“I swallow all my food, captain, without chewing,” returned the vagabond, with the low exultation of an accomplished villain, as he eagerly seized the silver. “Make this Mexican twenty, and I will sell you a secret.”
“Go, go,” said the other with a little of a soldier’s severity, returning to his manner. “Go, before I order the guard to seize you.”
“Well, go I will;—but if I do go, captain, I shall take my knowledge with me; and then you may live a widower bewitched till the tattoo of life is beat off.”
“What mean you, fellow?” exclaimed Middleton, turning quickly towards the wretch, who was already dragging his diseased limbs from the place.
“I mean to have the value of this dollar in Spanish brandy, and then come back and sell you my secret for enough to buy a barrel.”
“If you have any thing to say, speak now,” continued Middleton, restraining with difficulty the impatience that urged him to betray his feelings.
“I am a-dry, and I can never talk with elegance when my throat is husky, captain. How much will you give to know what I can tell you; let it be something handsome; such as one gentleman can offer to another.”
“I believe it would be better justice to order the drummer to pay you a visit, fellow. To what does your boasted secret relate?”
“Matrimony; a wife and no wife; a pretty face and a rich bride: do I speak plain, now, captain?”
“If you know any thing relating to my wife, say it at once; you need not fear for your reward.”