The Cruise of the Thetis Part 10

"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 wars.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p 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 horsemans.h.i.+p--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!"

The clocks in the city were just striking ten when, after a somewhat tedious journey, the train clattered and jolted into the Western Station at Havana; and, jumping out, the lads chartered a volante--the local hansom, which is an open vehicle, mounted upon a pair of enormously high wheels, and fitted with such long shafts that it can only be turned with the utmost difficulty in the narrow streets--and drove down to the wharf, where they hired a sh.o.r.e boat to take them off to the yacht, which was lying moored to a pair of the trunk buoys in the harbour.

The s.h.i.+ps' bells were chiming "five", that is to say, half-past ten, as the boat, after having been challenged by the anchor watch, swept alongside the _Thetis's_ gangway ladder, and the two young men ascended to the deck. Somewhat to their surprise, they found Milsom on board; for, as they were not expected until the following day, they would not have been at all astonished to learn that the skipper was ash.o.r.e, amusing himself at the theatre, or elsewhere. But Milsom explained that he had had enough of Havana: he had been to the theatre twice, and considered that it was not a patch upon the Alhambra in Leicester Square at home; he had been to the Cathedral, and had been shown the tomb of Christopher Columbus--the genuineness of which he greatly doubted; he had sauntered in the Alameda in the evenings, listening to the military bands, of which he thought nothing, and trying to discover a Spanish girl that could hold a candle to one of our own wholesome, handsome English la.s.ses, and had failed; and he had also tried, and had failed, to determine the precise number of separate and distinct odours--"stinks", he called them--which go to make up the characteristic smell of Havana. From all of which it will be gathered that the worthy man, with the restlessness characteristic of the sailor, was beginning to weary of his inactivity--although during the past week he had been anything but inactive, it may be mentioned--and was pining for something fresh in the way of excitement. It appeared that, finding himself with spare time on his hands notwithstanding his preparation of the yacht for the projected trip, he had amused himself by designing an elaborate disguise for the craft, under the impression that a time might very possibly arrive when such a disguise would be found exceedingly useful; and he proudly produced a sketch of the said disguise which, when unfolded before the astonished gaze of the two young men, showed the _Thetis_ transmogrified into something resembling a two-funnelled torpedo gunboat, with ram stem and round, spoon-shaped stern all complete. It was a contraption most ingeniously built up of wood and canvas by the joint efforts and skill of Milsom, Macintyre, and the carpenter; and was so handily contrived that, according to the statement of its inventor or designer, given fine weather and smooth water for four hours, the vessel's appearance could be so completely changed that "her own mother wouldn't know her."

Having duly admired Milsom's ingenuity, Jack explained in detail the reason why he and Carlos had advanced the time of their arrival, and disclosed his scheme for the temporary disablement of the three men-o'- war in the harbour, into which scheme Milsom entered with the utmost gusto, even going to the length of rousing poor Macintyre out of his berth and ruthlessly breaking in upon his beauty sleep, in order that the parties might have the benefit of the chief engineer's advice and a.s.sistance. And when at length the little band of conspirators broke up at midnight and turned in, the plan of campaign had been arranged, down to the last detail.

After all, there was not very much to be done in the way of preparation; a couple of hours' work next day by Macintyre and his crew at the portable forge down in the stokehold, and everything was ready for the work which was to commence as soon as possible after ten o'clock that night. There was only one difficulty that still remained to be overcome, and that was the evading of the vigilance of the custom-house officers, who still remained on board the yacht. It is true that that vigilance had been very greatly relaxed of late, since it had been borne in upon even their limited intelligence that nothing remotely resembling an attempt to smuggle anything ash.o.r.e had ever been made; still, it would be awkward in the extreme if one or more of them should happen to be troubled with insomnia on that particular night, and elect to pa.s.s the sleepless hours on deck: but Don Hermoso might be trusted to attend to that matter when he should arrive on board about four o'clock, or a little after, as he did, accompanied by Senora Montijo and Dona Isolda.

The difficulty was explained to Don Hermoso during the progress of afternoon tea, which refreshment was partaken of on the top of the deck- house that adjoined the navigating bridge of the vessel; and after the meal was over, Carlos went ash.o.r.e in the steam pinnace and brought off a small phial of liquid that looked and tasted like water. Then, the fact having been elicited from the chief steward that the custom-house officers had evinced a very marked preference for whisky over the aguardiente of their native land, a bottle of the former was opened and, half a winegla.s.sful of the spirit having been poured from the bottle, a like quant.i.ty of the liquid from the phial was subst.i.tuted for it, the cork replaced, and the bottle well shaken. It was then sent forward to the _empleados de la aduana_ for their especial use, with the compliments of Don Hermoso, that they might drink his health and that of his family, and wish them a pleasant voyage, on this their last night on board, since the yacht would, weather permitting, go to sea some time on the morrow. Half an hour later the steward, with a knowing grin, reported to Milsom that the bottle was already three-parts empty.

"That is all right," commented Don Hermoso, when the statement was pa.s.sed on to him; "the gentlemen of the customs will not be troubled with sleeplessness to-night!" Nor were they; for four bells in the first watch had scarcely struck when, with many yawns, they retired below and--those who were supposed to be on watch as well as those who were off--in ten minutes were sleeping like logs.

"Now is our time, Phil, before the moon rises," exclaimed Jack, as soon as the report of the custom-house officers' retirement had been brought aft by the chief steward. "It is important to get the submarine into the water un.o.bserved; but, that done, we can wait until midnight, or even later, before commencing operations. By that time everybody will have turned in; and moreover we shall have the light of the moon to help us."

Accordingly, the canvas cover was removed from the particular boat in which the small submarine was hidden, and the mischievous little toy was carefully hoisted out, lowered into the water, submerged until only the top of her diminutive conning tower showed above water, and then effectually concealed by being moored to the boat boom, between the gig and the steam pinnace. Then advantage was taken of the darkness to pa.s.s down into her everything that had been prepared for the success of the forthcoming enterprise; after which everybody turned in, except Carlos, who undertook to keep a watch on deck until everything should seem sufficiently quiet in the harbour to admit of the adventurers beginning their work without incurring undue risk of detection.

At length two bells in the middle watch (one o'clock) pealed out from the various s.h.i.+ps in the harbour; the moon, just past the full, was riding high in the cloudless sky and affording quite as much light as the adventurers desired; and not a sound was to be heard save the faint moan of the wind in the rigging of the various craft in the harbour and the lap of the water alongside: everybody seemed to have gone to bed, except the anchor watch on board the men-o'-war--and they would probably lie down and endeavour to s.n.a.t.c.h a cat-nap until the moment should come round to again strike the bell. Carlos therefore thought the time propitious; and, treading noiselessly in his rubber-soled deck shoes, went below and quietly called Jack, Milsom, and Macintyre.

Macintyre was the first of the trio to appear on deck, for, his business being in the interior of the boat, he had no special dress to don; the pyjama suit in which he had been sleeping would serve as well as any other, and he accordingly wore it. Walking forward with bare feet, he slung himself over the rail, lay out on the boom, and, sliding down the painter of the steam pinnace, got on board that craft--as a "blind" to anyone who might perchance happen to have noticed his movements--and from thence surrept.i.tiously transferred himself to the interior of the submarine--having already cast the boat adrift--which he immediately sealed by fastening down the hood of the little conning tower. Then he set the electric air-pump going, in order to store up for himself a supply of air sufficient to last until the return of the boat. And while this was doing he quietly dropped the boat astern until she lay in the deep shadow cast by the overhanging counter of the yacht, where the other two could board her without the slightest risk of being seen.

Some ten minutes later Jack and Milsom appeared on deck, each attired in an improved Fleuss diving dress, by the use of which the necessity for air-pumps and pipes was done away with. Each man wore a long, stout, double-edged dagger in a sheath attached to his belt, as a protection against possible attacks by sharks, with which the waters of the harbour are known to swarm; while Milsom bore, in addition, a formidable lance for the same purpose, or, rather, for the purpose of protecting Jack while the latter worked. And each man wore, attached to his wrist by a lanyard, a small, light steel bar, about four inches long, to enable him to communicate with his companion--by means of the Morse code--by the simple process of tapping on his helmet. They also carried, attached to their belts, small but very powerful electric lanterns, the light of which they could switch on and off at will, to enable them to see what they were about. They had made all their arrangements during the previous day, and had exchanged a few brief last words just before s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g in the front gla.s.ses of their helmets. Each therefore knew exactly what he and his companion had to do, and they now accordingly proceeded straight aft, found the Jacob's ladder hanging over the yacht's stern, and by it descended to the submarine, Milsom going first and stationing himself on the boat's deck just abaft the conning tower, while Jack took the corresponding place on the fore side.

The weight of the two men was sufficient to just submerge the boat and bury them to their chins when sitting down, while they could disappear altogether by lying flat on the deck. The degree of submersion, therefore, was just right for the beginning of the adventure, and Jack accordingly signalled Macintyre, by means of an electric b.u.t.ton, first to back away from the yacht, and then to go ahead dead slow, guiding him at the same time how to steer by means of another b.u.t.ton.

The torpedo boat, being the most formidable of the three craft, was selected as the first to be operated upon, and the submarine was accordingly headed for her. The water of Havana harbour is unspeakably foul, the sewers of the town discharging into it, and it is almost opaque with the quant.i.ty of matter of various kinds that it holds in suspension; it was therefore necessary for the submarine to approach the torpedo boat pretty closely ere sinking any deeper, or it would have been difficult for the adventurers to find their prey in the muddy water, but they managed excellently, approaching within ten yards without being detected. Then Jack, unwilling to court failure by running any unnecessary risks, gave the order to sink slowly, at the same time turning on his electric lamp. Another moment, and he saw the torpedo boat's stern and propeller before him, and the submarine, magnificently managed by Macintyre, who had worked her in all her previous trials, drew gently up until she stopped motionless in such a position that Jack could do just what he wanted. He had decided not to attempt to remove the propeller in this case, lest the violent exertion required to start the nut should cause him to overbalance and fall to the bottom of the harbour, in which case he would inevitably be lost in the deep layer of foul mud which formed the harbour bottom. He therefore took a length of stout chain, already prepared for the purpose, and, having first carefully wound it round the three blades of the boat's propeller, pa.s.sed the loose ends round the keel bar and rudder where, having drawn them as tight as he and Milsom could draw them, he shackled them together, thus rendering it impossible to move the boat until the chain had been found and taken off. The whole job occupied them a bare quarter of an hour, and could have been done in less had it not been for the hindrance which they experienced from the fish, which--sharks luckily excepted--attracted by their lamps, swarmed round them so persistently that it was almost impossible to do any work for the obstruction of them.

The cruiser was the next craft to be dealt with, and, after her, the gunboat; the whole operation of disabling the three vessels being accomplished with almost ludicrous ease in about an hour and a quarter: after which the adventurers returned to the yacht and hoisted in the submarine, stowing her away and concealing her in the quarter boat, without, so far as they were aware, having attracted the attention of a single soul.

CHAPTER TEN.

THE ACT OF "CERTAIN VERY CLEVER CONSPIRATORS."

When, on the following morning, the saloon party on board the _Thetis_ mustered for breakfast beneath the awning which sheltered the top of the deck-house from the too-ardent rays of the sun, they found that their alfres...o...b..eakfast-room commanded an uninterrupted and most charming view of the whole of Havana harbour, with the picturesque old town stretching along the waterside on their port hand. It was at that moment a dead calm, for the sea breeze had not yet set in, and the mirrorlike surface of the water reflected a perfect picture of the various craft dotted about the harbour, and of the buildings ash.o.r.e, already blazing in the dazzling light of the unclouded sun. The business of the day had hardly begun; the ferryboats to Regla were loaded with pa.s.sengers; boats conveying meat, vegetables, fruit, and fish to the s.h.i.+pping were lazily rippling through the sc.u.m that coated the surface of the water; belated fishermen were sweeping their crazy- looking craft out to sea; and a thin column of brown smoke was rising vertically into the motionless air from the funnel of torpedo boat Number 19, which was evidently getting up steam in good time to go in search of the _James B. Potter_. But for the awning over their heads the party would also have seen that a thin, feathery film of smoke was curling upward from the cream-coloured funnel of their own craft; for although it had been decided not to go to sea until the afternoon, Jack had given instructions to have steam for ten o'clock, so as to be prepared for any emergency.

The party dawdled over breakfast, the ladies in particular finding so much pleasure in their unwonted surroundings that they could scarcely find time to eat because of the many novel incidents that were continually demanding their attention. Moreover, they were in the enviable condition of people who were in no hurry: their preparations were all complete; nothing remained to be done or to worry about; they were embarked upon a pleasure excursion, and part of the pleasure was to sit still and gaze upon the increasing animation of the charming picture that unfolded itself around them. When they were tired of gazing, a word was all that would be necessary to provide them with a change of scene; and meanwhile Jack was entertaining them all with a humorous account of the adventures of himself and Milsom during the small hours of the morning. Milsom, having already broken his fast, had taken the steam pinnace and gone ash.o.r.e to the custom-house (which had once been a church) in order to procure his clearance papers. By the time that he had finished his business and come off again, breakfast was over, the stewards were clearing away the table and its equipage, and the movements of the torpedo boat's crew were becoming interesting. A dense cloud of black smoke was by this time pouring from the craft's funnel and driving over the town with the rapidly increasing sea breeze, and presently a small flicker of steam appeared at the top of her waste pipe, and a minute or two later it was seen that the craft was getting her anchor.

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

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

Don Hermoso, who, despite all Jack's a.s.surances, felt terribly anxious lest, after all, something should at the last moment go wrong, looked fearfully at the little craft's stern, expecting every instant to see the foaming whirl of water there which would proclaim that the boat's propeller was working; but, save for a very slight momentary disturbance of the sc.u.mmy surface, there was no result, and presently a very excited individual was seen to emerge from the boat's engine-room hatch and rush up on to the bridge, where he instantly plunged into a violently gesticulatory conversation with the other occupant of the structure.

Then the pair left the bridge, hurried aft, and disappeared below.

Meanwhile the boat was adrift, and presently, under the influence of the fast-freshening breeze, she drove athwart-hawse of a slas.h.i.+ng American schooner, the stout bowsprit of which neatly brought the boat's funnel down on deck, to the accompaniment of a storm of abuse and imprecations from the American skipper and mate. Then, swinging round and gathering sternway, the boat drifted clear, losing her mast also in the process, after which, somebody on board having recovered his presence of mind, her anchor was let go again, and she swung to the wind.

That this interesting little incident had not pa.s.sed unnoticed was presently made manifest by the excited flouris.h.i.+ngs and gesticulations of the semaph.o.r.e upon the bridge of the cruiser, to which the torpedo boat's semaph.o.r.e duly made reply. Then a boat was lowered from the latter craft, and two officers--presumably her commander and her chief engineer--jumped into her stern-sheets and were pulled toward the cruiser. Some ten minutes later the same boat pushed off again and returned to her parent craft, while the semaph.o.r.e on board the cruiser once more awakened into frenzied activity, its message being this time addressed to the gunboat, as could be deduced from the answering nourishes of that vessel's instrument. The conversation lasted for quite a considerable time; and long ere it was at an end dense clouds of black smoke were pouring out of the funnel of Jack's old friend, the _Tiburon_.

Now, although all these happenings were being watched with the most absorbing interest from the top of the _Thetis's_ deck-house, it must not be supposed that the watching was conducted in an obtrusive or ostentatious manner; very far from it. The occupants of that "coign of vantage", to whom Milsom was now added, were, so far as the ordinary observer was concerned, lounging indolently in their several basket chairs, reading, smoking, and chatting together, and apparently giving not a thought to anything that was happening outside the bulwarks of their own s.h.i.+p, save when, now and then, one of them would lift a pair of binoculars and bring them to bear upon some object ash.o.r.e, ultimately sweeping the entire horizon with them, and pausing for a moment to watch this or that before laying them down again. n.o.body, even if watching the party continuously, would, from their actions, have suspected them of taking the smallest interest in the doings of the Spanish Government vessels.

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

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

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

"Then just stand by to jot down such letters as I may call out to you.

That gunboat's semaph.o.r.e is at work again, and I feel curious to know what it is that she wants to say. Ah! just so; it is the cruiser she wants to talk to. Now, stand by."

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

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

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

"A lieutenant and one of the engineers from the cruiser gone aboard to investigate," commented Milsom. "Now, keep your eye on the gunboat's semaph.o.r.e, Jack; we shall probably get a little further interesting information presently."

They did not, however, for the gunboat's semaph.o.r.e remained dumb. But the two visitors from the cruiser presently re-appeared, tumbled down over the side into their boat, and were rapidly rowed back to their own s.h.i.+p. Ten minutes later a stream of smoke began to issue first from one and then from the other funnel of the cruiser. It was evident that they had started to get steam on board her in a hurry. And indeed the time had arrived for hurry; for it was now five bells in the forenoon watch, and the _James B. Potter_ was timed to arrive in Mulata Bay at eight bells--an hour and a half thence! She was probably off the harbour's mouth at that moment--or, if not off the harbour's mouth, at least in sight. The Morro Castle, with its signal staff, was not visible from the spot where the _Thetis_ lay moored, being shut off from view by the eastern portion of the Old Town, but it could probably be seen from the cruiser, which was lying considerably farther down the harbour and farther over on the Regla side of it; and while the men folk on the top of the yacht's deck-house were still discussing the matter, Milsom's quick eye caught the cruiser's answering pennant being hoisted in acknowledgment of a signal made to her from some unseen spot.

"Aha!" he exclaimed; "do you see that? I wouldn't mind betting my next allowance of grog that that is the acknowledgment of a signal from the Morro that the _Potter_ is in sight! How can we find out, I wonder, without doing anything to arouse the suspicions of the Spanish Johnnies, that we are interested in the matter? If it were not for the suspicion that it would arouse, the simplest way, of course, would be to take the steamboat and run down as far as the harbour's mouth, when we could see for ourselves whether there is a steamer in sight. But it would never do; it would be rather too palpable."

"Cannot you tell by reading the cruiser's signals?" demanded Don Hermoso. "See, there are several flags being hoisted on board her now?

What do they mean?"