In spite of the glorious work accomplished in those few hours Clif felt chagrined that he had, in the excitement of the struggle on the boat and under fire of the Spanish soldiers on shore, been forced to return to the flagship without the shell.
He had thought considerably about it even during the stirring scenes through which they had passed. He had his own ideas about it and wanted to put them to the test.
Everything connected with it indicated to his mind some mystery, the solution of which would materially help the American forces.
In the first place, the way in which it was brought to his attention was unusual, to say the least. That a ship being pursued by a hostile craft should deliberately fire away from the pursuer and toward the land was peculiar, even for a Spaniard.
It was ridiculous to think that the shell had been aimed at Clif and his party, for even had it been broad daylight the American boat's crew would not have been visible to those on the Spanish ship. It was merely a coincidence that Clif happened to be where the shell landed.
"No," thought Clif as he revolved this in hismind, "that shot was not aimed at our forces. There was some other reason for firing it."
What that was he could merely conjecture, and he was not entirely clear in his own mind. That the mysterious purpose had been carried out to the satisfaction of those on the Spanish boat, Clif felt convinced, was evident from the fact that not another shot was fired.
Then the shape of the shell was an important factor.
"They are not using those round ones nowadays," thought Clif. "This one must be used for a special purpose. What that is, I'm going to find out."
The arrival of the Spanish soldiers and their peculiar actions before the little battle that followed also demanded explanation.
"They didn't know we were there," mused Clif, "or they would not have been so easily taken by surprise. Why were they there? Their capture of the Cuban courier was accidental, I'm sure. They were on some other mission."
Last of all, the theft of the ship's boat and the strange behavior of the two Spaniards who had taken it and whom Clif had been forced to overcome added a peculiar feature to the affair.
Taking it all in all, Clif felt that though they had bravely avenged the murder of the Cuban, and had brought the dispatches safely to the rear admiral, and with them a prisoner, still an important object had not been accomplished.
He meant to return for that unexploded shell in the face of every difficulty and put his ideas to thetest. He had this purpose in view when he delivered with his own hands the dispatches to the rear admiral.
Rear Admiral Sampson glanced quickly over the papers after they were handed to him, and seemed highly pleased.
"These are of the utmost importance," he exclaimed. "With this information we will be the better able to act in conjunction with the insurgents when the proper time comes."
Clif knew the papers must indeed be of especial value from the rear admiral's manner, for it was decidedly unusual for an officer of such importance to unbend to that extent with an ordinary cadet. The rear admiral was evidently more than satisfied with the result of Clif's mission.
After a hasty examination of the papers, he turned to Clif, who had remained standing, and asked some particulars of his meeting with the Cuban courier.
Then Clif briefly but graphically told of his receiving the papers from the hands of the insurgent and of the latter's tragic death so soon after at the hands of the cowardly Spanish soldier who held him as a prisoner of war.
Rear Admiral Sampson's blood fairly boiled as Clif gave him the details.
"The cowards!" he exclaimed, with clinched fist. "It was barbarous!"
"But, sir," continued Clif. "It has been avenged."
And then he briefly and with modest demeanor told of their attack upon the company of Spanishsoldiers, and their victory over them without the loss of an American life. More than one Spaniard had gone to his death to atone for that cowardly assassination.
The rear admiral was plainly interested, and at his request Clif gave the particulars of his subsequent adventures and of the narrow escape in the boat from the Spanish soldiers firing upon them from the hill and shore.
"Admirable! admirable!" exclaimed the rear admiral, when the brief narrative was finished. "I am proud of the bravery of yourself and the men with you."
"And now, if you please, sir," said Clif, calmly, "I want to go back there."
"Back there!" exclaimed the admiral. "Where do you mean?"
"To the spot where I met the Cuban," replied Clif.
"What do you mean? According to your account the place is swarming with Spanish soldiers."
"Not many of them, sir," said Clif. "And it is not my intention that they should see me. I left something behind that I think is important."
Then he told of the shell that came crashing through the trees where they stood, and of the series of incidents that had prevented his examining it as fully as he wished.
He insisted strongly that the recovery of the shell was of the greatest importance, and intimated something of his ideas concerning the mystery that it suggested. He spoke to such good purpose that atlast the rear admiral was disposed to grant his wish.
"But it would be better to wait until you have had a chance to rest a bit," said the latter. "To-morrow night, for instance."
"Delay is dangerous, sir, I think," said Clif. "Others are seeking it, I know, and it may not be there unless I go at once. There are still several hours of the night left, and I can easily accomplish it."
The rear admiral had evidently been impressed with what Clif had told him concerning the shell, and at last agreed that he should go about it in his own way.
"Very well, then," he said at last. "Take a boat's crew and go at once."
"If you please, sir," exclaimed Clif, "I would rather take one of the small boats and go alone. One man can move about with less fear of detection."
"Young man, you are undertaking a very dangerous mission," exclaimed the rear admiral. "But you seem to have the pluck, and I have confidence that you can take care of yourself. Do then as you wish, but take some signal rockets with you. Don't hesitate to use them if necessary. We will be ready to send you assistance if needed."
Clif, highly pleased at the confidence that was reposed in him, saluted respectfully and hastened away to prepare for the venture.
In a few minutes he was ready, the boat was lowered, and for the second time that night he left the flagship to face fresh dangers on the shore.
But this time he was alone. Success and safety depended upon his unaided efforts.
Was it a foolhardy venture, he thought, as with steady stroke he forged ahead away from the flagship, and toward the shore he had so recently left amid the clatter of hostile bullets.
The enemy now must be on the alert, and he might be detected and captured the instant his boat touched shore. And he was not blind to the dangers that might confront him on land.
"I'm in for it now, at any rate," he thought, "and I've got to succeed. This mystery must be solved, and I believe the result will show that it is worth all the risk."
Darkness favored him, and besides he was alone; and for that very reason could move around with less risk of discovery once he reached land. He knew exactly where he had dropped the shell, and it would not take long to get it.
It was therefore with confidence that he urged the boat forward.
It was a long pull, for the flagship lay well out tosea, but Clif did not seem to feel the strain. He drew near the shore without detecting any hostile movement or hearing any sound that would lead him to think that the enemy were on the lookout.
He decided that it would be prudent not to land at the same spot as previously. He therefore steered for a clump of trees a little further down the coast, and still not a great distance from the hill where the shell lay.
Not a sound from the enemy reached his ears as his boat grated upon the sandy beach, and he sprang out to secure the painter to a bush.
Then, feeling that his revolver was ready and handy for business, he cautiously began to steal his way through the shrubbery that fringed the shore.
These screened his advance and soon he was ascending the steep bank in the direction of the previous encounter. He was getting further away from his boat and nearer and near to his destination.
"All serene, so far," he muttered, as he advanced steadily without any adventure. "The Spaniards must have gone."
But suddenly, as he was about to step from the concealment of the trees into a slight clearing that lay in his path, he heard a sound that caused him to dodge quickly back. Looking out he saw a figure close at hand and slowly approaching.
A step further and Clif would have brought himself directly within the other's view.
It was not Clif's purpose to invite an encounter, although he grasped his revolver in readiness for an emergency. He desired, rather, to avoid it, and toquietly make his way to the spot where the shell lay. That once secured, he felt that he could in the same way return to his boat and to the flagship.
He therefore silently waited in his place of concealment to see what the enemy would do. The latter evidently had not heard Clif's movements, and continued slowly to advance, stooping occasionally and peering from side to side.
"I think I know what you're after," muttered Clif below his breath. "But you won't find it here; nor me, either," he added, as he began to edge away from the position he held.
As he did so, the other turned and slowly continued his course in the opposite direction.
The coast was again clear, and Clif lost no time in putting what distance he could between himself and the unwelcome visitor. His course, too, led him toward the mound of earth behind which lay the object of his coming.
When he reached the spot where he had met the Cuban courier he found it deserted. The Spaniards, after the escape of Clif and his men, had evidently withdrawn.
With a light heart he sprang toward the rampart of earth and began to ascend its side.
"In one minute it is mine," he thought exultingly, "and then back to the flagship and the test!"
But a surprise was in store for him. As he vaulted over the top of the mound on to the other side, he landed almost into the arms of a man who was just ascending that side.
The man was unmistakably a Spaniard, and fromhis hands there fell a round shell, that rolled away across the ground.
The encounter was startling to both, but Clif was the first to recover his wits. His quick eye detected the fallen shell, and he divined the fellow's purpose.
Before the other could recover from his evident fright, Clif sprang upon him.
"So you have found it!" he muttered, as he closed in upon the Spaniard, "but finding's not keeping's this time."
Clif's attack brought the Spaniard quickly to his senses, and he was not slow to defend himself.
In a flash he drew his revolver, but Clif was too quick for him. The latter knocked the weapon from the fellow's grasp before he had a chance to fire it.
Clif's own weapon was within easy reach, but for several reasons he did not care to use it. He wanted, among other things, to avoid a pistol shot which might attract others to the spot.
The contest must be one of muscle against muscle; and to unusual strength Clif added a surprising agility that came in good stead in such a struggle.
They grappled, and there in that enclosure formed by the mounds of earth on several sides the two began a furious hand to hand battle, the result of which long hung in doubt.
The Spaniard was no mean opponent, and fought with enraged fury. Clif's astounding exertions during the past hours had been enough to exhaust the strongest and sturdiest, and he was compelled to acknowledge to himself, as the battle progressed, that it had made inroads upon his strength.
Back and forth across the little enclosure the pair fought fiercely. Once Clif slipped and fell beneath his opponent; but an instant after he was upon his feet.
His keen eye followed his antagonist's every move. He was watching for a chance to deliver one blow that would settle the combat. Several times he had landed upon the Spaniard's head and face, inflicting severe punishment, but not enough.
At last the moment came. The opening presented itself in the Spaniard's guard, and with all the strength that was in him, Clif shot out his right hand. It went home. With a force that seemed to lift the fellow high into the air, his fist met the Spaniard's chin, and the latter fell backward to the ground.
It was a clean knockout. Breathing heavily, the fellow lay where he had fallen, unconscious of his surroundings.
Clif was panting from the exertion. He had received some punishment, and the wound in his arm was throbbing fiercely.
But he paused only long enough to see that the fellow would not give him further trouble, and then hurried toward the spot where the shell had rolled.
"I guess that'll hold you for a while," he muttered, looking at his fallen foe as he started away.
"But he'll come out of it after a time," he added. "Gorry! how my arm aches all the way up to the elbow."
It took but a moment for him to find the shell, for he had seen it roll from the other's hand.
"That's it," he exclaimed, as he picked it up. "I'd know it in a minute by its shape and weight. Rather light for a cannon ball."
But he did not wait to examine it there. There would be time enough for that when he reached the flagship.
With a parting look at his unconscious antagonist he started away.
"I'm sorry, my dear sir," he exclaimed, sarcastically, as he looked back on reaching the top of the rampart. "You seemed so attached to this shell, I'd like to take you along with it. But as I can only take one at a time, I'll content myself with this."
Then he turned his back upon the scene of his contest, and started for his boat as expeditiously as due caution would allow.
He met with no obstacle in the way, and found the boat just as he had left it. He threw the shell in the stern, and with a feeling of exultation sprang in after it and seized the oars.
A few steady strokes and he was on the way toward the flagship. But there had been a change in those quiet waters while he was on the land.
He had not gone many boat lengths from shore before he discovered looming up before him a slowly moving steamer. It was apparently hugging the coast and proceeding with as little noise as possible.
"A boat trying to run the blockade!" exclaimed Clif, as he backed water and rested upon his oars. "She'll succeed, too, unless one of our ships should happen to discover her with its searchlight."
And then his responsibility, in view of the discovery he had made, flashed upon him.
"I must warn the flagship at once," he exclaimed, seizing the oars and sending the boat forward with a spurt.
But after a couple of strokes he suddenly stopped again.
"What a fool I am!" he exclaimed. "By the time I can row out to the flagship, it will be too late. They must be warned instantly, and there is only one way of doing it."
He reached for the signal rockets he had brought at the rear admiral's order. Should he fire them?
Those on board the strange boat that was nearly abreast of him did not know that he was there. If he gave the signal it would betray his presence, and no doubt lead to an attack upon himself in his open boat.
Clif looked far out to sea for a moment, half hoping to see the flash of the searchlight play upon the water, and lead to the detection of the strange craft.
But the delay was only momentary.
"It is my duty to warn the ships," he exclaimed, as he set a rocket up in the stern, and drawing a match from his pocket, struck it upon the seat of the boat. "Here goes!"
A moment later, with a sharp whirr and a flash of light, the rocket shot up into the air. A second and third followed; then Clif sprang back upon his seat and seized the oars.
The signal had been given. He had done his duty at whatever risk there might be to his own safety.
Clif had elected to imperil his own existence rather than allow one of the enemy's boats to pass that blockade without warning to the American ships. But he had no intention of lying idly by in the path of the hostile craft.
He waited but a moment after the glare of the last rocket had died out in the air, and then bent to the oars, and urged the boat toward the open sea beyond.
And then he had every confidence that he had little to fear from the enemy's boat.
"They'll have all they can do to look out for their own safety now," he thought, "without paying any attention to me. The New York has seen the signal, and will not be slow in making out the cause. Then look out, Mr. Spaniard."
But there was more taking place upon those waters than Clif was cognizant of, and peril came from an unlooked-for source.
His decision to send up the warning signal had been quickly formed after his first discovery of the strange vessel. He had seen at a glance that it was not a warship, but a merchant steamer. It was moving slowly, and apparently seeking, as much as possible, the concealment afforded by the shadow of the coast. Every feature about it showed that it wastrying to quietly steal out past the blockading vessels.
Clif had not delayed, but on the impulse of the moment had sent up the signal rockets while he was yet between the ship and the shore. But a few steady strokes would carry him beyond the enemy and toward the flagship, he thought.
But to his surprise he noticed, on glancing over his shoulder as he drew nearer the vessel, that the latter was moving slower than before and in fact had just stopped.
This was puzzling to him, for now, if at any time, the boat should be showing its utmost speed. Those on board must surely know from the signals that they had been discovered and that pursuit would instantly follow.
A few words will explain the situation to the reader. The vessel was, as Clif suspected, endeavoring to steal out past the American ships, which were known to be in the vicinity. But a short time before Clif had left the shore for the second time, the blockade runner had slowed down, and a boat, manned by half a dozen sailors, had been sent ashore. An officer in the Spanish army, with important dispatches, was to be taken aboard at a point not far from where Clif had landed.
The work of the Spanish boat's crew had been expeditiously performed, and when Clif sent up his signal, they were returning to the ship. Unnoticed by Clif in his excitement at the time, they were close to one side of his boat at that fateful moment.
A pistol shot suddenly ringing out in the air anda bullet flying not far from his head apprised the cadet of danger from that quarter. The Spaniards, as was natural for them to be, were aroused to a high pitch of excitement against the youth whose vigilance promised to set all their plans at naught.
With a hoarse yell of rage they tugged at the oars and their boat fairly leaped through the water after the intrepid young cadet.
Clif saw the movement, and redoubled his efforts at the oars. It was a race for his life—one against seven!
With frantic energy he tugged at the oars, and his boat shot forward with encouraging speed. At that moment the searchlight on the flagship sent its rays across the waters in answer to the signal, and a dazzling stream of light played upon the scene.
It brought in clear relief the form of the waiting steamer, and the two boats racing so desperately near at hand.
What a thrilling scene it must have been to the officers on the bridge of the flagship as with glass in hand they watched the exciting race. But it was not given to them long to note the cadet's desperate struggle for freedom, or to marvel at his great endurance.
The race was a short one, and the result a foregone conclusion. There was no hope of Clif's escaping from the pursuing boat, with its crew of fresh and eager oarsmen. The latter closed in upon him with a leap and a bound, and soon were within oar's length of him.
He recognized the uselessness of trying to escapefrom them, but was determined not to surrender without a struggle even in the face of great numbers.
He dropped his oars and sprang to his feet, facing his enemies. He drew his revolver, but before he could use it one of the Spanish sailors, who had risen in the boat, knocked it from his grasp with his oar.
The boats were now side by side, almost touching, and the dark hulk of the steamer was not many feet away.
From the latter arose aloud cheer as they saw that Clif had been disarmed, and above the noise Clif could hear a few words of command from the Spanish army officer who sat in the stern of the boat at his side. It was to the sailor who had sprung up to attack Clif.
"Don't shoot!" he said. "Take him alive!"
Clif had seized an oar when his revolver fell with a splash into the water, and there was no doubt that he intended using it.
But two can play at that game, and the Spanish sailor, forbidden to shoot, attacked Clif furiously with the oar, which he still held in his hand.
Clif dodged, but as he did so another sailor aimed a blow at his head. The aim was good.
A sharp pain shot through the young cadet's head, he reeled and all became dark before him. With a faint moan he fell senseless into the bottom of his boat.
The contest had been short, and well it was for the Spaniards that such was the case. Already theflickering of the searchlight told that the flagship was hurrying to the scene.
The Spaniards realized the importance of quick action. They had, on the impulse of the moment, retaliated upon Clif because it could take but a few minutes and because they felt that the chase would end not far from their waiting vessel.
They congratulated themselves that it had, indeed, brought them almost to the ship's side, and now they lost no time in getting themselves and their prisoner aboard. Willing hands assisted from above.
A couple of strokes of the oars had brought them to the ship's side, with Clif's boat in tow. In obedience to a command, Clif's boat with its unconscious burden was raised bodily to the deck. The captain thought he could use it in his business.
A moment later the Spaniards with the army officer reached the deck, and the ship's captain signaled to go ahead.
All now was excitement on board the Spaniard. Beyond securely fastening the arms and legs of their unconscious captive where he lay, they paid but little attention to Clif. They were all too wrapped up in thoughts of escape from the cruiser whose piercing searchlight was streaming upon them.
Among the crew there was, here and there, a murmur against the delay that had been caused by stopping to take on the army officer, and with this was coupled a note of resentment against the young cadet whose appearance on the scene promised to spoil all their plans.
But the captain's orders were carried out promptly, the more so as their own safety depended upon it.
They were not without hope of making good their escape in the end, for they knew what speed their craft was capable of. It was a fast boat, and the throbbing of the engines told that she was being urged to her full speed.
Amid intense excitement of crew and officers, the wild dash for freedom and safety had begun.
Through all this confusion and flurry the cadet whose prompt signaling had occasioned it lay helpless and unconscious. The steady thump of the machinery below, which was steadily carrying him further and further from his friends, made no impression upon his ears, nor was his mind aroused by the excitement of the chase or the hope of rescue.
But the race had not been long under way before he began to show signs of returning consciousness. He stirred uneasily in the bottom of the boat where he lay, attempting to move his pinioned limbs; then a long-drawn breath, and he opened his eyes slowly.
The noise from shipboard fell upon his ears, and the sounds confused him. His surroundings puzzled him and his mind at first could not grasp the situation. Where was he?
Then with a rush of recollection came the remembrance of the attack upon him in the open boat. His enemies had triumphed, he thought, and left him a helpless victim to drift about upon the open sea. But whence those sounds?
He painfully raised himself to a sitting posture and looked out. To his astonishment, he found himself and boat upon the deck of a swiftly moving steamer.
Then he saw it all, and realized what had happened. He caught a glimpse of the rays of the searchlight that still streamed across the water, and a moment after heard the boom of a cannon out at sea.
"The New York!" he exclaimed. "She is in pursuit! But she's too far away, and can never catch this fast boat. The only chance of her stopping it is with one of her big guns."
And then, involuntarily, he shuddered as he thought that, bound and helpless, he would share the fate of the Spanish crew if a shot from the flagship should penetrate the ship's side and send it to the bottom!
He moved a little toward the stern of his boat, as best he could, to get a better view of the light that showed the approaching flagship. As he did so he struck a round, hard object that lay behind him.
"The unexploded shell!" he exclaimed, as he recognized what it was. "I still have that with me, at any rate!"
And then he began to tug at the ropes that bound his arms in a frantic effort to loosen them.
The rapid throb of the engines below and another boom of cannon from out to sea told that the chase was becoming a hot one.
The excitement among the crew of the Spanish steamer was intense as they watched the light from the flagship and noted the course of the projectiles that came toward them. For this reason they had not observed Clif's movements, and gave themselves no concern about him.
Whatever may have been his intended course of action, he was at last compelled to abandon it.
Strain and tug as he would at the cords that bound his arms, they remained intact, nor could his ingenuity devise any way of releasing himself from their hold. Though hastily tied, the knots had been put there to stay, and Clif at last realized that it was a hopeless task to try to undo them.
But though he could not free his arms and legs, he could use his eyes, and the scene was one thrilling enough to rivet his attention.
The fast moving steamer, urged to its utmost speed, the exclamations of hope and fear among its crew, the more majestically moving flagship whose deficiencies of speed were more than atoned for by the range of her guns, suggested possibilities to one in Clif's position that might well set one's heart to beating wildly.
If the steamer should escape by reason of superiorspeed, it would bring joy to the crew, but disaster to Clif, their helpless prisoner. If, on the other hand, a shot from the flagship should sink the Spanish boat, Clif perforce would share death with them. Little wonder that brave as he was, he struggled anxiously to free his arms and legs from their bonds.
"The New York can never catch us," he exclaimed, when he had settled down to watching the flagship as best he could. "She is too far away, and this boat is too fast."
There was little need of the searchlight now, as dawn was approaching. The forms of the ships could be distinguished in the uncertain light without its aid.
Clif had been watching the flagship which was astern, but now, looking forward, he saw a beam of light in that direction. It was several miles out to sea, and shot across their path.
"That must be the Wilmington," he exclaimed, cheered by a suddenly revived hope. "She can cut across our path, and all may yet be well."
He looked back at the flagship and saw the red and the blue signal lights flashing their message to the ship ahead which was, as Clif surmised, the Wilmington. They also carried a message to Clif, nor was their meaning lost upon the Spanish crew.
"They have signaled the Wilmington to intercept her," exclaimed Clif. "But it will be a close race."
He heard the signal from the excited captain of the Spanish boat for more speed, and the throbbing of the machinery told that they were endeavoring in the engine rooms to carry out the order. It seemedas if the engines were already doing their utmost, but Clif could notice a slight increase in the headway they were making.
It was a fast boat and no mistake, Clif thought, as he anxiously strained his eyes to see what the Wilmington was doing.
Answering signals told that she had received the order from the flagship, and that those orders would be obeyed. Clif fervently hoped that she would be successful. He hated to think of the possibility of a hostile ship succeeding in running the blockade, and now this patriotic impulse was heightened by the fact that he was a helpless prisoner on board the very boat that promised to accomplish that feat.
For, as he watched the race, there was a growing conviction in Clif's mind that the Wilmington was so far out to sea that she could not hope to stop the Spanish steamer except by the power of her guns. And a hole in the side of the enemy's vessel, however desirable under ordinary circumstances, did not coincide with his hopes or ideas on this occasion. He had no desire to share a watery grave with his captors.
The two boats were heading for the same point, the Wilmington seeking to block the path the other was following. One of her guns spoke out, but the shot fell short. She was not in range.
Faster went the Spanish boat, and nearer to the objective point raced the two vessels.
Clif breathlessly watched the pursuing craft whose success meant so much to him. Could she win?
The Spaniards shared his excitement, and watchedtheir opponent with fully as much eagerness. At last they broke out into a cheer.
Clif was not slow to understand its import. The Spanish boat was making really a phenomenal run, and had reached a point where it was evident that if they maintained their speed they would soon be past the dangerous line. That once reached they could show the Yankee boat a clean pair of heels.
Clif's spirits fell when he realized that the Spaniards had good cause for their jubilation. There was no doubt now that the steamer could pass the danger line and then away.
The Wilmington, too, seemed to realize that there was no hope of catching up with the other vessel, for now the cannon boomed out in rapid succession. They were rapidly drawing nearer and within range.
A shot swept across the Spaniard's bows, but on she went. Then another struck the bridge upon which the captain stood glass in hand, and he had a narrow escape from flying splinters. But the goal was too near for them to stop, and he signaled for more steam.
Clif could not but admire this officer's pluck. Under other circumstances, he would have said that the Spaniard deserved to win.
The vessel seemed to struggle to do what was demanded of her, and sped on. Another shot from the Wilmington rattled across her bows, but the crew answered with a cheer. Five minutes more and they would be round the point and then——
What would happen then was never to be known. Suddenly a loud explosion was heard from below,and the whole frame of the steamer shook from end to end. Men rushed on deck in a panic, and wildly proclaimed the cause.
A steam pipe, urged beyond its strength, had exploded, carrying destruction with it. The race was lost, and the captain promptly hauled down his flag.
But as he did so, he gave orders to steer toward the land, and the steamer came to a standstill not far from the shore.
The Spanish army officer carrying the dispatches entered a boat that was quickly lowered and when the prize crew from the Wilmington boarded the steamer he was safe upon land and his escape was assured.
When the officer in charge of the prize crew had finished the formalities, Clif attracted his attention. The cadet had apparently been forgotten by his captors in the excitement of the chase and the calamity that had come upon them. The American officer was astonished beyond measure to find one wearing the familiar uniform in such a plight on that boat.
"Why, Mr. Faraday," he exclaimed upon learning Clif's identity, and having released him from his bonds, "we were not aware that they had an American on board as a prisoner."
"I thought not, from the way you were firing at us," said Clif, with a smile. "I thought more than once that you would send this particular American to the bottom along with the shipload of the enemy. You were firing too accurately to suit me this time."
"Well, the American boys do come pretty nearhitting what they aim at," responded the officer, evidently pleased at the compliment to their marksmanship. "But I am curious to know how it has happened that we find you here."
Clif then briefly told of the adventures that followed his finding of the unexploded shell, which he picked up from its lodgment in the boat and held in his hand.
"So you have risked your life for that piece of steel!" exclaimed the officer. "What can have been your purpose in that?"
"Does it not strike you, sir, that there is something peculiar about it?" asked Clif, as the other examined it.
"Yes," replied the officer, "it is decidedly out of date, and might be interesting as a relic, but not of sufficient importance to risk one's life for."
"I had an idea that there was a mystery about it that was well worth solving," replied Clif. "And with your permission, sir, I will put the matter to a test."
"As you like," responded the officer, with the air of a man who is indulging some childish fancy.
Clif was not slow to take advantage of the permission granted, and carried the shell to a table that stood upon the after deck, the officer meantime paying no further attention to him, but attending to some further detail of transfer.
Clif had procured a fuse and inserted it into the shell and was upon the point of lighting it when the officer appeared.
"Stop, sir!" he commanded. "Would you blow us all to destruction?"
Others standing near made a move as if to stop Clif, but it was too late. The fuse was burning rapidly.
With a cry of alarm and amazement, the officers, American as well as Spanish, sprang to one side and dodged in great fright.
But Clif calmly stood by, his arms folded and a confident smile playing about his lips.
He was putting his theory to the test.
Mingled with evident fright and alarm there was upon the face of each a look of incredulity at rashness of the cadet. Had his adventures and narrow escapes turned his brain, and were they now at the mercy of a maniac? was in the minds of all.
They had not long to wait. The fuse burned rapidly and spluttered to the end, and as they all involuntarily ducked their heads at the impending explosion, a peculiar thing happened.
When the fire from the fuse reached the shell there was a sharp clicking sound, and those who were looking at the shell saw it suddenly open like a book, and from its hollow interior fell a roll of paper upon the table.
This Clif seized and waved over his head in triumph.
"Hurrah!" he cried. "It is as I suspected. Secret dispatches from the enemy that are worth all they have cost!"
The officers were struck dumb with amazement, and stood and stared at the smiling young man as though they could not believe their eyes. But after a time they crowded around him and examined the shell curiously, and then the papers that Clif held in his hand.
The papers were evidently written in Spanish, and though the American officers could not read them, they now had conceived sufficient confidence in Clif to believe that they were indeed of importance.
The shell, whose quest had caused Clif so much peril and danger, was a curious affair. It had been cunningly contrived for the purpose it had so admirably fulfilled. Though very much in appearance like the old-fashioned round shells, it was in two parts, ingeniously hinged so that when closed it required very close scrutiny to detect the seam.
It was hollow, and consequently light in weight. This fact had first arrested Clif's attention and had set his thoughts to work upon the mystery that was connected with it. In the opening where the fuse was inserted there was a concealed mechanism so arranged that it might not be detected or opened with the finger, but would readily give way to the force of a slight explosion in that small cavity. If it should fall into strange hands, unfamiliar with its design, it was meant to defy all efforts at opening it.
Clif was the recipient of many expressions of praise from the American officers upon his ingenuity in fathoming the secret that was so cunningly devised, and they questioned him at length.
"That is indeed wonderful," said the superior officer. "But how did you ever guess the purpose for which it was intended or the method of opening it?"
Clif then explained the circumstances connected with its appearance at his feet among the trees where he was awaiting the Cuban courier.
"I thought it was strange that a ship being pursued should fire a shell at the land instead of at its enemy," he said, "and when I picked it up I was struck with its peculiarities, but my examination was interrupted by the arrival of the Spanish soldiers. We were kept busy for a while pursuing them, and did not have much time to pursue this mystery."
The officer smiled knowingly at this, for he had gathered enough from Clif's previous narrative to know that the little band of sailors had done great feats that night.
"The shell not exploding," continued Clif, "led me to think that perhaps it was not intended to explode just then and when I saw that the Spanish soldiers seemed to be hunting for something there, I jumped to the conclusion that it was this identical piece of steel they were after. That explained their presence there and their peculiar behavior. And what could the Spaniards want with that shell if it did not contain something of value to them and of greater value to the American cause?"
"You reasoned well," exclaimed the officer, "and so you decided to risk going back for it, and your ideas have come out triumphant through the test. But, young man, don't try any more experiments like that when I'm around."
They all laughed heartily at this sally, at which Clif joined in.
"But it was decidedly a peculiar way to send dispatches," continued the officer, "and it would seem as though it was uncertain and unnecessary as well."
"There seemed to me to be a good reason for it,sir," said Clif. "I figured that that boat had been sent to deliver the dispatches, with instructions that if they were pursued to fire the shell at a point agreed upon, and then make their escape. They were pursued, and did fire toward shore, and the soldiers in waiting evidently saw the flash, and knew about where to hunt for it. I think, sir, that when these papers are examined it will be found that they contain information that the Spanish army ashore wants the worst way."
This proved to be the case. Clif was given custody of the peculiar shell and the papers it had contained, and after a little delay was taken in the boat to the Wilmington.
Signals were exchanged between this vessel and the flagship, and in due time Clif was rowed to the latter and ordered to report to the rear admiral.
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 workhe 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.
"And thus," he said gravely, "perished one of Spain's real heroes."