O’Neil felt his mission had failed. To-morrow morning at eight o’clock the court would try the midshipman, and the missing witness was as far out of his grasp as ever. Where in this great city could he turn to search for him? Then his thoughts turned to Ensign Lazar; he had gone to the admiral to obtain permission to go ashore when he went to the midshipmen’s room. Where would he be in this thickly populated city? O’Neil felt confident that if he could find him Craig would not be far away.
The two friends were passing a palatial residence on the Plaza. An automobile standing at the curb caught O’Neil’s eye, the chauffeur sitting erect and expectant in the front seat.
“Whose house is that?” he asked, suddenly turning to Captain Garcia.
“The house of one of our most loyal citizens, Señor Mareno,” he answered; “he is rich and powerful and stands high in the favor of General Barras. That is his automobile; he rides in it all the time; it has just been returned to him; it was stolen on the day of the assault by the rebels from one of his country villas.”
O’Neil stopped suddenly and gazed at the house. Mareno must be there; the automobile was awaiting him; its gasoline engine was puffing and ready to propel the heavy car over the streets of the city at a speed far greater than they could possibly follow.
Captain Garcia’s voice interrupted O’Neil’s cheerless thoughts.
“Our president,” he was saying, “for the loyal work of Señor Mareno’s firm, La Fitte and Company, during the war, has promised to give the vast mining concession to it. In these times of rebellion loyalty is a rare jewel.”
“What did Mareno do?” asked O’Neil in genuine surprise.
“It was he that loaned the government the money to buy the ‘Aquadores,’” Captain Garcia answered proudly. “Our government had no credit and the company who built the cruiser would not allow her to leave their shipyard until every dollar of the money had been paid. The victory of the ‘Aquadores’ at Rio Grande made the rebel cause a failure, for if they had won and then had blockaded La Boca, the government must have fallen.”
O’Neil was puzzled; there was more intrigue that his friends the midshipmen had failed to discover. So Mareno had made himself secure with both sides.