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Updated: June 29, 2025
It did not move and Kit thought it had come from the funnel of a steamer whose engineer had afterwards cleaned his fires. Captain Mayne studied the fleecy trail with his glasses. "I don't know if that's a coffee-boat going north; I can't make out her hull against the land," he said. "Sometimes there's a guarda-costa hanging round the point."
So far, however, the breeze remained light, and while we were gliding through the water at the rate of something like five knots, with scarcely a ripple under our bows to indicate the fact, the guarda-costa appeared to have little beyond bare steerage-way.
She had put about and run back in search of him, and her news was of a Spanish guarda-costa making down towards Havana with three prizes. Think of it! Uncle Harry was off and after them like a greyhound, and at sunrise next morning he sighted them in a bunch.
The lad comprehended so well that he was frightened half out of his wits, and went round the deck, taking an extra pull here, easing off half an inch of sheet there, shifting the water-casks, and, in short, doing all he knew to increase the speed of the cutter, glancing anxiously astern at the guarda-costa in the intervals, and from her to his dreaded shipmate.
That's how we come to have delayed until this Spanish fleet is fetched round from La Guayra by a guarda-costa; and if ye hadn't lost La Foudre, and so reduced our fleet from three ships to two, we should even now be able to fight our way through with a reasonable hope of succeeding.
Either some friendly vessel will appear, or a French or Spanish trader or guarda-costa will some day come to an anchor within the reefs; then, if we manage carefully, we shall be able to get aboard her before she has time to cut her cable and run out to sea."
Now for it! . . . He ran past the guarda-costa, drawing her fire, but no great harm done; shot up under the sterns of the two prizes, that were lying not two hundred yards apart; and raked 'em with half-a-broadside apiece no time, you see, to reload between. It pretty well cleaned every Spaniard off their decks Why are you putting your hands to your ears!" "Go on," said Ruth withdrawing them.
Jack, I can spare eyes for nothing but the ship just now, so oblige me, will you, by taking the glasses, and say whether you can see anything in the shape of a boat coming toward us with a flag flying. And, between whiles, you may just look carefully along the coast to see if you can spot a guarda-costa hovering about. We don't want to be caught napping in the act of landing this stuff."
We acknowledged the signal, and, on turning it up, found that it was a request to "Round-to under my lee: wish to communicate with you." This brought the signalling to a close; and in about a quarter of an hour afterwards, we rounded-to on the frigate's lee beam, while that craft laid her main-topsail to the mast. "`Vidette ahoy! Are you the guarda-costa of that name?"
So intense was this darkness that we lost sight of the guarda-costa, the land, and in fact everything save the two or three riding-lights which the more prudent of the skippers had chosen to display on board their craft in the roadstead. A breathless hush prevailed, broken only by the loud creak of our boom and the flap of the sails.
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