Instantly, he let out a yell, and sprang clear to the other side of the room.
"Long-Sword! Long-Sword!" he cried.
Brandon laughed, lightly.
"Long-Sword must have been the very devil!" he said. Then, he became grave. "Surely, your Excellency will not view too seriously what must be a very striking resemblance between this pirate and myself. But, that you may be relieved of all embarrassment, I am willing to go to England under guard. There, that I am Sir Charles Brandon can be instantly attested by any one at Court, his Majesty, himself, included. If you do this, I will give you, in addition, my parole that I will not seek to escape."
"Why should you do it?" exclaimed De Lysle, seeing the play, and seeking to aid it.
"Because it is proper that I should aid his Excellency in his perplexity," Brandon said. "Three witnesses name me as Long-Sword; it is absurd, and the quickest way to prove the absurdity is to send me home for identification. It is the penalty I pay, for being a pirate's double."
"Will you be satisfied, if I send him to England under guard?" the Governor asked Marbury.
"No, I am not satisfied," was the answer. "He may, in truth, be Sir Charles Brandon, but that does not prevent him from being Long-Sword, too. By his own admission (I heard it, as I stood in the outer room), he has not been home for four years, and he has had no word from England in the interim. Why?—Why?—Where has he been these four years?—what doing? It is just about that period since Long-Sword the Pirate appeared. Strange coincidence, is it not, when you consider the resemblance?—and the further fact, that he is discreetly silent as to his whereabouts during these four years. I was willing to let him go, when he escaped. I wanted no further bother concerning him. But, when he actually has the effrontery to invade your Excellency's house, as a guest, and impose upon the good people of this Province, I say, let him be punished. No, sir, I am not satisfied to have him sent home, and then released, if he be identified as Brandon."