given them on the previous afternoon by Don Manuel Rebiera, the acting
Military Commandant of the town and the representative of the Spanish
Government; those orders being to get the ships under way at a certain
hour, with the twofold object of escaping to sea, if possible, and of
enticing the English ship to follow them into the open, where she would
be exposed to the fire of the batteries, when it was hoped that she
would be destroyed, and the remnant of her crew captured. Upon
receiving this information George at once sat down and wrote a letter to
the alcalde, informing him of what had transpired, and demanding the
immediate arrest and surrender of the acting Commandant, the penalty for
non-compliance with the command before noon, being the bombardment and
sack of the town. This letter he entrusted to one of the hostages--
chosen by lot--who forthwith left the ship in a shore boat which had
been called alongside, promising that he would leave no stone unturned
to secure submission to the English Captain's demands. Then all hands
went to breakfast.

Meanwhile, with the strengthening of daylight it was discovered that the
_Nonsuch_, upon returning to the roadstead after her pursuit of the
plate ships, had brought up so close to the spot where she had slipped
her buoyed anchor, that the cable could be recovered by the simple
process of running out a warp to it; and this was therefore the first
job undertaken when breakfast was over, the second anchor being at the
same time weighed and secured; after which there was nothing to be done
but to wait until noon--or the arrival of a reply from the alcalde.

It was, however, not necessary to wait for noon; for about half-past ten
o'clock a boat was seen approaching the _Nonsuch_ from the shore; and
when she presently drew near enough to permit recognition of the faces
of those in her it was seen that the alcalde was her solitary passenger;
and very shortly afterwards she ranged up alongside the English ship,
and Don Juan Alvarez climbed the side ladder in an evident state of
profound trepidation. He brought momentous news, to the effect that it
had indeed been Don Manuel Rebiera who had taken upon himself to arrange
the whole affair of the preceding night; and that when at daylight he
had discovered how completely his scheme for the destruction of the
English ship had failed--and had also realised, it is to be presumed,
all that his failure involved, the terrible retribut