At the hotel occupied as headquarters an orderly conducted him to the office of the commanding general, where, upon admittance, he found himself not only in the presence of his own superior officer, but of a group of distinguished looking men in uniform, who, as he afterwards discovered, were Generals Miles, Shafter, Lee, and Lawton, and Lieutenant Boldwood of the navy, now in command of the despatch boat Speedy, recently arrived.
"General," said Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt, addressing the commander-in-chief, "this is Sergeant Norris of my regiment, the man whom I recommended for your purpose, and for whom you sent less than an hour ago."
"Where were you when ordered to report here?" asked General Miles, turning abruptly to Ridge.
"On board the transport Yucatan, lying off Port Tampa, sir."
"Then you are one of the few men whom I have discovered among our volunteers who have learned the lesson of prompt obedience," remarked the general, with a slight scowl on his still handsome though deeply lined face.
"Umph!" snorted General Shafter, who was a big man, weighing about three hundred pounds, and whose hair was sadly rumpled, as though by much perplexity.
General Lee, also a large, fine-looking man, smiled approvingly at the prompt young trooper, while General "Iron" Lawton, spare of figure and with a reputation as a fighter, gave him a penetrating glance, that Ridge knew had indelibly fixed his face upon the soldier's memory. The naval man also regarded him with interest, and our hero, greatly confused at being thus observed, was relieved to have General Miles proceed, to question him further.
"I understand that you speak Spanish like a native."
"I do, sir."
"Have you ever been in Cuba?"