“Dear Admiral，” cried the large man， and his voice waslike a blast from a horn， “I kiss your hands. I knew wecould build upon your fidelity. You had our despatch—from General Martinez. A little nearer with your boat，dear Admiral. Upon these devils of shifting vines we standwith the smallest security.”
Felipe regarded him with a stolid face.
“Provisions and beef for the barracks at Alforan，” hequoted.
“No fault of the butchers， Almirante mio， that thebeef awaits you not. But you are come in time to save thecattle. Get us aboard your vessel， senor， at once. You first，caballeros—a priesa！ Come back for me. The boat is toosmall.”
The dory conveyed the two officers to the sloop， andreturned for the large man.
“Have you so gross a thing as food， good Admiral？”
he cried， when aboard. “And， perhaps， coffee？ Beef andprovisions！ Nombre de Dios！ a little longer and we couldhave eaten one of those mules that you， Colonel Rafael，saluted so feelingly with your sword scabbard at parting.
Let us have food； and then we will sail—for the barracksat Alforan—no？”
The Caribs prepared a meal， to which the threepassengers of El Nacional set themselves with famisheddelight. About sunset， as was its custom， the breeze veeredand swept back from the mountains， cool and steady，bringing a taste of the stagnant lagoons and mangroveswamps that guttered the lowlands. The mainsail of thesloop was hoisted and swelled to it， and at that momentthey heard shouts and a waxing clamor from the boskyprofundities of the shore.
“The butchers， my dear Admiral，” said the large man，smiling， “too late for the slaughter.”
Further than his orders to his crew， the admiral wassaying nothing. The topsail and jib were spread， and thesloop elided out of the estuary. The large man and hiscompanions had bestowed themselves with what comfortthey could about the bare deck. Belike， the thing big intheir minds had been their departure from that criticalshore； and now that the hazard was so far reduced theirthoughts were loosed to the consideration of furtherdeliverance. But when they saw the sloop turn and flyup coast again they relaxed， satisfied with the course theadmiral had taken.
The large man sat at ease， his spirited blue eye engagedin the contemplation of the navy’s commander. He wastrying to estimate this sombre and fantastic lad， whoseimpenetrable stolidity puzzled him. Himself a fugitive，his life sought， and chafing under the smart of defeat andfailure， it was characteristic of him to transfer instantlyhis interest to the study of a thing new to him. It was likehim， too， to have conceived and risked all upon this lastdesperate and madcap scheme—this message to a poor，crazed fanatico cruising about with his grotesque uniformand his farcical title. But his companions had been at theirwits’ end； escape had seemed incredible； and now he waspleased with the success of the plan they had called crackbrainedand precarious.
The brief， tropic twilight seemed to slide swiftly intothe pearly splendor of a moonlit night. And now the lightsof Coralio appeared， distributed against the darkeningshore to their right. The admiral stood， silent， at the tiller；the Caribs， like black panthers， held the sheets， leapingnoiselessly at his short commands. The three passengerswere watching intently the sea before them， and when atlength they came in sight of the bulk of a steamer lying amile out from the town， with her lights radiating deep intothe water， they held a sudden voluble and close-headedconverse. The sloop was speeding as if to strike midwaybetween ship and shore.
The large man suddenly separated from his companionsand approached the scarecrow at the helm.
“My dear Admiral，” he said， “the government has beenexceedingly remiss. I feel all the shame for it that only itsignorance of your devoted service has prevented it fromsustaining. An inexcusable oversight has been made. Avessel， a uniform and a crew worthy of your fidelity shallbe furnished you. But just now， dear Admiral， there isbusiness of moment afoot. The steamer lying there is theSalvador. I and my friends desire to be conveyed to her，where we are sent on the government’s business. Do usthe favor to shape your course accordingly.”
Without replying， the admiral gave a sharp command，and put the tiller hard to port. El Nacional swerved， andheaded straight as an arrow’s course for the shore.
“Do me the favor，” said the large man， a trifle restively，“to acknowledge， at least， that you catch the sound of mywords.” It was possible that the fellow might be lacking insenses as well as intellect.
The admiral emitted a croaking， harsh laugh， and spake.
“They will stand you，” he said， “with your face to a walland shoot you dead. That is the way they kill traitors. Iknew you when you stepped into my boat. I have seenyour picture in a book. You are Sabas Placido， traitor toyour country. With your face to a wall. So， you will die. Iam the admiral， and I will take you to them. With yourface to a wall. Yes.”
Don Sabas half turned and waved his hand， witha ringing laugh， toward his fellow fugitives. “To you，caballeros， I have related the history of that session whenwe issued that 0！ so ridiculous commission. Of a truth ourjest has been turned against us. Behold the Frankenstein’smonster we have created！”
Don Sabas glanced toward the shore. The lights ofCoralio were drawing near. He could see the beach， thewarehouse of the Bodega Nacional， the long， low cuarteloccupied by the soldiers， and behind that， gleaming in themoonlight， a stretch of high adobe wall. He had seen menstood with their faces to that wall and shot dead.
Again he addressed the extravagant figure at the helm.
“It is true，” he said， “that I am fleeing the country. But，receive the assurance that I care very little for that. Courtsand camps everywhere are open to Sabas Placido. Vaya！
what is this molehill of a republic—this pig’s head of acountry—to a man like me？ I am a paisano of everywhere.