"I did not say so."
"I had the idea you were a fellow that kept all the promises he made, even if it hurt him to do so."
"Do you think you would have kept your promise to have Captain Flanger land me at Key West, if I had been weak enough to go on board of his steamer?" demanded Christy.
"You are fighting on one side, and I am fighting on the other, Christy; and I suppose either of us is justified in lying and breaking his promises in the service of his country."
"You are fighting on your side at a very convenient distance from the battle-ground, Percy."
"I am fighting here because I can render the best service to my country in this particular place," replied the young Southerner with spirit. "I am sure I could not do anything better for my country than send you back to the Confederate prison from which you escaped."
"Even if you violate the neutrality of the place," suggested Christy. "The British government was ready to declare war against the United States when a couple of Confederate commissioners were taken out of an English steamer by a man-of-war. Do you suppose that when this outrage is known, England will not demand reparation, even to the restoring of the victim to his original position on this island? I hope you have considered the consequences of this violation of the neutrality of the place."
"I don't bother my head about matters of that sort. I have talked about it with my father, and I think he understands himself," replied Percy very flippantly.
"I don't think he does. I have the same rights in Nassau that you and your father possess. You are carrying on the war on neutral ground; and no nation would permit that."
"I am no lawyer, Christy. I only know that you have done a great deal of mischief to our cause in the Gulf, as set forth in the letters of your uncle to my father."