"Oh, yes;" replied Pietro. "I not 'fraid of Mexico. I smuggle, sometimes, before Ramon get me; but they forget all that by now. It is Ramon I fear. He is very bad man, as little Chica say. Always he wins, never he loses, in what he tries to do. For me, I have disobey an' defy him, so Ramon he whip me sure, when he catch me, an' when Ramon whip it is as bad as to die."
It was impossible to overcome this stubborn belief in Ramon's omnipotence and they did not argue with the man further. But Orissa, who had been thoughtfully listening to the conversation, now said:
"I do not like the plan of bringing nitro-glycerine here, even if Chesty could succeed in getting it. The stuff would be dangerous to us and to our enemies, for a slight accident would explode it or careless handling might blow us all to eternity. But, admitting you made the bombs, without accident to any of our party, what would be the result of exploding them among those little rock forts yonder? Wouldn't the rocks scatter in every direction and bombard us and the ship, perhaps causing damage that would be fatal to our hopes of escape?"
"Orissa is quite right," said Mr. Cumberford, decisively. "We must abandon the idea at once."
"I know it appears a desperate measure," admitted Radley-Todd, "but something must be done, both to drive away our enemies and get the Salvador afloat again. Cut the explosives, and what remains for us to do?"
"Make a sortie and drive them away from here," replied Cumberford. "I'm a little old for a pitched battle or guerrilla warfare, but this extraordinary Mexican—er—er—interests me. I'm willing to have it out with him here and now."
"One white man is worth six Mexicans," declared Captain Krell, belligerently.
"Won't do at all," asserted Steve. "We can't afford to take the chances of defeat, gentlemen, while we have these girls in our care. The ship is a fort that is almost impregnable, and we mustn't leave it for an instant—under any circumstances."