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 Señora 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 Señor 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 Doña 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 Señor 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 Señor 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 Señor 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, Señor,” 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, Señor, 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, Señor,” 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, Señor,” 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, Señor, 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 Señor 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, Señores!” 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, Señores; 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 shore boat to take them off to the yacht, which was lying moored to a pair of the trunk buoys in the harbour.
The ships’ 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 ashore, 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 lasses, 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 assistance. 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 ashore 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 pass 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 Señora Montijo and Doña 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 ashore 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 wineglassful of the spirit having been poured from the bottle, a like quantity of the liquid from the phial was substituted 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 passed 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 unobserved; 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 pass 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 ships 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 snatch 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 surreptitiously 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 screwing in the front glasses 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 button, 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 button.
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 quantity 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, passed 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.