Coronado now came up, ignorant of Texas Smith's misadventure, and puzzled at the escape of Thurstane, but as fluent and complimentary as usual.
"My dear Lieutenant! Language is below my feelings. I want to kneel down and worship you. You ought to have a statue—yes, and an altar. If your humanity has not been successful, it has been all the same glorious."
"Nonsense," answered Thurstane. "Every one of us has done well in his turn! It was my tour of duty to-day. Don't praise me. I haven't accomplished anything."
"Ah, the scoundrels!" declaimed Coronado. "How could they violate a truce! It is unknown, unheard of. The miserable traitors! I wish you could have killed Manga Colorada."
From this dialogue he hurried away to find and catechise Texas Smith. The desperado told his story: "Jest got a bead on him—had him sure pop—never see a squarer mark—when somebody mounted me—pitched me clean out of my hole."
"Who?" demanded Coronado, a rim of white showing clear around his black pupils.
"Dunno. Didn't see nobody. 'Fore I could reload and git in it was gone."
"What the devil did you stop to reload for?"
"Stranger, I allays reload."
Coronado flinched under the word stranger and the stare which accompanied it.