_ CHAPTER XXV
There nestled their boat with no sign of having been visited during their absence. Its prow was drawn well up the bank, and the sail lay in a roll on the boom and at the foot of the single mast with everything snug. Martella hastily examined every portion of the hull, stepping into the water to do so, and finally said with a grin:
"None of them saw it."
"That is better fortune than I expected. Providence has been kind to us, but where is _their_ boat, Martella?"
They listened for the blowing off of steam, but, save for the never silent sounds from the forest and jungle, all was silent.
"It is not far away; General Yozarro made the landing above and passed up the other trail to where it joins this one. It was lucky, for, had he come here, as he did last night, he must have seen our boat. He would have crippled it, and when he met the horse along the trail, he would have known we were near. There is no need of undue haste, and if you do not care, I will visit the gunboat."
"Are you not running great risk?"
"The only ones there are the engineer and two firemen; I have nothing to fear from them."
"You have my permission."
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 shore. In a country where wood is superabundant and coal almost unknown, the former was used exclusively on the craft. A large quantity 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 shore, 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 shore 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. _