"A friend," replied the man in answer to the challenge.
"Advance and give your name," persisted the sentry.
"Lieutenant Cantor of the "_Long Island_.""
At hearing that name, from one in civilian dress, Dave stepped forward.
"You"ve been halted by a man from your own ship, sir," nodded Darrin, on getting close enough to see that the man really was Cantor.
"Hullo," was Trent"s greeting, as he stepped outside. "On duty, Cantor?"
"Not official duty," replied the other lieutenant.
"You are authorized to be ash.o.r.e, of course?" continued Trent, surveying his brother officer, keenly, for, at such a time, it was strange to see a naval officer ash.o.r.e in anything but uniform.
"I have proper authority for being ash.o.r.e," Cantor nodded.
"That is all, then," said Lieutenant Trent. "You may proceed, of course, but you are going to be halted and held up by every sentry who sees you. You would get through the town much more easily in uniform."
"I suppose so," nodded Cantor, and pa.s.sed on.
Close at hand two revolver shots rang out.
"Ensign Darrin," Trent ordered, "take a man with you and investigate that firing. Locate it, if possible, and if any Mexican attempts to fire again, try to bring him in-----dead!"
"You will come with me," ordered Dave, turning to c.o.xswain Riley.
That petty officer hastily filling his magazine, followed Darrin, who drew his own revolver.
Hardly had officer and man turned the corner when a pistol flesh came from the top of a house nearly at the next corner.
The bullet did not pa.s.s near enough for them to hear it. Plainly the shot had been fired at some one else.
"Keep close to the buildings," ordered Dave, leading the way toward the sniper. "I don"t want that fellow to see us until we"re right under him and ready to get him."
Noiselessly they went up the street. It would be impossible for the sniper to see them unless he bent out over the edge of the roof from which he was firing.
While they were advancing another shot was fired from the same roof.
Watching the direction of the flash, Darrin was able to guess the direction of the man or men at whom the Mexican was firing.
"Some of our sharpshooters must still be posted on roofs," Dave whispered over his shoulder to Riley.
"I know one man who won"t be doing much more on a roof, if I can get a sight of him for three seconds," gruffly answered Riley.
Then they stopped in front of the house in question.
"You slip across to the doorway opposite, and watch for your man,"
whispered Darrin. "I"ll remain here and get any one who may attempt to run out of the house after you open fire."
Slipping across the street, Riley waited.
Scanning the house, from the roof of which the firing had proceeded, his drawn revolver in his hand, Dave made a quick discovery.
"Why, this is the very door from which I saw Cosetta peering out yesterday!" thought the young ensign. "I wonder if this is his home in Vera Cruz. I"ll make a point of reporting this to Trent as soon as we return."
And then Dave heard a voice just inside the door say, in Spanish:
"You ought to stop that sniper on the roof. He took two shots at me as I came up the street."
"What infernal work is going on here?" Ensign Dave Darrin asked himself, hoa.r.s.ely. "I how that voice. I"d know it anywhere.
That"s Cantor speaking, and he"s in the house of the enemy!"
CHAPTER XIX
A TRAITOR IN THE SERVICE
Crack! spoke a rifle across the street.
"I got him, sir!" cried the exultant voice of Riley. "But I"ll make sure of him, sir!"
Crack! The Navy rifle spoke once more.
Noiselessly Darrin darted across the street.
On the roof of the house in which Dave had seen the bandit, Cosetta, the previous day, lay a man, his head and shoulders hanging over the edge.
"Speak softly," cautioned Darrin. "I don"t want those men inside the house to hear you."
"He fell just like that when I fired the first shot, sir," Riley whispered. "I sent him the second bullet to make sure that he wasn"t playing "possum."
"And now," Dave ordered, "run down the street as noiselessly as you can go, and tell Lieutenant Trent that I wish he would come here in person, if possible, with a few men. Ask him, with my compliments to approach as noiselessly as possible, for I expect to make a surprise "bag" here."
Riley glanced at his officer in swift astonishment, but he saw that Darrin was speaking seriously, so he saluted and departed at a run.
Shortly Riley was back.
"Lieutenant Trent is coming, sir," whispered the c.o.xswain. "There he is, turning the corner now."
"Stand before this door, and if you hear anything inside, so much the better," Darrin murmured, then hastily moved down the street, saluting his superior officer as he met him.
"Riley told you, perhaps, he got the sniper, sir," Dave began, "but I have something even more astounding to report. I have every reason to believe that Lieutenant Cantor is in that house."
"A prisoner?" cried Trent, in an undertone.
"I have reason to believe that he isn"t a prisoner," Dave went on.
"The house is the same from which I saw Cosetta peer yesterday, and I have reason to think that Lieutenant Cantor and the bandit are on fairly good terms."