ents
itself. But probably, if all goes well with us, they will be free again
in a fortnight from to-day."

"Upon my word," said Don Ramon, laughing, "it is positively exhilarating
to hear the confident tone in which you talk; you are actually
inveigling me into the indulgence of some sort of ridiculous hope that
your enterprise will be successful! Now, let us talk for a moment or
two as though that hope were going to be realised. When you have
accomplished the rescue of our friends, you had better put into some
Cuban port where your yacht is not known, and communicate with me by
telegraph. Now, what would be the best place for you to call at?"

"Really," said Jack, "I don't think it matters very much; the _Thetis_
has been into practically every port in Cuba, but that is no reason why
she should not enter any of them again. For you must remember that it
will be some time before the escape of the Montijo family is known;
probably not until the _Maranon_ has travelled all the way to Fernando
Po and back--if she is indeed to return to Havana, which, by the way, is
by no means certain. How would Guantanamo do?"

"Guantanamo would do very well indeed," answered Don Ramon. "Yes;
Guantanamo let it be. Now, the next matter to be considered is the
question of a cipher in which to communicate, for of course it goes
without saying that a cipher of some sort must be used; it would never
do for such treasonable correspondence as we have in our minds to be
carried on in plain language, capable of being understood by every
telegraph clerk or letter-sorter through whose hands it may chance to
pass. You don't happen to be acquainted with any first-class cipher, I
suppose?"

"Yes, I do, if I can but recall it to mind," said Jack. "I met with it
in a book some time ago, and it struck me as being especially good from
the fact that it consisted entirely of figures, and that it was not
necessary to use precisely the same figures every time to represent any
particular letter; hence it seems impossible for anyone to decipher it
without the key. Now, let me consider: how did it go? Something like
this, I think. Can you let me have a pencil and a sheet of paper?"

Don Ramon produced the articles required, and Singleton set to work with
them. Presently he glanced up with an exclamation of satisfaction.
"Yes," he said, "that is right; I thought I had not forgotten it. This
is how it goes:" and he proceeded to explain the system