The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-22
CHAPTER vi.

1t was Sebright, with his asperity
and his tact who conducted affairs as
l have seen a trustworthy and exper-
fenced old nurse rule the infinite per-
| plexities of room full of children. He
| had an imaginative eye for detail. and.
starting from a mere hint, would go
| scheming onwards with astonishing
| precision. His plan, to which we were
omm1tted-committed helplessly and
without reSistance-Was based upon the
necessity Of our leaving the ship.
He judged that O'Brien, warned al
ready, would sit tight for few days.
being sure to get hold of us directly
the Lion failed to turn up within a
reasonable time in Havana that he
would take fright, and take measures
to hunt her up at sea. But l might
rest assured that the Lion was going
to Havana as fast as the winds would
allow her.
What was, then, the situation he
continued, looking at me piercingly
above Williams cropped head. I had
run away for dear life from Cuba
(taking with me what was best in it,
to be sure, he interjected, with faint
smile towards Seraphina). I had no
money, no friends Except my friends
In this cabin, he was good enough to
Say); warrants out against me in ia
maica; no means to get to England;
liz safety III l1IG snip. II was no USE
shirking that little fact. We must
leave the Lion. This was a hopeless
enough position. But it was hopeless
only because it was not looked upon
In the right way. We assumed that
we had to leave her forever, while the
whole secret Of the trick was in this,
that we need only leave her for
time. After O'Brien's myrmidons had
gone through her, and had been hoot-
ed away empty handed, she became
again, If not absolutely safe, then at
least possible-the only possible
refuge for us-the only decent means
of reaching England together, where.
he understood, our trouble would
cease. Williams nodded approval
heavily
had told them that the lately ap-
pointed Spanish ambassador in Lon
don was a relation of the Riegos, and
personally acquainted with Seraphina,
who, nearly two years before, had
been on short visit to Spain, and had
lived for many months with his family
in Madrid, / believe. No trouble or
difficulty was to be apprehended as to
proper recognition, or in the matter
Of rights and inheritance, and so on.
The ambassador would make that his
own affair. This matter of tempo
rary absence from the Lion, however,
seemed to present an insuperable diff
left for days floating in an open boat
outside Havana harbor, waiting till the
ship came out to pick us up. Sebright
himself admitted that at first he did
not see how it could be contrived. He
didn't see at all. He thought and
thought. 1t was enough to sicken one
Of every sort of thinking. Then, sud-
denly, the few words Castro had let
drop about the sugar estate and the
relay of mules came into his head.
He fancied that the primitive and
grandiose manner for a gentleman to
keep relay of mules-any amount
Of mules-inl case he should want to
send letter or two, caused the cir
cumstance to stick in his mind. At
once he had "our little hidalgo" in,
and put him through an examination.
"He turned fairly sulky, and tried
constantly to break out against you,
till Dona Seraphina here gave him
good talking to-" Sebright said.
Otherwise it was most satisfactory.
The place was accessible from the sea-
through narrow inlet, opening into