nearly midnight
Don Hermoso 's manner was such as to leave no room for doubt in the mind of Singleton as to the sincerity of the Cuban , while the latter and his son were easily able to see that their proposal strongly appealed to the adventurous spirit of the young Englishman : it is therefore not surprising that ere they parted that evening Singleton had definitely agreed to become , for the time being , the apparent owner of the new steam-yacht , and to take part in the gun-running adventure ; also agreeing to take along with him the working model of his submarine , which all three were of opinion might be found exceedingly useful , while the service upon which they were about to engage would afford Jack an opportunity to put the craft to the test of actual work . These important points having been arranged , it was further agreed that , since the two Montijos were evidently under Spanish surveillance , they should advertise their connection with the yacht as little as possible , leaving the matters of the final trials of the vessel , the payment of the last instalment of her cost , and her transfer to Jack 's ownership entirely in the hands of the agent who had thus far managed the business for them ; taking a holiday on the Continent , meanwhile , and joining the vessel only at the last moment prior to her departure for Cuba . And it was further arranged that the ordering and shipment of the arms , ammunition , and supplies destined for the use of the insurgents should also be left absolutely in the hands of the agent and Jack conjointly ; by which means the Montijos would effectually avoid embroilment with the Spanish authorities , while it was hoped that , by occupying the attention of those authorities themselves , that attention would be completely diverted from Jack and the yacht . The settlement of these details and of others incidental to them kept the three conspirators busy until nearly midnight , when Jack rose to go , having already arranged to leave the hotel by the side entrance in order to baffle the eminently respectable `` Mr Mackintosh '' , should that individual happen to be still on the watch . As it happened , he was ; for upon leaving the hotel Jack sauntered along the Embankment as far as Waterloo Bridge , then made his way up into Lancaster Place , and there took a cab , in which he drove up the Strand , where he saw his man , evidently on guard , strolling slowly to and fro in front of the main entrance to the Cecil . Now Jack , although a yacht owner , was not a member of any yacht club , his cutter _ Lalage _ being such an out-of-date craft , and so seldom in use , that he had not thus far thought it worth while to very intimately identify himself with what is the Englishman 's pastime _ par excellence _ . But as he thought over the events of the evening while smoking a final pipe before turning in that night , it occurred to him that if he was to successfully pose as the owner of a fine new steam-yacht , it was imperative that he should become a member of some smart club ; and as he happened to have two or three intimate friends who belonged to the Royal Thames , he decided upon attempting to procure election into that somewhat exclusive club .