"General Yozarro and his officers have returned!" called Martella; "the firemen are cramming the furnace with wood; they mean to pursue us!"

Jack Starland and his sister looked behind them. The Atlamalcan had spoken the truth. The time seemed much too short for the party to have made the journey to the Castle and back. In fact, it was impossible for them to have done so, but there could be no doubt that they were all on the tugboat. The explanation instantly flashed upon Martella.

"Captain Navarro suspected the truth some time after we left and hurried to take us to the Castle again. Some news may have reached him, or his own sense told him of my trick. He met the General on the way."

Such undoubtedly was the fact. Had our friends suspected aught of that nature, they would not have frittered away the precious minutes as they had done.

Meanwhile, the resinous wood flung into the furnace of the tugboat was doing its work. From the single smokestack poured the murky vapor, sprinkled with crimson sparks which were tossed right and left high in air, to drop hissing into the water. In the moonlight, a snowy winrow at the bow showed that the tug was plowing ahead with fast increasing speed. Capable of making a dozen miles an hour, she was already doing her best, and coming up with the sailboat hand over hand.

Only a few minutes were given the fugitives in which to decide what to do. A straight away race was hopeless, for the pursuer, now no more than an eighth of a mile distant, was sure to overhaul them in a very brief time.

"I am inclined to let General Yozarro come up with us," said the Major; "I have no fear of his molesting me or Miss Starland, and I am rather curious to hear what he has to say for himself. We are in our own boat, or at least not in his, and we have committed no crime against the Atlamalcan Republic, whatever that name means."

"You must not think for an instant of such a thing," said his sister with great earnestness.

"Why not? Do you hold him in fear?"

"No; but he will take vengeance upon Martella, who has served us so faithfully."

"Great heavens! I never thought of that; and he will be as merciless with Captain Guzman for having helped Martella."

"And with _you_ for crossing his path."

"With me! I long for a meeting with him; but, Captain," added the American, raising his voice; "it will not do for you and Martella to be on board when General Yozarro overtakes us."

"I think you are right," replied the Captain; "the General and I have never loved each other, and even General Bambos would not object strongly if it is proposed to shoot me for aiding an Atlamalcan to desert from his navy."

Martella said nothing, but no one understood the situation better than he.

"I will head the boat for the southern sh.o.r.e, where you two can look out for yourselves."

"I am afraid you will not have the time to reach it."

"It _must_ be done!"

The American had pushed the tiller sharply round, and the boat was speeding diagonally for the bank. The change of course gave her a fairer wind, but the tug was coming up so fast that it looked as if she must head off the fugitives. Full steam had been put on, and our affrighted friends, when they looked back, saw the tumbling foam at the bow, the spreading wake streaming fanlike to the rear, and the dark figures crowding forward, amid whom it was easy to believe they discerned the form of General Yozarro cursing the engineer for not attaining better speed.

"If we cannot make it," said Martella to the Captain, "we must jump over and swim."

"We cannot swim any faster than we are going now, and the water abounds with enemies."

"None is so treacherous as Yozarro; I at least will try it; I can let myself over softly and make so long a dive that perhaps he will not notice me."

"Wait a few minutes, Martella, for I do not like your plan."

The brief interval decided the question. It seemed that the sailboat might touch land before the pursuer could interpose to head them off.

Martella decided to take his chances with the others.

The tug was now so near that Yozarro called:

"Stop or we'll blow you out of the water!"

"Blow and be hanged!" called back Major Jack; "if you fire on an American citizen, your nuisance of a republic will be wiped off the earth."

"You have a deserter with you; I demand his surrender."

Therein shone the cunning of General Yozarro. If an American was fired upon in Atlamalcan waters for carrying off a deserter, it was little satisfaction our citizen would be able to obtain. Without hesitation, Major Starland shouted:

"We have the man; come and get him!"

CHAPTER XXVII.

General Yozarro's red-hot temper burst into uncontrollable flame, and he committed a blunder which allowed the game to flit when it was within his grasp. To the consternation of every one, he gave an instant order to fire upon the sailboat. The officers protested, but the Dictator was irrestrainable. He hurried down from the upper deck and ordered two sailors to train the gun at the front on the little craft. The better to accomplish this, he shouted to the Captain to slacken speed, so as not to distract the aim of the gunners.

For a minute or two Major Starland could not believe what he heard, but the movements on board the tug left no doubt of the frightful purpose of the raging creature on the larger boat. Holding the tiller steady and keeping the head of the small craft straight toward sh.o.r.e, the Major said to his sister:

"If they hit us, it will be by accident; you would better stoop your head."

She instantly obeyed and he leaned forward himself, so as to offer as small a target as possible. Captain Guzman and Martella sat motionless, watching the tug rushing down upon them and ready to leap ash.o.r.e the instant they came within reach.

All a-tremble with the intensity of his rage, General Yozarro stood to the rear and beside the six-pounder whose muzzle was pointed toward the little boat. He measured with his eye when the right instant came, and snapped the lanyard. A spout of smoke and flame shot from the muzzle and the boom rolled across the river and was echoed from the further sh.o.r.e, as the solid missile sped on its errand.

Barely more than a hundred yards separated the two craft, when the explosion came. General Yozarro had aimed to sink the other boat, reckless of the lives he sacrificed. It may have been and it probably was because he took the best aim he could, that the ball missed the catboat by twenty feet and crashed harmlessly into the jungle beyond.

The delay caused by the slackening speed of the tug gave our friends the chance they were prompt to use. Not the slightest change had been made in the course of the craft, whose prow the next moment impinged sharply against the sh.o.r.e, and Captain Guzman and Martella sprang out.

Instead of running away, however, they seized the gunwale and tugged to draw the bow up the bank.

Grasping the hand of his sister, Major Starland dashed after them.

They had the length of the boat to travel, but quickly did it and joined their friends on land.

"Why do you dally?" he called angrily; "if you wait another minute, you will be taken! Off with you!"

"Fret not about us," was the gruff response of Martella; "attend to the Senorita, and we'll look after ourselves."

The great fear in the minds of all was that General Yozarro would fire the rear gun. It would take a few minutes to bring it to bear, and, although neither he nor his men knew how to aim to hit, an accident might result in harm. The pa.s.sing seconds were of measureless value.

But, before the tug could veer, a gleam of returning reason came to the ruffian. He had done an outrageous thing, but providentially without evil consequences. It would not do for him to repeat the crime. He might claim, as doubtless he meant to claim, that the first shot was fired as a warning to bring the smaller craft to, though in all his life he never tried harder to destroy and kill.

He shouted to the Captain to head for land, and the officer did so with a skill born of experience. In rounding to, he narrowly missed smashing the smaller boat.

Now, through one of those coincidences which occur oftener in this life than is supposed, the catboat had touched sh.o.r.e at the opening of a clearly-marked trail, leading into the interior. It was pure chance or providence, for even Martella knew nothing of the path, which was one of many that wound down to the river. It was his intention to plunge into the jungle with no other thought than that of immediately finding a hiding place for his friends and himself, when he happened upon the path. Yielding to impulse, he called out the fact and told the others to follow, as he hurried up the slight incline.

But a few paces told him this would never do, for their pursuers would be right behind them. He abruptly stopped.

"We must turn off," he said, "and let them pa.s.s us."