Inside the house Shirley and Mabel had been shown to a back room, the windows of which they saw were heavily barred. Mrs. Sebastian accompanied them.
“Now girls,” she said, “if you are quiet and make no trouble, I am sure that you will be freed before long.”
“You mean we won’t have to wait for ransom?” asked Shirley eagerly.
“No, I don’t mean that. But I am sure the money will be paid over within a day or two.”
“And we shall have to stay here all that time?”
“Yes. I wish I could interest you in our cause. You could do lots for us if you chose.”
“Thanks, but I don’t care to listen to the troubles of criminals,” declared Shirley.
The woman’s face turned red.
“You do us an injustice,” she replied. “What I have done has been for my country.”
“I thought you were a Spaniard,” interrupted Mabel.