"Leaving the hacienda in flames, señor?" the half-caste asked eagerly.
"No, certainly not. There you show yourself sadly wanting in thought, Pedro," José d'Arousta replied, with a grim smile. "Our friends defied us once before; they escaped us in Florida, and now we have them in our toils. But, remember, the crops are just gathered and stored, and very shortly money will be received in exchange. We will leave the hacienda for another time, Pedro. Do you follow me? We will take the very last dollar now by force, returning on a later occasion for a second haul. If we are not satisfied then, it will be easy to set a torch to the hacienda, which is the pride of Señor Brindle's heart."
"Ha, ha, ha! That is good, Señor Capitan. It is fine!" Pedro answered, with a snigger. "Of course, we will leave him for another day's sport."
They walked away towards the hacienda, leaving Hal boiling with wrath and indignation.
"Rob him now and come again, will they!" he muttered angrily. "We will see about that. The Brindles have been more than good to me, and I will do my utmost for them in return. At any rate, I will put a spoke in José d'Arousta's wheel this time. Now, how is it to be done? I'll slip back and talk it over with Gerald, for he is sharp, and may very well be able to help."
He crept into the darkness of the forest, and, emerging at length upon the path again, he crawled away from the clearing as rapidly as possible.
"Hallo! Is that you?" exclaimed Gerald, starting to his feet as Hal suddenly rose by his side, having given absolutely no evidence of his approach. "Bother you, old man, you made my heart jump into my mouth. 'Pon my word, you are a regular Red Indian, and I am sure that one of our hands could not have done better. But what have you learned?"
"A good deal, Gerald. Take a seat there on the ground and listen."
Hal seated himself beside his young companion, and rapidly told him all that had passed between José and Pedro.
"There, you know all," he said at last. "Just stir your brains and tell me what we are to do. We have a number of reckless men to deal with; that you can plainly perceive, for they do not hesitate to arrange for my murder. On our side we can count on twenty-seven negroes, who are faithful, and who will fight if well led, but who, negro-like, may run away if someone does not show them an example."