CHAPTER XVI
THE ESCAPE
It was sometime before the boys recovered from the unpleasant effects ofthe scene they had witnessed in the jail yard.
"I wonder who he was?" said Bert, after a long silence.
"Probably an insurgent. But whoever he was, he was a brave man."
The door of their cell quietly opened at this moment and a man broughtfood and set it on the table. The boys, who had not eaten anything formany hours, disposed of the porridge and some mysterious sort of meatstew with relish. They had scarcely finished their meal when the celldoor opened again and the gentleman with the genial smile, who had actedas interpreter, appeared.
"Good morning," he said, cheerily. "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you," replied Harry, wondering what the purpose of theman's visit might be.
"Thought I would drop in and see if there was any message you would liketo send to the general or to Consul Wyman."
"You mean that you were sent to see if we were ready to talk yet, don'tyou?"
"Just a different way of putting it."
"Well, you may tell General What-You-May-Call-Him that we have nothingmore to say than we said yesterday; and you may also inform him that oursituation is known to our friends by this time, and that he will be heldto a strict accounting by Uncle Sam for this outrage upon two Americancitizens."
"You have communicated with your friends--how?"
The genial smile on the man's face faded into a look of surprise andanxiety. He glanced quickly around the room to see if there was anymeans by which they could have communicated with the outside world.
"That is another one of those questions that we claim the privilege ofrefusing to answer."
"I will deliver your message, but I warn you that it will not be wellfor you to arouse the anger of General Serano. He fears no one."
"It is entirely up to the general whether he gets angry or not. I reallydo not see any necessity for it."
"Will you send any message to Consul Wyman?"
"No--yes, come to think of it, I should like to speak to Mr. Wyman.Will you ask him if it will be too much trouble for him to see us here?"
"General Serano will be pleased to furnish you with an escort to theconsul's. The air will do you good this morning."
"When I go to the American consul I shall go without an escort, as youcall it--guard I think would be more like it."
The man shrugged his shoulders.
"I will send your message to the consul," he said.
"What do you want of the consul, Hal?" asked Bert, when the man hadgone.
"He is a part of my secret-passage plot, but I do not know whether hewill be game or not."
Mr. Wyman did not keep them waiting long. He bustled in behind theturnkey and greeted them heartily.
"Good morning, boys," he said. "I understand you want to see me. I hopeyou have changed your minds and will now sensibly answer the general'squestions and set yourselves at liberty."
"No, Mr. Wyman, we will never do that--at least not until we know thatthe one we might injure by so doing is quite safe. We did think,however, sir, that we would like to take you into our confidence."
"The best thing you can do, boys. I may be able to help you out of yourtrouble; at least, I can act with more intelligence in your interests."
"Yes, sir, so we thought," answered Harry meekly, glancing at Bert, whosat open mouthed, utterly in ignorance of Harry's plans. "Do you thinkthere is any chance of our being disturbed?" he continued, looking atthe door.
"None whatever. The man with the key will not open the door until I rapthree times."
"Very well, sir, if you will take that chair I shall be quitecomfortable here on the bed."
The consul drew his chair up close to Harry and sat down. Bert alsoseated himself on the bed. Beginning with the wreck of their sail boat,Harry then told Mr. Wyman in sequence the events that had led up totheir present incarceration in a Spanish jail in Cuba.
"Now, sir," he said, as he concluded, "you can understand why we cannottell anything that will in any way bring harm to Captain Dynamite."
"Yes, yes," said the consul, who had been deeply interested in the boy'sstory. "A marvelous man, and there are many more like him in the serviceof Cuba. I believe they will win. I--I hope they will win."
Mr. Wyman lowered his voice and looked around the room as if to seewhether there was anyone to overhear him. Harry looked at him insurprise.
"I thought you were a Spanish sympathizer, Mr. Wyman," he said.
"Diplomacy, my boy, only diplomacy."
"I am very glad to hear you say so, sir; you may fall in with my planquicker."
"What plan?" asked the consul, suspiciously.
"I will tell you presently, but I have not finished my story yet. Yousee that wall?" Harry pointed to the wall between their cell and the oneoccupied by Miss Juanita. The consul nodded. "Behind that wall is ayoung woman--a Cuban sympathizer--who is awaiting torture, perhapsdeath, at the hands of her captors, because she will not betray thecause. And that young woman is Miss Juanita, the sweetheart of CaptainDynamite."
"How do you know this, boys?" asked Mr. Wyman, springing to his feet inexcitement.
"Do you see that big slab in the wall?"
"Yes."
"That closes a secret passage between this room and hers. Last night weaccidentally touched the spring that rolls back the stone, and we talkedto her. If you can depend upon our not being disturbed, I will open itnow and you can see for yourself."
"I will answer for the man with the key. He now and then gets a littlepresent from me. I find it convenient to be in touch with all hands.Diplomacy, my boy, diplomacy."
Harry stepped to the wall and pressed the diamond-shaped stone. Thegroaning and creaking of the rusty mechanism of the revolving stonebegan and in five minutes the passage was open. Harry peered through andstarted back with a cry.
The young woman lay face downward on the stone floor of her cell.
"Miss Juanita," called Harry, softly. "What is the matter? Get up. It isyour friends again."
She did not stir.
"She may be dead," said Harry, in fear, as he climbed through thepassage. He kneeled down beside her and turned her limp body over sothat he could see her face. "No, she still breathes."
"Perhaps she has fainted," said Mr. Wyman from the other side of thepassage. "Take some water from that pitcher there and bathe her face."
Harry did as directed and soon a faint sigh escaped from her pallidlips, and in a moment more she opened her eyes and looked up, dazed andfrightened.
"Do not be afraid, Miss Juanita," said Harry, nervously. "It is theAmerican boys again. What has happened?"
"I think I fainted," she said, weakly. "Oh, it's all so terrible."
Painfully she dragged herself to her feet and sank into a chair thatHarry placed for her.
"What is so terrible?" he asked.
"First the shooting in the jail yard this morning. Did you see it?"Harry nodded his head. "I cried out. I tried not to, but the horror wastoo great. They laughed. They had wrung from me the first sign ofwomanly weakness. Then they came to me and repeated their demands forinformation. But I was strong again and they left me with curses.To-morrow I shall stand where he did in the jail yard. I must havefainted when they left me. But do not mind. It is soon over. Tell himwhen you see him that I died bravely for--for him and the cause."
The woman buried her face in her hands and sobbed softly.
"Do you mean, Miss," asked Mr. Wyman anxiously, through the opening,"that they told you that to-morrow--that to-morrow----" He could notfinish the sentence, but she understood him and nodded her head.
"Yes--to-morrow--at dawn."
Harry stooped down and whispered:
"Do not fear, Miss Juanita, it will not be at dawn to-morrow, nor anyother day. But much will depend upon yourself, so dry your eyes, Miss,and be ready to do your part when the time comes."
The woman looked up at him
wonderingly.
"Have you heard from him?" she asked.
"Not yet, but you will if you will only arouse yourself a bit and beready to do as I tell you when I come back."
Harry turned from her quickly and hastily climbing through the passage,touched the spring that closed it.
"Now, Mr. Wyman," he said, as the stone rolled into place. "You haveseen and heard."
"What an outrage--what a horrible outrage," murmured the consul, gazingblankly ahead of him.
"Will you listen to my plan now, Mr. Wyman?" said Harry.
"Yes, yes," replied the consul, eagerly. "What is it?"
Harry drew him down on the bed beside him and in a whisper that evenBert could not hear, unfolded the scheme that had come suddenly into hishead in nebulous shape when they had discovered the secret passage.
"But think of the sacrifice," said the consul in an uncertain tone whenHarry had concluded.
"Never mind that, sir--that is for me to consider, and I have done so. Iam willing to take the chance."
"But if you come to my house I shall be at once connected with theescape and that would bring my office into disrepute. I do not care formyself, but the United States must not be brought into the case."
"But if I never reach your house you cannot in any way be responsible.Listen--all you have to do is to tell General What's-His-Name that Ihave promised you to tell the whole truth in regard to our landing, butthat I insist that I shall be paroled and permitted to visit you aloneand without guard. Bert will remain as hostage, so that there can be nosuspicion."
"Say, Hal," said Bert, nervously, "you are not going to leave me herealone?"
"Not for long, old man. What do you say, Mr. Wyman? Think how you wouldfeel if these men carried out their threat, and they are quite capableof it."
"I'll do my best, my boy. Your risk is the greater, but it is a nobleact."
Mr. Wyman rose and shook Harry's hand vigorously. He rapped three timeson the door and as the jailer opened it he turned again and said: "Youwill hear from me shortly, when I have laid your case before GeneralSerano."
"Say, Hal," said Bert, as soon as the door closed, "what is this plan ofyours, and why am I kept in the dark like an outsider?"
"Because I want to take all the responsibility and do not want to haveyou mixed up in it if it should fail."
"But I am willing to take equal chances with you, old man. It isn'tfair."
"Oh, yes, it is. You will understand later."
Bert moped for a time in resentment, but as Harry refused to be affectedby his mood, he soon cheered up and determined to watch for developmentsthat might enlighten him as to the plot that Harry and the consul werehatching. But nothing developed. A guard brought in their dinner and itwas nearly nightfall before their door opened again and the smilinginterpreter entered.
"So you have thought better of it, after all, young gentlemen?" he said.
"I do not know whether it is better or worse, but we have thoughtdifferently, if that's what you mean," answered Harry.
"I mean that you have decided to tell the general what he wants toknow."
"No, I have decided to tell Consul Wyman."
"Yes, but he will tell the general."
"That will be his concern."
"Very well. Here is a pass from General Serano through the guards. Whenyou are ready to go, rap three times on the door and it will be opened.Only one of you is to leave this place; the pass is for only one. Shouldboth of you attempt to use it you would be at once arrested. I simplywarn you."
"Thank you. We have no intention of trying to escape. We enjoy yourhospitality too much and the longer we board with you the longer thescore you will have to settle with Uncle Sam."
Harry took the pass from the man, who then left the cell.
"Now to work, Bert," said Harry, eagerly, as the door closed. "Listen!When it is dark I am going through the passage. You must close it atonce, so that in case any one should come in it will not be discovered."
"But suppose the jailor should come in; how can I account for yourabsence?"
"You cannot understand him nor he you, and he would probably rush off tomake a report of my escape. Before his return I will be back. But thatwill not be very likely to happen. When I have been in the other cellten minutes, open the passage again, and when I come through do notspeak, no matter what you may see or hear. Then close the passage atonce. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"And after I have left this room see to it that the door is safelyclosed again, and then once more open the passage."
"What for?"
"Never mind that now. Do you know what you are to do?"
"Yes; close and open the passage twice and say nothing."
"That's it."
They did not have to wait long for darkness. Night was now fallingrapidly. They sat in silence as the dark shadows began to fill the room.Harry was in a serious, thoughtful mood and talked but little. Finally,when the room became so dark that they could not see one another'sfaces, he rose.
"It is time now, Bert," he whispered. "Remember your part."
He stepped to the wall and groping around until he found the spring,pressed it and the stone began to revolve. When the passage was fullyopen, he peered through into the darkness of the other cell, andwhispered:
"Miss Juanita, do not be afraid; it is the American boys. Are youthere?"
"Yes," came a soft answer.
Harry climbed through the passage and Bert promptly touched the springthat closed it. The heavy stone moved slowly back into place and Bertwas alone.
He had no watch, so he counted the seconds. The ten minutes seemed anhour to him. At last they passed and he opened the passage again. Forsome reason he expected to see Harry and the young woman climb through,but only the form of the boy appeared in the gloom. He waited a momentto be sure that the girl did not follow, and then closed the passage. Asthe stone settled into place, the form moved quickly to the door andrapped three times. Almost instantly it swung open and the jailor withhis lantern stood without. As the boy's form glided silently out pastthe stolid turnkey, Bert started back and with difficulty suppressed acry of amazement. For a moment the light of the lantern had fallen onthe face of the form in the doorway.