ace had gone ashore long before he met his fearful death. And so the
Governor returned to the city, and was driven to San Felipe. But his
only reward was the sight of the obsessed archaeologist, mud-stained
and absorbed, prying about the old ruins, and uttering little cries of
delight at new discoveries of crumbling passageways and caving rooms.
And so there was nothing for the disturbed town to do but settle down
and ponder the strange case.

A week later smoke was seen again pouring out of the _Cossack's_
funnels. That same day the Governor and Alcalde and their suites were
bidden to a farewell banquet on board the luxurious yacht. Far into
the night they sat over their rare wines and rich food, drinking deep
healths to the _entente cordial_ which existed between the little
republic of the South and the great one of the North. And while they
drank and sang and listened enraptured to the wonderful pipe-organ, a
little boat put out from the dark, tangled shrubbery along the shore.
And when it rubbed against the yacht, a muffled figure mounted the
ladder which hung in the shadows, and hastened through the rear
hatchway and down into the depths of the boat. Then, long after
midnight, the last farewell being said by the dizzy officials, and the
echoes of _Adios_, _adios_, _amigos_! lingering among its tall spars,
the _Cossack_ slipped noiselessly out of the Boca Chica, and set its
course for New York.

A few hours later, while the boat sped swiftly through the phosphorescent
waves, the escaped prisoner, Jose de Rincon, who had lain for a week
hidden in the bowels of old fort San Felipe, stood alone in the wonderful
smoking room of the _Cossack_, and looked up at the sweet face pictured
in the stained-glass window above. And then he turned quickly, for the
door opened and a girl entered. A rush, a cry of joy, and his arms
closed about the fair vision that had sat by his side constantly during
the four long years of his imprisonment.

"Carmen!"

"My Jose!"

"I have solved my problem! I have proved God! I have found the
Christ!"

"I knew you would, for he was with you always!"

"But--oh, you beautiful, beautiful girl!"

Then in a little while she gently released herself and went to the
door through which she had entered. She paused for a moment to smile
back at the enraptured man, then turned and flung the door wide.

A woman entered, leading a young boy. The man uttered a loud
exclamation and started toward her.