"No," agreed Milsom, "the thing was most excellently done, Jack, it could not possibly have been better managed; and the mishap will wear the aspect of an ordinary accident of the sea. You have a longer head upon you than I can boast, my lad; I should never have thought as far ahead as you did. But I think we are far enough away from that boat now to allow of our resuming our voyage." And he signalled to the engine- room, first to "Stop", and then to go "Full speed ahead." "Port your helm, Quartermaster," he said to the helmsman, "until she heads due north, and then give her a very small touch of starboard helm--just enough to enable us to make a wide circle round that torpedo boat out yonder--until her head works round to south-west by west, when you can steady her at that. That course," he explained to his companions, "ought to run us within sight of the light on Jutias about three bells in the middle watch." "And when do you suppose we shall reach our destination, Captain?" asked Don Hermoso. "The Laguna de Cortes? Oh! about breakfast-time to-morrow morning, if we keep the boat running at full speed, and do not meet with any interruption on the way," answered Milsom. "Hillo!" exclaimed Jack; "see that rocket, Phil? It looks as though it might have been sent up by the torpedo boat. She will be somewhere out in that direction, won't she?" "Ay, there or thereabout," answered Milsom, glancing into the compass bowl to get the bearing of the rocket. "That means that they've just discovered the loss of their propeller, and are in trouble about it." "I hope that the crew of the boat are in no danger," exclaimed Don Hermoso anxiously. "I have no wish that they should come to harm--" "No need to worry yourself about that, Senor," answered Milsom. "The weather is fine, and the boat, no doubt, sound enough. The worst that is likely to happen to them is that they will have to stay where they are until something comes along and tows them into Havana." At this moment the dinner gong sounded, and the little party retired below. When Jack went up on deck next morning, as the ship's bell was striking eight, he saw that the yacht was running along, with her head to the eastward, within about half a mile of some low land, dotted with trees, which stretched ahead and astern of her for several miles on their port hand, terminating at each extremity in a low headland. Inland, at a distance of about twenty-five miles, rose a long range of hills, or low mountains, which appeared to rise to a height of something between two thousand and three thousand feet. "Good-morning, Jack!" cheerily exclaimed the skipper, as Singleton ran up the ladder on to the top of the deck-house. "Glorious morning, isn't it? But it is going to be roasting hot a little later on; the sun has a sting already, in spite of this piping easterly breeze." "Yes," agreed Jack. "And if it is hot here, what must it be ashore? But where are we now, Skipper?"