Archie looked up, and there was Beppo. His mouth and eyes were wide open, and he stood gazing at the intruder as if he could not quite make up his mind whether he was a solid flesh-and-blood boy, or only an apparition. The fight must come off now, and Archie was ready for it.
CHAPTER IX.
ARCHIE AND BEPPO.
“Santa Maria!” exclaimed Beppo again, and this time in a very different tone of voice. He was frightened now, and that was not to be wondered at; for Archie stood holding a pistol in each hand, and both of them were pointed straight at the Mexican’s breast. “Don’t shoot,” said he, drawing his head down between his shoulders, and raising one arm before his eyes.
“You are in no danger as long as you keep perfectly quiet, and do just as I tell you,” replied Archie, glancing about the stable to make sure there was no one else present.
This assurance seemed to remove an immense load of apprehension from Beppo’s mind. He looked all over Archie, from head to foot, as if taking his exact measure, and finally demanded:
“What do you want, and how did you get in here?”
“Don’t talk so loud,” commanded Archie, making a significant motion with his pistols. “If you speak above a whisper again, you are a gone Greaser.”