The naval officer interrupted her with a deprecatory gesture. “It is no use,” he whispered. “I have already told him. I knew about the danger. Half our guests have sent their regrets, and some of those who are here have told us the reason. I have been trying my hardest to persuade Hawley that, under the circumstances, he couldn’t possibly get away with his scheme to-night, but the plucky old chap won’t listen. He says that we’ve made our plans, and it’s too late to change them now. He insists upon going through with it.” CHAPTER XL. AN INTERRUPTED DINNER. The guests of the _Kearsarge_ had no cause to complain of the measure of Uncle Sam’s hospitality. If the scene of the banquet had been a first-class hotel, the preparations could scarcely have been more elaborate. The big battleship presented a spectacle of dazzling splendor. From bow to stern, masthead to lower deck, her grim lines had been beautified by a blaze of electric lights, flags, Japanese lanterns, bunting, and flowers. The wardroom being too small to accommodate the big dinner party, the spacious upper deck had been converted into an open-air dining room. At tables set together so as to form a huge horseshoe, covered with fine linen and laden with massive silver, the guests were served with a feast of rare daintiness. There were several women present at the banquet, for the officers of the garrison had been invited to bring their wives, sweethearts, sisters, and daughters. Gale had discovered that the girl next to him was the niece of the commandant of the fortress, and he exerted himself to be agreeable to her, not only because she was a young woman of fascinating personality, but because, always having an eye for the main chance, he foresaw that her relationship to the man in charge of El Torro garrison might come in useful to him later on. Although he kept up a sprightly conversation with her and appeared to give her his entire attention, he was all the time keeping a close watch on Virginia and Captain Reyes. That interesting pair, as luck would have it, sat almost directly opposite to him, and he was able to observe every move they made. Just as the last course of the dinner had been served and the speeches were about to begin, Gale saw the daughter of the American minister lean back in the chair and half close her eyes, while a look of distress came to her pretty face. This action was not lost upon Captain Reyes. He bent toward her solicitously. “What is the matter, señorita?” he inquired. “Are you ill?” “Maybe it will pass away soon,” the girl answered, apparently making a brave effort to pull herself together. But she seemed to grow worse instead of better, for presently she whispered, in response to an anxious inquiry from the captain: “If my father were not down on the program for a speech I think I should ask him to take me home.” “There is no need to bother your father, señorita,” Reyes said promptly. “If you wish to go home, I am at your service.”