He turned the shell and its contents over to that officer with an explanation of all that had taken place.
"I see that you had good cause for desiring to go back to find this shell," said the rear admiral when Clif had finished. "We have learned from the prisoner whom you secured after a struggle in your boat, that they had stolen your boat to facilitate the transfer of some papers. They were late and missed seeing the boat that fired this shell. Now that you have secured these papers I will call your knowledge of Spanish into requisition and allow you to transcribe these for me."
And this Clif did; and when he had completed the task it was found that the most important work he had done that night, was in securing that shell and unraveling its mystery.
As he issued from the admiral's room Cadet Wells, one of Clif's best friends, approached him.
"Faraday, old fellow," he said, "I've got news that will interest you."
"I'm listening."
"It's about that exception among Spaniards, the lieutenant who helped you and Miss Stuart escape."
"Ah! what of him?" asked Clif, eagerly.
"You know he left us on a Spanish boat that brought you over under a flag of truce. Well, we couldn't touch that boat then, of course, but yesterday she ventured too far out, and the New York sunk her. We saved all her crew and from one of them I learned what became of Hernandez. It seems he sought a lonely part of the boat while she was on the way from us to the shore, and knelt to pray. An officer of the boat saw him thus and withdrew. A moment later all hands were startled by a pistol shot. Hurrying below they found Lieutenant Hernandez prone on the deck, a calm smile on his face, a bullet in his brain."
Faraday was deeply affected.