“He wore white garments and a broad-brimmed Panama hat. As soon as he appeared he hailed us.
“‘Come alongside, gentlemen,’ he said, using almost perfect English. ‘I welcome you to El Tarantula.’”
CHAPTER VIII—ON BOARD “THE TARANTULA”
“A few moments later,” continued Ned, “we were standing on the deck of the sinister-looking craft, confronted by her equally sinister-looking owner, for such we soon found he was, in fact, if not in name. From him we speedily learned that not only was he the governor of that part of the province of Yucatan, but that he also controlled large plantations near the mouth of the river. The principal produce of these was sisal hemp, a well-known and valuable product of the country.
“Naturally, we supposed that as soon as we had told our story, the first act of Ramon Herrera, for such he informed us was his name, would be to aid us in reaching our yacht. But the event proved exactly to the contrary.
“‘You will take up quarters for the present on my yacht, gentlemen,’ he said, in a tone almost of command.
General Herrera, commander of El Tarantula, the Mexican gasolene gunboat.
“Professor Chadwick started to protest, but met with a stern interruption.
“‘My country is in the throes of a revolution,’ Herrera said, ‘and at the present time it is unknown to me whether your United States of North America is involved in the trouble or not. It is my belief, and that of many of my countrymen, that the massing of troops on the Texan border, by orders of your President Taft, is a menace to the Diaz government, and an encouragement to the revolutionaries. This being so, you must regard yourselves as my guests,—I will not use an uglier word,—till such time as I receive further advices. Furthermore, I do not mean to make any secret of my dislike for meddling Yankees.’