his scheme of yours. What say you, Padre?"

"I say, go, by all means, my son, if Jack thinks that you will be of the
slightest use to him," answered Don Hermoso. "As for your bags, and so
on, I will of course take care that they shall go forward with us to-
morrow."

"Very well, then," said Jack, "in that case let Carlos go with me, for I
cannot tell but that we may be glad enough to have him with us during
our operations to-morrow. And now I suppose we had better see about
making a start. What about horses, Carlos?"

"I will go and give instructions to have them saddled forthwith,"
answered the latter; and he rose and went out to the patio, Jack
meanwhile making a few final arrangements as to the hour and place of
meeting on the morrow in Havana.

Five minutes later the horses were brought round to the front of the
house, and the young men, having meanwhile said a word or two of
explanation to the ladies and bidden them temporarily adieu, mounted,
and, accompanied by Carnero as guide, cantered off down the long path
leading to the main road. But ere they reached this their guide turned
off to the right, and, following a path that led through the tobacco
fields, took them over the fence that formed one of the boundaries of
Don Hermoso's property, and the party found themselves in the open
country, over which Carnero led them in a bee-line, taking brooks,
watercourses, and obstructions of various kinds as they came. The pace
of the riders was by no means rapid, nothing more than a brisk canter,
in fact, but, the route taken being practically the shortest possible
distance between Senor Montijo's hacienda and Pinar del Rio, the journey
was accomplished in little over an hour; and when at length they pulled
up at the railway station they had a good four minutes in hand.

"All right, Senores!" said Carnero, as he received the bridles of the
two horses, "I will see that the nags are properly rubbed down and
attended to, and that they shall be in readiness to go back with the
coach and the servants to-morrow. Adios, Senores; luck go with you!"

The clocks in the city were just striking ten when, after a somewhat
tedious journey, the train clattered and jolted into the Western Station
at Havana; and, jumping out, the lads chartered a volante--the local
hansom, which is an open vehicle, mounted upon a pair of enormously high
wheels, and fitted with such long shafts that it can only be turned with
the utmost difficu