"Never mind whence it blows, if I do not sail before it. I am here; what do you want with me? Be short; for I have no time to give you."
"¡Vive Dios! Something very interesting must entice you to the place whence you came, if you are so anxious to be there again."
"Listen, Tigercat," roundly and sharply replied the Mexican; "if you have summoned me here so urgently merely to chafe and laugh at me, it is useless to stay longer; so, adieu!"
As he said this, Don Fernando turned as if to retire and quit the island.
The Tigercat—for his interlocutor was no other than that extraordinary personage—quickly seized a pistol, and cocked it.
"¡Rayo de Dios!" said he; "if you stir a foot, I will blow your brains out!"
"Pooh!" replied the other, with a sneer; "What should I be doing in the meanwhile? A truce to threats, or I kill you like a dog."
With action as prompt as the Tigercat's, he too had drawn a pistol, cocked, and presented it at his opponent.
"You would not dare to do it."
"You know I dare all," said the Mexican.