"Surely, Senor, the reasons that I have already advanced ought to be sufficient," answered the General. "But if they are not, let me give you another. Your friend Don Hermoso Montijo, whom I see with his wife and family on the upper deck yonder, are not altogether free from the taint of suspicion of being in sympathy with the revolutionaries; indeed, it has been whispered to me that—but it would perhaps be unfair to them to repeat suggestions which have not as yet been absolutely proved: let it suffice for me to say that I wish the present predicament of my Government to be laid before them, together with the request which I have ventured to make to you; and let me know how they advise you in the matter."

"But, General, this is absolutely preposterous!" protested Jack. "Why should Don Hermoso Montijo and his family be dragged into the affair? And why should I be supposed to be governed by their advice? I must positively refuse to submit the matter to them in any shape or form; and I must also refuse to permit myself to be influenced by any advice which they might see fit to give. They are my guests on board this vessel, and, I may tell you, have embarked in her for the purpose of taking a cruise in her for the benefit of the health of the ladies of the family—indeed, we were on the point of getting under way when you boarded us."

"Senor," retorted the General, "I will not pretend to dispute any one of your statements; but I will simply say that if you persist in refusing your assistance to the Spanish Government in this strait, your refusal will have the effect of very greatly strengthening the suspicions that already exist as to the loyalty of the Montijo family!"

"General," exclaimed Jack, "if you did but know it you could scarcely have said anything better calculated to defeat your own wishes and make me declare that under no circumstances will I permit myself to be dragged into this business. To be perfectly frank with you, I do not believe that you have the slightest shadow of foundation or excuse for your suspicions of Senor Montijo and his family. But, in order to show you how little grounds there are for them—should such actually exist—I will do violence to my own feelings by acceding to your request, without consulting Senor Montijo in any way, to the extent of conveying a party of your men, not exceeding fifty, to Mulata Bay; upon condition that I am allowed to fly the Spanish man-o'-war ensign while engaged upon the service."

"Why do you attach that condition to your assent, Senor?" demanded the General.

"Because," snapped Jack, who was now perilously near losing his temper, "I neither can nor will do the work under the British flag!"

"I think, Excellency, Senor Singleton is justified in his demand," remarked the skipper of the cruiser, now speaking for the first time. "The work that he has kindly undertaken to do is essentially Spanish Government work, and can only be properly done under the Spanish flag. I will bring you a Spanish ensign and pennant to hoist, Senor, when I bring my men alongside," he added, turning to Jack.

"I shall be obliged, Senor, if you will," answered Jack; "for I will do nothing without them."

"Then that is settled," exclaimed the General, rising to his feet. "When will you be ready to leave the harbour, Senor Singleton?"

"As soon as Captain Morillo brings his men alongside," answered Jack.

"Then, to expedite matters, let us be going at once, Morillo," exclaimed the General. Then, turning to Jack, he said: "Senor, permit me to express to you the gratitude not only of myself, personally, but also of the Spanish Government, for your courtesy in consenting to render us this important service at an exceedingly critical moment, I fear that, in my anxiety, I may have brought rather an unfair amount of pressure to bear upon you in order to overcome your scruples; but I trust that you will ultimately forgive me for that. And I am quite sure that if, as I have understood, you intend to prolong your stay in Cuba, the time will come when you will be glad to have placed us all under an obligation. I offer you a thousand thanks, Senor, and have the honour to bid you good- day!"

And thereupon, with many bows, his Excellency the Capitan-General of Cuba followed the skipper of the cruiser to the gangway and thence down into their boat.

"Well," exclaimed Milsom, who had contrived to follow the conversation sufficiently to get a fairly accurate impression of what had transpired, "you have managed to get us all fairly into the centre of a hobble by consenting to run those men down to Mulata Bay! How the mischief do you propose to get out of it again without putting all the fat in the fire?"

"Quite easily, my dear Phil, or you may bet your bottom dollar that I would never have consented," answered Jack. "You see, the Spanish ships have had their engines tampered with. Very well: ours have been tampered with too—Macintyre will have to see to that. While the old chap was talking, the idea occurred to me that if I should persist in my refusal, Captain Morillo might, in desperation, take it into his head to send away a boat expedition to Mulata Bay; and, the people there being of opinion that everything is all right, they may take matters prettily easily, with the result that the boat expedition might possibly have arrived in time to effect a seizure. Therefore while, for the sake of effect, I pretended to be very unwilling to fall in with his Excellency's views, I had decided that I would do so, almost as soon as I saw what was coming. Now, my plan is this. We will take the Spanish crowd aboard and run them down toward Mulata Bay, which will put an effectual stopper upon any attempt to dispatch another expedition. But, when we get down abreast of our destination, our engines will break down, and instead of going into Mulata Bay, we shall go driving helplessly away down to leeward before this fine, roaring trade wind; and before we can get the ship again under command the James B. Potter will have discharged her cargo and got away again. And I reckon upon our appearance off the place under the Spanish ensign and pennant to give all concerned a hint as to the importance of 'hustling' over their job. Twiggez?"

"Je twig—I tumble!" answered Milsom. "And a very pretty scheme it is, too, Jack—does you proud, old man; it ought to work like a charm. Now, before the Spanish Johnnies come aboard, I'll just hunt up Macintyre, and post him upon his share of the work, while you go and explain matters to the Don and his family. Who-oop! It will be interesting to observe the expression on the countenances of our Spanish friends when our engines—tampered with by those pestilent revolutionaries—break down!"



CHAPTER ELEVEN.

AN EXPEDITION THAT FAILED.

A few minutes sufficed Jack to explain the situation to the Montijo family, to their mingled indignation and amusement; and he then suggested that, as the yacht would possibly be rolling and tumbling about somewhat unpleasantly in the heavy sea outside while in her apparently helpless condition, the ladies might prefer to pass the night ashore, in one of the Havana hotels. But neither of them would for a moment listen to any such proposal: the Senora explained that she had never yet been seasick, and did not propose to begin now; while Dona Isolda opined that it would be no worse for her than if they had gone to sea in the ordinary way during the afternoon, so she, too, elected to remain on board and take her chance. Then, while they were all talking together, Milsom came up on to the top of the deck-house with the information that Macintyre fully understood what was wanted and was making elaborate preparations for a perfectly gorgeous breakdown of the engines—the maximum speed of which during the trip would not exceed fourteen knots, at the outside. And presently the cruiser's first cutter pushed off from her parent ship's side and came pulling toward the yacht, with twenty seamen and five marines on board, in addition to her own crew, all armed to the teeth, and Captain Morillo and another officer in the stern-sheets.

A few minutes later the boat swept up alongside, and the two officers ascended to the deck, where they were met by Jack and Milsom.

"Senor Singleton, and Senor Capitan Milsom, permit me to have the honour of presenting to you Senor el Teniente Villacampa, the officer who will have the command of the expedition," said Morillo. "He will be responsible for the good behaviour of the men, and will lead them to the attack of the ship and those on shore who will be assisting in the landing of the cargo; but, apart from that duty, he will of course be under your orders. I have brought you," he continued, taking a bundle of bunting from Villacampa, "an ensign and a pennant, which you will substitute for your own colours at the moment which you may deem most suitable. And now, what about boats? Will you tow the one which is alongside; or would you rather use your own?"

"I think your people had better use the yacht's boats, Senor," answered Jack. "We have plenty; and it will look more in keeping."

"Very well, Senor; I agree with you there," acquiesced Morillo. "And now, as you are doubtless anxious to make an immediate start, I will bid you good-bye; and trust that the expedition will be completely successful. You have full instructions how to proceed, Senor," he added to his lieutenant; and then, cap in hand, bowed himself through the gangway and down the side.

As the cruiser's boat shoved off, Milsom ascended to the bridge and, laying his hand on the engine-room telegraph, rang "Stand by!"

"Are you all ready to slip, there, Mr Perkins?" he demanded.

"All ready, sir," answered Perkins.

"Then let go!" ordered Milsom, moving the handle to "Half speed ahead!"

"Lay aft, some hands, and stow the gangway ladder. Quartermaster, stand by to dip our ensign to the cruiser as we pass her; and when she has acknowledged it, haul it and the burgee down and stow them away in the flag locker!"

"Are you acquainted with Senor Montijo and his family?" asked Jack politely, addressing himself to Lieutenant Villacampa, who looked as though he felt slightly uncomfortable and out of his element.

"I have not that honour, Senor," answered Villacampa, looking still more uncomfortable.

"Then come up on the deck-house, and let me introduce you," said Jack. "They are most delightful people, and I am sure they will be pleased to know you. Your men had better consider the after deck as their end of the ship, and make themselves as comfortable as they can there. She is a fairly dry little ship, and I think they will be all right there."

Whereupon Villacampa gave a brief order to his men, and then followed Jack up the ladder to the top of the deck-house, where he was duly made known to its occupants—to the great gratification of Morillo, who witnessed the little ceremony as the yacht swept past his boat. The lieutenant was very cordially received, as had already been agreed upon by those principally concerned; and, being a very pleasant-mannered and agreeable young fellow, soon found that he was enjoying himself amazingly.

"You have a fine, speedy little ship under you, Senor," he said, anxious to make himself agreeable, as the yacht, having passed the cruiser and opened out the harbour's mouth, quickened up her pace to fourteen knots.

"Y-es," admitted Jack, in that grudging, depreciatory tone of voice which, for some inexplicable reason, so many Englishmen use when speaking of their own property; "she is not bad, for her size. But a knot or two more would be welcome, just now; for we are late in starting, and we shall have our work cut out to make Mulata Bay before dark. I have been taking a look at my chart, and I see that the place lies inside a reef. Are you acquainted with the pilotage of that part of the coast, Senor?"

"Oh yes, Senor!" answered the lieutenant; "I have been in and out of Mulata Bay several times. That was chiefly why Captain Morillo selected me to command the expedition. The navigation, however, is not difficult; and, once through the Cayo Blanco passage, we shall be all right."

"No doubt," agreed Jack. "But it is just the getting through that passage that I have been feeling unhappy about. We draw eight feet of water aft, and my chart says that there are only nine feet in the passage."

Villacampa admitted that the depth of water shown on the chart was about right, and confessed that the situation, now that one came to look at it, was somewhat awkward; still, he was of opinion that if they could but arrive off the mouth of the pass before dark everything would be all right.

At five o'clock the stewards brought up the tables and proceeded to serve tea; and Villacampa, who somehow found himself seated between Senorita Isolda and Capitan Milsom, told himself that he had missed his vocation, and that he ought to have been skipper of an English steam- yacht—with a lovely and fascinating Spanish Senorita as a passenger— instead of second lieutenant of a dirty Spanish cruiser.

They were running along the coast and steering a course of west by south half-south, which gave them a gradually increasing offing, and was a nice, safe course to steer, for it would take them well clear of all dangers; the result being that when at length they arrived off the Cayo Blanco passage, the yacht was quite ten miles off the land, and about five miles distant from the edge of the reef. If Villacampa had noticed how wide an offing was being maintained, he would probably have suggested the desirability of hauling in a point or two; but he did not, for he was being made much of by the ladies, while Jack had artfully placed him with his back toward the land. Milsom, meanwhile, had been watching the coast as a cat watches a mousehole, and the moment that he saw certain marks come "on" he raised his cap and proceeded to mop his perspiring forehead with a large bandana handkerchief; whereupon Perkins, who had been for some time keeping an unostentatious eye upon the party on the top of the deck-house, turned and sauntered aft to the engine-room door, sneezing violently as he walked past it. The next instant there arose a perfectly hair-raising clatter and clash of metal down in the engine-room, and the engines abruptly ceased to revolve! So sudden and startling was the clatter that both ladies screamed, and clasped their hands convulsively, in the most natural manner possible; while Jack and Milsom, starting to their feet and capsizing their chairs with magnificent dramatic effect, dashed, one upon the heels of the other, down the ladder toward the engine-room, the steam from the blow- off at the same moment roaring through the safety valves with violence enough to scare a nervous person out of his wits. The quartermaster, keeping a level head in the midst of the hubbub, promptly ported his helm and turned the yacht's head toward the open sea, and the little craft at once, as though entering thoroughly into the spirit of the thing, began to roll her rails under as the sea caught her square abeam. The Spanish seamen and marines, startled into sudden activity by the commotion, sprang to their feet, and, after glancing about them for an instant with scared faces, made a dash with one accord for the boats, and were only with difficulty restrained from lowering them, and driven away from the davits by a strong party of the yacht's crew, under Perkins, aided by Jack and Villacampa. Taking the affair "by and large", Macintyre had certainly very effectively fulfilled his promise to produce "a perfectly gorgeous breakdown!"

Lieutenant Villacampa was, of course, naturally very anxious to learn the extent of the damage, and how far it was likely to interfere with his execution of the duty confided to him by his superiors; and the poor fellow wrung his hands in despair when Macintyre presently came on deck with a big bolt smashed in two in his hand and, with a great show of indignation, informed the Spaniard in broad Scotch—of which, of course, the poor fellow did not understand a word—that some unknown scoundrel had surreptitiously withdrawn nine such bolts from a certain coupling, and that the other three had, as a natural consequence, gradually sheered through under the excessive strain thrown upon them; and that for his part he was only surprised that the machinery had brought them as far as it had without giving out: and that, furthermore, since it would be necessary to make twelve new bolts to replace those missing and destroyed, it would be several hours, at the earliest, before the yacht could again be brought under control. All of which Jack, struggling valiantly against a violent disposition to laugh uproariously, translated to the unhappy Spanish lieutenant. Then, to add still further to that officer's chagrin and disappointment, the yacht, with the Spanish ensign and pennant snapping from gaff-end and masthead in the roaring trade wind, drove slowly but steadily past the mouth of Mulata Bay, and the young man had the mortification of catching, through a powerful pair of binoculars lent him by Jack, a brief glimpse of the James B. Potter at anchor in the bay, surrounded by a whole flotilla of boats, with steam winches hard at work, and great cases swinging over the side from all three hatchways at the same moment. It was a scurvy trick of fate, he explained to Jack, that he should have been so very near to making a capture important enough to have insured his promotion, and to have had success snatched from him at the moment when it was all but within his grasp. Jack emphatically agreed with him that it was, but rather spoiled the effect immediately afterward by asking: "What about the damage to his engines?" It was, however, obviously a case in which nothing could be done but wait patiently until the necessary repairs could be effected; and, after all, there was, as Jack pointed out, just one solitary grain of comfort in the situation, in that the breakdown had occurred while the yacht was still far enough from the shore to be safe from the peril of stranding. Had the accident been deferred until the vessel was on the point of entering the passage through the reef, the yacht would undoubtedly have been flung by the sea upon the sharp coral and dashed to pieces; when the furious surf, which was at that moment foaming and swirling over the reef, and to which Jack directed Villacampa's attention, must have inevitably drowned every soul on board. This was a fact so patent to the meanest comprehension that the Spanish lieutenant speedily forgot his disappointment, and hastened up on to the deck-house to explain to the ladies how narrow had been their escape from a terrible shipwreck, and to congratulate them upon the circumstance that they were still alive.

Meanwhile, the deck hands, under Milsom's supervision, had been busily engaged in getting up on deck and rigging a sea anchor, which was dropped overboard when the yacht had drifted some three miles to the westward of the Cayo Blanco passage; and as there was a strong current setting eastward at the time, the effect was not only to bring the yacht head to wind and sea, and cause her to ride very much more easily and comfortably, but also to effectually check her further drift to the westward. Then came dinner in the saloon, and as Villacampa took his seat at the elegantly appointed table, and noted with keen appreciation the prompt and orderly service of the luxurious meal, he felt fully confirmed in his previous conviction that he had missed his proper vocation.

The rising moon had just cleared the horizon and was flooding the weltering waters with her silvery light when, the saloon party being once more assembled on the top of the deck-house for the better enjoyment of the grateful coolness of the night air, a large steamer, which could be none other than the James B. Potter, was seen to come out of Mulata Bay and head for the passage, steaming thence out to sea and away to the eastward at a rapid pace, though not so fast but that Villacampa, unconsciously biting his finger nails to the quick in the excess of his mortification, felt convinced that the yacht could have caught her, had that vessel only been under way at the moment. She was not, however, and it was not until the American craft had sunk beyond the eastern horizon a good hour and a half that Macintyre came up on deck to report that he had completed his repairs and was ready to once more start his engines. Whereupon the sea anchor was got inboard and, since there was nothing else to be done, the yacht returned to Havana harbour at a speed of fourteen knots—her engines working as smoothly as though they had never broken down—arriving at her former berth and picking up her buoy at about two o'clock a.m. Captain Morillo, who had been anxiously awaiting her return, promptly made his appearance alongside in the cruiser's cutter, for the purpose of taking off his men and learning the result of the expedition; and great was his wrath and disgust on hearing that it had failed, after all, in consequence of a breakdown of the yacht's engines. He was most searching and minute in his enquiries as to the nature and cause of the accident, which, he eventually agreed with Jack, had undoubtedly been brought about by the miscreants who were responsible for the disablement of the Spanish warships, and who, it was perfectly evident, had determined to ensure the success of the American undertaking by tampering with the machinery of every vessel in the harbour which could by any possibility be employed to frustrate it. Ere taking his leave he ventured to express the hope that Jack and Captain Milsom would do him the favour to accompany him when he went ashore, a few hours later, to report to the Capitan-General the failure of the expedition, as it would be his duty to do: but Jack courteously yet very firmly declined to do anything of the kind, pointing out that Lieutenant Villacampa, who had commanded the expedition, was perfectly able to furnish every particular that the General might require; while, further, Jack considered that very unfair pressure had been brought to bear upon him to induce him to lend his yacht for the purpose of the expedition, and he therefore felt perfectly justified in declining to afford any further assistance to the local representative of the Spanish Government. Whereupon Captain Morillo expressed his profound regret that Senor Singleton should have cause to feel himself aggrieved, and departed, taking his men and his flags with him. The Thetis steamed out of Havana harbour again at eight o'clock that same morning.

It is unnecessary to follow in detail the course of the voyagers during the pleasure cruise upon which they had embarked; for while they thoroughly enjoyed themselves the cruise was absolutely uneventful. Suffice it to say that, proceeding in a very leisurely fashion, they completely circumnavigated the island of Cuba, calling in at Matanzas, Cardenas, Nuevitas, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, Xagua, Batabano, and other more or less interesting ports on the coast; sometimes remaining only a few hours, at other times spending as many days in harbour, while Don Hermoso made certain mysterious excursions inland and had secret conferences with more or less mysterious people, during the progress of which Jack, Carlos, and the two ladies enjoyed themselves amazingly in the steam pinnace, in which craft they made excursions up rivers, and prowled about among romantic cays to their hearts' content. Then they crossed to Jamaica, where they enjoyed ample opportunity to compare the condition of that island, under British rule, with Cuba under the government of the Spaniards, as also to learn how the Jamaicans construe the word "hospitality". Dances, picnics, dinners at Government House and elsewhere, balls at Up-Park camp and on board the battleships at Port Royal succeeded each other with bewildering rapidity; while they were positively deluged with invitations to spend a week or more on various sugar estates dotted about here and there in some of the most beautiful parts of the lovely island: small wonder was it, therefore, that six full weeks slid away ere the Thetis again steamed out to sea from Port Royal. Thence, coasting along the southern shores of San Domingo, the travellers visited Porto Rico, where Don Hermoso again had much business to transact with mysterious strangers, occupying a full fortnight; after which Saint Kitts, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent, Grenada, and finally Trinidad (to see the wonderful Pitch Lake) were visited: by which time the month of February in the year 1895 had arrived, and Don Hermoso became anxious to be at home again, as certain very important and momentous events were pending, the progress of which he was anxious to watch as closely as might be. Wherefore, on a certain evening, the yacht weighed her anchor shortly before two bells in the first dogwatch, and, steaming close past the Five Islands, the Diego Islands, Gaspar Grande, and Mono Island, swept out through the Boca de Navios, and shaped a course north-west by west for Cape Tiburon, in the island of Hayti, which was passed at daybreak on the morning but one following; the yacht finally entering Havana harbour and making fast to a buoy at eight o'clock on the morning of the succeeding day. The Montijo family landed immediately after breakfast, and took the first available train to Pinar del Rio, hoping to arrive home the same evening: but Jack remained on board the yacht, as she was by this time so exceedingly foul that it had been decided to dock her and have her cleaned in readiness for any emergency; and, Singleton being her ostensible owner, it was deemed a wise and prudent thing that he should remain at Havana to personally arrange for the work to be done, lest suspicion as to the genuineness of his ownership should arise in the minds of any of the Spanish officials.

As Jack went hither and thither about his business, after having seen his friends off by train, he was astonished at the change that had taken place in the appearance of Havana since he had last seen it on that memorable day when the Capitan-General had visited the Thetis and persuaded—or, rather, practically compelled—him to lend that vessel for the purpose of attempting the capture of the James B. Potter. Then, Havana was simply a busy seaport; now, it was a fortress preparing for war. The streets were full of troops, fresh landed from the transports in the harbour and marching to the railway stations to entrain for various parts of the island; guns, ammunition and ambulance wagons were rumbling and rattling over the cobbles; excited aides-de- camp were furiously spurring hither and thither, the air was clamourous with the strains of martial music and the incessant shouting of military words of command; the Alameda was an armed camp; and the cafes and restaurants were crowded with arrogant, boasting, posturing military and naval officers, with a small sprinkling of civilians who were made to clearly understand that they were there only on sufferance. Jack could not help noticing the scowls with which the soldiery regarded him, and many an insulting epithet and remark reached his ears; but he was not such a fool as to permit himself to be provoked into a quarrel, single- handed, with thousands, and he therefore went calmly and steadily on his way, taking no more notice of the offensive words than if they had not been spoken, and following the narrow side streets as much as possible. In course of time he arrived at the office of the British Consul, and turned in to pay a call upon that gentleman. He found the official in question up to his eyes in business, but nevertheless received a very cordial greeting, if not a particularly hearty welcome.

"Hillo, Singleton, what are you doing back here, and at this moment, above all others?" exclaimed the Consul, rising and holding out his hand. "I was in hopes that you were safely back in the old country long ago."

"Indeed?" said Jack, taking the other's proffered hand. "Why safely back? Is Cuba, then, an especially dangerous place for an Englishman just now?"

"Well, I will not go so far as to give an unqualified answer in the affirmative to that question," replied the Consul; "but this I will say, that I would certainly not recommend any Englishman to remain on the island at this juncture, unless he is fully prepared to prove to the authorities that he has good and sufficient reasons for so doing. The fact is that Cuba is the crater of a political volcano at the present moment, and nobody quite knows what is going to happen. For some years now, in fact ever since '68, the Cubans have been in a state of more or less unrest, and in more or less open revolt against the Spanish rule; and the indications have for some time past been that the events of '68 to '78 are about to be repeated, possibly in a more aggravated form. It is well-known that large consignments of arms, ammunition, and military stores have recently been smuggled into the country, yet, strangely enough, so great has been the vacillation of the Government mind that, although they have done their utmost to put a stop to the smuggling, they have finished there; no effort has been made to discover what has become of the smuggled cargoes, and, beyond vaguely and generally suspecting all who have not openly declared themselves in favour of the continuance of Spanish rule, no serious endeavour has been made to discover the identity of the conspirators. The fact is, that the Spanish Government is acting precisely like the fabled ostrich; it is burying its head in the sand and refusing to see the coming trouble. Even now, although two armed risings have very recently taken place, one in the province of Santiago and the other in that of Mantanzas—the latter, by the way, having been promptly suppressed—the official mind persists in asserting that the movement is nothing more than an attempt on the part of a few bandits to commit robbery and outrage of every description under the mask of patriotism! Yet you may have observed, as you passed through the streets to-day, that, despite all their assertions, they are behaving very much as though they were in a state of mortal terror. And another symptom of scare is the marked suspicion and distrust, not to say aversion, with which they regard strangers, especially Americans and Englishmen, in the island. The Americans, as you may possibly be aware, have not taken very much trouble to conceal the fact that their sympathies are distinctly on the side of the Cubans, and Spanish intelligence seems unable to differentiate between an American and an Englishman. That is why I say that I would not recommend an Englishman to remain in Cuba just now unless he possesses the means of satisfying the Spaniards that he is not inimical to them."

"Well," said Jack, "if there is an Englishman in the whole island who can do that, I think I ought to be that man; for did I not place my yacht at their service for the purpose of smashing up one of those gun- running expeditions that you were speaking of just now, at the moment when every one of their warships in the harbour had been disabled?"

"Ah, yes!" said the Consul, "I remember hearing something of that affair, although the authorities did their best to hush it up. You failed, I believe, in consequence of your engines breaking down?"

"Yes," said Jack, "just off Mulata Bay, the precise spot where the American steamer was landing her cargo. As a matter of fact, we actually saw her at it."

"A most extraordinary affair!" remarked the Consul. "When the vessels were subsequently docked, it was discovered that their propellers had been rendered immovable by being locked with stout chains, from which it was surmised that the outrage must have been perpetrated by means of some kind of diving vessel; but where such a craft could have come from heaven only knows, for nothing of the kind has been discovered or got wind of in any of the harbours of Cuba—although I suppose it would not be a very difficult matter for people acquainted with the working of such a vessel to conceal her very effectually at the bottom of some out- of-the-way bay. I remember reading, some years ago, the story of a gigantic craft that was either airship or submarine, at the will of her crew, and which was capable of doing some very wonderful things; but I regarded the yarn as nothing more than the flight of a romancer's vivid imagination. Yet it must have been some such vessel that disabled the Spanish warships; which goes to prove again the soundness of the old adage that 'truth is stranger than fiction'. But your yacht's disablement was an entirely different matter, as I understood, for you actually steamed several miles before you broke down. Did you ever discover to whom you were indebted for your mishap?"

"How could we?" answered Jack. "We went to sea again the next morning, and have been absent ever since. I was thinking that I would call upon the Capitan-General, and ask him if any of his people had ever been able to find a clue to the identity of the guilty parties."

"Were you?" said the Consul. "Then let me very strongly advise you not to do anything of the kind. He has plenty to worry him just now without being reminded of an exceedingly unpleasant and annoying incident. And, finally, be persuaded by me to clear out of Cuba at the very earliest possible moment; for the island is certainly at present no place for a young fellow like you, who have a good business at home, and no business at all here. Even if you are serious in your idea of purchasing land and establishing a tobacco-growing estate, this is certainly not the time at which to engage in such an undertaking: for, in the first place, the very strong suspicion and distrust with which the authorities at the present moment regard all foreigners would render it almost impossible for you to secure an inalienable title to your land; and, in the next place, when all other difficulties were surmounted, you would find that no labourers were to be had—every mother's son of them being an insurgent, either openly or secretly—and consequently you could get no work done on your land. Therefore it will manifestly be prudent for you to postpone your undertaking until the present imbroglio is at an end and the island is at peace once more. And now, I am afraid that I must bid you good-morning; for this insurrection has piled up a lot of extra business for me as well as for others. But I have given you the very best advice of which I am capable, and I hope that you will not only think it over but very speedily act upon it; for I tell you candidly that Cuba is an exceedingly unsafe place for any Englishman just now."

"Upon my word," said Jack, "I am very much disposed to believe that you are right; and I will certainly think over what you have said. Good- bye, and many thanks for your most excellent advice!"

But even as the young man left the office and issued upon the crowded street, he knew that he had not the remotest intention of acting upon the Consul's advice, to the extent of leaving Cuba at all events: for he felt that he was morally pledged to stand by the Montijos, so long as they might need him; and there was the complication of the ownership of the yacht, which would need a great deal of straightening out; and, lastly, his close association with the lovely Senorita Isolda, during the four months' cruise just ended, had not been without its effect upon him; so that, taking things all round, he told himself that for him to leave Cuba at present was quite out of the question.

When Jack set about making the necessary arrangements for the docking of the Thetis he at once found himself confronted with that adamantine procrastination which constitutes such a serious flaw in the Spanish character; manana (to-morrow) is the word that is most often in the Spaniard's mouth, and his invincible determination never to do to-day what can possibly be postponed until the morrow is perhaps as marked a national characteristic as is the indomitable pride of every Spaniard, from the highest grandee down to the meanest beggar to be found outside a church door. Thus, although the dock happened at that moment to be empty, Singleton found it absolutely impossible to infuse into the dock- officials the energy necessary to enable them to make arrangements for the entrance of the yacht on that day. Manana was the word, wherever he turned; and manana it had to be. And even when at length, late on the following day, the vessel was safely docked and the steam pumps started by which the water was to be pumped out of the enclosure and the vessel left dry and accessible to the workmen, it proved so exceedingly difficult to prevail upon these workmen to get to work that at length Jack and Milsom, driven to despair, and with their patience absolutely exhausted, were obliged to set their own people on to the job of removing from the ship's bottom the thick growth of barnacles and sea grass with which it was encrusted, and afterwards to cover the steel plating with a fresh coating of anti-fouling composition. It was thus a full week from the date of the yacht's arrival in Havana harbour ere she was once more afloat and ready for sea, and Jack at length felt himself free to fulfil his promise to rejoin the Montijo family at their hacienda.



CHAPTER TWELVE.

BAD NEWS.

It was a glorious morning when Jack, after an early breakfast, made his way to the railway station and, having written two days before to apprise his friends of his coming, demanded a first-class ticket for Pinar del Rio. He was gratified to find that not only were there no troops going by his train, but also that very few people were travelling by it, and that he was therefore likely to be able to secure a compartment to himself; for he found himself in a most unaccountable state of excitement at the prospect of meeting his friends once more, and was also acutely conscious of a desire to be absolutely alone in order that he might be free to picture to himself the precise manner in which "she" would be likely to receive him. There was also another reason why the young man was anxious to be alone during his journey, which was that, mingling curiously with the feeling of exhilaration resulting from pleasurable anticipation, there was a certain vague uneasiness, traceable to the fact that no word, either by telegram or letter, had come to him from any member of the Montijo family since he had said au revoir to them on that platform nine days ago. He had not had much time to dwell upon this fact while the yacht was in dock; indeed, he had been so exceedingly busy, and so dog-tired at the end of each day's work, that it had scarcely obtruded itself upon his attention: but now he began to worry himself as to why it was that someone—by which he really meant Dona Isolda—had not been able to find time to drop him so much as two or three lines to say that they had arrived safely, and were hoping to see him soon. Of course, as he told himself, there was no very particular reason why anyone should have written so very vapid and commonplace a piece of intelligence as that they had arrived home safely, for it might be taken for granted that they had done so: the trains in Cuba travelled too slowly, and the traffic was too meagre, to admit of the possibility of an accident—and, moreover, there had been no news of any such thing; and, apart from an accident, there was absolutely no reason that Jack could think of why his friends should not reach their destination in safety. Yet this young man, usually so reasonable and level-headed, was now fast worrying himself into a fever because certain people had not done something which he constantly assured himself there was not the slightest need for them to have done. And when at length the train drew up at the platform of Pinar del Rio station, and he saw Senor Eugenio Calderon, Don Hermoso's manager, waiting thereon, his heart sank, a momentary feeling of sickness and giddiness seized him, and as he reeled out of the carriage on to the platform he muttered to himself: "I knew it; I was certain that something was wrong!" Then he pulled himself together and turned to greet Senor Calderon as unconcernedly as might be.

"Well, Senor Calderon, how are you, and how are all at the hacienda?" he exclaimed. "Don Hermoso received my note, I suppose, and—?"

"Let us walk to the end of the platform, Senor," replied Calderon, drawing him away out of earshot of the little crowd of alighting and embarking passengers. "I received your letter, Senor Singleton, and, in the absence of Don Hermoso, opened it, as I have opened all letters arriving for him since he left the hacienda. And when I had read it I came to the conclusion that it was my duty to meet you here upon your arrival; for, Senor, I can no longer hide from myself the fear that something untoward has befallen Don Hermoso and his family. I duly received the telegram which he dispatched to me from Havana, apprising me of his arrival there and his intention to return home that same day, and, as requested by the message, I dispatched the carriage here to meet the train by which he said he intended to travel; but on the following day the carriage returned to the house with the intelligence that neither Don Hermoso nor any of the family had arrived, either by the train indicated in the telegram, or by any subsequent train. From this I very naturally concluded that something had occurred to detain the party in Havana, and I looked, from day to day, for a letter or message of some kind explaining the delay; but nothing came, and when at length I received your letter, and gathered from it that you believed the family to be at home, I at once felt that something very wrong had happened, and came to the conclusion that the proper thing for me to do was to meet you here and inform you of all the circumstances."

"Of course," concurred Jack; "that certainly was the proper thing to do. But what can possibly have happened to them all? And why the dickens did you not write to me at once when the party failed to turn up?"

"I can see now that I ought to have done so," said Calderon. "But you see, Senor," he added in excuse; "I was constantly expecting to hear from Don Hermoso, explaining his absence and naming another day for his arrival; and in this condition of expectancy the days slipped away."

"Yes," assented Jack grimly; "I see. Well, it is useless to worry about that now; the question is: What has become of them all? People do not disappear in that mysterious fashion without a cause. It is certain that they did not remain in Havana, for I saw them off; and if they had gone back to the city they would have returned to the yacht, or communicated with me in some way. And it is equally certain that when they stepped aboard the train that morning, they fully intended to return to the house. Their disappearance, therefore, is involuntary on their part; I am confident of that. Now, what can be the explanation of this most singular occurrence? Can it be that—by the way, Senor Calderon, have you had any visitors to the house during the absence of Don Hermoso and his family?"

"Yes, Senor, unfortunately we have had visitors—on one occasion; and that visit may very possibly—now that you come to mention it—have had something to do with the disappearance of Senor Montijo and his family. It occurred some three weeks ago; and the visitors consisted of an officer of cavalry and a dozen troopers. He—the officer—enquired for Don Hermoso; and, when told that he was absent from home, demanded the keys of Don Hermoso's desk, which he compelled me to surrender. And when I had handed over the keys, the officer sat down at the desk and spent nearly three hours in going through the whole of Senor Montijo's private papers, some of which he took away with him."

"Did he make any remark, or say who he was?" demanded Jack.

"No, Senor; neither the one nor the other," answered Calderon.

"How long have you been in Don Hermoso's service?" demanded Jack.

"For eleven years and—let me consider—yes—for eleven years and nine months, Senor. And I owe to Don Hermoso everything that I have," answered Calderon.

"And I suppose you are fully in Don Hermoso's confidence?" asked Jack.

"I believe so, Senor," answered Calderon; "I doubt very much whether he has any secrets from me. I know, for instance," dropping his voice almost to a whisper, "that the yacht Thetis, which is understood to be your property, really belongs to him. I also know that she brought out from England a large consignment of arms, ammunition, and stores for the use of the insurgents, and that the consignment was landed in the Laguna de Cortes; and I am fully aware that Senor Montijo is actively sympathetic with the insurgents—as is every member of his family and household, down to the meanest stable boy or labourer in the fields."

"In that case," said Jack, "the probability is that the papers which the unknown cavalry officer took away with him were of a more or less compromising character, eh?"

"I very much fear so, Senor," answered Calderon. "Or, if not exactly compromising, at least of such a character as to prove that Don Hermoso was both sympathetic and in correspondence with the insurgent faction. Pardon me for saying so, Senor Singleton, but I quite easily perceive, by your manner, that you are not at all certain of my fidelity to Don Hermoso. I hope to convince you of that in due time, however; and meanwhile I honour you for your distrust, for it proves your friendly interest in my employer and his family. I shall remain here to manage the estate and guard my employer's interests as long as I am permitted to do so; and, if I mistake not, you will presently be leaving here to return to Havana, with the object of discovering what has happened to Don Hermoso and his family. My own opinion now is that they have all been arrested as conspirators, upon evidence supplied by those abstracted papers—and, if so, I say most fervently, God help them! for the Spaniards will show them no mercy. And, as to my fidelity, Senor, perhaps I can even now afford you some small proof of it by guiding your first footsteps in your search for the lost ones. When you return to Havana, call upon Don Ramon Bergera, whose house is in the Calle del Ignacio, immediately opposite the mansion of the Capitan-General. He is a great friend of Don Hermoso, and—although I believe quite unsuspected by the authorities—an ardent sympathiser with the insurgents; he is also preternaturally clever in obtaining information of all kinds, and solving mysteries. Introduce yourself to him; tell him all that you know of the matter, and all that I have told you; and be guided by him. And with his skill and your courage, Senor Singleton, I trust that all may even yet be well with my honoured friend and patron and his family. Now, here comes your train, Senor; so I will bid you good-bye, and wish you the best of good luck. Should it be necessary for you to communicate with me at any time, it will be advisable to do so by special messenger; for there is only too much reason to suspect that letters are often scrutinised during their passage through the post office. Now you will have to be quick if you wish to get your ticket; so adios, Senor! Hasta mas verle."

The sun's last rays were gilding the walls of the Morro and the Cabana castles when Jack stepped out of the train at Havana Central Station that evening; but the residence of Don Ramon Bergera was close at hand, and the young Englishman determined to call, there and then, in the hope of finding the Don at home. He was fortunately successful; and five minutes later he found himself in the presence of a fine, distinguished- looking man, with piercing black eyes that seemed to look one through and through. Jack was favourably impressed at once, for there was a look of strength, moral as well as physical, and of straightforwardness, about the man who faced him, that very powerfully appealed to the simple honesty of the Englishman, as also did the frank, open-hearted courtesy of his reception.

"Pray be seated, Senor Singleton," said Don Ramon, placing a chair for his visitor; "I am very glad to make your acquaintance. Allow me to offer you a cigar and a glass of sangaree; the latter will refresh you, for you look hot, tired, and dusty, as though you had just made a journey."

"I have," said Jack, gratefully accepting the proffered refreshment; and availing himself forthwith of the opening afforded by Don Ramon's remark, he proceeded to tell the whole story of the mysterious disappearance of the Montijo family, winding it up by mentioning that he had made this call at Calderon's suggestion.

"I am very glad indeed that you acted upon that suggestion," said Don Ramon. "Calderon is all right; he is absolutely faithful and trustworthy, and Don Hermoso's interests are perfectly safe in his hands. And now, let us consider the very serious question of this mysterious evanishment of my friend and his family. Did I understand you to say that you actually saw them leave Havana?"

"Yes," said Jack, "I went with them to the station, and chatted with them until the train pulled out."

"Then," said Don Ramon, "it is obvious that the disappearance occurred somewhere between Havana and Pinar del Rio—possibly at Santiago, or maybe at Bejucal. If I cannot hear anything of them elsewhere I will run down to both those places to-morrow and institute a few judicious enquiries. Meanwhile, I fear that Senor Calderon's apprehensions as to the arrest of the entire family are only too well-founded. The fact that a party of soldiers was sent to search Don Hermoso's house proves most conclusively that my friend had somehow contrived to arouse the suspicion of the authorities, which, after all, is not very surprising, knowing what I do as to Don Hermoso's connection with the insurgents; and the fact that certain papers were seized by the search party points to the inference that those papers contained incriminating evidence. And if they did I can only say that I am heartily sorry for the family, for since the recent risings the Government is adopting the most ruthless measures to discourage even passive sympathy with the insurgents; and we know—you and I—that Don Hermoso's sympathy was something very much more than passive. Now, there is another question which I should like to ask you. Do you happen to know whether by any chance Don Hermoso has been unfortunate enough to make any enemies among the Government entourage?—for I may tell you that the present moment is a particularly favourable one for the gratification of private enmity, if the enemy happens to be connected with the Government."

Jack considered for a moment. "No," he said slowly, "I am not aware of anything of—stop a moment, though! Yes, by Jove, there is something of that kind, after all! There is a certain Captain Alvaros, belonging to one of your infantry regiments, who had the confounded impudence to propose his marriage with Senorita Isolda, although the young lady is only about sixteen years of age, I believe; and Don Hermoso, very rightly, would not hear of it, refused the fellow point-blank, I understood, and forbade him the house."

"Phew!" whistled Don Ramon, with some show of consternation; "is that so? Caramba! I am sorry to hear that. What you have just said is amply sufficient to account for everything. I know a good deal about Don Sebastian Alvaros, enough to assure you, Senor Singleton, that he is, as you English say, 'a thorough bad egg'; and, worse than that, he is also a man of some standing and importance in official circles. Now that you come to mention it, I remember that he was stationed, with his company, at Pinar del Rio not so very long ago; but within the last two months he has been made governor of the prison of La Jacoba. Poor Don Hermoso; I am sorry for him! Of course, knowing Alvaros, as he must have done, to refuse him was the only thing possible; but it is a bitter misfortune for him and all his family that the fellow should ever have had an opportunity to see Dona Isolda. And, of course, he was also after Don Hermoso's money, knowing, as he doubtless did, that the son- in-law of Senor Montijo will be an exceedingly lucky man in every respect. Now, Senor Singleton, have you anything else to tell me? Because, if not, I will dispense with ceremony and bid you good evening. Under other circumstances it would have afforded me the greatest possible pleasure if you would have stayed to dine with me: but after what you have told me I shall dine at a restaurant not very far from here, which is largely patronised by officers and Government officials; possibly I may meet someone there from whom I may be fortunate enough to extract a little information. And I will not ask you to accompany me, because it is very desirable that you and I should not be seen together, and that it should not be known that we are acquainted. For which reason it will also be advisable that, in the event of our meeting each other in the street, we should behave as strangers, taking no notice of each other. But you will naturally be anxious to know how I am progressing with my enquiries; and it is also desirable that we should meet and confer together from time to time: therefore our meeting-place had better be here. But do not enter by the front door, as you did this evening, lest someone, knowing you by sight, and aware of your friendship for Don Hermoso—who, you must remember, is a suspected man— should see you, and the fact of our acquaintance thus become known. When you have occasion to call upon me—which I trust, Senor, will be very often—come to the little wicket in the back wall of my garden, by which I am about to let you out, and I will give my gardener instructions to admit you whenever you may present yourself; there will thus be much less chance of our acquaintance with each other becoming known."

So saying, Don Ramon conducted his visitor down a narrow corkscrew staircase into a large and most beautiful garden, where Jack and the gardener were duly confronted with each other, and certain instructions given to the latter; after which the gate in the wall was opened, and, with a prior precautionary peep, to ensure that no lurking watcher was in sight, the young Englishman was gently hustled into a narrow and very dark and dirty lane.

"Your way lies to the left," murmured Don Ramon, as he shook hands with Jack and bade him good night. "Walk in the middle of the road; and keep a wary eye on the courts and passages to right and left of you, as you pass them. These back streets are always dangerous, and especially so at night-time; therefore, if anyone should spring out at you, do not stop to parley, but hit out straight and hard. Good night!"

As it happened, Jack did not see a solitary human being until he presently emerged into one of the wider and more frequented streets; and twenty minutes later he was safely on board the Thetis again, to the great astonishment of Milsom, who had been pacing the deck in an endeavour to raise an appetite for dinner, and meanwhile picturing to himself the pleasant time that he supposed Jack to be having at the hacienda. He was, of course, profoundly concerned at the news which Jack had to tell him; and spent the remainder of the evening in alternately invoking sea blessings upon the head of Don Sebastian Alvaros, wondering what would happen to the Montijos should the apprehensions of their friends prove correct, and endeavouring to devise schemes for the discovery and liberation of the family.

The next morning saw Jack an early visitor at the office of the British Consul; and into the sympathetic ear of that most long-suffering official the young man poured all his woes, all his fears, all his indignation that such happenings could occur in a so-called Christian country. But the Consul could offer him very little comfort; for, as he pointed out to Jack, the affair was one concerning the Spanish Government alone, and with which he could not possibly interfere—at least officially; but he undertook to refer to the matter unofficially, at his next interview with the Capitan-General, and promised to furnish Jack with any information which he might then or upon any other occasion obtain. And with that somewhat meagre promise Master Jack was obliged to rest content. But the young man could not remain so for long; and on that and several succeeding days he wandered about the Havana streets and haunted the various cafes and restaurants in the hope of somewhere hearing a chance word which would throw a glimmer of light upon the mystery. And he also reconnoitred the jails, passing and repassing them a dozen times a day upon the off-chance that he might sooner or later catch a glimpse of one or another of his friends' faces peering out through one of the little grated openings in the walls. But all to no purpose; at the end of three weeks from the date of the disappearance the mystery remained as insoluble as ever. Nor had Don Ramon met with any better success. "I cannot understand it," exclaimed that gentleman irritably; "I have sought information in every conceivable direction, and have set all sorts of unseen forces in motion, with absolutely no result. Even the Capitan-General has drawn blank: he is ignorant—or pretends to be—of what has happened to our friends; and the most that I have been able to get out of him is the statement—which we may take for what it is worth—that he has issued no order for the arrest of any member of the Montijo family. I wish I could get hold of Alvaros, but I have not been able to run up against him; and nobody seems to know where he is, or anything about him."

It was three or four days later that Jack, by this time utterly weary and heartsick at his lack of success, entered a restaurant which was much frequented by the officers of the garrison, and, seating himself at a table, ordered second breakfast. There were not very many people in the place at the moment, but it soon began to fill up; and presently the young man's heart gave a great bound, and he felt the pulses of his temples throbbing furiously, as three officers, laughing and talking loudly, entered the place and began to look about them for a table. One of these men was Alvaros; hence Jack's emotion.

As the lad sat staring open-eyed at them, Alvaros glanced in his direction, and Jack saw the light of recognition leap into his eyes.

"See, my friends," exclaimed the Spaniard, "there is a vacant table, next to the one at which that young beast of an Englishman is sitting. Let us take it."

And therewith the trio stalked down the room, and, with a vast amount of clatter, seated themselves at the table next to the one occupied by Singleton.

"That beggar means mischief; I can see it in his eye!" thought Jack. "Well," continued he mentally, "let him do his worst; I mean mischief too, and we will see who is the better player at the game. But I must keep cool if I am to come out on top; and, who knows? the skunk may say something which will afford me a useful tip."

For a few minutes the three officers sat chatting together, and then Jack noticed that it was Alvaros and the youngest of the trio—an ensign, apparently—who did most of the talking; the third man, who was evidently a cavalryman, merely put in a word or two here and there, and seemed to be slightly disgusted at the boisterousness of his companions. Then Alvaros, who had feigned not to have recognised Jack, exclaimed:

"By the by, I must not forget to tell you a most interesting item of news. Do either of you fellows happen to know, or to have heard of, a certain Don Hermoso Montijo, who owns a large tobacco plantation in the direction of Pinar del Rio? But of course you have; everybody knows or has heard of Montijo, the richest man in Cuba—or who was until very recently; but I am afraid that his riches will never be of much use to him again. Why? Simply because the old scoundrel turns out to be hand in glove with the insurgents! He has been helping them most lavishly with money, and it is more than suspected that it is he who is responsible for the importations of arms and supplies of all sorts that have entered the island and reached the hands of the insurgents within the last six months. He even went to Europe, taking his cub of a son with him, for the purpose of procuring the most modern weapons. Every Spaniard, therefore, who falls during the operations for the suppression of the present rising will be indebted to Don Hermoso Montijo for his death. But the Government is going to give him ample time in which to repent of his sins, for he and his family sail for Fernando Po on Sunday next on board the convict steamer El Maranon, in the company of several other choice miserables. So we shall no longer be troubled with him or his. And as I was chiefly instrumental in laying bare his villainy, I shall, when his estates are confiscated, put in a claim for them as my reward.

"But it was not so much of him as of his daughter that I intended to tell you. Dona Isolda Montijo is universally admitted to be, beyond all question, the most lovely woman in Cuba; and for once the popular estimate is correct, as no man knows so well as I do." ("Steady, old man, steady!" said Jack to himself. "Hold tight, and clench your teeth! The blackguard is talking now with the express intention of provoking you into the commission of some overt act for which you would be sorry afterwards, and you must not allow yourself to be provoked. The infernal fool, in his anxiety to hurt you, has made you a present of what may prove to be a most valuable bit of information; but you must not allow yourself to be inveigled into a scrape of any sort, or you may not be allowed the opportunity to avail yourself of it. So keep a tight grip upon yourself, Jack Singleton, and bottle up your wrath for future use!") "When the Montijos were arrested, about a month ago," continued Don Sebastian, "I so arranged matters that they were confined in La Jacoba; and, of course, as Governor of the prison, I possessed considerable powers; thus it was not difficult—" And therewith the fellow proceeded with great gusto to tell the story of cruelty the like of which, it is to be hoped, for the credit of one's manhood, is not often repeated. And while it was telling, Jack "sat tight" and listened, storing up every vile word and every monstrous detail in his mind that he might have something to whet his vengeance upon when the time for vengeance should come. But his agitation was so evident, his distress so poignant, that Alvaros thought it would be very good fun to direct public attention to it; so, feigning to become suddenly aware of it, he swung his chair round, and exclaimed loud enough for everybody in the room to hear:

"Hillo, Senor Englishman, what is the matter with you? You appear to be upset about something. Perhaps my little story jars upon your puritanical English notions? Or perhaps it is—yes, of course you are upset about the news that you have just heard of your friends, for, now that I come to look at you, I see that you are the Englishman whom I met at Don Hermoso's house, and whom I warned to leave this island. How is it that you have not yet gone?"

"Because it pleased me to stay," answered Jack. "But I shall be leaving either to-morrow or the next day—for a short time. Now, Don Sebastian Alvaros, disgrace to the uniform that you wear, unmitigated blackguard and scoundrel, mean, contemptible coward, and, as I believe, colossal liar, listen to me! As I told you a moment ago, I am leaving Cuba within the next day or two. But I shall return, Senor; and if it should ever prove that the infamous story which you have just told is even approximately true, I will not kill you, but I will inflict upon you such a fearful punishment for your vile deed that all Cuba shall ring with it, and it shall be a warning to every man who hears the tale to beware of doing the like!"

"Bueno, bueno; well spoken, young Englishman!" cried one or two voices from amid the crowd; and several people, anticipating a fracas, started to their feet, as did Alvaros, whose features were now livid and twitching with mingled fury and fear.

"Pig of an Englishman," he exclaimed, clapping his hand on his sword hilt, "you shall die for this!" And he attempted to snatch his weapon from its sheath. But the cavalryman who had entered the place with him, and had listened in silence and with a lowering brow to his shameful story, now sprang out of his seat, and, seizing Alvaros by his shoulders, thrust him violently back into his chair, hissing between his clenched teeth:

"Silence, cochinillo! Sit down, and do not dare to further disgrace your sword by drawing it on an unarmed man! I will manage this affair. Senor," turning to Jack, "you have publicly insulted an officer of the Spanish Army, and, great as has been your provocation, you must give the man satisfaction. You are an Englishman, it would appear, and it is therefore quite possible that you may have no friends here to see you through your quarrel. Should such be the case, I shall esteem myself honoured if you will permit me to place my services at your disposal. I have the pleasure to offer you my card, Senor." So saying, he produced a card-case, and, extracting a card therefrom, tendered it to Jack. Meanwhile, during the progress of the above little speech, Jack had been thinking hard. He was in for a row, after all, despite his good resolutions of a short time before; and he must carry the matter through as best he could. But since this strange soldier was willing to stand by him and see fair play, there was certainly no need for him to further complicate matters by calling upon Don Ramon or any of the other people whose acquaintance he had made during his short stay in the island—and all of whom were, moreover, friends of Don Hermoso; while, of course, the British Consul was quite impossible. He therefore accepted the proffered card, which bore the inscription:

"Lorenzo de Albareda, Colonel."

"5th (Madrid) Cuirassiers."

and handed over one of his own in return.

"I accept your generous offer, Colonel, with the utmost pleasure," he said, "and will leave myself entirely in your hands. I am at present living on board my yacht Thetis, which lies in the harbour, and I will arrange that my steamboat shall be in waiting for you at the custom- house steps to convey you on board, where you will find me when you shall have completed your arrangements. And now, Senor, I must leave you. Adios, until we meet again!"

And therewith, bowing first to his new friend, the Colonel, and then to the company at large, many of whom clapped their hands approvingly, Jack passed out of the restaurant, and made his way to Don Ramon Bergera's house, to tell him what he had learned.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

JACK GROWS DESPERATE.

By a lucky chance it happened that Don Ramon was at home when Jack reached the house, and the young man was accordingly conducted to the room in which his Spanish friend usually transacted his business.

At sight of his visitor Don Ramon flung down his pen and grasped Jack by the hand.

"Well," he exclaimed, "what is it? You have picked up some news at last, I can see; and it is bad news, I fear, by the look of you. Or is it that you are ill? Por Dios, man, you look as though you might be dying! Here, sit down, and let me ring for some cognac."

"No, no," said Jack, "I need no cognac, or anything else, thanks; but I have just gained some news of our poor friends, and bad news it is, as you shall hear." And thereupon he related all that had passed at the restaurant, repeating Alvaros' words as nearly verbatim as he could remember them.

"Oh, the despicable villain, the atrocious scoundrel!" exclaimed Don Ramon, when Singleton had come to the end of his narrative. "But do you really believe that the part of his story relating to the Senorita Isolda is true? May it not be that it is merely the empty boast of an inordinately vain man? There are individuals, you know, who pride themselves on that sort of thing."

"So I believe," answered Jack, "though, thank God, it has never been my misfortune to be brought into contact with any of them until now. No; I am afraid that the story is only too true. The scoundrel, being Governor of the prison, would have the power to—to—do what he says he did, and the mere fact that he boasted of it seems pretty strong evidence that he also had the will. I am therefore afraid that—that— oh, hang it! this won't do; I must pull myself together or I shall be fit for nothing."

"That is very true," acquiesced Don Ramon; "when a man is going out to fight another he must not allow his nerves to be upset by giving way to violent emotion. Now, have you decided upon what weapons you will fight with? Being the challenged party, you know, you have the choice of weapons."

"Have I?" said Jack wearily. "Why, yes, of course, I suppose I have. But I have not given a ghost of a thought to the question of weapons. One thing is certain: I don't wish to kill Alvaros, for, of course, Carlos will want to have a turn with him as soon as he can get the chance, and he would, quite rightly, be furious with me if I were to balk him. But neither do I wish him to kill me, for that would entirely upset all my plans. What I should like to do would be to give him a tremendous punishing without endangering his life. I suppose it would not be good form to choose fists as the weapons, would it?"

Don Ramon laughed. "I scarcely know whether or not it would be 'good form' to insist on fighting with your bare fists," he said, "but I know that it would be most unusual. Still, I am not sure that its singularity would constitute an insuperable bar to its acceptance by the seconds. At any rate there will be no harm in offering the suggestion to de Albareda; he is a thorough good fellow all through, and you may safely leave yourself in his hands. But, if you will pardon me for saying so, my young friend, it appears to me that you are acting somewhat quixotically in sparing this blackguard in order that your friend Carlos may be able to take a hand in his punishment. If the quarrel were mine, I should choose pistols, and shoot the fellow dead, thus making sure of him. Besides, do you suppose that poor Carlos will ever have a chance to get away from Fernando Po, when once they have got him there?"

"He never will get there; neither he nor any of the rest of the family," said Jack, his eye brightening as the thought of his great adventure came into his mind. "I have already decided what to do, so far as they are concerned. I shall follow that convict ship, and take the Montijos out of her."

"But, my dear boy," remonstrated Bergera, "you cannot possibly do that, you know. It would be an act of piracy on the high seas!"

"I don't care the value of a brass button what it is," declared Jack, "I am going to do it; and I will take my chance of being hanged for it afterwards. But it will not be piracy, for I shall do the trick under the Cuban flag—the flag of Cuba Libre, and I shall therefore be a belligerent, not a pirate. And, as to shooting Alvaros dead—I certainly will not do that if I can possibly help it, for such a punishment as that would be altogether too light for the atrocious crime of which he has been guilty, upon his own confession."

"Very well," said Don Ramon; "you must do as you please, both in that and the other matter, for I see that you have already made up your mind in both cases. I am glad that you came straight to me with your news, although it is of such a dreadful character: for, now that we have Alvaros' statements that our poor, unhappy friends are in La Jacoba, and that they are to leave for Fernando Po on Sunday, I shall know how and where to prosecute my enquiries; and it is very essential that we should assure ourselves of the truth of both statements, otherwise your attempt at rescue may miss fire, after all. Now, I suppose you will fight that villain to-morrow morning at daybreak. If so, do me the favour of coming here to early breakfast with me at eight o'clock; you can then tell me what has happened, and I, for my part, shall by that time be in a position to tell you definitely how much of Alvaros' story is true."

"Certainly," answered Jack; "I will come with pleasure. And meanwhile I suppose I ought to be getting back to the yacht, to be ready to receive de Albareda. So, good-bye! See you to-morrow."

It was nearly three o'clock when Singleton reached the Thetis; but in answer to his enquiries he was informed that no stranger had visited the ship. He therefore spent the entire afternoon in posting Milsom on the position of affairs generally, and discussing with him Jack's plan for the rescue of the Montijos from the convict steamer; which plan, by the way, Milsom pronounced to be quite feasible, stating that, like Jack, he was fully prepared to go through with it, piracy or not. And therewith he began to congratulate himself upon his foresight in employing his spare time in the preparation of his wonderful disguise for the yacht, an opportunity to use which he had been awaiting with steadily-growing impatience.

It was past five o'clock when the steam pinnace appeared approaching the yacht, with de Albareda in the stern-sheets; and that officer explained his delay by stating that he had been obliged to go on duty during the afternoon, and had only just escaped therefrom. He plunged at once into the business on hand by reminding Jack that the choice of weapons was his, and asking him whether he had yet decided what he would use. He was at first inclined to be somewhat annoyed when Jack explained with earnestness that he would prefer to fight with fists only, for he was a man who had a profound respect for the duello, which he considered ought to be conducted with all due formality and dignity; but finally burst into a fit of hearty laughter at the absurdity—as he regarded it—of two men attempting to settle a serious quarrel by pommelling each other like a brace of schoolboys. He admitted that, if Jack chose to insist upon fists as weapons, he would be strictly within his rights, but dwelt, as Don Ramon also had done, upon the unusual character of such a demand, and strongly hinted at his own partiality for pistols; whereupon Jack gracefully conceded the point and agreed that pistols it should be. The remaining details were speedily settled, the hour arranged being sunrise on the following morning, and the place the Botanical Gardens. Then de Albareda went ashore again to interview Alvaros' second and apprise him of the nature of the arrangements, promising to return to the yacht in time for dinner, and spend the night on board. And a very pleasant, genial fellow he proved to be; and a very agreeable evening Jack, Milsom, and he spent together.

There are many more cheerful places in the world than the Havana Botanical Gardens just at sunrise, for at that hour the mists lie chill and heavy upon the ground, the grass is saturated with dew, and the numerous trees not only freely bespatter everything beneath their widespreading branches with copious showers of dewdrops, as the wind sweeps through them, but many of them have a trick of assuming a singularly weird and uncanny appearance in the first faint light of the early dawn; yet Jack felt quite happy, not to say exhilarated, as he and his friend the Colonel of Cuirassiers stepped briskly along the dew- sodden gravel paths on their way to the rendezvous, which was an open, grassy space in the south-west corner of the Gardens. Albareda had been assiduously coaching his principal, ever since leaving the yacht, in the etiquette of the duello as observed by the Spanish army, until he considered that he had made his companion letter-perfect; and now he was giving Jack a few last words of caution and admonition before standing him up to be shot at.

"There is no doubt in my mind," said he, "that Alvaros intends to kill you, if he can; for what you said to him yesterday has evidently sunk into his mind and made him afraid of you. Therefore you must be careful to fire sharp upon the word, or he will have you, for—to give the fellow his due—he is rather a neat and quick hand with the pistol. The word will be given thus: 'One—two—three!' and at the word 'three' you must pull trigger. And I should recommend you to look him straight between the eyes from the moment that you are posted, otherwise he may attempt to play some trick with you, such as firing a fraction of a second before the proper time, or something of that sort. Ah, here we are, first on the ground, thank goodness, with a full two minutes to spare! Only just managed it, however, for"—looking back along the path by which they had come—"here come the other fellows, and the surgeon with them. How are you feeling? Quite cool and comfortable? Good; that is excellent!"

The conditions were simple: the duellists were to exchange not more than three shots, at a distance of twelve paces, and were to fire at the word of command; and at the last moment it was agreed, at Albareda's suggestion, that if either of the combatants fired before the word of command, he was to be penalised by his antagonist being given the privilege of an extra shot at him. It was evident to all that this condition was exceedingly distasteful to Alvaros; yet he could not complain, or refuse its acceptance, since it imposed no hardship whatever upon the man who intended to fight fair. These matters being arranged, the ground was selected, the utmost care being taken that neither combatant had the slightest advantage over the other in the matter of light; the distance was paced off, and the men placed.

"Now," said Albareda, who was to give the word, "I shall count three steadily, thus: 'One—two—three!' and at the word 'three'—but not before, remember—you may pull trigger. Now, are you both quite ready? Then—one—two—three!"

Jack most carefully observed every one of the instructions given him by his second, including that which referred to looking his antagonist steadily between the eyes, and he quickly saw that this simple proceeding had a most disconcerting effect upon Alvaros, whose return gaze at once became shifty and uncertain; the result being that the Spaniard's bullet flew wide, while Jack's, aimed by a hand as steady as a rock, struck Alvaros' right elbow, completely shattering the bone and inflicting an injury that the surgeon, at a first glance, thought would probably stiffen the arm for the remainder of its owner's life, to the extent of very seriously disabling him. Under these circumstances Alvaros' second expressed himself satisfied, and declined any further shots; whereupon Jack and his friend left the ground and went their respective ways, Jack back to the yacht, and the Colonel of Cuirassiers to his quarters.

By the time that Jack got back on board the Thetis it was nearly seven o'clock, and the crew were busily engaged in performing the ship's toilet for the day, spreading the awnings, and so on; he therefore retired to the interior of the deck-house with Milsom, and arranged with that individual that he should spend the day in filling the bunkers "chock-a-block" with coal, taking in fresh water, laying in a supply of fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit for sea, and generally preparing to go out of harbour on the following day. Then, a thought suddenly striking him, he wired to Calderon, directing him to pack and dispatch forthwith to the yacht all the wearing apparel of every description that he could find, belonging to any of the members of the Montijo family; the boxes to arrive at Havana next day, without fail, not later than by the mid- day train. This done, he hurried away to keep his breakfast appointment with Don Ramon Bergera, whom he found awaiting him in a somewhat anxious frame of mind lest anything untoward should have resulted from the duel. Reassured on this point, Don Ramon chatted with Jack upon indifferent subjects until breakfast was served and the servants had been dismissed, when he said:

"You are no doubt anxious to learn the result of the enquiries into the truth of Alvaros' story which I undertook to make, yesterday afternoon. Well, I can tell you this: I have ascertained, beyond all possibility of doubt, that the Montijos are, as that scoundrel stated, in La Jacoba; and also that they are all to be shipped off to Fernando Po by the steamer El Maranon, which steamer is appointed to leave the harbour on Sunday next. But by whose authority they are being thus summarily dealt with, I cannot understand, or ascertain; the only thing which is quite certain being that they have not been tried or convicted publicly. That, however, is nothing, for it is common knowledge that scores— indeed, I may say hundreds—of people who have been suspected of disloyalty to the Government have mysteriously vanished, from time to time, and have never again been heard of. In the light of what we now know, however, there is little doubt in my mind that they have all been sent either to Ceuta or to Fernando Po. Poor Cuba! She is indeed a downtrodden country, and it is little wonder that her people are at last rising up in arms against the atrocious system of tyranny and misgovernment under which they are groaning. The Capitan-General is a good man, and means well, I believe: but he is weak, and is moreover hampered and embarrassed to the point of helplessness by the multiplicity of impossible instructions which he receives from home; and, furthermore, he is in the hands of a number of unscrupulous, overbearing subordinates who have arrogated to themselves almost autocratic powers, and who act upon their own responsibility, without consulting him. I believe this is what has occurred in the case of the Montijos: this fellow Alvaros has somehow managed to work himself into a position of very considerable power, and I have little doubt that he, and he only, is responsible for the whole shameful business, which, in my opinion, has been neither more nor less than a determined but unsuccessful attempt to force the unhappy Senorita Isolda into a marriage with him!"

"Well," said Jack grimly, "he is going to repent of that business in sackcloth and ashes before he dies; he has received his first instalment of punishment this morning, and there is more in store for him!"

"By the way," said Don Ramon, "what do you propose to do with the Montijos when you have rescued them, in the event of this mad scheme of yours proving successful?"

"Oh," said Jack, "I haven't thought of that, thus far! Of course it will be for Don Hermoso to decide where he will go and what he will do when we have got him and his safely out of the convict ship. I imagine that he will be anxious to return to his own place and take care of his property, if he can. But, if not, he can always find safety in Jamaica."

"Y-es," assented Don Ramon doubtfully; "that is of course all right, so far as it goes. But the chances are that Alvaros' next move will be to procure the confiscation of Don Hermoso's property, and secure its possession to himself. Now, just let us consider that point for a moment. Should that happen, what will poor Don Hermoso do?"

"I know what I should do in such a case," said Jack. "I should return to my property, and if Alvaros happened to be in possession of it—well, it would be so much the worse for Alvaros, that's all! I tell you, Don Ramon, that in the struggle which is just now beginning in this island, it is the bold, strong men who are going to 'come out on top', as the Yankees say; and in the course of the next month or two the Spanish Government will have its hands so full that it will have no time to deal with individuals."

"Yes," said Don Ramon with decision, "I believe you are quite right there, my young friend, and probably the most daring policy will be the safest for all Cubans to pursue. Yes, there are possibilities in that idea of yours, I believe; but I must think it over at greater leisure than I have to spare for it just now. Meanwhile, it will manifestly be very advantageous for Don Hermoso to know precisely how affairs stand, and what are the latest developments, before he attempts to return to his home. I will therefore— By the way, how long do you anticipate that it will take you to effect the rescue?"

"Quite impossible to say," answered Jack. "The Maranon will no doubt keep the Cuban coast close aboard until she gets as far east as, say, Cavana Point, and then steer about midway between Great Inagua and Hayti, keeping to the southward of all the banks, and so passing into the open Atlantic, probably 'taking her departure', in the navigator's sense of the term, from Cape Viejo Francais, on the northern coast of Hayti, and striking thence, as straight across as she can go, to Fernando Po. It is my intention to go to sea to-morrow, or next day, perhaps, and lie in wait for her; after which I shall follow her at a sufficient distance to avoid arousing the suspicions of the captain, and pounce upon her at the first favourable opportunity that presents itself. But probably, if all goes well with us, they will be free again in a fortnight from to-day."

"Upon my word," said Don Ramon, laughing, "it is positively exhilarating to hear the confident tone in which you talk; you are actually inveigling me into the indulgence of some sort of ridiculous hope that your enterprise will be successful! Now, let us talk for a moment or two as though that hope were going to be realised. When you have accomplished the rescue of our friends, you had better put into some Cuban port where your yacht is not known, and communicate with me by telegraph. Now, what would be the best place for you to call at?"

"Really," said Jack, "I don't think it matters very much; the Thetis has been into practically every port in Cuba, but that is no reason why she should not enter any of them again. For you must remember that it will be some time before the escape of the Montijo family is known; probably not until the Maranon has travelled all the way to Fernando Po and back—if she is indeed to return to Havana, which, by the way, is by no means certain. How would Guantanamo do?"

"Guantanamo would do very well indeed," answered Don Ramon. "Yes; Guantanamo let it be. Now, the next matter to be considered is the question of a cipher in which to communicate, for of course it goes without saying that a cipher of some sort must be used; it would never do for such treasonable correspondence as we have in our minds to be carried on in plain language, capable of being understood by every telegraph clerk or letter-sorter through whose hands it may chance to pass. You don't happen to be acquainted with any first-class cipher, I suppose?"

"Yes, I do, if I can but recall it to mind," said Jack. "I met with it in a book some time ago, and it struck me as being especially good from the fact that it consisted entirely of figures, and that it was not necessary to use precisely the same figures every time to represent any particular letter; hence it seems impossible for anyone to decipher it without the key. Now, let me consider: how did it go? Something like this, I think. Can you let me have a pencil and a sheet of paper?"

Don Ramon produced the articles required, and Singleton set to work with them. Presently he glanced up with an exclamation of satisfaction. "Yes," he said, "that is right; I thought I had not forgotten it. This is how it goes:" and he proceeded to explain the system to Don Ramon.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the latter; "nothing could be better, for it is absolutely safe. Very well, Senor, we will use this cipher, then, in communicating with each other; and you will wire to me upon your arrival at Guantanamo. Meanwhile, I will make it my business to watch the course of events here, and be prepared to furnish you with all the news as soon as I hear of your return. Now, is there anything else remaining to be arranged?"

They both considered for several minutes, and at length came to the conclusion that there was not. Whereupon, breakfast having been by this time dispatched, Jack rose and took his leave, laden down with kind and encouraging messages for the Montijos, to be delivered when the rescue of the family should have been accomplished.

From Don Ramon's house Jack made his way to the British Consulate, where he bade farewell to the Consul, explaining to that gentleman that he was tired of shore life, and intended to go to sea for a change; and that, further, he did not in the least know whether he should return, or whether he should decide to go home.

"If you will take my advice, young gentleman," said the Consul, "you will go home—and stay there; or, at least, you will stay away from Cuba until all these troubles are over."

Jack promised that he would give that advice his most careful consideration; after which he bade his fellow-countryman adieu, and made his way aboard the yacht, where Milsom was found busily arranging to take the Thetis alongside a coal hulk as soon as the water lighter had cast off. The remainder of that day was a busy time for both men, for Milsom still had his clearance to effect, and all the stores to receive; while Jack spent the afternoon at the railway station awaiting the arrival of the baggage, the due dispatch of which Calderon had notified to him by telegraph. It arrived late in the afternoon, and was taken straight aboard the yacht, where it was placed at haphazard in the cabins lately occupied by the various members of the Montijo family. Then, when at length the bustle of preparation was ended, and the yacht was in condition to leave at a moment's notice, Jack and Milsom adjourned to the chart-house to discuss those matters which were to ensue upon the departure of the Thetis from Havana harbour.