d that President De Sylva's raid was alone rendered possible by
the help of a truculent British master-mariner and a dozen or so of his
hard-bitten crew, he (the said Brasileiro) might be skeptical, or, at
best, indifferent. But let the name of some puppet politician hailing
from Sao Paulo be mentioned, and his eyes would flash with angry
recognition; yet the _Andromeda's_ small contingent achieved more than
a whole army of conspirators.

The one incident, then, of a political nature, in which the victors of
the tussle on Fernando Noronha were publicly concerned, was the outcome
of a message cabled by Dom Corria while the smoke of Russo's cannon
still clung about the quay.

It was written in German, addressed to a Hamburg shipping firm, and ran
as follows: "Have sold _Unser Fritz_ to Senhor Pondillo of this port as
from September 1st, for 175,000 marks. If approved, cable
confirmation, and draw on Paris branch Deutsche Bank at sight. Franz
Schmidt, care German Consul, Maceio."

This harmless commercial item was read by many officials hostile to De
Sylva, yet it evoked no comment. Its first real effect was observable
in the counting-house of the Hamburg owners. There it was believed
that Captain Schmidt had either become a lunatic himself or was in
touch with a rich one. Schmidt was so well known to them that they
acted on the latter hypothesis. They cabled him their hearty
commendation, "drew" on the Paris bank by the next post, and awaited
developments. To their profound amazement, the money was paid. As
they had obtained 8,750 pounds for a vessel worth about one-quarter of
the sum, they had good reason to be satisfied. It mattered not a jot
to them that the sale was made "as from September 1st," or any other
date. They signed the desired quittance, cabled Schmidt again to ask
if Senhor Pondillo was in need of other ships of the _Unser Fritz_
class, and the members of the firm indulged that evening in the best
dinner that the tip-top restaurant of Hamburg could supply.

They were puzzled next day by certain statements in the newspapers, and
were called on to explain to a number of journalists that the ship had
left their ownership. She was at Maceio. Where was Maceio? Somewhere
in South America.

"_Es ist nicht von Bedeutung_," said the senior partner to his
associates. "Schmidt will write full particulars; when all is said and
done, we have the money."

Yet it did matter very greatly, as shall be