“I am not hurt,” said the South American. “When the man threw me to the ground, I feigned that I was stunned. It is wiser not to resist a thug, is it not so?” He brushed the dust from his clothing with his handkerchief. Orme handed him his hat, which had rolled to one side. The minister rubbed it carefully with his coat-sleeve. “See,” he laughed, nodding at the ground, “my cane is broken. I must have fallen on it.”
“Since you’re not hurt,” said Orme, “we’d better get after the thieves.”
“Bah!” replied Alcatrante. “What is the use? They are already far away—and they got nothing.” He laughed. “Is it not always better to avoid notoriety, Mr. Orme?”
“As a rule, no doubt—but in this instance——”
“No,” said Alcatrante firmly, “I really must insist that we let the matter drop. As for me, I shall return to my hotel. Perhaps you will walk along with me.”
Orme hesitated. “I don’t like those thieves to get off without a chase, senhor.”
“But, my dear Mr. Orme, they did me no harm.”
Orme shrugged his shoulders. “You forget that there was one after me as well as one after you.”
“No, I don’t forget that. But don’t you see, Mr. Orme? Those two men were not after our valuables.”
“Indeed?”