"Señor Jackson indeed merits the thanks of the Republic, señor, and I am greatly concerned at his unfortunate position. But, as you see, I am helpless, and I can only hope that General Carabaño will be restrained by considerations of prudence from committing what would undoubtedly be a most heinous crime."
Will saw that, had he been in the Governor's place, he could hardly have done otherwise. But though official action was impossible, he felt that he could not himself remain securely in Bolivar while his friends were in dire peril. He was at a loss to think of any effectual means of helping them, but he could at least return to the hacienda on the chance, small though it must be, of intervening in their behalf. It flashed upon him--and the thought was a ray of hope--that the General had possibly been bluffing, and that the Englishmen were no longer his prisoners. He could not have left a large guard over them; they might have escaped. At any rate, Will decided that he must return at once and see for himself how matters stood.
Twenty minutes after his interview with the Jefe he was again on board the hydroplane with José and Azito. A few miles up the river he met Colonel Blanco's steamer returning, and learnt what had been done at the junction. Then he set off again, hoping to reach the neighbourhood of the hacienda soon after dark. But reflecting that his supply of petrol was limited, and he would have no chance of replenishing it, he contented himself with an average speed of some twenty knots, and it was dark before he reached the junction. Just at this time it happened that something went wrong with the engine, and since he did not care to risk an absolute breakdown, and could not discover the defect in the darkness, he felt it necessary to lie up until morning. Accordingly he ran the vessel into a small secluded creek, well sheltered by trees, and made his way with José and the Indian to the deserted station, where they ate a meal and fixed their quarters for the night, each taking a turn to watch.
As soon as it was light they returned to the hydroplane. To repair the defect was the work of half-an-hour. They were eating their breakfast on board the vessel when Azito declared that he heard a train approaching. The creek was so well screened by the foliage that there was no fear of their being seen from the railway line; but it was possible to observe through the leaves what happened when the train drew level. It consisted of three trucks filled with men, and Will felt sure he saw the burly form of Captain Espejo standing beside the engine-driver on his cab. He wondered whether they had got wind of the coming of the hydroplane, and had come to intercept it. This seemed very unlikely, for the news would not have reached them by telegraph now that Pereira had been removed and the staff at the junction had decamped. True, the hydroplane had been seen as it passed river-side villages, and it had met and overtaken several craft on the way--barges, skiffs, and Indian canoes. But it had outstripped all vessels going in the same direction, and it must have been impossible for any of their occupants to have given information to the rebels. A more reasonable explanation was that they had heard of the visit of Colonel Blanco, and Captain Espejo had come to discover what had happened at the junction, and whether any movement was being made from Bolivar. General Carabaño was probably unaware of the exact strength of the reinforcements to which he owed his defeat, and would naturally be somewhat nervous lest he should be followed up.
The train came to a standstill where the line had been torn up. Captain Espejo descended from the engine and some of his men from the trucks, and they walked along the track and into the station. Will had already decided that it would be inadvisable to continue his journey until the approach of evening. He chafed at the delay, but there would be too great a risk of being seen, or of the throbbing of the engine being heard, to venture further in the daylight, especially as the line was being used. After the train had returned, therefore--the engine running backwards, the siding at the station having been destroyed--he settled himself in the boat to make up for the broken sleep of the night.
When he awoke, he thought over what was before him. It was impossible to prepare a definite plan of operations. His first object must be to discover whether the three Englishmen were still in the camp, and still imprisoned in the stables. This seemed to him unlikely. His own escape would probably have led to a change of quarters, unless indeed the General had adopted the precaution of patrolling all sides of the stables to prevent a repetition of Will's exploit. He thought with compunction of the additional rigours the prisoners might have had to suffer through him. What he should do when he had discovered their whereabouts must be left to circumstances. He would only have a little more than one clear day to effect their release before the period named by General Carabaño expired, and he fretted a good deal as he thought of the possibility that all his efforts might fail.
After a tedious and anxious day, he ventured to set off a little before dusk. It was dark when he came into the stream running past the hacienda. Finding that the wind was blowing strongly from the direction of the hacienda, he continued to use the engine for a time, not, of course, planing, but contenting himself with a bare two or three knots. When this was no longer safe, he stopped the engine and with Azito's assistance began to pole the vessel up-stream. It was slow and fatiguing work. But there was no help for it. The hydroplane was too valuable an accessory to be left where it might be discovered. The first necessity was to lay it up in security. Then they might go ashore feeling confident that, however protracted their absence might be, the vessel would be safe and always available.
As it passed within sight of the hacienda and the camp Will saw lights, and suspected from their position that the camp had been shifted. He would have liked to land and steal up to the stables; Azito offered to do so: but Will, after a little hesitation, stuck to his resolution to risk nothing until the hydroplane was in safety. It was fully four hours before he reached the hollow in the bank. Once or twice in the darkness the vessel ran aground, and the fear of lurking caymans made them careful how they moved to get her off. When, shortly after one o'clock, she was at last moored in the recess, Will was tired out. He was five miles from the hacienda: by the time he could reach it there would only be two or three hours of darkness before day broke. It would be difficult enough to make any discovery at all in the darkness: how much more difficult when time was limited! In spite of the further delay involved, Will thought it wise to rest for the remainder of the night, and to start fresh next morning on whatever course then offered itself.
Will had never before spent a night in the hydroplane. Owing perhaps to his fatigue and his anxieties he felt a little reluctant to do so now, for though the water in the recess was very shallow, there was a possibility that a cayman might wander in from the stream, a prospect not to be thought of without shuddering. Azito and the negro refused point-blank to sleep in the vessel. The wood had its perils, but they preferred to rest in a tree. To guard against any danger for himself Will hit on the plan of tying a string across the entrance of the recess about a foot above the surface of the water. An empty petrol can was attached to one end of this, and so carefully balanced that the least touch on the string would cause it to fall against the bank. The sound would, he hoped, not only give him warning, but scare away any unwelcome visitor. However, the night passed without disturbance, and Will, when he awoke, was ready for anything the day might bring forth.
It was the third day, the last, of the time allowed by General Carabaño for the ransom of his prisoners. Anything that could be done for them must be done at once.