"In the second place I am neither a soldier nor a politician—"
"That is for me to consider," the governor retorted.
"In the third place, I am a citizen of the United States and therefore not eligible to any civil appointment from the government of the Netherlands."
"Donder en bliksem!" the governor exclaimed. "I thought you were a freeholder here."
"I am," Peter Gross admitted. "The land I won is at Riswyk. I expect to make it my home when I retire from the sea."
"How long have you owned that land?"
"For nearly seven years."
The governor stroked his beard. "You talk Holland like a Hollander, Mynheer Gross," he observed.
"My mother was of Dutch descent," Peter Gross explained. "I learned the language from her."
"Good!" Van Schouten inclined his head with a curt nod of satisfaction. "Half Holland is all Holland. We can take steps to make you a citizen at once."