“Can you hesitate?” the captain asked. “One way, you will be my wife, and Señor Zorro will be saved from torture and will be set free. The other way, señorita, he will be tortured until he dies—and you will come to me unwed!”
“Oh!” she gasped. “That a man could be such a fiend—”
“Love drives men to do strange things, señorita.”
“Love!” she cried. “You know not the meaning of the word! To love is to be gentle, to cherish and protect!”
“I know the meaning as it appeals to me,” the captain declared. “And I have scant time, if you are to agree. Fray Felipe is in the camp, and he can wed us. Barbados is afraid to affront a fray and will not see Felipe harmed. So he lets him roam around, though he is watched.”
“I cannot!”
“Very well, señorita. It is for you to make the decision. But I am afraid that the pirates will have their way. And their way will not be a gentle one!”
“Can you not be a proper man?” she cried. “Can you not save him without exacting such a payment? For once in your life, señor, can you not show yourself a caballero?”
“Save him and let him claim you?” Ramón asked. “You are asking far too much!”
“Is there no other way?”