ets, put his hands to his mouth, and
shouted: "Captain McCalla presents his compliments to the captain of the
_State of Texas_, and requests that you follow me and anchor between the
_Marblehead_ and the Haitian cable-steamer."

"All right," replied Captain Young, from the bridge.

"That sounds well," I said to one of the Red Cross men who was standing
near me. "It shows that things are not allowed to go helter-skelter
here."

We followed the little launch into the harbor and dropped anchor in the
place indicated, which was about one hundred yards from shore on the
eastern side of the channel, and just opposite the intrenched camp of
Colonel Huntington's marines. I was impatient to land and see the place
where the American flag had first been raised on Cuban soil; but
darkness came on soon, and it did not seem worth while to leave the ship
that night.

After breakfast on the following morning, I took a small boat and went
off to the _Marblehead_ to call upon Captain McCalla, who was in command
of the station. I had made his acquaintance in Washington, when he was
one of the members of a board appointed to consider means of sending
relief to the Greely arctic expedition; but I had not seen him in many
years, and it is not surprising, perhaps, that I almost failed to
recognize him in his Cuban costume. The morning was hot and oppressive,
and I found him clad in what was, in the strictest sense of the words,
an undress uniform, consisting of undershirt, canvas trousers, and an
old pair of slippers. Like the sensible man I knew him to be, he made no
apology for his dress, but welcomed me heartily and introduced me to
Captain Philip of the battle-ship _Texas_, who had just come into the
harbor after a fresh supply of coal. As I entered, Captain McCalla was
telling Captain Philip, with great glee, the story of his experience off
the Cuban coast between Morro Castle and Aguadores, when his vessel, the
_Marblehead_, was suddenly attacked one night by the whole blockading
fleet.

"They saw a railroad-train," he said, "running along the water's edge
toward Siboney, and in the darkness mistook it for a Spanish
torpedo-boat. The train, of course, soon disappeared; but I happened to
be cruising close inshore, just there, as it passed, and they all turned
their search-lights on me and opened fire."

"All except the _Iowa_," corrected Captain Philip, with a smile.

"Yes, all except the Iowa," assented Captain McCalla, laughing