as the prisoner and officer jackson, handcuffed together, came up the gang-plank, renfrew, the attorney, standing on the promenade deck above, turned from his contemplation of the city of san juan as it lay green and white in the afternoon sun, and bent forward.
“by george,” he cried, exultingly, “that’s frank howard! he’s caught! caught here, of all places in the world!”
with hands tight gripped on the rail he watched the two men until they disappeared below; then, eager to share his discovery of the ending of a quest that had extended over two continents, he turned and hurried along the deck to[8] where two ladies stood leaning against the taffrail.
“yes, my dear,” the elder was saying, “porto rico is pretty enough for any one. it looked pretty when i came, and it looks prettier as i go. but when you say it’s pretty, you exhaust its excellences. i, for one, shall be glad to see the last of it. and, considering the errand that takes you home, i imagine that you don’t regret leaving, either.”
“the errand! i don’t understand, mrs. renfrew.”
“why! your—but here comes philip, evidently with something on his mind. do listen to him patiently, if you can, my dear. he hasn’t had a jury at his mercy for a month. unless somebody lets him talk, i’m afraid his bottled-up eloquence will strike in and prove fatal. well, philip!”
mr. renfrew was close at hand.
“miss fairfax! maria!” he cried. “who do you think is on board, a prisoner?[9] frank howard! i just saw him brought over the gang-plank. he escaped two months ago, and the police have been looking for him ever since. they must have just caught him, or i should have heard of it. who in the world can i ask?”
he gazed around questioningly.
“now, philip, wait a moment. who is frank howard? and what has the poor man done?”
mr. renfrew snorted.
“the poor man, maria,” he retorted, “is one of the biggest scoundrels unhung. as state’s attorney it was my duty to prosecute him, and i may say that i have seldom taken more pleasure in any task. i have spoken to you of the case often enough, maria, for you to know something about it. i should really be glad if you would take some interest in your husband’s affairs.”
mrs. renfrew clapped her hands.
“of course! i remember now,” she[10] said, soothingly. “it was only his name i forgot. mr. howard is that swindler who robbed so many poor people, isn’t he, philip?”
“nothing of the sort, madam,” thundered the lawyer. “frank howard was an officer of the united states navy. while stationed at this very island of porto rico he secretly married an ignorant but very beautiful girl, and then deserted her. she followed him to new york, and wrote him a letter telling him where she was. he went to her address and murdered her—strangled her with his own hands. he was caught red-handed, convicted, and would have been put to death before now if he hadn’t escaped.
“i am telling this for your benefit, miss fairfax. there is no use in talking to mrs. renfrew; details of my affairs go in one of her ears and out the other.”
“that may not be as uncommon as you think, mr. renfrew,” consoled the[11] girl, laughing. “but, as it happens, i am especially interested in the howard case. i am very well acquainted with one of the officers who was on his ship when he met the girl.”
mrs. renfrew clapped her hands.
“oh! of course,” she bubbled. “of course! i remember all about it now. it was mr. loving, of course! i had forgotten that he was on the same ship. philip, you didn’t know that miss fairfax was going to marry lieutenant loving, did you?”
mr. renfrew turned his eye-glasses on the girl, who flushed with mingled anger and amusement.
“are you a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, mrs. renfrew,” she inquired, “that you can read the future? i assure you that i have had no advance information on the matter. mr. loving hasn’t even asked me yet. but, of course, if you know——”
“good gracious! isn’t it true? why,[12] i got a paper from new york to-day that spoke of it as all settled. the paper is in my state-room now. if you’d like to see it, we’ll go down. philip, find out all you can about mr. howard, and tell us just as soon as you can.”
mr. renfrew nodded.
“i’ll go and ask the captain,” he promised, as the two ladies turned away.
the captain, however, proved not to be communicative. not only was he too busy with the preparations for departure, but he was nettled because the presence of the convict on board had become known. convicts are not welcome passengers on ships, like the queen, whose chief office is to carry presumably timid pleasure passengers, and their presence is always carefully concealed.
“i know nothing at all about it, mr. renfrew,” he asserted, gruffly. “you had better ask the purser.”
the purser was no more pleased at the inquiry than his chief had been, but he hid his vexation better.
[13]“yes,” he admitted, with apparent readiness, “mr. howard is on board. he was caught here last week. he was up at a village called lagonitas——”
“that’s where his wife lived—the one he murdered.”
“is it? i didn’t know. well, they caught him. he surrendered quietly—didn’t try to fight or run. he hadn’t anywhere to run to, you know.”
“and where is he confined?”
“amidships—in one of the second-class cabins. we have plenty vacant this trip. officer jackson is with him, where he can keep close watch. you tell your ladies not to be uneasy. he can’t possibly get out. jackson has got a hundred weight of iron, more or less, on him.”
“jackson, is it? i thought i recognized him. one of those bulldog fellows that never lets go. i’m interested in howard because it was i who conducted the prosecution at his trial.”
“gee! is that so? it must have been exciting. he confessed, didn’t he?”
[14]“confessed? not he! took the stand as brazen as you please, and swore he had never seen the woman before he went to her room that day in response to a letter and found her dead. it was nothing less than barefaced impudence, you know. the proof against him was simply overwhelming.”
“he denied having married her, then?”
“he denied everything. swore it was a case of mistaken identity. i demolished that quickly enough. dozens of people had seen him up at lagonitas with the girl. we even sent for the minister who performed the marriage ceremony, but he never arrived—lost at sea on the way to new york. but there was plenty of proof, anyway. the jury found him guilty without leaving their seats.”
