“‘No; there is only the commandante, a rough old fellow’—he shrugged as if to signify that the man was scarcely of his own social caste. ‘There were many promotions from the ranks after the revolution,’ he added.
“This, as you can guess, Doctor, was valuable information. I changed the subject and we boarded the ship. I caught a glimpse of Rosenthal as we went up the ladder. His eye glinted as it met mine; then he turned his back until we had gone below.
“It was then three o’clock. For two hours I poured cocktails into my officer, and by five he was very drunk, so drunk that I was able to leave him long enough to tell Rosenthal to meet me by the fountain in the park in an hour. Then I returned to my officer, who was nodding over another glass of spirits. I got him upon his feet and managed to return with him to the hotel without being interrupted. There I poured into him another bottle of champagne, after which he quietly subsided into inertia, when, with the aid of the proprietor, whose disapproval I silenced with a fee which he put down to drunken generosity, we undressed and put him to bed.
“The next step was the crucial one. I quickly took off my clothes and put on those of the lieutenant. Then I crossed the square to where the commando was still drinking. I found the sergeant in the dirty little café, himself somewhat intoxicated. At sight of me he sprang to his feet with an oath.
“‘Silence!’ said I, in Spanish. ‘Your lieutenant has persuaded me to take his place for a few hours.’
“‘Where is he?’ demanded the sergeant, suspiciously.
“I gave him a drunken leer and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“‘Can you not guess?’ I asked, meaningly.
“‘But it cannot be,’ growled the man. ‘And who are you? It is as much as his commission is worth!’
“‘It would be worth more than his commission was worth if he were to accompany his command in his present condition,’ I snapped. ‘You do not seem to understand that I am doing him a favor at a personal risk; also, he told me to give you this and to tell you to keep your mouth shut,’ And I slipped some gold into his hand. ‘It is only necessary for me to cross to the fort, deliver the command to the commandante and return. Your lieutenant is not known to any one there.’