“It appears that you have a habitation, Captain Fly-by-Night,” the lieutenant said.
“As a temporary refuge, it will do.”
“The manner of your getting it is mysterious, to say the least. Teepees do not sprout overnight from the mud.”
“Yet it came during the night, señor.”
“From whom?”
“That is a question concerning myself, officer.”
“Perhaps it concerns others at San Diego de Alcalá. The frailes at the mission seem to know naught of it.”
“There are many things the frailes of the mission do not know,” the caballero replied. “There are things, also, unknown to the soldiers of the presidio.”
“You are over bold to say it, señor. Is your hand so strong that you can throw secrecy and pretence aside?”
“When you speak of secrecy and pretence, officer, I do not know your meaning. It is my own business how I acquired a habitation and food. I am a man of resource, señor. And are you not afraid that you’ll be ostracized if you are observed speaking to me?”