Jack, "I will. When--"

His further remarks were cut short by the flash of a gun and a jet of
smoke spouting from the bows of the gunboat; and the next instant a
twenty-four-pound round shot came ricochetting toward the yacht, missing
her by only about a dozen yards!

"Confound the fellow's impudence!" exclaimed Milsom, as he dashed at the
bridge telegraph and signalled to stop the engines. "It would rightly
serve him if we were to return his fire. But perhaps the wisest plan
and the most dignified will be to stop and let him come aboard. But
give it him hot for firing upon the British flag. Make him sit up! I
only wish that I could jabber Spanish as fluently as you do; I'd scare
him out of his skin!"

As the yacht, with the way that she had on her, gradually drifted down
toward the gunboat, it was seen that the latter was preparing to lower a
boat; and presently a gig, manned by six oarsmen and a coxswain, was
hauled up to her gangway, down the ladder of which an officer in
lieutenant's uniform presently descended, stepping into the boat, which
then pushed off and headed toward the _Thetis_. Meanwhile, Milsom
having said a few hasty words to Perkins, the yacht's gangway had been
thrown open and her accommodation ladder lowered, and when presently the
Spanish boat dashed alongside and hooked on, Jack and Milsom were
standing just inside the gangway, waiting to receive the officer. He
was a rather good-looking man, somewhere about thirty years of age, and
as he sprang up the ladder and in on deck he touched the peak of his
uniform cap by way of salute: and Milsom saw his eyebrows go up as his
eyes fell upon the two quick-firers that graced the yacht's after deck.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen!" he said, in almost perfect English; "what
ship is this?"

"Leave him to me, Jack," whispered Milsom, upon discovering the welcome
fact that he could make himself understood; and without waiting for
Jack's consent he stepped forward and answered:

"This is the English yacht _Thetis_, of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, as
you may see by looking at that ensign. And what ship is that, sir; and
what does the captain of her mean by firing upon us?"

"That ship, Senor, is His Spanish Majesty's gunboat _Tiburon_, sent out
especially to look for your vessel," answered the officer. "My
Government has received positive intelligence from a reliable source
that you have on board a large consignment of arms and ammunition
destined