But no further shot came from the _Maria Braganza_.
Smaller and smaller she grew until only a pall of smoke on the horizon showed where she lay.
Obeying a signal from the distant warship, the _Taglan_ came round again, and in half-an-hour had come abreast of the two warships, the faithful _Philomel_ in attendance.
There was a swift exchange of signals between the warships, and their semaphore arms whirled furiously.
"Hope you are not alarmed; you will not be troubled again; go ahead."
On the twelfth day there was another shock for the excited passengers of the _Taglan Castle_, for, nearing Cape Verde Islands, they came upon not one warship but six--six big black hulls lying at regular intervals along the horizon. But there was no cause for alarm. They were the six Dreadnought cruisers that had been sent down from Gibraltar to take up the burden of the Cape Fleet.
It was all a mystery to the bewildered passengers, whatever it might be to the officers of the _Taglan_, who had received a long "lamp" message in the middle of the night.
There was a two hours' delay whilst the captain of the _St. George_ went on board the _Indefatigable_ to report.
This was the end of the adventures that awaited the _Taglan_. She was escorted to the Needles by the six warships, and came into Southampton, her passengers a-flutter with that excitement peculiar to men who have come through a great danger and are exhilarated to find themselves alive.
The arrival of the _Taglan_ was opportune; it gave confirmation to the rumours which had been in circulation, and synchronised with the issue of the manifesto of the Nine Men--a manifesto unique in history.
The manifesto had arrived simultaneously at every newspaper office in London, Paris, and Berlin.
It was printed on paper of a texture and quality which is generally in use in small Continental newspaper offices. From certain peculiarities of the printed characters, it was seen that the type from which it was printed must have been cast in Spain.... The manifesto was neatly folded and enclosed in an envelope of octavo size, and the actual sheet-size was what is known in the printing trade as double-crown. The postage stamps were Spanish, the place of posting, as revealed by the office post-marks, were in some cases Malaga, and in some, Algeciras. The fact that, whether posted at one place or the other, the date of the posting was identical, supported the view that at least two persons had been concerned in the despatch.