A BRUSH WITH THE GUNBOAT
The _Mariella_ swung slowly around until she presented only her stern
and the width of her hull as a mark for her enemy, and then under a full
head of steam she started to show her heels to the Spaniard. But clouds
of heavy, black smoke began to roll upward from the gunboat's funnel,
showing that she, too, was crowding on steam for the chase.
The puff of smoke, the bark of the gun, the shot skipping over the water
across their bows, much as a child scales a flat stone across a mill
pond, opened the boys' eyes to the seriousness of the situation. They
fingered their revolvers nervously and watched the black bow of the
Spaniard anxiously, expecting to see another white burst of smoke.
But the little commander evidently believed he could rely on the speed
of his vessel to overtake the _Mariella_, for after the warning shot, he
did not fire again, and with throbbing engines the steamers settled down
to a trial of speed.
"If we could only imagine that as a starting gun this would make a
first-rate yacht race," said Bert, after they had been running for some
minutes.
"Yes, and for a richer stake than ever a yacht raced for before,"
replied the captain, who had overheard the remark. Harry thought of the
portrait of the beautiful girl that lay next the man's heart, and
wondered if he meant her, but when he remembered the ringing defiance in
his voice as he shouted back to the Spaniard, "Viva, Cuba Libre," he was
inclined to believe that the man's spirit of patriotism rose superior to
his love just now.
By this time the veil of mystery that had hung over the ship and her
purpose had been pretty well lifted by the sequence of events, and the
boys were convinced that they were a part of some secret mission against
Spain in the interests of Cuba.
Harry had little time for speculation as to the motives that inspired
the captain, for another puff of white smoke appeared at the gunboat's
bow and a shot whistled by close to the starboard rail. The _Mariella_
had been slowly drawing away from her pursuer, and the Spanish commander
evidently feared his prey would escape.
Suarez, on the bridge, turned anxiously aft as if expecting
instructions, but Captain Dynamite only set his lips into that firm,
straight line and raised his glasses to watch the enemy's movements.
Another puff of smoke, a sharp report, and a shot struck the water one
hundred yards astern, but in direct line with the _Mariella_.
"They've got the direction, but not the range," muttered the captain.
"Hard a-starboard, Suarez, for half a minute, and then take your course
again. We'll give that gunner another guess."
The _Mariella_ swung to starboard just enough to take her out of the
direct course of her pursuer.
"Now, try it again, Mister Sharpshooter," sung out the captain, although
the Spaniard was by this time far out of range of his voice. "It will
take you some time to pick up your target once more."
The Spaniard sent two other shots after them in quick succession, but
they fell harmlessly to port. The quick swinging of the _Mariella_ out
of her course had disconcerted the gunners.
"Don't you think you youngsters better go below?" said the captain,
joining the boys, while he calmly rolled a cigarette. "I haven't much
respect for their marksmanship, but you never can tell where a stray
shot may fall."
By this time the sensation of nervousness and anxiety that had followed
the first shot had passed, and the boys were as eager to see the affair
to an end as if they had been spectators at a play. They did not yet
seem to feel themselves a part of the drama that might so easily be
turned into a tragedy.
"If we are not in the way I should much prefer to remain here," said
Harry, "and if we are going to be shot I had rather have it done on deck
than in a stuffy cabin."
"Very well, I guess you are safe enough. Anyway, we shall be out of
range in about fifteen minutes. Ah, she's going to try it again."
Another shot fell only a few feet astern.
Captain Dynamite placed his glasses on the roof of the deck house,
tossed his cigarette over the side, and removing his coat, folded it
carefully and placed it beside the glasses.
"You are getting a little too close, Mister Goodshot," he said, rolling
back his cuffs. "I guess a dose of your own medicine is about due."
Turning to the bridge, he called:
"Keep her steady, Suarez."
"Aye, aye, sir," responded the mate. There was a note of glee in his
voice and he rubbed his hands together with an air of great
satisfaction, as he watched his commander's preparations. He seemed to
know what they portended, although the boys could see no purpose in
them.
The captain now stepped quickly to the after rail, and placing his
finger underneath it, seemed to be pressing upon something. A square
section of the deck began to slide silently and mysteriously away,
leaving a black hole up through which there rose slowly a rapid fire
gun. There was a sharp click of snapping bolts as the new section of
deck came into place.
"Now there will be something doing," whispered Bert.
Quickly taking his place on the saddle of the gun the captain trained it
with the hand of an expert. It seemed but a second from the time he ran
his eye along the sights before the discharge came. Without waiting to
see the result of his shot, he turned the muzzle a little to the right,
sighted it again quickly and fired.
The boys watched breathlessly, straining their eyes to see the result,
but without avail. Captain Dynamite rose, wiped his hands with a silk
handkerchief and walked to the deck house for his glasses.
"They are both out of commission, bedad," he said, after a minute's
inspection. "Scoot for the inlet, Suarez, me boy."
"Aye, aye, sir," replied the mate, gleefully. "Don't you think you
better give them one more for good measure, sir?"
"Enough's a-plenty, Suarez. We'll have her hull down before eight bells.
Would you like to see what a little gun like that can do?"
He turned to Harry as he spoke and handed him the marine glasses. They
were a powerful pair and as Harry regulated them to his vision he seemed
to be almost on board the Spanish gunboat. All was confusion on her
decks. The "both" referred to by the captain as being out of commission,
were the port and starboard guns, with which she had been potting at the
_Mariella_. Captain Dynamite's shots had each scored a bull's-eye.
In the turmoil, Harry could see that someone had been injured and was
being borne away by his companions. He lowered the glasses and held them
out to the captain.
"You have laid up a man for repairs, I think, sir," he said.
The captain waved the glasses back with something like a shudder.
"I am sorry," he said, quietly. "The poor chap was only doing his duty.
I aimed at metal and not human bodies. I hope he is not much hurt."
He turned to the rail again, touched the spring, and the gun slowly sank
out of sight, the section of the deck that concealed it slipping into
place again with a click. Putting on his coat he entered the cabin,
leaving the boys in possession of the glasses. For some time they were
greatly interested in watching, turn by turn, the proceedings on the
deck of the gunboat, but finally the _Mariella_ made such good use of
her heels that even with the glasses, they could make out nothing but
the outlines of the Spaniard.
When they turned again to the deck of their own steamer, they were
surprised to see that it had once more resumed its usual appearance. The
armed men had disappeared, the second mate paced the bridge, and only
the lookouts occupied the decks. It was now twelve o'clock, and eight
bells sounded clearly on the still, tropical air. The boys recollected
for the first time that they had had no breakfast, just as Captain
Dynamite stuck his head out of the cabin door.
"Come on, lads," he called, cheerily; "sure we've let the Spanish
terrier cheat our stomachs."
The exciting events of the morning had not impaired the boys' appetites,
and they promptly responded to the call. When they went on deck again
only a speck on the horizon marked the pursuing gunboat.
"Few of their old tubs can measure paces with the old _Mariella_," said
the captain, with satisfaction, as he swept the sea with his glasses.
"She looked as if she had once been a pleasure yacht," said Harry.
"So she was, my boy. The Spaniards bought her from a New York
millionaire, but she was an old model then, and they have top-hampered
her with armor and guns until they have knocked what little speed she
had out of her. We'll not even see a whiff of their smoke in half an
hour."
"Will she continue so hopeless a chase?"
"O, sure she will. She hopes to trap us down the coast. See, there are
the shores of Cuba."
The boys turned quickly as he pointed over their starboard bow and saw a
low dark line in the distance.
"Hurrah," shouted Bert.
"Hurrah for what?" asked the captain, smiling at the enthusiastic boy
who swung his cap as he shouted.
"Why, just hurrah," answered Bert, sheepishly. "I began to think all
land had disappeared from the face of the ocean."
"Then you don't like the water?"
"Heretofore I always considered myself dead stuck on it, but hereafter
terra firma for mine. Something that you can dig your heels into and
where disagreeable Spaniards don't send bullets whistling around your
ears. How soon will we make Havana, captain?"
One of Dynamite's roaring laughs greeted this question of Bert's.
"Me boy," he said, as soon as he caught his breath, "if we should sail
into Havana harbor every mother's son of us would be shot by sunrise
to-morrow."
"But you are going to land somewhere?" questioned Harry.
"Sure there's a fine bit of a place down the coast that we'll take a
peep into before the moon's high to-night--barrin' any more Spanish
terriers. Sure they're thick on this coast. A pack of snarling mongrels,
and all snapping at the heels of Captain Dynamite. It's a proud man I
should be with a head on me that's worth five thousand dollars to the
man who can take it to Weyler."
"Do you mean that the Spaniards have put a price of five thousand
dollars on your head?" asked Harry in amazement, as he backed away from
the man instinctively.
"That was before my last voyage," chuckled the captain. "I would not be
surprised if they had boosted the quotation a point or two since then.
Gomez will know the latest market price."
The boys looked at him with awe. Here was a man who, though sailing into
the enemy's waters, boldly laughed at the thought that there was a price
on his head.
"He's the finest buccaneer I ever met outside of story books," whispered
Mason, as if meeting buccaneers was an every day occurrence with him.
"Suarez," called the captain, "lay off and on until eight bells, then
call me. I'm going to take a nap. We can't make the inlet until
sundown."
Slowly Cuba rose out of the sea as the _Mariella_ ploughed her way
toward her shores. The long dark line began to take shape against the
azure sky and to form itself into hills and valleys. The dark mass
turned to a deep shade of brown and then to green as the brilliant
verdure of the island caught the rays of the sun. When they were near
enough to distinguish the contour of the coast line, the steamer's
course was changed and for a time she stood out to sea again.
"What are we doing that for?" enquired Bert, anxiously.
"Didn't you hear the captain tell Suarez to stand off and on until eight
bells? We are probably going to make a landing somewhere here, but it is
not yet time."
At this moment eight bells struck and without waiting to be called,
Captain Dynamite opened the door of the cabin and stepped out on deck.
Once again he had changed his costume and was now attired in white duck
and wore a white yachting cap. As a breeze blew his coat aside, the boys
could see that he still wore the cartridge belt and pistols. He scanned
the shore for a moment and then turning to the mate, who still stood on
the bridge, he said:
"Well done, Suarez. At sundown I will take her in."
The coast at this point seemed covered with a thick, tropical growth of
palms and high, rank weeds, interlaced thickly with vines that reached
to the water's edge. Back a few hundred feet the land rose abruptly,
forming the foothills of the mountainous inland. The boys looked closely
for some inlet or bay into which the _Mariella_ might steam, but there
seemed to be no break in the thick foliage so far as the eye could
reach. In the silhouette formed by the rising hills two palms, taller
than the others, stood out against the sky like lone sentinels guarding
the shore against invading buccaneers.
At dinner, the captain was in a particularly agreeable mood.
"Well, my young pirates, how are you enjoying your cruise?" he asked
jokingly. "It's pretty nearly at an end and all danger for you is about
past. In an hour or so we shall be safely within the sheltering arms of
Cuba, and I think it is about time I introduced myself to you. I am
plain Michael O'Connor, sometimes known as Dynamite Mike, but more
generally styled Captain Dynamite--at your service. I am neither a
buccaneer, pirate, nor privateer, but an humble Cuban sympathizer who
takes his life in his hand now and then to bring arms and ammunition to
the men who are fighting for the good cause of Cuba libre. I do this,
first, because I love Cuba; second, because it is a very lucrative
profession; third, because I like danger."
"But, Captain Dynamite, why should an Irishman love Cuba?" asked Harry.
"Sure, I'm only half Irish. My mother was a Cuban and I was born on the
island on my father's little sugar plantation. The Spaniards shut him up
as an insurgent. He died in jail--tortured to death I shall always
believe--and my mother died of a broken heart in the arms of my
childhood sweetheart, Juanita. I was not there. I left the island when
only a youngster, to shift for myself in the States. I took to the sea
and I shall always be thankful that I did, for it has enabled me in some
measure to avenge the death of my father. But now to your own affairs,
my boys. After we have safely disposed of our cargo, I shall be free to
make a straight run for the States, and as I shall have others aboard
for whose safety I shall be responsible, I think probably you had better
stick to the old _Mariella_. I did think of getting you onto the
railroad to Havana, but your lack of passports might cause you
trouble."
"We'll stick by the _Mariella_, captain," said Harry. "What do you say,
fellows?"
"Sure, the _Mariella_ for us."
"All right, that's settled. I think it's about time to run to cover."
As they stepped out on deck the tropical twilight was fading and the
steamer was now close within the dark shadow of the shore. Captain
Dynamite went forward to the bridge.
"Turn in, Suarez. It has been a long day for you. I will take her now."
The mate saluted and left the bridge. The captain entered the wheelhouse
and the man relinquished the spokes and stood silently to one side. The
captain swung the wheel over quickly, with a sure, firm hand, and the
bow of the _Mariella_ came around until she was headed directly for the
wooded shore. Harry saw him raise his eyes and look once at the sentinel
palms.
Then the engine-room bell clanged loudly and the _Mariella_ shot at full
speed, head on for the shore.