, and makes himself as much at home as though the place belonged to him, although he has never received the slightest encouragement either from Mamma or from me. And then he bores me with his unwelcome attentions."

"Ah!" ejaculated Carlos through his clenched teeth; "somehow I feared as much. The fellow must be choked off by some means. The question is, how to do it without giving offence. You see," he continued, turning to Jack, "we Cubans are in an exceedingly awkward position, and are obliged to walk most circumspectly. We are compelled to submit to many things that are utterly distasteful to us, for if we did not we should at once be suspected of harbouring designs inimical to the Government; and, once regarded with suspicion, our liberty, our property, ay, even our lives, would be imperilled."

"A confoundedly unpleasant state of things, in truth," said Jack; "but surely it does not extend so far that you dare not give a man a hint that his visits to your house are distasteful?"

"Indeed it does, though," answered Carlos. "Suppose, for example, that my father were to hint to this fellow Alvaros that he is not wanted here, and that his visits must cease, the probability is that the man— who, I may mention, is captain of a regiment of infantry—would at once proceed to hint to his superiors that all is not right with us, when there is no knowing what dreadful thing might happen. The fact is, that the pride of these fellows is so intense and so sensitive, and they are withal so destitute of principle, that if a man dares to offend one of them he at once makes every Spaniard in the island his enemy."

"How would it be if I were to pick a quarrel with him?" suggested Jack. "They would not dare to interfere with me."

"I am by no means so sure of that," answered Carlos. "They could do nothing to you openly, of course; but open, honest, daylight methods are not regarded here with very much respect just at present, and you might perhaps mysteriously disappear. Oh, no, it would never do for you to attempt to interfere, Jack! On the contrary, you must most studiously refrain from anything and everything that would be in the least likely to breed ill blood between you and the Spaniards, because—who knows?— we may need your help ere long. And that you could only effectively give by maintaining good relations with the Government and its representatives."

Conversing thus, they at length turned their horses' heads and slowly took their way back toward the house; and by the time that they reached it Jack found himself upon terms of almost as complete intimacy with Senorita Isolda as those he was on with her brother. For, despite the intense pride which seems to be so strongly marked a characteristic of all who have Spanish blood in their veins, Senorita Isolda was a most charmingly ingenuous, unsophisticated girl, frank and open as the day; furthermore, she had been so long accustomed to hear Jack spoken of admiringly by Carlos that she had insensibly acquired a strong predisposition in his favour; and, finally, and quite contrary to rule, when at length she met him in the flesh she instantly decided that this stalwart, handsome young Englishman was all that Carlos had represented him to be—and very much more.

Upon reaching the house they found, to their disgust, that Captain Alvaros had again turned up, ostensibly for the purpose of bidding Don Hermoso and Carlos welcome back to Cuba and hearing from them an account of their holiday wanderings in Europe. Jack found the Spanish soldier to be a man of about thirty-two years of age, tall, swarthy, and by no means ill-looking: but such physical advantages as he possessed were heavily discounted by a pair of piercing, black, sinister-looking eyes, and a distinctly arrogant, overbearing manner; the man evidently thought well of himself, and took no trouble to conceal the fact. He greeted Jack's appearance in Senorita Isolda's company with something very nearly approaching a scowl, and coldly acknowledged Senora Montijo's formal introduction of the young man with an air of careless hauteur that was eloquent of his disapproval of the young man's presence in the house, which he further emphasised by thereafter contemptuously ignoring Jack—for a time. Carlos flushed with angry annoyance as he beheld this treatment of his friend, for which he apologised as soon as the pair were alone together; but Jack's sunny temperament was not so easily ruffled, and he simply laughed, saying:

"Don't you let that worry you, old chap; it doesn't hurt me in the least. I don't care a brass button whether the man likes or dislikes me; I care neither for his friendship nor his enmity. I am not of a quarrelsome disposition, as you know, but should he attempt to be actively disagreeable, or to force a quarrel upon me, I have no doubt that I shall know how to take care of myself."