In the last of her three expeditious the saucy little Dauntless ran short of coal and water, and to the annoyance of the Spaniards the keeper of a lighthouse situated on one of the West Indian keys that belong to England gave the men the supplies they needed, and enabled them to make their third trip in safety.
General Weyler has ordered an investigation of the matter, and intends to make a formal complaint to England about the action of the lighthouse keeper.
The way the Dauntless managed her three expeditions without being caught was very clever. All the stores, ammunition, arms, and men that were to be conveyed to Cuba were gradually gathered on one of the Florida keys. There are a great number of these little banks and islands stretching along the coast of Florida, and some of them are so difficult to reach, for any steamer that draws much water, that they make good hiding-places.
When everything was in readiness the Dauntless went down to the key, and one after the other took off her three loads. The hiding-place was so well chosen that no one knows exactly where it is, and if the Cubans keep their secret they will be able to send other expeditions in the same way.
General Weyler has other anxieties on his mind just now. He is expecting the arrival of a new floating dock which has been built for him in England, at a cost of $900,000.
This great dock is intended to be used as a dry-dock; that is to say, it is so made that ships can be lifted clear out of the water by it, so that they can be repaired, cleaned, or painted.
There is no dry-dock in Cuban harbors, and it is very necessary to have one. Ships that cruise long in tropical waters are very apt to get their hulls covered with barnacles and sea-weed. These growths after a while prevent the ship from cutting easily through the water, and decrease her speed. All ships that are long in these southern seas have to have their hulls scraped every now and then. Many of the war-vessels that are now in Cuban waters have been a year without this necessary cleaning, and to make it possible to do the work in Cuba, without the loss of time necessary to go back to the Spanish navy yards, the Government has gone to the expense of building the floating dock.
There have been no end of difficulties about the dock. When it was finished it was so big and heavy that it was very doubtful if any ship could safely tow it across the Atlantic. The shipbuilders added a false bow and stem to the dock, to make it cut its way through the water a little, and in this fashion it is now being brought to Cuba; but the gravest doubts are entertained as to the possibility of its ever reaching its destination. It is feared that in case of a severe storm the hawser, or strong rope by which it is towed, will part, and the costly floating dock be left drifting about the ocean, a danger to mariners.
But this is not the half of the trouble over the dock.
The greatest annoyance in regard to it is that it was built without properly considering the amount of water it would draw; that is to say, the depth of water necessary to float it.