“Give me two days, sir,” he cried excitedly, “and they’ll make a hundred per cent. of hits on the insurgent hulks.”
The three Americans walked down to the battery deck. The crew were at quarters. Each division was going through the drill at their guns in a perfunctory manner.
“Look at ’em,” scoffed O’Neil, “like a gang of Italian roustabouts on a New York dock.”
“After this drill is over, O’Neil,” Phil confided, “you get a group around you and try to interest them; then get them at the gun and explain how it should be done. You must poke fun at them in order to catch their interest. Then we shall see that Captain Garcia sees you. That ought to open his eyes and make him want to see more. Do you see?”
“That I do,” exclaimed the sailor, “and you have hit the character of these dagos as if you’d always lived among ’em.”
Phil and Sydney strolled quietly up the ladder and entered the captain’s cabin.
Captain Garcia was quite willing to be drawn into conversation, and our lads diplomatically led the topic up to the possibilities in the coming engagement.
“As you have been so frank with me,” answered the captain, in reply to an inquiry from Phil, “I shall tell you what is my greatest anxiety.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “The navy to a man were in sympathy with the rebels, and as soon as General Ruiz began to collect his army and threaten the capital, our two war vessels, the ‘Soledad’ and ‘Barcelo,’ with a torpedo-boat, sailed from La Boca for Rio Grande, where they won the sympathy of the citizens and set up the capital of the rebellion. My men are wavering in their allegiance to our cause, and if they should mutiny and take the ship, turning it over to the rebels, our cause would be lost.” He stopped speaking and glanced seriously at his eager listeners. “My life would of course be sacrificed. I should either be shot by the mutineers or else executed by our enemy.”
This was indeed a startling announcement for our lads. A mutiny on board the “Aquadores” might be as serious to them as it would be for her captain.
“The ‘Aquadores,’” the captain continued in the same low tone, “is a powerful ship. She was built in your country for our government, and when this war broke out, a power held her at the dockyard, although I had my crew on board and was ready to sail; it was the government of the United States. I could not set sail until your country was satisfied of my honest intentions. She is more than a match for the ships of our enemy, but our men are poorly trained, our officers are half-hearted and incompetent, mere adventurers. They would willingly fight against their country if they believed it would be to their personal advantage.”