will exact ample reparation. I shall
make it my business to call upon the Capitan-General to-morrow, and will
not only lay the whole case before him, but will also insist upon his
taking some steps to mark his disapproval of Captain Alvaros' peculiar
methods of venting his personal spite. And now, since you cannot
possibly get back to Senor Montijo's place to-night, I think perhaps you
cannot do better than come home with me; I can put you both up quite
easily."

Thus it was accordingly arranged; and after dinner their genial host
took the two young men out and showed them something of the town of
Havana, which was very interesting to Jack, although less so to Carlos,
who was of course tolerably familiar with the place. They also took the
opportunity to pay a flying visit to the _Thetis_, which they found
moored just off the custom-house, still with four customs officers on
board; but the other precaution mentioned by Milsom had been relaxed,
for it was gradually being borne in upon the minds of the Spanish
officials that there was nothing about the ship, or about the behaviour
of her people, to justify their suspicions. Everything was found quite
right on board her: Perkins took care to keep everybody on the alert, a
strict anchor watch was maintained every night, to guard against any
possible attempt to maliciously damage the ship; and it appeared that,
before leaving her, Milsom had taken care to have the bunkers filled to
their utmost capacity, while Macintyre, the chief engineer, after having
had the boilers thoroughly cleaned, had caused them to be filled with
fresh water in readiness to get up steam at a moment's notice.

On the following morning the Consul called upon the Capitan-General,
taking the two lads with him, and lodged a formal, but none the less
vigorous, complaint respecting the outrage which had been offered to a
British subject--Jack, to wit--by one of his officers. The Capitan-
General, who was a fine, stately, white-haired man, listened with the
most courteous attention to what the two Englishmen had to say, and
then, with equal courtesy, proceeded to pooh-pooh the whole story,
insisting upon the exceeding unlikelihood of any officer of Captain
Alvaros' standing in the Spanish service stooping to so degrading and
cowardly a step as that of hiring an assassin to "remove" an almost
total stranger from his path. He dwelt very strongly upon the sterling
worth of Senor Alvaros' character, and t