So the de la Fosse family, well rewarded for the parts they had played so well in the capture of the Cavarale, had been given a generous grant and a free passage to Cherbourg, and had left early that morning by a Peruvian mailboat en route for Panama.
Already a wireless message from the British Admiralty had been sent through the Admiral expressing thanks and due appreciation to the gallant captain of the "Meteor," and Rear-Admiral Maynebrace had communicated the news in person. Now, following his official visits to the Dreadnought of the Air, came an invitation for Captain Whittinghame and Dacres to repair on board the flagship.
At half-past two the Admiral's motor-barge was observed to be entering the inner harbour. In the sternsheets was a flag-lieutenant resplendent in full-dress uniform, his duty being to escort the Admiral's guests to the "Repulse."
As soon as the boat came alongside the "Meteor," Captain Whittinghame and Dacres, in their neat and serviceable uniforms, went over the side and took their places in the waiting craft.
The visit was understood to be a purely unofficial one, but the British bluejackets, always eager to recognize a brave act, were not to be denied. As the barge approached the flagship the shrill trills of the bos'n's whistle rang out. In a moment the upper decks and superstructure of the warship were black with humanity, and the waters of Zandovar Bay echoed and re-echoed to three deep, hearty cheers that only Britons can do full justice to.
Dexterously the barge was brought alongside the "Repulse's" accommodation ladder. Whittinghame stepped out of the barge, and, followed by his companion, ascended to the quarter-deck. As Dacres mounted the steps he could not help recalling the previous time he visited the flagship. Then it was with heavy heart and the well-founded presentiment that there was trouble in store for him. Now he was the guest of the very man who had "broken him."
Then to Dacres' surprise the "pipe side" was sounded by the bos'n's mate, and a serjeants' guard drawn up on the quarter-deck presented arms. These marks of respect were, according to the King's Regulations, to be given to captains of H.M. ships in uniform. Why, then, had the regulation been officially ignored?
After being received by the Commander and the officers of the watch, Whittinghame and Dacres were shown below to the Admiral's cabin.
Rear-Admiral Maynebrace was not alone. The other occupant of the cabin was Dacres' old chief, Captain Staggers.
"Sit down, my dear Whittinghame, and you, too, Dacres," exclaimed the Admiral genially, as he drew a green curtain over the cabin door in order to balk any curiosity that the marine sentry without might develop. "We may as well proceed at once to business. I believe, Captain Whittinghame, that on the eve of your departure from England you were given honorary rank of captain in His Majesty's fleet?"