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

by Harry Collingwood

  CHAPTER ELEVEN.

  AN EXPEDITION THAT FAILED.

  A few minutes sufficed Jack to explain the situation to the Montijofamily, to their mingled indignation and amusement; and he thensuggested that, as the yacht would possibly be rolling and tumblingabout somewhat unpleasantly in the heavy sea outside while in herapparently helpless condition, the ladies might prefer to pass the nightashore, in one of the Havana hotels. But neither of them would for amoment listen to any such proposal: the Senora explained that she hadnever yet been seasick, and did not propose to begin now; while DonaIsolda opined that it would be no worse for her than if they had gone tosea in the ordinary way during the afternoon, so she, too, elected toremain on board and take her chance. Then, while they were all talkingtogether, Milsom came up on to the top of the deck-house with theinformation that Macintyre fully understood what was wanted and wasmaking elaborate preparations for a perfectly gorgeous breakdown of theengines--the maximum speed of which during the trip would not exceedfourteen knots, at the outside. And presently the cruiser's firstcutter pushed off from her parent ship's side and came pulling towardthe yacht, with twenty seamen and five marines on board, in addition toher own crew, all armed to the teeth, and Captain Morillo and anotherofficer in the stern-sheets.

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

  "Senor Singleton, and Senor Capitan Milsom, permit me to have the honourof presenting to you Senor el Teniente Villacampa, the officer who willhave the command of the expedition," said Morillo. "He will beresponsible for the good behaviour of the men, and will lead them to theattack of the ship and those on shore who will be assisting in thelanding of the cargo; but, apart from that duty, he will of course beunder your orders. I have brought you," he continued, taking a bundleof bunting from Villacampa, "an ensign and a pennant, which you willsubstitute for your own colours at the moment which you may deem mostsuitable. And now, what about boats? Will you tow the one which isalongside; or would you rather use your own?"

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

  "Very well, Senor; I agree with you there," acquiesced Morillo. "Andnow, as you are doubtless anxious to make an immediate start, I will bidyou good-bye; and trust that the expedition will be completelysuccessful. You have full instructions how to proceed, Senor," he addedto his lieutenant; and then, cap in hand, bowed himself through thegangway 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, standby to dip our ensign to the cruiser as we pass her; and when she hasacknowledged it, haul it and the burgee down and stow them away in theflag locker!"

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

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

  "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 toknow you. Your men had better consider the after deck as their end ofthe ship, and make themselves as comfortable as they can there. She isa fairly dry little ship, and I think they will be all right there."

  Whereupon Villacampa gave a brief order to his men, and then followedJack up the ladder to the top of the deck-house, where he was duly madeknown to its occupants--to the great gratification of Morillo, whowitnessed the little ceremony as the yacht swept past his boat. Thelieutenant was very cordially received, as had already been agreed uponby those principally concerned; and, being a very pleasant-mannered andagreeable young fellow, soon found that he was enjoying himselfamazingly.

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

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

  "Oh yes, Senor!" answered the lieutenant; "I have been in and out ofMulata Bay several times. That was chiefly why Captain Morillo selectedme to command the expedition. The navigation, however, is notdifficult; and, once through the Cayo Blanco passage, we shall be allright."

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

  Villacampa admitted that the depth of water shown on the chart was aboutright, and confessed that the situation, now that one came to look atit, was somewhat awkward; still, he was of opinion that if they couldbut arrive off the mouth of the pass before dark everything would be allright.

  At five o'clock the stewards brought up the tables and proceeded toserve tea; and Villacampa, who somehow found himself seated betweenSenorita Isolda and Capitan Milsom, told himself that he had missed hisvocation, 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 southhalf-south, which gave them a gradually increasing offing, and was anice, safe course to steer, for it would take them well clear of alldangers; the result being that when at length they arrived off the CayoBlanco passage, the yacht was quite ten miles off the land, and aboutfive miles distant from the edge of the reef. If Villacampa had noticedhow wide an offing was being maintained, he would probably havesuggested 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 artfullyplaced him with his back toward the land. Milsom, meanwhile, had beenwatching the coast as a cat watches a mousehole, and the moment that hesaw certain marks come "on" he raised his cap and proceeded to mop hisperspiring forehead with a large bandana handkerchief; whereuponPerkins, who had been for some time keeping an unostentatious eye uponthe party on the top of the deck-house, turned and sauntered aft to theengine-room door, sneezing violently as he walked past it. The nextinstant there arose a perfectly hair-raising clatter and clash of metaldown in the engine-room, and the engines abruptly ceased to revolve! Sosudden and startling was the clatter that both ladies screamed, andclasped their hands convulsively, in the most natural manner possible;while Jack and Milsom, starting to their feet and capsizing their chairswith magnificent dramatic effect, dashed, one upon the heels of theother, down the ladder toward the engine-room, the steam from the blow-off at the same moment roaring through the safety valves with violenceenough to scare a nervous person out of his wits. The quartermaster,keeping a level head in the midst of the hubbub, promptly ported hishelm and turned the yacht's head toward the open sea, and the littlecraft at once, as though entering thoroughly into the spirit of thething, began to roll her rails under as the sea caught her square abeam.The Spanish seamen and marines, startled into sudden activity by thecommotion, sprang to their feet, and, after glancing about them for aninstant with scared faces, made a dash with one accord for the boats,and were only with difficulty restrained from lowering them, and drivena
way from the davits by a strong party of the yacht's crew, underPerkins, aided by Jack and Villacampa. Taking the affair "by andlarge", Macintyre had certainly very effectively fulfilled his promiseto produce "a perfectly gorgeous breakdown!"

  Lieutenant Villacampa was, of course, naturally very anxious to learnthe extent of the damage, and how far it was likely to interfere withhis execution of the duty confided to him by his superiors; and the poorfellow wrung his hands in despair when Macintyre presently came on deckwith a big bolt smashed in two in his hand and, with a great show ofindignation, informed the Spaniard in broad Scotch--of which, of course,the poor fellow did not understand a word--that some unknown scoundrelhad surreptitiously withdrawn nine such bolts from a certain coupling,and that the other three had, as a natural consequence, graduallysheered through under the excessive strain thrown upon them; and thatfor his part he was only surprised that the machinery had brought themas far as it had without giving out: and that, furthermore, since itwould be necessary to make twelve new bolts to replace those missing anddestroyed, it would be several hours, at the earliest, before the yachtcould again be brought under control. All of which Jack, strugglingvaliantly against a violent disposition to laugh uproariously,translated to the unhappy Spanish lieutenant. Then, to add stillfurther to that officer's chagrin and disappointment, the yacht, withthe Spanish ensign and pennant snapping from gaff-end and masthead inthe roaring trade wind, drove slowly but steadily past the mouth ofMulata Bay, and the young man had the mortification of catching, througha 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 flotillaof boats, with steam winches hard at work, and great cases swinging overthe side from all three hatchways at the same moment. It was a scurvytrick of fate, he explained to Jack, that he should have been so verynear 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 allbut within his grasp. Jack emphatically agreed with him that it was,but rather spoiled the effect immediately afterward by asking: "Whatabout the damage to his engines?" It was, however, obviously a case inwhich nothing could be done but wait patiently until the necessaryrepairs could be effected; and, after all, there was, as Jack pointedout, just one solitary grain of comfort in the situation, in that thebreakdown had occurred while the yacht was still far enough from theshore to be safe from the peril of stranding. Had the accident beendeferred until the vessel was on the point of entering the passagethrough the reef, the yacht would undoubtedly have been flung by the seaupon the sharp coral and dashed to pieces; when the furious surf, whichwas at that moment foaming and swirling over the reef, and to which Jackdirected Villacampa's attention, must have inevitably drowned every soulon board. This was a fact so patent to the meanest comprehension thatthe Spanish lieutenant speedily forgot his disappointment, and hastenedup on to the deck-house to explain to the ladies how narrow had beentheir escape from a terrible shipwreck, and to congratulate them uponthe circumstance that they were still alive.

  Meanwhile, the deck hands, under Milsom's supervision, had been busilyengaged in getting up on deck and rigging a sea anchor, which wasdropped overboard when the yacht had drifted some three miles to thewestward of the Cayo Blanco passage; and as there was a strong currentsetting eastward at the time, the effect was not only to bring the yachthead to wind and sea, and cause her to ride very much more easily andcomfortably, but also to effectually check her further drift to thewestward. Then came dinner in the saloon, and as Villacampa took hisseat at the elegantly appointed table, and noted with keen appreciationthe prompt and orderly service of the luxurious meal, he felt fullyconfirmed in his previous conviction that he had missed his propervocation.

  The rising moon had just cleared the horizon and was flooding theweltering waters with her silvery light when, the saloon party beingonce more assembled on the top of the deck-house for the betterenjoyment of the grateful coolness of the night air, a large steamer,which could be none other than the _James B. Potter_, was seen to comeout of Mulata Bay and head for the passage, steaming thence out to seaand away to the eastward at a rapid pace, though not so fast but thatVillacampa, unconsciously biting his finger nails to the quick in theexcess of his mortification, felt convinced that the yacht could havecaught her, had that vessel only been under way at the moment. She wasnot, however, and it was not until the American craft had sunk beyondthe eastern horizon a good hour and a half that Macintyre came up ondeck to report that he had completed his repairs and was ready to oncemore start his engines. Whereupon the sea anchor was got inboard and,since there was nothing else to be done, the yacht returned to Havanaharbour at a speed of fourteen knots--her engines working as smoothly asthough they had never broken down--arriving at her former berth andpicking up her buoy at about two o'clock a.m. Captain Morillo, who hadbeen anxiously awaiting her return, promptly made his appearancealongside in the cruiser's cutter, for the purpose of taking off his menand learning the result of the expedition; and great was his wrath anddisgust on hearing that it had failed, after all, in consequence of abreakdown of the yacht's engines. He was most searching and minute inhis enquiries as to the nature and cause of the accident, which, heeventually agreed with Jack, had undoubtedly been brought about by themiscreants who were responsible for the disablement of the Spanishwarships, and who, it was perfectly evident, had determined to ensurethe success of the American undertaking by tampering with the machineryof every vessel in the harbour which could by any possibility beemployed to frustrate it. Ere taking his leave he ventured to expressthe hope that Jack and Captain Milsom would do him the favour toaccompany him when he went ashore, a few hours later, to report to theCapitan-General the failure of the expedition, as it would be his dutyto do: but Jack courteously yet very firmly declined to do anything ofthe kind, pointing out that Lieutenant Villacampa, who had commanded theexpedition, was perfectly able to furnish every particular that theGeneral might require; while, further, Jack considered that very unfairpressure had been brought to bear upon him to induce him to lend hisyacht for the purpose of the expedition, and he therefore felt perfectlyjustified in declining to afford any further assistance to the localrepresentative of the Spanish Government. Whereupon Captain Morilloexpressed his profound regret that Senor Singleton should have cause tofeel himself aggrieved, and departed, taking his men and his flags withhim. The _Thetis_ steamed out of Havana harbour again at eight o'clockthat same morning.

  It is unnecessary to follow in detail the course of the voyagers duringthe pleasure cruise upon which they had embarked; for while theythoroughly enjoyed themselves the cruise was absolutely uneventful.Suffice it to say that, proceeding in a very leisurely fashion, theycompletely 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 manydays in harbour, while Don Hermoso made certain mysterious excursionsinland and had secret conferences with more or less mysterious people,during the progress of which Jack, Carlos, and the two ladies enjoyedthemselves amazingly in the steam pinnace, in which craft they madeexcursions up rivers, and prowled about among romantic cays to theirhearts' content. Then they crossed to Jamaica, where they enjoyed ampleopportunity to compare the condition of that island, under British rule,with Cuba under the government of the Spaniards, as also to learn howthe Jamaicans construe the word "hospitality". Dances, picnics, dinnersat Government House and elsewhere, balls at Up-Park camp and on boardthe battleships at Port Royal succeeded each other with bewilderingrapidity; while they were positively deluged with invitations to spend aweek or more on various sugar estates dotted about here and there insome of the most beautiful parts of the lovely island: small wonder wasit, therefore, that six full weeks slid away ere the _Thetis_ againsteamed out to sea from Port Royal. Thence, coasting along the southernshores of San Domingo, the travellers visi
ted Porto Rico, where DonHermoso 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 PitchLake) were visited: by which time the month of February in the year 1895had arrived, and Don Hermoso became anxious to be at home again, ascertain very important and momentous events were pending, the progressof which he was anxious to watch as closely as might be. Wherefore, ona certain evening, the yacht weighed her anchor shortly before two bellsin the first dogwatch, and, steaming close past the Five Islands, theDiego Islands, Gaspar Grande, and Mono Island, swept out through theBoca 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 butone following; the yacht finally entering Havana harbour and making fastto a buoy at eight o'clock on the morning of the succeeding day. TheMontijo family landed immediately after breakfast, and took the firstavailable train to Pinar del Rio, hoping to arrive home the sameevening: but Jack remained on board the yacht, as she was by this timeso exceedingly foul that it had been decided to dock her and have hercleaned in readiness for any emergency; and, Singleton being herostensible owner, it was deemed a wise and prudent thing that he shouldremain at Havana to personally arrange for the work to be done, lestsuspicion as to the genuineness of his ownership should arise in theminds of any of the Spanish officials.

  As Jack went hither and thither about his business, after having seenhis friends off by train, he was astonished at the change that had takenplace in the appearance of Havana since he had last seen it on thatmemorable day when the Capitan-General had visited the _Thetis_ andpersuaded--or, rather, practically compelled--him to lend that vesselfor the purpose of attempting the capture of the _James B. Potter_.Then, Havana was simply a busy seaport; now, it was a fortress preparingfor war. The streets were full of troops, fresh landed from thetransports in the harbour and marching to the railway stations toentrain for various parts of the island; guns, ammunition and ambulancewagons were rumbling and rattling over the cobbles; excited aides-de-camp were furiously spurring hither and thither, the air was clamourouswith the strains of martial music and the incessant shouting of militarywords of command; the Alameda was an armed camp; and the cafes andrestaurants were crowded with arrogant, boasting, posturing military andnaval officers, with a small sprinkling of civilians who were made toclearly understand that they were there only on sufferance. Jack couldnot help noticing the scowls with which the soldiery regarded him, andmany an insulting epithet and remark reached his ears; but he was notsuch a fool as to permit himself to be provoked into a quarrel, single-handed, with thousands, and he therefore went calmly and steadily on hisway, taking no more notice of the offensive words than if they had notbeen spoken, and following the narrow side streets as much as possible.In course of time he arrived at the office of the British Consul, andturned in to pay a call upon that gentleman. He found the official inquestion up to his eyes in business, but nevertheless received a verycordial 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 hishand. "I was in hopes that you were safely back in the old country longago."

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

  "Well, I will not go so far as to give an unqualified answer in theaffirmative to that question," replied the Consul; "but this I will say,that I would certainly not recommend any Englishman to remain on theisland at this juncture, unless he is fully prepared to prove to theauthorities that he has good and sufficient reasons for so doing. Thefact is that Cuba is the crater of a political volcano at the presentmoment, and nobody quite knows what is going to happen. For some yearsnow, in fact ever since '68, the Cubans have been in a state of more orless 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 '68to '78 are about to be repeated, possibly in a more aggravated form. Itis well-known that large consignments of arms, ammunition, and militarystores have recently been smuggled into the country, yet, strangelyenough, 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 hasbecome of the smuggled cargoes, and, beyond vaguely and generallysuspecting all who have not openly declared themselves in favour of thecontinuance of Spanish rule, no serious endeavour has been made todiscover the identity of the conspirators. The fact is, that theSpanish Government is acting precisely like the fabled ostrich; it isburying its head in the sand and refusing to see the coming trouble.Even now, although two armed risings have very recently taken place, onein the province of Santiago and the other in that of Mantanzas--thelatter, by the way, having been promptly suppressed--the official mindpersists in asserting that the movement is nothing more than an attempton the part of a few bandits to commit robbery and outrage of everydescription under the mask of patriotism! Yet you may have observed, asyou passed through the streets to-day, that, despite all theirassertions, they are behaving very much as though they were in a stateof mortal terror. And another symptom of scare is the marked suspicionand distrust, not to say aversion, with which they regard strangers,especially Americans and Englishmen, in the island. The Americans, asyou may possibly be aware, have not taken very much trouble to concealthe fact that their sympathies are distinctly on the side of the Cubans,and Spanish intelligence seems unable to differentiate between anAmerican and an Englishman. That is why I say that I would notrecommend an Englishman to remain in Cuba just now unless he possessesthe means of satisfying the Spaniards that he is not inimical to them."

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

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

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

  "A most extraordinary affair!" remarked the Consul. "When the vesselswere subsequently docked, it was discovered that their propellers hadbeen rendered immovable by being locked with stout chains, from which itwas surmised that the outrage must have been perpetrated by means ofsome kind of diving vessel; but where such a craft could have come fromheaven only knows, for nothing of the kind has been discovered or gotwind of in any of the harbours of Cuba--although I suppose it would notbe a very difficult matter for people acquainted with the working ofsuch 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 agigantic craft that was either airship or submarine, at the will of hercrew, and which was capable of doing some very wonderful things; but Iregarded the yarn as nothing more than the flight of a romancer's vividimagination. Yet it must have been some such vessel that disabled theSpanish warships; which goes to prove again the soundness of the oldadage that `truth is stranger than fiction'. But your yacht'sdisablement was an entirely different matter, as I understood, for youactually steamed several miles before you broke down. Did you everdiscover 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 uponthe Capitan-General, and ask him if any of his people had ever been ableto find a clue to the identity of the guilty parties."<
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  "Were you?" said the Consul. "Then let me very strongly advise you notto do anything of the kind. He has plenty to worry him just now withoutbeing reminded of an exceedingly unpleasant and annoying incident. And,finally, be persuaded by me to clear out of Cuba at the very earliestpossible moment; for the island is certainly at present no place for ayoung fellow like you, who have a good business at home, and no businessat all here. Even if you are serious in your idea of purchasing landand establishing a tobacco-growing estate, this is certainly not thetime at which to engage in such an undertaking: for, in the first place,the very strong suspicion and distrust with which the authorities at thepresent moment regard all foreigners would render it almost impossiblefor you to secure an inalienable title to your land; and, in the nextplace, when all other difficulties were surmounted, you would find thatno labourers were to be had--every mother's son of them being aninsurgent, either openly or secretly--and consequently you could get nowork done on your land. Therefore it will manifestly be prudent for youto postpone your undertaking until the present imbroglio is at an endand the island is at peace once more. And now, I am afraid that I mustbid you good-morning; for this insurrection has piled up a lot of extrabusiness for me as well as for others. But I have given you the verybest advice of which I am capable, and I hope that you will not onlythink it over but very speedily act upon it; for I tell you candidlythat Cuba is an exceedingly unsafe place for any Englishman just now."

  "Upon my word," said Jack, "I am very much disposed to believe that youare 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 crowdedstreet, he knew that he had not the remotest intention of acting uponthe Consul's advice, to the extent of leaving Cuba at all events: for hefelt that he was morally pledged to stand by the Montijos, so long asthey might need him; and there was the complication of the ownership ofthe yacht, which would need a great deal of straightening out; and,lastly, his close association with the lovely Senorita Isolda, duringthe four months' cruise just ended, had not been without its effect uponhim; so that, taking things all round, he told himself that for him toleave Cuba at present was quite out of the question.

  When Jack set about making the necessary arrangements for the docking ofthe _Thetis_ he at once found himself confronted with that adamantineprocrastination which constitutes such a serious flaw in the Spanishcharacter; _manana_ (to-morrow) is the word that is most often in theSpaniard's mouth, and his invincible determination never to do to-daywhat can possibly be postponed until the morrow is perhaps as marked anational characteristic as is the indomitable pride of every Spaniard,from the highest grandee down to the meanest beggar to be found outsidea church door. Thus, although the dock happened at that moment to beempty, Singleton found it absolutely impossible to infuse into the dock-officials the energy necessary to enable them to make arrangements forthe entrance of the yacht on that day. _Manana_ was the word, whereverhe turned; and _manana_ it had to be. And even when at length, late onthe following day, the vessel was safely docked and the steam pumpsstarted by which the water was to be pumped out of the enclosure and thevessel left dry and accessible to the workmen, it proved so exceedinglydifficult to prevail upon these workmen to get to work that at lengthJack and Milsom, driven to despair, and with their patience absolutelyexhausted, were obliged to set their own people on to the job ofremoving from the ship's bottom the thick growth of barnacles and seagrass with which it was encrusted, and afterwards to cover the steelplating with a fresh coating of anti-fouling composition. It was thus afull week from the date of the yacht's arrival in Havana harbour ere shewas once more afloat and ready for sea, and Jack at length felt himselffree to fulfil his promise to rejoin the Montijo family at theirhacienda.