"He's won his place, and will keep it," said one.
"Nay, he'll not keep it," protested another, as they marched through the trees. "The lad's bound to rise. You can see that he's cut out for a leader. He keeps his head, and is a capable manager. A groat on it that he'll go higher, maybe top the tree, just as he overstands us all in height. A burly young giant, with a good heart and a better head. I, for one, follow him willingly."
"And I. And I."
The men answered eagerly, while they followed the figure of their tall young leader till the clearing was reached. Arrived there, they found the last of the enemy in the hands of the slaves, who had disarmed and pinioned him.
"Were we to deal justice to him, to repay cruelty with cruelty, we should have strangled him slowly ere you arrived," said the native who had come so unexpectedly to be Roger's friend, and whose name was Tamba. "But I knew my lord's wishes, and I will always follow them, for do I not owe him my life?"
"You have done well," said Roger, shortly. "Now gather your friends, and ask them whether they will serve us. But first, tell me, is this mine far from your masters—from their other settlements?"
"Two days' journey, my lord. A Spaniard would take three."
"And there are no other natives in the neighbourhood?"
"None, my lord."
"Then ask the question and return."