The Conspirators

The Conspirators: The Island League, a serialized romance of Cuba and Cuban waters by Col. Prentiss Ingraham. The narrative opens in Havana harbor at midnight, where a seized pleasure yacht—actually a swift schooner armed with four brass guns—makes a daring escape under the command of a young, dark-haired helmsman and an elderly gray-haired patriot. After ramming Spanish guard-boats and narrowly avoiding collision with the American brig Dart, the vessel flees seaward. The gray-haired man identifies himself as a Cuban political prisoner escaping Spanish tyranny and death. As the fortress El Moro opens fire and the Spanish armed cutter Magenta gives chase, the Americans aboard the Dart sympathize with the fugitives' boldness, though their escape appears perilous.