It was during this engagement that Grau, admiral of the Peruvian navy, had been killed; and that is why Bella Caceras was in mourning, for he was her uncle. The loss of the Huascar had cast a gloom over all Peru, and the despair was heightened a few weeks later by the news that the gunboat Pilcomayo had been captured.
Meanwhile revolution had left its scar upon the country. Prado, the president, had fled to Europe, and an attempt by his ministers to form a government had been resisted by Don Nicolas de Pierola, who with a force of mountain men and some army and navy officers, who flocked to his standard, had attacked the palace in Lima, which they had captured after a bitter struggle; and as a result, Pierola was at this time dictator of Peru. The land forces had not been more successful than had the maritime. Reverses had been met in the south, and orders had been given to concentrate troops in the vicinity of Lima, to take part in the defence of the capital; for now that the Peruvian navy had been nearly annihilated, the ocean highway was clear, and it was possible for Chile to move transports as she wished.
Callao was the one strong point in the country. Defended by large modern guns in the castles, in the Chucuito forts, at Los Baños and at La Punta, the city was pronounced able to withstand any bombardment. But a blockade! That was what the residents feared, for with a cordon of ships in the offing commerce could not be maintained; supplies of food from the north and south and supplies from Europe, upon which the residents greatly depended, would cease.
As yet no Chilean ships had appeared off the port, except to reconnoitre, but rumors came from the enemy’s country that a squadron for blockade duty was forming, and more heartrending than all was the report that machinists were busy on the Huascar, putting her in trim, and that she would form one of the fleet. At this news Peruvians gnashed their teeth with rage.
It would be bad enough to have the ironclads Blanco Encalada and Almirante Cochrane dominate the sea within their sight, but to be compelled to witness a little turret-ship, once the pride of the Peruvian navy, steam near San Lorenzo island at the entrance to the harbor, flying the lone star flag of the enemy, would be the last drop in the bitter cup.
The gloom which overspread the country had little part in John Dartmoor’s home on this evening. They were all very happy, for any day they were expecting the return of Harvey from the interior, and a letter received from him had told them that his mission had been successful, even beyond their most fanciful expectations.
It was only the extreme of circumstances that had influenced Mr. Dartmoor to let his younger son undertake this hazardous trip. At the time of the lad’s departure he had believed he could postpone the evil day for several months, but a few weeks later came the news of the naval engagement off Point Angamos and the defeat of the Huascar, which caused a financial panic in Callao and Lima, and among the many forced to the wall was the American iron merchant.
He bravely faced the storm and was ably assisted by his wife and children, who cheerfully accustomed themselves to the new life that was made necessary. They gave up their handsome home and moved into a little cottage; Mrs. Dartmoor yielded her jewels, that more money might be paid their creditors; Rosita denied herself the pleasures which her father’s wealth in former years had enabled her to enjoy, and Louis, believing that he should no longer be a burden at home, secured a position as purser’s clerk on one of the steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.
A fortnight before this evening the same persons had met at Mr. Dartmoor’s home to bid good-by to Louis, who had planned to sail on the morrow, and while they were gathered in the little parlor a clerk had arrived from the ship chandler’s, where Mr. Dartmoor had found temporary employment, and had brought a letter received late in the afternoon. It was from Harvey, and the lad had written:—
“Dear Ones at Home: I have found it, or rather we have found it. The mine is here, just where the old Inca said it would be found. Mr. Ferguson, who is somewhat versed in such matters, says that millions are buried. From the study that I have had, I know that our assays have shown twenty-five per cent gold to seventy-five per cent gross.