He turned to the band behind him.
“Wha’ d’ yer say, fellers? Is this on the level?”
“Sure! Sure! Sure!”
The cry came heartily.
Stubbs thought a moment.
“Is this here another little game?” he asked. “Once yer git on land are yer goin’ ter turn yeller agin?”
“No! No! No!”
“’Cause it won’t do yer no good, anyhow. Now I tell yer––the cap’n an’ I had a talk over this an’ I was fer lettin’ yer take yer medicine an’ pickin’ up another bunch. Men is cheap down here. But he says, ‘No; if they’ll act like white men, give ’em a show. I want to git this princess with ’Mericans an’ I want to show these fellers what ’Mericans can do behin’ a rifle.’ Our game is to git to Carlina and lick the bunch of Guinnies thet has stolen the young lady’s throne. If ye wanter do thet an’ do it hard and square––well, he’s fer lettin’ this other thing drop. Fight an’ yer gits cash ’nuff to keep drunk fer a year; squeal an’ yer gits shot in the back without any more talk. There’s a square offer––do ye take it like men?”
“Sure! Give us a show!”