The chance was one in a million, yet it had actually come to pass. "I've heard the song about the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo, but never dreamed I would in any way be instrumental in sending a representative there who would do that same thing. Good for Darby, lucky fellow. By the way, I wonder does that charming adventuress sail with him--if so the chances are ten to one the fortune he has won will not be in his possession long. Well, it must be some time before he can join me, unless he manages to board some Spanish steamer, taking the guise of a don; and such vessels are exceedingly scarce on the high seas now." With that he lighted the paper and destroyed every trace of Spanish chirography. Once again he turned his full attention toward the rescue of Leon. Other elements were working toward that same end, yet of this fact Roderic was of course profoundly ignorant, and he labored on as though only through his endeavors could the man condemned to be shot find a chance for safety. He had laid out his plans after the manner of a general who goes to war. Every little detail had to be looked into, and arrangements made whereby a secondary battery could be brought to bear, should the first fail to prove effective. It was perhaps unfortunate that he would have to work single handed, because he knew of no one in all San Juan whom he could thoroughly trust in this matter of life and death. How he missed Darby--what a tower of strength the man would have been to him just now. Roderic however, never sighed for the moon; when he could not have what he wanted he was philosophical enough to drop the subject and content himself with what he had. The man with whom he had taken up his temporary abode in San Juan was a faithful fellow, but lacked the ability to serve him in this emergency when so much depended on the move of a hand or the exact carrying out of prearranged plans. Roderic had indeed asked numerous questions, and the information received, added to what he already knew from personal experience, placed him in a position to "carry the war into Africa." Leon was confined in an old fortress that presented a most picturesque appearance by moonlight, and would have made an excellent subject for amateur photographers, yet possessed few elements of modern strength. Like St. John's church, it had received a few compliments from Sampson's fleet, which gaping apertures, together with accumulated _debris_, only served to add to the picturesque confusion. Roderic had prowled about this neighborhood considerably during the day, careful not to attract attention, yet with the desire to learn the actual lay of the land, so that even under cover of darkness he would be able to move with at least a fair degree of certainty. It presented a good view of the bay and harbor, the governor general's palace on the point and the few vessels in the harbor, chief of which was the Spanish torpedo boat destroyer Terror.