The two wrecks lay close together. They were a melancholy sight; the
"Almirante Oquendo," badly listed to port, a great rent in her side,
rusted, almost completely demolished. The "Maria Teresa" seemed in
better shape, but many shot holes were visible in her side.

It was a dreary though gratifying sight. The great green-clothed
mountains looked down serenely on these two examples of man's handiwork
and man's destructiveness; the blue sea dashed itself to foam against
the coral-bound coast; and the bright sun shone over all.

The admiral went over in our gig, together with the captain and
executive officer. Several other boats went along, carrying, beside the
regular crews, commissioned and chief petty officers.

As we watched the boats bobbing in the short billows on their way, we,
who were left behind, could not help comparing these battered hulks
before us with our magnificent ships in Guantanamo Bay.

All hail to the American seamen, "the men behind the guns"!

CHAPTER XIX.

HOPE DEFERRED.

For a few days there was little to do beyond the never-ending routine
work: scrubbing decks, cleaning paint, and polishing bright work on guns
and equipments.

We were beginning to wonder if we were to lie at anchor indefinitely,
and if our last chance of seeing any active service had gone by.

On the morning of Monday, August 1st, we had orders to get under way and
go to sea. Tongues began to wag at once, and before we had fairly
cleared the harbor a dozen different destinations had been picked out.

It would seem as if there could be no great danger in letting the men
have some knowledge of where they are bound when fairly at sea, with no
beings to whom the secret might be told, save sharks and dolphins, but

"Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why."

The navy has little use for Jacky's brains; only his trained muscles and
sinews. There is no life that can be depended upon to take the pride of
intellect out of a man like that of a sailor, as Rudyard Kipling has
shown in the case of Harvey Cheyne. We of the crew could think of many a
cad on whom we would like to try the discipline.

The most popular rumor ran to this effect: we are bound for Porto Rico
to take part with the "Massachusetts," "New Orleans," "Dixie," and other
ships of the fleet in a bombardment of San Juan.

By the time land had faded from view, we knew that we really were bound
for Porto Rico, but for what purpose we knew n