Dick thought it significant that the clerk at once obeyed, but Don Sebastian, who stood still for a moment, turned to him.
“It is as I thought,” he said in English, and ordered the clerk: “Take us into the manager’s room.”
The other did so, and after shutting the door withdrew. Don Sebastian threw the form on the table.
“It seems we are too late,” he said.
CHAPTER XXV
THE WATER-PIPE
Dick sat down and knitted his brows as he studied his companion. Don Sebastian was a Peninsular Spaniard and in consequence of a finer type than the majority of the inhabitants of Santa Brigida. Dick, who thought he could confide in him, needed help, but the matter was delicate. In the meantime, the other waited with a smile that implied that he guessed his thoughts, until Dick, leaning forward with sudden resolution, picked up the telegram, which was written in cipher.
“This is probably a warning to somebody that the vessel will not call at the ports in the advertised order,” he said.