The man stopped, for the bait took at once. Turning, and walking towards the place from which the sound came, he soon found the hole through which our hero looked.
“Hand out the watch, senhor,” he said.
“No, no,” answered Lawrence; “aid me first to lift the beam.”
Whether the man understood the bad Spanish or not we cannot say, but instead of helping to lift the beam, he drew a pistol from his belt, and said—
“Hand out the watch, or I shoot!”
“Shoot away, then,” cried Lawrence, savagely, as he drew quickly back into his hole.
The report of the pistol followed the words, and the ball caused a cloud of dust and rubbish to mingle with the smoke.
A wild laugh of defiance from within told that our Englishman was not hurt.
“Ha—ha! Shoot again,” he cried, fiercely.
“No, senhor, no. You are brave. I will help you,” replied the miscreant.