"Laugh on, your excellency," he said, rather bitterly, "it is your turn now."
"Now!"
"Aye, now. It may not always be."
"Why, surely you never think of getting out of this?"
"Indeed, I think of nothing else morning, noon, and night."
The governor gave a sharp glance about.
He looked toward the gaoler.
Now the gaoler was a huge fellow, over six feet high and broad in proportion, one who could have tackled Toro himself, as far as weight and sheer brute strength went.
"Your excellency," replied Mathias, "when I leave this place, my exit will be due to no violence. Bad as I am, I am not altogether what they would make out."
"Poor Mathias!" said the governor ironically, "one would almost think that murder was not his line of business."