Page:Under three flags; a story of mystery (IA underthreeflagss00tayliala).pdf/242

 "I can never repay the debt of gratitude I owe you."

"Don't try. Suppose we push along to Jibana. We can talk matters over on the way."

"Good. We will start at once," says Navarro, and he communicates an order to his men.

"How many men have you back in the mountains?" Ashley inquires of Navarro as they ride side by side through the desert of rock and chaparral.

"Two thousand. Accessions have been coming every day. But they are not directly under my command. My part in the revolution has been a rather peculiar one. Up to a fortnight or so ago, when I parted with you on the Santos road, my identity was as much a mystery as that of the president of the provisional republic. Unsuspected as a leading factor in the struggle for independence, I mingled with the Spanish and listened with a smile to the stories told of the prowess of the cruiser Pearl of the Antilles and her mysterious commander, El Terredo. At the time the Mercedes was sunk I did command the Pearl and with my own hand aimed the dynamite gun that sent the Spanish battleship to the bottom. But most of my time has been spent on land. I have done more planning than fighting, and while I rejoice not in a single title except that of El Terredo, in a land where titles are cheap, my authority is unlimited, my orders are implicitly obeyed, and I could ruin Cuba Libre with a single command."

"Are you not fearful of being recognized during some of your trips into the camp of the enemy?" asked Ashley, looking at the young man with undisguised admiration.

Navarro smiles. "There will be no further exposure. When I left the quinta with you it was to take the field, not to leave it until Santiago falls. After the capture of the ammunition train, if luck favors us, I leave here for the coast," pointing westward. "In a harbor yonder rides the Pearl of the Antilles, and when I take command of her it will be the opening of a campaign that Spain's navy will long remember."

"Until Santiago falls?" repeats Ashley. "You look for the capitulation of that city?"