“‘Is it not, mon cher? But the little Jacob is no fool; they have had him arrested and searched on a charge of conspiring in Curaçao, but they have been unable to find the gems——’
“‘And so have lodged him at Porto Cabello until the stones are forthcoming?’
“‘Rather through spite, and it is to get him out that I wish to engage your services, my dear Doctor.’
“‘Indeed?’ said I.
“‘My plan is this,’ said Rosenthal. ‘The fortress is, as you know, full of political prisoners from the last revolution, and, as there is no immediate prospect of another revolution, they are apt to remain there for some time. You know, Doctor’—he grinned at me—‘how very poor are the accommodations of these hostelries. I know of a dozen wealthy exiles in Curaçao who would contribute a large sum toward the rescue of their friends. My plan is to quietly raise such a subscription and proceed to Porto Cabello and get the gems, which I will turn over to the commandant of the prison on consideration that he permits the escape of Jacob. You in the meantime will quietly charter a schooner in Curaçao for a scientific expedition, sail across and on a certain night be off Porto Cabello. We will communicate there. The prison guards on that night will be blind to a boat under the sea-wall, and instead of the escape of Jacob alone there will be an escape of all of the political prisoners. The subscription of the others will reimburse me for the expense of ransoming Jacob.’
“I reflected for a moment, then asked him if he thought the commandant of the prison would keep his faith.
“‘We must take some chances, of course,’ answered Rosenthal. ‘For your part, Doctor, there is no risk, and you may name your own figure. Remember that I am already deeply in your debt.’
“I turned the thing over in my mind, Doctor, and it seemed quite a reasonable proposition. You have seen the prison at Porto Cabello; it is on that little sandy island about five hundred yards from the town and only about eighty miles from Curaçao. The prison guards were a lot of shiftless half-breeds and would no doubt be drunk by ten o’clock of the appointed night. Curaçao schooners were always coming and going—on the whole, it seemed no difficult achievement, and it certainly is a commendable act to get any one out of a Venezuelan prison, whether he belongs there or not. I made a bargain with Rosenthal for five hundred dollars, which he paid me on the spot. The next day we sailed for Curaçao on the Red D.
“There was no difficulty about my part of the programme. I chartered one of the chunky little tubs which you saw in Curaçao, engaged three Papiemento-jabbering negroes and a cook and cleared for Porto Cabello, giving it out that I was on a collecting cruise along the coast.
“It took me six days to slam that old tub against the trade to Porto Cabello, about eighty miles in a straight line; weather just as it is now—as it always is down there—the wind dead ahead and blowing the top off the water, and the sky bright and clear and blue. Arrived, I anchored near the mouth of the little inlet, and, after being duly inspected, went ashore to see if I could gather any information; but there was nothing to be learned.