Rear Admiral Sampson noticed the paleness of Clif's face, and thoughtfully directed him to sit down.
"I hear that you were wounded while cutting the cable," he said at once. "You were under hot fire while it lasted, and I am proud of the way the men behaved. I am told that you did not give up the tiller in spite of your injuries."
Clif, though pleased to receive the praise of the rear admiral, bore himself modestly. It did not seem to him that he had done any brave act.
"My wound was slight, sir," he said quickly. "It has been properly dressed, and gives me no trouble."
"I am glad to hear that," replied the officer, "for I have an especial mission upon which I desire to send you, but of course would not think of your going if it should endanger your health. Other danger you do not seem to fear."
"It is briefly4 this," continued the rear admiral. "While you were out with the boat, I received a communication by the dispatch boat saying that a courier from the Cuban chief, Gomez, is to be at a certain spot near, the coast to-night, bearing important dispatches from the insurgents6. It is necessary that we send some one to meet him, and your previous experience on Cuban soil and your knowledge of the Spanish language recommend you as the leader of the party. Are you prepared to go? There may be danger——"
Clif eagerly interrupted him. To his mind it seemed a great honor, as it really was to be placed in command of so important a mission, and he counted no danger great enough to cause him to hesitate.
He told the rear admiral as much, forgetting in his eagerness for active service, that he was but a cadet.
"Then it is settled," said the rear admiral. "To-night the New York will reach a spot nearly opposite the place of meeting, and you will be ready with a party of ten, whom you may select. Here is a diagram of that part of the coast, indicating the appointed spot where the courier is to be met."
"I know the spot well," he exclaimed, after looking at the diagram for a moment.
"All the better," said the rear admiral.
Then after some further directions and instructions from the officer, Clif saluted and took his leave, happy in the thought that he had been singled out for such important duty and that he would have this opportunity of active work.
He was really glad, though he would hardly admit it to himself, to be permitted to seek some rest during the day, for his wound was painful, if not serious.
It was late at night when, with a picked company of ten men, all armed, Clif parted company with the flagship and steered9 his boat toward the shore. The New York had dropped them near the appointed spot, but it had been deemed prudent10 not to take the ship near enough to attract attention to the intended destination of Clif and his crew. They therefore had considerable distance yet to row before touching11 land.
"I know the coast pretty well along here," thought Clif, as he set in the stern, tiller ropes in hand. "We'll get there all right."
Success depended upon their own efforts, for the New York slowly steamed away along the coast and in the opposite direction.
Clif and his party sped along without any uneasiness. It was night and darkness favored them. There was no reason to think that their presence there was suspected or their purpose known.
Still, for all this evident security, Clif kept a sharp lookout12 for any of the enemy who might be prowling along like himself, or, worse still, who might be scouring14 those waters with one of those silent little terrors, a torpedo15 boat.
All went peacefully until they were within less than half a mile of their destination, and quite near shore. Then suddenly a rifle shot rang out upon the shore, and sounds of voices came to their ears.
The Spaniards had discovered them!
"Perhaps not," thought Clif, hopefully. "Silence everybody," he said, addressing the men, "and listen."
Instantly the men ceased rowing, and every one strained his ears to hear the sounds from shore.
That there was a company of the enemy at that point was evident, from the noise of many voices and the confused sounds that were borne to the listeners' ears.
"They have discovered us," whispered Clif to the one nearest him. "I caught a few words of Spanish that convinces me that the sentry16 has heard our oars17. Not a sound now! They can't see us in the dark, and will think it all a mistake."
It was a waiting game that Clif had set out to play, and it seemed the only thing that could help them under the circumstances. It was out of the question to think of attacking the Spaniards, superior at least in numbers. There was other work for the night.
Silently the American crew waited, listening for every sound. Soon these voices died out, and Clif concluded that they could venture to move once more.
"Row quietly," was his whispered order. "I'd like to give them a volley, but that would spoil our plans."
The men cautiously plied2 the oars and were soon steering18 softly toward their appointed place of landing. But quietly as they moved, the sound was borne ashore19 and they had not proceeded many boat lengths before another shot echoed across the water.
"To thunder with the Spaniard," exclaimed Clif, out of patience with the fresh outbreak. "He's firing at random20. Go ahead. We'll meet them further down the shore if they're not satisfied."
They were gliding23 swiftly across the water, and had nearly reached their landing place, when Clif heard a noise that put him on the alert.
"Do you hear that?" he exclaimed, after hastily stopping the rowers.
The men rested on their oars and listened.
"Yes, but friend or foe25?" exclaimed Clif. "It's not the New York. She went in the other direction, and I don't know of any more of our boats in this place."
"Perhaps the New York is coming back," ventured one of the men.
"No," replied Clif. "She's not been here for at least three hours. By that time we will be ready to return to her."
"It must be a blockade runner," suggested one of the men.
"Well, I don't see as it makes any difference," said Clif, finally. "If it is, we can't stop her. She can't be after us, for I am sure no one of the enemy knows our mission. There is our landing place. We must hurry or we will be late."
With this he turned the prow13 of the boat toward shore, and gave orders to proceed. A few minutes later the boat grated upon the beach and the sailors sprang ashore.
There was no one to dispute their landing. The coast at this point was wild and uninhabited, and but a short distance inland was the spot appointed for the meeting with the insurgent5 courier.
Clif hid the boat among some bushes and quickly led the men up the steep bank toward a clump26 of trees.
"This is the spot," he exclaimed as they reached it, "and we are evidently ahead of time."
No one was in sight, as far as the eye could penetrate27 the darkness. There was barely enough light from the moon just emerging from behind a cloud to enable the sailors to take some notice of the surroundings. Where they stood, near the sparse28 clump of trees, it was smooth and level, but close to one side of them rose a ridge29 of ground forming a natural rampart. It almost seemed as though Spanish forms might at any instant appear upon it behind threatening guns.
Seaward the view was unobstructed, and as Clif turned his gaze in that direction, he could see the moonbeams reflected on the heaving bosom30 of the waters. He saw another sight an instant after that caused him to utter an exclamation31 of surprise.
Far out to seaward the beam of a searchlight suddenly shot across the water. It swept from side to side in a gradually widening radius32, until after a few moments its glare fell upon a steamer whose hulk rose up between it and the shore.
"It is one of our ships chasing a blockade runner," cried Clif. "She was trying to sneak33 out, but is caught in the act."
The little party on shore watched with eager eyes the chase as shown by the bright beam from the warship's searchlight. In the excitement of the novel sight that was afforded them they for the moment forgot why they were there.
Then a strange and mysterious thing happened. As they watched the pursued vessel34 they suddenly saw a flash from a gun on the side facing the land.
"What fools!" cried Clif. "Firing toward the land instead of at our ship. The fool Spaniards must be rattled35 worse than usual. That beats——"
He did not finish the sentence. As he spoke36 the shell fired from the ship crashed through the trees and landed almost at his feet. The fuse was burning and spluttering, and it seemed ready to explode on the instant, carrying death and destruction to the little party.
It was a perilous38 moment. Several of the men instinctively39 dodged40 and seemed on the point of running away.
Clif saw his peril37 in an instant and the only hope of averting41 it. Without a moment's hesitation42 he sprang forward and picked up the shell as it seemed about to burst. With a mighty43 effort he hurled44 the spluttering missile over the ridge of earth that he had noticed to one side, and then, with an involuntary sigh of relief, he instinctively huddled45 with the balance of the party in an expectant attitude, waiting for the explosion on the other side of the rampart.
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1
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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2
plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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3
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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4
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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insurgent
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| adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子 | |
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insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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7
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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9
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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10
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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12
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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13
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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14
scouring
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| 擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤 | |
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15
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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16
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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17
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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18
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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20
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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21
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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22
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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23
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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24
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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25
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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27
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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28
sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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30
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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31
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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32
radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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33
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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34
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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35
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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36
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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37
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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38
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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39
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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40
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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41
averting
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| 防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移 | |
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42
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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43
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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44
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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45
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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