“Oh, what a fine general it is!” laughed Dick. “And he was trying to make himself dictator of the country! I wonder what sort of a population they have here, to let a little wasp like that go on the warpath and make trouble!”
“He is a little wretch!” exclaimed Ysabel, with flashing eyes.
“And that’s the military phenomenon your uncle, Abner Fingal, was trying to make you marry!” exclaimed Dick, suddenly recalling a half-forgotten episode in Ysabel’s life.
The girl flushed crimson. “Never!” she breathed fiercely.
“If it hadn’t been for his spurs and his sword,” said Bob, “he would have been able to get away. But we’re strangely reckless, friends,” he added, “to amuse ourselves with the general when we are in such desperate plight. We can’t leave here until Gaines gets back, and not only has one of Fingal’s men escaped us, but Don Carlos has likewise got away. Both will carry the news of what we have done to the camp of the rebels—and you can imagine what will happen when the rebels hear that we have got their general below decks. We’ll have the entire army about our ears—and that won’t do; at least, not until we have Gaines with us. After that, we can close the hatch, sink below the surface and glide downstream without——”
Bob paused. He suddenly remembered what Pedro had said about the submarine mines at the mouth of the river.
“We may have a hard time getting out of the river,” he continued thoughtfully. “Pedro told Ysabel that the rebels had planted mines in the river bed, close to the fort, and that they were so low in the water we would probably strike them if we tried to pass the fort submerged. Again, if we attempt to gain the gulf by keeping on the surface of the river, the cannon in the fort will bombard us.”
“A plague on their mines and their cannon!” cried Dick recklessly. “We’ll run past the fort. If the soldiers are all as able as their general, they couldn’t hit us with grape and canister.”
“Well, that’s a bridge for us to cross at a later time,” said Bob. “Just at present we have Gaines to think about. He ought to have got back by this time. Clackett, go back to your post in the woods and keep a sharp watch for soldiers. We’ll surely have a visit from them now. Up on deck with your hatchet, Dick, and stand ready to cut the cable at the first sign of an attack.”
“Aye, aye!” responded Dick, picking up the hatchet. “I think we could capture the whole rebel army if it came our way.”