"Look here, Mr. Helmsworth Trevelyan, or Trevelyan Helmsworth—whatever you please to call yourself—as I understand it you are asking me to do a thing I have never done before. In other words you are asking me to go back upon the man whose money I am taking."
"Oh! come, now——"
"Just one moment before you reply. Let me put it in my own way, and you can work it out as you like afterwards. I can't see for myself that there is any other construction to be placed upon your proposal. You'll admit, I suppose, that Silvestre is my employer? I am here to run this boat according to his orders, and my instructions are to take you to Cuba and to land you there. You want me to disregard them, and to drop you at Asturia."
"But surely——"
"Hold hard until I have finished. You know that I'm not a particular squeamish fellow. I've done a good many things that a number of people wouldn't even look at; but—and mark you this 'but' is fairly important, if I've got to choose between you and Silvestre—friendship steps in and Silvestre goes to the wall. At the same time I don't mind confessing that it's far from a nice position you have placed me in. The world won't be big enough for me to hide in when it comes to getting away from Silvestre. And when you come to think I've a wife and family at home all depending upon me, I'll leave you to figure out how much you value Fernandez' life at."
This was a way of looking at the question that I had not foreseen.
"But I cannot go away and leave the man there to be murdered," I began. "Flesh and blood wouldn't allow that."
"Very well, then let us say no more about it. It's settled that I run into Asturia and that you go ashore there."
"And after that?"
"I shall go on to Cuba!"