“I assure you, Mr. Portiforo, that I do mean exactly what I say,” he said quietly. “You had better instruct your soldiers to let go of my friend and permit him to enter the launch, for as sure as there are bullets in this gun--and I hope, for your sake, you have no doubts on that score--if they attempt to stop him there’s going to be an immediate change of administration in Baracoa.” Desperate as was his act, it might have succeeded, for the soldiers who held the Camera Chap captive, appreciating the peril of their president, looked to the latter irresolutely for instructions, and Portiforo, realizing that, temporarily, at least, this rash young man with the bulldog jaw held, as he had boasted, the trump card, was about to give orders to his soldiers to do as Ridder demanded. But just at that moment, the naval officer’s arms were pinned to his sides, and his right wrist was grasped so tightly that the revolver fell to the ground. A second launch from the battleship had landed quietly at the fortress, and two men, disembarking therefrom, had run along the beach toward the group. It was one of these men who, taking in the situation, had crept up stealthily behind Ridder and taken him by surprise. As the lieutenant struggled in the grasp of his assailant and a half dozen of the soldiers who went to the latter’s assistance, Portiforo’s face resumed its normal hue, and he expressed his relief by a hearty chuckle. “Well done, Captain Reyes!” he cried approvingly. “Splendid work, my brave Ernesto!” CHAPTER XLII. GALE TURNS A TRICK. Virginia Throgmorton, congratulating herself upon the success of the ruse by which she hoped to get Captain Reyes safely out of the way while the Camera Chap was carrying out his daring plan, had received an unpleasant surprise when the launch containing the Baracoan army officer, Gale, and herself reached the landing at Puerto Cabero. Instead of disembarking there, Reyes had turned apologetically to the girl. “I am filled with a thousand regrets, señorita, to be compelled to transfer the privilege of escorting you to your home to our friend Señor Gale,” he said. “Not for a great deal would I forego the opportunity, but a soldier must place duty before pleasure, and I find I have an important duty to perform which demands my immediate attention.” “A duty!” Virginia exclaimed apprehensively. “Where? Are you going back to the battleship?” The Baracoan’s reply had filled her with dismay. “No, señorita; I am going to the fortress,” he announced. The significant smile which accompanied these words increased the girl’s apprehensions. “But I do not wish Mr. Gale to escort me home,” she objected, refusing to recognize defeat. “In fact, there are reasons why I cannot consent to that arrangement. I must insist that you go with me, Captain Reyes. I shall be terribly disappointed if you don’t.” “I am sorry, señorita,” he answered firmly, “but I am compelled to deny myself the pleasure.”