"I have chosen you to accompany him. You will be free from all other duty."
"That we will do, right willingly," Juan said. "It is pleasanter to walk about the streets, and look at these strange peoples, than it is to be cooped up here. As to the other part of the business, we will do what we can towards teaching him Spanish; but as to being our comrade, that must depend upon himself. I like the young fellow's looks much. He looks honest and straightforward, though where he got that light wavy hair and that fair skin from I can't guess--they are rare enough in Cadiz, where I heard one say that he came from."
"We don't know that he came from there, Juan. He may have come from the mountains of Biscaya, where fair skins are commoner than they are in the south. It is only that he described to us a port, which must have been Cadiz, as the last thing he recollected in Spain."
"Ah, well, his skin matters nothing!" the soldier said. "His face is an honest one, and as to height and strength one could wish no better comrade. He is young yet, not more than nineteen or twenty, I should guess; but I will warrant that there is not a man in the expedition he could not put on his back, if it came to a tussle. At any rate, we will try him.
"What do you say, Pedro?"
"I like his looks," the young fellow said. "At any rate, we are not like to quarrel with him. As to more than that, we can say better when we know more of each other."
Father Aquilar, who had listened attentively to all that had been said, explained to Roger the purport of the conversation between Cortez and the men. When he had finished, Roger held out his hand to the two soldiers, and gave them a hearty grasp, expressive of his willingness to join in the arrangement that had been made.
"He will do, General," Juan said. "We will look after him, never fear."
Cortez gave orders that the three men were to be allowed to leave the quarters and go into the town at all times, without further question; and they at once started for a turn through the streets.
"How are we to begin to teach this young chap to talk, Pedro? It is out of the regular line of duty, altogether."