"That same day we were ordered to take on board stores which the Government had purchased. Whatever stores these were, they were extremely heavy. They were packed in little square boxes, strongly made and clamped with steel. Of these boxes we took two hundred and fifty, and the business of transporting them occupied the greater part of a whole day."
"What was the weight of them?" asked T. B.
"About fifty kilos," said the man, "and," he added with an assumption of carelessness, "they each contained gold."
"In fact a million and a half of English pounds," he said half to himself.
"As to that I do not know," said the other, "but it was enormous; I discovered the gold by accident, for I and another officer had been chosen to store the boxes in one of the ammunition flats, and, owing to the breaking of a box, I saw--what I saw.
"However, to get back to the captain. In the evening he came aboard, having first given orders for steam to be ready and every preparation made for slipping.
"Then it was I told him that I had seen the contents of one of the boxes, and he was distressed.
"'Who else has seen this?' he asked, and I informed him of the sub-officer who had been with me.
"'Do not speak of this matter, as you value your soul,' he said, 'for this is a high Government secret--send sub-officer Alverez to me'--that was the name of my companion. I obeyed and sent Alverez aft. He too received similar injunctions, and was dismissed.
"At ten o'clock that night, the quartermasters went to their stations, and all stood ready for dropping our mooring.
"As the hours wore on, the captain began to show signs of impatience. I was on the bridge with the officer of the watch, and the captain was pacing up and down, now looking at his watch and swearing, now training his binocular on a portion of the land to the north of the town.
"I had forgotten to say that at 8.30 the ship's steam pinnace had been sent away, and that it had not returned.
"It was for the coming of the pinnace, and whoever was coming with it, that our captain displayed so much anxiety.
"It was eleven o'clock before the boat came alongside. We heard it racing across the water--for the night was very still. Then it drew alongside, and a number of gentlemen came on board. They were all talking excitedly, and seemed as though they had walked a long distance, for, by the light of the branch lamp that lit the gangway, I saw that their boots and trousers were white with dust, such as I believe lies on the road outside Cadiz. One was in a state of great fear; he was very stout. Another, and he was the leader, spoke to our captain, and soon after I heard the order given--'Quartermaster, stand by for going out of harbour,' and the captain gave the navigating officer his course. We went out at full speed, steering a course due west.