The Cruise of the Thetis | Page 9

hands of the agent who had thus far managed the business for

them; taking a holiday on the Continent, meanwhile, and joining the
vessel only at the last moment prior to her departure for Cuba. And it
was further arranged that the ordering and shipment of the arms,
ammunition, and supplies destined for the use of the insurgents should
also be left absolutely in the hands of the agent and Jack conjointly; by
which means the Montijos would effectually avoid embroilment with
the Spanish authorities, while it was hoped that, by occupying the
attention of those authorities themselves, that attention would be
completely diverted from Jack and the yacht. The settlement of these
details and of others incidental to them kept the three conspirators busy
until nearly midnight, when Jack rose to go, having already arranged to
leave the hotel by the side entrance in order to baffle the eminently
respectable "Mr Mackintosh", should that individual happen to be still
on the watch. As it happened, he was; for upon leaving the hotel Jack
sauntered along the Embankment as far as Waterloo Bridge, then made
his way up into Lancaster Place, and there took a cab, in which he
drove up the Strand, where he saw his man, evidently on guard,
strolling slowly to and fro in front of the main entrance to the Cecil.
Now Jack, although a yacht owner, was not a member of any yacht club,
his cutter Lalage being such an out-of-date craft, and so seldom in use,
that he had not thus far thought it worth while to very intimately
identify himself with what is the Englishman's pastime par excellence.
But as he thought over the events of the evening while smoking a final
pipe before turning in that night, it occurred to him that if he was to
successfully pose as the owner of a fine new steam-yacht, it was
imperative that he should become a member of some smart club; and as
he happened to have two or three intimate friends who belonged to the
Royal Thames, he decided upon attempting to procure election into that
somewhat exclusive club. Accordingly, the next morning he addressed
letters to those friends, requesting them to undertake the matter of his
election, with the result, it may here be mentioned, that about three
weeks later he received a communication from the secretary of the club,
intimating his enrolment, and requesting the payment of his entrance
fee and first subscription. This matter having been attended to, Jack
next addressed a letter to Senor Montijo's agent, making an
appointment with him for the afternoon; and then went out to interview

his tailor and outfitter, for the purpose of procuring a suitable outfit.
Then it occurred to him that for the especial work which the new yacht
was required to do she would need a first-rate crew, every man of
whom must be absolutely to be depended upon under all circumstances.
The eight or ten hands comprising the crew of the Lalage were all well-
known to him, having indeed belonged to the cutter for years, while she
was still the property of Jack's father, and they would doubtless serve
as the nucleus of the new ship's crew: but of course they would go but a
little way towards the manning of a steam-yacht of three hundred and
forty tons measurement; while Perkins, satisfactory as he had proved
himself in his capacity of skipper of the cutter, would never do as
commander of the new ship--though he might perhaps make a very
good chief officer. Having arrived at this point in his meditations, Jack
suddenly bethought himself of Lieutenant Philip Milsom, R.N. (retired),
who would make a perfectly ideal skipper for the new craft, and would
probably be glad enough to get to sea again for a few months, and
supplement his scanty income by drawing the handsome pay which the
captain of a first-class modern steam-yacht can command. Whereupon
the young man turned into the next telegraph office that he came to,
and dispatched a wire to Milsom, briefly informing him that he had
heard of a berth which he thought would suit him, and requesting him
to call at Morley's Hotel on the following day. And at lunch-time Jack
received a letter from Carlos Montijo, announcing the departure of his
father and himself for Paris, en route for Switzerland, and containing an
itinerary and list of dates for Singleton's guidance in the event of his
finding it necessary to communicate with them.
Jack had finished his luncheon, and was taking a cup of coffee with his
cigarette in the smoke-room, when a waiter entered, bearing a card the
owner of which was enquiring for Mr Singleton. The card bore the
name of "James M. Nisbett", and Jack knew that Senor