Then the ship turned sharply and opened fire again, with three cannons aimed directly at the Seadragon. Shrieks of dismay were heard as several men jumped overboard.
Next to him on the sand, Poppy moaned.
“Poppy!” Carlos said. He pulled her up. “That was a lot more gunpowder than you needed. Are you all right?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking stunned. “I do know that Spargo shouldn’t have gone for the guns. It put him on the wrong side of the cavern. I did sort of warn him.”
“You did splendidly, querida,” he said, embracing her gently just in case she was injured.
“I still can’t believe you walked that whole way alone and in the dark!”
He shuddered. “I know, and I don’t want to think about it again.” He patted the pocket where he’d tucked Mateo’s ring, reassuring himself it had also made it out of the cave.
“You don’t have to,” she said. “It’s over.”
“I’m not sure of that. We are surrounded by a gang, and we have just killed their leader. I’ll have to fight our way clear.”
But in fact, there was little more fighting to be done. Customs officers and a small militia of local men were swarming the beach, shouting for the smugglers to put down their weapons. The gang on the beach rushed around in total confusion, having no leadership to tell them what to do.
Meanwhile, the smugglers who jumped overboard got to the shore. However, all that accomplished was to make things easier for the uniformed men who had rushed down the beach. They herded each soaking wet smuggler out of the water before they could run.
One uniformed man approached Carlos and Poppy, and he suddenly recognized the face of Riding Officer Lowry.
The Customs officer did a double take on seeing Poppy, bedraggled but obviously a lady in her red evening gown.
“My goodness, Miss St George, what are you doing here?”
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Poppy said, squeezing Carlos’s hand to prevent him from jumping in. “One of the smugglers saw me earlier and decided I’d fetch a good price as a slave.”
“Monstrous. Point him out when you see him, and I’ll see that he faces additional charges.”
“As a matter of fact, I know his name. It’s Mr. Rowe, deputy to the magistrate.” She didn’t mention that he was likely unconscious in a cave at the moment.
Lowry’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “I’ll take care of it.”
Carlos decided that he liked that young man.
They both watched as some of the Customs officers began hauling crates along the beach into one spot, where they’d be loaded onto the cutter.
Eventually, Collector Snell approached Carlos. Armitage walked beside him.
“Mr. de la Guerra!” Armitage said, on seeing them. “You’re alive.”
“Yes, though it was debatable for a moment. I trust Valentin and the crew of the Agustina did their part?”
“To perfection!” It was Snell who replied. “They lured the Seadragon into the bay with the promise of purchasing the guns, and then blocked the ship from leaving until the navy’s ship could arrive. Spargo thought he had two deals done tonight. Buying the opium, then selling the guns. Instead, he lost both. As it should be. Where is he, by the way? I’d love to arrest him personally.”
“Apologies, sir, but he’s likely destined for a higher court now. His body is in the cave behind us. He got a little too close to a barrel of gunpowder and an open flame.”
“Well, that’s a shame. But it will save time in the long run.” He turned to the magistrate. “I’ll just go confirm that he’s dead. Would you see that all the rest of Spargo's men are accounted for?”
Armitage nodded and hurried off.
“So Armitage was on our side?” Poppy asked skeptically.
“Yes, Miss…”
Carlos stepped up. “May I introduce you to Miss Poppy St George.”
