His brick-red countenance glowed with heat and embarrassment. At the
close of the speech he muttered to Hozier:

"Wish I'd ha' known wot sort of beano I was comin' to. Dam if I ain't
meltin'."

This ordeal ended, dejeuner was served. The President took in Iris and
the Dona Pondillo. They were the only ladies present. The three
sailors, some staff officers, and a few local celebrities, made up the
rest of the company.

Hozier, though by no means indifferent to the good fare provided, was
wondering how many hours would elapse before Iris's cablegram reached
Verity's office, when some words caught his ear that drove all other
considerations from his mind.

"I am sorry to say that, in my opinion, there is not the slightest
chance of your message reaching England to-day, Miss Yorke," the
President was saying.

"But why not?" she asked, with an astonishment that was not wholly the
outcome of regret.

"The cable does not land here, and the transmitting stations will be
closely watched, now that my arrival in Brazil is known. Even the
simplest form of words will be twisted into a political significance.
No, I think it best to be quite candid. Until I control Pernambuco,
which should be within a week or ten days, you may rest assured that no
private cablegrams will be forwarded."

"Oh, dear, I fully expected a reply to-day," she said, and now that she
realized the effect of a further period of anxiety on the Bootle
partnership she was genuinely dismayed.

"You may be sure it will not come," said Dom Corria. "Indeed I may as
well take this opportunity of explaining to you--and to my other
English friends"--with the interpolated sentence his glance dwelt
quietly on Hozier and Coke--"the exact position locally. You see,
Maceio is a small place, and easily approached from the sea. A hostile
fleet could knock it to pieces in half an hour, and it would be a poor
reward for my supporters' loyalty if my presence subjected them to a
bombardment. I have no strong defenses or heavy guns to defy attack,
and my troops are not more than a thousand men, all told. It is
obvious that I must make for the interior. There, I gather strength as
I advance, the warships cannot pursue, and I can choose my own
positions to meet the half-hearted forces that Dom Miguel will collect
to oppose me. In fact, I and every armed man in Maceio march
up-country this afternoon."

Iris, by this time, was thoroughly frightened, and Hozier,