"You acknowledge yourself to be Don Antonio de la Ronda?"
"Why should I deny it longer, when you are so well informed?"
"Better still; so that you confess to fraudulently entering the colony for the object of—"
"I confess anything you like," the Spaniard said quickly.
"Well, that being well established, you deserve to be hung, and you will be so in a few minutes."
"Well, no," he replied without losing any of his coolness; "that is where we differ essentially in opinion, sir, your conclusion is not in the least logical."
"What?" the adventurer exclaimed, surprised at this sudden change of humour which he did not expect.
"I said that your conclusion was not logical."
"I heard you perfectly."
"And I am going to prove it," he continued; "grant me in your turn a few moments' attention."