That night Hal was on board the gunboat, and by dawn they were lying off Daiquiri, surrounded by enormous transports, which were filled with men in boisterous spirits. Beside the troopers the gunboat looked so small that one might have thought she could be of no fighting value. And yet a glance at the underwater fittings of the torpedo-tubes, and the quick-firers upon her decks, showed that, though small in proportions, she was a dangerous customer to deal with, and capable of sinking any of the transports with the greatest ease.
Grouped upon her deck, the marines shouted to their comrades, and looked enviously in their direction more than once. Indeed, they were far from pleased at having had to vacate Guantanamo, after having to fight so stubbornly for it. The brush with the enemy had been keen while it lasted, and had satisfied their martial ardor; but all were disappointed with the order which had compelled them to embark again, and it was no wonder that they asked indignantly why they had ever been sent there if the town and position were not to be held. It was a sheer waste of time and lives, and the men were amongst the first to recognize this.
Meanwhile, General Garcia, with a rag-tag army of three thousand insurgents, watched the point selected for the landing. They were all fairly well armed, but, without exception, they were ragged to a degree, and presented a half-starved appearance.
June 22d broke fine and clear, and straightway a bombardment of the various forts and villages along the coast commenced.
"I imagine that we are knocking bits off the blockhouses, and holding a general action all along the line, so as to mislead the Dons," said the officer of marines. "Hillo! That was fine!"
His exclamation was caused by the simultaneous lowering of boats from all the transports lying off Daiquiri. Then men swarmed into them, and as soon as they were filled, strings of the tiny craft were attached to launches, which steamed at once for the coast, which had already sustained a fierce bombardment. That evening some six thousand Americans had landed, consisting, for the most part, of the division under General Lawton. In addition, a portion of General Wheeler's brigade of cavalry had disembarked, and with them had come a machine-gun battery. The method of landing the artillery horses and transport mules was most interesting. The animals were thrown overboard, and as they were unhampered with kit or harness of any sort, they came through the ordeal wonderfully.
Hal, ever on the look-out for adventure, had not allowed the day to pass without an effort to get ashore. Indeed, he contrived to find a vacant place in one of the boats, and in due course landed at the tiny jetty which projected from the beach into the sea. As he walked along it, someone, dressed as a trooper, rushed frantically towards him.
"Hal! It's Hal! By Jove, how glad I am! Hang it, old man, don't you know me, or are you too proud? Where the dickens did you come from? I heard that you had gone ashore in the Merrimac. Well, this is a day!"
It was Gerald Brindle, looking strong and well again, but somewhat bewildered and out of breath as he accosted his friend and shook his hands up and down as if he would never cease.
"Steady, old boy! Of course it's Hal! Look out, you're breaking my fingers. There, that's very nice; and now, if you'll stop for a moment, I'll tell you all that is worth telling."