but that chap breaks the record for cool impudence! Spanish is not my
strong point, but, if I understood him aright, after calmly
acknowledging that he had been hired to murder our friend Jack, here, he
with equal calmness informs you that if you should at any time want a
similar job done, he will be pleased to undertake it, and will do his
best to afford you complete satisfaction! `Murders of the most
barbarous description undertaken, and executed with promptitude and
dispatch', eh? By Jove, this is an interesting country!"
Carlos laughed rather bitterly. "Yes, it is, isn't it?" he responded.
"And it has come to this under Spanish rule. That fellow knew perfectly
well that, in accepting Alvaros' commission, he was incurring absolutely
no risks whatever, beyond such small personal danger as was involved in
his attack upon a sleeping man, and that is not much, as a rule. But
the incident goes to show what a vindictive and unscrupulous scoundrel
that fellow Alvaros is. I must tell the Padre about it to-morrow, for
it is evident that the man means mischief, and we must all be on our
guard. The worst of it is that we can take no overt steps in the
matter; for, as our friend Panza hinted, if we were to go to the
authorities with a statement of what has occurred, and lodge a complaint
against Alvaros, we should only be laughed at. The Spanish Government
protects its own people pretty effectually; but Cubans and foreigners
have to take care of themselves as best they can."
"Nevertheless," said Milsom, "I should advise Jack to put the matter
into the hands of our Consul at Havana, who is not at all the sort of
fellow to stand any nonsense. He would doubtless communicate promptly
with the Capitan-General, informing him of what has happened, and giving
him very clearly to understand that he will be held responsible if,
after receiving such information, anything is allowed to happen to
Jack."
"Yes," assented Carlos, "that might be a good plan, perhaps. But I
would suggest that you decide upon nothing until we have had a talk with
the Padre to-morrow. Let us hear, first, what he thinks of the affair.
Meanwhile, Jack, I think you need not apprehend any further molestation
to-night, and certainly none from Panza; after swearing that oath he
will not again raise his hand against you. But, to make assurance
doubly sure, I will rouse Pedro and instruct him to mount guard under
the veranda for the remainder of the night, and to turn loose the two
bloodhounds. Then woe betide any stranger who attempts to approach the
house!"
On the following morning, after first breakfast, Carlos and Jack
followed Don Hermoso into his office, where the former informed his
father of the incident of the preceding night, and of Milsom's
suggestion that the matter should be placed in the hands of the English
Consul, to be dealt with as that official might deem fit. Don Hermoso
was of course, as might be expected, most indignant at the outrage, and
was at first very strongly disposed to make a personal matter of it by
lodging a formal complaint with the Capitan-General against Alvaros; but
after listening to all that his son and Jack had to say he finally
allowed himself to be dissuaded from taking so decisive a step,
especially as he fully shared their doubts as to its effectiveness: but
he cordially approved of Milsom's suggestion that the affair should be
laid before the English Consul, and the final result of the talk was
that Jack and Carlos forthwith rode into Pinar del Rio, and from thence
took train to Havana, where they arrived rather late in the afternoon,
yet still early enough to catch the Consul ere he left his office for
the day. This official gave the two young men a cordial welcome, and
listened to Jack's story with the utmost attention, his mouth setting
ever more firmly and the frown upon his brow lowering ever more darkly
as the story proceeded. When at length it was finished he said:
"I have heard of this man Alvaros before, but never any good of him.
Yet I believe he stands well with the Capitan-General. But of course I
shall not allow that to influence me; one of my duties here is to
protect British subjects, and I intend to do it. It is rather
unfortunate, Mr Singleton, that you should have chosen this particular
period for your visit to Cuba, for I may tell you--if you don't happen
to know it already--that foreigners of all kinds, and particularly
Americans and English, are looked upon with scant favour by the
Spaniards just now, as the latter suspect them of favouring the
aspirations of the Cubans toward independence. And that reminds me that
the Spaniards somehow got hold of the notion that you were bringing out
a cargo of contraband of war for the Cuban insurgents. I suppose there
is no truth in that story, is there?"
Jack had been expecting some such question as this, sooner or later, and
was fully prepared for it. He had made up his mind that to tell the
Consul the whole truth of the matter would only be to place that
official in an extremely embarrassing position, so he answered, with a
laugh:
"They took good care to test the truth of the story for themselves by
sending out a torpedo boat to accompany us from Key West and see that we
did not land anything of the kind. But something went wrong with her--
she apparently broke down--and we left her. But, to make assurance
doubly sure, they also sent out a gunboat which--quite unlawfully, in my
opinion--stopped us on the high seas, and informed us that we were all
prisoners." Then Jack went on to relate in full detail all the
occurrences of that afternoon--how Milsom had refused to surrender the
yacht, and had threatened to sink the gunboat if force were attempted,
and how he, Jack, had subsequently insisted upon the yacht being
searched, and how nothing had been found, to the intense disappointment
and chagrin of the Spanish officers, from whom he had exacted an ample
apology.
The Consul's brow cleared, and he laughed heartily as Jack described in
graphic language the entire incident, from beginning to end; and when
the story was ended he was pleased to express a somewhat qualified
approval of the Englishmen's behaviour.
"As a matter of fact," he said, "the whole affair was in the highest
degree irregular. On the one hand, the Spaniards had no business to
stop you on the high seas, whatever their suspicions may have been; and
in so doing they exceeded their rights and laid themselves open to the
rebuff which you gave them. On the other hand, although I do not blame
you altogether for your somewhat high-handed action in offering
resistance to their attempted seizure of your vessel, it would have been
more politic on your part to have submitted, and then placed the whole
affair in my hands. I would have seen to it that no harm befell you;
and I would also have exacted from the Government an ample apology and
adequate compensation for the outrage. However, that is all past and
done with; but I have no doubt you will be quite able to follow me when
I point out to you that such an incident is, in itself, quite sufficient
to render you a somewhat unpopular personage with the Spanish officials,
and to cause them to regard with scarcely veiled disapproval your avowed
intention to prolong your visit to the island. I tell you candidly that
you must be quite prepared to have your stay in Cuba rendered as
unpleasant as it can possibly be made; and I ought to advise you to make
that stay as brief as possible. But if you choose to remain I will do
my utmost to protect you; and I can guarantee you freedom from official
interference so long as you abstain from meddling with politics. But of
course I cannot insure you against private malignity, such as that of
this fellow Alvaros; the utmost that I can promise is that, should
anything untoward happen to you, I will exact ample reparation. I shall
make it my business to call upon the Capitan-General to-morrow, and will
not only lay the whole case before him, but will also insist upon his
taking some steps to mark his disapproval of Captain Alvaros' peculiar
methods of venting his personal spite. And now, since you cannot
possibly get back to Senor Montijo's place to-night, I think perhaps you
cannot do better than come home with me; I can put you both up quite
easily."
Thus it was accordingly arranged; and after dinner their genial host
took the two young men out and showed them something of the town of
Havana, which was very interesting to Jack, although less so to Carlos,
who was of course tolerably familiar with the place. They also took the
opportunity to pay a flying visit to the _Thetis_, which they found
moored just off the custom-house, still with four customs officers on
board; but the other precaution mentioned by Milsom had been relaxed,
for it was gradually being borne in upon the minds of the Spanish
officials that there was nothing about the ship, or about the behaviour
of her people, to justify their suspicions. Everything was found quite
right on board her: Perkins took care to keep everybody on the alert, a
strict anchor watch was maintained every night, to guard against any
possible attempt to maliciously damage the ship; and it appeared that,
before leaving her, Milsom had taken care to have the bunkers filled to
their utmost capacity, while Macintyre, the chief engineer, after having
had the boilers thoroughly cleaned, had caused them to be filled with
fresh water in readiness to get up steam at a moment's notice.
On the following morning the Consul called upon the Capitan-General,
taking the two lads with him, and lodged a formal, but none the less
vigorous, complaint respecting the outrage which had been offered to a
British subject--Jack, to wit--by one of his officers. The Capitan-
General, who was a fine, stately, white-haired man, listened with the
most courteous attention to what the two Englishmen had to say, and
then, with equal courtesy, proceeded to pooh-pooh the whole story,
insisting upon the exceeding unlikelihood of any officer of Captain
Alvaros' standing in the Spanish service stooping to so degrading and
cowardly a step as that of hiring an assassin to "remove" an almost
total stranger from his path. He dwelt very strongly upon the sterling
worth of Senor Alvaros' character, and the very high esteem in which
that gentleman was held by all who enjoyed the privilege of his
acquaintance; and mildly reproached the Englishmen for being so
credulous as to believe the unsupported story of such an unmitigated
ruffian as Panza had appeared to be. The fact that the character of a
Spanish officer and gentleman could be so easily smirched was dwelt upon
by him at some length, but more in sorrow than in anger; and he did not
omit to draw the especial attention of his visitors to the important
fact that, even according to their own showing, there was no sufficient
motive to induce Senor Alvaros to engage in such a very reprehensible
undertaking.
It was intensely amusing to Jack, and scarcely less so to Carlos, to
observe the sympathetic courtesy with which the English Consul listened
to all this rigmarole, which, from his manner, one might have believed
to have been absolutely convincing--until he remarked, in turn:
"Well, my dear General, after all has been said, one fact remains; which
is, that Senor Singleton's life has been attempted by a man whom he
never saw before, and who could therefore have had no personal animus
against him. The obvious inference therefore is that he was hired by
someone to make the attempt; and he asserts that the man who hired him
was Senor Alvaros. Therefore, notwithstanding all that you have said,
if anything further of an untoward nature should happen to Senor
Singleton, I warn you that very grave suspicion will attach to Senor
Alvaros, and I shall be compelled to insist upon the most stringent
enquiry being made into the matter. I would therefore suggest--if you
will pardon me for taking so great a liberty--that Senor Alvaros should
be made aware of all the circumstances of the case; and that a hint
should be given him of the extreme necessity for the utmost
circumspection on his part. And now, General, I must offer you my most
sincere apologies for having occupied so much of your valuable time, and
tender you my warmest thanks for the great patience and courtesy with
which you have listened to what I have had to say. Good-morning!"
CHAPTER NINE.
AN URGENT APPEAL FOR HELP.
The two young men reached the casa Montijo, that afternoon, in just nice
time to partake of "afternoon tea", which function had promptly been
adopted by Senora Montijo and her daughter upon the return of Don
Hermoso and Carlos from England, as the very latest and most up-to-date
institution, and absolutely indispensable in every household having the
slightest pretensions to be considered as belonging to polite society.
They related, _in extenso_, the result of their visit to Havana, at
which no one was surprised, since everything had happened precisely as
had been expected; but all were agreed that, after the very strong
representations made by the English Consul, Jack need have very little
apprehension of further annoyance from Alvaros. Then Singleton
mentioned their impromptu visit to the yacht, and expressed to Milsom
his great satisfaction at the state in which he had found both the
vessel and her crew; and this, in turn, led to a further discussion of
Jack's proposal that the entire family should indulge in a cruise,
instead of allowing the craft to remain idle in harbour, fouling her
bottom with weed, and impairing the efficiency of her crew. It now
appeared that the original suggestion had very powerfully appealed to
the imagination of the ladies, who had kept it pretty persistently
before Don Hermoso, until he, worthy man, finding nothing very
convincing to advance against it, had been gradually brought into a
frame of mind that needed very little further persuasion to induce him
to give it his willing assent. Accordingly, before the evening was
over, the matter had been gone into in earnest, and arrangements
completed for a start in about a week's time; with the result that
Milsom set out for Havana immediately after first breakfast on the
following morning, for the purpose of making preparations.
The week passed, and the arrangements of the family had so far advanced
that their heavy baggage, dispatched in advance, was actually on its way
to Havana, for shipment on board the yacht, and was to be followed by
the family and Jack on the following day, when toward the end of the
afternoon a horseman dashed up to the door of the house, his clothing
thick with dust and his horse reeking with sweat, and demanded instant
audience with Senor Montijo on business of the utmost importance; and
his demand was enforced by the utterance of a password which secured his
prompt admission, Don Hermoso being at the moment engaged in his office,
where he was completing with his overseer the final arrangements to be
observed in his absence.
Ten minutes later Don Hermoso sent a servant in search of Jack and
Carlos, who, with Dona Isolda, had gone for a stroll up the ravine; and
when the two young men, having been found, entered Don Hermoso's sanctum
they discovered him in close conference with the aforesaid dust-stained
stranger, who proved to be a Cuban half-breed named Jorge Carnero. This
man, Don Hermoso explained, was the bearer of a letter from Senor Marti,
the leader of the revolutionary movement in Cuba, calling upon Don
Hermoso to assist him in a serious difficulty that had most unexpectedly
arisen. It appeared, according to Marti's letter, that the Junta
established in New York had, with the assistance of certain rich and
sympathetic Americans, collected an enormous quantity of arms,
ammunition, and stores of every description, which they had shipped on
board a shallow-draught steamer named the _James B. Potter_, with the
intention of having them landed in Mulata Bay, some fourteen miles to
the westward of Bahia Honda. Everything had gone admirably with the
arrangements, up to a certain point: the steamer had succeeded in
getting to sea without being stopped; a pilot was on board who was
perfectly acquainted with the dangerous coast where the landing was to
be effected; and every possible contingency in connection with the
landing and prompt conveyance inland of the munitions had been provided
for, when, at the very last moment, it had been discovered that the
Spanish authorities were perfectly aware of the whole scheme, and had
laid their plans for a torpedo boat to pounce upon the ship at the very
moment when, two days later, the steamer would appear off the coast and
enter the bay at which the landing of the munitions was to be effected.
The messenger, Jorge Carnero--whose absolute fidelity to the cause of
Free Cuba Marti guaranteed--was the man who had discovered the
Spaniards' knowledge of the expedition and their arrangement for
quashing it at the psychological moment; and he had been sent on to
Montijo, as bearer of Marti's letter asking for help, in order that he
might personally give Don Hermoso all the information possible. Marti's
only hope was that Senor Montijo might be able to dispatch his yacht to
intercept the _James B. Potter_, and warn her of the danger that lay
ahead, thus saving the ship and cargo from what must otherwise be
inevitable capture. "That," said Don Hermoso, in conclusion, "is the
story, Jack. The question now is: Can you devise any plan by which this
terrible disaster to our cause may be averted, and the cargo saved to
us?"
"When, do you say, is this steamer timed to arrive in Mulata Bay?"
demanded Jack.
Don Hermoso referred to Senor Marti's letter, and then replied: "At mid-
day, on the day after to-morrow."
"Ah!" said Jack. "That does not allow us very much time, does it? Of
course, by leaving here this evening, and spending the night in Pinar
del Rio--by which means we could catch the first train to Havana to-
morrow morning--we should be enabled to get to sea in very good time to
intercept the _James B. Potter_ somewhere in the Strait of Florida; and
it may be advisable for us to arrange our plans accordingly, although I
am afraid our proceeding to sea to-morrow will revive and greatly
strengthen all the Spaniards' former suspicions of us, especially if the
_James B. Potter_ should afterwards fail to turn up at her rendezvous
at the appointed time. Still, if necessary, we must risk that, rather
than permit the ship and cargo to be captured. Do you happen to know
where the torpedo boat is lying that is to effect the capture?" he
demanded, turning to Carnero.
"Yes, Senor," answered Carnero; "she is torpedo boat Number 19, and she
is lying in Havana harbour, from which she is to sally forth at the
proper moment and conceal herself behind one of the cays lying just to
the westward of Mulata Bay, where she will await the approach of the
American ship."
"A very pretty scheme, and one that is exceedingly likely to succeed--if
we do not interfere," commented Jack. "Are there any other Government
vessels in Havana harbour?" he asked, turning again to Carnero.
"Yes, Senor, certainly," answered Carnero. "There are two others: the
_Tiburon_ gunboat, and the cruiser _Infanta Isabel_."
"Any steam tugs, or craft of any kind, capable of taking a few soldiers
on board and running them round to Mulata Bay?" demanded Jack.
"Yes, Senor," answered Carnero, "there is the _Ballena_; but she is at
present hauled up on the slips for repairs, and her boiler is out, so
she need not be considered."
"And are those which you have named all that the Government has at its
disposal?" persisted Jack.
"Yes, Senor," answered Carnero. "There are, of course, trading steamers
sailing out of Havana, which the Government might requisition, in case
of need; but--now, let me consider--yes, it happens that on the day
after to-morrow not a single steamer will be in port; and the first that
may be expected is due to arrive at midnight of that day."
"Good!" exclaimed Jack. "Then I think I can see my way. We will do
better than go out to intercept the American, Don Hermoso; we will
render it impossible for either of those three Government craft to go
out of harbour on that day. But when the authorities find their three
steamers disabled, they may take it into their heads to throw a few
soldiers on board a sailing craft of some sort and send her out to
endeavour to capture the _James B. Potter_; therefore you had better
send word to the people who are to receive the goods that, while they
need not fear a warship of any kind, they had better be prepared to
fight a few soldiers, if necessary."
"Certainly, that can be managed without difficulty," answered Don
Hermoso. "But let us hear your plan, Jack. Our friend Carnero, here,
is absolutely trustworthy, therefore you may speak without reserve
before him; and if he knows what we intend to do, he will be able to
tell others, who will know just what is to happen, and what they will
have to provide for."
"Very well," said Jack. "This is my plan. You will remember how neatly
we doctored the torpedo boat that followed us to sea from Key West?
Well, I simply propose to treat the three Government craft in Havana
harbour in the same way, only more so. That is to say, I propose,
either by fouling their propellers or otherwise, to prevent them from
going to sea at all on that day, or until their propellers are cleared;
and that, I think, ought to give the American ship time to run in,
discharge her cargo, and get to sea again without molestation. But, in
order to do this, it will be necessary that we--or at all events I--
should go into Pinar del Rio to-night, in order to catch either the last
train to-night or the first train to-morrow to Havana. Perhaps it will
look less suspicious if I go alone to-night and you follow on at your
leisure to-morrow."
"If you are particularly anxious to reach Havana to-night, Senor, it can
be done," exclaimed Carnero. "I know a short cut from here that will
take us to Pinar within the hour, if you are a good horseman. But, to
do it, we must start almost at once."
"I am ready now," said Jack, "and as to horsemanship--well, I have
hunted over some pretty stiff country in England, which ought to be good
enough. Carlos, old man, will you see to bringing along my bag with you
to-morrow?"
"The Padre will, Jack, of course; but, as for me, I go with you to-
night, for I have a notion that I can be useful in the carrying out of
this scheme of yours. What say you, Padre?"
"I say, go, by all means, my son, if Jack thinks that you will be of the
slightest use to him," answered Don Hermoso. "As for your bags, and so
on, I will of course take care that they shall go forward with us to-
morrow."
"Very well, then," said Jack, "in that case let Carlos go with me, for I
cannot tell but that we may be glad enough to have him with us during
our operations to-morrow. And now I suppose we had better see about
making a start. What about horses, Carlos?"
"I will go and give instructions to have them saddled forthwith,"
answered the latter; and he rose and went out to the patio, Jack
meanwhile making a few final arrangements as to the hour and place of
meeting on the morrow in Havana.
Five minutes later the horses were brought round to the front of the
house, and the young men, having meanwhile said a word or two of
explanation to the ladies and bidden them temporarily adieu, mounted,
and, accompanied by Carnero as guide, cantered off down the long path
leading to the main road. But ere they reached this their guide turned
off to the right, and, following a path that led through the tobacco
fields, took them over the fence that formed one of the boundaries of
Don Hermoso's property, and the party found themselves in the open
country, over which Carnero led them in a bee-line, taking brooks,
watercourses, and obstructions of various kinds as they came. The pace
of the riders was by no means rapid, nothing more than a brisk canter,
in fact, but, the route taken being practically the shortest possible
distance between Senor Montijo's hacienda and Pinar del Rio, the journey
was accomplished in little over an hour; and when at length they pulled
up at the railway station they had a good four minutes in hand.
"All right, Senores!" said Carnero, as he received the bridles of the
two horses, "I will see that the nags are properly rubbed down and
attended to, and that they shall be in readiness to go back with the
coach and the servants to-morrow. Adios, Senores; luck go with you!"