eful look at the
priest and was silent. It was not worth while now to deny anything.

Bernardo Galvez read the letter and read it again. Then he folded it and
put it in his pocket.

"It is enough," he said, "Francisco Alvarez, you are guilty of attempting
to usurp to yourself the powers that belong only to his Majesty, the King
of Spain. I can conceive of a man of your knowledge and craft writing such
a letter as this upon only one possibility, and that possibility has
passed. The galleon, Dona Isabel, from Spain came this morning up the
Mississippi and she brings letters from Madrid. Your friends at the court,
powerful as they are, have failed. You are not to be the Governor General
of Louisiana. I am confirmed in my appointment and you remain under my
authority."

"What do you intend to do?" asked Alvarez.

The words came from a dry throat, and they had a harsh, rasping sound.

"The galleon, Dona Isabel, returns to Spain next week. You will remain a
prisoner in one of the forts until then, when you are to go to Spain on
the galleon to answer there for your acts here. The man, Wyatt, is not a
Spanish subject, but he must leave New Orleans within an hour. The five
who have been held in the fort are released from this moment. Lieutenant
Bernal, take away the prisoner."

It was the cause of intense gratification to Lieutenant Diego Bernal that
he had been permitted to see the last and most striking part of this
drama. Francisco Alvarez had treated him with scorn more than once, and it
was not his part or that of Bernardo Galvez to insult a fallen enemy. He
merely put his hand lightly on the sleeve of Alvarez, and the prisoner,
without a word, followed him.

CHAPTER XVIII

NORTHWARD WITH THE FLEET

When Alvarez was gone, the five rose and thanked the Governor General.
They, too, did not wish to rejoice over a fallen foe, but it was the
moment of their complete triumph. Success had come better than they had
ever hoped and the great three-faced conspiracy was shattered. It was
Spanish cannon that they had dreaded and now they could not thunder
against the wooden walls in Kentucky. They crowded around the priest, too,
and shook his hand and were grateful for his timely assistance. He had
come at the most opportune of all moments.

It was Paul who acted as spokesman for them with Bernardo Galvez.

"Your Excellency, we came this vast distance confiding in your justice,
and we have found our confidence well