“Nor can I endure your scorn much longer,” Captain Ramón replied. “Has it occurred to you that you are in my power completely, if I will it so?”
“Now you show your true colors again, señor. And there is always death!”
“And torture!” Captain Ramón added. “That will befall this Señor Zorro, no doubt!”
“Torture?” she cried.
“Ha! Real torture, such as only these beasts of pirates know how to inflict!” he declared. “No man can stand against such a thing for long. He will beg and shriek for the release of death when the pain begins.”
“No—no!” she cried.
“And you will be forced to watch it, no doubt!” the commandante continued. “Barbados, his men say, is a master hand at torture of all kinds. They’ll chip at him with their knives, sear his flesh with white-hot brands—”
“Señor, for the love of the saints—”
“You do not like the picture? Wait until you see the reality, which will be much worse than words could paint!”
“If I could save him—give my life for his—”