"What do you wish?" said De Chemerant to him brusquely.
"Come, speak, explain yourself, Master Daniel," added the baron, in a gentler tone, seeing the merchant captain more and more intimidated.
At last the captain ended by saying, in a voice strangled by emotion, and addressing himself to De Chemerant, "Your highness——"
"I am not 'your highness' but 'sir,'" replied Chemerant; "speak, I am listening."
"Well, then, my good sir, I arrived at St. Pierre with a cargo, a very rich cargo of sugar, coffee, pepper, cloves, tafia——"
"I do not need to know the inventory of your cargo; what do you want?"
"Come, Master Daniel, my boy, reassure yourself, explain yourself, and dry your forehead; you look as if you had come out of the water," said the baron.
"Now, your high—now, good sir, although I have a dozen small guns, and a few swivel guns, my cargo is of such value that I come, good sir, in fear of corsairs and pirates——"
"Well?"
"Go on, Master Daniel, I have never seen you thus."