“Not improbable!” ejaculated the General; “my dear sir, it is absolutely certain! We have the very best of reasons for knowing that, once the insurgents find themselves possessed of arms, they will lose not a moment in making a determined effort to throw off the yoke of Spanish rule, and the island will be at once plunged into all the horrors of war. Now, my dear Señor Singleton, it is in your power to avert those horrors, if you will!” (“Precisely!” thought Jack; “I could have bet that the old boy was leading up to this.”) “You see exactly how we are situated. That American ship and her cargo must be seized; yet we have no ship available with which to effect the seizure. You, on the other hand, have a ship that is in every way admirably adapted for the service, and you have steam up; you can leave the harbour at a moment’s notice, if you choose—”
“Pardon me, General,” interrupted Jack; “I understand exactly what you are driving at: you want me to lend you this yacht for the purpose of conveying a party of soldiers or sailors to—to—”
“Mulata Bay,” interpolated the General.
“Yes,” continued Jack, “to Mulata Bay, to seize an American ship which, you say, is smuggling a cargo of contraband-of-war into the island! But, my dear sir, has the very extraordinary nature of your request yet dawned upon you? Do you recognise that you are asking me, a private English gentleman, to mix myself up in a quarrel with which I have absolutely nothing to do, and the rights and wrongs of which I do not in the least understand? Why should I interfere with an American ship, even though she be engaged, as you suggest, in affording aid and encouragement to the revolutionaries?”
“Surely, Señor, the reasons that I have already advanced ought to be sufficient,” answered the General. “But if they are not, let me give you another. Your friend Don Hermoso Montijo, whom I see with his wife and family on the upper deck yonder, are not altogether free from the taint of suspicion of being in sympathy with the revolutionaries; indeed, it has been whispered to me that—but it would perhaps be unfair to them to repeat suggestions which have not as yet been absolutely proved: let it suffice for me to say that I wish the present predicament of my Government to be laid before them, together with the request which I have ventured to make to you; and let me know how they advise you in the matter.”
“But, General, this is absolutely preposterous!” protested Jack. “Why should Don Hermoso Montijo and his family be dragged into the affair? And why should I be supposed to be governed by their advice? I must positively refuse to submit the matter to them in any shape or form; and I must also refuse to permit myself to be influenced by any advice which they might see fit to give. They are my guests on board this vessel, and, I may tell you, have embarked in her for the purpose of taking a cruise in her for the benefit of the health of the ladies of the family—indeed, we were on the point of getting under way when you boarded us.”
“Señor,” retorted the General, “I will not pretend to dispute any one of your statements; but I will simply say that if you persist in refusing your assistance to the Spanish Government in this strait, your refusal will have the effect of very greatly strengthening the suspicions that already exist as to the loyalty of the Montijo family!”
“General,” exclaimed Jack, “if you did but know it you could scarcely have said anything better calculated to defeat your own wishes and make me declare that under no circumstances will I permit myself to be dragged into this business. To be perfectly frank with you, I do not believe that you have the slightest shadow of foundation or excuse for your suspicions of Señor Montijo and his family. But, in order to show you how little grounds there are for them—should such actually exist—I will do violence to my own feelings by acceding to your request, without consulting Señor Montijo in any way, to the extent of conveying a party of your men, not exceeding fifty, to Mulata Bay; upon condition that I am allowed to fly the Spanish man-o’-war ensign while engaged upon the service.”
“Why do you attach that condition to your assent, Señor?” demanded the General.
“Because,” snapped Jack, who was now perilously near losing his temper, “I neither can nor will do the work under the British flag!”