“But, brother,” said the bewildered prince, “why are you not like the others?”
I said that some men had stricter notions than others, and I had had very strict parents; moreover, I loved Azolta more than all the gold in the world.
Poor Zolca! He got up and walked about; then, cast himself on the ground again and I saw great tears in his eyes. It was his first experience of human nature. Of course he had never felt for Paul as he did for me, still he had believed in him. At last he sprung up and his eyes were blazing.
“Deedrick! I will kill him before he shall harm my people!”
Prophetic words!
CHAPTER VII.
Paul attempts Flight—Another Pirate Junk—The Fight between the Junk and the Proa—An ancient Goldmine.
But for the grief and anxiety occasioned me by Paul’s conduct I should now have been perfectly happy. With my bride Azolta, and my brother Zolca, and congenial work in the instruction of the people, I could scarcely realize that I was the man, who, as a boy, had been herded with mutineers, and put ashore to starve on the unknown land of Terra Australis.
As for Paul, apparently he had settled down to married life and forgotten his plan of sailing for Java, and bringing the Company’s men down to show them the gold and the fertile valley of the Quadrucos; but I felt quite sure that he meant to carry it out on the first opportunity.