After making his report of what happened, the commander of the Speedy again headed his craft to the eastward, and ran all that day, together with most of the following night, within sight of the Cuban coast.
It wanted but an hour of daylight, when Ridge, who was sleeping on deck, was aroused and told that the place of his landing was at hand. A pot of coffee together with a substantial lunch had been prepared for him, and Ensign Comly, whose wound had proved to be slight, was waiting in a boat manned by four sailors.
Señorita was hoisted in a sling and dropped overboard to swim ashore in tow of the boat, and at the very last the Speedy's commander whispered the countersign of the Junta that was to open a way through the Cuban lines.
Then the boat was noiselessly shoved off, and slipped away through the chill darkness towards the denser shadow of the land that waited with manifold perils to test the courage of our young trooper.
CHAPTER XI
A LIVELY EXPERIENCE OF CUBAN HOSPITALITY
"Good-bye, old man! Good luck, and hope we shall meet again soon."
With these words, accompanied by a warm hand-clasp, Ensign Dick Comly stepped into his boat, and it was shoved off from the bit of Cuban beach on which Ridge Norris had just been landed. For a couple of minutes the young trooper stood motionless, listening with strained ears to the lessening sound of muffled oars. It was the last link connecting him with home, country, and safety. For a moment he was possessed of such a panic that he was on the point of shouting for Comly to come back and take him away. It did not seem as though he could be left there alone in the dark, and amid all the crowding terrors of that unknown land.
Just then Señorita, who stood dripping and shivering beside him, rubbed her wet nose softly against his cheek, as though begging for sympathy, and in an instant his courage was restored. It was enough that another creature more helpless than he was dependent upon him for guidance and protection.