d
been received from a Chilian spy in Arica to the effect that the
_Huascar_ and the _Union_ were to call in at that port in about three
days' time, and that they would be detained there for about a week in
order to effect certain repairs. Therefore, should the Chilians sail
immediately, suggested the telegram, they would be almost certain to
catch their prey without difficulty. It was also within the bounds of
possibility that the _Pilcomayo_ and _Manco Capac_ might likewise be
there; and in that case, since the opposing forces would be pretty
evenly matched, there was every prospect of a general engagement being
fought, a prospect which aroused the keenest enthusiasm of every man in
the fleet, and more especially that of such young hot-bloods as Jim and
his friend O'Meara, to say nothing of Lieutenant Montt, who was being
transferred, to his great gratification, from the _Covadonga_ to the
_Blanco Encalada_.

A few minutes after Captain Castello had come on deck the bugles
shrilled out, "Clear lower deck. Hands up anchor!" and the seamen came
tumbling up from below, happy and eager as a parcel of schoolboys off
for a holiday. A string of signal-flags soared aloft to the _Blanco's_
mainyard-arm, and half an hour later her screw began to revolve as she
led the way out of the harbour, with the other ships following, in
column of line ahead.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon of October 1, 1879, and the cruise
had begun which was to prove so eventful for at least two of the ships
comprising the squadron. As they passed out to sea with ever-increasing
speed the forts on either side of the bay fired a farewell salute; and
the spectacle of the sun sinking over Monte Bajo and the Centinela Alto,
coupled with the lurid flashes of flame and clouds of white smoke from
Forts San Antonio, Bueras, Valdivia, and the Citadel, constituted a
picture the grandeur of which Jim never forgot.

A very careful look-out was maintained during the progress of the fleet
up the coast, and Commodore Riveros took the precaution to look into
Chaneral Bay, Cobija, and Iquique, to make quite sure that the
Peruvians--who might possibly have got wind of the expedition--should
have no chance of escaping by lying hidden until the Chilians were past,
and then making a sudden dash southward upon the comparatively
defenceless ports of the lower coast.

There was, however, no sign of the enemy anywhere in any of these
places, and all the news tha