“You? Santa Maria! Do you mean, senor, that——”
He paused, utterly bewildered, but Hal Maynard finished, quickly:
“Ramirez, I saw a man when I met you. I am anxious to prove my own manhood. I offer myself as a recruit to fight Spain!”
CHAPTER VII.
THE TEMPTATION OF PEDRO.
Had a bombshell exploded near the Cuban, he could not have been more excited.
“You a recruit?” he gasped.
“Why not?” laughed Hal. “Am I not healthy enough, or do you fear that I would run at the first fire?”
“Senor, you would be a valuable recruit, but you are not a Cuban.”
“Is that a disqualification?”
“But this rebellion is not your affair, senor. You belong to a free people, and have no need to fight for Cuba.”