ely due to Jack's skill in the gentle art that no suspicion had
appeared to enter the heads of the Spaniards that the contraband had
already been got rid of. The matter was very freely discussed, and it
was finally decided that, on the whole, it was a very fortunate
circumstance not only that the encounter had taken place, but that it
had occurred where and when it did; for the ignorance of the Spanish
authorities as to the speed of the yacht would naturally preclude the
suspicion that the vessel had already spent some hours in discharging
her cargo, while the very complete and thorough search to which the
yacht had been subjected was of course conclusive, so far as the non-
existence of contraband on board at that moment was concerned. The only
point upon which Jack had any uneasiness was the fact of the yacht being
so formidably armed; he had given what he regarded as a very clever and
ingenious explanation of the circumstance, which he hoped would prove
completely satisfactory, but he was nevertheless not wholly free from
doubts on the matter.

On the following morning the two Montijos and Jack were astir betimes,
in order to catch an early train to Pinar del Rio; and nine o'clock
found them ashore and on the platform, waiting for the train to emerge
from the siding into which it had been shunted. Calonna was not at that
time an important place, nor is the Cuban railway system remarkable for
its efficiency; nothing need therefore be said about either save that
after jolting through some exceedingly beautiful country, which grew
more beautiful with every mile of progress upon a gradually rising
gradient, the travellers were safely landed in the city of Pinar del
Rio--a distance of some fifteen miles from Calonna--in a trifle over an
hour! Here Senor Montijo's private carriage--a somewhat cumbersome,
four-wheeled affair, fitted with a leather awning and curtains to
protect the occupants from either sun or rain, and drawn by four horses,
the off leader being ridden by a postilion, while the wheelers were
driven from the box--was awaiting them, it having been sent in from the
house on the preceding day. The luggage having been securely strapped
on to a platform attached to the rear of the coach, Don Hermoso signed
to Jack to enter the vehicle, placed himself by Jack's side, and was
followed by Carlos, when the affair got under way, with a tremendous
amount of shouting and whip cracking, and went rolling and rumbling