The Cruise of the Thetis: A Tale of the Cuban Insurrection

by Harry Collingwood

  CHAPTER TEN.

  THE ACT OF "CERTAIN VERY CLEVER CONSPIRATORS."

  When, on the following morning, the saloon party on board the _Thetis_mustered for breakfast beneath the awning which sheltered the top of thedeck-house from the too-ardent rays of the sun, they found that theiralfresco breakfast-room commanded an uninterrupted and most charmingview of the whole of Havana harbour, with the picturesque old townstretching along the waterside on their port hand. It was at thatmoment a dead calm, for the sea breeze had not yet set in, and themirrorlike surface of the water reflected a perfect picture of thevarious craft dotted about the harbour, and of the buildings ashore,already blazing in the dazzling light of the unclouded sun. Thebusiness of the day had hardly begun; the ferryboats to Regla wereloaded with passengers; boats conveying meat, vegetables, fruit, andfish to the shipping were lazily rippling through the scum that coatedthe surface of the water; belated fishermen were sweeping their crazy-looking craft out to sea; and a thin column of brown smoke was risingvertically into the motionless air from the funnel of torpedo boatNumber 19, which was evidently getting up steam in good time to go insearch of the _James B. Potter_. But for the awning over their headsthe party would also have seen that a thin, feathery film of smoke wascurling upward from the cream-coloured funnel of their own craft; foralthough it had been decided not to go to sea until the afternoon, Jackhad given instructions to have steam for ten o'clock, so as to beprepared for any emergency.

  The party dawdled over breakfast, the ladies in particular finding somuch pleasure in their unwonted surroundings that they could scarcelyfind time to eat because of the many novel incidents that werecontinually demanding their attention. Moreover, they were in theenviable condition of people who were in no hurry: their preparationswere all complete; nothing remained to be done or to worry about; theywere embarked upon a pleasure excursion, and part of the pleasure was tosit still and gaze upon the increasing animation of the charming picturethat unfolded itself around them. When they were tired of gazing, aword was all that would be necessary to provide them with a change ofscene; and meanwhile Jack was entertaining them all with a humorousaccount of the adventures of himself and Milsom during the small hoursof the morning. Milsom, having already broken his fast, had taken thesteam pinnace and gone ashore to the custom-house (which had once been achurch) in order to procure his clearance papers. By the time that hehad finished his business and come off again, breakfast was over, thestewards were clearing away the table and its equipage, and themovements of the torpedo boat's crew were becoming interesting. A densecloud of black smoke was by this time pouring from the craft's funneland driving over the town with the rapidly increasing sea breeze, andpresently a small flicker of steam appeared at the top of her wastepipe, and a minute or two later it was seen that the craft was gettingher anchor.

  "Ah," remarked Jack to Senorita Isolda, "the fun is just about tobegin!"

  And so it was. The anchor, thickly coated with foul, evil-smelling,black mud, rose slowly out of the water; and as the cleansing hose wasturned upon it the officer on the bridge was seen to lay his hand uponthe engine-room telegraph and push the handle a little way forward.

  Don Hermoso, who, despite all Jack's assurances, felt terribly anxiouslest, after all, something should at the last moment go wrong, lookedfearfully at the little craft's stern, expecting every instant to seethe foaming whirl of water there which would proclaim that the boat'spropeller was working; but, save for a very slight momentary disturbanceof the scummy surface, there was no result, and presently a very excitedindividual was seen to emerge from the boat's engine-room hatch and rushup on to the bridge, where he instantly plunged into a violentlygesticulatory conversation with the other occupant of the structure.Then the pair left the bridge, hurried aft, and disappeared below.Meanwhile the boat was adrift, and presently, under the influence of thefast-freshening breeze, she drove athwart-hawse of a slashing Americanschooner, the stout bowsprit of which neatly brought the boat's funneldown on deck, to the accompaniment of a storm of abuse and imprecationsfrom the American skipper and mate. Then, swinging round and gatheringsternway, the boat drifted clear, losing her mast also in the process,after which, somebody on board having recovered his presence of mind,her anchor was let go again, and she swung to the wind.

  That this interesting little incident had not passed unnoticed waspresently made manifest by the excited flourishings and gesticulationsof the semaphore upon the bridge of the cruiser, to which the torpedoboat's semaphore duly made reply. Then a boat was lowered from thelatter craft, and two officers--presumably her commander and her chiefengineer--jumped into her stern-sheets and were pulled toward thecruiser. Some ten minutes later the same boat pushed off again andreturned to her parent craft, while the semaphore on board the cruiseronce more awakened into frenzied activity, its message being this timeaddressed to the gunboat, as could be deduced from the answeringnourishes of that vessel's instrument. The conversation lasted forquite a considerable time; and long ere it was at an end dense clouds ofblack smoke were pouring out of the funnel of Jack's old friend, the_Tiburon_.

  Now, although all these happenings were being watched with the mostabsorbing interest from the top of the _Thetis's_ deck-house, it mustnot be supposed that the watching was conducted in an obtrusive orostentatious manner; very far from it. The occupants of that "coign ofvantage", to whom Milsom was now added, were, so far as the ordinaryobserver was concerned, lounging indolently in their several basketchairs, reading, smoking, and chatting together, and apparently givingnot a thought to anything that was happening outside the bulwarks oftheir own ship, save when, now and then, one of them would lift a pairof binoculars and bring them to bear upon some object ashore, ultimatelysweeping the entire horizon with them, and pausing for a moment to watchthis or that before laying them down again. Nobody, even if watchingthe party continuously, would, from their actions, have suspected themof taking the smallest interest in the doings of the Spanish Governmentvessels.

  Yet there was not a movement on board either the cruiser or thegunboat--the torpedo boat was _hors de combat_ and of no furtherinterest to them--that was not being intensely watched by Milsom andJack; and presently the latter turned to Carlos and enquired:

  "Got a pencil and paper about you, old chap?"

  "Yes," answered Carlos; "I have my pocket-book. Why?"

  "Then just stand by to jot down such letters as I may call out to you.That gunboat's semaphore is at work again, and I feel curious to knowwhat it is that she wants to say. Ah! just so; it is the cruiser shewants to talk to. Now, stand by."

  The cruiser having acknowledged the "call", the _Tiburon's_ semaphorebegan spelling out a message, each letter of which Jack read off andcalled out as it was signalled. When the message came to an end Carlosread it out and translated it into English. It ran as follows:--

  "Fear there is something wrong with my engines also. Have tried to turnthem by hand, aided by forty-five pounds of steam, and cannot move themmore than an inch or so either way."

  The cruiser had no reply to make to this disquieting piece ofinformation; but a minute or two later four sailors ran out upon herboat boom and climbed down the Jacob's ladder hanging therefrom into oneof the boats, which they cast off and paddled to the gangway ladder,where two officers were by this time waiting. These two individuals atonce stepped into the boat, which thereupon was shoved off and pulledalongside the gunboat.

  "A lieutenant and one of the engineers from the cruiser gone aboard toinvestigate," commented Milsom. "Now, keep your eye on the gunboat'ssemaphore, Jack; we shall probably get a little further interestinginformation presently."

  They did not, however, for the gunboat's semaphore remained dumb. Butthe two visitors from the cruiser presently re-appeared, tumbled downover the side into their boat, and were rapidly rowed back to their ownship. Ten minutes later a stream of smoke began to issue first from oneand then from the other funnel of the cruiser. It was evident that theyhad starte
d to get steam on board her in a hurry. And indeed the timehad arrived for hurry; for it was now five bells in the forenoon watch,and the _James B. Potter_ was timed to arrive in Mulata Bay at eightbells--an hour and a half thence! She was probably off the harbour'smouth at that moment--or, if not off the harbour's mouth, at least insight. The Morro Castle, with its signal staff, was not visible fromthe spot where the _Thetis_ lay moored, being shut off from view by theeastern portion of the Old Town, but it could probably be seen from thecruiser, which was lying considerably farther down the harbour andfarther over on the Regla side of it; and while the men folk on the topof the yacht's deck-house were still discussing the matter, Milsom'squick eye caught the cruiser's answering pennant being hoisted inacknowledgment of a signal made to her from some unseen spot.

  "Aha!" he exclaimed; "do you see that? I wouldn't mind betting my nextallowance of grog that that is the acknowledgment of a signal from theMorro that the _Potter_ is in sight! How can we find out, I wonder,without doing anything to arouse the suspicions of the Spanish Johnnies,that we are interested in the matter? If it were not for the suspicionthat it would arouse, the simplest way, of course, would be to take thesteamboat and run down as far as the harbour's mouth, when we could seefor ourselves whether there is a steamer in sight. But it would neverdo; it would be rather too palpable."

  "Cannot you tell by reading the cruiser's signals?" demanded DonHermoso. "See, there are several flags being hoisted on board her now?What do they mean?"

  "Quite impossible to tell, my dear sir, without possessing a copy of theSpanish Naval signal-book," answered Milsom. "Each navy has its ownprivate code of signals, which no man can read unless he has access tothe official signal-book. No; that is no good. Is there no spot ashorefrom which one can get a good view of the offing?"

  "Nothing nearer, I am afraid, than Punta Brava; and that is quite twomiles from the landing-place by the shortest possible cut," answered DonHermoso. "One could not walk there and back in much less than an hourand a half, in this heat; and to drive there would, I am afraid, bealmost as imprudent as running down to the harbour's mouth in the steampinnace."

  "Quite," answered Milsom. "But"--as he leaned out over the rail andglanced up at the yacht's funnel, which he could thus just see clear ofthe awning--"we might slip our moorings and go out in the yacht, if youlike, Senor. I see that we have steam enough to move; and we are freeto go to sea at any moment, now, you know."

  "So I understand," answered Don Hermoso. "Yet I think we had betterremain where we are a little longer; for I am anxious to assure myself,before starting on our trip, that the _Potter_ has succeeded in landingher cargo and getting away safely. And if we were to go to sea just nowwe should be obliged to proceed on our voyage, I think; we could advanceno good reason for hanging about outside and watching the movements ofstrange craft."

  "No, no, of course not; I quite see your point," agreed Milsom. "Itwould undoubtedly be better to remain where we are for an hour or twolonger, and see how the affair eventually develops. But I wouldn't mindbetting that that signal had some reference to the American boat, forsee how furiously they are firing up aboard the cruiser."

  They were indeed firing up "furiously", as Milsom had said; for denseclouds of black smoke were now continuously pouring and billowing out ofboth funnels of the cruiser, to the outspoken scorn and derision ofMacintyre, who had his own ideas upon the subject of "firing", histheory being that to make steam quickly, and keep it when made, oneshould "fire" lightly and continuously.

  Meanwhile the preparations for going to sea were progressing apaceaboard the cruiser, the boats being all hoisted in except one, which,with a couple of hands in her, was hanging on to the buoy to which thecruiser was moored, in readiness to unshackle the cable from the mooringring so soon as the vessel had steam enough to enable her to move. Thebells of the shipping in the harbour were chiming eight--which in thiscase meant noon--when the first white feather of steam began to playabout the tops of the cruiser's steam pipes; and at the sight thewatchers on board the yacht stirred in their chairs and assumed a morealert attitude, for further developments might now be looked for.

  They came--within the next five minutes--the first of them being thesudden lowering of the captain's gig aboard the cruiser, the hurrieddescent of her crew into her by way of the davit tackles, and thehauling of her alongside the hastily lowered gangway. A moment later anofficer stepped into the stern-sheets; and, with the naval ensign ofSpain snapping in the breeze at her stern, and her boat pennant trailingfrom the staff in her bows, she shoved off and dashed away toward thelanding steps, with her eight oarsmen bending their backs and makingtheir good ash blades spring almost to breaking-point, as though theirvery lives depended upon their speed. She swept past the _Thetis_within a biscuit's toss, and the party on the top of that vessel's deck-house were not only able to distinguish, by the gold braid on his coatcuffs, that the solitary occupant of the stern-sheets held the rank ofcaptain, but also that the poor man looked worried and scared almost outof his senses. Just before coming abreast of the yacht, which of coursehad her club ensign and burgee flying, the boat swerved slightly fromher course, and for a moment it looked almost as though she intended torun alongside; but the next moment she straightened up again and went onher way toward the landing steps, the "brass bounder" in her stern justtouching the peak of his uniform cap with his finger tips inacknowledgment of Jack's and Milsom's courtesy salute. Two minuteslater her crew tossed oars and she swept up alongside the landing stepsand hooked on; the skipper next moment springing up the steps anddisappearing in the crowd of idlers who had gathered at the head of thesteps.

  Two bells came, and with it the stewards to lay the table for secondbreakfast, or luncheon, on the yacht's deck-house; and as three bellsstruck, the little party drew in round the "hospitable board" and satdown to their mid-day meal. They had just about finished when Milsom,who was sitting facing the town and wharf, put down his glass somewhatemphatically on the table, and, rising to his feet, exclaimed: "Now,what does this mean?"

  "What does what mean?" demanded Jack, also rising to his feet and facingin the direction toward which the skipper was looking. "Phew!" hewhistled; "the plot thickens! Surely it is not possible that we wereseen last night, Phil, eh?"

  "I could have sworn that we were not," answered Milsom. "Yet, if wewere not, I repeat: What does this mean?"

  He might well ask. For there, halfway between the wharf and the yacht,was the cruiser's boat, with the captain and an elderly gentleman inplain clothes in the stern-sheets; and it was unquestionable that theywere making for the yacht. Jack snatched up a pair of binoculars thatlay in one of the basket chairs and brought it to bear upon the boat."Why," he exclaimed, "I'll be shot if it isn't the Capitan-General whois coming off to us!"

  "The Capitan--General!" gasped Don Hermoso. "Then, depend on it,gentlemen, your movements were observed last night, and you have beeninformed upon. What will you do?"

  "Why," answered Jack, "we will wait until we have heard what thesepeople have to say; and then--be guided by circumstances. But--pooh! Ibelieve we are scaring ourselves unnecessarily. If they suspected us oftampering with their ships it is not in a boat manned by six unarmedsailors that they would come off to us. Come along, Phil, you asskipper and I as owner of this vessel will go down to receive thesegentlemen and learn what their business is with us."

  And, so saying, and followed by Milsom, he descended to the main deckand stationed himself at the head of the gangway ladder, by which timethe boat was alongside. Another moment and the Capitan-General, hat inhand, and bowing courteously to the two Englishmen, passed in throughthe gangway, followed by the captain of the cruiser.

  "Good-day, Senor Singleton!" exclaimed the old gentleman genially,offering his hand. "Do you happen to remember me, or must I introducemyself?"

  "I remember you perfectly well, of course, General," answered Jack,accepting the proffered hand with--it must be confessed--a feeling ofvery cons
iderable relief, "and I am very glad indeed to have the honourof receiving you on board my yacht, although you have deferred yourvisit until the moment when we are about to proceed to sea."

  "Ah, yes," answered the General, "so I guessed, from the steam which Isee issuing from your vessel's funnel! It is about that that I havecome off to see you. But, before we go any further, permit me to havethe honour of introducing to you Captain Morillo, of His SpanishMajesty's cruiser the _Infanta Isabel_, which lies yonder."

  The introduction having been made and acknowledged with all dueformality, the old gentleman resumed:

  "Now, a most extraordinary thing has happened here to-day--an occurrenceso singular and unique that one is driven to the conviction that certainvery clever conspirators have been at work." The old gentleman, whetherby accident or designedly, looked Jack square in the eye as he saidthis; and it was with the utmost difficulty that the latter was able tokeep his countenance and retain that nonchalance of demeanour andexpression of polite interest which he felt was so necessary to avertany suspicion of his own complicity with the "very clever conspirators".To cover any indication of confusion which he might have inadvertentlybetrayed, he shouted to the quartermaster, who was busy about nothing inparticular near the stern grating:

  "Quartermaster, bring along four basket chairs." Then to the General:

  "You interest me immensely, General. I have just sent for some chairs,and when they arrive we will sit and discuss the matter in comfort.Meanwhile, may I offer you and Captain Morillo a glass of wine? We havesome very passable champagne down in our cold chamber."

  The Capitan-General and his friend expressed themselves as perfectlywilling to partake of Senor Singleton's gracious hospitality; andpresently, seated at ease, and with a foaming glass of ice-cold Mummbefore him, the Governor resumed his story.

  "I need not ask you, Senor, whether you are aware that the presentcondition of Cuba is somewhat abnormal, for I feel convinced that acaballero of your intelligence must have long ere this discovered thatthe island is literally seething with rebellion--to such an extent,indeed, that a rising against Spanish rule may be anticipated at anymoment. Nor need I point out to you how ruinously disastrous to therebels and all who might be suspected of sympathising with them such arising must necessarily be; for it would of course be my painful duty tosuppress it by force of arms. It is therefore in the interest of theCubans themselves that we are adopting certain measures for theprevention of everything of a nature calculated to encourage hope on thepart of the native population that a rising against Spanish authoritycould by any possibility be successful; and one of these measures is thesuppression of all importation of weapons and war material of everydescription."

  "Quite so," concurred Jack with a smile. "We had an illustration of thevigour and thoroughness of your efforts in that direction upon ourarrival on the coast, in the action taken by the Commander of thegunboat yonder, who was only convinced with the utmost difficulty thatwe were not engaged in the business of smuggling war material into thecountry. Indeed, I believe he never would have been convinced, had Inot insisted upon his making a thoroughly exhaustive search of myvessel, with the result, of course, that nothing of the kind was to befound on board her."

  The old gentleman flushed, fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair, andfortified himself by emptying his glass. He would rather not have beenreminded of that circumstance, especially at that moment.

  "Ah!" he said, shaking his head sorrowfully as he put down his emptyglass and feigned to be oblivious of the fact that Jack promptlyrefilled it; "yes, that was a most regrettable occurrence--the result ofa very unfortunate mistake on the part of certain friends of ours on theother side. I understand, however, that Commander Albuquerque made the_amende honourable_ in a manner that was absolutely satisfactory toyourself, Senor; and, with the expression of my own personal profoundregret, I trust that you will have the extreme generosity to allow thedeplorable affair to be forgotten."

  "Of course I will," said Jack heartily; "I am not one to bear malice.We are all liable to make mistakes at some time or other of our lives."

  "Senor," exclaimed the General with enthusiasm, "I am indeed delightedto find you so generously disposed--the more so that my visit to you to-day is connected with a similar incident; the only difference beingthat, in this case, there is unfortunately no room for the belief thatwe are making a second mistake. We have received the most positiveinformation that certain American sympathisers with the revolutionarymovement in Cuba have loaded a steamer with munitions of war for the useof the insurgents; and these munitions are to be landed to-day at a spotknown as Mulata Bay, a few miles to the westward of this port. Theinformation, most unfortunately, did not reach us in time to allow ofour taking measures for the seizure of the cargo upon being landed; butthat appeared, at the time, to be a matter of no moment, for I hadplanned to send a torpedo boat to seize the vessel and her cargo uponher arrival in Mulata Bay. The vessel, I may mention, was to havearrived at her destination at mid-day to-day; and, as a matter of fact,she has arrived, for she was sighted in the offing this morning, and hassince been seen heading in toward the bay. And now we come to theexplanation of my remark in reference to certain very cleverconspirators; for when the torpedo boat attempted to leave the harbourthis morning for the purpose of intercepting the smuggling ship, it wasfound that her machinery had been tampered with, so that it becameimpossible to send her. It was then decided to send the gunboat; butwhen she in turn attempted to move it was discovered that she also hadbeen disabled. And finally, to cut my story short, it was discoveredthat the engines of Captain Morillo's ship had also been so effectuallytampered with that she cannot move. Thus, you see, at a very criticalmoment, we find ourselves absolutely helpless; and unless something canbe done, and that instantly, the cargo will be landed, with thedeplorable result that an armed rebellion will break out in the island,and incalculable mischief will ensue."

  "Yes," assented Jack thoughtfully; "I must confess that such a resultseems not improbable."

  "Not improbable!" ejaculated the General; "my dear sir, it is absolutelycertain! We have the very best of reasons for knowing that, once theinsurgents find themselves possessed of arms, they will lose not amoment in making a determined effort to throw off the yoke of Spanishrule, and the island will be at once plunged into all the horrors ofwar. Now, my dear Senor Singleton, it is in your power to avert thosehorrors, if you will!" ("Precisely!" thought Jack; "I could have betthat the old boy was leading up to this.") "You see exactly how we aresituated. That American ship and her cargo must be seized; yet we haveno ship available with which to effect the seizure. You, on the otherhand, have a ship that is in every way admirably adapted for theservice, and you have steam up; you can leave the harbour at a moment'snotice, if you choose--"

  "Pardon me, General," interrupted Jack; "I understand exactly what youare driving at: you want me to lend you this yacht for the purpose ofconveying a party of soldiers or sailors to--to--"

  "Mulata Bay," interpolated the General.

  "Yes," continued Jack, "to Mulata Bay, to seize an American ship which,you say, is smuggling a cargo of contraband-of-war into the island!But, my dear sir, has the very extraordinary nature of your request yetdawned upon you? Do you recognise that you are asking me, a privateEnglish gentleman, to mix myself up in a quarrel with which I haveabsolutely nothing to do, and the rights and wrongs of which I do not inthe least understand? Why should I interfere with an American ship,even though she be engaged, as you suggest, in affording aid andencouragement to the revolutionaries?"

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

  "But, General, this is absolutely preposterous!" protested Jack. "Whyshould Don Hermoso Montijo and his family be dragged into the affair?And why should I be supposed to be governed by their advice? I mustpositively refuse to submit the matter to them in any shape or form; andI must also refuse to permit myself to be influenced by any advice whichthey 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 acruise in her for the benefit of the health of the ladies of thefamily--indeed, we were on the point of getting under way when youboarded us."

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

  "General," exclaimed Jack, "if you did but know it you could scarcelyhave said anything better calculated to defeat your own wishes and makeme declare that under no circumstances will I permit myself to bedragged into this business. To be perfectly frank with you, I do notbelieve that you have the slightest shadow of foundation or excuse foryour suspicions of Senor Montijo and his family. But, in order to showyou how little grounds there are for them--should such actually exist--Iwill do violence to my own feelings by acceding to your request, withoutconsulting Senor Montijo in any way, to the extent of conveying a partyof your men, not exceeding fifty, to Mulata Bay; upon condition that Iam allowed to fly the Spanish man-o'-war ensign while engaged upon theservice."

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

  "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 SpanishGovernment work, and can only be properly done under the Spanish flag.I will bring you a Spanish ensign and pennant to hoist, Senor, when Ibring my men alongside," he added, turning to Jack.

  "I shall be obliged, Senor, if you will," answered Jack; "for I will donothing 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," exclaimedthe General. Then, turning to Jack, he said: "Senor, permit me toexpress to you the gratitude not only of myself, personally, but also ofthe Spanish Government, for your courtesy in consenting to render usthis important service at an exceedingly critical moment, I fear that,in my anxiety, I may have brought rather an unfair amount of pressure tobear upon you in order to overcome your scruples; but I trust that youwill ultimately forgive me for that. And I am quite sure that if, as Ihave understood, you intend to prolong your stay in Cuba, the time willcome when you will be glad to have placed us all under an obligation. Ioffer you a thousand thanks, Senor, and have the honour to bid you good-day!"

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

  "Well," exclaimed Milsom, who had contrived to follow the conversationsufficiently to get a fairly accurate impression of what had transpired,"you have managed to get us all fairly into the centre of a hobble byconsenting to run those men down to Mulata Bay! How the mischief do youpropose 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 Iwould never have consented," answered Jack. "You see, the Spanish shipshave had their engines tampered with. Very well: ours have beentampered with too--Macintyre will have to see to that. While the oldchap was talking, the idea occurred to me that if I should persist in myrefusal, Captain Morillo might, in desperation, take it into his head tosend away a boat expedition to Mulata Bay; and, the people there beingof opinion that everything is all right, they may take matters prettilyeasily, with the result that the boat expedition might possibly havearrived in time to effect a seizure. Therefore while, for the sake ofeffect, I pretended to be very unwilling to fall in with hisExcellency's views, I had decided that I would do so, almost as soon asI saw what was coming. Now, my plan is this. We will take the Spanishcrowd aboard and run them down toward Mulata Bay, which will put aneffectual stopper upon any attempt to dispatch another expedition. But,when we get down abreast of our destination, our engines will breakdown, and instead of going into Mulata Bay, we shall go drivinghelplessly 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 reckonupon our appearance off the place under the Spanish ensign and pennantto give all concerned a hint as to the importance of `hustling' overtheir 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 explainmatters to the Don and his family. Who-oop! It will be interesting toobserve the expression on the countenances of our Spanish friends whenour engines--tampered with by those pestilent revolutionaries--breakdown!"