"Yes; but I am not going to talk with you about politics at present, Excellency."
"In that case, go to the deuce, scoundrel," the captain said, shrugging his shoulders angrily; "do you think I have nothing more important to do than listen to the rubbish you may please to invent and tire my ears with?"
"I invent nothing, Excellency. Fortune has this very day granted me the opportunity of catching a secret it is most important for you to know—that is all."
"Well, tell me what this mighty secret is."
"It relates to your private affairs, Excellency."
"My affairs!" the captain repeated, bursting into a laugh; "Hang it all! Have I any?"
"If the secret does not relate directly to you, it interests in a most eminent degree one of your nearest relatives?"
"Ah! who is he?"
"The Marquis de Moguer."
The captain became serious; he frowned with a menacing expression, which made Kidd tremble in spite of his well-bred effrontery.