Part 13 (1/2)

”I do not believe a word of it.”

”Meantime, what are we to do?”

”Sit down, fold our hands and be good; but,” she added with a flash of her eyes, ”that is the last thing to do; I long to meet my uncle face to face. It is the first time he ever offered such an insult to the daughter of his dead sister and to her friend. I hope he will not delay his coming.”

”I wish to be present when you meet; I, too, shall have something to say, which I do not think he will soon forget.”

But the hours wore slowly away and General Yozarro came not. Was he not shrinking from her whose fiery temper he well knew? Which of the two did he fear the most? The northerner may have been of cooler blood, but her anger, when once set aflame, was all the more profound.

She abominated the man with his sleek smile, his oily manner and his tempestuous profanity when he thought himself beyond her hearing. She could not think that the other Dictator, with all his stupidity and grossness, was one-half as wicked as he. Were she free to do so, she would not hesitate to throw herself upon his protection.

”Where can Jack be?” she asked after the mid-day repast, and when the two had talked over every phase of the situation for the twentieth time. ”Surely he must soon learn of this and he will be quick to call General Yozarro to account.”

”I place little hope on that; do not forget, my dear Warrenia, that the Major is only one man against hundreds.”

”But what of the yacht?”

”It is many miles away; no one can say when it will return; remember, too, General Yozarro's gunboat.”

The lip of the American curled with contempt.

”Let them meet and it will be Manila Bay over again on a small scale.

I only wish Captain Winton knew of this! He would sink the miserable craft or chase her to the foot of the Andes.”

In the momentary reaction, Senorita Estacardo smiled:

”You have full faith in your countrymen.”

”So have _you_; so has every one who knows them, and who does not? So will General Yozarro and his barbarians, if they ever rouse the anger of my people. But why do we speculate? It seems we can do nothing but wait. Manuela, can we not steal away when night comes?”

”I have asked myself that question, but I cannot see any hope of doing it. Neither of us can leave without being observed; guards will be on all sides and we shall be turned back as we were this morning. Let us go to the upper part of the Castle and look over the country. It may avail nothing, but it will be a relief to this monotony.”

They climbed to the rooms above, which, as we know, were copies of those they had just left, with the narrow windows on all sides. The Senorita walked to the opening on the south which commanded a view of the densely wooded mountains that stretched clear across the island to the main branch of the Rio Rubio. She expected to see nothing in that direction of interest and made the survey because her companion pa.s.sed to the windows on the north.

”Come to me!” called the American; ”here is something strange.”

The Senorita was at her side on the instant. Looking across the mile of rugged country to where the northern stream wound its way, they saw a small sailboat speeding to the eastward, the moderate breeze causing it to careen far to one side. Its prow cut the curling water and the foam spread out like a fan in its wake.

”If we had a gla.s.s we might study it closely,” said Miss Starland regretfully, as she scrutinized the craft.

”I don't think there is anything of the kind in the Castle, but it can make little difference. The boat is a strange one to us, and whoever is guiding it is no concern of ours.”

”Probably you are right, but it looks to me as if there are two or three aboard,--ah! there are three and they are heading toward sh.o.r.e.

They must land near where we left the boat last night.”

”And what of that?”