CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
JACK GROWS DESPERATE.
By a lucky chance it happened that Don Ramon was at home when Jackreached the house, and the young man was accordingly conducted to theroom in which his Spanish friend usually transacted his business.
At sight of his visitor Don Ramon flung down his pen and grasped Jack bythe hand.
"Well," he exclaimed, "what is it? You have picked up some news atlast, I can see; and it is bad news, I fear, by the look of you. Or isit that you are ill? Por Dios, man, you look as though you might bedying! Here, sit down, and let me ring for some cognac."
"No, no," said Jack, "I need no cognac, or anything else, thanks; but Ihave just gained some news of our poor friends, and bad news it is, asyou shall hear." And thereupon he related all that had passed at therestaurant, repeating Alvaros' words as nearly verbatim as he couldremember them.
"Oh, the despicable villain, the atrocious scoundrel!" exclaimed DonRamon, when Singleton had come to the end of his narrative. "But do youreally believe that the part of his story relating to the SenoritaIsolda is true? May it not be that it is merely the empty boast of aninordinately vain man? There are individuals, you know, who pridethemselves on that sort of thing."
"So I believe," answered Jack, "though, thank God, it has never been mymisfortune to be brought into contact with any of them until now. No; Iam afraid that the story is only too true. The scoundrel, beingGovernor of the prison, would have the power to--to--do what he says hedid, and the mere fact that he boasted of it seems pretty strongevidence that he also had the will. I am therefore afraid that--that--oh, hang it! this won't do; I must pull myself together or I shall befit for nothing."
"That is very true," acquiesced Don Ramon; "when a man is going out tofight another he must not allow his nerves to be upset by giving way toviolent emotion. Now, have you decided upon what weapons you will fightwith? Being the challenged party, you know, you have the choice ofweapons."
"Have I?" said Jack wearily. "Why, yes, of course, I suppose I have.But I have not given a ghost of a thought to the question of weapons.One thing is certain: I don't wish to kill Alvaros, for, of course,Carlos will want to have a turn with him as soon as he can get thechance, and he would, quite rightly, be furious with me if I were tobalk him. But neither do I wish him to kill me, for that would entirelyupset all my plans. What I should like to do would be to give him atremendous punishing without endangering his life. I suppose it wouldnot be good form to choose fists as the weapons, would it?"
Don Ramon laughed. "I scarcely know whether or not it would be `goodform' to insist on fighting with your bare fists," he said, "but I knowthat it would be most unusual. Still, I am not sure that itssingularity would constitute an insuperable bar to its acceptance by theseconds. At any rate there will be no harm in offering the suggestionto de Albareda; he is a thorough good fellow all through, and you maysafely leave yourself in his hands. But, if you will pardon me forsaying so, my young friend, it appears to me that you are actingsomewhat quixotically in sparing this blackguard in order that yourfriend Carlos may be able to take a hand in his punishment. If thequarrel were mine, I should choose pistols, and shoot the fellow dead,thus making sure of him. Besides, do you suppose that poor Carlos willever have a chance to get away from Fernando Po, when once they have gothim there?"
"He never will get there; neither he nor any of the rest of the family,"said Jack, his eye brightening as the thought of his great adventurecame into his mind. "I have already decided what to do, so far as theyare concerned. I shall follow that convict ship, and take the Montijosout of her."
"But, my dear boy," remonstrated Bergera, "you cannot possibly do that,you know. It would be an act of piracy on the high seas!"
"I don't care the value of a brass button what it is," declared Jack, "Iam going to do it; and I will take my chance of being hanged for itafterwards. But it will not be piracy, for I shall do the trick underthe Cuban flag--the flag of Cuba Libre, and I shall therefore be abelligerent, not a pirate. And, as to shooting Alvaros dead--Icertainly will not do that if I can possibly help it, for such apunishment as that would be altogether too light for the atrocious crimeof which he has been guilty, upon his own confession."
"Very well," said Don Ramon; "you must do as you please, both in thatand the other matter, for I see that you have already made up your mindin both cases. I am glad that you came straight to me with your news,although it is of such a dreadful character: for, now that we haveAlvaros' statements that our poor, unhappy friends are in La Jacoba, andthat they are to leave for Fernando Po on Sunday, I shall know how andwhere to prosecute my enquiries; and it is very essential that we shouldassure ourselves of the truth of both statements, otherwise your attemptat rescue may miss fire, after all. Now, I suppose you will fight thatvillain to-morrow morning at daybreak. If so, do me the favour ofcoming here to early breakfast with me at eight o'clock; you can thentell me what has happened, and I, for my part, shall by that time be ina position to tell you definitely how much of Alvaros' story is true."
"Certainly," answered Jack; "I will come with pleasure. And meanwhile Isuppose I ought to be getting back to the yacht, to be ready to receivede Albareda. So, good-bye! See you to-morrow."
It was nearly three o'clock when Singleton reached the _Thetis_; but inanswer to his enquiries he was informed that no stranger had visited theship. He therefore spent the entire afternoon in posting Milsom on theposition of affairs generally, and discussing with him Jack's plan forthe rescue of the Montijos from the convict steamer; which plan, by theway, Milsom pronounced to be quite feasible, stating that, like Jack, hewas fully prepared to go through with it, piracy or not. And therewithhe began to congratulate himself upon his foresight in employing hisspare time in the preparation of his wonderful disguise for the yacht,an opportunity to use which he had been awaiting with steadily-growingimpatience.
It was past five o'clock when the steam pinnace appeared approaching theyacht, with de Albareda in the stern-sheets; and that officer explainedhis delay by stating that he had been obliged to go on duty during theafternoon, and had only just escaped therefrom. He plunged at once intothe business on hand by reminding Jack that the choice of weapons washis, and asking him whether he had yet decided what he would use. Hewas at first inclined to be somewhat annoyed when Jack explained withearnestness that he would prefer to fight with fists only, for he was aman who had a profound respect for the duello, which he considered oughtto be conducted with all due formality and dignity; but finally burstinto a fit of hearty laughter at the absurdity--as he regarded it--oftwo men attempting to settle a serious quarrel by pommelling each otherlike a brace of schoolboys. He admitted that, if Jack chose to insistupon fists as weapons, he would be strictly within his rights, butdwelt, as Don Ramon also had done, upon the unusual character of such ademand, and strongly hinted at his own partiality for pistols; whereuponJack gracefully conceded the point and agreed that pistols it should be.The remaining details were speedily settled, the hour arranged beingsunrise on the following morning, and the place the Botanical Gardens.Then de Albareda went ashore again to interview Alvaros' second andapprise him of the nature of the arrangements, promising to return tothe yacht in time for dinner, and spend the night on board. And a verypleasant, genial fellow he proved to be; and a very agreeable eveningJack, Milsom, and he spent together.
There are many more cheerful places in the world than the HavanaBotanical Gardens just at sunrise, for at that hour the mists lie chilland heavy upon the ground, the grass is saturated with dew, and thenumerous trees not only freely bespatter everything beneath theirwidespreading branches with copious showers of dewdrops, as the windsweeps through them, but many of them have a trick of assuming asingularly weird and uncanny appearance in the first faint light of theearly dawn; yet Jack felt quite happy, not to say exhilarated, as he andhis friend the Colonel of Cuirassiers stepped briskly along the dew-sodden gravel paths on their way to the rendezvous,
which was an open,grassy space in the south-west corner of the Gardens. Albareda had beenassiduously coaching his principal, ever since leaving the yacht, in theetiquette of the duello as observed by the Spanish army, until heconsidered that he had made his companion letter-perfect; and now he wasgiving Jack a few last words of caution and admonition before standinghim up to be shot at.
"There is no doubt in my mind," said he, "that Alvaros intends to killyou, if he can; for what you said to him yesterday has evidently sunkinto his mind and made him afraid of you. Therefore you must be carefulto fire sharp upon the word, or he will have you, for--to give thefellow his due--he is rather a neat and quick hand with the pistol. Theword will be given thus: `One--two--three!' and at the word `three' youmust pull trigger. And I should recommend you to look him straightbetween the eyes from the moment that you are posted, otherwise he mayattempt to play some trick with you, such as firing a fraction of asecond before the proper time, or something of that sort. Ah, here weare, first on the ground, thank goodness, with a full two minutes tospare! Only just managed it, however, for"--looking back along the pathby which they had come--"here come the other fellows, and the surgeonwith them. How are you feeling? Quite cool and comfortable? Good;that is excellent!"
The conditions were simple: the duellists were to exchange not more thanthree shots, at a distance of twelve paces, and were to fire at the wordof command; and at the last moment it was agreed, at Albareda'ssuggestion, that if either of the combatants fired before the word ofcommand, he was to be penalised by his antagonist being given theprivilege of an extra shot at him. It was evident to all that thiscondition was exceedingly distasteful to Alvaros; yet he could notcomplain, or refuse its acceptance, since it imposed no hardshipwhatever upon the man who intended to fight fair. These matters beingarranged, the ground was selected, the utmost care being taken thatneither combatant had the slightest advantage over the other in thematter of light; the distance was paced off, and the men placed.
"Now," said Albareda, who was to give the word, "I shall count threesteadily, thus: `One--two--three!' and at the word `three'--but notbefore, remember--you may pull trigger. Now, are you both quite ready?Then--one--two--three!"
Jack most carefully observed every one of the instructions given him byhis second, including that which referred to looking his antagoniststeadily between the eyes, and he quickly saw that this simpleproceeding had a most disconcerting effect upon Alvaros, whose returngaze at once became shifty and uncertain; the result being that theSpaniard's bullet flew wide, while Jack's, aimed by a hand as steady asa rock, struck Alvaros' right elbow, completely shattering the bone andinflicting an injury that the surgeon, at a first glance, thought wouldprobably stiffen the arm for the remainder of its owner's life, to theextent of very seriously disabling him. Under these circumstancesAlvaros' second expressed himself satisfied, and declined any furthershots; whereupon Jack and his friend left the ground and went theirrespective ways, Jack back to the yacht, and the Colonel of Cuirassiersto his quarters.
By the time that Jack got back on board the _Thetis_ it was nearly seveno'clock, and the crew were busily engaged in performing the ship'stoilet for the day, spreading the awnings, and so on; he thereforeretired to the interior of the deck-house with Milsom, and arranged withthat individual that he should spend the day in filling the bunkers"chock-a-block" with coal, taking in fresh water, laying in a supply offresh meat, vegetables, and fruit for sea, and generally preparing to goout of harbour on the following day. Then, a thought suddenly strikinghim, he wired to Calderon, directing him to pack and dispatch forthwithto the yacht all the wearing apparel of every description that he couldfind, belonging to any of the members of the Montijo family; the boxesto arrive at Havana next day, without fail, not later than by the mid-day train. This done, he hurried away to keep his breakfast appointmentwith Don Ramon Bergera, whom he found awaiting him in a somewhat anxiousframe of mind lest anything untoward should have resulted from the duel.Reassured on this point, Don Ramon chatted with Jack upon indifferentsubjects until breakfast was served and the servants had been dismissed,when he said:
"You are no doubt anxious to learn the result of the enquiries into thetruth of Alvaros' story which I undertook to make, yesterday afternoon.Well, I can tell you this: I have ascertained, beyond all possibility ofdoubt, that the Montijos are, as that scoundrel stated, in La Jacoba;and also that they are all to be shipped off to Fernando Po by thesteamer _El Maranon_, which steamer is appointed to leave the harbour onSunday next. But by whose authority they are being thus summarily dealtwith, I cannot understand, or ascertain; the only thing which is quitecertain being that they have not been tried or convicted publicly.That, however, is nothing, for it is common knowledge that scores--indeed, I may say hundreds--of people who have been suspected ofdisloyalty to the Government have mysteriously vanished, from time totime, and have never again been heard of. In the light of what we nowknow, however, there is little doubt in my mind that they have all beensent either to Ceuta or to Fernando Po. Poor Cuba! She is indeed adowntrodden country, and it is little wonder that her people are at lastrising up in arms against the atrocious system of tyranny andmisgovernment under which they are groaning. The Capitan-General is agood man, and means well, I believe: but he is weak, and is moreoverhampered and embarrassed to the point of helplessness by themultiplicity of impossible instructions which he receives from home;and, furthermore, he is in the hands of a number of unscrupulous,overbearing subordinates who have arrogated to themselves almostautocratic powers, and who act upon their own responsibility, withoutconsulting him. I believe this is what has occurred in the case of theMontijos: this fellow Alvaros has somehow managed to work himself into aposition of very considerable power, and I have little doubt that he,and he only, is responsible for the whole shameful business, which, inmy opinion, has been neither more nor less than a determined butunsuccessful attempt to force the unhappy Senorita Isolda into amarriage with him!"
"Well," said Jack grimly, "he is going to repent of that business insackcloth and ashes before he dies; he has received his first instalmentof punishment this morning, and there is more in store for him!"
"By the way," said Don Ramon, "what do you propose to do with theMontijos when you have rescued them, in the event of this mad scheme ofyours proving successful?"
"Oh," said Jack, "I haven't thought of that, thus far! Of course itwill be for Don Hermoso to decide where he will go and what he will dowhen we have got him and his safely out of the convict ship. I imaginethat he will be anxious to return to his own place and take care of hisproperty, if he can. But, if not, he can always find safety inJamaica."
"Y-es," assented Don Ramon doubtfully; "that is of course all right, sofar as it goes. But the chances are that Alvaros' next move will be toprocure the confiscation of Don Hermoso's property, and secure itspossession to himself. Now, just let us consider that point for amoment. Should that happen, what will poor Don Hermoso do?"
"I know what I should do in such a case," said Jack. "I should returnto my property, and if Alvaros happened to be in possession of it--well,it would be so much the worse for Alvaros, that's all! I tell you, DonRamon, that in the struggle which is just now beginning in this island,it is the bold, strong men who are going to `come out on top', as theYankees say; and in the course of the next month or two the SpanishGovernment will have its hands so full that it will have no time to dealwith individuals."
"Yes," said Don Ramon with decision, "I believe you are quite rightthere, my young friend, and probably the most daring policy will be thesafest for all Cubans to pursue. Yes, there are possibilities in thatidea of yours, I believe; but I must think it over at greater leisurethan I have to spare for it just now. Meanwhile, it will manifestly bevery advantageous for Don Hermoso to know precisely how affairs stand,and what are the latest developments, before he attempts to return tohis home. I will therefore-- By the way, how long do you anticipatethat it will take you to effect the rescue?" r />
"Quite impossible to say," answered Jack. "The _Maranon_ will no doubtkeep the Cuban coast close aboard until she gets as far east as, say,Cavana Point, and then steer about midway between Great Inagua andHayti, keeping to the southward of all the banks, and so passing intothe open Atlantic, probably `taking her departure', in the navigator'ssense of the term, from Cape Viejo Francais, on the northern coast ofHayti, and striking thence, as straight across as she can go, toFernando Po. It is my intention to go to sea to-morrow, or next day,perhaps, and lie in wait for her; after which I shall follow her at asufficient distance to avoid arousing the suspicions of the captain, andpounce upon her at the first favourable opportunity that presentsitself. But probably, if all goes well with us, they will be free againin a fortnight from to-day."
"Upon my word," said Don Ramon, laughing, "it is positively exhilaratingto hear the confident tone in which you talk; you are actuallyinveigling me into the indulgence of some sort of ridiculous hope thatyour enterprise will be successful! Now, let us talk for a moment ortwo as though that hope were going to be realised. When you haveaccomplished the rescue of our friends, you had better put into someCuban port where your yacht is not known, and communicate with me bytelegraph. Now, what would be the best place for you to call at?"
"Really," said Jack, "I don't think it matters very much; the _Thetis_has been into practically every port in Cuba, but that is no reason whyshe should not enter any of them again. For you must remember that itwill be some time before the escape of the Montijo family is known;probably not until the _Maranon_ has travelled all the way to FernandoPo and back--if she is indeed to return to Havana, which, by the way, isby no means certain. How would Guantanamo do?"
"Guantanamo would do very well indeed," answered Don Ramon. "Yes;Guantanamo let it be. Now, the next matter to be considered is thequestion of a cipher in which to communicate, for of course it goeswithout saying that a cipher of some sort must be used; it would neverdo for such treasonable correspondence as we have in our minds to becarried on in plain language, capable of being understood by everytelegraph clerk or letter-sorter through whose hands it may chance topass. You don't happen to be acquainted with any first-class cipher, Isuppose?"
"Yes, I do, if I can but recall it to mind," said Jack. "I met with itin a book some time ago, and it struck me as being especially good fromthe fact that it consisted entirely of figures, and that it was notnecessary to use precisely the same figures every time to represent anyparticular letter; hence it seems impossible for anyone to decipher itwithout the key. Now, let me consider: how did it go? Something likethis, I think. Can you let me have a pencil and a sheet of paper?"
Don Ramon produced the articles required, and Singleton set to work withthem. Presently he glanced up with an exclamation of satisfaction."Yes," he said, "that is right; I thought I had not forgotten it. Thisis how it goes:" and he proceeded to explain the system to Don Ramon.
"Excellent!" exclaimed the latter; "nothing could be better, for it isabsolutely safe. Very well, Senor, we will use this cipher, then, incommunicating with each other; and you will wire to me upon your arrivalat Guantanamo. Meanwhile, I will make it my business to watch thecourse of events here, and be prepared to furnish you with all the newsas soon as I hear of your return. Now, is there anything else remainingto be arranged?"
They both considered for several minutes, and at length came to theconclusion that there was not. Whereupon, breakfast having been by thistime dispatched, Jack rose and took his leave, laden down with kind andencouraging messages for the Montijos, to be delivered when the rescueof the family should have been accomplished.
From Don Ramon's house Jack made his way to the British Consulate, wherehe bade farewell to the Consul, explaining to that gentleman that he wastired of shore life, and intended to go to sea for a change; and that,further, he did not in the least know whether he should return, orwhether he should decide to go home.
"If you will take my advice, young gentleman," said the Consul, "youwill go home--and stay there; or, at least, you will stay away from Cubauntil all these troubles are over."
Jack promised that he would give that advice his most carefulconsideration; after which he bade his fellow-countryman adieu, and madehis way aboard the yacht, where Milsom was found busily arranging totake the _Thetis_ alongside a coal hulk as soon as the water lighter hadcast off. The remainder of that day was a busy time for both men, forMilsom still had his clearance to effect, and all the stores to receive;while Jack spent the afternoon at the railway station awaiting thearrival of the baggage, the due dispatch of which Calderon had notifiedto him by telegraph. It arrived late in the afternoon, and was takenstraight aboard the yacht, where it was placed at haphazard in thecabins lately occupied by the various members of the Montijo family.Then, when at length the bustle of preparation was ended, and the yachtwas in condition to leave at a moment's notice, Jack and Milsomadjourned to the chart-house to discuss those matters which were toensue upon the departure of the _Thetis_ from Havana harbour.
"Now," said Singleton, as he took from a drawer in the chart case alarge-scale chart of Cuba, and laid it on top of the case, "how long doyou suppose it will take you to effect the transmogrification of thisship by means of that disguise of yours?"
"Well," answered Milsom, "seeing that I have never yet rigged thearrangement, I am not prepared to say, to half an hour or so, just howlong it will take. I reckon that, under favourable conditions, it oughtto be done in about four hours; but, to make all certain, suppose wecall it twelve hours. That ought to suffice and at the same time leavea sufficient margin for any small alterations that may be necessary.You seem just a little bit inclined to sneer at my `wonderful' disguise,Master Jack; but you had better wait until you have seen it before youdo that. I venture to remind you that I am a Navy man, and, as such, Iknow a thing or two about disguising ships: I've had a little experiencein that direction during the carrying out of manoeuvres; and I amprepared to make a bet that if you--not knowing anything about thearrangement, mind you--were to pass this vessel, in her disguisedcondition, within half a mile, you would never recognise her."
"All right, Phil, old chap, don't get your back up! I'll take your wordfor it that the thing is all right," said Jack. "And if I seemed tospeak disparagingly of your contrivance, forgive me, old man, will you?I've had a good deal to worry me lately, and I'm afraid that both mynerves and my temper are a bit on edge; but I daresay I shall feelbetter when we get to sea again and can start to circumvent the SpanishGovernment, or at least that part of it which is responsible for themisrule and shameful injustice which are rampant in Cuba. Now, I thinkI understood you to say that you require quiet water to enable you torig this disguising arrangement, so I propose to go to sea to-morrow--which will be Thursday--and run down the coast to the eastward in searchof a secluded spot in which we can effect our transformation withoutbeing interfered with or overlooked by anybody. Now, let us have a lookat the chart."
"There ought not to be very much difficulty in finding a suitable spot,"remarked Milsom, as the pair bent over the sheet. "Ah," he continued,laying his finger upon the paper, "here we are! This should be aperfectly ideal place; just sufficient water, a lee to shelter under,and very little likelihood of being disturbed at our work. We can go inhere through the Boca de Sagua la Grande, haul up to the south-east, andcome to anchor in this little bight in two and a quarter fathoms ofwater. And when our preparations are complete we can go out to seaagain by way of the Boca de Maravillas, thus avoiding the observation ofthe people who tend the light on Hicacal Cay, who will be sure to noticeus as we go in. By the way, I picked up a rather useful little item ofinformation while I was ashore this afternoon. I fell in with theharbour-master, who seems quite a decent sort of chap, as Spaniards go;he and I have gradually grown to be rather chummy since we have been inharbour here, and upon the strength of the fact that I was clearing forsea I took him into that place on the quay yonder and cracked a farewellbottle of
wine with him. As we emptied the bottle we yarned togetherupon various topics; and by and by he made some casual mention of the_Maranon_, to which I replied by saying that she had the appearance ofbeing rather a fast vessel, and that I thought it a pity that herskipper did not take a little more pride in her appearance and smartenher up a bit by giving her a lick of paint occasionally. He shruggedhis shoulders and asked: What would I? The ship was a convict ship, andher appearance was a matter of no consequence. As to her speed, shecould steam twelve knots, but her most economical speed was eight, andhe opined that eight knots would therefore be her pace on the trip toFernando Po, for which reason he rather pitied the unfortunate convictswho were doomed to travel in her, for she had the reputation of being amost uneasy ship in a seaway. I also ascertained from him that she istimed to sail at two o'clock on Sunday afternoon, which should bring heroff our hiding-place about--let me see--yes, about seven o'clock onMonday morning. Now, if her skipper should chance to keep the coastpretty close aboard, as he possibly may, we ought to catch a glimpse ofher from our masthead as she goes past: but if, on the other hand, heshould push her off into mid-channel, to get the full benefit of thecurrent, I think our best plan will be to allow her, say, four hours fordelay in starting, and then follow until we sight her, when our furtheractions can be governed by circumstances. So I have instructed Perkinsto pass the word round among the deck hands for everybody to take a goodlook at her, so that they may know her again when they see her."
"Good!" exclaimed Jack. "That is excellent; the news is well worth abottle of wine. You don't think, I suppose, that your friend had anysuspicion of our intention, and deliberately told you all that for thepurpose of misleading you?"
"Not he," answered Milsom confidently; "he is too simple a chap toconceive any such suspicion as that. Besides, why should he? We havedone nothing to lead even the most suspicious Spaniard to connect ourdeparture with that of _El Maranon_. Oh, no! what he told me slippedout in the most casual way in the ordinary course of conversation, andyou may be sure that I was particularly careful not to question him, orto say anything which might lead him to suppose that I took the leastinterest in the movements of the ship."
"Well," said Jack, "we must hope for the best; but I am horriblyanxious, Phil, lest anything should go wrong with this scheme of ours.So much depends upon its success, you know. By the way, what about apilot for this place where we are going to transform the ship? Howshall we manage about him?"
"We shall not need to `manage' at all," answered Milsom, "for the simplereason that we shall not take a pilot. If we get under way at abouteight o'clock to-morrow morning we shall reach our destination withseveral hours of daylight in hand; and with the help of this chart, ahand aloft on the foremast, and two leadsmen in the forechains, I willguarantee to take this little hooker in and out of that berth without somuch as scratching her paint. Oh, no, we shall not take a pilot, whomight possibly go back to Havana and set people wondering what themischief was our object in slipping in behind Esquivel del Norte cay!"