“What?” cried both the boys.
“Yes,” chimed in Mr. Olivares, “the Yankee and the Dixie, cruisers arrived off the town this morning with Rear Admiral Kimball and Lieutenant Commander Symington on board. They have orders from Washington to see that peace is at once restored even if Zelaya has to abdicate,—which he probably will in favor of Madriz,” he added—and after-events proved him correct.
“And on top o’ that,” exclaimed Ben Stubbs, unable to keep quiet any longer, “our friend Ruiz gave the government the licking of their young lives at Bluefields yesterday and steamed down here on his gunboat just in time to fire that shell and throw a scare into the spiggtys at the very physicky moment,”—Ben meant psychological moment.
“Does his wife know that General Ruiz is safe?” asked Harry eagerly, after the boys had related how they became leagued with the insurgents.
“Yes,” replied Mr. Chester, “the news was brought by a runner who managed to get through Rogero’s lines two days ago. Poor woman, she swooned when she heard the news; but now she is perfectly recovered and will be here with Don Pachecho to meet him shortly.”
All this time Billy Barnes had been mysteriously missing. Suddenly, however, he reappeared, accompanied by two staunch sergeants-of-marines from the Dixie, leading between them a crumpled, despicable figure that even the boys, who had good cause to remember him, had some difficulty in recognizing as that of General Rogero. If it had been another man his condition would have been pitiful. As it was, nobody felt much sympathy for him.
“Well, we got him;” exclaimed Billy triumphantly, “caught him sneaking into the hotel. Now, Mr. Consul, I want to turn this man over to your custody as the murderer of Dr. Moneague, who is wanted for that crime by the New York police. I’ll just leave him here till I telegraph to my friend Detective Connelly and file the story for my paper—it will be a crackerjack.”
He hurried off, leaving Rogero between his two guards,—facing a group from none of which he had any right to look for mercy. His army had evacuated Greytown in a hurry on the arrival of the American cruisers, as no one of the officers wanted to put himself in the position of taking up arms against the American government. Rogero was therefore alone,—and guarding the town that he had entered in triumph not so very long before, lay a revolutionary gunboat and two trim Yankee cruisers.
“Well,” he said bitterly, “you have me cornered but it’s not my fault that I didn’t finish off those cubs there before you did.” He indicated Frank and Harry. The boys turned away. It was not in their nature to exult over a fallen enemy.
“I know there is one possession of mine which you intend to have if you can succeed in fixing this trumped up charge of murder on me and that is this—” he went on as he drew out a bit of parchment from an inner pocket. “I’ll foil you,—thus,” he exclaimed suddenly and tore the plan of the Toltec treasure trail into a thousand atoms.