CHAPTER XXII—THE PURSUIT
Frank and Ned were greatly surprised at the unexpected news given them by Mr. Kennedy, the coffee merchant. For a while they did not know what to say, nor what questions to ask first.
“Say, did you ever hear anything like the way this has turned out?” Ned finally demanded. “It’s like a book story.”
“It beats a book story,” Frank observed. “I thought it was a queer coincidence when our battleship was ordered to this republic, where our fortunes and Uncle Phil’s are tied up, but to find here some one who knows him, and the different complications with which he is tied up is certainly wonderful.”
“It certainly is,” agreed Mr. Kennedy. “I never thought you would be among the battleship boys who were coming to our relief. Now I’ll tell you all I know about your uncle’s affairs. I am sorry to hear he is in prison.”
“Well, of course it isn’t as if he were a criminal,” put in Ned.
“No, of course not,” admitted the coffee man.
“And he’s pretty comfortable, or he was the last we heard from him,” went on Frank. “But he does want his liberty so he can prove his innocence and save our money. You know we lost practically everything.”
“Yes, and we were robbed in New York, and if we hadn’t enlisted we might have starved,” added Ned, and he and his brother, in turn, told their story.
Then came Mr. Kennedy’s opportunity. By this time the sailors from the battleship had made themselves comfortable in the warehouse, disposing themselves on piles of empty bags to sleep. Of course, sentries were posted to guard against a surprise in case the revolutionists returned, but this did not seem likely. The sound of firing in other parts of the town grew more distant, and it was evident that the rebels had been driven back to their quarters in the hills.