"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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l was of the greatest importance, and intimated something of his ideas concerning the mystery that it suggested. He spoke to such good purpose that at last 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 sh.e.l.l, 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 a.s.sistance 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 sh.o.r.e.
But this time he was alone. Success and safety depended upon his unaided efforts.
CHAPTER x.x.x.
THE BATTLE IN THE BRUSH.
Was it a foolhardy venture, he thought, as with steady stroke he forged ahead away from the flagship, and toward the sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e. 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 sh.e.l.l, 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 to sea, but Clif did not seem to feel the strain. He drew near the sh.o.r.e 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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.o.r.e.
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 to quietly make his way to the spot where the sh.e.l.l 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 from his hands there fell a round sh.e.l.l, 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 sh.e.l.l, 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.