"He has four warships and two torpedo destroyers," answered the chief yeoman. "I got that straight from Lieutenant Blue, who went ashore for Admiral Sampson, made a detour of seventy miles, and from the top of a high hill saw the ships in the harbor through his powerful glasses." "Somebody said all the big ships were armored cruisers." "That is true, and three of them, the _Vizcaya_, the _Almirante Oquendo_, and the _Maria Teresa_, are sister ships, of seven thousand tons each. Each is about three hundred and sixty feet long and can speed at eighteen to nineteen knots an hour. They carry about five hundred men each, and every one has a main battery of two 11-inch Hontoria and ten 5.5-inch Hontoria guns, with a secondary battery of eight 6-pounders, ten 1-pounders, several machine guns; and they also carry six torpedo tubes each." "And what of the fourth cruiser?" "She is the _Cristobal Colon_, the fastest of the lot, even though her displacement is two hundred tons short of the others. They say she can run eighteen knots an hour with ease and twenty knots if she is put to it. Her armor belt is six inches thick, alongside of twelve inches on the other cruisers. She also carries about five hundred men, and she has a main battery of two 10-inch and five 6-inch guns, and a secondary battery of rapid-firing rifles, 6 and 10 pounders and two Maxim guns. Her torpedo tubes number four." "Then they are no small fry to battle with," observed Walter. "When their batteries break loose they ought to do some talking." "They will talk. We mustn't expect any walkover, if Cervera ever comes out of his hole." "And what of the two torpedo boats?" "They are sister ships, the _Pluton_ and _Furor_, each of three hundred and eighty tons displacement. They say that each has a speed of twenty-seven knots an hour, and both are equipped with the latest appliances for such crafts, carrying regular, automatic, and rapid-fire guns, and also fourteen-inch Schwartzkopff torpedo tubes." "I should say they would be good things to keep out of the way of," exclaimed Walter. "We've got our eyes wide open for them, lad. To be sure, one or another of them may play us some dirty trick of a dark night--but that is one of the risks to be taken in war times," concluded the chief yeoman, as a petty officer called him away. All on board the warships waited eagerly for news from the army of invasion. It was known that the Rough Riders had had a severe skirmish at La Guasima, but that was all, so far as the jackies went. Possibly the officers knew more, but if so, they kept the knowledge to themselves. "Another dull week will come to an end to-morrow," remarked Si, as he and Walter were on their way to the mess table. "Oh, but I'm sick of laying around looking at old Morro. If only those ships would come out, we'd sink them all in less than two hours; I feel sure of it."