Deck there! Boat putting out from shore. Two points abaft the starboard beam.
A double speck of white was creeping out towards them; Hornblowers glass resolved it into an open boat under two tiny lateen sails, and as she drew nearer he could see that she was manned by half a dozen swarthy men wearing wide straw hats. She hoveto fifty yards away, and someone stood up in the stern sheets and shouted across the water with hands cupped round his mouth. It was Spanish that he spoke.
Is that an English ship? he asked.
Yes. Come on board, replied Hornblower. Two years as a prisoner of Spain had given him the opportunity of learning the languagehe had long before decided that it was merely on account of this accomplishment that he had been selected for this special service.
The boat ran alongside and the man who had hailed scrambled lightly
up the ladder to the deck. He stopped at the side and looked round him with a certain curiosity at the spotless decks and the rigid order which prevailed on every hand. He wore a sleeveless black waistcoat aflame with gold embroidery; beneath it a dirty white shirt, and on his legs dirty white trousers terminating raggedly just below the knees. His feet were bare, and in a red sash round his waist he carried two pistols and a short heavy sword. He spoke Spanish as his native tongue, but he did not look like a Spaniard; the black hair which hung over his ears was long, lustreless, and lank; there was a tinge of red in his brown complexion and a tinge of yellow in the whites of his eyes. A long thin moustache drooped from his upper lip. His eyes at once picked out the captain, gorgeous in his best coat and cocked hat, and he advanced towards him It was in anticipation of just such a meeting that Hornblower had donned his best, and he was pleased with his foresight now.
You are the captain, sir? asked the visitor.
Yes. Captain Horatio Hornblower of His Britannic Majestys frigate Lydia , at your service. And whom have I the pleasure of welcoming?
Manuel Hernandez, lieutenant general of el Supremo.
El Supremo? asked Hornblower, puzzled. The name was a little difficult to render into English. Perhaps The Almighty might be the nearest translation.
Yes, of el Supremo. You were expected here four months, six months back.
Hornblower thought quickly. He dared not disclose the reason of his coming to any unauthorized person, but the fact that this man knew he was expected seemed to indicate that he was a member of Alvarados conspiracy.
It is not to el Supremo that I am ordered to address myself, he temporized. Hernandez made a gesture of impatience.
Our lord el Supremo was known to men until lately as His Excellency Don Julian Maria de Jesus de Alvarado y Moctezuma, he said.
Ah! said Hornblower. It is Don Julian that I want to see.
Hernandez was clearly annoyed by this casual mention of Don Julian.
El Supremo, he said, laying grave accent on the name, has sent me to bring you into his presence.
And where is he?
He is in his house.
And which is his house?
Surely it is enough, Captain, that you should know that el Supremo requires your attendance.
Do you think so? I would have you know, señor, that a captain of one of His Britannic Majestys ships is not accustomed to being at anyones beck and call. You can go, if you like, and tell Don Julian so.
Hornblowers attitude indicated that the interview was at an end. Hernandez went through an internal struggle, but the prospect of returning to face el Supremo without bringing the captain with him was not alluring.
The house is there, he said sullenly, at last, pointing across the bay. On the side of the mountain. We must go through the town which is hidden behind the point to get there.
Then I shall come. Pardon me for a moment, General.
Hornblower turned to Bush, who was standing by with the half puzzled, half admiring expression on his face so frequently to be seen when a man is listening to a fellow countryman talking fluency in an unknown language.
Mr. Bush, he said, I am going ashore, and I hope I shall return soon. If I do not , if I am not back nor have written to you by midnight, you must take steps to ensure the safety of the ship. Here is the key of my desk. You have my orders that at midnight you are to read the governments secret orders to me, and to act on them as you think proper.
Aye aye, sir, said Bush. There was anxiety in his face, and Hornblower realised with a thrill of pleasure that Bush was actually worried about his captains well being. Do you thinkis it safe for you on shore alone, sir?
I dont know, said Hornblower, with honest indifference. I must go, that is all.
Well bring you off, sir, safe and sound, if there is any hanky-panky.
Youll see after the safety of the ship first, snapped Hornblower, visualizing a mental picture of Bush with a valuable landing party blundering about in the feverhaunted jungles of Central America. Then he turned to Hernandez. I am at your service, señor.
Chapter IV
Agua, agua, croaked a voice as they approached.