The girl, seeing how matters stood, now endeavored to prevent a rupture.
"Senor, this is a friend of mine, one I have known a long time. If I choose to receive him on the quarterdeck that is surely an affair to be settled with my uncle and the captain. I will relieve you of any anxiety and responsibility, senor," she said, with pointed emphasis.
"Pardon, senorita, but it has already gone too deep to be dropped. There is an issue between this a—humble friend of yours and myself, which can only be settled by an appeal to arms, not to Caesar. Therefore, my fine fellow, look you out, for I intend to toss you down where you belong, since you have positively refused to go there voluntarily when I gave you the chance."
He took a step toward Roderic, who calmly awaited for hostilities to begin.
There was good reason too why the latter should have become nervous over the matter.
It was at this juncture that several violent sneezes were heard ringing over the vessel, and in this signal Roderic recognized a part of Captain Beven's design to warn him that he should only be able to detain the gentlemen a few minutes longer, so that it might be essential for the lover to make his farewells without further loss of time, if so be he had been fortunate enough to find an opportunity to see his charmer.
Roderic however, was hardly in a position to carry out this programme.
Jerome showed fight, and it was really too much to expect a man of Roderic's character to withdraw in ignominious fashion under the very eyes he adored.
Plainly he was in for a miserable struggle.
He deplored this on several accounts, since it might jeopardise his mission, and moreover place him in a poor light before Georgia, for what man desires to engage in an ordinary brawl in the presence of the being he adores.