Standing beside the midshipman at the wheel of the picket-boat was Peter Corbold, ruminating with satisfaction upon the results of his jaunt ashore.
As the cool air of the river fanned his face, he rubbed his cheek vigorously.
"Wish the greasy blighter hadn't kissed me," he soliloquized, as he gave a backward glance at the smug features of Don Ramon Diaz.
CHAPTER XXXII
The Fence Impregnable
During the next fortnight, events moved rapidly.
The new Government of Rioguay expressed its willingness to submit at discretion to the British arms and craved the clemency of the victors.
The terms were similar to those offered to San Antonio. All fortified posts in the republic were to be dismantled, together with armed ships-of-war and those of the flying-boats that had previously escaped capture. An indemnity of £6,000,000, payable either in negotiable bonds or in natural products of the republic, was demanded, to be delivered in instalments extending over five years. Until the indemnity was paid, a naval force was to remain at San Antonio, its upkeep being guaranteed by the Rioguayan Government.
Almost at the same time that the treaty was signed, Great Britain was able to mediate between the Associated Republic and the Empire of Hondo. It was a ticklish business—calming down the fierce little Asiatics without ruffling their amour-propre. They had beaten the Associated Republic. The latter's navy was practically wiped out, and the teeming millions of the Union were absolutely helpless. They could raise a huge army, but to what purpose? Possessing sea-power, Hondo, separated from her foe by the width of the Pacific, could and did defy the armed might of her antagonist.