"Not you," promised the captain. "I hope to see you hung later on."
"No tricks, now," said Ditty cautiously
"I said I wouldn't and that's enough," responded the captain. "You can take it or leave it."
The mate emerged fully from behind the tree and came into the open space. At fifty paces from the fortress he halted.
"There's guns coverin' you from behind them trees, if anything happens to me," he said in further warning.
"I don't wonder you think that every man's a liar, Ditty," the captain replied bitterly. "You judge them out of your own black heart. Now, what do you want? Why have you seized my ship? Why have you killed one of my men?"
"I hain't seized your ship," answered Ditty sullenly. "You left me in charge of it. An' I didn't kill any of your men. Sanders got drunk an' fell overboard."
"Don't lie to me, you rascal," returned the captain. "We heard the shooting and saw the man shot as he leaped overboard. You'll hang for that yet, if I don't kill you first. You're a bloody mutineer and you know it. Now stow your lies and get to the point. What do you want?"
"We want them doubloons!" fairly shouted Ditty, stung by the captain's contempt, "an' we're goin' to have 'em."
"Doubloons? What do you mean?" asked the captain.