The U.S. Navy has been tightly controlled in the Caribbean for a month, and still has not found any trace of the Spanish fleet. After all, people are not machines, and after a long time of high-intensity control, the officers and men of the US Navy also have some perfunctory actions after the Spanish fleet cannot be found for a long time. For example, the area required to be inspected has been inspected every other day.

Of course, this also caused the gap in this dense net to widen, from impermeable to a little sparse.

Fortunately, in addition to naval warships, the United States also employs many civilian vessels, which are mainly fishing boats, and they also do part-time patrol work while fishing.

On the day of 13 September, a fishing boat hurried back to the Jacksonville military port with the startling news that it had seen the Spanish fleet on the evening of the 11th.

In view of the stakes, Rear Admiral Samplin personally questioned the captain of the fishing boat, Ralph. "Mr. Ralph, you say you saw the Spanish fleet?"

"Yes, General, we saw the Spanish fleet while fishing in the waters north of the Windward Islands."

As if to increase his persuasiveness, Captain Ralph took out the Navy's picture of the ship he had given him. "At that time, these two (Garibaldi-class Columbus and Francisco) were at the forefront, followed by these three (Maria Teresa-class cruisers), then these three (Turin-class) and these two (Venice-class), and a number of other small warships and other ships, and I counted twenty-four."

Rear Admiral Samplin observed it, and he took out the ship identification maps printed by the Navy, which were all hairy, and it seemed that Captain Ralph often looked at these warship illustrated books, which made Rear Admiral Samplin a little more convinced.

Major General Samplin then continued to ask. "What is the speed of the Spanish fleet you see, and in which direction?"

Met with Major General Samplin's inquiry, Ralph immediately replied. "The Spanish fleet was supposed to be 14-15 knots, and when I saw it, they were heading northeast."

"Okay, thank you very much for your help, we will reward you after verification."

Hearing this, Major General Samplin already had the initial impression in his mind, coming from the north of the Windward Islands, to the northeast, isn't that the direction of Cuba.

After sending off Captain Ralph, who had observed the Spanish fleet, Rear Admiral Samplin immediately had an initial idea. Before he could do that, though, he needed to determine the location of the Spanish fleet.

Of course, a telegram was sent from the Jacksonville military port to Washington, D.C., and the Rear Admiral Samplin sent a report to the Admiralty that the Spanish fleet had been spotted, and requested the return of the ships that had been sent to the north. In addition, he hoped that Washington would send a message to the Cuban rebels, asking them to observe the ports of Cuba for any traces of the Spanish fleet.

Of course, these are all asking for help from outsiders, and the most important thing is to act on your own. He then ordered the dispatch of fast warships to closely inspect the Caribbean waters, with a focus on Cuba and Puerto Rico, because he suspected that the warships arriving from the Spanish mainland would have to stop there. After all, the Atlantic Ocean is so vast that crossing the Atlantic also needs to be repaired.

And with the order of Rear Admiral Samplin, the US Navy was completely moved, even the three Indiana-class battleships and four Pennsylvania-class battleships, after all, to prevent a possible attack by the Spanish fleet on the southern coast.

With Rear Admiral Samplin's orders, the Caribbean is even busier at this time, with all kinds of American warships and hired civilian ships searching for the whereabouts of the Spanish fleet.

However, after three consecutive days of searching, the Spanish fleet seemed to be missing, and it appeared in the Windward Islands and was nowhere to be seen.

Explorations of Cuba and Puerto Rico have not found anything in their ports.

Where is the Spanish fleet that the U.S. Navy misses so much?

Bermuda, 1,100 nautical miles from Florida in the United States, is an overseas colony of the British Empire.

The Spanish fleet, led by Vice Admiral Cedera, was here.

"Vice Admiral Sedra, according to the principle of neutral combat, there are only four hours left in three days, and Your Excellency's fleet needs to be ready to leave."

Mr. Ochs, the Governor of the British Empire in Bermuda, was in port, informing Lieutenant General Sedra that they needed to leave.

If you don't count the boxes of high-quality Scottish white coal that are carried into the ships in the harbor, then this is a fairly normal guardian of diplomatic norms for Governor Ochs.

No, the Governor of Bermuda only disposed of the surplus 3,000 tons of high-quality white coal, as well as a large number of fruits and vegetables, and did not sell any supplies to the Spanish fleet. He was merely selling them to a company called Bob Dylan Trading Company (founded when the Spanish fleet arrived), which violated the principles of belligerence, regardless of what happened to him as Governor of Oakes. Besides, the ink fragrance of the 30,000-pound banknote is indeed refreshing.

Of course, he did not let Lieutenant General Sedra suffer, and all kinds of news from the United States have been inadvertently revealed recently.

"By the way, do you want to hire someone who is familiar with the hydrology of the East Coast of the United States?"

"We looked for a few, and we didn't feel particularly satisfied."

"Well, then I'll recommend one to you, Captain Juridy, known as the East Coast Living Chart. This man had been running to the East Coast before, and then fell out with the boss for some unknown reason, and was fired as a result. But first, the salary demanded by this guy is a bit high. ”

"It doesn't matter, we are not afraid of high salaries, as long as we have that ability, we will definitely satisfy him."

After seeing off the Governor of Ochs, Lieutenant General Cedra turned to Colonel Leffel and asked Major General Castillo of Samplin, who was beside him. "How do you feel about this Governor of Oaks?"

"A slightly greedy patriot."

Lieutenant General Sedra shook his head at Colonel Lefel's answer. "I thought the same way, but it felt a little unreal that the other party was so generous to help us."

"What else can there be, just hope that we can give the United States a blow, don't you see that he has helped us find a good navigator, we should not miss this kind of good opportunity, otherwise you will regret it for life."

"Let me think again, the stakes are high, and if you make a mistake, it can lead to very serious consequences."

To make Vice Admiral Sedra hesitate, Colonel Lyfer, after learning of the U.S. Navy's deployment from Governor Ochs, came up with a battle plan to attack the Newport News shipyard on the east coast of the United States, and even to attack the bustling northeastern ports of the United States. The basis for this is that the main force of the US Navy is currently in the south, and the port defenses in the north are empty, which is very suitable for attack. In addition, it would be possible to attract the main fleet of the United States to the south and lift its blockade against Cuba.

Well, the Governor of Oaks in Bermuda really didn't talk about it at all, and told him all about the deployment of the East Coast of the United States.

And Colonel Leffel's suggestion made Lieutenant General Sedra a little moved, but such a huge revision of the battle plan made him a little hesitant. This is basically a fight to the death against the United States, and it is difficult to guarantee that it will not arouse the wrath of the United States. And Spain's national strength is not enough for the United States to see, which really angers the other side, even if the idea of peeping into Cuba is dispelled now, what should the other side do when the new batch of warships is built, Spain has no Philippines to sell.

However, this plan is too tempting, and the odds of winning are greatly increased now, and he doesn't want to give up, so he is really in a dilemma.

"Let me think again!"

Since he had said everything he had to say, Colonel Leffel did not speak again, after all, this battle was still up to the Spaniards themselves, and he was only responsible for commanding the hired and retired Italian officers and soldiers, and just obeyed the order.

For this Colonel Lefel, Vice Admiral Cedra had heard a little about him before, and knew that he was a very promising naval genius officer in Italy, but it was only after he came into contact with him that he realized that he was such a genius, and his keen sense of smell on the battlefield was terrifying.

"Let's do it, whatever the consequences are."

After thinking about it for a long time, Lieutenant General Sedra finally made up his mind that he had nothing to worry about after what he had done. This should be Madrid's concern, do what you have to do first.

This one, he bet.