In the centre of the harbour was visible the wreck of the United States battleship _Maine_.

Here in Havana, on calling at the Consulate for letters, or rather for cablegrams, as I had instructed my Amarillo agent not to write but to cable, and only in the case of urgent consequence, I found a message awaiting me.

No need to open it therefore to know the contents! Yes, my building had been burnt to the ground two months ago.

A cable to Caracas had not been delivered to me.

So, back to Amarillo to view the ruins.