Now this offer of Jack's was a piece of "bluff", for his boats were the only places that he did not wish the Spaniards to examine, since in one of them was stowed his submarine, the sight of which he knew would be likely to give rise to renewed suspicions. And, as we have seen, the "bluff" worked to perfection, possibly in consequence of the slight, but none the less perceptible, tone of sarcasm in which Jack made the offer. With a feeling of carefully suppressed relief, Jack accordingly led the Spaniards forward to the forecastle, down into which the party descended, and where they found three men--one of whom was the carpenter--awaiting them with lighted lanterns. The forecastle was soon examined, and then the hatch of the forepeak was lifted, and that darksome storehouse very carefully explored. There was no passage from the forepeak into the hold, as the collision bulkhead ran from the keelson right up to the deck; and, Jack having pointed out this fact, the party emerged on deck and descended into the officers' quarters, proceeding from thence down into the main hold, where they found nothing but iron ballast and the water tanks, every one of which Jack insisted should be opened and looked into. Thence they proceeded to the engine- room and stokehold, where they found much to admire in the scrupulous cleanliness and unusual form of the machinery, but no sign or trace of anything in the nature of contraband. Then they entered the main saloon, and examined it and the sleeping cabins, finishing up with the steward's storeroom, the sail-room, and the powder magazine. Jack was quite prepared to be questioned about this last, and he was; but he had his answer ready. "Is it usual, Senor Singleton, for English yachts to go as heavily armed as your vessel is?" suavely enquired Don Luis. "Not when cruising in home waters," answered Jack. "But when the intention is to `cruise foreign', as we phrase it, especially if the cruise is to be round the world, it is usually considered prudent to provide the vessel with an armament sufficiently powerful to protect her from the attacks of pirates--Malays, Chinese, and so on--or, in fact, aggressors of any description. For instance," he continued maliciously, "if we had not happened to have been armed to-day, just consider, Senor, how unpleasant would have been our predicament at this moment."