The Cruise of the Thetis | Page 8

to endorse his proposal,
unless it be to hear that you agree to it."

"To be perfectly candid, Don Hermoso, I feel very strongly inclined to
do so," answered Jack. "But before I can possibly give my assent to
Carlos's proposal you must permit me to clearly indicate the risks to
you involved in it. You know absolutely nothing of me, Senor, beyond
what you have learned from your son; and it is in the highest degree
essential that you should clearly understand that what Carlos suggested
to me this afternoon involves you in the risk of losing your yacht, for
the carrying into effect of that proposal would make the vessel
positively my own, to do as I pleased with; and if I should choose to
retain possession of her, neither you nor anybody else could prevent
me."
"I very clearly understand all that, my dear young friend," answered
Don Hermoso, "and I am perfectly willing to take the risks, for several
reasons. In the first place, if you were the kind of individual to do what
you have just suggested, I do not for an instant believe that you would
have warned me that the proposal involved me in the risk of losing my
yacht. In the next place, although, as you say, I know little or nothing
about you, my son Carlos knows you pretty intimately, and I can rely
upon his judgment of you. And, finally, I do not believe that any
Englishman in your position would or could be guilty of such infamous
conduct as you have suggested. The fact is that we shall certainly be
obliged to trust somebody--for if it were once known that the yacht
belonged to me she would be so strictly watched that we could do little
or nothing with her; and I would naturally trust you, rather than a
stranger."
"Of course," answered Jack, "that is only natural, and I can quite
understand it. Nevertheless I will not give you an answer at present;
you must have sufficient time to think the matter over at leisure, and
perhaps while doing so you may hit upon some alternative scheme that
will suit you better. Meanwhile, let me tell you of a little adventure that
I had this afternoon, just after I had parted from you, Carlos--and its
continuation this evening. It will perhaps interest you, for I am greatly
mistaken if it does not concern you both, even more than it does me."
And therewith Jack proceeded to give a humorous relation of his two

encounters with the foreign-looking gentleman claiming to be one of
the Mackintoshes of Inveraray. When at length he finished, father and
son looked at each other with glances of alarm, and simultaneously
exclaimed:
"Now, who can that possibly be?"
"Your description of the man does not in the least degree suggest any
particular individual to me," continued Don Hermoso; "but that, of
course, is not surprising, for a man must have a singularly striking
personality to allow of his being identified from verbal description only.
But let him be who he may, I am quite disposed to agree with you that
his object in accosting you this afternoon was to enable him to
familiarise himself with your personal appearance; while the fact that
you caught him watching the hotel this evening would seem to indicate
that our presence in London is known, and that our visit is regarded
with a certain amount of suspicion. This only strengthens my
conviction that your aid, my dear Senor Singleton, will be of the
greatest value to us, if we can succeed in persuading you to give it."
Don Hermoso's manner was such as to leave no room for doubt in the
mind of Singleton as to the sincerity of the Cuban, while the latter and
his son were easily able to see that their proposal strongly appealed to
the adventurous spirit of the young Englishman: it is therefore not
surprising that ere they parted that evening Singleton had definitely
agreed to become, for the time being, the apparent owner of the new
steam-yacht, and to take part in the gun-running adventure; also
agreeing to take along with him the working model of his submarine,
which all three were of opinion might be found exceedingly useful,
while the service upon which they were about to engage would afford
Jack an opportunity to put the craft to the test of actual work.
These important points having been arranged, it was further agreed that,
since the two Montijos were evidently under Spanish surveillance, they
should advertise their connection with the yacht as little as possible,
leaving the matters of the final trials of the vessel, the payment of the
last instalment of her cost, and her transfer to Jack's ownership entirely
in the