“He dare not refuse! I will bring up my yacht and lay his confounded town under tribute.”
“He has a gunboat.”
“All you folks refer to that tub as a gunboat, when it is only an old tug, which he has painted over and fitted up with a couple of six-pounders. It is not worth taking into consideration: I will force myself into his presence and compel him to undo what he has done and to beg my pardon on his knees.”
The Captain indulged in his expressive shrug and smoked in silence. He was giving the American a few minutes in which to regain his poise. The American did so.
“Why did Martella leave his service?” he abruptly asked.
“General Yozarro caused his brother to be shot, because he ran the gunboat aground the other day. It was upon a mound formed under water one night by the forked river, which no one could see. The boat was not injured, but he shot Martella’s brother, who was the pilot. Martella, therefore, hates him.”
“No more than I do. Had I known what you have told me when talking with him this forenoon, I should have put a bullet through his carcass.”
“There are better ways than that; let us go to the home of General Yozarro in the mountains and bring away the Señorita; Martella will go with us.”
“He will be shot as a deserter if taken prisoner.”