“Now, see here miss—” he began.
Mabel took a step forward. She was growing angry.
“You just get right out of here,” she exclaimed.
The man drew back a step and scratched his head perplexedly.
“Miss,” he said, “you are making a big mistake to shield this man. I tell you he is plotting mischief which may involve the United States in war. We must have him before the ship sails.”
“Well, you won’t get him in here,” declared the girl.
Again the man hesitated, then seemed on the point of moving forward again.
“I warn you for the last time to get out of here,” said Mabel very quietly.
Once more her revolver came to bear on the man, and he drew back, throwing up his hands with a gesture of dismay. Then he turned to his companions.
“What can we do against that?” he asked. “We can’t use a girl roughly, and if the ship gets beyond the three-mile limit, we can’t get him till we reach Colon.”