The vegetation and foliage were so intricate that, instead of taking the shorter distance, the native loped back over the trail to the forking, and then went down the other to the river"s edge. As he expected, he found the tug lying against the sh.o.r.e. In a country where wood is superabundant and coal almost unknown, the former was used exclusively on the craft. A large quant.i.ty was always piled at the front, some of the kinds belonging to the most valuable exports, with such a close grain that it gave out as fervid heat as the mineral itself. Instead of maintaining a high pressure of steam, the engineer allowed it to sink. The return of General Yozarro was not looked for under several hours, and with so much resinous wood at hand, the furnace could be quickly fired up. It was a saving all round to let the steam moderate, which explains why our friends heard nothing of the craft sleeping less than thirty rods away.
Despite the confidence of Martella, he knew his venture was not wholly free from risk, and in the face of his comradeship with the crew, it was not unlikely that they would seek to win the good will of the Dictator by delivering the deserter to him. If there were others beside the engineer and firemen on board, it would be imprudent to the last degree to entrust himself to them. He therefore spent considerable time in reconnoitering.
Moving stealthily here and there, and peering out from the shadows, he soon made out the form of a man seated on the gunwale at the front, doubtless in quest of coolness. He was smoking a cigarette and something in his appearance was so familiar that the deserter called, in a guarded voice:
"Valentin, is that you?"
The man looked sharply around and removed the cigarette from between his lips.
"Martella!" he replied in the same careful voice.
"Who else is on the boat?"
"Only Juarez and Dominguez."
He had mentioned the names of the two firemen.
"Is it safe for me to join you in a smoke?"
"For a little while only."
Martella came out in the moonlight, moved softly up the plank which connected the boat with the sh.o.r.e, and seating himself beside his old acquaintance, lit a cigarette. They talked for some minutes, as if no cloud had come between them, and then the visitor, heeding the warning of the engineer, bade him good bye and hurried back to his friends, who were becoming impatient over his absence.
Major Starland and the others noted that the deserter was in high spirits, but no one could understand why this should be the case.
"It is as I thought," said Martella; "the gunboat landed General Yozarro and the officers who have gone to the Castle."
"We knew that before."
"And he did not dream of the presence of our boat so near. Things would have been different had he known it."
"I may add, Martella, that that information is not new to us."
"But some things are new. The only ones on the boat are the engineer and two firemen. There will be no trouble about it."
"Trouble about what?"
"Capturing the boat; the crew will make no resistance, for it is not intended that they shall do any fighting. If they do, we can defeat them easily."
"So you have a plan for capturing that old tug of General Yozarro?
What do you think of it, Captain?"
"It can be done with little trouble as Martella says. I was thinking of the same thing while he was away. It would be a fine trick to play on General Yozarro."
"And I should be glad to help, but it will not do."
"Why not?"
"Despite what General Yozarro said, the two republics are not at war.
If they were, the capture would make your fortune. As it is, it would bring your ruin. General Bambos would be obliged not only to disavow the act, but to punish you for the offence."
"I was thinking," said Martella, "that perhaps the Major would be willing to take the responsibility."
"I admit that the temptation is strong, and, were not Miss Starland"s interests at stake, nothing would please me more than to capture that wheezy tug and scuttle it, but it may bring unpleasant consequences to her and therefore is not to be thought of."
Captain Guzman said these words were wise, and Martella was compelled reluctantly to accept the situation, though it irked him. The sail of the boat was hoisted, Miss Starland was given a seat at the stern, and the men united to shove the craft into deeper water.
"There is little wind," observed the Captain, "but it is favoring and we ought to be at Zalapata soon after daylight."
The two natives placed themselves at the bow, and the Major as usual, took charge of the tiller, thus bringing himself close to his sister.
The wooded sh.o.r.e so blanketed the catboat, that Martella took up a pole to push the craft out into the stream. Soon, enough impulse caught the sail to give headway, and they moved slowly out toward the middle of the river. Martella laid down the pole, and seated himself, still grinning.
"Major, I have pleasing news for you," he chuckled.
"I am listening."
"The engineer gave my message to General Yozarro."
"He did! It is fortunate for you that you and he did not meet."
"More fortunate for _him_ than for _me_," was the significant comment.
CHAPTER XXVI
The sailboat crept slowly out into the middle of the river, the breeze being so light that only a faint rippling was heard at the bow, and the craft hardly answered her helm. Major Starland had noted that the wind was not favorable, and he was compelled to tack toward the northern sh.o.r.e. He ran close in and was cheered by a freshening of the breeze which added perceptibly to the speed.
"At this rate," said his sister, "we shall not reach Zalapata till tomorrow is well advanced."
"It cannot matter, for there is no special need of haste."
"Suppose, when General Yozarro returns, he pursues us?"
"It is not impossible; it will be easy for him to overhaul such a slow-sailing boat as this, but he dare not offer us harm. Are we not free born Americans, and will not our government be quick to punish such an offence?"
"You must not forget that the South American is an idiot, for, had he not been, he would not have dared to forbid my leaving the Castle."
"Since a long sail is before us, why not let me adjust a couch for you to sleep?"
"Sleep! As if I could sleep at such a time as this! I had all I needed last evening when in prison."
It will be remembered that Captain Guzman and Martella were seated at the bow, facing those at the stern. Thus the moonlit river beyond was in clear view, and the sombre, motionless form of the tugboat could be made out where it snuggled against the southern bank. The deserter was speaking in low tones to the Captain, when he uttered an exclamation which caused the officer to turn his gaze to the rear.
That which the former fireman saw was a number of sparks mingling with the heavy vapor that was beginning to tumble out of the smokestack.
The next moment both saw that the craft was heading out into the river.