Chesty saw this. He racked his brain to find other arguments.
"You have witch-women?" asked one of the men, in an awed tone.
"Three of them, all very bewitching."
"One has fly away."
"Yes; to cast a spell over the captain of the Mexican battleship, and make him hurry. The two most powerful are still here on this island."
"Then why they not use their witchcraft to push your ship into deep water!" inquired Francisco, his one eye flashing triumphantly. "Why the witch-women let Ramon make trouble for you? Eh? Tell me, señor."
Chesty looked at the man reproachfully.
"How stupid you are, Francisco. Must we not keep Ramon busy, to hold him here until the warship comes? Why do you suppose we came to this island at all, and ran our ship high on the beach, without hurting it in any way! Did we lay a trap for Ramon? Did we coax him to come and try to capture us, that we might prove he is a wicked law-breaker? We do not seem much afraid of your Ramon, do we? Am I frightened? Do I grow pale, and tremble? Here—feel my pulse—does my blood beat faster in my veins because Ramon Ganza, the trapped criminal, is waiting here to be captured, and thinks he is making us worry?"
The two men exchanged a few sentences in Spanish. Francisco listened to them and nodded approvingly.
"The case is this, señor," he announced, addressing Mr. Todd. "We would like to leave Ramon. We would like to join your ship an' go back to Mexico, an' have pardon. But Ramon is not trap yet. Ramon great man. Many time he escape. If we leave him, an' he then capture your ship, Ramon flog us with whip, which make great pain in us."