The evening was nearing an end when Wake somehow found himself dancing a waltz with a very beautiful woman. The wife of the governor of Havana Province, she had classic dark Spanish looks and charm. He found himself comparing her to Linda, and while she was undeniably beautiful, she made him feel very uncomfortable. He decided that she was a symbol for all that Havana stood for to him: beautiful but most definitely not a place to be comfortable.
When the affair came to a close very late in the evening, Wake found himself near the door listening to the drone of goodbyes when he heard Collins speaking to a man by a carriage outside. The conversation was muttered, but Wake recognized the word “Saunders.” By the time he had maneuvered over to the assistant consul, the carriage, and Collins’ friend, had departed.
Wake wondered if he was surrounded by incompetence or malintent as he looked at Collins with new suspicion. He knew that Collins really ran the consulate in Havana, as Mason was clearly a noneffective figurehead.
Rork was waiting for him again on deck when the Spanish navy pinnace arrived with Wake aboard. This time Wake was not tired or affected by drink and stayed up late sitting on the transom with Rork going over all that had been learned while in Havana and trying to decipher the meaning of it all. Not much time was left to get the intelligence that Admiral Barkley needed. Tomorrow might be the last day they would have in Cuba.
All morning Wake pondered what to do, whom to confide in. He went over in his mind the facts as known: Saunders was engaged in a blockade-running scheme that encompassed Florida, Cuba, and possibly the Bahamas. Mason was incompetent, to be charitable. Collins was intelligent and just might be an opponent. Caldez, and probably other Spanish officers as well, was involved with Saunders and the Confederates.
But all of these facts just made for more questions and did not answer the main question about Saunders. He was the one Wake was determined to defeat. Saunders was one of the men who, through his supply of munitions, allowed the damned war to continue on and on, dragging more and more men to their deaths. Wake cursed himself that he’d let him go, that Hardin had been right and he’d been wrong. How many men were killed by the guns Saunders had brought in after that? Wake knew about Saunders now, and somewhat of how he operated. His new self-assigned mission was to stop him. It had become personal.
A message from assistant consul Collins arrived at Rosalie in the afternoon by a harbor messenger boat. In the note Collins advised Wake that the communications and reports for the United States were all gathered and he could get them that day and depart the next. The short note contained no other clues as to what Collins was thinking, and Wake determined to go back to the consulate offices immediately for the dispatches and any further intelligence he could obtain. With little delay, he retraced his steps through the city from the naval landing to the offices.
Once at the American Consulate, Wake met with Collins, who related that he had heard disturbing information that Wake had been frequenting places in Havana that he should not have. Collins’ demeanor was that of a school master to a disruptive pupil, and Wake did not like it. He felt his blood start to boil, and it took all of his restraint to be respectful, for young junior naval officers did not act anything but respectful to senior diplomats from the Department of State.
“So I am forced to acknowledge, Mr. Wake, that you did not act accordingly with my warning and instead chose to act directly against my wishes by going into places that are known to be centers of revolutionary activity. I am very much upset, sir, and want you out of this port as soon as possible before you create some incident that I will have to deal with after you have departed. You appear to be incompetent, and I don’t need any more complications of our position here. Why they employed such as you for this assignment I do not know. The navy must be very busy indeed to send someone as junior as you.”
“I am very apologetic, sir. I did not know that I had visited a center of revolutionary activity, sir,” said Wake as he suddenly realized that Collins did not mention Rebel activities at the specific tavern he and Sampson had visited. Could it be that he does not know of them? And if the Rebs are there, could there be Cuban anti-Spanish revolutionaries there? And are they in cooperation with each other? Was there a way to end Saunders’ operations in Havana? And then it came to him as if a veil had been lifted from his vision. A plan so obvious that he wondered why he had not thought of it earlier. But first he had to deal with Collins and calm him down.
“Sir, I will take the dispatches and do as you order. Rosalie will leave on the morning tide. I am sorry for misunderstanding your wishes, sir. I did not mean to make your position more difficult,“ Wake said with as much remorse as he could portray.
“Well, Wake, perhaps you did misunderstand. You are young, and ignorant in your own way. Be on your way then. And learn to listen to men who have experience. . . .”
“Aye aye, sir. Thank you for your patience, sir.”
Wake kept his bearing submissive as he left Collins’ presence and received the official pouch of dispatches from a clerk in another office. Sampson, who had been assigned to help him guard the dispatch pouch while in transit to the sloop through the dangerous streets of Havana, rejoined him in the lobby and together they left the building. They walked to the Malecon, where Wake gazed out over the harbor and thought over the idea that had come to him while enduring Collins’ humiliating remarks. A moment later Wake turned to Sampson, whose curiosity about the reason for his captain’s pensiveness was obvious but silent.
“Well, Sampson, I may need your Spanish directly. We are now going to visit an admiral, the new one at the Spanish naval yard here. Let’s get under way.”
“An admiral, sir? I’ve never even seen an admiral, much less have I met one, sir. And a Spanish grandee admiral at that! Aye aye, sir.”
The long walk along the harbor front offered Wake time to figure out how he would handle the conversation he was about to have. By the time they had made their way through the gate and to the admiral’s offices, he knew how he could get an admiral to listen to a junior foreign naval officer and act upon that officer’s information.
Sampson’s Spanish was not eloquent, but he was able to convey to the staff officer that it was of vital importance that the American officer speak directly and immediately to the admiral commanding the Spanish Navy in Havana. After a few minutes Admiral Don Cesar Rodriguez y Lafitte passed the word to the American officer that he would receive him. No Spanish officer could speak English, so Sampson was retained to translate.
While walking through the ancient rooms of the castlelike building, black men in an equally ancient style of livery were seen attending to the service of Spanish naval officers.
Slaves . . . these men are slaves, Wake realized with a start. Even though they were not dressed in rags and treated like dogs, but were sophisticated and acting as servants would elsewhere, they were slaves nonetheless. The officers being attended by the black men were seemingly unaware of any impropriety, neither arrogant nor condescending in their demeanor toward their servants. Wake wondered if this was the way it was in the Confederate Navy. As he walked into the outer offices of the Spanish admiral, he found himself curious about how the slaves in livery felt about their plight, wanting to ask them, until he forced his mind to return to the paramount business at hand.
Wake, with Sampson behind and to his left, stood at attention after they were ushered into the admiral’s ornate and musty office. The admiral’s aide introduced them in his language to the admiral, whose manner was remarkably like Admiral Barkley’s. Wake had a fleeting thought that possibly all admirals were similar since they all had similar responsibilities. Then he cleared his mind to concentrate on the importance of his next words.
“Sir,” Wake started slowly as Sampson translated, “I am the American naval officer who was so honored to pay our navy’
s official respects to you last night at the reception at the consulate. Once again, I offer our congratulations on your new command and our total cooperation in matters that concern us both. The Navy of the United States of America has much respect for the Navy of the Spanish Empire.”
Admiral Rodriguez acknowledged with a nod what Wake had said and assumed a look that expressed a desire to expedite the interview. Wake did not need Sampson to translate that, and he continued.
“Because I know of the admiral’s fine reputation for professional competence,” this part Wake was trying not to overdo but knew that he must say something of the sort, “and his well-known regard for honesty, as well as his personal devotion to the crown of Spain, I knew that I had to come immediately to the admiral upon coming into intelligence that affected him directly and personally, as well as the empire of Her Most Catholic Majesty of Spain.
“I am concerned about a situation that involves life and death, with an immediacy that demands my imposing upon your hospitality and patience, sir. Things are happening as I speak that will influence your situation here in Cuba.”
Now the admiral was listening and made no attempt to conceal it. Wake took a breath and plunged ahead. “Sir, it has come to my attention that there is a threat to your new command, and to the Spanish Empire, in Havana. It involves Cuban anti-Spanish revolutionaries, Confederate spies, and a corrupt Spanish official, all right here in Havana.”
The look of impatience on the admiral’s face had changed to one of concern. Wake noticed him glance at his staff aide, who looked equally serious. They both listened carefully as Wake continued.
“The situation is this, sir. The Confederates who are in rebellion against the national government of the United States are using Havana as a supply depot for their blockade runners. They have an officer in the Confederate Army here in Havana and I believe are doing this through cooperation with Cuban anti-Spanish revolutionaries, who are working to bring down the government of the Spanish Empire in Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean.”
Now came the most difficult phase for Wake. He was already in a very dangerous situation by even going to the Spanish admiral in the first place. Low-ranking officers did not do what he was doing. The consequences of this meeting were enormous. Now came the part that might evolve into the destruction of Saunders and the Rebel organization—or the destruction of his own career in the U. S. Navy. He knew he could rely on neither Consul Mason nor Assistant Consul Collins.
No, the only hope for decisive action was to apply to the sense of Spanish honor the new admiral was reputed to have, and count on the fact that he was new and therefore maybe not part of the entrenched corruption. In addition, the Spanish were desperate to retain Cuba, and everyone in this part of the world knew it.
“I have exact locations and names, sir. The organization also has a corrupt official in the port. The guns that are brought in for trans-shipment to the Confederates go through the port. The official and Cuban revolutionaries are undoubtedly both involved. I would not be surprised if some of the guns are diverted for use against the Spanish authorities in Cuba. There may well be an alliance of the Confederates and the Cubans for the expulsion of the Spanish and future annexation in return for cooperation now. They share much common thought about rebellion against national governments. This entire situation is sinister and can end only badly for the men of the Spanish Navy and the empire.”
Most of this last was supposition, but it had the desired effect. The admiral, silent to this point, now spoke without emotion as he gazed directly into Wake’s eyes. Wake was intimidated by Rodriguez’s glare as Sampson translated.
“You say you know where these men are located. Please give me that information now. Also the names that you know and whatever else you know.”
Wake told him the location of the tavern and the names of Caldez and Saunders. He did not include his suspicions about Collins. The object of this meeting was to eliminate the Rebel organization and Saunders personally. If Wake could not accomplish that himself in a neutral country, he had no compunctions against getting that country to bring action to that end in a mutual satisfaction of goals. He had gone to the edge of honor with his ruse de guerre but felt justified by the results he hoped it would gain.
After the aide noted the information, Admiral Rodriguez thanked Wake for his assistance. The admiral seemed to have no illusions about why Wake had come to him. Significantly, he did not ask if the consul knew or had told the civil authorities of this information, and Wake did not broach the subject either. They both knew there was no reason to involve people who might intentionally or accidentally alert Saunders’ organization.
“Master Peter Wake, on behalf of the navy of Her Most Catholic Majesty, I thank you for this timely assistance. It shall not be forgotten. We shall take steps to eliminate this threat to the sovereignty of our government. The Spanish Navy will do this immediately, since the threat appears to be naval in nature. Can we assist you in any way?”
“Sir, there is something you can do, or rather omit doing, that would assist me. This conversation has been rather delicate for a junior officer to conduct in a foreign land, as you may imagine, sir. It would probably be better if it stayed confidential, and therefore you did not alert anyone as to the the source of your information. As for my assistance to you, sir, it is my honor to assist a country in retaining her land and culture against the scourge of rebellion, particularly our brothers in the famous Spanish Navy, for whom we have high regard.”
Wake could see Sampson actually wince as he translated and hoped that it sounded as sincere in Spanish as he had tried to make it in English. Suddenly, he had the irresistible urge to rub the scar on the side of his head, which began to itch. He successfully willed himself not to touch it, but it bothered him that it was choosing this moment to aggravate him. Damned thing won’t ever go away, and it pipes up at the worst times, Wake found himself thinking as he put on a face of respect for the Spanish officers.
A flurry of Spanish confused even Sampson as the admiral proceeded to give orders to the staff aide. Within moments another two officers arrived and received more orders from Admiral Rodriguez. Things were progressing rapidly indeed. Finally, during a lull in the noise of the room, Wake told the admiral that he was bound for Key West on the morning tide and thanked him for his assistance. Rodriguez stopped his commands, turned to Wake and said in a tone heavy with meaning, “By the time you leave, Master Wake, both of our countries will have fewer rebels in Havana, Cuba.”
Wake stood to attention and replied in an equally meaningful tone, “Aye aye, sir,” and left with Sampson. In the outer office, he breathed a sigh of relief and led the sailor out of the building as fast as decorum would allow. Sampson, having witnessed something few, if any, sailors ever got to see, was enthusiastically congratulating Wake on the outcome of the meeting.
“Sir, in all my days I never seen anything like that. Just a pure rare thing, sir. A Spanish admiral an’ all. You got ’em to do in that Reb and all the Cuban scum too. Well said and well done, sir. Never saw nothing like it. Them boys on the ol’ Rosey been a bit put out and all ’cause they ain’t been ashore. Thought they been left out of the fun. But they’ll surely love hearing ’bout this. Jes’ wait till them Rebels find they got no warm home here no more.”
“Sampson, you will not tell anyone of this. You know why you can’t. That is an order that you violate at your direct peril. Do you understand exactly what I mean? No one!”
The sailor stopped grinning and realized that he had overstepped his bounds. He quickly reversed course.
“Aye aye, sir. My mouth is sealed on all that happened. I can keep a secret, sir. Not even the devil rum can get it if’n I wanna keep it inside. Not to worry, sir. “
On that Wake had considerable doubts, but as they walked to the naval landing and the dinghy he
decided to hope for the best. He had done all he could do and had put himself in considerable jeopardy by doing so. He hoped Admiral Barkley would approve, for he knew that Mason and Collins would not if and when they ever found out.
The sun was descending as they rowed out into the harbor toward the anchorage and their Rosalie. While admiring its glow on the steeples of the cathedral, Wake saw a steam vessel coming at speed up the channel from the naval docks. Spanish marines with rifles ready were crowded onto her decks and she was heading right for the dinghy. Other doubts started to form in his mind as he realized that there was no place to hide or run and that the oncoming vessel would be there in seconds. Sampson also saw what was heading their way but said nothing, set his jaw tight and kept rowing. As the vessel neared, Wake observed the officers aboard looking at him closely. She did not slow down, however, and proceeded past the dinghy, throwing a wave that threatened to swamp the small boat.
Moments later Wake saw her come alongside the anchored steamer with the Confederate flag flying. Even at their distance from the scene, Sampson and his captain could hear the protests in English and the threats in Spanish as the marines and sailors seized the vessel. The flag was jerked down the halliard, and a Spanish one appeared at the peak in replacement. Soon the sounds of protest ended.
Wake and Sampson stared at each other smiling and then turned together and looked over at the tavern. The sight there held them spellbound enough to stop Sampson’s rowing.
Marines from the docks were forcing men outside and into two different lines. Bayonets were freely used to encourage the men, who were now marched back down the boulevard toward the naval dockyard. One line of men were light-skinned and the other darker. Other marines were entering doors along the streets in that area, and other people were being herded out of the buildings. Pedestrians started to vacate the streets, and suddenly some screaming could be heard from inside the tavern itself.
At the Edge of Honor (The Honor Series) Page 22