"Hello! what do you mean, sir, by following us?" cried Carl Baldwin, seizing the stranger's arm as he spoke3.
With a muttered oath the man wrenched4 himself free and darted5 away, but not before the gleam of a street light had revealed his features to Carlos Moranza.
"The very fellow who tried to force his way into the quarters of the Junta6!" he exclaimed, "and more than likely a Spanish spy. It is a narrow escape, my Carol, for if our blunder had not forced us to turn back, he must have discovered the Mermaid. In that case we should indeed have met with trouble."
"Let us hasten, then, before he returns."
"I don't believe he will dare do that. He is too badly scared."
But the spy did return, and, crouching7 in deepest shadow, became convinced that those whose business he was so anxious to discover had passed beneath the wharf8. As he dared not attempt to follow them through the impenetrable gloom into which they had disappeared, he sought a hiding-place, and from it watched with infinite patience for them to again come forth9.
They had, in the meantime, safely regained10 the snug11 living-room of the Mermaid, and reported all that had happened, to the Professor. Then Carl Baldwin unfolded his scheme for delaying the Spanish cruiser in port until after their departure.
As a result, the submarine boat was allowed to drift down the harbour with the ebbing12 tide, until she came abreast13 the great black hull14 of a man-of-war. Then she imperceptibly sank beneath the surface.
The watch officer of the Spanish cruiser, leaning on her after-rail and gazing musingly16 down into the dark waters sweeping17 seaward, speculated idly concerning the stream of phosphorescent light tailing out from under her counter, but thought of it only as a natural phenomenon. Had he known that it was caused by the motion of the Mermaid's propeller18 necessary to hold her in position against the stream while she hovered like a gigantic fish directly above the screw of his ship, how easily could he have won the promotion19 for which he longed. But he suspected nothing; and as Carl Baldwin, working from the diving chamber20 of the submarine craft, had succeeded in fastening one end of a short length of stout21 wire rope to the propeller blade, and shackling22 the other to a ring-bolt in the massive rudder, the officer turned with a sigh and walked away.
On the following morning the Spanish spy, weary and cramped23 with his long vigil, was amazed to see an utter stranger emerge cautiously from beneath the wharf he had been watching, and walk quickly away. For a moment the spy was undecided as to whether he should follow this person or seek to discover where he had come from. Then choosing the former course, he followed Professor Rivers at a respectful distance, until he had the vast satisfaction of seeing him meet, near the custom-house, the captain of the tug24 that was avowedly25 bound for Havana.
There was a connection then between those who hid beneath the wharf and the suspected tow anchored in the harbour. Undoubtedly26 a store of contraband27 goods was concealed28 under the wharf, and an effort would be made to convey them on board the tug before she sailed. What a reward was in prospect29 for him could he but discover it!
A little later the spy, with two companions, all armed, occupied a skiff that made its way cautiously through the dark spaces beneath the wharf he had watched so long. Suddenly between them and the outer daylight two men appeared one after the other. Both slid down one of the piles supporting the pier30 and dropped into the water, or at least the exulting31 spy thought they did so as he hastily urged his boat in that direction.
To his amazement32 and disgust, when he reached the spot where they had disappeared, he could discover no trace of them. Neither was there a boat or a hiding-place into which they could have gone. The man was furious at being thus baffled, and uttered many a fierce Spanish oath. Finally, convinced that further search in that direction was fruitless, he pulled out into the harbour to watch the mysterious tow that still lay at anchor. As he drew near to it he saw its captain come off from shore alone. Then the guard from one of the revenue cutters was withdrawn33, anchors were lifted, and the tow began to move slowly down the channel. It was certain that no one save the captain had gone aboard, nor had any cargo34 been taken in except a few tons of carefully examined coal.
Never in his life had the spy been so puzzled and disappointed; but it was a slight consolation35 to know that Spain's vigilant36 cruiser would accompany the Gringos to Havana. Even now was the black-hulled warship37 preparing to follow the departing tow. As the massive anchor broke away from the bottom, her great screw began to churn the water, and she slowly forged ahead. Suddenly her screw ceased to act, she took a sheer in the wrong direction, there was a vast amount of confusion on her decks, and in another minute she was fast aground on a bank of the narrow channel. Every eye in Key West harbour was fixed38 upon her, and before any one again thought of the departing tow, it had gained the high seas, and was beyond the jurisdiction39 of either Spain or "Uncle Sam." A little later, with the saucy40 Mermaid safely hidden in the ample receptacle of the great dumping scow, the tow had vanished in the direction of Havana.
That night the spy boarded a swift passenger steamer bound for the same port, which at sunrise of the following morning passed beneath the frowning walls of Moro Castle in company with the tow he had come to watch.
The Mermaid retained her berth41 even after a pilot had boarded the tug, and her crew looked eagerly upon the wonderfully beautiful scene unfolding before them as they passed through a narrow entrance into the broad, landlocked harbour of Havana.
Carl Baldwin, to whom everything was excitingly novel, viewed with delight the grim Moro with its tall lighthouse tower, the white Cabanas fortress42, the tinted43, flat-roofed buildings of the city across the placid44 basin, the quaint45 cathedral spires46, and the thousand other curious features of Spain's chief stronghold in the New World.
Carlos Moranza, filled with conflicting emotions at again approaching his native land under such strange conditions, gazed in silence, but as though hoping with the very intensity47 of his vision to pierce the crowding walls and discover the prison of his beloved sister.
Professor Rivers had eyes only for the warships48, of which the harbour held half-a-dozen, as he speculated upon the ease with which his little Mermaid could humble49 their pride and render them powerless.
At this very moment the Spanish spy was regarding, and triumphantly50 recognising, all three of the Americans through a glass levelled at them from the deck of the steamer on which he was a passenger. Thus it happened that, as the captain of the tug was preparing to go ashore51 and make formal entry at the custom-house, after having successfully passed examination by both health officers and port authorities, two barges52 filled with soldiers dashed out from the mole53 and headed directly towards the new arrivals. One of these took possession of the tug, while the other, in which sat the exulting spy, ranged alongside the dumping scow.
For nearly an hour the soldiers searched every compartment54 and corner of the two vessels55, even overhauling57 the coal in the tug's bunkers. When there was no longer an unexplored crevice58, even the spy was forced to confess that there was no person aboard unaccounted for in the tug's papers, and that he must have laboured under a delusion59 as to what he had seen. He was bewildered, mortified60, and angry, and was rendered furious by the ridicule61 heaped upon him by the officer to whom he was obliged to report his failure to discover anything that would justify62 a seizure63 of the tug.
This craft the Spaniards would have been glad to possess, but when its captain went ashore and announced his desire to dispose of the dumping scow, the authorities only laughed at him, and referred him to General Weyler, who happened at that time to be absent with an expedition to the interior. This was gratifying information, as it afforded an excuse for remaining in Havana harbour until he should return.
In the meantime the Mermaid, having sunk out of sight on the approach of danger, had found safe refuge under the stern of a Spanish man-of-war that was moored64 close at hand. Here she received a supply of fresh air through a flexible tube, one end of which was supported on the surface of the water by a small float. During the time that her occupants were thus compelled to remain in hiding, they amused themselves by so wedging the rudder of the warship as to render it immovable.
With the earliest twilight65 of that evening they returned to the tug and held a short consultation66 with her captain, who had used his eyes to such good purpose while on shore that he was enabled to direct them to a place from which he believed they could gain the city streets. This was most important, for though in the darkness they might have landed anywhere along the quay67, they would still have been shut off from the streets by a tall and stout iron fence, the gates of which were always guarded, and at sunset locked for the night. This is in accordance with a regulation that not only forbids any vessel56 to enter or leave the port of Havana between sunset and sunrise, but also prohibits all communication between the city and its harbour during the night.
The place indicated by the captain was a dock in which lay a number of fishing craft, and the entrance to which was closed by iron gates. As it was not likely that these extended very far below the surface, it was possible that the Mermaid might pass beneath them. This proved to be the case; for when, after a long search and several narrow escapes from discovery, the dock was reached, the Mermaid managed to squeeze under the barrier, and when she next rose to the surface she was inside the city lines. Here she remained with her deck just awash, and in charge of the Professor, while the two lads, filled with hopeful excitement, set forth in search of information that should guide their future action.
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1
mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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junta
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| n.团体；政务审议会 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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12
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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13
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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shackling
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| 给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的现在分词 ) | |
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23
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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avowedly
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| adv.公然地 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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warship
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| n.军舰，战舰 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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43
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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46
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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47
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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48
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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49
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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50
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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51
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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52
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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53
mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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54
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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55
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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overhauling
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| n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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58
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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60
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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